"Open Channel D!".
I never saw 'U.N.C.L.E.' during its '60's heyday, I regret to say. I came to it in 1972, when I.T.V. broadcast the movies ( beginning with 'The Karate Killers' ) at peak-time on Saturday evenings, followed by reruns of 'The Persuaders!'.
My first glimpse of 'Napoleon Solo' and 'Illya Kuryakin' was of them in a silver sports car being chased by a squad of mini-helicopters, equipped with rocket launchers. I was hooked. For the next seven weeks, I was in secret agent heaven. These were the days before I.T.V. bought the 'James Bond' films, so 'U.N.C.L.E.' was the next best thing.
Then I found some paperbacks in a second-hand book store, and from these learned that 'U.N.C.L.E.' stood for 'United Network Command for Law and Enforcement', and was an international spy organisation whose main headquarters were in New York, cunningly concealed behind the facade of a dry cleaners. Its main adversary was 'T.H.R.U.S.H.' - the Technological Hierachy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity ( actually, that acronym was invented by the writer David McDaniel in his superb novel 'The Dagger Affair'. It was never used on the show ). 'T.H.R.U.S.H.' wanted to take over the world, and 'U.N.C.L.E.' were out to stop them.
What really made the show a big hit was the chemistry between Robert Vaughn and David McCallum. Vaughn's 'Solo' was the extrovert, McCallum's 'Illya' was the shy intellectual. Leo G.Carroll played their gruff boss 'Alexander Waverly'.
Each week, 'T.H.R.U.S.H.' embarked on a new world domination project, usually with the aid of some fantastic invention - earthquake machines, tidal wave machines, invisible killer bees, mind control devices, death rays, even exploding apples! The stars were cool, the girls were hot, the action fast, the whole thing was executed in a colourful, tongue in cheek manner that was simply delightful to watch.
The show ended in 1968. The spy craze had run its course. Whereas 'Mission: Impossible' was able to reinvent itself as a crime show, 'U.N.C.L.E.' simply could not follow suit. One could not imagine Napoleon and Illya hot on the trail of 'The Syndicate'. Its equally impossible to imagine it being set in any era other than the '60's. The concept of an American agent working alongside a Russian was a novelty at the time. Guy Ritchie's remake tried sticking to it but was an unmitigated disaster all the same.
"Close Channel D!".
I never saw 'U.N.C.L.E.' during its '60's heyday, I regret to say. I came to it in 1972, when I.T.V. broadcast the movies ( beginning with 'The Karate Killers' ) at peak-time on Saturday evenings, followed by reruns of 'The Persuaders!'.
My first glimpse of 'Napoleon Solo' and 'Illya Kuryakin' was of them in a silver sports car being chased by a squad of mini-helicopters, equipped with rocket launchers. I was hooked. For the next seven weeks, I was in secret agent heaven. These were the days before I.T.V. bought the 'James Bond' films, so 'U.N.C.L.E.' was the next best thing.
Then I found some paperbacks in a second-hand book store, and from these learned that 'U.N.C.L.E.' stood for 'United Network Command for Law and Enforcement', and was an international spy organisation whose main headquarters were in New York, cunningly concealed behind the facade of a dry cleaners. Its main adversary was 'T.H.R.U.S.H.' - the Technological Hierachy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity ( actually, that acronym was invented by the writer David McDaniel in his superb novel 'The Dagger Affair'. It was never used on the show ). 'T.H.R.U.S.H.' wanted to take over the world, and 'U.N.C.L.E.' were out to stop them.
What really made the show a big hit was the chemistry between Robert Vaughn and David McCallum. Vaughn's 'Solo' was the extrovert, McCallum's 'Illya' was the shy intellectual. Leo G.Carroll played their gruff boss 'Alexander Waverly'.
Each week, 'T.H.R.U.S.H.' embarked on a new world domination project, usually with the aid of some fantastic invention - earthquake machines, tidal wave machines, invisible killer bees, mind control devices, death rays, even exploding apples! The stars were cool, the girls were hot, the action fast, the whole thing was executed in a colourful, tongue in cheek manner that was simply delightful to watch.
The show ended in 1968. The spy craze had run its course. Whereas 'Mission: Impossible' was able to reinvent itself as a crime show, 'U.N.C.L.E.' simply could not follow suit. One could not imagine Napoleon and Illya hot on the trail of 'The Syndicate'. Its equally impossible to imagine it being set in any era other than the '60's. The concept of an American agent working alongside a Russian was a novelty at the time. Guy Ritchie's remake tried sticking to it but was an unmitigated disaster all the same.
"Close Channel D!".