Tuesday, March 23, 2010

What still draws people to "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." after 50 years?

Welcome!  If you've found this site through another, or via a search on "Man from U.N.C.L.E." or "Vaughn" or "McCallum," you've come to the right place.

What makes this series so special to so many fans, after five decades?

In some ways, the same things that drew me to it at age 11: style, excitement, humor, likeable characters, the visual techniques like the act titles, whip pans, and fast cuts.  U.N.C.L.E. holds up better in regard to pacing than many shows of that time period -- or in some cases, of today.

Of course, when you're 11, there's a lot you don't know about the world yet.  You're eager to probe the adult mysteries.  And U.N.C.L.E. provided my 11-year-old self with a window on an adult world that I found glamorous then, and enjoy now.

I'd like to think that even today, somewhere in New York and Paris and Buenos Aires, even in Tehran and Baghdad, there's a hidden chrome-and-gunmetal outpost staffed by dedicated men and women who stand between us and disaster, working to keep the world from tearing itself apart.

If our world isn't like MfU's (and I have to admit, sadly, that it's not), then, darnit, it should be!

I recommend that you start with the first episode here and work your way forward to the last episode and the 1983 reunion TV movie, "The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.:  The Fifteen Years Later Affair."  Or you can start with the movie (click "Older posts" below) and work your way back in time.

Either way, I'm sure you'll become a major U.N.C.L.E. fan.  Comments welcome.  Enjoy!

August 2015:  As I'm sure you've heard by now, the new film, directed by Guy Ritchie of "Sherlock Holmes" fame, debuts on August 14.  The trailer and other details we've found so far makes me, and many other fans, very hopeful that we will have an U.N.C.L.E. for a new generation!  (My nightmare: Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson as Solo and Illya, two bumbling spies for an underfunded U.S. intelligence agency, with Kevin James ["King of Queens," "Mall Cop"] as Mr. Waverly.  The mind reels. . . .)

(Pics drawn from various places around the Web.  All credit to the original posters!)
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6 comments:

  1. yahwehfrkJune 19, 2011 at 8:51 PM

    Just found your blog as I am watching season 4 now courtesy of netflix. Been an U.N.C.L.E. fan since I was a kid. But when the Girl from U.N.C.L.E. be released on DVD? I have digital copies of all the comic books if you're interested.

    Bob Haldeman
    z6.invisionfreee.com/musicmakespictures

    ReplyDelete
  2. Randy JohnsonSeptember 26, 2012 at 3:45 PM

    Randy Johnson here,

    Glad you stopped by my blog. I've been an U.N.C.L.E. since I was a kid and that was when the episodes were first run.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 13, 2014 at 11:23 AM

    Picked up the box set for Xmas still in season 1 really in joining it

    ReplyDelete
  4. KCApril 30, 2014 at 6:08 PM

    Hi. I really enjoyed my brief visit on your site and I’ll be sure to be back for more.
    Can you please consider placing my website on your link list?

    Please email me back.

    Thanks!
    Kevin
    kevincollins1012 gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. BloggerNovember 16, 2017 at 6:10 PM

    You might be eligible for a complimentary $300 IKEA Gift Card.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousMarch 22, 2023 at 10:52 PM

    Loved the movie, so I decided to watch the old series. TBH, I almost gave up after the first couple of episodes. I didn't think they were that good, and they didn't age well. But I stuck it out, and there were some pretty good episodes later in the season. I just finished season one and I will watch season 2 after a breal. I heard it gets better when they get to the in-color episodes, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

    ReplyDelete