History Series / TheManFromUNCLE

* CoolGuns: So cool they ended up as the BigBad of [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} an entirely separate franchise]], even.

* TheBadGuysWin: [[spoiler: "The Fiery Angel Affair."]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** In "The Survival School Affair," three U.N.C.L.E. agents-in-training are suspected of murdering a fellow trainee. One of the trainees is Melissa Hargrove, named after regular series writer [[Series/{{Matlock}} Dean]] [[Series/DiagnosisMurder Hargrove]]. [[spoiler: She didn't do it.]]

* ShoePhone: Much of U.N.C.L.E.'s spy equipment was disguised as mundane items.

Almost as popular as the stars were the various items of high tech (for the early-to-mid-60s milieu of the show) spy equipment used by the U.N.C.L.E. agents in their various missions; the most iconic of which became their communications devices (disguised as [[https://www.manfromuncle.org/cigarettecase.htm cigarette cases]] in the first season, changing to [[https://www.manfromuncle.org/uncle_orig_pen.jpg pens]] in the second through fourth seasons) and their pistols, [[https://www.manfromuncle.org/G&a.jpg the "U.N.C.L.E. special,"]] which by the addition of a barrel extension, stock, telescope, and extended magazine could be converted into a [[https://www.manfromuncle.org/uncle_special.htm cool looking carbine.]] (It's famous today as the alternate mode of Megatron from ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''. The gun itself was so popular it actually got its own fan mail, up to 400 pieces per week - many addressed to "The Gun" - at the show's height of popularity.)

* CasualDangerDialog: No matter how much danger they're in, Napoleon and Illya are ''incredibly'' cool about it.

* BeautifulAllAlong: In the second season episode, "The Nowhere Affair". THRUSH wants to stimulate Solo's libido in the hopes that might reverse the EasyAmnesia induced by the "Capsule B" Solo took before THRUSH captured him. [[HotScientist Hot THRUSH scientist]] Mara makes the transformation from geeky to hottie by the statutory means: removing her glasses and letting her hair down (though the rather fetching bikini she wears in one scene certainly doesn't get in the way). Various innocents-of-the-week also demonstrate this trope, especially when given access to U.N.C.L.E.'s costuming budget.

* HotScientist: THRUSH scientist Mara, in the second season episode "The Nowhere Affair".

* PocketRocketLauncher: In the tie-in novel "The Monster Wheel Affair," a Gyrojet pistol is used by the BigBad of the book . It's noted that it's [[RareGuns a pretty strange gun for him to be carrying]], a sure sign of overkill, and then dismissed by Napoleon Solo as more proof of the man's megalomania.

* SpyFiction: Mostly Martini Flavored. The constant use of the plot of an innocent bystander being dragged into the situation provides it with some Bathroom Gin.

** In the second season episode "The Indian Affairs Affair", the innocent civilian of the week is an "Indian princess" (i.e., daughter of the chief of a Native American tribe) who is a student in New York. We first see her dancing in a club in a {{Stripperific}} American Indian-inspired costume (complete with feathered war bonnet).

A one hour dramatic series which ran from September, 1964 through January, 1968 on Creator/{{NBC}}. Created by Norman Felton and Sam Rolfe with limited assistance from Creator/IanFleming. Fleming contributed the last name of the main hero, "Solo" (originally a very minor character in Fleming's novel ''Literature/{{Goldfinger}}'' and [[Film/{{Goldfinger}} its movie adaptation]]), and a minor character, April Dancer, who appeared in the main series in only one episode. (This episode was a PoorlyDisguisedPilot for the [[SpinOff spin-off]], ''Series/TheGirlFromUNCLE'') The series also owes a lot of its style, especially in its "innocent gets caught up in international intrigue" conceit, to Creator/AlfredHitchcock's ''Film/NorthByNorthwest''.

* SpecialGuest: Especially during its heyday, the show was able to draw a lot of high-powered talent as guest stars. Among those who made guest appearances included Creator/EveArden, Creator/JoanBlondell, Creator/TedCassidy, Creator/JoanCollins, Creator/YvonneCraig, Creator/JoanCrawford, Creator/RobertCulp, Creator/IvanDixon, Creator/JamesDoohan, Creator/HaroldGould, Creator/JamesHong, Creator/AllenJenkins, Creator/PatsyKelly, Creator/RichardKiel, Creator/MartinLandau, Creator/AngelaLansbury, Creator/JanetLeigh, Creator/HerbertLom, Creator/JackLord, Creator/RicardoMontalban, Creator/LeslieNielsen, Creator/LeonardNimoy, Creator/CarrollOConnor, Creator/JackPalance, Creator/EleanorParker, Creator/VincentPrice, Creator/CesarRomero, Creator/CharlesRuggles, Creator/KurtRussell, Creator/TellySavalas, Creator/WilliamShatner, Music/NancySinatra, [[Music/SonnyBono Sonny and]] Music/{{Cher}}, Creator/TerryThomas, Creator/RipTorn and Creator/FritzWeaver.

* SpecialGuest: Especially during its heyday, the show was able to draw a lot of high-powered talent as guest stars. Creator/VincentPrice, Creator/GeorgeSanders, Creator/WilliamShatner and Creator/LeonardNimoy (their first pairing, before ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''), Barbara Feldon (before she hit it big with ''Series/GetSmart''), Creator/MartinLandau (before ''Series/MissionImpossible''), Yvonne Craig (before ''Series/{{Batman|1966}}''), Creator/CesarRomero ([[Series/Batman1966 pre]]-ComicBook/TheJoker), Creator/JackLord (pre-''Series/HawaiiFiveO''), Creator/JoanCollins, Ivan Dixon, Creator/RichardKiel, Julie London, Creator/LeslieNielsen, Creator/JoanBlondell, Creator/JanetLeigh, Anne Francis, Senta Berger, Jill Ireland (at the time David [=McCallum=]'s wife), Creator/AngelaLansbury, Creator/KurtRussell, Eleanor Parker (who had the honor of being the series' last villainess), Dorothy Provine, [[Music/SonnyBono Sonny]] and Music/{{Cher}} and Nancy Sinatra, among others. Honorable mentions: Elsa Lanchester (of ''Film/BrideOfFrankenstein'') as Dr. Agnes Dabree in "The Brain-Killer Affair" (Season 01, Ep. 23). Still [[NightmareFuel inspiring nightmares]] years later... and Creator/JoanCrawford, who had a cameo as Andrea True in "The Five Daughters Affair". It was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of thing in the TV episode, but her part was beefed up a little for the movie version, ''The Karate Killers''.

* CompilationMovie: several; this show very possibly invented the genre. Many of these films were released in Europe with additional violence and racy footage added, and several of the films became bona fide box office hits as Bondmania continued.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: At the climax of "The Love Affair", [[spoiler:Solo and Pearl Rolfe, disguised as Brother Love's monk-like {{Mooks}}, load the grenade-like TimeBomb that Love was planning to use on them and an imprisoned scientist into Love's helicopter. Then they remove their hoods and wave at him as he takes off. Love has just enough time for an OhCrap reaction before his own bomb blows him out of the sky.]]

-->'''Clemency [=McGill=]:''' That was a right fine movie. Do you like spy movies Mr. Solo? Napoleon?\\

* SinisterMinister: Brother Love from "The Love Affair" is an evangelist who preaches peace and love... when he's not helping THRUSH kidnap scientists to build the 1965 equivalent of a WaveMotionGun.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5245787c81b1f7cfbbc4902ad8e078e9.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Left to right: Illya Kuryakin, Napoleon Solo and Mr. Waverly.]]

** In several episodes, U.N.C.L.E. BridgeBunnies would be tanning in two piece bathing suits under sunlamps ''in U.N.C.L.E. headquarters''(!) when receiving incoming communications from Solo.
*** The CompilationMovie ''One Spy Too Many'' (compiled from footage of the second season two-part season opener, "Alexander the Greater Affair (Parts I and II)") included an additional romantic subplot (not included in the original series episode) featuring actress Creator/YvonneCraig as a relative of Mr. Waverly's who is also an U.N.C.L.E. communications Bridge Bunny. In one scene she does the "tanning under a sunlamp in Headquarters" routine in a ''very'' skimpy bikini (probably too skimpy to have passed Broadcast Standards in 1965 when the episode first aired).

-->'''Chief Highcloud:''' There is another of your men outside. He talked to us with this. [''hands Kuryakin an object'']
-->'''Illya Kuryakin:''' Communicator dart. Fired it through the window, I suppose?
-->'''Chief Highcloud:''' Yes.
-->'''Illya Kuryakin:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Yes, my friend is always showing off]].
* HandsomeLech: Napoleon Solo.

* MyBrilliantEvilPlan: Villains. ''Always'' monologuing.
* MythologyGag: In the second season episode "The Bat Cave Affair", Napoleon Solo is escorting the episode's innocent to Europe as they investigate some developments in the plot. A scene on the airliner cuts in just as the inflight movie is ending, revealing a TheEnd card which shows that the inflight movie was ''One Spy Too Many''--which is in fact one of ''The Man From UNCLE'' [[CompilationMovie compilation movies]] (basically, ''One Spy Too Many'' was composed of the two parts of the second season opening episode, "Alexander the Greater Affair (Parts I and II)" plus added footage).
-->'''Clemency [=McGill=]:''' That was a right fine movie. Do you like spy movies Mr. Solo? Napoleon?
-->'''Napoleon Solo:''' I'll tell you, they're alright if you like light entertainment. I just think they're... pretty far fetched.

* NebulousEvilOrganisation: THRUSH

** This is often not quite as egregious as on other shows, considering that back in the 1960's, Creator/{{MGM}} still had its large complex of soundstages which could be (and were) expertly dressed to resemble most required locations. It was more jarring, though, when the show had to do location shooting. One blatant example comes in "Alexander The Greater Affair" (as noted, this was the only episode not to begin with "The"), where Southern California is expected to stand in for Northern Virginia. [[JustifiedTrope Possibly justified]] if one interprets this as [=SoCal=] standing in for the Blue Ridge Mountains, which can easily be seen from the western fringes of the Washington suburbs.

-->'''Illya Kuryakin:''' "Uh...isn't that that Doctor...what's his name??"

* SpecialGuest: Especially during its heyday, the show was able to draw a lot of high-powered talent as guest stars. Creator/VincentPrice, Creator/GeorgeSanders, Creator/WilliamShatner and Creator/LeonardNimoy (their first pairing, before ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''), Barbara Feldon (before she hit it big with ''Series/GetSmart''), Creator/MartinLandau (before ''Series/MissionImpossible''), Yvonne Craig (before ''Series/{{Batman|1966}}''), Creator/CesarRomero ([[Series/Batman1966 pre]]-ComicBook/TheJoker), Jack Lord (pre-''Series/HawaiiFiveO''), Creator/JoanCollins, Ivan Dixon, Creator/RichardKiel, Julie London, Creator/LeslieNielsen, Creator/JoanBlondell, Creator/JanetLeigh, Anne Francis, Senta Berger, Jill Ireland (at the time David [=McCallum=]'s wife), Creator/AngelaLansbury, Creator/KurtRussell, Eleanor Parker (who had the honor of being the series' last villainess), Dorothy Provine, [[Music/SonnyBono Sonny]] and Music/{{Cher}} and Nancy Sinatra, among others. Honorable mentions: Elsa Lanchester (of ''Film/BrideOfFrankenstein'') as Dr. Agnes Dabree in "The Brain-Killer Affair" (Season 01, Ep. 23). Still [[NightmareFuel inspiring nightmares]] years later... and Creator/JoanCrawford, who had a cameo as Andrea True in "The Five Daughters Affair". It was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of thing in the TV episode, but her part was beefed up a little for the movie version, ''The Karate Killers''.

* FanService: Common subtropes of this include MrFanservice, ShirtlessScene, and SexySoakedShirt.

*** The CompilationMovie ''One Spy Too Many'' (compiled from footage of the second season two-part season opener, "Alexander the Greater Affair (Parts I and II)") included an additional romantic subplot (not included in the original series episode) featuring actress Creator/YvonneCraig as a relative of Mr. Waverly's who is also an U.N.C.L.E. communications [[BridgeBunnies Bridge Bunny]]. In one scene she does the "tanning under a sunlamp in Headquarters" routine [[MsFanservice in a]] ''[[MsFanservice very]]'' [[MsFanservice skimpy bikini]] (probably too skimpy to have passed Broadcast Standards in 1965 when the episode first aired).

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: All the time, but especially in the first season episode "The Bow Wow Affair", in which a dog expert spreads some photographs of dogs' legs on the floor right next to the GirlOfTheWeek 's shapely legs, and then says "Look at those legs!"

One of the very first shows to capitalize on the spy craze of the early [[TheSixties 1960s]], the series featured the adventures of two enforcement agents of a multinational law enforcement and intelligence organization: the '''U'''nited '''N'''etwork '''C'''ommand for '''L'''aw and '''E'''nforcement. Their mission: an ongoing struggle against wrongdoers who threaten world security, especially their recurring nemesis, an organization known as THRUSH, which strives for world domination. The series's unique gimmick was that just about every episode involved an "innocent civilian" in the week's plot. Sometimes the civilian was a willing volunteer in U.N.C.L.E.'s machinations against its opponents, but other times the innocent was merely a passerby who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and thereby found himself or herself involved in the plot (i.e., a HeroicBystander).

* ChivalrousPervert: Napoleon basically bounces between TheCasanova, TheCharmer, ChivalrousPervert, and HandsomeLech depending on the episode you're watching and the needs of that week's plot.