The mid-1960's saw a proliferation of fantasy-oriented series, starting out in the domain of comedy, with 'Bewitched' and 'Dream of Jeanie.' 'Man From UNCLE' (MFU) is historic because it was the 1st major big budget dramatic fantasy series to capture an adult audience (Irwin Allen's big budget 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' also premiered in 1964, but it never gained an adult audience).
Besides being on the leading edge of the fantasy trend, MFU was one of the 1st TV series to utilize a truly cinematic approach to the photography of the scenes, which makes the series more interesting and exciting. MFU also featured some elaborate fight sequences, stunts, and car chase scenes...MFU resembles movies more than any TV series prior to it.
MFU also featured TV's first Beatle-haircut character, Ilya Kuryakin, who was quite popular with admirers of male beauty...it helped that David McCallum and co-star Robt. Vaughn were both very fine actors with high personal appeal and good screen chemistry...they set the bar for many other 1960's heroic TV duos, such as Kirk and Spock, West and Gordon, etc.
MFU was a ratings success and was appreciated by critics as well because of the dry banter and quasi-satirical touches (such as early episodes featuring an intro that broke the 4th wall). The success of MFU was a factor in the 1965-68 explosion of dramatic or quasi-dramatic fantasy TV shows: Mission Impossible, Wild Wild West, Time Tunnel, Lost in Space, the Invaders, Land of the Giants, etc.
Two hugely influential series, Star Trek, and Batman, both premiering in 1966, were also part of this trend. Star Trek, to a large extent, was basically MFU in outer space...especially Season Two. And Batman was an simply an exaggeration of the the spoof element of MFU.
Today, most popular cinematic and TV scifi owes something to Star Trek, and the whole superhero movie explosion that began in 2000 owes a debt to the 1966 Batman.
Another way MFU broke ground was in outright sexiness...compared to dramatic series before it, MFU had quite a lot of sexy stuff going on. But despite the sexual liberties, MFU never got political, except in the most oblique sense...perhaps mild satire of nations and politics in general, yet never getting anywhere near jabs at actual identifiable persons or institutions.
MFU's first season was the best...the producers were still experimenting with the format, the humor and satire were used with restraint, and the crisp B/W photography helped mute the cartoonish elements of the series and gave it a certain resemblance to film noir.
Subsequent seasons are generally enjoyable, but humor, satire, and camp increased in Season 2 and took over in Season 3. In Season 4, a new producer stepped in and the humor was greatly reduced and the camp eliminated...Season 4 is nearly as good as Season 1.
It was too late and MFU cancelled in early 1968. But, between 1968 and 1970, everything else from the mid-1960's fantasy explosion was also cancelled...my pet theory is that the sudden and irreversible evaporation of ratings for 'Batman' in '67-68 spooked everyone, causing them to flee the realm of fantasy as though it were a sinking ship...and no doubt, new trends were waiting to be mined.
Besides being on the leading edge of the fantasy trend, MFU was one of the 1st TV series to utilize a truly cinematic approach to the photography of the scenes, which makes the series more interesting and exciting. MFU also featured some elaborate fight sequences, stunts, and car chase scenes...MFU resembles movies more than any TV series prior to it.
MFU also featured TV's first Beatle-haircut character, Ilya Kuryakin, who was quite popular with admirers of male beauty...it helped that David McCallum and co-star Robt. Vaughn were both very fine actors with high personal appeal and good screen chemistry...they set the bar for many other 1960's heroic TV duos, such as Kirk and Spock, West and Gordon, etc.
MFU was a ratings success and was appreciated by critics as well because of the dry banter and quasi-satirical touches (such as early episodes featuring an intro that broke the 4th wall). The success of MFU was a factor in the 1965-68 explosion of dramatic or quasi-dramatic fantasy TV shows: Mission Impossible, Wild Wild West, Time Tunnel, Lost in Space, the Invaders, Land of the Giants, etc.
Two hugely influential series, Star Trek, and Batman, both premiering in 1966, were also part of this trend. Star Trek, to a large extent, was basically MFU in outer space...especially Season Two. And Batman was an simply an exaggeration of the the spoof element of MFU.
Today, most popular cinematic and TV scifi owes something to Star Trek, and the whole superhero movie explosion that began in 2000 owes a debt to the 1966 Batman.
Another way MFU broke ground was in outright sexiness...compared to dramatic series before it, MFU had quite a lot of sexy stuff going on. But despite the sexual liberties, MFU never got political, except in the most oblique sense...perhaps mild satire of nations and politics in general, yet never getting anywhere near jabs at actual identifiable persons or institutions.
MFU's first season was the best...the producers were still experimenting with the format, the humor and satire were used with restraint, and the crisp B/W photography helped mute the cartoonish elements of the series and gave it a certain resemblance to film noir.
Subsequent seasons are generally enjoyable, but humor, satire, and camp increased in Season 2 and took over in Season 3. In Season 4, a new producer stepped in and the humor was greatly reduced and the camp eliminated...Season 4 is nearly as good as Season 1.
It was too late and MFU cancelled in early 1968. But, between 1968 and 1970, everything else from the mid-1960's fantasy explosion was also cancelled...my pet theory is that the sudden and irreversible evaporation of ratings for 'Batman' in '67-68 spooked everyone, causing them to flee the realm of fantasy as though it were a sinking ship...and no doubt, new trends were waiting to be mined.