This 1966-67 show was a 29-episode spin-off of "The Man from UNCLE" and featured a young Stephanie Powers as agent April Dancer. She was Napoleon Solo's female counterpart. Her Illya Kuryakin-like partner was a British agent named Mark Slate (Noel Harrison).
Neither agent exactly fits the hot starlet or sexy heartthrob image so the producers usually supplied guest stars for those purposes. Such is the case in "The UNCLE Samurai Affair". While not much of a story it does feature the immortal Angelique Pettyjohn in a relatively large supporting role. Pettyjohn would become a cult figure after her appearance as Shahna in the original "Star Trek" episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion". Pettyjohn probably had the best body to appear on 1960's television and the director of this "Girl from UNCLE" episode wisely went to great lengths to showcase her assets throughout the story. If that is not enough there is the appearance of Gari Hardy, a Sharon Tate look alike and a candidate for the prettiest actress on 1960's television.
The story itself concerns an attempt by an aging Japanese geisha (Swedish stage actress Signe Hasso) to rob an oceanside casino of millions of dollars. Her plan involves high-jacking an American submarine. Since the show was as low budget as 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", this "fleet class" sub has a tiny crew of just eight extras. As ridiculous as this is, it is nothing compared to Hasso's attempt at a Japanese accent. One wonders if the producers cast her because they mistook her Swedish name to be Japanese.
Of course you have to realize that this spin-off show was even more of a self-parody than the original, which itself was a parody of "The Avengers", which itself was a parody of Once you tune into the parody element, it becomes considerably more entertaining.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
Neither agent exactly fits the hot starlet or sexy heartthrob image so the producers usually supplied guest stars for those purposes. Such is the case in "The UNCLE Samurai Affair". While not much of a story it does feature the immortal Angelique Pettyjohn in a relatively large supporting role. Pettyjohn would become a cult figure after her appearance as Shahna in the original "Star Trek" episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion". Pettyjohn probably had the best body to appear on 1960's television and the director of this "Girl from UNCLE" episode wisely went to great lengths to showcase her assets throughout the story. If that is not enough there is the appearance of Gari Hardy, a Sharon Tate look alike and a candidate for the prettiest actress on 1960's television.
The story itself concerns an attempt by an aging Japanese geisha (Swedish stage actress Signe Hasso) to rob an oceanside casino of millions of dollars. Her plan involves high-jacking an American submarine. Since the show was as low budget as 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", this "fleet class" sub has a tiny crew of just eight extras. As ridiculous as this is, it is nothing compared to Hasso's attempt at a Japanese accent. One wonders if the producers cast her because they mistook her Swedish name to be Japanese.
Of course you have to realize that this spin-off show was even more of a self-parody than the original, which itself was a parody of "The Avengers", which itself was a parody of Once you tune into the parody element, it becomes considerably more entertaining.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
