How The Man From U.N.C.L.E. paved the way for Star Trek

On Sept. 22, 1964, a phenomenon premiered, although few knew it at the time. It would take nearly a year before The Man From U.N.C.L.E., or MFU as fans know it, would dominate so much of mid-‘60s popular culture. Emulating the success of the James Bond films, MFU was the fountainhead from which so much TV Spy-Fi sprouted, as in shows like The Wild Wild West and British imports like The revamped Avengers and The Prisoner. For most episodes, the evil THRUSH (the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity, if you accept the tie-in novels as canon) trotted out one mad scientist after another in their quest to rule the world with futuristic technology. They tried everything from weather-controlling machines to mind-altering drugs to Harlen Ellison’s sexy killer Robots to defeat the stalwart agents of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.

Did you know MFU paved the way for Star Trek? For example, it was on a first year episode of MFU, “The Project Strigas Affair,” where William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy first shared the TV screen together. Trek is credited with introducing hand-held communicators decades before cell-phones; in fact, two years before Trek, U.N.C.L.E. agents carried around cigarette-pack sized communicators before the show introduced the iconic pen communicator into which they whispered “Open Channel D” to talk to headquarters or each other.

It’s often been stated the two most popular figures in ‘60s television were Illya Kuryakin and Mr. Spock. Both characters were cool, aloof aliens in a strange world, traits which appealed to adolescents feeling a similar sense of disenfranchisement from an adult world known as “the Establishment.” Kuryakin and Spock appealed to a growing trend championing non-conformity and an interest in fictional figures different from previous media heroes and role models. The freshness of this trend can be demonstrated by the fact both characters were nearly killed off by the networks as executives feared they would be too unusual to be accepted on American television.

As it turned out, with one eye on Kuryakin and one on the Monkees, Star Trek introduced its own Russian long-hair in its second season, the young Ensign Chekov (Walter Koenig) precisely to appeal to the audience created by U.N.C.L.E.

Star Trek is known for featuring an intelligent African-American woman, Nichelle Nichols, a casting choice reflecting the then new and rare opportunities given to African-Americans like Greg Morris (Mission: Impossible) and Bill Cosby (I Spy (. Unlike the pervasive Westerns, in which the roles of women and minorities were frozen in 19th century values, SF and secret agent shows fostered new and futuristic qualities for new kinds of heroes and heroines. Female leads like April Dancer—The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.--Agent 99, and Emma Peel in the 1960s joined in the physical action, outthought their partners, and didn't totally rely on serving as temptresses. (Girl from U.N.C.L.E., despite many glaring weaknesses, was in fact the first hour-long TV action-adventure to feature a female lead produced in the U.S.) Spy shows like Mission: Impossible and U.N.C.L.E. deserve equal credit, alongside Star Trek, for these accomplishments.

In addition, Star Trek has often been described as an optimistic window into the future. Likewise, MFU creators Norman Felton and Sam Rolfe were political liberals believing in the importance of concepts such as the United Nations. Clearly, U.N.C.L.E. was a kind of optimistic spy show, with people of different nations uniting against common foes, very much like a terrestrial United Federation of Planets.

For the record, there was no shortage of espionage in Star Trek. Certainly, there was much more of it in the later Next Gen and DS9, but remember Captain Kirk in his Romulan ears? Or Gary Seven? Or all the times Kirk and company took on false identities to infiltrate alien governments? Likewise, remember all the covert operations alien cultures used to try and defeat Star Fleet. (The Memory Alpha website has a long article on espionage in Star Trek.)

As a fan of MFU from the first year on, I was far from alone having a youth filled with the 23 Ace paperback novels, MFU games, guns, bubblegum cards, you name it. So, for me and legions of fellow Baby Boomers, MFU is a major slice of our nostalgic look back to the ‘60s.

Over the years, I’ve contributed more than my fair share of remembrances for those good old days. If you too were a part of the “Spy-Fi” generation, here are some items for your listening and reading pleasure:

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of MFU’s debut, in 2014 I had the opportunity to interview cinematographer Fred Koenekamp who had so much to do with the look of the series. For online radio’s “Dave White Presents,” Fred not only talked MFU, but shared much of movie history stretching back to his father’s pioneering work in the silent era all the way through Fred’s work on Patton.
http://tinyurl.com/nm8dpb4

Now, should you stop by—
http://www.spywise.net/spiesOnTV.html

and click on the “Spies on Television and Radio” button, you’ll find a bounty of MFU items.

Without question, the most significant offering is a free book, The Final Affair by David McDaniel, the full text of what would have been the 24th tie-in paperback novel had Ace ever published it. (McDaniel was the gent who coined the “Technological Hierarchy” name for the previously unspecified THRUSH acronym.) The entire book is free for the taking, downloadable as a PDF for you!

Other items include:

* “Robert Vaughn, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is Alive and Kicking.” An interview with Napoleon Solo himself!

* “A Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, and The Wild Wild West – Meet Mark Ellis” in which Mark gives you the inside story into the “Birds of Prey Affair” comic-book

*”How The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Returned – As a Comic Book.” Paul Howley’s story of the TE (That’s Entertainment) MFU comics series.

* “Behind the Toys from U.N.C.L.E. – The Inside story of a Collector’s Guide.” Paul Howley’s insider’s view into a long overdue catalogue of MFU merchandise.

There’s also a link to “The U.N.C.L.E. Movie that Never Was” posted at the Fans From U.N.C.L.E.org website. It’s my interview with Danny Beiderman and Robert Short about their aborted film project sanctioned by Sam Rolfe, co-creator of the series.
http://manfromuncle.org/spywise.htm
THE U.N.C.L.E. MOVIE THAT NEVER WAS

So, as Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryaking used to say—“Open Channel D”—and check out some memories of the real MFU, the one that mattered.