Round Table - The Return of ...

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

No, not what you thought when that word return appeared.  I'm talking about the Second Season of MFU. Were you already a fan when the second season premiered on NBC in 1965?  I think I was, my memories of that age are a little blurry with highlights of Beatles, Barbie Dolls and Illya.  My dad and I watched MFU together, he was always on board for that and Star Trek.  Why is it those two always seem to be simpatico?
Anyway, the Fall was about more than school and weather changes, it meant the new Fall Television Schedule.  It was the only time during the year that our family invested in a TV Guide, and the excitement of finding the shows you were going to watch and reading about the actors involved was euphoric in nature.
Which brings me back to the opening episode of the Second Season: The Alexander The Greater Affair.  It is arguably one of the most enjoyable, with much attention being given to the blond who is now the hottest thing on television, here and abroad.  With all due respect to Mr. Vaughn, when he recounts that the two of them received more fan mail than anyone in MGM history, the truth was Mr. McCallum alone received more all on his own.  Together they broke all kinds of records, but really it was the character of Illya Kuryakin that was truly revolutionizing how a hero in the 60's would look.
But then here's RV's Napoleon Solo, still suave, still handsome and still chasing girls only now it's in glorious color.  Was he more elegant in black and white?  For me he hearkens back to screen stars of the 40's and 50's... in a good way.  He reminds of men like Cary Grant, who could wear a tuxedo to McDonald's and make it seem entirely normal to do so.
Yin and Yang, blond and brunet.  The chemistry is undeniable, our infatuation with them not diminishing over time.  No matter what the movie does or doesn't do, it won't budge the original show from our hearts and minds; it won't erase the real Solo and Kuryakin.
So, what do you remember about that wonderful Fall time event and the way you waited for the return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.?

Comments

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

I loved the second season of MFU. It's not that I dislike black and white, but the guys in color? Oh My! By the second year, the banter was much better and the shows were MUCH more tongue-in-cheek. There was humor in season one, but it was more serious and it was full of "innocents."

"The Alexander the Greater Affair" had so many great scenes. Where to start? Kidnapped Illya, dirty Illya, injured Illya ("hey, I cut my finger"), mummified Illya and let's not forget that Tracy liked him better than Solo and she called him "sneaky."

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

You hit on the great Illya moments. He really had the camera during this season opener. Napoleon really played the sleuth in this episode, figuring all the angles and squaring off against Alexander.

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

I remember watching from show number one. I was 11 and in love with Illya. My idiot older brothers used to critique every show. Remember the scene in the Yukon Affair when IK and NS came up out of the water in their scuba gear? My brothers noticed styrofoam floating in the water. It was supposed to be ice, of course, and to this day, they talk about it. They were SO annoying.

At least they liked to watch it with me and not try to change the channel. One of them gave me the red NFU album for my birthday. They weren't ALL bad.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

I was a fan from the get go, adored Illya...my first pre-teen crush, (still his my crush) along with Robert Conrad, who took second. (the Wild Wild West) My memories too are of the Beatles, next crush was John Lennon.

Looking back, I think the black and white of the first season was more edgy and could create mystery, but seeing the MFU...specifically Illya in living color. OMG OMG OMG!

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

Wild, Wild West! I was an Artie girl. I was crushed when Ross Martin died.

For some reason, I was not into the Beatles at that time like my friends were. I couldn't (and still don't) understand the screaming the fans did whenever the Beatles played. Couldn't hear them sing over the screaming, right? Remember the trading cards? Paul was my favorite then, in later years it was George.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Hey what about the fans who screamed their heads off for David...like when he was at Macy's or when his plane landed at an airport?

I had Beatles cards, and 2 full sets of the MFU cards...and when I went off to college my mother threw them out...which might explain why I'm a pack rat. LOL!

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

A lot has been written and analyzed concerning the mass hysteria. Social repression met an emerging female need to act out their sexual fantasies. I read that somewhere. David got in on it big time.

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

What happened in Macy's was deplorable. The fans rioted and destroyed a lot of property and may have ripped David apart if he had been allowed to go ahead and do the record signing. Didn't need the mounted police to rescue him when he tried to take a stroll through Central Park?

I didn't see anything wrong with screaming fans at the airport.

I'm talking about fans screaming while the Beatles were trying to sing.

Fans trying to cut or rip off locks of hair??? or clothes>? Why would they want to hurt him? That mind-set, I don't understand.

So, what are you saying? If we can find you 2 full sets of MFU cards on line, you'll give up your pack rat ways? LOL!

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Sexually aroused teenie-boppers. Raging hormones. Still inexcusable but that was part of the phenomenon, girls going crazy for their 4 Beatles...and the blond 5th Beatle.