Solo aka The Man from UNCLE

Wow, what a trip. American Life Channel just aired the 90-minute, original Man From UNCLE pilot, with Will Kuluva as Mr. Allison (later replaced by Leo G. Carroll as Mr. Waverly, following a misunderstanding when NBC said to lose the "K character"), and in color. The show, as is fairly well known, was called "Solo," and the episode was "The Vulcan Affair," same as when it was reshot. To see something over 40 years old that never aired was way cool.

Man from UNCLE, and Illya Kuryakin/David McCallum (and since his popularity was a big reason why the show was a hit, so NBC must have been grateful for the misunderstanding), were a big part of my teen years. I went through puberty with that show. I started writing fiction seriously thanks to that show (earlier fanfic efforts didn't go anywhere, but once I started writing UNCLE fic in 1980 and continued for the next 15 years, my love for writing was solidified). I met my best friend because of that show and the fanfic I wrote (she sent me an LoC (Letter of Comment) when she read my stories in a fanzine. J wrote fanfic, too, and we've been friends now for 21 years come February. I've had plenty of beloved TV shows over the years, but except for The Equalizer, which brought me in contact with my second best friend and SF collaborator, no other show has had as much influence on my life as The Man from UNCLE.

Now if they'd only release the show, in its entirety, in DVD....

Feeling:

man from uncle