On today's date in '66, THE GIRL FROM U.N.C.L.E. made its debut on NBC. The magazine above debuted in newsstands a few months later. Although much campier than its male counterpart, the series acquired some loyal fans for itself and star Stefanie Powers who would go on to much TV success.
Stefanie Powers was cast as the tomboy gang member wannabe in the film version of WEST SIDE STORY...only to be fired when it was discovered she was 17--thus making the production subject to rules about filming with minors)
ReplyDeletePaul
The camp fad peaked in 1966-67. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost In Space, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West, and The (British) Avengers all really went over the top that year. They tried to tone it down in '67-68, when the fad passed, but the damage was done.
ReplyDeleteThe timing for "Girl From U.N.C.L.E." was a catch-22. With so many spy-fi movies and TV shows, it may have gotten lost in the crowd. But, before or after the spy fad, there would have been no reason to create the show in the first place.
I was a fan, but would have liked it better if they had allowed April to be tougher, more like Emma Peel and Honey West. She often seemed more like a helpless damsel, constantly having to rescued by her male partner, than a competent secret agent.
I don't know if the show would have lasted longer if it had been played straighter. The Green Hornet was played fairly straight, and, like GFU, only lasted one season.