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DVD TV Show Reviews
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The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - The Complete Series
by Suzanne 11/2/08 |
My memory of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." was that it was the best
spy show ever made on U.S. TV. Therefore, it is surprising to learn that it only
lasted 4 seasons. It had many backstage problems that caused the quality of the
stories to change quite a bit in seasons 2-4. Nonetheless, it still remains the
best spy show and has legions of fans forty years later. This new box set froM
Warner Brothers will no doubt make fans very happy. The show was not available
for fans on DVD up until now, aside from a few episodes, so it is eagerly
awaited as well.
No one will be disappointed by this set. The DVD's come in a cool spy suitcase.
It appears to be made of cardboard, metal, and plastic, but it has the weight
and feel of a real suitcase and is very sturdy. Inside are four boxes, one for
each season. There are plenty of nice pictures of the cast, and there is a
little booklet inside each box, as well as the DVD's. Each box opens out like a
book, and each "page" has a DVD. It is a good way to house DVD's so that they
don't roll around or become easily damaged. Each booklet talks about that season
and lists all of the shows. Each season comes with its own extras disk. They
really did a nice job with this set on both the inside and outside. I sure wish
every great TV show could have a set like this that shows respect for the fan
and the show's history.
In case you do not know, Man from U.N.C.L.E. came about because of the success
of the James Bond movies. Both came about during the cold war and the world's
interest in spies. Unlike James Bond, and other spy tv shows, Man from U.N.C.L.E.
featured an international spy agency, not one that was from one country. The two
main agents were Solo, an American, and Kuryakin, a Russian (national enemies at
the time). Ian Fleming, who created James Bond, helped with creation of this
series. Ilya Kuryakin was given a Beatles-like haircut to appeal to young and
female fans (and he sure did). It was very much "of its time", but is not dated
like, say, the Mod Squad.
The first season was in black and white. It was a very serious show. A regular
every-day person was helped out by the spies. This way, the audience had someone
to identify with, and they could have many great guest-stars. Although the
series took place all over the world, it was filmed on one back lot in
Hollywood. It was a well-written show and had scripts written by excellent
writers such as scifi author Harlan Ellison. After the first season, however, it
became campy as they had new people running it. The show was canceled two years
later, but it did have a spinoff and many TV movies, as well as a reunion movie
later on.
You can learn about this and much more from all of the fabulous bonus disks in
the set! The show has also been digitally remastered, so it looks nice and clean
and new, and the show has closed-captioning for the hearing impaired. The extras
on the show are exhaustive and amazing. The show's two main stars are still
living, so they participated at length. You will find everything you ever wanted
to know about the show in all of these great features (too many here to list).
Any guy you know will love this set as a Christmas gift, but especially if they
are over 35. Any spy fan or cult TV fan will love it. You will love it! It's a
great set and not to be missed. I know that I speak for all fans when I say how
grateful we are to have the shows out finally on DVD, and also THANK YOU for the
great job done on the set!
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