One of my all time childhood favorites, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. has finally been released on DVD!!! This tongue-in-cheek adventure spy series, which ran on NBC from 1964-68, and starrred Robert Vaughn & David McCallum as secret agents Napoleon Solo & Illya Kuryakin, was television's answer to the then-innovative (and still popular) James Bond 007 film series at the time. I'm old enough to remember both the great toys that cashed in on the show's popularity (spy briefcase containing the easy-to-assemble U.N.C.L.E. gun, the cane gun, bubble gum cards, comic books and the cool corgi cars)and the fact that the program, after the first two seasons, dipped in quality somewhat. But there's a catch to this piece of news.
You see, you'll be able to purchase the entire set online from Time-Life Video only (www.timelife.com). (Any fan of the show might suspect this arrangement was the work of U.N.C.L.E.'s archfoes, THRUSH, but we know that can't be...)
Time Life did the same arrangement last year when it offered all five seasons of the 1965-70 spy spoof Get Smart. The company promised that by Fall of this year, the shows would be made available to retail outlets like Best Buy & Borders, but that hasn't been the case.
Anyway, if you do order the DVD set (the library probably won't, due to budget, space & distributor considerations), keep in mind that'll include getting the awful third season U.N.C.L.E. episodes (from 1966-67), which you'll have no choice but to accept. That was the period when the show switched from tongue-in-cheek/suspense to all-out comedy. Bad comedy.(You'll all love the episodes from that period. With titles like "The 'My Friend, The Gorilla' Affair", how could you not?)
So, for those fans of the show who are interested, U.N.C.L.E. is now available on DVD & yours for the taking! -Ed
Update: Here's an online review of the set.
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