Yuku free message boards

Season 3 alone would have killed off the series, but THE GIRL FROM A.W.F.U.L. really drove in the stake. Twice as much U.N.C.L.E. each week and each week twice as bad. There are a few Girl episodes worth getting a gawk at. As noted, Boris Karloff's drag turn in "The Mother Muffin Affair" makes it practically necessary viewing, though the episode itself is simply not very good.

Better is "The Moulin Ruse Affair", probably the only U.N.C.L.E. episode of either series to successfully (however misguided) blend Batman-style camp with the spy stuff. It has strong visual elements and a dandy pair of villains in Shelly Berman and Yvonne DeCarlo. Most importantly, it features Tura Satana in a skin-tight body stocking. Let me say that again: "It features Tura Satana in a skin-tight body stocking."

Also worth watching are "The Double-O Nothing Affair" - with Ed Asner as a THRUSH chief with headquarters under a used car lot - and colorful pulp of "The Garden of Evil Affair." 

I don't necessarily blame GIRL FROM U.N.C.L.E. for the cancellation of the original, except in that a generally bad season of MAN coupled with an equally underwhelming GIRL was overkill. By that point, viewers would have probably felt substantial U.N.C.L.E. fatigue even if both shows were at the top of their game. Dedicating two hours a week is asking a bit too much. Generally speaking, I'm fond enough of GIRL, but I have to be selective and a bit forgiving. There are some other so-so episodes from the run I go back to now and again (The Faustus Affair is one) and GIRL is the show that shows the U.N.C.L.E. car to best advantage.

It's actually kind of amazing, when you think about it, that NBC picked up MAN for a 4th season at the end of all that - and let them redesign to boot.

And it wasn't just the double bummer of bad on bad U.N.C.L.E. The whole spy boom was winding down by the time season 4 rolled around. It had effectively peaked in '65/'66 with THUNDERBALL (1965) which led to a glut of spy TV and films in 1966. Season 4 was actually produced in the middle of the spy bust: '67/'68. CASINO ROYALE & YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE pretty much marked the end of the cultural obsession with secret agents (James Bond notwithstanding - and even he hit a rough patch).

Anyway, I love me some season 4 U.N.C.L.E. som complain about it being TOO serious, but I specially enjoy the shows that present Thrush as a genuine threat. There are some episodes that recall the insect army quality of THE INVADERS. At least they went out with Napoleon Solo's ample chin up.