UPS just delivered my birthday present to myself two days before the actual day. The complete Man From U.N.C.L.E. series. Much beyond my control, that young teenager locked inside gleefully dived in to open up and examine his prize.
It was one of my favorites when I was that uncertain teenager in the first bloom of puberty. Napoleon Solo was the American version of James Bond, everything that -nerdy kid(ouch) wasn’t, handsome, assured, a swell dresser(yes we talked like that), good looking women after him all the time.
105 episodes, the rarely seen color pilot(the first season was black and white), one of the feature films, and all the usual bells and whistles. It all comes packed in a nice little briefcase.
It certainly took them long enough. Over the years I’ve collected all the tie-ins: 23 paperback novels, 24 issues of the magazine, two hardcover novels, a Big-Little book, one by Walter Gibson(he of The Shadow fame), 7 issues of the Girl magazine, the two book Girl series, and the 4 book British Girl series. One last DVD is ordered and should be here in the next few days: The Return of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: The Fifteen Years Later Affair.
I’ve a feeling over the next couple of months, that twelve year old locked inside will be escaping all too frequently. I’m looking forward to it.
Not The Baseball Pitcher 
I had an awful crush on that Russian guy.
I was a huge U.N.C.L.E. fan as a kid, watched all the episodes numerous times, read all the books and magazine stories. When I watched the series again a few years ago, the first and fourth seasons hold up pretty well, the second not quite so much, and the third season didn’t seem very good at all. But all the books and magazine stories I’ve reread, I still liked.
I watched The Return Of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in the early eighties and thought it was great until an older relative in the room said “That was terrible. The old show was great.” I didn’t know what he was talking about and after that I caught the reruns and had to agree… Well happy birthday and enjoy your collection.
I look forward to reading your thoughts on the set.
Randy, first thing I did here (well, almost) was do a search for “Man from U.N.C.L.E.” It is, and remains, my favorite TV show of all time, even beyond “Star Trek.” It caught many of us at that most impressionable age, 11-14, and we imprinted on Solo and Illya. It helped that the show had a lacing of humor (not the camp stuff of Season Three), and that it was not about the Cold War, but about the struggle with the shadowy supra-nation Thrush. These things — and Vaughn’s & McCallum’s performances — have allowed the series to defy time and entropy. Have a look at my blog for commentaries/reviews on all 105 episodes, and the “Return” film.