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Spy Television
For half a century, television spies have been trained professionals, reluctant heroes, housewives, businessmen, criminals, and comedians. They have by turns been glamorous, campy, reflective, sexy, and aloof.
This is the first book-length treatment of one of TV's oldest and most fascinating genres. Britton's comprehensive guide provides readers, from casual viewers to die-hard fans, with behind-the-scenes stories to this notable segment of television entertainment.
From the early 1960s, in which television spies were used essentially as anti-Communist propaganda, through the subsequent years that both built upon and parodied this model, and finally to today's gadget-laden world of murky motives and complex global politics, spy television has served as much more than mere escapism. From the beginning, television spies opened doors for new kinds of heroes. Women quickly took center stage alongside men, and minority leads in spy programs paved the way for other kinds of roles on the small screen.
For half a century, television spies have been trained professionals, reluctant heroes, housewives, businessmen, criminals, and comedians. They have by turns been glamorous, campy, reflective, sexy, and aloof. This is the first book-length treatment of one of TV's oldest and most fascinating genres.
This is the first book-length treatment of one of TV's oldest and most fascinating genres. Britton's comprehensive guide provides readers, from casual viewers to die-hard fans, with behind-the-scenes stories to this notable segment of television entertainment.
From the early 1960s, in which television spies were used essentially as anti-Communist propaganda, through the subsequent years that both built upon and parodied this model, and finally to today's gadget-laden world of murky motives and complex global politics, spy television has served as much more than mere escapism. From the beginning, television spies opened doors for new kinds of heroes. Women quickly took center stage alongside men, and minority leads in spy programs paved the way for other kinds of roles on the small screen.
For half a century, television spies have been trained professionals, reluctant heroes, housewives, businessmen, criminals, and comedians. They have by turns been glamorous, campy, reflective, sexy, and aloof. This is the first book-length treatment of one of TV's oldest and most fascinating genres.
- GenresEspionageNonfiction
280 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
13 people want to read
About the author
Wesley Britton
29 books109 followersImmerse yourself in an extraordinary universe revealed by the most original storytelling you’ll ever experience. “Science fiction yes, but so much more.”
Besides his 33 years in the classroom, Dr. Wesley Britton considers his Beta-Earth Chronicles the most important work he’s ever done. “I suppose an author profile is intended to be a good little biography,” Britton says, “but the best way to know who I am is to read my novels.”
Still, a few things you might like to know about Wes include the fact he’s the author of four non-fiction books on espionage in the media, most notably The Encyclopedia of TV Spies (2009). Beginning in 1983, he was a widely published poet, article writer for a number of encyclopedias, and was a noted scholar of American literature. Since those days, for sites like BlogCritics.org and BookPleasures.com, Britton wrote over 500 music, book, an movie reviews. For seven years, he was co-host of online radio's Dave White Presents for which he contributed celebrity interviews with musicians, authors, actors, and entertainment insiders.
Starting in fall 2015, his science fiction series, The Beta-Earth Chronicles, debuted with The Blind Alien. Throughout 2016, four sequels followed including The Blood of Balnakin, When War Returns, A Throne for an Alien, and The Third Earth. Return to Alpha will be the sixth volume of this multi-planetary epic.
Britton earned his doctorate in American Literature at the University of North Texas in 1990. He taught English at Harrisburg Area Community College until his retirement in 2016. He serves on the Board of Directors for Vision Resources of Central Pennsylvania. He lives with his one and only wife, Betty, in Harrisburg, PA.
Find out more about the Beta-Earth series on the official website -- http://www.drwesleybritton.com
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 31, 2020
Dated and plagued with inaccuracies, it remains a very good starting point for the spy shows of the 50s-80s.
July 26, 2012
Detailed and a little dry but had some interesting information.
April 7, 2018
As a child of the 1970s, I spent many hours basking in the glow of the TV, both color and black and white models. I read quite a bit and I also have other hobbies that pull me away from the 'boob tube' (as the adults used to say), but I would be lying if I tried to pretend that television has not played a central role in my life. As trite as that sounds, I believe that every modern generation has employed their means of escape. Perhaps it was Vaudeville a century ago. My dad was a poor kid from the inner city during the waning years of the Depression and throughout World War II -- but he still managed to see movies on a weekly basis. Many of the stories he told me about his childhood revolved around all of Cleveland's old movie theatres and the films he saw there. I think they provided an escape from a grim and stressful life and some recreation for people who never had vacations or luxury items at home. Generations a bit younger than me disappear into video games and virtual reality applications. For me, it was the TV.
Sometimes the TV was therapy. I spent hours in front of it in junior high school when I was going through the lonely loser stage in life. When I was eight years old and I learned that my mom had a possibly fatal illness called 'breast cancer', I got so scared and anxious that I remember nothing much from third grade except for the line up of cartoons I would watch for 2-3 hours every day after school. (Generally my parents were stricter about TV and imposed limits. But that year we were too overwhelmed and the television set provided much needed babysitting and distraction.) The only time of the day when I did not feel sad and frightened were those few hours with after school cartoons and sitcoms. It was my psychological reward for pretending to be 'normal' during the school day and for trying to get my homework done.
Forty years later, when my mom (and dad) were dying for real, I went right back to my childhood crutch. At the end of every exhausting and soul crushing day at the hospital or assisted living facility I would turn on the TV in order to get myself into a state of mind where I could fall asleep. I figured it was healthier than either sleeping pills or anti-depressants and, if it had worked for me the first time, it would likely work for me again. It did. Every night sleep would come in a black out haze in front of old TV shows from my past. This time they were viewed on Youtube or from DVD box sets, but the result was the same -- an escape from the reality that terrified me.
The vast majority of my TV memories, on the other hand, are happy ones. I recall watching TV shows with my sister, my mom and my dad -- sometimes all together as a family, and other times in pairs. I had my 'shows' with each of them. And, oddly enough, it was interactive and it was good bonding time. We often employed humor and wit and laughed at the goofy story lines or characters. My dad and I enjoyed macabre and supernatural stories and often spent weekend nights watching the 'late show' or the 'movie of the week'. Later on I spent plenty of time watching 'bad TV' with my friends and developing an entire vocabulary of in jokes and obscure references mined from the hours we spent watching the somewhat fluffy and lightweight televised offerings of the 1980s.
Many of my favorite programs, through all of the phases of my younger life, were in the Spy/Detective genres. I was born into the world of James Bond and this craze had a lasting impact on me (as well as on the larger American society of the day.) I bought into the glamorous facade and, as a kid who was fascinated with other countries and cultures and who dreamed of being a 'world traveler', I loved the international settings. As many of the shows from the 1960s and 1970s were filmed 'on location' (rather than in front of a green screen with some stock footage filler), watching adventures such as Danger Man provided a kid from the mid western sticks with armchair travel opportunities.
As a child I watched some of the more well known spy shows. The Wild Wild West, Wonder Woman, Get Smart, The Bionic Woman were all known to me. I was, however, too young to have appreciated the core 1960s spy canon, which aired in the years just prior to my birth and during my infancy/preschool days. These shows were discovered by me later in life and I have enjoyed them so much that I have become somewhat of a 'collector' or connoisseur. The Internet has made it possible for me to unearth spy shows I missed the first time (and even some I have never heard of.) My penchant for British programming has lead me to appreciate the vital role the Brits have played in the development of this genre, starting with The Saint and James Bond.
I stumbled onto Spy Television by accident. Someone had returned it to the library and it caught my eye as I was walking past a cart of books waiting to be re-shelved. What a happy coincidence! This book is a detailed compendium of televised espionage programming spanning the decades. Obviously much of the focus is on the Golden Age of spy TV in the 1960s. However the book also provides plenty of information about the genre as it was represented by programming in the 1970s, 80s, 90s an into the 21st century.
The book begins with a rather comprehensive discussion of the first international Spy TV sensation: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. This show was available in re-runs at various points in my childhood and I did stumble into the occasional episode. I have not yet watched the series in a systematic way. It has been on my 'watch list' for awhile. Having completed this book, I am motivated to move this show to the top of the list. UNCLE is the grand-daddy of spy TV and inspired many of the series that came after. I did not realize how revolutionary this program was in the genre. Now I am excited to re-visit it and feel somewhat sheepish about not getting to it sooner.
Discussions of Danger Man/Secret Agent Man and The Prisoner were of special interest due to my appreciation of both series, which are personal favorites. Spy Television provided interesting detail about both of these Patrick McGoohan projects. I made note of Man in a Suitcase and Man with a Camera, two series I have never seen, which I have unearthed more recently via the Internet, but knew nothing about. The author of Spy Television also appears share my appreciation of Brian Clemens' work. He was one of the creative forces behind UNCLE, but I am a fan based on his later British thriller series titled, appropriately enough, "Thriller". As I am constantly on the search for Clemens stories I have missed and was excited to learn a bit more about his career in script writing in this book.
Curiously enough, I have probably watched more episodes of the 'also ran' or lesser known spy series than I have of genre heavy weights like Mission Impossible and the Avengers. This book was comprehensive enough to include minor mention of series such as The Baron, The Protectors, The Champions, Department S and it's spin off featuring the Jason King character. (the series I am currently watching)
I am probably more interested in this niche than the average person. Readers who share my obsession with retro TV in general and Spy TV more specifically would enjoy at least browsing through this book and reading the chapters that feature their old favorites. Some readers will want to do what I did and read this book cover to cover. It is an informative walk through the espionage genre as presented on the small screen. You will fondly reminisce about known series and, most likely, find some new ones to appreciate.
Sometimes the TV was therapy. I spent hours in front of it in junior high school when I was going through the lonely loser stage in life. When I was eight years old and I learned that my mom had a possibly fatal illness called 'breast cancer', I got so scared and anxious that I remember nothing much from third grade except for the line up of cartoons I would watch for 2-3 hours every day after school. (Generally my parents were stricter about TV and imposed limits. But that year we were too overwhelmed and the television set provided much needed babysitting and distraction.) The only time of the day when I did not feel sad and frightened were those few hours with after school cartoons and sitcoms. It was my psychological reward for pretending to be 'normal' during the school day and for trying to get my homework done.
Forty years later, when my mom (and dad) were dying for real, I went right back to my childhood crutch. At the end of every exhausting and soul crushing day at the hospital or assisted living facility I would turn on the TV in order to get myself into a state of mind where I could fall asleep. I figured it was healthier than either sleeping pills or anti-depressants and, if it had worked for me the first time, it would likely work for me again. It did. Every night sleep would come in a black out haze in front of old TV shows from my past. This time they were viewed on Youtube or from DVD box sets, but the result was the same -- an escape from the reality that terrified me.
The vast majority of my TV memories, on the other hand, are happy ones. I recall watching TV shows with my sister, my mom and my dad -- sometimes all together as a family, and other times in pairs. I had my 'shows' with each of them. And, oddly enough, it was interactive and it was good bonding time. We often employed humor and wit and laughed at the goofy story lines or characters. My dad and I enjoyed macabre and supernatural stories and often spent weekend nights watching the 'late show' or the 'movie of the week'. Later on I spent plenty of time watching 'bad TV' with my friends and developing an entire vocabulary of in jokes and obscure references mined from the hours we spent watching the somewhat fluffy and lightweight televised offerings of the 1980s.
Many of my favorite programs, through all of the phases of my younger life, were in the Spy/Detective genres. I was born into the world of James Bond and this craze had a lasting impact on me (as well as on the larger American society of the day.) I bought into the glamorous facade and, as a kid who was fascinated with other countries and cultures and who dreamed of being a 'world traveler', I loved the international settings. As many of the shows from the 1960s and 1970s were filmed 'on location' (rather than in front of a green screen with some stock footage filler), watching adventures such as Danger Man provided a kid from the mid western sticks with armchair travel opportunities.
As a child I watched some of the more well known spy shows. The Wild Wild West, Wonder Woman, Get Smart, The Bionic Woman were all known to me. I was, however, too young to have appreciated the core 1960s spy canon, which aired in the years just prior to my birth and during my infancy/preschool days. These shows were discovered by me later in life and I have enjoyed them so much that I have become somewhat of a 'collector' or connoisseur. The Internet has made it possible for me to unearth spy shows I missed the first time (and even some I have never heard of.) My penchant for British programming has lead me to appreciate the vital role the Brits have played in the development of this genre, starting with The Saint and James Bond.
I stumbled onto Spy Television by accident. Someone had returned it to the library and it caught my eye as I was walking past a cart of books waiting to be re-shelved. What a happy coincidence! This book is a detailed compendium of televised espionage programming spanning the decades. Obviously much of the focus is on the Golden Age of spy TV in the 1960s. However the book also provides plenty of information about the genre as it was represented by programming in the 1970s, 80s, 90s an into the 21st century.
The book begins with a rather comprehensive discussion of the first international Spy TV sensation: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. This show was available in re-runs at various points in my childhood and I did stumble into the occasional episode. I have not yet watched the series in a systematic way. It has been on my 'watch list' for awhile. Having completed this book, I am motivated to move this show to the top of the list. UNCLE is the grand-daddy of spy TV and inspired many of the series that came after. I did not realize how revolutionary this program was in the genre. Now I am excited to re-visit it and feel somewhat sheepish about not getting to it sooner.
Discussions of Danger Man/Secret Agent Man and The Prisoner were of special interest due to my appreciation of both series, which are personal favorites. Spy Television provided interesting detail about both of these Patrick McGoohan projects. I made note of Man in a Suitcase and Man with a Camera, two series I have never seen, which I have unearthed more recently via the Internet, but knew nothing about. The author of Spy Television also appears share my appreciation of Brian Clemens' work. He was one of the creative forces behind UNCLE, but I am a fan based on his later British thriller series titled, appropriately enough, "Thriller". As I am constantly on the search for Clemens stories I have missed and was excited to learn a bit more about his career in script writing in this book.
Curiously enough, I have probably watched more episodes of the 'also ran' or lesser known spy series than I have of genre heavy weights like Mission Impossible and the Avengers. This book was comprehensive enough to include minor mention of series such as The Baron, The Protectors, The Champions, Department S and it's spin off featuring the Jason King character. (the series I am currently watching)
I am probably more interested in this niche than the average person. Readers who share my obsession with retro TV in general and Spy TV more specifically would enjoy at least browsing through this book and reading the chapters that feature their old favorites. Some readers will want to do what I did and read this book cover to cover. It is an informative walk through the espionage genre as presented on the small screen. You will fondly reminisce about known series and, most likely, find some new ones to appreciate.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews