Litigatious author Harlan Ellison penned this episode of "UNCLE," which had a kind of all-star cast of '60s supporting actors.
Jeannine Riley (no to be confused with Jeannine C. Riley); Barry Atwater; Jonathan Hole; Fritz Feld (who refrains fom making that popping noise with his mouth); Woodrow Parfrey. All make welcome appearances.
This episode might show TV spoofery is not Ellison's strong point but a writer has to make a living.
The premise: THRUSH (the bad guys) are developing a line of assassins who are part-human and part machine. They can't be stopped by bullets or chemicals. And they toss UNCLE agents around like dolls. Well, why not?
Chief scientist Parfrey thinks he's saving mankind from the drudgery of assembly lines for a life of leisure (though he never explains how they will support themselves in leisure--people like Ellison, a truly notable fiction writer, never think these thins through, or maybe the scientist is an idiot). Atwater, on the other hand, wants an indestructable army to take over the world (again). Well, (again) why not?
Some good scenes. Another scientist (Hole, always good and usually funny) is dragged away after making a mistake (you can almost hear a Mel Blanc cartoon character yelling "For the love of humanity, no!") And when idiot scientist Parfey asks if Hole's character will be fired a smug Atwater, with much suggestive eye rolling, makes a sly remark about a "pension scheme" (cue Copin's death march). And Feld, while not his usual self (he's even shorn of his trademark moustache) gets in a few good, comically-bitter lines as a Swiss banker insisting that he's neutral between THRUSH and UNCLE.
The woman chosen as the assassin is quite attractive, and Riley was always one of the loveliest women on television, back to her stint on "Petticoat Juxtion."
And then, there's that bed! Funny stuff!
And Robert Vaughn and David McCallum are, as always, up to the demands of their roles, able to keep their characters light, but serious and never ridiculous.
All told, a delightful episode, if a trifle hackneyed. Ellison goes a little overboard.
Jeannine Riley (no to be confused with Jeannine C. Riley); Barry Atwater; Jonathan Hole; Fritz Feld (who refrains fom making that popping noise with his mouth); Woodrow Parfrey. All make welcome appearances.
This episode might show TV spoofery is not Ellison's strong point but a writer has to make a living.
The premise: THRUSH (the bad guys) are developing a line of assassins who are part-human and part machine. They can't be stopped by bullets or chemicals. And they toss UNCLE agents around like dolls. Well, why not?
Chief scientist Parfrey thinks he's saving mankind from the drudgery of assembly lines for a life of leisure (though he never explains how they will support themselves in leisure--people like Ellison, a truly notable fiction writer, never think these thins through, or maybe the scientist is an idiot). Atwater, on the other hand, wants an indestructable army to take over the world (again). Well, (again) why not?
Some good scenes. Another scientist (Hole, always good and usually funny) is dragged away after making a mistake (you can almost hear a Mel Blanc cartoon character yelling "For the love of humanity, no!") And when idiot scientist Parfey asks if Hole's character will be fired a smug Atwater, with much suggestive eye rolling, makes a sly remark about a "pension scheme" (cue Copin's death march). And Feld, while not his usual self (he's even shorn of his trademark moustache) gets in a few good, comically-bitter lines as a Swiss banker insisting that he's neutral between THRUSH and UNCLE.
The woman chosen as the assassin is quite attractive, and Riley was always one of the loveliest women on television, back to her stint on "Petticoat Juxtion."
And then, there's that bed! Funny stuff!
And Robert Vaughn and David McCallum are, as always, up to the demands of their roles, able to keep their characters light, but serious and never ridiculous.
All told, a delightful episode, if a trifle hackneyed. Ellison goes a little overboard.