- Title: Remington Steele – Sting of Steele
- IMDb: link
“Sting of Steele” introduces Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Remington Steele‘s (Pierce Brosnan) old mentor on the run from a crooked casino owner (John Orchard). It also allows Murphy (James Read) to play the role of Remington Steele and brings back Beverly Garland in a second, and final, appearance as Laura‘s (Stephanie Zimbalist) mother. Like Steele, Efrem Zimbalist’s character is given numerous names and a past of secrets. And as with other episodes which explore faces from the title character’s past, Laura learns far less than she hoped to about the con man turned private investigator.
The episode is fun in allowing Steele to play the role of a mid-level thug in a larger con to take down their mark who at the same time tricks Laura into tracking down the Steele’s friend. It’s also enjoyable to see a story that allows real-life father and daughter to share the screen together (even dancing in Steele’s apartment in one scene). Full of half-truths and lies, finally Laura and Steele eventually get on the same page, setting a twisty trap for their crook (who also killed the mentor’s partner in the opening scene) in an elaborate con that even makes use of Laura’s mother.
