As I mentioned before this is my attempt at watching every single U.N.C.L.E. episode ever, in celebration of the complete series on DVD. Today I’m looking at episode two, “The Iowa-Scuba Affair” – a pretty good episode that features a great guest appearance from Slim Pickens as a local yokel in Iowa who is in reality a THRUSH agent working on infiltrating a secret underground military base and steal the secret plane (and the H-bomb it is armed with).
This is the first epsiode with the famous “Open Channel D” phrase, as well as the first time the U.N.C.L.E. gun is prominently featured. Also, the THRUSH rifles make their first appearances.
Some great visuals in this episode – Solo standing in front of a charging motorcycle with his U.N.C.L.E. gun blazing; two scuba men jumping up from a well to ambush Solo and the “innocent” of the episode; Poison gas streaming out of a shower head in an attempt on Solo’s life; and the underground chamber with scuba men working hand in hand with THRUSH agents, as a fullly-outfitted pilot stands by waiting to take off in the plane (“Halloween came early this year”). The plot is also tight as a drum.
Good scenes between Waverly and Solo (no Ilya this time) and the performance of Slim Pickens add color to a great, eminently rewatchable episode… and no wonder, as it was directed by the great Richard Donner.
UPDATE: Hey, you can watch it now!