One of my favorite shows of all time is one that, today, is mostly forgotten. A show at one time that was HUGELY popular with viewers around the world.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The show that EXPLODED in the wake of James Bond-mania. And ironically, the producers actually consulted with Ian Fleming himself in the development of the series.
Fleming contributed ideas, and two character names: Napoleon Solo and April Dancer. Both were used, with Solo becoming the main character for The Man From UNCLE and Dancer eventually became The Girl from UNCLE in the spinoff.
The producers were originally going to call the show Ian Fleming’s Solo, until Eon Productions (the people who were making the Bond films) put a kibosh on that idea.
The show was clearly influenced by both James Bond and Alfred Hitchcock… Specifically North by Northwest. In the first season the premise of the show is a neophyte is pulled into the world of espionage, and Solo has to get them to help with something or another. It was basically North By Northwest every week. Heck, even an actor from that Hitch film played the UNCLE boss Mr. Waverly (Leo G Carroll).
When it comes to the show, the star was supposed to be Robert Vaughn. He is top billed in the pilot The Vulcan Affair, and he carries the whole episode.
Except… Well, they introduced a supporting character after the pilot. Who exploded in popularity.
Ilya Kuryakin was played by David McCallum, and he was immediately the character audiences – especially teenage audiences, lost their mind over.
It was a HUGE phenomenon, and this helped propel the show into a second season… Only with some changes.
In the second season Ilya became the clear co-star of the show. It was also in color! And it also started to suck!
The second season was the beginning of the end of the series. Plots became more ludicrous, and by the third season the show became a parody of itself. The producers started to do ‘camp” stuff, like the hit show Batman. Except… Batman was a horrible inspiration for the show. The producers tried to “right the ship” with a much more realistic fourth season, but by that point the ratings had declined so much that it was over.
Now, a brief interruption, to cover some acronyms.
UNCLE (I’m leaving out the periods because I’m lazy) stands for United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.
They actually thanked said organization at the end of every episode, saying “without their participation, the show would not be possible.”
Lots of people though that that the UN in the name stood for… Well, the United Nations. And the first season didn’t dissuade anyone of that notion, with multiple scenes showing the then-headquarters either out a window or as a “framing” shot.
And UNCLE had to have an enemy… So, THRUSH.
The Technological Hierarchy for the Removable of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity (and before you ask, yes, I typed that from memory) was founded by… Colonel Sebastian Moran. A bad guy in Victorian England who worked for a certain professor. Named Moriarty.
So, yes, UNCLE is set in the same “universe” as Sherlock Holmes.
Which is also the same universe as Star Trek. Because if Star Trek 6, Spock mentions “an ancestor of mine once stated that once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”
That was stated by Sherlock Holmes. So Spock is a descendant of the great detective.
Now, where was I? Oh, yes, The Man From UNCLE.
I’ve actually recreated the very famous UNCLE special rifle as a 3D model, and designed the accessories to fit onto a Walther P38 airsoft gun. I did it because years ago I bought a recreation of the UNCLE Special on eBay. And it sucked.
So I had to do it myself.
I sell quite a few of these sets on eBay. I also include an UNCLE badge and ID card with all orders. Because, why not?
I’ve also recreated the Ideal THRUSH rifle toy. Because, again, why not?
I also had an earlier toy version of the UNCLE gun. From Japan. Only this one wasn’t marketed as a Man From UNCLE toy. It was sold as a Transformer.
Yup, in 1983 when Hasbro started making the Transformers toys, they licensed LOTS of existing Japanese toy molds. One of these was a Man From UNCLE Special that turned into a robot. They sold it as Megatron.
Yes, the villain in the original 1984 Transformers cartoon was… The Man From UNCLE gun.
Fifteen years later, there was a TV movie, “The 15 Years Later Affair” that was a back-door pilot to bring the show back. It’s… OK. The best part was an appearance by… James Bond.
OK, it wasn’t TECHNICALLY James Bond. But it was A Bond… George Lazenby. Driving an Aston Martin and helping an old friend out.
So the show came full circle.
They finally made big-budget version of the show a few years back. From Guy Ritchie. It’s almost an “origin” story of UNCLE, and I LOVED it. Alas, it didn’t make much at the box office so the franchise is probably never going to be revived again.
But that’s FINE. We still have the original (especially that superior first season) and they can never take that away from us. As long as we have the physical media, that is.
So, if you haven’t watched it in a while, I suggest you look up an episode or two. Especially one of my favorites, The Project Strigas Affair. Which starred a couple of actors who would work once again with each other a couple of years later.
Open Channel D.
Here’s a great video that provides an overview of the series: