ISpy
'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' Is Heading to the Big Screen
They're at it again. Another popular television series from yesteryear, in this case 1964-68, is being remade, reworked and revamped into a big screen movie. 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E,' one of the iconic spy shows spawned by the James Bond craze, has been tapped by Warner Brothers as a theatrical. The Hollywood Reporter reports that David Dobkins, best known for 'Wedding Crashers,' will direct 'The Man from UNCLE' and Max Borenstein is writing the script.The big question now is not when or why, but who. Who will Warners choose to play Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, the two super secret agents of United Network Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.), and even if the casting is perfect, as a follow up, how will they inevitably screw it up? The track record for well-loved TV shows being rejiggered for the silver screen is awful.
Robert Culp on 'I Spy': Three Memorable Moments
Bill Cosby received most of the accolades, including an Emmy Award, for his groundbreaking work on the action/espionage series 'I Spy.' However, it was co-star Robert Culp, who played Kelly Robinson opposite Cosby's Alexander Scott, who was the series' true MVP. Not only did Culp hold his own in the comedic banter that helped make 'I Spy' a hit that ran for three seasons, he also wrote several episodes that rank among the series' finest shows. The dashing Culp, who also appeared in classic episodes of 'The Outer Limits' and 'Columbo,' and costarred in 'Greatest American Hero,' died yesterday at the age of 79. For those wishing to remember him in his signature role, here are three 'I Spy' episodes, also scripted by Culp, to get you started.
Robert Culp Dead After Tragic Fall
'I Spy' star Robert Culp, 79, died Wednesday after hitting his head during a fall, the LA Times has confirmed.The incident occurred while the Emmy-winning star was taking a walk outside his Hollywood home. He was found by a jogger, who then called 911. Culp was pronounced dead after arriving at LA's Queen of Angels hospital.
Culp played Kelly Robinson for three seasons on 'I Spy' and received four Emmy nominations, including one for writing.
His other television credits include 'Trackdown,' 'Greatest American Hero' and the recent CBS comedy 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' in which he played Debra's (Patricia Heaton) father, Warren, in 11 episodes.
For more on the death of Robert Culp, visit PopEater.
Best '60s TV Shows
In AOL TV's continuing countdown of the best TV shows of each decade, we travel back in time to the 1960s, when viewers were entertained by wacky sitcoms like 'Green Acres,' 'Bewitched' and 'The Addams Family,' a proliferation of Westerns that featured future superstars like Clint Eastwood and Michael Landon, variety shows like 'Laugh-In' and 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour' and James Bond-inspired spy shows like 'The Saint' and 'I Spy.' Viewers were also into grittier fare like realistic cop dramas ('Ironside,' 'Adam-12') and war action series ('12 O'Clock High,' 'Combat!'), though there was plenty of classic sitcom fun on the airwaves, too, from 'The Andy Griffith Show' and 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' to 'Get Smart' and 'My Three Sons.'
Take a look at our picks of the decade's best and let us know if we got it right. -- By Kimberly Potts
New TV on DVD releases this week
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.
- Are You Afraid of the Dark? - Season 6
- Beverly Hills, 90210 - Season 4
- Burke's Law - Season 1, Vol. 1
- Cheers - Season 9
- Dark Shadows - The Beginnings Collection 4
- Desperate Housewives - Seasons 1-3
- Grey's Anatomy - Seasons 1-3
- I Spy - Seasons 1, 2, and 3 (Remastered)
- Joey - Season 2
- Lost - Seasons 1-3
- Roswell - Seasons 1, 2, and 3
- Sabrina The Teenage Witch - Complete Series (Animated)
- Scrubs - Seasons 1-6
- The Waltons - Season 7
- A Touch of Frost - Season 13
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles - Vol. 3: Years of Change
The seven greatest TV spies and agents
Welcome to TV Squad Lists (formerly 'The Five'), a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.
Since I've already done a list of the greatest police detectives and the greatest private eyes, the next list is a natural: Greatest Spies and Agents!
The guidelines for this list? A spy that worked for an agency or someone that worked in an official governmental capacity, such as the FBI or CIA. Here we go:
1. Kelly Robinson and Alexander Scott (I Spy): These two guys weren't only resourceful, but they were the coolest cats around. Robinson and Scott were spies, but they travelled the world working on cases disguised as a tennis pro and his trainer. How awesome is that? The show was filmed on location (you hardly ever see that), and a lot of the dialogue was improvised and casual. Great theme song too.
Classic TV episodes coming to YouTube
YouTube and Digital Music Group Inc. have reached an agreement to make some of DMGI's video content available on the video sharing site.DMGI has distribution rights for over 4,000 hours of video content, including classic television shows such as Gumby, I Spy, and My Favorite Martian. It's not clear at the moment which programs would be made available.
DMGI will share advertising revenue generated by the videos with YouTube. The deal also allows YouTube users to include some of the music DMGI publishes in user-generated videos. YouTube says it will use filtering technology to determine if users are making videos with unauthorized DMGI content, and any revenue generated from those videos will be directed to the company.
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