"The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964) TV series 1964-1968

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

22 September 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Plot:

The two top agents of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement fight the enemies of peace, particularly the forces of THRUSH.

Plot Keywords:

Walkie Talkie | Infrared Vision | Clothing Press | Rifle | Secret Entrance

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 13 nominations

Cast

Robert Vaughn	...	Napoleon Solo / ... (104 episodes, 1964-1968)
David McCallum	...	Illya Kuryakin / ... (100 episodes, 1964-1968)
Leo G. Carroll	...	Alexander Waverly / ... (96 episodes, 1964-1968)

Also Known As:

Ian Fleming's Solo (USA) (working title)
Mr. Solo (USA) (working title)
Solo (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

60 min (105 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White | Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Arena Productions

Trivia:

Originally, Will Kuluva was to play the head of U.N.C.L.E but was replaced by Leo G. Carroll. After the pilot was screened for the network executives, they told the producers to "get rid of the foreign guy". They really meant for David McCallum's Russian agent to get the ax, but the producers thought they meant Kuluva.

Quotes:

Illya Kuryakin: The next harvest is scheduled for the 20th. Today is the 17th. That gives you three days.
Napoleon Solo: Exactly three days; that's a relief. I thought it was going to be a rush job.

Movie Connections:

Edited into One of Our Spies Is Missing (1966)

Great espionage show from the 60's

My dad used to watch this show during the first two seasons of the show,and I immediately became hooked! The Man From U.N.C.L.E was one of the best spy shows ever to come out of a period which the cold war,civil rights,and the height of the Vietnam War was a great escape for young minds back then. Since the show was a huge hit on the NBC network when it premiered in the fall of 1964,it was something that no one thought of at that time: a character who was in the same ranks as James Bond 007 himself! The gadgets on that show were awesome(pens that acted as a radio to phone back at headquarters;an automobile with a built in machine gun and seat ejector)and the headquarters of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement which were secretly hidden in a tenement complex in New York..something to beholded!!! Robert Vaughn was a true gentlemen and a suave secret agent who was in the same category as Sean Connery,but he made the role very interesting as Napoleon Solo,and his Russian counterpart Illya,played by David McCallum,the coolest ever with a 60's shag blonde look(who looked like a rock star instead of an secret agent)!! The show's first two seasons were very dramatic and their was a great chemistry between the actors themselves which kept the action intense and very hipped!!! The sad part is that when the show's color episodes came it wasn't dramatic or very appealing anymore,but incredibly silly by the end of series' final run in 1968 (the black and white episodes from 1964-1965 were the best ever and some of the best gadgets too). Jerry Goldsmith's theme score for the series was the best ever for a TV series,and still is to this day. U.N.C.L.E was so,so good it spawned two feature films,and dozens of toys,comic books,mystery novels,and posters,and can you believe that David McCallum have a hit record out based on the show back in 1965(which he teamed up with Nancy Sinatra on a hit song,which hit the top of the charts too-very rare to find that album nowadays),plus a very short-lived Saturday Morning cartoon show? The repeats are rarely seen on TV nowadays,but they can be seen on TNT every once in a while if possible.