Assignment: Earth - Is it Really a Star Trek Episode?

[Melakon]

. . .Batman. . .The Green Hornet. . .Maybe Roddenberry was trying to do something in that style.

More historical context: A lot of the spy-fi shows of that era were at least slightly tongue-in-cheek in tone. The Avengers, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., etc. . .

Yeah, but even U.N.C.L.E. started trying to imitate Batman when it was already an effective spoof (I really wanted one of those pens to "Open Channel D"). I'd been watching since the early first weeks of the black and white shows. Then they went absolutely crazy in the third season and it almost killed them. They tried to recover in the 4th year, but it was cancelled before May (for Laugh-In I think).

 

[Christopher]

^I'm currently early in season 2 of TMFU via Netflix. To be honest, I haven't been that impressed with the show so far, though it's had its moments. I'm somewhat dreading season 3, but I'm morbidly curious to see exactly what the show became.

 

[Maurice]

Doesn't this episode use the same type of framing device "The Menagerie" did with "The Cage"?

Kirk and Spock are always talking about Seven, but does Gary have scenes with Roberta specifically about the Enterprise? Are all four stars (Shatner, Nimoy, Lansing, Garr) ever in the same master shot?

http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/2x26hd/assignmentearthhd1338.jpg

 

[Christopher]

^Somehow whenever I try to link directly to a TrekCore screencap, it won't let me.

 

[scotpens]

I'm currently early in season 2 of TMFU via Netflix. To be honest, I haven't been that impressed with the show so far, though it's had its moments. I'm somewhat dreading season 3, but I'm morbidly curious to see exactly what the show became.

I thought The Man from UNCLE was quite good in its first two seasons. Remember, they were basically trying to do James Bond on a weekly TV budget. I liked the premise of a covert international organization that transcended global politics, with an American and a Russian agent working side by side at the height of the Cold War.

I loved the gadgets, the pen-radios, the headquarters with the secret entrance in a tailor shop. And that car that showed up in a few episodes was pretty cool too, though I've heard it was a bitch to drive.

Let's see, am I forgetting anything? Oh yes -- the women!

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF0-yNrzHdE[/yt]

 

[Christopher]

I thought The Man from UNCLE was quite good in its first two seasons. Remember, they were basically trying to do James Bond on a weekly TV budget. I liked the premise of a covert international organization that transcended global politics, with an American and a Russian agent working side by side at the height of the Cold War.

They weren't exactly trying to do Bond. That's how it started out -- Ian Fleming actually created Napoleon Solo, and the show was going to be called Ian Fleming's Solo until there was a falling-out over rights -- but it quickly evolved in a more comical direction (years before the Bond movies themselves did so).

Besides, what they tried to do has no bearing on how well they did it. My issue is not with the budget or the production values, but with the writing. There are some good episodes in the mix, but a lot of weak or lame ones. My blog reviews go into the specifics of what I liked and didn't like.