Even more exciting than running home from school to watch the daily dose of DARK SHADOWS was having to wait a whole week for the next episode of THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. I was a bona fide spy-crazed teenager back then and you didn't have to look too hard for any number of secret agent TV shows on nearly every major TV network. The team of Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) were my favorites by a long shot. It's not a stretch to say that U.N.C.LE. was a smash hit. It's popularity reached "across the pond" as this TV magazine from the UK attests.
Included in this issue of WTVA PRESENTS PRIMETIME (Vol. 1, No. 8, Spring 1984) is a reminisce of a number of popular shows, including U.N.C.L.E., THE TWILIGHT ZONE,and THE PRISONER. Also included is an article by Kim Newman on the UK's creepy 1977 series SUPERNATURAL and features on THE INVADERS, gaslight (the old-fashioned streetlamp type) detective shows and a very interesting interview with Brian Clemens. Clemens was a Hammer Films director, screenwriter and TV producer who created and/or contributed to such cool British series like THE AVENGERS, DANGER MAN (which later became SECRET AGENT in the U.S.), THE PROTECTORS (starring Robert Vaughn!), the UK THRILLER series and THE PROFESSIONALS.
Time to open Channel-D and start reading!
I love vintage TV shows. I've always got some series in the rotation. The Man from UNCLE is a big fave.
ReplyDeleteThere were so many of them that were a blast to watch. These days it's reality TV and sitcoms that are vapid and rude. And how could a game show like Jeopardy get so controversial?
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