Round Table - UNCLE IQ

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

What is Illya thinking?  The look on his face is somewhere between amusement and sympathy for his partner, who has a smile on his face that just might be covering up for the fact he has no idea what George Dennell is talking about.
I know Napoleon is smart, but this  photo seems to tell a story of some sort.
There also seems to be a lot of static electricity in the air ;)

The screencaps are from Lisa's

Who: George Dennell, Illya Kuryakin, Napoleon Solo Where: U.N.C.L.E. HQ When: Dennell: "...but has the advantage of being able to cover a 175-degree arc on the earth's surface without having to go through a relay station."

And then there's the Virtue Affair, in which the brainiac Russian who we are later told has a Doctorate degree in Quantum Mechanics, cannot explain the workings of this missle aparatus.  Outside of a lack of continuity, is there another way to explain this lapse?

Who: Illya Kuryakin Where: Robespierre's lab complex When: Illya: "Now, if this piece does not work as it is designed to do, every single piece of the mechanism will not work."

 In contrast to Illya's struggles, Napoleon rigs up an ingenious method of electrocution in order to escape?  Now's who's clever?

Comments

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

In the first one, it really does look as though Illya is thinking, 'Napoleon hasn't got the first clue what George is saying'. Which is somewhat unfair. You don't get to be CEA of an organisation like UNCLE if you're thick. He's not a scientist, but one must assume you'd need some scientific knowledge to be an agent.

I have no explanation for why Illya struggled in 'Virtue'

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

I agree that Napoleon would most certainly have enough background in a number of subjects to keep him clued in. Last week we discussed his astute observations that led him to explain a number of things in the Alexander the Greater Affair, enough that Illya seemed to admit he wouldn't have deduced the same conclusions.
Virtue… it's adorable, but defies his supposed degree and intellect.

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

But why should you assume that a theoretical physicist would understand a piece of engineering. I can handle almost any experiment on the school science syllabus, but I couldn't substitute for the lab tech in DT or IT, and they couldn't have substituted for me.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

I think he could have done better than what we saw, even if it was a different area from his. Improvisation is a necessary skill and it seems his were a little lame, all things considered. However, you are right in that it is not his area of expertise so we can cut him a little slack. Not a lot, but considering how cute he is here… who cares about science.

[rosywonder.livejournal.com]

The first is perhaps a wish that Napoleon would come out with something equally nerdy to impress George, but somehow knowing that he won't. Napoleon is clever but he's not a scientist. That's why he has Illya and Illya knows it.

The second scene always irritates me intensely, so I will put it down to exhaustion after being used as a human target and an irrational fear of madame la guillotine. Even geniuses fail sometimes ...

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

My first thought is the writers hadn't yet decided to give him a Ph.D. in quantum physics. However, he is the intellectual half of this duo and might have done better than this.

[rosywonder.livejournal.com]

Hmm, perhaps it's a good job Napoleon wasn't there to witness the abysmal performance of the boy wonder. Eternal retribution might have followed ....

[carabele.livejournal.com]

This is definitely the case. This was a Season 2 episode and the writers didn't go with the degree in quantum physics until Season 3 and then promptly forgot it in Season 4. Re the reference in THE MAZE about it being handy being imprisoned with a physicist refefering to Febray.

This thing with VIRTUE comes up again and again in discussion, and you really do have to put it down to a bunch of different writers for the show and thus little consistency.

Myself I think the writers did the character of Illya a disservice when they came up with that angle of a quantum physics degree. Personally I think his degree should have been in something that was demonstrated as part of the character many times, Languages.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Yes, it makes more sense for him to not be a scientist of any kind. He really does exhibit more creative traits, such as music and languages. He even ends up impersonating fashion designers ;)
He definitely never spent time in any labs during the series, a scenario that always sort of surprises me when I see it in stories. Of course we all pick and choose when it comes to certain things, so it's all fine. I just don't see him in that role.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

The first photo, Illya does seem amused, perhaps enjoying seeing Napoleon difficulty. I agree with Janto, you don't get to be CEA without being smart...though Solo's smarts are different from Illya's, which is why they compliment each other as partners. What one lacks the other makes up for.

Virtue affair was really poor writing on the part of the script writers. Granted just because IK has a degree in quantum physics doesn't mean he knows 'everything' but they could have had him bluff much better than he did. He could have drawn on his knowledge of physics, no doubt spouting enough of the theoretical to sound more impressive than he did.

Illya sometimes reminds me of a bull in a china shop where, ( but not always) whereas Napoleon figures out a way to get past the china without breaking anything ( but not always as well)

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

The expression is captivating, completely bemused at what Napoleon probably isn't getting from George's lecture.
As for Virtue, he could have done better but it wouldn't have had the same effect in telling the story. I suppose our objection to it is on behalf of the Russian.
Bull in a china shop… well, he does walk into the occasional wall ;)

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

When I used bull in a china shop I meant not literally that he crashes into things but for some reason I see him charging into a situation, where as Napoleon is more often the one with the plan.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Yes, you're right. For being fond of plans he is sometimes quite impetuous, taking opportunities at face value for the sake of expediency.
He does walk into things though, a result of his impaired eyesight no doubt. Poor baby.

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Could the Virtue faux pas be - in part, anyway - he's just not good at explaining? After all, no script writer ever made him a professor of education.

edit: I don't have Virtue to hand, so you're welcome to tell me I've overlooked something obvious.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

You give him a graceful means of explanation.

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

Oh my! Illya's expression in that first one is priceless.

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

I agree 'Virtue' had that odd scene. On the other hand, I've known a genius who had trouble explaining to someone how to tie a shoelace. Notice in 'Virtue' how the other scientists were confused about what Illya was saying. They were not laughing at his explanation. My take on it was that they didn't want to look bad in front of a true genius.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

You and Laurose8 make an interesting point, that he is imply unable to explain rather than being ignorant.

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

I also believe that a bit of comic relief was necessary in the middle of that serious episode. Both agents were captured, Napoleon almost got branded, Illya was mercilessly chased by a madman and then he shot that madman in the chest with a crossbow. And of course, he was almost beheaded at the end.

His dialog was very funny and just what was needed, in my opinion.

FYI- the cell that Napoleon escapes from in 'The Virtue Affair' is the same cell used in 'The Children's Day Affair.'

Good question, Glenna.