Poster for One Spy Too Many, movie version of Alexander the Greater Affair
Earlier this year, I discussed the U.N.C.L.E. movie To Trap a Spy on the SpyHards podcast (in an April episode) and On Her Majesty's Secret Podcast (in an episode in July). Somewhere along the line, I was asked if To Trap a Spy (an expanded version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. series pilot) was my favorite.
Sometimes, your favorite is not necessarily the best.
For me, my U.N.C.L.E. favorite is Alexander the Greater Affair (TV version) and One Spy Too Many (movie version).
It's personal for me. Here's why.
September 1965: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was now BIG. It had become a hit by the end of its first season.
For its second-season debut, the show came out with a *two-part* story and the show was now *in color*. Back in those days, being in color was a big deal. What's more, a two-part story seemed HUGE. Part I ended with a cliffhanger. You'd have to wait an entire week to see how it turned out.
I was seven years old when I saw the original television broadcast. NBC would not rerun the two-parter. The television network agreed to show it only once in return for a cut of the money from an MGM theatrical release.
November 1982: I had not seen U.N.C.L.E. *in years*. I was living in Birmingham, Alabama. My apartment complex was not served by a cable company. I could only watch over-the-air TV stations.
One Birmingham channel wasn't affiliated with a major network. I sat down to watch something called "One Spy Too Many" out of curiosity.
As it started I saw the words, "An Arena Production." From the back of my mind, a question emerged. "Is that the company that made The Man From U.N.C.L.E.?"
Soon enough, the answer was yes. The names of Robert Vaughn and David McCallum came on. It was one of the U.N.C.L.E. movies edited from episodes of the show. It was the start of my reconnecting to U.N.C.L.E.
Summer 1999: For the uninitiated, listservs were a way for fans to connect. If you sent an email to a listserv, all the subscribers would see it.
One day, the U.N.C.L.E. listserv discussed why the original 1965 TV version had not been seen. I weighed in.
Soon after, a listserv member sent me a direct email. "Tell me again about this lost episode."
I replied with all the information I could provide.
I later got another response. "What's your mailing address?"
My heart soared but I stayed calm. I provided the information. Days later, I got a VHS tape. It was the original 1965 episode. On July 4, 2000, the original two-parter was shown on TNT, the final U.N.C.L.E. telecast on that cable channel.
The original TV version would be included on The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'s original DVD release in 2008.
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