The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

The Man From UNCLE premiered in 1964 based on the popularity of the James Bond movies. I never was a big fan of the Bond flicks, but I loved the Man From UNCLE. The combination of tongue-in-cheek humor and outlandish gadgets was not only entertaining, but great fun! And Robert Vaughn and David McCallum did a terrific job in their roles, skirting just on the edge of silliness, but still with a certain gleam in their eye that let you know the whole business was just too outlandish to possibly be real. Secret headquarters, outlandish villains, super spy gadgets, MFU had it all. And it was all great fun!

Leo G. Carroll played the unflappable Mr. Waverly, who always seemed to be one step ahead of his agents. Season 1 was undoubtedly the best, although 2 had its moments. Season 3 was not entirely a disaster, but the producers tried too hard to make it all silly comedy, a la Batman, which was a campy hit, and lost the flavor of the show, although there are some outstanding moments, as when Solo is busy kissing the girl in the warm comfort of a car, while Kuryakin is fighting the bad guys in the pouring rain. As he stands there, drenched, Illya looks at his warm, dry partner and remarks, "we make such good partners." But by the time season 4 rolled around, the damage had been done, although they tried going back to the original concept. All the actors had lost interest and it was canceled.

It's still fun to watch and nice to know both actors are still busy performing, Vaughn in the British series, Hustle, and McCallum in the CBS hit NCIS. I still miss the fun of the Man From UNCLE. No-one ever did a spoof better, and we'll never see anything quite this good again. Too bad Warners seems to have some kind of problem releasing it to DVD, there are plenty of people who'd love to have it.

Watching a "Christmas Carol" and seeing Leo G. Carroll, more or less made me remember the "Man from U.N.C.L.E.". Napoleon Solo, in my humble opinion, was the only other spy who could seriously rival Sean Connery. Vaugn was not only kool and suave, but handsome and cunning, much like James Bond except that Napoleon Solo had a quite different style. Illya Kuryakin, aka David Mcallum, was excellent as the right hand man for solo and was the first time I had seen an intelligent Russian portrayed on the screen. Although I had previously seen Mcallum in "The Great Escape". Finally, Leo G. Carroll gave a commanding performance as Mr. Waverly, a man who had complete control over his agents yet had a fatherly kind of feel. But, hey, you all know this and now back to the movies!

'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' was an bona fide television phenomena when it first aired, in 1964. The brainchild of producer Norman Felton, who was a fan of Ian Fleming's 'James Bond' novels, the missions of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.), would be set on an international scale, pitted against SPECTRE-like THRUSH, an organization composed of terrorists, anarchists, and megalomaniacs. In the original concept, a 'civilian' would be drawn into the intrigue, each week, to aid U.N.C.L.E. on a mission, and provide a link that viewers could relate to.

Felton sent his notes to Ian Fleming, asking the author to create a name for the series' hero, and Fleming came up with 'Napoleon Solo', the last name 'lifted' from a gangster character from 'Goldfinger'. He offered a few other minor suggestions, and gave Felton his blessing on the endeavor. With a 'pedigree' like this, how could the series fail?

Veteran writer Sam Rolfe came on board to write the pilot script and co-produce, and an excellent cast was assembled. Oscar-nominee Robert Vaughn, who'd worked with Felton on the series, 'The Lieutenant', was cast as Solo; young Scot actor David McCallum, fresh from THE GREAT ESCAPE, would play the supporting role of fellow agent Illya Kuryakin; and, in a casting coup, legendary character actor Leo G. Carroll, who'd portrayed a spy chief in Alfred Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST, would assume the same function for U.N.C.L.E. (Getting Carroll required some creativity; while his 'official' birth date was listed as 1892, he was actually born in 1887, and NBC would never have permitted a nearly 80-year old series regular...Felton stuck with '1892', and made his scenes as easy as possible, which worked, as Carroll survived the entire series' run, not passing away until 1972).

Shot in black and white for the first season, and featuring a marvelous 'bulletproof glass' opening sequence, with a majestic, John Barry-influenced theme (by Jerry Goldsmith), 'U.N.C.L.E.' debuted in 1964 as both FROM Russia WITH LOVE and GOLDFINGER were in theaters, and soon became a major hit...then reached unprecedented heights, when McCallum, with his 'Beatles'-like haircut, captured the attention of younger fans caught up with the 'British Invasion' of Rock music, and became an overnight sex symbol nationwide. McCallum's role was quickly 'beefed-up' to co-star status, and U.N.C.L.E.-mania had begun!

With a terrific mix of action, tongue-in-cheek humor, and what NBC would allow for sex, the first season offered many memorable moments, including the first appearance of future 'Star Trek' stars William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, together, in an episode (Shatner was the heroic 'civilian' called in to aid U.N.C.L.E., Nimoy was the villain's henchman).

NBC was very pleased with their hit series, and Vaughn and McCallum were soon doing 'cameos' in other series, as well as promotions for the Peacock Network. One of the first 'primetime' series to be extensively marketed, a line of U.N.C.L.E. merchandise appeared, with dolls, toy guns, lunch boxes, comic books, model kits, cologne, clothing, and more filling store shelves. It was a heady time for everyone!

For the second season (1965-66), 'U.N.C.L.E.' was produced in color, and a 'guest' list of legendary stars lined up for appearances on the series, but despite respectable ratings, the overall quality of the show fluctuated, with some episodes downright silly. Just as the 'Bond' films peaked in popularity in 1965, with THUNDERBALL, then began to decline as the 'craze' subsided, the novelty of 'U.N.C.L.E.' began to wear off, and new 'line' producers were more interested in comedy and campiness, discarding, by season's end, any 'edge' the series first had. By the third season (1966-67), 'camp' was the rule; a spin-off, 'The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.', flopped; and the writing was on the wall that the series was on it's way out.

The producers made a last-ditch attempt to return the more dramatic elements to the series at the start of it's fourth season, in 1967, discarding the campiness, and, unfortunately, nearly all of the humor, as well, but the newly 'serious' 'U.N.C.L.E.' had lost it's audience, and the show was canceled in early 1968.

The impact of 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' cannot be minimized. It paved the way for 'The Wild, Wild, West', 'Get Smart', 'Mission Impossible', and all the other 'spy' shows that followed in it's footsteps, became a 'cult' favorite after cancellation that is still generating interest, to this day (with successful conventions, a 'reunion' TV-movie, and a steady stream of fan mail continuing to be sent to Vaughn and McCallum, 35 years after the final episode first aired), and there is talk of a feature film in the works.

And, as we fans will always remember, without the cooperation of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, none of this would be possible!

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is arguably one of the greatest shows of the Sixties and definitely the best American spy show. It blended tongue in cheek humour with action and adventure for an end result that was extremely entertaining. Unfortunately, all good things cannot last. The first season (when it was still shot in black and white) and the second season (the first one shot in colour) place The Man From U.N.C.L.E. among the best television has to offer. All of this changed with the third season, when the series became so silly that watching its episodes became nearly unbearable. The show recovered somewhat in its abbreviated fourth season (it would be cancelled midway through), but by that time The Man From U.N.C.L.E. had lost its charm. Though the fourth season episodes are watchable, they lack the humour and pinache of the first two seasons. Regardless, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is a testament to what Sixties television could do at its very finest.

This show which debuted on NBC in September 1964 was the first movie or show to cash in on what was becoming the "James Bond Phenomenon". With only two Bond films released and the blockbuster "Goldfinger" to be released in the US at Christmas time "The Man from UNCLE" was the first introduction to secret agents for many people. Each week Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin saved the world or part of it from the evils of Thrush, an organization bent on world domination.It started as a cult show but quickly became a hit and at times the #1 show in the ratings to losing it's focus by the third season when it decided to copy the campy tone of the "Batman" TV show which turned off viewers who had liked the more serious tone of the first two seasons. As someone growing up in the sixties the Christmas of 1965 was flooded with secret agent toys with "The Man From UNCLE" even rivaling James Bond as far as toys and other product tie-ins. For a lot of people including myself this is their all time favorite TV show.