Man from UNCLE reviews part dos

[kleenexwoman]

drworm and I have mostly been hanging out watching stuff. While he's playing Pokemans and I'm working on homework, here are some Man from UNCLE episode reviews.

"The Dove Affair": Did not feel like a MUNCLE episode at all. Very noir, very suspenseful. Felt long enough to be an entire movie. Ricardo Montalban was awesome and more than made up for there not being any Illya--partner and villain at the same time. Totally classy.

"The Never Never Affair": This was so cute, OMG. Loved the translator girl getting all excited about playing spy. Also, is there anything more entertaining than watching Napoleon Solo fuck up and have to explain things? I don't think so.

"The Gazebo in the Maze Affair:" I seriously, honestly expected there to be werewolves. There were no werewolves. I feel cheated.

"The Girls of Nazarone Affair": Napoleon and Illya are such jerks in this one. All, "'sup, we're gonna come into your room and snoop around right in front of you and let you think we're going to rape you or something instead of explaining ourselves."

"The Alexander the Greater Affair": Rip Torn used to be hot. :O The girl in this one was plucky as hell and clearly used to running around the world getting into trouble. Theology/history in this maybe a little sketchy and skipped over the historical gay, but whatever, it was worth it for the roasting-marshmallows-on-the-false-idol gag.

"The Ultimate Computer Affair": Illya does bar mitzvahs? ...enjoyable, although I don't have much to say about it. Salty was cute. The "computers will replace man's creative mind, oh noes" thing seems laughable nowadays. I can't even get my laptop to produce a decent plan to take over the apartment complex, let alone the world.

"The Tigers are Coming Affair": I really don't remember much about this one because drworm was torturing me by trying to pop the zits on my back during most of it, and it was unusually painful. Involved Illya in a very wet shirt, Napoleon wearing a woman's scarf in a misguided attempt to pretend to be a photographer, and tigers.

"The Children's Day Affair": Hit so many of my kinks it's not even funny. The evil bondage couple was fucking adorable. Also, EVIL BAKERY.
(Oh, yeah, and Napoleon's failed attempt at surprising the guard in the cell--very catlike, not just the way he climbed up onto the shelf, but he way he acted after it clearly did not work. Body language was very, "I'm still cool. I totally meant to do that." Half expected to see a tail swishing.)

"The Super-Colossal Affair": Just kept getting stupider and stupider until it finally hit some kind of wall and became funny again.

"The Pop Art Affair": LOLOL "smelling the grass." Illya and Napoleon both come out as sort of goofy and uncool--this is the problem with putting your supercool superspy characters up against a cast that's supposed to represent actual youth culture. Everybody ends up looking like idiots.

"The Hula Doll Affair": I liked how this episode set up UNCLE and THRUSH as parallel organizations instead of just being enemies, even though THRUSH obviously spends more on making their place look nice (because they have the money to do so). (Seriously, okay, UNCLE headquarters look claustrophobic and stifling and monochromatic and I would come down with Sick Building Syndrome so fast there.) Also, Napoleon is easily distracted by tiny lady dolls and you could probably catch his attention with a Polly Pocket on a string. Also, THRUSH names their operatives after spices--we ended up getting up in the middle of the night to raid Sammi's spice rack to think up more names for characters. (Cumin, Curry, Peppercorn...there's got to be a janitor or an accountant or somebody named Dillweed.) Also, fuck yeah midget.

"The Gurnius Affair": We'd both been really psyched to watch this, but it was not entirely that great. Illya as a Nazi was interesting (what the fuck is up with his hair), but the photographer was just annoying, and there wasn't that much in the way of plot.

There will be more.

Comments

[sir-dave.livejournal.com]

You obviously love this so much :)

[kleenexwoman.livejournal.com]

It's like an addiction. A free addiction that won't wreck my veins.

[xjestx.livejournal.com]

Brace yourself for prolonged commenting...

"The Girls of Nazarone Affair" - How about the part where Illya runs outside and pretends to be a doctor: "Heartbeat? No Heartbeat. Pulse? Ohhh, no pulse" and, in the five minutes that he is gone Napoleon takes his shoes off and has a nap or something. Also, the part where they bump butts! That gets a rewind every time I watch it with my roommate.

"The Alexander the Greater Affair" - I use the movie version of this to lure people into fandom on account of it being so utterly stupid that it's funny. How can anyone not love it? It's also got random almost-naked bondage going for it.

"The Children's Day Affair" - OMG, how I know! Have you read The Children's Night Affair (http://www.file40.net/file40s/child_nite.html) by tgabrielle?

"The Gurnius Affair" - Most memorable moment for me is when Napoleon is wearing his bathrobe with both socks AND SHOES.

"The Ultimate Computer Affair" - I wanted Salty to be a hot 1960s lesbian.

"The Pop Art Affair" - The people making that show were clearly really into that industrial-capacity bubble-maker.

Have you seen "The Virtue Affair"? Illya ends up in a wet t-shirt, er, turtleneck, in that one too. With a giant target painted on his back.

[kleenexwoman.livejournal.com]

and, in the five minutes that he is gone Napoleon takes his shoes off and has a nap or something.
Inorite? Lazy sod. Makes up for it with the exercise bike, which actually looks vaguely obscene if you squint.

Have you read The Children's Night Affair by [info]tgabrielle?
Yeah, drworm got me to read it after we saw the ep. Totally cute.

I wanted Salty to be a hot 1960s lesbian.
This would have made more sense. I think she was kind of coded that way throughout the episode, but it all fell apart for a few seconds at the end. :( Oh, Salty, why you gotta fall for a line like that.

Have not seen the Virtue Affair, but that's probably coming up next :D

[drworm.livejournal.com]

I wanted Salty to be a hot 1960s lesbian.

I sort of want this for most of the girls on this show, to be honest.

[kleenexwoman.livejournal.com]

I think most of the lesbians work for THRUSH in very professional capacities (or even the bi/straight girls who are just threateningly kinky).

[xjestx.livejournal.com]

If, by some mischance, a hot 1960s lesbian somehow got hired by UNCLE she would probably get sick of being hit on by Napoleon all the time and would eventually get recruited by THRUSH. In fact, I bet half the lesbians that work for THRUSH started out in UNCLE's secretarial pool.

[kleenexwoman.livejournal.com]

Oh, for the days of invisible homosexuality and no sexual harassment laws. The only options available would be joining THRUSH to get away from the patriarchal spies or keeping a little squirt bottle on your desk and spritzing Napoleon every time he got smarmy. (Which wouldn't do much for your professional standing, in which case you might as well join THRUSH anyway.)

[cobaltnine.livejournal.com]

I really have to get my hands on some episodes. I've been looking at getting the MASH box set, which is technically first in line, but if I can get these eps sooner...

[kleenexwoman.livejournal.com]

The box set is like $200, which is why I haven't gotten it yet. Seth has been downloading them all from BitTorrent. But yeah, if you have the money to spare, it's totally worth it.

[cobaltnine.livejournal.com]

Ah, so the 'tubes have it. That was my unspoken question. To the mutorrent-mobile!

[drworm.livejournal.com]

Napoleon wearing a woman's scarf in a misguided attempt to pretend to be a photographer

Hey! ... he was some sort of journalist. Illya was the photographer. As he was in the Mafia one, come to think.

Just kept getting stupider and stupider until it finally hit some kind of wall and became funny again.

To be fair, that describes a lot of Muncle episodes. So.

We'd both been really psyched to watch this, but it was not entirely that great.

Yeeeeah. I mean, the super-crazy funtimes bondage was hot and all, but otherwise... Mission: Impossible did the "Nazis regrouping" plot so much better.

[kleenexwoman.livejournal.com]

Hey! ... he was some sort of journalist. Illya was the photographer.
TECHNICALITIES. Anyway, Illya's going to have some really interesting photos to post on his blog later.

Mission: Impossible did the "Nazis regrouping" plot so much better.
Pretty much. Also, they concentrated on the Nazi-ness of the Nazis--anyone could try to take over the world with a mind control ray, it didn't really have to be the Nazis. Or fake Nazis. Whatever.

[josephwaldman.livejournal.com]

But fake Nazis are so much fun. Anything that involves Hitler's brain conquering the Arctic or an escaped Martin Bormann being involved in Watergate or something like that is bound to be an hour's worth of larfs and chuckles.

[xjestx.livejournal.com]

Yeah, try as they might, the Muncle writers never really managed to grasp the full dramatic potential of Nazis (I suspect they were too busy smoking up or something).