Challenge to Reboot a TV Show
I’m trying a reboot of the great 80s classic, Remington Steel. Want to know what it’s about? Here’s the voiceover intro: "Try this for a deep, dark secret. The great detective Remington Steele, he doesn't exist...I invented him. Follow: I always loved excitement so I studied and apprenticed and put my name on an office but absolutely nobody knocked down my door. A female private investigator seemed so feminine, so I invented a superior, a decidedly masculine superior. Suddenly there were cases around the block. It was working like a charm until the day he walked in with his blue eyes and mysterious past and before I knew it he assumed Remington Steele's identity. Now I do the work and he takes the bows. It's a dangerous way to live but as long as people buy it I can get the job done. We never mix business with pleasure, well, almost never. I don't even know his real name."
The reboot is…a little different.
Title: Remington Steele
Synopsis: Voice-over intro: “Try this for a deep, dark secret. The great detective Remington Steele? He doesn't exist. I invented him. Follow: I always loved excitement. As the daughter of a cop and an actress, maybe it’s not too surprising that I wanted to become a private eye. So I studied and apprenticed and put my name on an office, but nobody wanted to hire me. So, I invented a new name for the door-a decidedly masculine one. See, I was always good at disguises, it’s been one of my stock-in-trades in the work. So it was easy to not only have the name, but the actual character, available at a snap with a costume-change and a British accent.
“Sure, sometimes it gets a little strange, keeping track of whether I’m him, or me-but, between us, we get the job done.”
Starring:
Tatiana Maslany as Laura Holt and Remington Steele
Laura Holt is a feisty, tough-minded, but tender-hearted woman who became a private detective as inspired by her cop father's zest for justice and her actress mother's love of drama. She thrives on the work, especially when she can use her quick wits and quick-change artistry to solve the cases that are brought to her. She developed an alter-ego, Remington Steele, to be the "name above the door" and over the course of her investigations began to role-play the character as a debonair British man for the clients. It's possible that the line is blurring between her two identities...
Kal Penn as Murphy Michaels, Laura's associate at the agency; he does a lot of the legwork, is good at brainstorming, and can put on a slightly intimidating air when it's needed to pressure witnesses or suspects. He also has a good relationship with the local police. He used to have a role at charming the ladies involved in their cases, but with the appearance of "Remington Steele," he's had to take a bit of a back seat, which he finds worrisome. He is the most concerned about whether his boss is losing herself in her alter-ego.
Mindy Kaling as Delores Krebs, the nominal office manager, though she doesn't really have office skills. She's actually just using this as her day job while she tries to become a nightclub singer. She is great, however, at negotiating with vendors, intimidating visitors, and bullying clients into paying their bills. She's a fabulous dresser, and can be a good confidante to Laura sometimes.
Megan Mullally as Adora Deloitte (Holt), Laura's mother, a one-time soap opera actress who is still trying to get TV and stage roles. She is lively, dramatic, and outspoken. She would have preferred that Laura had found a more elegant or intellectual profession ("You were always so smart, darling, so so smart,") but she does drop by from time to time and offers insights into the lifestyles of the rich and famous when that is relevant to the case. For some reason, Laura has not chosen to tell her that she herself is playing Remington Steele, and Adora seems none the wiser. Laura avoids having them meet, but the few times they have, Adora has been uncomfortably flirtatious with Remington.
Nick Offerman as Brigham “Brig” Holt, Laura's father, who was killed in the line of duty when Laura was 18. With her mother away so much, Laura was very much a Daddy's girl, hanging around the police station and learning a bit about being a homicide detective. She uses those memories to draw on her father's wisdom in solving cases, and he appears both in flashbacks from her youth, as well as to advise her on current situations.
Series Poster and Pilot Episode, Scene One:
Episode 1.01: Steel Waters Run Deep (300 words)
Laura walks into the door marked "Remington Steel Detective Agency" and, dropping her purse on the chair, leans on the counter and groans. "Something wrong, dearie?" asks her office manager, Delores, who is simultaenously putting on eyeliner, watching a video, and practicing vocal scales. "That case went south," Laura grumbles. "The client insisted on meeting Steele and no matter what I said." She groans again.
"Hmmm, does that mean no money?" asks Delores, looking askance. "I told you to be sure he paid a retainer, I told you! And in other news," she adds sweetly. "Your mother called. She said, 'tell the darling girl that she simply must meet this young man from the ad agency. So sweet, and only divorced twice!' "
Laura ignores this. "I'm afraid we just can't go on like this. It was working so well, but the more well-known we get, the more that people want to meet the actual Remington Steele. If only we could manufacture a Steele instead of having to keep pretending he's in the other room..."
"You should play him," drawls Murphy, wandering in from the back office. "I mean, you can play a nun, a gas inspector, a TV reporter. Surely you could play a snobby, egotistical detective who takes all the fame while other people do all the work?" He chuckles at himself, while Laura stands bolt upright with a light in her eyes. "Murphy! You're brilliant! Of course, I've never played a man before. But after all, how hard could it be? A deeper voice, a little strutting, walking like you've got something stuffed in your pants? I can do it, I know I can!" She snatches up her purse and heads out the door, while Murphy calls desperately and weakly after her, "But Laura! I was only joking!!"
The reboot is…a little different.
Title: Remington Steele
Synopsis: Voice-over intro: “Try this for a deep, dark secret. The great detective Remington Steele? He doesn't exist. I invented him. Follow: I always loved excitement. As the daughter of a cop and an actress, maybe it’s not too surprising that I wanted to become a private eye. So I studied and apprenticed and put my name on an office, but nobody wanted to hire me. So, I invented a new name for the door-a decidedly masculine one. See, I was always good at disguises, it’s been one of my stock-in-trades in the work. So it was easy to not only have the name, but the actual character, available at a snap with a costume-change and a British accent.
“Sure, sometimes it gets a little strange, keeping track of whether I’m him, or me-but, between us, we get the job done.”
Starring:
Tatiana Maslany as Laura Holt and Remington Steele
Laura Holt is a feisty, tough-minded, but tender-hearted woman who became a private detective as inspired by her cop father's zest for justice and her actress mother's love of drama. She thrives on the work, especially when she can use her quick wits and quick-change artistry to solve the cases that are brought to her. She developed an alter-ego, Remington Steele, to be the "name above the door" and over the course of her investigations began to role-play the character as a debonair British man for the clients. It's possible that the line is blurring between her two identities...
Kal Penn as Murphy Michaels, Laura's associate at the agency; he does a lot of the legwork, is good at brainstorming, and can put on a slightly intimidating air when it's needed to pressure witnesses or suspects. He also has a good relationship with the local police. He used to have a role at charming the ladies involved in their cases, but with the appearance of "Remington Steele," he's had to take a bit of a back seat, which he finds worrisome. He is the most concerned about whether his boss is losing herself in her alter-ego.
Mindy Kaling as Delores Krebs, the nominal office manager, though she doesn't really have office skills. She's actually just using this as her day job while she tries to become a nightclub singer. She is great, however, at negotiating with vendors, intimidating visitors, and bullying clients into paying their bills. She's a fabulous dresser, and can be a good confidante to Laura sometimes.
Megan Mullally as Adora Deloitte (Holt), Laura's mother, a one-time soap opera actress who is still trying to get TV and stage roles. She is lively, dramatic, and outspoken. She would have preferred that Laura had found a more elegant or intellectual profession ("You were always so smart, darling, so so smart,") but she does drop by from time to time and offers insights into the lifestyles of the rich and famous when that is relevant to the case. For some reason, Laura has not chosen to tell her that she herself is playing Remington Steele, and Adora seems none the wiser. Laura avoids having them meet, but the few times they have, Adora has been uncomfortably flirtatious with Remington.
Nick Offerman as Brigham “Brig” Holt, Laura's father, who was killed in the line of duty when Laura was 18. With her mother away so much, Laura was very much a Daddy's girl, hanging around the police station and learning a bit about being a homicide detective. She uses those memories to draw on her father's wisdom in solving cases, and he appears both in flashbacks from her youth, as well as to advise her on current situations.
Series Poster and Pilot Episode, Scene One:
Episode 1.01: Steel Waters Run Deep (300 words)
Laura walks into the door marked "Remington Steel Detective Agency" and, dropping her purse on the chair, leans on the counter and groans. "Something wrong, dearie?" asks her office manager, Delores, who is simultaenously putting on eyeliner, watching a video, and practicing vocal scales. "That case went south," Laura grumbles. "The client insisted on meeting Steele and no matter what I said." She groans again.
"Hmmm, does that mean no money?" asks Delores, looking askance. "I told you to be sure he paid a retainer, I told you! And in other news," she adds sweetly. "Your mother called. She said, 'tell the darling girl that she simply must meet this young man from the ad agency. So sweet, and only divorced twice!' "
Laura ignores this. "I'm afraid we just can't go on like this. It was working so well, but the more well-known we get, the more that people want to meet the actual Remington Steele. If only we could manufacture a Steele instead of having to keep pretending he's in the other room..."
"You should play him," drawls Murphy, wandering in from the back office. "I mean, you can play a nun, a gas inspector, a TV reporter. Surely you could play a snobby, egotistical detective who takes all the fame while other people do all the work?" He chuckles at himself, while Laura stands bolt upright with a light in her eyes. "Murphy! You're brilliant! Of course, I've never played a man before. But after all, how hard could it be? A deeper voice, a little strutting, walking like you've got something stuffed in your pants? I can do it, I know I can!" She snatches up her purse and heads out the door, while Murphy calls desperately and weakly after her, "But Laura! I was only joking!!"