Buy The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - The Complete Series

Album Description: It was the height of the Cold War, a time when most Americans had only the vaguest understanding of international espionage. Then, in 1964, the televised spy genre exploded on the screen in the U.S. and around the world when the groundbreaking series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. pulled the covers off of the spy game in what became must-watch television for the next four years on NBC. Here is The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: The Complete Series, beautifully packaged in a 60's style high tech attach? case, complete with all episodes along with hours of viewing extras.

Amazon.com: For Baby Boomers, owning a season or two of a fondly remembered TV series on DVD is enough to satisfy any nostalgic yearnings. The Man From U.N.C.L.E., though, warrants the full-series treatment. It's a wild '60s flashback to the Espionage era that was ushered in by Ian Fleming's James Bond adventures. According to a series retrospective that's just one of this cleverly packaged set's prodigious extras, Fleming himself was recruited to create a spy series for American television. His contribution was the name "Napoleon Solo," the moniker of a crime boss in Goldfinger. That movie, which would kick Bond and spy mania into overdrive, had not yet opened when viewers were introduced to Robert Vaughn's Solo and David McCallum's Illya Kuryakin, agents of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. This covert agency operated out of Del Floria's Tailor Shop in New York under the command of true Brit Alexander Waverly (Leo J. Carroll, playing much the same character he portrayed in North by Northwest). The Man from U.N.C.L.E. offered a bit of hope in Cold War America that an American and Russian could work together to stop a common enemy, THRUSH, a ruthless organization bent on world domination. The intriguing conceit of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was to give audiences an empathetic surrogate who would be plucked from their humdrum lives for whirlwind adventures with Solo and Kuryakin. In the pilot episode, Patricia Crowley guest-stars as a housewife who acts as bait to foil the plans of her former college boyfriend, who is plotting the assassination of a world leader. In a series benchmark, "The Never-Never Affair," a pre-Get Smart Barbara Feldon stars as an U.N.C.L.E. translator who unwittingly becomes involved in actual espionage. Seasons one and two are the series' best, with a stellar roster of guest stars ("The Project Strigas Affair" features the first onscreen pairing of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy), stylish direction by directors who would go on to some renown (Michael Ritchie, Richard Donner), smart scripts, and great action (a movie theatre shoot-out in "The Never-Never Affair"). In its third season, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. adopted Batman's campy and absurdist tone with shark-jumping results While this season has its share of groaners (in one episode, Sollo watusis with a gorilla), several "Affairs" stand out. Jack Palance and Janet Leigh as a long cool woman in a white dress are great villains in "The Concrete Overcoat Affair." Harlan Ellison wrote the witty "The Pieces of Fate Affair," in which he takes some sly digs at television and literary critics (a THRUSH operative is a book reviewer). Joan Collins makes like Eliza Doolittle in a dual role as a Bronx stripper and a countess in "The Galatea Affair." The series went back to basics in Season Four, but by then, The Avengers was a bigger hit and the writing was on the wall for this once trendsetting series. This lavish box set affair contains upward of ten hours of bonus features, including the unaired series pilot, a series retrospective, an interview with a reunited Vaughn and McCallum, dossiers on each season's guest stars, one of the U.N.C.L.E. feature films edited and expanded from a two-part episode, segments about the great gadgets and cool music, U.N.C.L.E. designs and blueprints, and season-specific booklets.This definitive box set does full justice to a series that had such an impact on popular culture (as witness the bonus Tom & Jerry cartoon, "The Mouse From H.U.N.G.E.R."). More than a blast from the past, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is still a potent blend of "cloak and swagger." --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews:

Very pleased! December 28, 2008
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - The Complete SeriesI bought the series for an anniversary gift for my husband (his request) and we have really enjoyed watching them. It's really brought back old memories. The quality of the DVD is very good. We have watched 4 or 5 shows and have only seen 2 of the 40 DVD's. We will enjoy this present for a very long time. It's amazing to see what must have looked like modern technology at the time but is really ancient now! I highly recommend this set.

I don't know what I ever saw in this series. (3 of 7 Found this Helpful) December 27, 2008
As a kid, I loved season 1 of the Man From UNCLE when it was first broadcast. Even as a kid, I had the artistic discrimination to react in horror to the second season, both for the poor direction and stories, trendy music, and cultural stereotypes. After the first few episodes of season 2, I never watched it again.

Upon viewing this series as an adult, the first season is quite poor, and with the exception of a few episodes, which are somewhat clever and well acted/directed. ("The Never Never Affair" stands out in this respect.)

However, seasons 2 and 3, of which I have watched only a few episodes, are truly embarrassing. Season 4, which I have made it halfway through, tries to recover season 1 seriousness, but fails due to low production values, very poor cinematography, and uninteresting stories. Even the two main characters have lost their distinguishing personalities.

Don't waste your time or money on this. I now pity the rest of my family who had to indulge my interest in this program the first time around.

So glad I got this! (1 of 1 Found this Helpful) December 22, 2008
I've been waiting so long for this set, and then add another year for the price to come down... It comes in a goofy "attache," which of course won't fit on anyone's DVD bookcase, but otherwise everything's great.

I'm almost finished with the 2nd year now, and for the most part the episodes have been a lot better than I expected. There's even some marvelous acting -- catch Maurice Evans in action! -- as well as much better acting than I recalled from Vaughn. Of course David McCallum is the sexiest thing going, then or now, but I was surprised that his mojo-factor is not only what I recalled but moreso. The three main UNCLE men's roles are much more three-dimensional than I recalled. Why, Mr. Waverly cracks a few great jokes here and there. And Napoleon's not ALWAYS interested only in women; he knows his stuff. He's got a brain!

Yes, there are some real dud eps. And some fabulous ones as well. Interesting themes that one wouldn't expect pop up. And the guest stars/background cast--! Everyone who is anyone is on these episodes. Look carefully for James Doohan (Star Trek's Scotty) whom you will not recognize until after the end credits have rolled and you have to go back through to spot him.

The Girl from UNCLE pilot was surprising not only when you think about the "liberated" ladies on TV at the time (That Girl, right?) and compare (this comes off in an excellent light), but that the setup for it was so very different a balance than what eventually appeared. (Young woman teamed with older [good heavens, he's over the hill, over 40!] man.) Mr. Roper as Mark Slade? Holy moly: it worked. They decided to go for the teen market instead, I guess, and make Mark into a happenin' Brit dude. (Now I'll have to get the Girl series as well, darn it. My recollections of that are NOT very positive, but Solo and Kuryakin guest-starred once or twice iIrc.)

All in all: what great fun! Not only a trip back to childhood but an adult treat as well.

The Bond Rival the Ian Fleming Himself Created December 18, 2008
The Man From Uncle has the distinction of being the Bond rival partially created by Ian Fleming himself when, in 1963, he developed a format for MGM Television called Solo about a pair of American intelligence agents called Napoleon Solo and April Dancer. The series eventually debuted in the year of Fleming's death, 1964, as The Man From Uncle, with Mr Solo (Robert Vaughan) now accompanied by a male partner, Illia Kuryakin (David McCallum) and headed up by Mr. Waverley (Leo G. Carroll). The concept of a mixed male/female crime busting partnership was not really considered acceptable by the American networks at the time - it took a certain John Steed and Mrs. Peel to later change their minds.

The series was an immediate hit and ran the course of the 1960s, not to mention eight movies put together from two part stories and theatrically released outside the US. There was even a one season spin off, The Girl From Uncle, starring Stephanie Powers as April Dancer.

In 1983, the two UNCLE operatives returned under a new boss played by Patrick MacNee in the TV special, The Return of The Man From Uncle, which saw arch enemies THRUSH finally becoming nuclear terrorists (the original script had them develop a world dominating super computer). The show's roots were acknowledged with a guest appearance of George Lazenby as British agent JB complete with tricked up Aston Martin. It proved a one off comeback and no further assignments followed.

Open Channel D! U.N.C.L.E. has arrived! (1 of 1 Found this Helpful) December 14, 2008
No series ever as effectively self-destructed as "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", taking the first season's successful 'tongue-in-cheek' approach to the spy genre, and derailing it into comedy (Season 2), low-brow campiness (Season 3), and heavy-handed drama (Season 4). Yet the chemistry of the three leads (Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, and Leo G. Carroll) is so good, and the best episodes, so entertaining, that "The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - The Complete Series" deserves a place in your collection.

More than just the 105 episodes are offered; the beautifully-packaged collection (a spy attache case...very 1960s!) includes a terrific array of special features, telling the story of the show, from it's inception (as a homage to the James Bond films), to Ian Fleming's participation (creating the name, 'Napoleon Solo'), to the casting of the leads, and their reactions when the show became a cult phenomena (Vaughn admits his life has never been the same), to the ill-advised decision to so frequently change the approach to the genre. While it's easy to downplay the series against it's more sophisticated successors ("I Spy", "Mission Impossible", etc), without 'U.N.C.L.E.', these later series (and wonderful British imports like "Danger Man/Secret Agent" and "The Avengers"), may never have aired. "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." was groundbreaking, and has earned a well-deserved place in TV history.

So, whether you're a sixties child who grew up loving the show (like me!), or a fan of TV spy shows of any era, "The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - The Complete Series" will provide you hours of great fun, with a touch of nostalgia!

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - The Complete Series

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