Actually, after reading all the glowing reviews here, I was reluctant to weigh in, because, speaking generally, other users don't like it when you knock their favourite shows off the pedestals they put them on. But this is a database, and it is intended for different perspectives. So here we go. For the time, this was ground-breaking and fascinating. Much like MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, its contemporary, also unique. If you were a kid in the 60s (guilty) you could not get enough of these shows. In fact, even today (2013) I have friend who will phone me and the first words out of his mouth are "Open Channel D." But the real test of these shows I think is whether they stand the test of time? UNCLE was part of the spy culture of the era and trust me, there were spies everywhere. I mean in the bookstore, in the drugstore, on TV and in the movies. (No computers then, no streaming media). With hindsight, however, we now know (from numerous biographies) that Fleming was just a frustrated frat boy at heart, sitting on the beach, typing with one finger, and banging out fantasies with characters like Pussy Galore. If you were a serious writer, like John LeCarre, or even semi-serious like Donald Hamilton (Matt Helm) you had trouble finding a filmic audience in the 60s because the viewer demand was for stylized action and superficial situations. (Matt Helm movies, so-called, reviewed elsewhere on IMDb, with a lot of subsequent angry feedback from groovy 60s kids in serious denial). This series was clever. At first glance Vaughn seemed an excellent counterpoint to David McCallum, the latter being the very definition of "foreign hunk" for the period, and guaranteed a high female turnout from week to week. And part of the "gimmick," according to TV GUIDE of the era, was that there was to be at least one "innocent civilian" involved in each episode, to try to ground the series and avoid the mad Bond-esqe fantasies. Still, in the opinion of this reviewer, the series quickly fell into the same traps experienced by shows like WILD WILD WEST and BATMAN. Similar plots. Similar villains. Predictable plot arcs, including the obligatory "Rescue/Resolution" with only 7 minutes left on the clock per episode. No one's fault. Not blaming anyone. But viewers in the 60s wanted their action shows like they wanted their coffee -- sweet, double sugar. If someone had tried to do a Bourne film with Matt Damon (in theory) back then, they would have been arrested for excessive violence. And notice that this show was really the only point in Vaughan's career where he tried to be likable. He ultimately ended up playing bad guys, and McCallum ended up hosting multiple reality shows. The truth is that you wanted serious spy action in this period, there were lots of books, but your TV/film choices were limited. I have on IMDb done a very positive review of the Danger Man (Secret Agent) series out of Britain, followed by the Callan series, also from the UK. If the question on the floor is, which product holds up best over the decades?, and could be enjoyed even today, I give to nod to the latter titles. THE MAN FROM UNCLE is, I think, very dated and very specific to the period.

Who has this now? Anybody know? Is it still Tarantino? Or JJ Abrams? Or maybe Joss Whedon? I'm worried that like most big screen remakes of TV shows, it'd be painful if it wasn't one of them. However... I saw a script for this recently, it was totally fierce, twisty plot, cool action sequences. It updated the characters while also respecting the source. It didn't make it a joke or wipe out what went before but re-imagined the concept in a contemporary setting with a real sense of history. I'm a huge fan of the show and really felt this captured what I liked about the original and built something new out of it. Anybody interested, contact me, I can show you an excerpt.

There was an original style in this TV series that made it fun and different from James Bond. Bond is a super spy who works intently for England and for the world. Solo and Illya were "salaryman" spies which manages espionage as a job. Most of the stories, whether good or bad, had this atmosphere. One I remember is The Deadly Toys Affair. In the scene in the beginning, Solo and Illya are told by their boss, Waverly, that they are expendable, and they are sent out to destroy a Thrush factory. In the midst of a shootout with the Thrushmen, they receive next instructions from Waverly thru their pen communicator without forgiveness, saying that they are not expendable anymore. I guess many people working in an organization had an experience of receiving a forcing message from their boss in the midst of an important meeting or work. This had turned into an everyday situation now due to the cellular phone, and it seems that the present was predicted 40 years ago. The sympathy of those who work in an organization is obtained, which makes this series fun and interesting. It was also because of the three wonderful actors that was able to have this peculiar wonderful atmosphere of this show. If an UNCLE movie or another series is to be made in the future, this atmosphere must not change. The actors must be good and must understand the original UNCLE concept, they must not be too tall, they must be handsome and smart looking, and neat, and clean. I mean, no beard or mustache, no hairy actors. Everybody involved in such plan should understand the original atmosphere of UNCLE, or will fail like most of the remakes. Also, it must not be forgotten that the music by the greats (J. Goldsmith, L. Schifrin, R. Drasnin, G. Fried, W. Scharf, R. Shores, M. Stevens, N. Riddle) was the big element that made this series so pleasant. Quentin Tarantino, how about trying out an UNCLE movie, as producer? I think you can do it!

I believe The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was made to cash in on the success of the James Bond success. It was certainly an interesting and camp show even if the actors and actresses looked like they were close to laughing at the show's ridiculousness at times.Robert Vaughan played Napoleon Solo (must have been bullied at school with a name like that) whilst British actor David McCallum played the Russian Ilya Kuryakin (what's this-a Russian and an American teaming up during the height of the cold war and a couple of years after the Cuban Missile Crisis?). Solo and Kuryakin worked for U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law Enforcement). U.N.C.L.E. was based in a secret HQ behind a dry-cleaners shop and Solo and Kuryakin received their orders from Mr Alexander Waverly played by the late Leo G. Carroll.If you thought James Bond was tongue in cheek, then this was even more tongue in cheek. Each week, Solo and Kuryakin armed with their array of gadgets battled the villains of T.H.R.U.S.H. who were more camp than any Bond villain you could come across. There were guest stars galore throughout the show and some of the craziest plots you could ever watch. The villains seemed to delight in torturing Solo and Kuryakin rather than just putting a bullet in their heads.Gadgets, fight scenes, total camp-that was The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and it was an awesome show.One more thing-T.H.R.U.S.H. stood for Technical Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humans. However, don't quote me on that.