Wow!! Is this ever going to date me!?! Man from U.N.C.L.E. is finally out!
Can you remember Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum)? And if so, do you remember what the U.N.C.L.E. stood for? (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement…I had to look this one up>>> my memory isn’t that good!!!) And, what how about T.H.R.U.S.H.? (What a great acronym for an evil organization!) Man from U.N.C.L.E. was one of the first spy shows, taking place during the height of the Cold War days. (Remember air raid drills in school where you had to scamper under your desk?… And how flimsy those little desks were!?!)
The show aired in the mid 1960s and was one of the top TV hits of that time. Since this was before DVDs (and even VHS tapes!) the show aired each week in households that had all of the members patiently sitting in front of the television. If you had a “Spot” or “Puff”>>> you had already made sure that he/she had gone outside for his/her run of the neighborhood (this was before the days of six-foot privacy fences and mandatory leash laws!) and that all bathroom breaks had been taken by all family members… thus insuring no unwanted distractions. If you were hungry, you had already pan-popped your popcorn (or had Jiffy Pop already made an appearance by this time?) and that all of the family members were sitting patiently on the living room couch for the show (before the time of the family/television room!). If you had Boy Scouts on Tuesday nights (as my husband did) then you made sure that you got home early enough to see how Solo and Kuryakin were going to save the world this week. It was, in short, a big event in the days of the three-network television line-ups.
And, how about this for another “Back in the Days”… Remember when turtle necks were all the rage… After watching David McCallum sporting the Kuryakin turtle necks, you’ll wonder if the show had any thing to do with the turtle neck’s popularity!
Just ask someone in their fifties (or older) if the remember Solo and Kuryakin. I bet you will see them smile at the memories!
Vickie says
I do remember watching this from time to time when it came on, but my Grandpa Fred really didn’t like it, so it could only be on when he was asleep or we weren’t staying with them. = )
I love watching David McCallum on NCIS now.
linda says
Just browsing through some of these older post (this one on the recent post), thought I would comment. Sometimes I like it when certain mystery novels are made into TV shows so that I can just maybe put a fact to the characters in a book series. But then if the main actor portraying the main slueth is an actor that I don’t like – then I don’t want to read any more of that book series!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
That must have been awful, Vickie… back in the day when you had to watch live television… Skipping an episode back then meant possibly not being able to ever see it!
Rick says
Just a bit of trivia/humor. There is an NCIS episode (I think from last season) where the team is wondering what Gibbs looked like when he was a young man. That spreads to Ducky, and the reply is “He looked EXACTLY like Illya Kuryakin.” I thought it was hilarious, but thought that a lot of the audience wouldn’t understand.
Thanks for letting us know about UNCLE being on DVD!
Rick
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Rick…
I’m sorry I missed that… That truly is hilarious!
Donna says
I grew up watching all those shows in their early syndication days and still get a kick out of watching the DVDs! And I’m still in love with Steed from The Avengers. 🙂
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna, if you enjoyed Man from Uncle, try to see if you can track down the Columbo shows with Robert Vaughn. I get a special kick out of him – especially when he wears an ascot!
Donna says
Columbo is one of my all-time favorite shows, too. I admire the skill it takes to write an upside down mystery – that is really tough to do and keep things interesting, but Columbo always managed to do it.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Donna, I agree that the Columbo approach of telling a mystery from the back to the front would be a challenge… to tell enough, but not too much…
Susan says
I saw the reruns of this when I was in my teens – I loved it! I’ve managed to collect most of the books that were published as well.
As a bit of trivia, apparently T.H.R.U.S.H. stood for Technological Hierachy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity. 🙂
Cheers!