By Jeff Swindoll Nov 27, 2007, 18:46 GMT
Channel “D” is open once more as Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin fight the evils of T.H.R.U.S.H. This exclusive set comes from Time Life and is houses in an attractive attaché case and contains all four seasons of the iconic spy show along with some groovy special features.
Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) are spies for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement or U.N.C.L.E. They’re given their orders by Mr. Waverly (Leo G. Carroll), the head of the organization. They’re job is to go to all corners of the globe and prevent all sorts of villainy, mostly from the devious T.H.R.U.S.H. organization.
The show aired on NBC from 1964 to 1968 and won a Golden Globe for best television show and several Emmy nominations. Executive producer Norman Felton wanted to do a spy show for television and contacted someone who might know a thing or two about the genre – a fellow named Ian Fleming.
The James Bond author didn’t really contribute a great deal, but he did suggest the name Napoleon Solo and later sold out his interest to Felton for a pound (in fact from the interview he seemed more interested in appropriating some of Felton’s ideas for a Bond book). The rest is television history in that the show spurred a genuine phenomenon with both Vaughn and McCallum rising to teen idol status.
A time ago, Anchor Bay announced that the show was coming out under their label, to the excitement of fans. Then to the extreme disappointment of those fans, the wicked “right’s issues” reared its ugly head. The rights really were with Warner Brothers, so the Anchor Bay set was cancelled but Warner Brothers must’ve noticed the interest so they planned a release of their own.
This edition is exclusive to Time Life at the moment (a Warners release is scheduled for later in 2008, but will more than likely just be re-packagings of the Time Life set) and this release collects the entire 105 episode series in an attractive attaché case with oodles of special features.
Each season is given its own set and the special features are housed on the last discs of each set. Season one was shot in black and white and the subsequent three seasons switched to color.
On season one (disc eleven) we have the 28-minute “Cloak and Swagger Affair” which covers the creation of the show. It has interviews with writer Dean Hargrove, director Joseph Sargent, executive producer Norman Felton, Danny Biederman (of the Spy-Fi Archives), David McCallum, director Richard Donner, Robert Vaughn, assistant producer George Lehr, director of photography Fred Koenekamp, writer Peter Allan Fields, Professor Leo Braudy (Cultural Historian, USC), and writer/producer/network executive Barbara Corday.
Next is the 69 minute original color pilot “Solo” (called Ian Fleming’s Solo in the script phase. What’s interesting about his pilot is that Will Kuluva plays the head of the organization not Leo G. Carroll. The network executive’s “get rid of the foreign guy” missive was really for McCallum’s Russian agent, but the producers thought they meant Kuluva.
Fan reaction (or attraction) to McCallum secured (and beefed up) his role however. The 9 minute “Season one U.N.C.L.E. V.I.P.s” looks at the various clips of guest stars that were in season one with some commentary from the interviewees, stars include Fritz Weaver, Robert Culp, Jill Ireland, Elsa Lanchester, and many more. Season two (disc eleven) has the 23-minute “The Spy-Fi Tour” in which collector/curator Biederman shows us his treasures (a traveling show, but currently available at the Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach, California at the time of this tour).
For foreign markets the two part episodes were edited together to make a movie, the 111-minute “One Spy Too Many (1966)” is the result and included here (from the Alexander the Greater Affair). The 6-minute “Season two U.N.C.L.E. V.I.P.s” include Vincent Price, Angela Lansbury, Martin Landau, Rip Torn, and many more. Season three (disc eleven) has the best extra in the 77 minute “Double Agents” which is a reunion interview with McCallum and Vaughn.
The 17-minute “Secret Tapes of Illya Kuryakin” are McCallum’s home movies that he narrates. The 6-minute “Season three U.N.C.L.E. V.I.P.s” include Jack Palance, Sonny & Cher, Terry Thomas, Joan Crawford, and many more. Season four (disc six) has the 28 minute “MGM’s Secret Operations” which is about the wealth of sets and technical expertise that the show got from shooting on the MGM lot. The 5-minute “Season four U.N.C.L.E. V.I.P.s” includes John Carradine, Jack Lord, Darren McGavin, Will Kuluva, and many more. This complete collection also comes with two bonus discs.
The first contains the 21-minute “Cold War, Hot Spies” which examines the series connection to the cold war and the 19-minute “Guns, Gadgets, Gizmos, and Garb” that examines just that. The 17-minute “Behind the Wheel” takes a look at the custom car created for the later seasons of the series and interviews current owner/restorer Robert Short and car designer Gene Winfield.
The 25-minute “Fandemonium” looks at the fan reaction to the show with Lee Pfeiffer (editor-in-chief, Cinema Retro magazine), journalist/music historian John Burlingame, webmaster Ellen Druda, and Cynthia W. Walker (assistant professor, St. Peter’s College). The U.N.C.L.E. fan base predates Star Trek by two years and may be the first of its kind. The 23-minute “Music from U.N.C.L.E.” has Burlingame talking about the various composers for the show. The 6-minute “Girls form U.N.C.L.E.” is a collection of clips of the beauties from the show.
The Promos and Trailers section contains 5 vintage commercials and trailers for the 4 U.N.C.L.E. films. The “Official Debriefings” section contains a 27-minute interview with Dean Hargrove and a 21-minute interview with David McCallum. The second has Official Debriefings from Richard Donner (28 minutes), George Lehr (70 minutes), Joseph Sargent (21 minutes), and Robert Vaughn (26 minutes). The TV Appearances and Spots is a treasure trove of vintage TV. First is the 2-minute “Golden Globes Awards for 1965, Aired Live on the Andy Williams Show (1/31/1966)” where Vaughn and McCallum accept the award for best TV show.
The 2-minute “1965 Emmy Broadcast” has McCallum and Vaughn doing presenting duties (along with Danny Thomas and Sammy Davis, Jr.). The 4-minute “Andy Williams Show (9/20/1965)” has collected McCallum’s bits from that particular show. The 6-minute “Mouse from H.U.N.G.E.R.” is a Tom and Jerry spoof of the show (and spy genre) from 1967. Finally, there’s a large photo and image gallery.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a fine show thanks to the efforts of both of its stars, Vaughn and McCallum. Time Life and Warner Brothers have also done the show a good turn in presenting such a grand celebration of it. It’s sure to please fans and well worth the cost.
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