MovieChat Forums > The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) Discussion > so I bought the season 1 dvd,can't make ...

so I bought the season 1 dvd,can't make up my mind.

posted 8 years ago by ib011f9545i
8 replies | jump to latest

I was a little kid when when this was first shown and remember seeing and liking it.
But I was a little kid so any action series was fine for me.

Watching it again,having paid 25 pounds for the dvds,I can't decide if I have wasted my time and money.

On the negative side this season is in black and white and the locations scream California,some of the plots are fun but they are often poor.

But Vaughan is great in this,he dominates the whole thing.
Every episode features lots of pretty girls,and they are often wearing interesting outfits(I am male).
I like some of the guest stars and there are some good story ideas.

Compared to the Mission Impossible tv series or the British series THE AVENGERS this show seems low budget to me.

[–] solo-21 8 years ago

If the concept of an international law enforcement agency up against an organization like Thrush and the basic characters of Solo and Illya don't spark your imagination, then you have wasted your time and money.

[–] MrEdnablackadder 8 years ago

If you're concerned about technical values, I still think that you should give it a try over any coeval UK show of the kind. It may have an unauthentic feeling at times, since it's so obvious that it's shot entirely at the studios and not on any real location (the poorly reconstructed cities may be a bit distracting, so is the pedestrian use of archive footage in the exotic locations the story occasionally take place in), but it never looks quite as cheap as 'The Avengers', which was good in its initial 'live' years (1962-1964) despite its poor production values (its charm was due to other factors), but then graduated to levels of technical slovenliness that were absolutely unacceptable for a filmed production. MFU still had a more varied and sumptous selection of original sets than a bunch of coloured swinging 60's apartments. Agree about M:I though: that remains the benchmark of 60's spy shows.

[–] ib011f9545i 8 years ago

the concept does capture my imagination,the actual shoe less so.
In the first few episodes they show the same introductory scene,then we have the blonde of the episode then the crazy villain,then we have the pretty girls in uniforms.

THE AVENGERS looks cheap now and the plots are often stupid but they actually used locations in the later episodes.

Watching this first season of UNCLE is educational,some of the guests stars are great but it is like listening to a 1964 song,you can still love it if you take account of when it was made.

I think that the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE tv series might be my next buy.

[–] MrEdnablackadder 8 years ago

I don't know how many episodes you've seen so far, but I'll give it to you that the first ten (or so) are a bit more formulaic in their structure: the guys embark on a mission around the world, the villains' plans are often very urealistic and/or megalomaniac (in perfect Bond style, actually), the guest beauty of the week is an innocent girl that gets dragged into the proceedings by a mere accident and doesn't add much to them. The Fleming-esque influence is very strongly felt. But, later on, the stories become more varied- with several episodes holding the distinction of having a rather unique structure- the espionage/intrigue elements become more clever and the heroines are incorporated into the plot in a more functional and less decorative way.

I'm suggesting you a few episodes you might try (if you can't still get into the thing, maybe it just isn't for you):

The Project Strigas Affair (a story in M:I style)
The Dove Affair
The Deadly Decoy Affair
The Mad, Mad Tea Party affair
The Brain-Killer Affair
The Never-Never Affair
The Gazebo in the Maze Affair
The Odd Man Out Affair

Just my two cents.

[–] solo-21 8 years ago

Still love the show but immediately afterward in second season it becomes even more formulaic than the first season episodes ever were.

[–] MrEdnablackadder 8 years ago

Still love the show but immediately afterward in second season it becomes even more formulaic than the first season episodes ever were.

Of course it does. I was just giving to the OP some advice about Season 1, since it's the one he bought (and is widely regarded as the best). Still, Season 2 also has its genial episodes ('Virtue', 'Children's Day', 'Adriatic Express' and 'Project Deephole' come to mind). For me, the show became worthless in the second half of Season 3, i.e. after 'The Concrete Overcoat Affair, and had very few redeeming hours since then.

[–] ib011f9545i 8 years ago

I have bought it so I am going to consume it (I have the same attitude to hotel breakfasts).
Thanks for your comments,you are right it is getting better and I am enjoying it more.

[–] porfle 8 years ago

I like the black and white episodes the best. The show seemed to look chintzier and cheaper in color. And the original theme music and opening were much better.