Is This Something?

The Man From U.N.C.L.E., separating itself from a bazillion other action series reboots by keeping to the original sixties setting.

Guy Ritchie directs. Even average Guy Ritchie (as in Sherlock Holmes 2) is better than most directors.

Oh, and if this all seems like a James Bond parody/ripoff, well, it is and it isn't -- Ian Fleming developed concepts for the show when networks asked him to help develop it. The networks were obviously seeking to cash in on the Bond craze. So, while it is a ripoff, it's Bond's creator ripping himself off, which is... well, still a ripoff, but kind of allowed.

You might notice Fleming borrowed a name of a thug in Goldfinger -- "Solo" -- for the hero in this.

Ian Fleming was in court an awful lot over Bond:

Filmed in color from late November to early December 1963 with locations at a Lever Brothers soap factory in California, the show was originally Ian Fleming's Solo and later just Solo. However, in February 1964 a law firm representing James Bond movie producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli demanded an end to the use of Fleming’s name in connection with the series and an end to use of the name and character "Solo", "Napoleon Solo" and "Mr. Solo". At that time filming was under way for the Bond movie Goldfinger, in which Martin Benson was playing a supporting character named "Mr. Solo". The claim was the name "Solo" had been sold to them by Fleming, and Fleming could not again use it. Within five days Fleming had signed an affidavit that nothing in the Solo pilot infringed any of his Bond characters, but the threat of legal action resulted in a settlement in which the name Napoleon Solo could be kept but the title of the show had to change.

That's from Wikipedia. I'm surprised they didn't sue him over the villainous organization T.H.R.U.S.H. -- which sounds a lot like S.P.E.C.T.R.E -- but that angle would involve a lot of lawsuits with other people, too.

Also from Wikipedia, this bit of trivia. You know who this young child actor is?

Answer in white font (hold-scroll over it to see the answer): That right there is Kurt Russell.

I never saw this show, by the way. Not even once. I know about it because, secret confession, I was really into the Top Secret Role Playing Game, and the Dragon Magazine had a reprint once where they gave the stats of all the big fictional spies of movies and TV. So I really only know the Man from Uncle from that article.

Which is actually available on line, as part of a full scan of the full issue. It starts on page 10.

Nerd joy!

Anyway, looks stylish and fun.

Gardening Thread below.

Posted by: Ace at 03:02 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Wrong Ace.

That's Brian Dennehy.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 11, 2015 03:02 PM (Zu3d9)

2 looks like he nailed it imo

Posted by: The Dude at July 11, 2015 03:02 PM (SyKbw)

3 Jungle Boy.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at July 11, 2015 03:04 PM (W5DcG)

4
Fleming named both Napoleon Solo and April Dancer, although the latter was originally intended as a secretary rather than The Girl From UNCLE.

Posted by: NCC at July 11, 2015 03:06 PM (pbVnt)

5 Kurt Russell

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 03:06 PM (VPLuQ)

6 Kurt Russell

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 03:06 PM (VPLuQ)

7 Kurt Russell appeared in ton of movies and TV shows in the 1960s. He's one of the few child actors that successfully made the transition to adult roles.

Posted by: Gideon7 at July 11, 2015 03:07 PM (gYAkw)

8 Cavill seems a bit wooden. But...the chicks are all hot, so I will probably watch this with great glee.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 11, 2015 03:07 PM (Zu3d9)

9 yep, Russell was Disney's IT person in the 60's and early 70's

Posted by: The Dude at July 11, 2015 03:07 PM (SyKbw)

10 I also remember Bill Cosby, in the series "I Spy".

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 03:08 PM (VPLuQ)

11

who is Emma Peel?

who can don the plastic cat suit

Posted by: ThunderB at July 11, 2015 03:09 PM (zOTsN)

12

Emma Peel was the original cool girl, in every way

awesome clothes, kept her head, a bad ass

un gettable

Posted by: ThunderB at July 11, 2015 03:10 PM (zOTsN)

13 Ace, you never saw The Man From UNCLE? OMG! What were you doing as a kid? Or was it that much before your time?

Posted by: elaine at July 11, 2015 03:10 PM (Y0Piu)

14 oh boo. That's the avengers

Posted by: ThunderB at July 11, 2015 03:10 PM (zOTsN)

15 In 1966, Walt Disney wrote down Kurt Russell's name on a notepad just before he died. Nobody knows why.

Posted by: Gideon7 at July 11, 2015 03:11 PM (gYAkw)

16 "... was really into the Top Secret Role Playing Game, and the Dragon Magazine had a reprint ..."
----

Nerd alert!

I loved Dragon Magazine. Used to play Snit Smashers on lunch break #HighSchoolVirgin

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at July 11, 2015 03:12 PM (jR7Wy)

17 Not gonna lie, that looks pretty damn good. Especially the lass sashaying in her skivvies towards the end.

Posted by: pep at July 11, 2015 03:13 PM (LAe3v)

18 who was emma peel? Well the dossier in Dragon Magazine says...

NAME: Peel, Emma.

AFFILIATION: British Ministry of Defence.

COMMANDER: "Mother".

NOTEWORTHY ACQUAINTANCES: John Steed.

MARITAL STATUS: Married to famous explorer Peter Peel, long thought dead, who recently returned from the Amazon jungles.

CITIZENSHIP: Great Britain.

SEX: Female.

BUILD: Slender, tall, well-proportioned.

HAIR: Long, dark -- varies from reddish to black.

DISTINGUISHING MARKS: None known.

LANGUAGES: Chiefly English, familiar with others.

PERSONALITY TRAITS: Brisk, outgoing, emancipated.

HABITS OR VICES: Sheer love of adventure.

DISTINGUISHING TALENTS OR ABILITIES: Independently wealthy, crack shot, fashionable dress, fences, some alcohol use; knows some judo and karate; excellent driver, often drives an MG (met John Steed in minor traffic accident).

WEAPONS: Standard firearms, some martial arts, fencing and swordplay.

CONCLUSION: This lovely woman is quite possibly the most dangerous female alive (KGB file cautions "handle with extreme care" on Steed, and "do not handle at all" on Peel). She is extraordinarily charming and intelligent -- approach with caution.

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:13 PM (bhepQ)

19 >>>ce, you never saw The Man From UNCLE? OMG! What were you doing as a kid? Or was it that much before your time?

before my time. I did see like five minutes of it on TVLand or one of those old-tv-show-stations a while ago; it seemed kind of lame and I turned it off.

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:14 PM (bhepQ)

20 Ben Carson starring in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. T.O.M.

Posted by: Cruzinator at July 11, 2015 03:14 PM (4SgJh)

21 Kind of tired of Brits playing Americans though. His accent drop-out was a giveaway. Payback for Downey as Sherlock?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at July 11, 2015 03:15 PM (jR7Wy)

22
Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:14 PM (bhepQ)

if you can get over the cheese, it's an awesome show. Warner put out a very nice collection of it on dvd

Posted by: The Dude at July 11, 2015 03:16 PM (SyKbw)

23 I'm available and I can do a British accent!

Posted by: Burt Reynolds at July 11, 2015 03:17 PM (LXGhS)

24 Wasn't Get Smart a parody of UNCLE?

Posted by: Cruzinator at July 11, 2015 03:17 PM (4SgJh)

25 agent 99:

NAME: Hilton, Susan.

CODE NUMBER: 99. (For organizational
information see Smart, Maxwell.)

COVER: Secretary to The Chief (alias Howard Clark).

CITIZENSHIP: United States of America.

SEX: Female.

BUILD: Slim, well-proportioned.

EYES: Brown.

HAIR: Brunette, variable length.

DISTINGUISHING MARKS: None known.

LANGUAGES: Chiefly English.

PERSONALITY TRAITS: Levelheaded, bright, well-controlled emotions; occasional jealousy of other
women.

HABITS OR VICES: None known.

DISTINGUISHING TALENTS OR ABILITIES: Strong, good boxing knowledge, can knock a man out with one punch; knows basics of martial arts; may know more than Maxwell Smart on most subjects; cares greatly about
Smart; communicates via lipstick and compact.

WEAPONS: Rarely uses standard weapons; fair shot; good with fists; some knowledge of martial arts.

CONCLUSION: This attractive woman is competent in most everything she attempts. She is both bright and beautiful and should be approached with caution

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:18 PM (bhepQ)

26 Man from U.N.C.L.E. was friggin' awesome! My favorite show as a kid.

Posted by: Diogenes at July 11, 2015 03:18 PM (08Znv)

27 Wasn't Get Smart a parody of UNCLE?

Posted by: Cruzinator at July 11, 2015 03:17 PM (4SgJh)

Get Smart was a parody of the spy genre in general

Posted by: The Dude at July 11, 2015 03:19 PM (SyKbw)

28 Kingsman was something. But from the trailer this looks like it could be a good fun romp.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 11, 2015 03:19 PM (dZtj4)

29 Emma Peel is now on Game of Thrones. Sadly, no longer hot.

Posted by: Ostral B Heretic at July 11, 2015 03:20 PM (oSyzy)

30 21
Kind of tired of Brits playing Americans though. His accent drop-out was a giveaway. Payback for Downey as Sherlock?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage

After Carrie Fisher's on-again, off-again "British" accent in Star Wars, we owe the Brits a debt we can never repay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZzmpJQzzQo

Posted by: pep at July 11, 2015 03:21 PM (LAe3v)

31 ace, if you'd go the other way, you'd find Reynolds, Burt in there.

I know it was written up with modesty in mind but you can quote it. I won't mind!

Posted by: Burt Reynolds at July 11, 2015 03:22 PM (LXGhS)

32 Don't know anything about the original, never saw. Trailer is sorta okay.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at July 11, 2015 03:22 PM (/3xoD)

33 Robert Vaughn looks painfully bored in everything he's in.

Posted by: Pappy O'Daniel at July 11, 2015 03:23 PM (oVJmc)

34 What white font? OK who is it?

Posted by: Nip Sip at July 11, 2015 03:24 PM (0FSuD)

35 After Carrie Fisher's on-again, off-again "British" accent in Star Wars, we owe the Brits a debt we can never repay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZzmpJQzzQo
Posted by: pep at July 11, 2015 03:21 PM (LAe3v)
---
I'd say that's more of a throwback to the mid-Atlantic theatre accent used in the serials Lucas was paying homage to. So, no, the debt is erased.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at July 11, 2015 03:24 PM (jR7Wy)

36 Might be able to hold up against Robert Vaughn's Napoleon Solo, but they've got to go a long way to beat David McCallum as Illya.

Posted by: TB at July 11, 2015 03:25 PM (8u/5i)

37 The remake of Point Break looks like something.

Posted by: Cruzinator at July 11, 2015 03:25 PM (4SgJh)

38 >>>What white font? OK who is it?

kurt russell. several got it upthread

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:25 PM (bhepQ)

39 Robert Vaughn looks like Joey Tribbiani.
or vice versa.

Posted by: OneEyedJack at July 11, 2015 03:25 PM (XmOA9)

40 24
Wasn't Get Smart a parody of UNCLE?

Posted by: Cruzinator at July 11, 2015 03:17 PM (4SgJh)

Yeah, I think so. They both sucked.

Posted by: Nip Sip at July 11, 2015 03:26 PM (0FSuD)

41 Who could possibly be the new Keanu? What talent! Talk about lightning in a bottle!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at July 11, 2015 03:26 PM (jR7Wy)

42 Just did some checking to to make sure I identified a plane correctly and there is a possible continuity glitch in that trailer. The airplane tail seen on the carrier is a Hawker Sea Hawk. They were withdrawn from front line service in December 1960.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 11, 2015 03:27 PM (dZtj4)

43 >>>They were withdrawn from front line service in December 1960.

good catch but... was the plane being used by the armed forces, or by UNCLE? UNCLE could have uses for a discontinued plane.

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:29 PM (bhepQ)

44 "Robert Vaughn looks painfully bored in everything he's in."

Ya know, that's a point. I think about it and Vaughn was always in trouble, on the run, etc. Never a happy, positive character.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at July 11, 2015 03:29 PM (/3xoD)

45 Kurt Russell still looks the same.

Posted by: Pappy O'Daniel at July 11, 2015 03:29 PM (oVJmc)

46 So Emma Peel one of proves that the claims of bad ass hot chick that beats up guys is not some new thing.

Posted by: Buzzion at July 11, 2015 03:29 PM (zt+N6)

47 >>>Yeah, I think so. They both sucked.

pretty sure Get Smart was a parody of Bond.

The Bond craze was huge. some of these homages/parodies were also popular, but no one does an homage of a sorta-popular homage. You do the homage of the Huge Original Craze.

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:30 PM (bhepQ)

48 "Open Channel D."

Posted by: eman at July 11, 2015 03:31 PM (MQEz6)

49 kurt russell. several got it upthread

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:25 PM (bhepQ)

Yeah, sorry, I read the comments after I posted, because, I am a moron.

Posted by: Nip Sip at July 11, 2015 03:31 PM (0FSuD)

50 10 I also remember Bill Cosby, in the series "I Spy".
Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 03:08 PM (VPLuQ)

I think that was one of the first shows to feature a black main character.

Posted by: rickl at July 11, 2015 03:31 PM (sdi6R)

51 MFUNCLE was Bond-lite.

Every kid in my neighborhood wanted to be Illya Kuryakin.

Posted by: eman at July 11, 2015 03:32 PM (MQEz6)

52 I think that was one of the first shows to feature a black main character.

Posted by: rickl at July 11, 2015 03:31 PM (sdi6R)

yep

Posted by: The Dude at July 11, 2015 03:33 PM (SyKbw)

53 mike meyers would love this thread because he's into all these bond homages.

There's a sound effect that's played when he answers his carphone -- that sound effect is from the James Coburn "American James Bond" parody/homage In Like Flint.

in fact, austin powers is only partly based on Bond. he's based a lot on Bond parodies/homages -- Dean Martin's Matt Helm, and Michael Caine's Harry Palmer (I think -- Ipcress File?).

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:33 PM (bhepQ)

54 Off damned sock with the mustache!

Posted by: Sasquatch, the trans-Wookie Original at July 11, 2015 03:34 PM (LXGhS)

55 >>>Every kid in my neighborhood wanted to be Illya Kuryakin.

was he like the Spock of the show?

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:34 PM (bhepQ)

56 Kurt Russell.

What a guy.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at July 11, 2015 03:34 PM (/3xoD)

57 wish Caine would get more respect in the States for being a bad ass

Posted by: The Dude at July 11, 2015 03:35 PM (SyKbw)

58 I think that was one of the first shows to feature a black main character.

Posted by: rickl at July 11, 2015 03:31 PM (sdi6R)

I believe that's right. He learned about roofies on the show.

Posted by: Nip Sip at July 11, 2015 03:35 PM (0FSuD)

59 Last front line unit in the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm to fly Sea Hawks was 806 Sqn. It lingered in the reserves until the mid 60s. By 1969 was completely out of British service.

The plane was also exported to Holland, West Germany, and India. India did not retire the plane until 1983.

So it all depends upon what year the movie is set.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 11, 2015 03:35 PM (dZtj4)

60 >>>I think that was one of the first shows to feature a black main character.

one of the first shows to feature a real on-screen rape, too.

Posted by: Bill Cosby, Ed. D., Temple University at July 11, 2015 03:35 PM (bhepQ)

61 was he like the Spock of the show?

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:34 PM (bhepQ)

not close, he was the roughneck bad ass of the show

Posted by: The Dude at July 11, 2015 03:36 PM (SyKbw)

62 I Spy was a better show.

The story of how Emma Peel got her name is cool.

Posted by: eman at July 11, 2015 03:36 PM (MQEz6)

63 >>>not close, he was the roughneck bad ass of the show

was he quiet and cool-headed, like spock?

And btw, spock could kick Kirk's ass easily, so he was sort of the badass there. (Though a reserved, Zen-type badass.)

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:37 PM (bhepQ)

64 wish Caine would get more respect in the States for being a bad ass
Posted by: The Dude at July 11, 2015 03:35 PM (SyKbw)
---
I just got my Netflix DVD of "The Man Who Would Be King" starring Caine and fellow badass Sean Connery, the only Bond who matters. Danny Dravot and Peachy Carnahan FTW!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at July 11, 2015 03:37 PM (jR7Wy)

65 "was he quiet and cool-headed, like spock? "

Yes... the stoic russian

Posted by: Phil at July 11, 2015 03:38 PM (39FGM)

66 All Hail Eris they also had good source material - Kipling.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 11, 2015 03:38 PM (dZtj4)

67 >>>The story of how Emma Peel got her name is cool.

i know this story. "We need Male Appeal in this new character (to replace the outgoing female lead, who was the lead in Goldfinger, Honor Blackman)."

This got shortened to "M. Appeal" and then one day someone just noticed that made a name and said "Emma Peel."

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:38 PM (bhepQ)

68 i kinda think that story is apocryphal though. stories like that tend to turn out to be bullshit.

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:39 PM (bhepQ)

69 All Hail Eris they also had good source material - Kipling.
Posted by: Anna Puma at July 11, 2015 03:38 PM (dZtj4)
---
Yes, I'e been rereading my dusty old copy of his short stories and it was remarkably faithful.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at July 11, 2015 03:39 PM (jR7Wy)

70
Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:37 PM (bhepQ)

he was quiet but he'd rather throw you through a wall than talk to you. Solo was the suave one while Kuryakin was the muscle

Posted by: The Dude at July 11, 2015 03:39 PM (SyKbw)

71
61 was he like the Spock of the show?

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:34 PM (bhepQ)

not close, he was the roughneck bad ass of the show
Posted by: The Dude at July 11, 2015 03:36 PM (SyKbw)

He was exotic and made the girls swoon.

I think he was former KGB so he had that alien and former enemy vibe going for him, too.

Posted by: eman at July 11, 2015 03:40 PM (MQEz6)

72 What's this thread about now?

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at July 11, 2015 03:40 PM (/3xoD)

73 Robert Vaughn is the last of the Magnificent Seven, the only one still alive.

Posted by: Mark1971 at July 11, 2015 03:41 PM (vaR50)

74 No one knows what Illya Kuryakin does when he goes home at night.

Posted by: David McCallum, the other Man. at July 11, 2015 03:41 PM (IQI2h)

75 I never saw Man from UNCLE either. All we had for after school syndication back in the 70's was Gilligan Island and Star Trek.

Posted by: lowandslow at July 11, 2015 03:41 PM (dItuC)

76 57: Michael Caine in Get Carter is outstanding. A gritty, nasty little film.

Posted by: Puddleglum at July 11, 2015 03:41 PM (SSa0Q)

77 Every kid in my neighborhood wanted to be Illya Kuryakin.

Posted by: eman

In my younger days but after MfU's run, people told me I looked like David McCallum, which I took to be a good thing (I was pre teen when MfU was on). More recently, I've been told I resemble the Professor in Good Will Hunting (Stellan Skarsgard) or Albert Einstein.

I can't find a common thread among those faces.

Posted by: pep at July 11, 2015 03:42 PM (LAe3v)

78 Ah, shit. I think I fcuked up.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at July 11, 2015 03:42 PM (/3xoD)

79 They still owe us for Kenneth Branagh's transcontinental "American" accent in "Dead Again". Dude could travel 1500 miles in one sentence.

Posted by: Richard McEnroe at July 11, 2015 03:42 PM (Kucy5)

80 You know who this young child actor is?

The guy from Herman's Hermits.

Posted by: that guy who sucks at guessing at July 11, 2015 03:43 PM (K3wMz)

81 He was exotic and made the girls swoon.

Boy, howdy. I remember my sister and her friends waxing rhapsodic about him.

Posted by: pep at July 11, 2015 03:43 PM (LAe3v)

82 >>>hey still owe us for Kenneth Branagh's transcontinental "American" accent in "Dead Again". Dude could travel 1500 miles in one sentence.

hah, funny line

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 03:43 PM (bhepQ)

83 "Robert Vaughn is the last of the Magnificent Seven, the only one still alive."

Mark worthy.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at July 11, 2015 03:44 PM (/3xoD)

84 Here is the plane in question I bet

http://www.royalnavyhistoricflight.org.uk/aircraft/seahawk.htm

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 11, 2015 03:44 PM (dZtj4)

85 >>>You know who this young child actor is?

Leona Helmsely?

Posted by: guy who guesses without reading the question or looking at the picture at July 11, 2015 03:44 PM (bhepQ)

86 re: Peel and Avengers,,,

When ABC picked up the Avengers for stateside primetime viewing, they canceled the american badass girl Honey West (Anne Francis), because america couldn't be bothered with more than one leather wearing, high kicking, gun toting chicks....

Posted by: Phil at July 11, 2015 03:45 PM (39FGM)

87 72
What's this thread about now?

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at July 11, 2015 03:40 PM (/3xoD)

The guns used in 60's spy shows? It's a good guess.

Posted by: Nip Sip at July 11, 2015 03:46 PM (0FSuD)

88 You know who this young child actor is?

General Ordo from Beneath the Planet of the Apes?

Posted by: guy who really likes Planet of the Apes at July 11, 2015 03:46 PM (bhepQ)

89 88 You know who this young child actor is?

General Ordo from Beneath the Planet of the Apes?

------------------------

Silly you! It was me. Didn't you see the mustache?

Posted by: Burt Reynolds at July 11, 2015 03:49 PM (LXGhS)

90 83
"Robert Vaughn is the last of the Magnificent Seven, the only one still alive."

Mark worthy.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at July 11, 2015 03:44 PM (/3xoD)

Wow, now that's some good trivia. What a cool flick, a copy of some famous Jap flick, which I can not remember.

Posted by: Nip Sip at July 11, 2015 03:51 PM (0FSuD)

91 The trailer looks good. I get the same vibe as I did from "The Kingsmen: Secret Service", which I really enjoyed.

Posted by: Captain Whitebread (Face For Radio, Voice For Print) at July 11, 2015 03:51 PM (rJUlF)

92 I figured out the 1897 airship mystery in the sidebar.

Somebody invented a time machine, but it was crude and could only go back and forth a couple of decades. He traveled to 1915, commandeered a zeppelin, and went back to 1897.

Posted by: rickl at July 11, 2015 03:51 PM (sdi6R)

93 What a cool flick, a copy of some famous Jap flick, which I can not remember.

Posted by: Nip Sip at July 11, 2015 03:51 PM (0FSuD)

really?

Posted by: The Dude at July 11, 2015 03:52 PM (SyKbw)

94 @83

I guess being the chicken shit actor in the flick paid off?

Posted by: Nip Sip at July 11, 2015 03:52 PM (0FSuD)

95 For some reason Hollywood has not made a movie version of The Time Tunnel.

Posted by: eman at July 11, 2015 03:52 PM (MQEz6)

96 You mean Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai???

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 11, 2015 03:54 PM (dZtj4)

97 White-font

Used to also be known as invisifont.

While left clicking, drag your curser to the right, over the area. Same method as when you highlight text for cut and paste.
Text will be revealed in the colored background field caused by the highlighting effect.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 03:56 PM (VPLuQ)

98 92 I figured out the 1897 airship mystery in the sidebar.

Somebody invented a time machine, but it was crude and could only go back and forth a couple of decades. He traveled to 1915, commandeered a zeppelin, and went back to 1897.
Posted by: rickl at July 11, 2015 03:51 PM (sdi6R)
----
This needs to be made into a movie NOW. And then the zeppelin flashes forward to 2015.

It would be the perfect gestalt of corsets, airships, and rockets.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at July 11, 2015 03:57 PM (jR7Wy)

99
I keep telling people to watch the 6 x 20 min episodes of The Spoils Before Dying which is a spoof on film noir and very well done.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 11, 2015 03:59 PM (iQIUe)

100 rEMEmber NUmBEr 6 in ThE PRisonEr?

Posted by: Cloydwing Plover at July 11, 2015 04:00 PM (YFw5T)

101 Man from UNCLE is on Sunday nights on MeTV.
I can understand why younger folks don't care for it.
I grew up with these shows. They were of another time and space. As am I.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at July 11, 2015 04:00 PM (W5DcG)

102 I must be getting old but all of the new starlets seem interchangeable, I can't tell one from another. Hot sure, but they all look the same.

Posted by: lowandslow at July 11, 2015 04:00 PM (dItuC)

103 rickl, you mean the time machine inventor can only jump a few decades at a time?

Can he stop at 1946 Kingman, AZ with a whole wad of cash? Though fitting a P-51D into the time machine might be difficult.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 11, 2015 04:00 PM (dZtj4)

104 @93

Yep. The Seven Samurai.

http://tinyurl.com/nlybvoz

Posted by: Nip Sip at July 11, 2015 04:01 PM (0FSuD)

105 A Fistful Of Dollars was also based on a Kurosawa movie, Yojimbo.

Posted by: Mark1971 at July 11, 2015 04:02 PM (vaR50)

106 Can he stop at 1946 Kingman, AZ with a whole wad of cash? Though fitting a P-51D into the time machine might be difficult.
Posted by: Anna Puma at July 11, 2015 04:00 PM (dZtj4)
---
Or 1947 Roswell, NM and reverse-engineer some even more cutting edge technology.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at July 11, 2015 04:02 PM (jR7Wy)

107 If you use HULU, lots of the old stuff is available.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 04:03 PM (VPLuQ)

108 >>> A Fistful Of Dollars was also based on a Kurosawa movie, Yojimbo.

i was hoping someone would say that.

That is true, but I'm going to have to take credit back for America, because Yojimbo itself is based on the American noir master Dashielle Hammet's Red Harvest.

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 04:04 PM (bhepQ)

109 Lots of old stuff on youtube that can be downloaded and converted to a format you can play on your television with a usb drive. There are 100s of old film noir movies, too.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 11, 2015 04:05 PM (iQIUe)

110 For a bunch of morons, we sure know a lot of shit.

Posted by: Nip Sip at July 11, 2015 04:06 PM (0FSuD)

111 That is true, but I'm going to have to take credit back for America,
because Yojimbo itself is based on the American noir master Dashielle
Hammet's Red Harvest.

Which was itself an homage to Jerry' Lewis' "The Nutty Professor".

Posted by: pep at July 11, 2015 04:06 PM (LAe3v)

112 101

There are classic shows I love, even though they were way before my time (I'm a big fan of MeTV).

I record shows from that channel to watch later, because there's very little I want to watch that's currently produced.

Posted by: Captain Whitebread (Face For Radio, Voice For Print) at July 11, 2015 04:06 PM (rJUlF)

113 Hot guy, suits, period piece and spy stuff?

Yeah, I'll totally see this.

Posted by: Lea at July 11, 2015 04:07 PM (vmMMi)

114 First!

Posted by: Maxwell Smart at July 11, 2015 04:07 PM (VAsIq)

115 Missed it by that much.

Posted by: Maxwell Smart at July 11, 2015 04:07 PM (VAsIq)

116 Ace of you haven't checked out the Star Wars reel from comic-con that they put out yesterday you should. It's a big fuck you to George Lucas and his cgi bloated green screen set prequels

Posted by: Buzzion at July 11, 2015 04:08 PM (JZ706)

117 115
(slow clap)

Posted by: Captain Whitebread (Face For Radio, Voice For Print) at July 11, 2015 04:08 PM (rJUlF)

118 Which was itself an homage to Jerry' Lewis' "The Nutty Professor".

Posted by: pep

Which, of course, is based on Homer's Odyssey.

Posted by: Cultural Anthropologist at July 11, 2015 04:08 PM (VAsIq)

119 haha to Maxwell smart.

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 04:09 PM (bhepQ)

120 101 Man from UNCLE is on Sunday nights on MeTV. I can understand why younger folks don't care for it. I grew up with these shows. They were of another time and space. As am I.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at July 11, 2015 04:00 PM (W5DcG)

Same here. I used to like it when I was a kid, but it - along with pretty much all other shows from that era - now strikes me as incredibly cheesy. For one thing, everything is obviously filmed in LA, and on a shoestring budget.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at July 11, 2015 04:09 PM (oKE6c)

121 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTNJ51ghzdY

Real sets. Practical effects.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at July 11, 2015 04:10 PM (jR7Wy)

122 A few months ago on DM they had a story about the Rosenberg trial and all the comments were about the neat suits men wore then. These people werent rich but they all had nicely tailored suits.

And in the film noir flicks that when you beat some one up, you did it in a nice suit, tie, and fedora. Now the assholes assaulting you cant even keep their pants up. smh

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 11, 2015 04:10 PM (iQIUe)

123 I had never heard of Red Harvest. I'm going to check it out.

Posted by: Mark1971 at July 11, 2015 04:10 PM (vaR50)

124 Which, of course, is based on Homer's Odyssey.
Posted by: Cultural Anthropologist at July 11, 2015 04:08 PM (VAsIq)

Which is based on some drawings I made in my cave just the other day.

Posted by: Fred Flintstone at July 11, 2015 04:10 PM (rJUlF)

125 Would you believe this site is going to get a massive, cutting-edge redesign in just two weeks?

no?

Would you believe that the comments pages will allow pictures and HTML in a month?

No?

Well, how about ads on the comment pages?

Posted by: Maxwell Smart at July 11, 2015 04:10 PM (bhepQ)

126 Ilya Kuryakin later went on to medical school and got a long term position as a forensic pathologist for the Naval Criminal Investigative Services under a different name.

Posted by: Muldoon, a solid man at July 11, 2015 04:11 PM (NeFrd)

127 if I'm right about how old ace is, he'd remember the original Mod Squad, but can't recall much specific

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at July 11, 2015 04:11 PM (Cq0oW)

128
We use to write Man From UNCLE stories. Each kid would write a page.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 11, 2015 04:11 PM (iQIUe)

129 "Which, of course, is based on Homer's Odyssey."

Which oddly enough, was based on the book of Genesis.
Later to be filmed, with Brian Dennehey starring as the Garden of Eden.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 04:12 PM (VPLuQ)

130 And in the film noir flicks that when you beat some
one up, you did it in a nice suit, tie, and fedora. Now the assholes
assaulting you cant even keep their pants up. smh

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 11, 2015 04:10 PM (iQIUe)

Those movies come from the BHGS era: Before Holding Guns Sideways.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at July 11, 2015 04:12 PM (oKE6c)

131 There's more public-domain classic TV at Retrovision, for those of you looking for that sort of thing.

Posted by: Captain Whitebread at July 11, 2015 04:12 PM (rJUlF)

132 Ace is 29

Posted by: Buzzion at July 11, 2015 04:13 PM (JZ706)

133 Speaking of old shows (or am I going OT?), I always loved "The Untouchables."

Posted by: Jay Guevara at July 11, 2015 04:13 PM (oKE6c)

134 Which oddly enough, was based on the book of Genesis.
Later to be filmed, with Brian Dennehey starring as the Garden of Eden.
Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 04:12 PM (VPLuQ)

Ahem.
As long as we're talking original sources....

Posted by: God (or a reasonable facsimile) at July 11, 2015 04:13 PM (rJUlF)

135 122
A few months ago on DM they had a story about the Rosenberg trial and
all the comments were about the neat suits men wore then. These people
werent rich but they all had nicely tailored suits.

I always marvel at the men in the soup lines in the 30's. All in suits with hats.
http://tinyurl.com/neetvhy

Even crooks and bums dressed up more then than our current hipsters.

Posted by: Nip Sip at July 11, 2015 04:14 PM (0FSuD)

136 And a Stormtrooper with a flamethrower.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 11, 2015 04:14 PM (dZtj4)

137 Wild Wild West was really a western Sci-fi.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 04:14 PM (VPLuQ)

138 No discussion of 60s spy series is complete without The Wild Wild West.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 11, 2015 04:14 PM (LImiJ)

139 Which is based on some drawings I made in my cave just the other day.

Posted by: Fred Flintstone

Which is all inside a snowglobe....

Posted by: St. Elsewhere at July 11, 2015 04:14 PM (VAsIq)

140 I always liked the ending of Dragnet where they were taking the booking photo. LOL

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 11, 2015 04:15 PM (iQIUe)

141 133
We're past 100 posts, so I'm assuming it's OK.

Even though it aired before I was born, I love "Naked City". Found out about it staying up way too late one night watching MeTV.

Posted by: God (or a reasonable facsimile) at July 11, 2015 04:15 PM (rJUlF)

142 Those movies come from the BHGS era: Before Holding Guns Sideways.

Posted by: Jay Guevara

In lots of the old flicks (e.g. Bogart), they held the revolver at their belts.

Posted by: pep at July 11, 2015 04:15 PM (LAe3v)

143 132
Ace is 29

Posted by: Buzzion at July 11, 2015 04:13 PM (JZ706)

What is that in ewok years?

Posted by: Nip Sip at July 11, 2015 04:15 PM (0FSuD)

144 "The Great White Snark "

*fist bump*

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 04:15 PM (VPLuQ)

145 Ritchie sucks and this movie will fail. Most people of moviegoing age don't remember UNCLE and won't care.

Posted by: James Lingk at July 11, 2015 04:15 PM (Bcqod)

146 Which is all inside a snowglobe....
Posted by: St. Elsewhere at July 11, 2015 04:14 PM (VAsIq)

...in a van, down by the river!

Posted by: Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker at July 11, 2015 04:16 PM (rJUlF)

147 Even though it aired before I was born, I love "Naked City".

Posted by: God

When, exactly, were you born?

Posted by: Turd Ferguson at July 11, 2015 04:16 PM (VAsIq)

148 >>> Ace is 29

well, I *will be* 29 in a few months

Posted by: ace with the old joke, which I stole from somewhere so long ago I forget where at July 11, 2015 04:16 PM (bhepQ)

149 147

1966.

Posted by: Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker at July 11, 2015 04:16 PM (rJUlF)

150 When, exactly, were you born?

Posted by: Turd Ferguson

Which time?

Posted by: God at July 11, 2015 04:16 PM (LAe3v)

151 In like Flint wad some good parody moments as well.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 04:16 PM (VPLuQ)

152 Off, government-cheese-eating sock!

Posted by: Captain Whitebread at July 11, 2015 04:17 PM (rJUlF)

153 In lots of the old flicks (e.g. Bogart), they held the revolver at their belts.

Posted by: pep

Showing off their elbows.

Posted by: Turd Ferguson at July 11, 2015 04:17 PM (VAsIq)

154 >>>We're past 100 posts, so I'm assuming it's OK.

you can go OT in pretty much all my threads whenever you like, unless it's a freestanding original piece (no linking, just me writing), in which case i want about 60 clean posts just so I can see if people liked it or not.

A piece like this took ten minutes. no investment = I don't care when you go OT

Posted by: ace with the old joke, which I stole from somewhere so long ago I forget where at July 11, 2015 04:18 PM (bhepQ)

155 I remember watching Naked City for the first time when I was a kid. And yes, I was watching it for the naked people and was sorely disappointed.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 11, 2015 04:18 PM (iQIUe)

156 And the Boss sneaks in a NOOD on us.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 04:18 PM (VPLuQ)

157 I used to watch "Mannix," where they didn't shoot people or beat them up. The go-to plot device was "running someone off the road." We used to joke about it, as every segment featured it. "What happened to X?" "He got run off the road." Hilarity ensued.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at July 11, 2015 04:19 PM (oKE6c)

158 Kurt Russell? Oh, right, a child actor who grew up to have a career instead of being some coked out, doughnut-licking nutjob. For a moment, I forgot such a thing was possible.

Posted by: tops116 at July 11, 2015 04:19 PM (Wn+fE)

159 i read about the downfall of Wild Wild West. the censors/complainers drove that show off tv, by claiming it was SOOOO violent.

I think this was after an assassination or two.

First they tried making it softer, but then when the complaints kept coming, they cancelled it-- despite the fact that it was still a top ten show.

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 04:20 PM (bhepQ)

160 OK, I know this isn't a political thread, but let's say this is a cultural remark:

What I noticed is
(1) They never said "Soviet" always "Russian".
(2) We thought the Soviets were bad in the 60s. We know they were bad now.
(3) The Russian character had a more high-tech device than Solo. Actually more high-tech than today. That's stupid. The pro-Soviet joke on these lines anyway is that the American has super high-tech but ineffective equipment and the Soviet has something simple that works better. The pencil in space.

Jon Gabriel on Twitter was making the joke that in Batman v. Superman, the characters would be rebooted in the third act, grittier than before.

I made the point that this was the mood in Hollywood in the 70s before a little movie about space battles came out. It made a lot of money.

So it'd be nice if the "independent terrorist organization" had a lot of parallels to Islamic terrorists, even without using the term, but just little hints that Al Qaeda and ISIS are basically Bond villains.

Or that the American is the unmitigated good guy, rather than an arrogant, flawed anti-hero. Americans (and, hell, the world) is looking for a determined, earnest and corny hero.

Posted by: AmishDude at July 11, 2015 04:21 PM (JIElb)

161 i think i have that Dragon issue in the cellar

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at July 11, 2015 04:21 PM (Cq0oW)

162 I've been on a weird roll with Netflix. I've watched pretty much everything I want to see, so I'm watching all sorts of old/odd shows. Since yesterday I've watched Gabe Kaplan in a half-assed movie version of "White Shadow" called "Fast Break". Pretty bad. Also some after-school Special-ish flick "The Fat Kid Chronicles", a nice change of pace, and Star Trek's "Wrath of Khan", now I'm watching a documentary on the origins of General Tso's Chicken. I have two or three hours between shifts feeding the horse, so the timing is right to watch a bunch of discrete offerings.

Posted by: Lincolntf at July 11, 2015 04:21 PM (2cS/G)

163 New Superman vs Batman trailer from Comic Con:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WWzgGyAH6Y

This looks pretty damn good and appears to be a logical follow-up to how they started this Superman reboot.

Posted by: naturalfake at July 11, 2015 04:21 PM (KUa85)

164 "you can go OT in pretty much all my threads whenever you like, unless it's a freestanding original piece (no linking, just me writing), in which case i want about 60 clean posts just so I can see if people liked it or not. "

I thought we took a vote, and it was no O/T before 100 comments.

Now this ace character shows up and acts like he owns the pla....

What?

No shit?

Never mind.

60 it is.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 04:21 PM (VPLuQ)

165 O/T

Ace, pleasant surprise to see you commenting at the HQ. Your wisdom is always appreciated.

Was that a good suck up or what?

Posted by: Nip Sip at July 11, 2015 04:22 PM (0FSuD)

166 there's very little I want to watch that's currently produced.

-
Maybe you feel different when they have more ghey and transexual shoes where they make fun of stuffy conservatives.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 11, 2015 04:22 PM (LImiJ)

167 well, I *will be* 29 in a few months
Posted by: ace with the old joke, which I stole from somewhere so long ago I forget where at July 11, 2015 04:16 PM (bhepQ)

It's **39** and that's Jack Benny, you philistine.

Posted by: AmishDude at July 11, 2015 04:22 PM (JIElb)

168 So basically Archer in the '60s.

Posted by: JohnJ at July 11, 2015 04:24 PM (TF/YA)

169 It's **39** and that's Jack Benny, you philistine.

It's 59, and that's Phyllis Diller.

Fang told me.

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 04:24 PM (VPLuQ)

170 I made the point that this was the mood in Hollywood in the 70s before a
little movie about space battles came out. It made a lot of money.

So it'd be nice if the "independent terrorist organization" had a
lot of parallels to Islamic terrorists, even without using the term, but
just little hints that Al Qaeda and ISIS are basically Bond villains.

Or that the American is the unmitigated good guy, rather than an
arrogant, flawed anti-hero. Americans (and, hell, the world) is looking
for a determined, earnest and corny hero.

I remember very clearly when Star Wars came out, and what a refreshing change it was from the usual weltschmerz. I knew things would change then, and they did, at least for awhile.

Posted by: pep at July 11, 2015 04:25 PM (LAe3v)

171 *looks around*

Ah Insult Clinic da?

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 11, 2015 04:25 PM (dZtj4)

172 "Was that a good suck up or what?"

You wanna see really good sucking up?

Posted by: The MSM at July 11, 2015 04:26 PM (VPLuQ)

173 Maybe you feel different when they have more ghey and transexual shoes where they make fun of stuffy conservatives.
Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 11, 2015 04:22 PM (LImiJ)

'Scuse me, it's the gay, transexual and liberal polemic stuff that I want to avoid. I don't give a damn about what people do in their bedrooms. I just don't want to watch any shows where it's shoved in my face.

Posted by: Captain Whitebread at July 11, 2015 04:26 PM (rJUlF)

174
Robert Vaughn, unfortunately, was and probably still is, a real lefty.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 11, 2015 04:26 PM (iQIUe)

175 You wanna see really good sucking up?

Posted by: The MSM at July 11, 2015 04:26 PM (VPLuQ)

Yes, I REALLY love a good suck up! Call me!

Posted by: Barney at July 11, 2015 04:27 PM (0FSuD)

176 Went to the new thread upstairs, but was told there was nothing to see there...

Posted by: Turd Ferguson at July 11, 2015 04:27 PM (VAsIq)

177 i remember when star wars came out because there wasn't any more Godzilla movies. at least the Capital downtown was still playing cheesy kung fu movies.

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at July 11, 2015 04:30 PM (Cq0oW)

178 i used to watch wild, wild west everyday after school all by myself. huge crush on jim. the only part i hated was almost every episode had those rooms that got smaller and smaller to squish people.

Posted by: concrete girl at July 11, 2015 04:30 PM (LNp4w)

179 secret confession, I was really into the Top Secret Role Playing Game,

Ace has the Uncouth attribute.
1. Ace has mentioned Top Secret before, which unnerves me. I've never met anyone outside my own circle who had even heard of it.
2. Locational hit point areas is the greatest invention. Only seen it used since "Top Secret SI" in the original Deus Ex video game.

Posted by: wooga at July 11, 2015 04:32 PM (XK0dn)

180 " i used to watch wild, wild west everyday after school all by myself. huge crush on jim."

Back then,
Every woman wanted him.
Every man wanted to be him.

Nowdays.......

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 04:33 PM (VPLuQ)

181 That Star Wars trailer looks good. I had written the series off entirely and they are so smart to try to convince you they have gone back to what made it good...I want to believe.

Also on the men in suits thing, it's nice. A friend of mine has started having cocktail attire retires parties and everybody dresses up mostly. I think the men are liking it too.

Posted by: Lea at July 11, 2015 04:34 PM (vmMMi)

182 all the children are gone for 3 hours. woo hoo.

and ace , why are you here and not laying on a beach somewhere with pancakes?

you deserve a break .

Posted by: willow at July 11, 2015 04:35 PM (nqBYe)

183 is Dragnet the series that had a hammer pounding sound noise before coming on?
i believe i hid under the couch when it would start.

Posted by: willow at July 11, 2015 04:37 PM (nqBYe)

184 The FBI Vault posted some new stuff:

http://goo.gl/WLW8sa

I'm interested in Judith Coplon who was convicted twice but had her convictions reversed on appeal.

One of her roommates fled to the USSR and then to North Korea where she worked as a nurse during the war until the US dropped a bomb on her head. So sorry!

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 11, 2015 04:39 PM (iQIUe)

185 ha wooga

try TFT for obscure RPGs

The Fantasy Trip

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at July 11, 2015 04:41 PM (Cq0oW)

186 I liked the original Man from U.N.C.L.E., but I thought that Robert Vaughn was just OK. I loved David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin.

In an old episode of NCIS, someone asks what did Ducky look like when he was younger. The Gibbs character deadpans "Illya Kuryakin". That was hilarious if you knew McCallum played both.

Posted by: Advo at July 11, 2015 04:41 PM (7hUS8)

187 Willow

The hammer
https://youtu.be/KnOYyBGWux4

Posted by: Allen Hale, Jr. at July 11, 2015 04:41 PM (VPLuQ)

188 I'll admit it, Ace I did see it on the boob tube in original run. It was pretty good fare for the period, but like Laugh-In it is captive to its time period of origin. A lot of references would be missed today.

Posted by: JohnMc at July 11, 2015 04:43 PM (RHBWt)

189 Off you Skipper sock

Posted by: Village Idiot's Apprentice at July 11, 2015 04:43 PM (VPLuQ)

190 The Fantasy Trip
Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at July 11, 2015 04:41 PM (Cq0oW)
---
Micro games! I still have them somewhere...

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at July 11, 2015 04:48 PM (jR7Wy)

191 I figured out the 1897 airship mystery in the sidebar.

Somebody invented a time machine, but it was crude and could only go back and forth a couple of decades. He traveled to 1915, commandeered a zeppelin, and went back to 1897.

Posted by: rickl at July 11, 2015 03:51 PM (sdi6R)

There is a Jules Verne novel, the title I believe is Robur The Conqueror, but it may have also been issued under another title. Mad genius very much like Captain Nemo, travels the world in a heavier-than-air flying machine, and kidnaps some worthies from a zeppelin club in Philadelphia to demonstrate to them the superiority of heavier-than-air flying machines.

It's almost a complete parallel to 20,000 Leagues, right down to the opening pages, with stories culled "from the press" about strange aerial phenomena. A lot of that reads just like the stuff in the Wiki link in the sidebar about 19th Century UFOs.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at July 11, 2015 04:50 PM (nuUG3)

192 Read that dork gaming spy list. Whoever wrote inflated Bond and Steed a bit, nailed Flint, but didn't quite do justice to either MFU. I suspect it was writ by a Brit or sympathizer to the crown.

Posted by: Doomed at July 11, 2015 04:50 PM (bGLSw)

193 >>>2. Locational hit point areas is the greatest invention. Only seen it used since "Top Secret SI" in the original Deus Ex video game.

oh boy i hate that system. 1, additional record-keeping bother, 2, does not reflect any kind of reality.

if you were fighting a robot, I could see it making sense that his arm has 12 hit points before it's crippled.

But people have blood flowing throughout their whole body. It makes no sense to pretend an arm injury only affects the arm.

It's an attempt to make Hit Points more realistic that, astonishingly, makes them less realistic.

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 04:51 PM (bhepQ)

194 Oh, and in straight up, no weapons hand to hand combat, James West smokes anyone on that list.

Posted by: Doomed at July 11, 2015 04:52 PM (bGLSw)

195 I used to watch all those 60's spy shows. What else was a kid born in '55 gonna do. Superman, Lone Ranger, Green Hornet and Batman.
Life was a living comic book, which is why I probably only bought MAD magazine.

Anyways, it was always a weekly battle of good vs evil With Solo and Kuryakin going up against THRUSH. It might be dreck to an adult but a 8 - 9 year old it was gold.

Good times, good times...

Posted by: Gmac- 'all politics in this country now is dress-rehearsal for civil war' at July 11, 2015 04:52 PM (4CRfK)

196 boot hill's hit location system, where each body part hit could result in a minor wound, a serious wound, or a mortal wound, and the trunk and head of course had high chances for mortal wounds, was simpler and closer to realistic.

even the first run of Top Secret, which just made shots to the body or head or neck do more hit points of damage, was more realistic. (Simpler, too.)

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 04:53 PM (bhepQ)

197 24
Wasn't Get Smart a parody of UNCLE?

Saw an episode of UNCLE last week on MeTV that featured Barbara Feldon (aka 99) as an UNCLE Portuguese translator itching to become a field agent. Couldn't watch the whole thing, because it comes on late Sunday night and I have to work Monday morning.

Didn't watch it when I was a kid because Army brat stationed in Yerp.

Posted by: Anachronda at July 11, 2015 04:56 PM (o78gS)

198 I'm too young to remember the original run of U.N.C.L.E. but I became aware of it in the 70s during a revival attempt. I remember a TV movie a few years later and I think somebody showed reruns at some point in the mid to late 80s. It was OK but a bit slow paced by our modern, hyper-kinetic standards.

Of course, I find that to be the case even with the shows I grew up with in the 70s-80s.

Posted by: Commissar M at July 11, 2015 04:57 PM (KSF9t)

199 seeing as how this is becoming a geek thread. or more of one....

bundleofholding dot com has a vaguely interesting rpg pack now. it's a bunch of drm free pdfs of weird culture fantasy games, like India and indians and Africans and norse etc. exceedingly cheap.

if you prefer paper you can roll your own through lulu or something

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at July 11, 2015 04:57 PM (Cq0oW)

200 183
is Dragnet the series that had a hammer pounding sound noise before coming on?
i believe i hid under the couch when it would start.

The hammer pounding was actually at the very end after the closing credits.

Posted by: Anachronda at July 11, 2015 04:59 PM (o78gS)

201 I think the name T.H.R.U.S.H. is subtle humor referring to thrush, which in the UK is a painful yeast infection in the vajay-jay.

Posted by: dc at July 11, 2015 05:02 PM (oY/R7)

202 thrush is a pharyngeal yeast infection

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at July 11, 2015 05:03 PM (Cq0oW)

203 183

is Dragnet the series that had a hammer pounding sound noise before coming on?

i believe i hid under the couch when it would start.

There's at least one website and YT channel dedicated to production company logos that caused phobias. No joke. The Screen Gems "S" and the Viacom "V of DOOM!" are among the most terrifying, they say.

Posted by: Doomed at July 11, 2015 05:04 PM (bGLSw)

204 Ian Fleming had good taste in cars:

https://spct2000.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/avanti-2.jpg

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at July 11, 2015 05:05 PM (nuUG3)

205 Mr. Goldie Hawn.

Posted by: Adirondack Patriot at July 11, 2015 05:07 PM (KQTmr)

206 131
There's more public-domain classic TV at Retrovision, for those of you looking for that sort of thing.

Didn't know TV had been around long enough for there to be *any* public domain TV. Does Disney know about this?

Posted by: Anachronda at July 11, 2015 05:08 PM (o78gS)

207 Snake Plissken.

Posted by: Adirondack Patriot at July 11, 2015 05:08 PM (KQTmr)

208 126
Ilya Kuryakin later went on to medical school and got a long term
position as a forensic pathologist for the Naval Criminal
Investigative Services under ~~a different name.~~ the witness protection program.

fixt

Posted by: Anachronda at July 11, 2015 05:10 PM (o78gS)

209 >>>There is a Jules Verne novel, the title I believe is Robur The Conqueror, but it may have also been issued under another title. Mad genius very much like Captain Nemo, travels the world in a heavier-than-air flying machine, and kidnaps some worthies from a zeppelin club in Philadelphia to demonstrate to them the superiority of heavier-than-air flying machines.

It's almost a complete parallel to 20,000 Leagues, right down to the opening pages, with stories culled "from the press" about strange aerial phenomena. A lot of that reads just like the stuff in the Wiki link in the sidebar about 19th Century UFOs.

...

that's how i found the Mystery Airship link. It is speculated that it was that book, Robur the Conquerer, that ignited the imagination and caused all these claims of Mystery Airship sightings.

Posted by: ace at July 11, 2015 05:14 PM (bhepQ)

210 It was capitalizing on the Bond craze, of course - but so were the Matt Helm and Flint movies. And Secret Agent on TV. And a couple years later, Get Smart.

And despite the original design with Robert Vaughan as the main character and Bond figure, it was David McCallum as the Russian Illya Kuryakin (the evil organization THRUSH was so dangerous, the nations set aside the Cold War to cooperate against them) who drew the most fan attention.

It began, as most series did at the time, in black and white. Not that it mattered since few had color televisions - the first prime time network season in all color was '66-67, but much of the daytime and local shows kept BW into the '70s. Color TV sales first passed BW sets in the early '70s, it still took years before most homes had color.

UNCLE was cool the first two or three seasons, but began to lose its cachet. But most young boys had the membership ID card, signed by Mr. Waverly and everything.

Posted by: Adjoran at July 11, 2015 05:21 PM (QIQ6j)

211 I watched Man From UNCLE as a kid and enjoyed it, don't know what I'd think now. The actor playing Ilya Kuriyakin has had a pretty long career, including probably the worst episode of Babylon 5.

Posted by: waelse1 at July 11, 2015 05:50 PM (gl9NY)

212 209
>>>There is a Jules Verne novel, the title I believe is Robur
The Conqueror, but it may have also been issued under another title. Mad
genius very much like Captain Nemo, travels the world in a
heavier-than-air flying machine, and kidnaps some worthies from a
zeppelin club in Philadelphia to demonstrate to them the superiority of
heavier-than-air flying machines.

That was probably Frank Reade Jr....Smart - Brave - Punchably Smug

Posted by: OrangeEnt at July 11, 2015 06:19 PM (nGTO0)

213 but isn't it possible that some systems just have oxygen atmospheres that don't depend on plants pumping it out?

No - everything oxidizes.

Posted by: DaveA at July 11, 2015 06:52 PM (DL2i+)

214 Another OT dragover:
oh yeah the sarlacc must be indigenous -- i can't see anyone transporting that to a colony, for any reason.

Me either

Posted by: Couch Fcuker Extrodinaire at July 11, 2015 06:57 PM (DL2i+)

215 People pushing people THRU restroom stall walls isn't credible. Robots maybe but people are flesh and easily stopped by 1/2 inch plywood and screws.

Posted by: DaveA at July 11, 2015 07:09 PM (DL2i+)

216 Diana Rigg= original Ms. Peel

Posted by: AnnaS at July 11, 2015 07:09 PM (P+I7L)

217 Somewhere between UNCLE and NCIS, Illya was a fashion designer. His nom de needle was Vanya, but you need to know Chekhov to get that joke (the playwright, not the Star Trek navigator). The chatroom fan girls call him LBG, the Little Blonde Guy.

There was a one-time-only reunion TV movie in 1983. The late, great Patrick Macnee was the new head of UNCLE. George Lazenby had a cameo as a character called "J.B." I had to look him up.

Agent 99's real name was never revealed. "Susan Hilton" was a one-episode alias.

Bigby: Thrush often takes a shortcut from throat to twat. I'd explain it here, but there'd be demand for "pix or it didn't happen" and my camera batteries are dead.

Posted by: Spellcheck at July 11, 2015 07:39 PM (1mPbg)

218 I remember that issue of Dragon. We actually played Food Fight a few times.

The movie of the Verne book was 'Master of the World' starring Vincent Price in 1961: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055152/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_113

This was the direct inspiration for the SHIELD Helicarrier, which was a mammoth helicopter in those days.

They've also made jokes about Ducky and invisibility on NCIS, for reasons some will recall from the 70s.

Posted by: Epobirs at July 11, 2015 07:40 PM (IdCqF)

219 U.N.C.L.E. first season was very good. Very cloak and dagger and based a lot on North By Northwest. How any person could get drawn into the spy world that is all around us. It started getting silly by the end of the second season and trying to get campy like Batman got down right stupid by season three. Season four got back on track by then it was already on the chopping block. It was good fun if you like spy movies. It also had tons of guest stars from that era and some incredibly hot actresses.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at July 11, 2015 07:54 PM (DiZBp)

220 I thought I was the only person in the world who bought/played Top Secret.

Posted by: Justin Case at July 11, 2015 09:27 PM (31Xko)

221 Kurt Russell

Napoleon Solo
Ilya Kuriakin
Mr. Waverly

Posted by: MissV at July 11, 2015 10:30 PM (diA7K)

222 Was not aware of the Ian Fleming connection

Posted by: MissV at July 11, 2015 10:31 PM (diA7K)

223 I loved how MFU would pretend an obvious sound stage was an exotic foreign area: "Somewhere in ISTANBUL/SAO PAULO/VANCOUVER" -- you get the idea. But we went along with the gag.

Seasons 1 and 2 were the best (and 2 had the best version of the theme music, IMO). S3 is best avoided, and S4 is way too bombastic.

The movie looks fun.

I remember the Top Secret RPG. A buddy in college had the book and the first adventure. We never did play it, but I churned through both.

And finally --

I'm older than Ace?!! (born 1961) *thud*

Posted by: Weak Geek at July 12, 2015 04:23 AM (+P39t)

224 Didn't even have to look. Remembered him from "Jaimie McPheeters".

And Fleming was the not credited co-creator of UNCLE - he came up the the organization's name and what the letters stood for, a lot of stuff.

OK, who was the UNCLE spymaster in the pilot, when it was called "Solo"?

And who was the secretary supposed to be called April Dancer, but wasn't?

And what was the original bad guys' organization?

Posted by: formwiz at July 12, 2015 11:11 AM (3rwvI)

225 Ace, I was hoping you'd do a post on this!

27
Wasn't Get Smart a parody of UNCLE?

Posted by: Cruzinator at July 11, 2015 03:17 PM (4SgJh)

Get Smart was a parody of the spy genre in general
*
*
Yes, it was, but also specifically of U.N.C.L.E. The story goes that Mel Brooks and Buck Henry visited the U.N.C.L.E. set more than once while they were writing their GS pilot. The sequence at the start of the TV series, where Smart strides through a long series of security doors and barricades, is a parody of the early intro sequence on U.N.C.L.E., in which the leads are seen walking through the steel corridors of the headquarters.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 13, 2015 12:08 PM (QrB1r)

226 224
And Fleming was the not credited co-creator of UNCLE - he came up
the the organization's name and what the letters stood for, a lot of
stuff.

OK, who was the UNCLE spymaster in the pilot, when it was called "Solo"?

And who was the secretary supposed to be called April Dancer, but wasn't?

And what was the original bad guys' organization?
*
*
No, Fleming didn't devise U.N.C.L.E. the organization at all. That was the creation of Sam Rolfe, who is credited as "developer" of the series. His original prospectus for the series ran like 80 pages -- unheard of back then -- and explained everything except the meaning of the acronym. Rolfe and producer Norman Felton had to come up with that when the UN complained, saying they didn't want to be linked to a spy organization, even a fictional one. Fleming provided only the names "Napoleon Solo" and "April Dancer."

Solo's boss in the pilot "Solo" was Mr. Allison, played by Will Kuluva. Not as likeable a character (or actor) as Leo G. Carroll's Mr. Waverly.

Originally U.N.C.L.E. was supposed to battle Thrush -- that was in Rolfe's prospectus. The network objected for a time, saying it was too close to Fleming's SMERSH, and so some first draft scripts have things like MAGGOT (yes, believe it or not) or CRUSH. "WASP" was dubbed into the "Solo" pilot during that period.

The secretary might have been a concept of Fleming's; I can't think of the character name. She was envisioned as an Aunt Bee or Aunt Harriet type, motherly and concerned about the boys, the agents. She got dropped before the series started filming.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 13, 2015 12:16 PM (QrB1r)

227 47
>>>Yeah, I think so. They both sucked.

pretty sure Get Smart was a parody of Bond.

The Bond craze was huge. some of these homages/parodies were also
popular, but no one does an homage of a sorta-popular homage. You do the
homage of the Huge Original Craze.

*
*
In its time, 1965-1967, U.N.C.L.E. was the most famous TV show in the world. When the Beatles visited America during that period (not their 1964 tour, but later), they wanted to meet Robert Vaughn. And at that time you didn't get bigger than the Beatles.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 13, 2015 12:20 PM (QrB1r)

228 55
>>>Every kid in my neighborhood wanted to be Illya Kuryakin.

was he like the Spock of the show?

*
*
Yes -- the mysterious, intellectual "Other," very different from the show's original lead, who became even more popular than the lead for reasons the show's creators never expected. Almost every issue of the teen girl magazines in 1965-1967 either mentioned McCallum as Illya, or had him on the cover. And to this day many of the show's female fans prefer him to Vaughn's Solo.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 13, 2015 12:24 PM (QrB1r)

229 174

Robert Vaughn, unfortunately, was and probably still is, a real lefty.
*
*
Yeah, I'm afraid so. To this day his fans talk about the time he debated, and apparently won against, William F. Buckley on TV.

He's my favorite actor of all time. So I just won't think about his liberal affiliations, thank you.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at July 13, 2015 12:31 PM (QrB1r)

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