The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - The Complete Series (1964)

It was the height of the Cold War, a time when most Americans had only the vaguest understanding of international espionage. Then, in 1964, the televised spy genre exploded on the screen in the U.S. and around the world when the groundbreaking series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. pulled the covers off of the spy game in what became must-watch television for the next four years on NBC. Here is The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: The Complete Series, beautifully packaged in a 60's style high tech attach‚ case, complete with all episodes along with hours of viewing extras. Album Description

What are the extra features on the dvds?

I'd really consider buying the collection if there was a list provided of the special features in each disc. Could anyone help me on this? Thanks. October 6, 2008

Great set, excellent quality!!

I purchased the complete series set from Time Life in 2007 and it is excellent. Every episode uncut, unaired pilot, a wealth of extra features and bonus discs. Now, it is being released to retail at an even lower price and I highly recommend it. Only one minor complaint: why not include all 8 "movies" instead of just one? Bring on "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. too, even though that series pales in comparison with the original. August 22, 2008

The Home Stretch Affair . . .

Fans had been waiting for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. to come to DVD for years, when Time Life finally released a megaset containing all four seasons (105 episodes) and extensive bonus materials, late in 2007. This boxed set is still currently being sold by Time Life for $249.95. Last week, Amazon was apparently selling this same `briefcase' set at a presale price of $139.95, which was a fabulous buy. This week however, the set is now listed as `unavailable' for preorder, and there is no sales price listed. This is not the first time Amazon has pulled this collection off the shelf. We will soon see what Amazon's price will be. Keep your fingers crossed, Best Buy's presale price for the set is $179.99.

Time Life also had exclusive rights to Get Smart, which is only now beginning to be released to the general public. Fortunately, it appears that the U.N.C.L.E. set will be made available much, much sooner. Rather than wait, I got my set through a private sale some months ago. It is a very attractive collection, and while the cardboard briefcase packaging is pretty cool, you may not want to test its durability, as 41 DVD's do weigh quite a bit. Each season is arranged in a separate binder, that can easily be stored like a normal multi DVD set. Two bonus discs are in cardboard sleeves. The photo of the contents of the set is a bit misleading, as some items are shown more than once.

Image and sound quality is very good for a program of this age, and all the episodes are subtitled. Series creator Norman Felton's original concept was to bring a James Bond like character to American television. He even consulted with Bond creator Ian Fleming in the development of the series, and it was Fleming that supposedly came up with the name `Napoleon Solo'. Some of the early episodes featured Solo (Robert Vaughn) operating as a lone agent in the field, however the popularity and charisma of David McCallum as the ultra-cool Russian Illya Kuryakin, led the writers to expand what was intended to be a supporting role. The special chemistry between the two leads, was one of the key factors in the meteoric rise in popularity of the show. The dashing and debonair Vaughn, is quite a gifted actor, and Leo G. Carroll as Mr. Waverly, rounds out the U.N.C.L.E. team. Some fans feel that the first season, which was shot in black and white, was grounded a bit more in reality than the later seasons, but elements of fantasy were very much present from the start. The program had a ton of fabulous guest stars, and a bevy of beautiful women.

The bonus materials total over four hours, and cover many facets of the U.N.C.L.E. universe, including the gadgets, the music, collectables, and the fabulous women that appeared on the series. Trailers, promos, interviews, TV clips, and photo galleries are also included. Those that are hooked on all things U.N.C.L.E. may also want to check out the various soundtracks from the series, as well as John Heitland's informative book, `The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Book: The Behind the Scenes Story of a Television Classic'.

After a long wait, it appears that we are in the home stretch, with the finish line in sight. Once this megaset actually becomes available to the general public, hopefully at an attractive price, those that have been waiting for so long, can put everything in the past, and we can all just enjoy this classic program. It took a while, but it will finally be U.N.C.L.E. time!
August 15, 2008

SOLO AND KURYAKIN, TOGETHER AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME

The last time I saw The Man From Uncle was on reruns back in the mid-1980s, and the series was as enjoyable then as it had been back in 1965.

Too bad Ian Fleming did not live to produce this show, as the originating idea and storyline came from both his mind and pen. As Ian Fleming saw it, Solo was to be paired with a female partner, not Ilya, with Ilya being only a minor walk on character. With Ian Fleming no longer in the picture, no pun intended, the popularity of Kuryakin with the viewers caused Solo to eventually be paired with him. Interesting, no.

Finally, October 21, 2008, the duo will be back on TV screens, only this time on our home TVs whenever we wish. The material is finally being reissued. Now how about reissuing HIGH CHAPARRAL?

Semper Fi. August 13, 2008

What a great concept!

This is not the fist box set of an entire series I have seen but it is the first box series that is coming out from the start as a box set and not one year at a time. I loved the Man From U.N.C.L.E. when I was a teenager growing up in the 60's and have been looking for the last 5 or 6 years to see if the series would come out. I am thrilled to see the first really smart thing that has been done with an older series. I only hope it goes over great and lets Hollywood know this is the way to go in the future. I am so sick of seeing half a year at a time coming out and milking all of us collectors for far more than we need to be milked. Again great idea and and I hope whoever did it is listening and will do it more often. Keep it up. July 20, 2008

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