| The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | |
|---|---|
 Title screen from The Man from U.N.C.L.E | |
| Format | television series |
| Creator(s) | Norman Felton, Ian Fleming, Sam Rolfe |
| Company | NBC |
| Run dates | 22 Sept 1964 - 25 Jan 1968 |
| Genres | spy, action/adventure |
| Country of origin | USA |
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. The protagonists, Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) are a team of troubleshooters who work for U.N.C.L.E., a fictional secret international law-enforcement agency. (The acronym stands for "the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement".) Their immediate superior is Alexander Waverly (Leo G. Carroll), the British head of U.N.C.L.E.
U.N.C.L.E.'s archenemy is a vast organization known as THRUSH, whose aim is to conquer the world. So dangerous is the threat posed by THRUSH that even the most ideologically opposed countries, such as the United States and the USSR, cooperated in the formation and operation of U.N.C.L.E. Therefore, although The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was produced at the height of the Cold War, U.N.C.L.E. contrasts with the nationalistic organizations of the CIA and James Bond's MI6. It is a worldwide organization with agents from all corners of the globe. Indeed, one of the protagonists is American, the other Russian.
The cover of the original prospectus for the series shows the title Ian Fleming's Solo; and the book The James Bond Films reveals that Fleming created the initial TV concept, which had two characters: Napoleon Solo and April Dancer (who eventually became the protagonist in a spin-off series, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.). Executive producer Norman Felton assisted in developing the character of Napoleon Solo, who was originally slated to be the star of the series (hence the only "Man" in its title). It was producer Sam Rolfe who created the organization of U.N.C.L.E. He also added the character of Illya Kuryakin, as a Russian U.N.C.L.E. agent to play off Napoleon Solo, who was American. Initially, Kuryakin was a walk-on part; but the character was immediately popular fire with fans, and the two were permanently paired.
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article on The Man from U.N.C.L.E..