Man from U.N.C.L.E. Section VII

I recommend you start at the beginning for Season one rather than jumping around with episodes. Though there are some individual ones that are stand outs.

Season one was filmed in black and white and has a definite mood to it. It's among favorites with the fans. Watching from the beginning will give you a better perspective with the characters as well as how the organization works, as well as the characters.

It will also help you when reading fan fiction as you'll be able to discern canon from fanon, as well as understand AU (Alternate Universe) stories.

The new MFU movie in no way resembles the show what so ever...btw.

Welcome to Section VII and hope you enjoy reading the stories here as well.

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Yeah, maybe you're right. But when my friend asked, she also said "Don't tell me "all". I know they're more than 100 episodes!" so, if I say "Just start from the s1ep1" I think she just run away. But if she hooked, she doesn't care how many episodes are there more anymore, right? ;)

As for myself, I was just a little girl when I fall for the show, and I have no clue which episode (well, actually, even season) I had began.

> The new MFU movie in no way resembles the show what so ever...btw.

Yeah, they were totally different things. But I enjoyed it anyway. Well, honestly, even just watch the word "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." at cinema made me too excited. Haha!
In my country, the movie called "Code-name U.N.C.L.E." instead of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.". So I calling the movie "UNCLE" to separate them :)

And thank you for your warm welcome!

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I understand what you're saying about viewing them all. Season one though has the best written episodes for the most part and the black and white gives a different edge to them, by conmparison to the other color seasons. Don't want to say film noir, but there's one episode in particular called the Project Strigas Affar that has that sort of feel to it.

The show was considered very innovative for its time because of the way it was fined, using camera angles and such that were only used in the movies and not for television. Fashion and innovativeness were also trademarks of the snow.

What country to you live in btw?

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Yeah, I remember black and white screen was so cool, though I also loved Illya's sharp blue eyes in full color screen. Maybe it's time to rediscover the finesse of the writing of s1. (Don't worry! I'm really not a newbie of this fandom. I know it's 60s staff. And I love it :)

>The show was considered very innovative for its time because of the way it was fined, using camera angles and such that were only used in the movies and not for television. Fashion and innovativeness were also trademarks of the snow.

I know this is NOT what you're talking about (digression, actually) but...before to go to watch the 2015 movie, I was wondering "Why they have to make it at 60s again?" but after (and also I watched "Pawn Sacrifice"), I'm thinking that there is something to think about 60s now. Fashion, global situation, the way I watch the world, the way people watch the world...I'm not sure what it is yet, but something is bugging me.
Well, Sorry! I'm very out of track!

I'm from Japan!

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OMG, please excuse my typos! I didn't have my glasses on why I replied to you. Yikes!

I think they stuck with the 60's because the concept of a beginning secret organization like UNCLE would be considered sort of ineffective in today's age of modern tech. Communicators .. there'd be cell phones.

Keeping it in the 60's allowed for more kitsch, and fashion etc.

I wasn't a big fan of the movie.

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>Keeping it in the 60's allowed for more kitsch, and fashion etc.

If that's all the reason they set it at 60s, that's very disappointing!
Anyway, it's one of my many failings that I tend to look at everything from Sociological aspect since I was a sociology major at school :p

>I wasn't a big fan of the movie.

Okay! I'll less talk about it in here from now.
Many people in here don't care about the movie, right? Also, I know it's really off-topic in here.

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There are plenty of people around who liked the movie. I was disappointed in it and thought it could have been so much better. The fact that the movie was not a success says a lot. The original fans of the show were looking for new actors to take up the gauntlet of UNCLE and it just didn't happen. No nod to the original series, and the fact they made Solo and art thief and Illya a near sociopath with anger issues was to me, big mistakes.

I think Guy Ritchie made a major error with his target audience, as it wasn't the original fans from UNCLE. Still I would like to see a sequel where they actually have UNCLE exist, and they correct the mistakes of the first movie.

IF you saw the movie "The Kingsman: the Secret Service," That was more what the UNCLE movie should have been like...and was an homage not only to UNCLE but other spy movies as well. The director was Matthew Vaughn, who Robert Vaughn was led to believe for many years was his illegitimate son... Matthew ended up not being his though.

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Ah, possibly, one of the reason I liked it was I had a real low expectation, because I didn't like any previous films by Guy Ritchie. (When I heard the change of the director, my exact reaction was "Darn! It's over!")
And yeah, I laughed out loud about the character differences when I watched it at cinema. I never thought "Volatile personality disorder" can describe Illya Kuryakin before even in any altanative univers! And "Art thief" setting remind me Albert of Hustle (though he wasn't a young Albert at all).
Strangely, their far from the original characters relieved me. What I was afraid most was to see shrunk versions of the original. You know, the movie couldn't break my first love, it just remind me how much I loved the original.

I didn't like The Kingsman, because my expectation was too high...well, actually not. You know, when I watched the trailer, my brain screamed "OMG! It's Del Floria's Tailor Shop! This is U.N.C.L.E. movie!" and my brain just expected MFU instead of Kingsman. And I'm disappointed. It's mot the movies's fail, my fail. Haha!

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I guess I liked Kingsman because I watched the movie with no expectations and simply took delight in the sublet references and hints at UNCLE and other spy shows.

I knew the new movie was going to be AU, but I supposed I still went in with hopeful expectations that it would be like our beloved UNCLE. Having watched the DVD now several times, I enjoyed the movie more after the fact.
(though I was still annoyed at the characterizations of Napoleon and Illya. I felt they were so off the mark)

Really if you changed their names to Bill and Bob...the movie would have still been the same. They just weren't Solo and Kuryakin. Guy Ritchie should have thrown a bone to the original fans, since the UNCLE fandom is still so alive and active even after 50 years.

I remember seeing MFU when I was just a kid and fell in love with Illya...my first crush (like so many other girls in the 1960s). sigh.

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>(though I was still annoyed at the characterizations of Napoleon and Illya. I felt they were so off the mark)

I'm feeling like, since I'm back to the original fandom, and gonna rediscover them, I might be change my mind, forget the first impression and dislike the movie later! you'll see!

>Really if you changed their names to Bill and Bob...

I think I can understand what you're saying.
There was always this rumor of the revival movie but it never happened before, right? And I imagined if it really gonna happen, it could be with another names...maybe Illya isn't even from Russia. Well, from Islam (or anywhere else), maybe?
Then they announced the cast and 60s setting. I was surprised!

>I remember seeing MFU when I was just a kid and fell in love with Illya...my first crush (like so many other girls in the 1960s). sigh.

Yes, same here. Illya was my first crash. (Though I wanted to be him, instead of his girlfriend...)

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lindafishes8.livejournal.com

You might like to look over The Man From UNCLE Bible created by fan fiction writers for the 50th anniversary of the show.

http://www.mfuarchive.net/archive/6/MFU_Bible.pdf (http://www.mfuarchive.net/archive/6/MFU_Bible.pdf)

Edited Date: 2016-01-06 01:22 pm (UTC)

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Wow! You said "look over" this? I have to read up this bible :)
Thank you very much for the link.

Btw, I was just a ROM but I remember the names of the writers. Cannot thank them enough.

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I show MFU in my Broadcast classes. If your friend can tolerate or even enjoy black and white, start with first season:

Never Never Aff
Mad Mad Tea Party
Strigas [ Nimoy and Shatner and very Russian]
Deadly Games [Hitler and Angelique]
Quadripartite/ Giuoco Piano [for Illya]
Terbuf [Solo and Kuryakin stuff]

Then, best of season 2:

Fox and Hounds.
Adriatic Express
Ultimate computer
Waverly Ring [so you can see how UNCLE HQ operates]
Alexander the Greater [lots of action; not a fav or mine but people like it]
Cherry Blossom [because my students like it]
Children's Day [for Illya fans]

Third season:

Her Master's Voice Aff [because the movie references it]

Also from season two: Dippy Blonde not because it's good but the movie references this one too.

That will get you started. Concrete Overcoat in 3rd season and Summit Five and Gurnius in 4th will also be of interest.

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Yes, I believe my friend can enjoy the black&white screen because she didn't even care about the cheapness of H2G2 tv version. Also, I remenber the B&W screen of 1st season was cool :)

Thanks for your helpful suggestions.
Your broadcast classes sound interesting. I wish I was one of your students!

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http://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php/archives/8480-REVIEW-THE-MAN-FROM-U.N.C.L.E.-THE-MAD-MAD-TEA-PARTY-AFFAIR,-AIR-DATE-FEBRUARY-1,-1965.html

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Thank you very much for the link.
This article is not only very straightforward to my question but also very sweet love letter to the series, I think.
Thank you <3

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You're welcome. Don't know if you're interested in fanfic, but I just friended your LJ which will give you access to all of my St. Crispin's Day society stories. They are also on fanfiction.net and Archive of Our Own.

I will be writing more episode reviews for Cinema Retro this year.

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Wait, YOU wrote the review? You're C.W. WALKER? *blush*
I just thought that someone kindly throw a link for a new face.

Thank you very much for writing the review. It's nice to start a day with read lovely work (it's morning in here, Japan). You made my day.
I'm looking forward your another episode reviews!

And I'm very interested in fanfic. Thanks for friending me!

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Yes, I'm C.W. Walker. I did my Ph.D. dissertation on MFU and interviewed most of the major folks involved. Here a link to the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Work-Text-Investigating-U-N-C-L-E-Communication/dp/1612891209/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1452134875&sr=8-8&keywords=cynthia+w.+walker

If you own the DVD set, I'm on that too and wrote the booklet notes to second season.

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Yes, I have my copy of the set and I'll check the booklet when I came home tonight!
Do you have any plan to release the book by kindle format in near future?

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Unfortunately no. My publisher is small and academic.

I'm in the extras on the DVD set talking about Illya as a Russian/Soviet character.

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