Re: I Spy vs. Mission: Impossible ...

Hey Bill,

Nice to hear from you again!

Yes, I agree with what you said - "I suspect that the major reason that "I Spy," fairly or not, gets short shrift in the attention department is its realism."

I'm sure that the fun, campy, cool, and other-worldly nemeses and situations faced by the other "Super 60s Spies" out there appealed to many, especially during the bleakness of the Vietnam era.

You mentioned Jim West, well let's not forget to throw in Steed & Mrs. Peel, and Max and 99, too!

Kelly's and Scotty's enemies were far more real than THRUSH or SMERSH ... or threatening robots or "The Craw" or Dr. Miguelito Loveless and his delightfully insane creations, or whatever "megalomaniacal mad scientist of the week" those other spies encountered. "I SPY" certainly had a far more realistic feel to it, especially enhanced by actually being in all those wonderful locations.

Escapism is great - and all of these other shows had their own patented versions of it. As you mentioned. "Mission:Impossible" had a great concept and executed it ever so smoothly. That was their formula and style, and they did it well. And as I mentioned, from my recent viewing, it does hold up well. But their characters didn't have any depth - and certainly no warmth - and nada in the humor department. It was like watching a play, and you never felt any connection to it.

I also found recently watching "The Cherry Blossom Affair" on U.N.C.L.E. to be a most interesting experience. I remembered the show fondly (well Illya in his black-turtle neck, at least), but I hadn't seen an episode in years and years. And as I mentioned, it was really difficult to watch the whole way through. I'm sure there are probably some episodes I might still find to be fun, but the whole flavor of show felt dated, not very interesting, and it all felt pretty gimmicky with little substance or storyline.

The one spy show out there that was far darker and realistic (and arrived earlier) than "I SPY" was "Secret Agent Man" (a.k.a. Danger Man) - bringing us John Drake's cold, smooth, unemotional countenance to the TV screen from the British Isles. I think that because this show was so dark, that I loved "The Prisoner" even more when it came out. Watching cool and completely-in-charge John Drake encounter the inexplicable and unexplainable on that very strange island in that very strange community was always a delight. Yes, #6 was supposed to be John Drake, boys and girls!!







O.K. - putting ALL that aside ... what about NOW? With the nostalgia craze rabidly fueled by new DVD releases of old shows (and those Retro-channels popping up on cable stations), shouldn't "I SPY" with its more adult, realistic tone, have a far broader appeal to a "baby booming, nostalgia-loving" generation (who by any glance at a calendar should all be adults by now)??

I understand the "realism" factor as an explanation for then (though "I SPY" did really well THEN) --- but what about NOW? Why isn't "I SPY" far more popular or receiving far more attention today, compared to those other 60s spy shows? I have to go with Chuang-Tzu here and his immortal and all-purpose - "It is a great mystery to me ..."






Thanks for a most interesting posting, Bill, Hope you'll stop by more often.

Any others out there with an opinion on this ????


All my best,

Tatia



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