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Post by snsurone on Dec 13, 2018 23:53:56 GMT
This was the first TV show using the framework of the James Bond. movies. While it wasn't the best one (that would be MISSION IMPOSSIBLE), but it was entertaining in its tongue-in-cheek manner.
To tell the truth, Robert Vaughn's Napoleon Solo kinda creeps me out. He doesn't seem to take either his job nor national security very seriously. He was just on the prowl for women!
Prejudiced as I am, I definitely favor Illya Kuryatkin, the mysterious, taciturn Soviet defector who joined U.N.C.L.E. I fell in love with David McCallum, and I feel the same way today. One reviewer called him "the blond kid", and even the producers were amazed at McCallum's meteoric rise as a star.
Today, the show is dated and probablt considered "camp". But it's still fun.
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Post by ellynmacg on Dec 15, 2018 5:37:05 GMT
As I recall, it certainly was...but I haven't seen it recently. Are any episodes available on DVD?
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Post by SuperDevilDoctor on Dec 15, 2018 6:56:08 GMT
Hands down, the best espionage show on '60s TV was DANGER MAN (re-titled SECRET AGENT in the U.S.), starring Patrick McGoohan.
No camp at all. It's totally serious, and all the spy gadgets were "real world" -- not fantasy.
Skip the first season, since those episodes are only 30 minutes -- not really long enough to tell complex stories -- and the show/character were totally revamped for the ensuing seasons, when each episode ran an hour.
Well worth your time!
It's on Amazon Prime (free streaming for members).
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Post by snsurone on Dec 15, 2018 18:17:30 GMT
While I've always been a fan of Patrick McGoohan (especially in his roles as various killers on COLUMBO), I tend to find that most British TV shows and movies are very slow-moving and dull.
No, IMHO, the very best espionage TV drama was MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE, especially with its cast of Peter Graves, Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Greg Morris, and Peter Lupus. I do admit that the series weakened somewhat when some of those actors left the show and were replaced by inferior ones. Lesley Warren, in particular, was terrible! And when the Cold War ended and the IMF was forced to investigate domestic crises, it was the death knell of the series. It might be nice to see the series resurrected, with the agents investigating terrorist organizations, but I guess there are numerous series doing just that.
I hope THE MAN FROM U.NC.L.E. is never rebooted. It was too great in its original run.
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Post by taylorfirst1 on Dec 16, 2018 4:24:29 GMT
The Man From UNCLE is one of the greatest shows of all time. ellynmacg I have the entire series on DVD. Unfortunately in season 3 the show suffered a major drop in quality when it turned up the camp and humor to 11 in an attempt to copy Batman. They tried to course correct in season 4 but the damage was done and the show was cancelled before season 4 ended.
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