Edward Woodward, RIP

Edward Woodward, the distinguished and intense star of the Spy-Fi television series Callan and The Equalizer, passed away yesterday at age 79.

I'm a huge fan of The Equalizer and Woodward's portrayal of Robert McCall, an ex-spy who used his espionage skills to help those in trouble against terrible odds. It was refreshing to have a television hero who had maturity, class, and intelligence, but also knew when to blow away the bad guys with his PPK. Woodward brought both great dignity and a convincing toughness to the role, and received numerous awards for his performance on the show.

Woodward was a very fine actor, and I enjoyed watching him in almost anything he appeared in, from the original Wicker Man and Breaker Morant to Hot Fuzz. He'll be missed.

Weekly Debriefing 015

Begin Transmission:

• The Channel has been issuing little but static of late, and I apologize. I've been very busy recently with several writing projects and various pressing personal issues (not to mention kicking off yet another pop-culture genre blog). Also, aside from my weekly 007 films with my wife (this is week #19 and A View to A Kill), there has been very little Spy-Fi action going on around here.

I do have a couple of reviews partially written (OSS 117: Murder For Sale and T.R. Sloane/Death Ray 2000), and I just got software for my computer that allows me to take screen captures off of DVDs, so there will be some new material shortly. I also plan on adding photos to some of my older reviews as I get time.

• One of the projects I've been working on is tenuously Spy-Fi related - an all-new prose anthology featuring adventures of the classic radio/comics/serial/television character Captain Midnight. Long in the works, I've now delivered the final components to the publisher, and it should be out in the late Spring of '10. I'm the editor of the anthology and wrote the "Bible" for this version of the character, which is set in an alternate history where WWII never happened.

Captain Midnight is the commander of an independent, world wide intelligence and peace-keeping force known as The Secret Squadron, and some of his adventures are genuine espionage thrillers. In fact, his primary nemesis is a would-be world conqueror named Ivan Shark, a megalomaniac in the Bond-villain mold. Contributors to the anthology include New York Times best-selling author/aviation expert John J. Nance (Medusa's Child, Pandora's Clock), Stephen Mertz (The Korean Intercept), Chuck Dixon, Robert Greenberger, Trina Robbins, Mark Justice, Tim Lasiuta, Win Scott Eckert, Howard Hopkins, Robert Jeschonek, and yours truly. The cover art is by my pal Richard Clark.

Rich and I will also be teaming up on a series of Captain Midnight comic book stories as well.

• While I may have been neglecting my spy blogging duties, the rest of the COBRAS have not been idle. In fact, a new agent has joined us in our goal of global blog domination. Specifically, Peter Lorenz of The Illustrated 007 - The Art of James Bond.

I've been a fan of Peter's blog for a while now. He's doing an incredible job scouring the world for virtually every piece of illustration related to our favorite MI6 agent. Book covers, film posters, comic books, magazine illustrations... you name it, he's got it. His site is a must for both Bond fans and art lovers.

• In my last Debriefing I mentioned rumors about the 80s spy series Scarecrow & Mrs. King coming to DVD in 2010. Well, the first season has been confirmed for March. TV Shows on DVD has the cover art and additional details.

• Well, that's about it for now. Hopefully, things will settle down for me this winter and I'll be back to posting more regularly.

End Transmission.

Intel: IT TAKES A THIEF coming to DVD?

TV Shows On DVD is reporting that they have received information from a reliable source that the late Sixties spy-fi series, It Takes A Thief, will be coming to DVD in 2010. Since there's been no official announcement, though, they're labeling their report as a rumor.

The series, which ran from 1968 to 1970, featured Robert Wagner as Alexander Mundy, a playboy and cat burglar recruited out of prison by a secret agency of the United States government to steal for them. His boss was Noah Bain (Malachi Throne), and Mundy's father - also a thief - made frequent appearances in the form of the legendary Fred Astaire.

Episodes from the series were recently available for free online viewing at Hulu, but appear to be gone now. (Correction: Apparently the episodes are still up on Hulu. I just didn't find them.)

Video: David Hasselhoff "Secret Agent Man"

This is a weird one, as the Hoff interprets the classic Johnny Rivers tune amid some faux Maurice Binder-inspired graphics. Of course, Hasselhoff did portray Marvel Comics' superspy, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a mid-90s television movie (which I have on DVD and should probably review one of these days)...

Weekly Debriefing 014

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• Finished watching the fourth season of Get Smart. Having Max and 99 actually get married was a bold move, and allowed the writers to play around a bit with the series format and bring a little "domestic humor" to the show. Obviously, the dynamic between Don Adams and Barbara Feldon changed somewhat, too. I also noticed that there was less repetition of classic Smart bits in Season 4, unlike earlier seasons, where every episode seemed to have a "cone of silence" gag or a "would you believe?" routine.

Good stuff, and it really demonstrates just how far off the mark last year's Steve Carrell version was. I'm looking forward to the retail release of Season Five.

• My weekly Bond movie marathon hits week 23 today with For Your Eyes Only on Blu-Ray. It's my favorite Roger Moore movie (though I really enjoyed viewing Moonraker in hi-def last Friday), so I'm looking forward to watching it again this evening.

• I also finally got around to rewatching OSS 117: Murder For Sale with near-Bond John Gavin. Look for a review here soon.

• INTEL: I never watched the show, but according to TV Shows on DVD, the 1980s spy-fi series Scarecrow And Mrs. King, starring Bruce Boxleitner and Kate Jackson, will probably be hitting DVD in 2010.

As I said above, I never watched it. Was it any good? I liked Boxleitner on Babylon 5 and the old Bring 'Em Back Alive show -not to mention TRON! - so I'm curious.

• C.O.B.R.A.S. News: The cabal continues its world domination plans with the addition of yet another blog to its ranks. Welcome to Paul Baack and the rest of the crew at the HMSS Weblog. The blog is an adjunct of the Her Majesty's Secret Servant webmagazine, probably the finest online 007 fanzine around.

• Anyway, that was my week. How was yours?

End Transmission.

Review: A MAN CALLED SLOANE - "The Shangri-La Syndrome"

Well, we come at last to the final episode of A Man Called Sloane, "The Shangri-La Syndrome," directed by none other than T.R. Sloane himself, Robert Conrad.

I wish I could say that the series went out on a high note, but "Syndrome" is a rather lackluster affair.

Sloane is investigating the theft of some top secret material from Doctor Karla Meredith's (Daphne Reid) scientific institute. A meeting with one of her (young and pretty, 'natch) researchers is interrupted by an intruder whom Sloane pursues. By the time Sloane gets back, she is dead of apparent old age. It turns out that Meredith is working with KARTEL and an ex-Nazi named (of course) Hans Kruger (Dennis Cole) to clone a South American dictator.

There's some interesting stuff in here - Kruger is being kept young by a age-reversing formula and must stay in a hot environment to avoid reverting his to his true age - but nothing is done with them. There's only one gadget in this episode, and it's rather pedestrian, too.

It's a shame that the series came out when it did. NBC in 1979 was something of a creative wasteland, with network head Fred Silverman desperate to attract viewers to the floundering net. His approach to this was to program shows that were colorful, titillating, and basically stupid. This was the season of Supertrain, Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, Hello Larry and Pink Lady & Jeff.

It's also unfortunate that the producers didn't bother to actually give Conrad a character to play. Sloane was Conrad, basically, and was never shown to have any personal life, nor was there any backstory ever revealed for the character. In the pilot film - where the character was played by Robert Logan - Sloane was established as an art and antique dealer, which provided him with a cover for his international travel. This appears to have been forgotten by the time of the actual series. The character of Torque was badly used as well. A giant with a multi-purpose cybernetic hand should have been a lot more useful and interesting than he actually was. I don't blame actor Ji-Tu Cumbuka, though. He simply wasn't given anything much to do, most of the time.

Anyway, it was fun re-visiting the series. One of these days, I'll get around to reviewing the pilot film, T.R. Sloane/Death Ray 2000.

Happy Birthday, Roger!

Happy 82nd to the man with the longest cinematic run as 007 - not to mention being the definitive Simon Templar - Sir Roger Moore!

The New Men From C.O.B.R.A.S.

I may not have had much time for Spy-Fi blogging of late, but that doesn't mean that my fellow COBRAS (Coalition Of Bloggers wRiting About Spies) have been slacking off. Just check out the blogroll at left and check out their sites for the best in spy-fi news, reviews and opinion.

And speaking of that blogroll, there's a few new additions to the list, as the COBRAS organization welcomes several new members to its ranks.

So, join us in welcoming the UK's Rob Mallows of the Deighton Dossier, Argentina's Johny Malone and his Una Plaga de Espias, and Philippe Lombard of France, proprietor of Quantum Of Bond.

Clearly, the COBRAS are well on their way to world domination, with agents in the US, UK, Argentina, France and Australia... so far.

Weekly Debriefing 013

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• Wow. It's been a while since I posted anything substantial here. I've been dealing with some grueling freelance deadlines and other stuff, and really haven't had time to indulge my Spy-Fi obsessions. The only exception is that my wife and I are continuing to work our way through the 007 films, watching them in order, one every Friday evening. This week it was The Spy Who Loved Me, which, in my opinion, is Roger Moore's second-best Bond film. It is also, I think, the best of the "spectacle" Bonds. It's interesting that director Lewis Gilbert made essentially the same movie three times, but I have to admit that while the stories may not be particularly strong, Gilbert really knew how to take advantage of the 'scope frame with some visually impressive compositions and really put the money on screen.

I really miss Ken Adams' sets. That guy's a genius.

• My only recent Spy-Fi purchase is the fourth season of Get Smart, which I picked up Friday evening. This is the season where Max and 99 tied the knot, and I'm really looking forward to watching these episodes.

As I noted with the last couple of DVD Season releases, I'm amazed at how well the comedy holds up overall. Great writing.

• I'll be making a sincere effort to get back to posting more regularly. I have a few films and books to review, and will be getting to them soon.

How was your week?

End Transmission.

C.O.B.R.A.S. Alert: Mister 8's Len Deighton Contest

While I gear up to get back to regular posting here at the Spy-Fi Channel, I'd like to direct your attention (assuming that you haven't already directed said attention there already) to fellow C.OB.RA.S. site Mister 8, where Armstrong Sabian has been exhaustively examining the phenomenon of Len Deighton and The IPCRESS File - novel and film.

It was supposed to be a month-long project, but Armstrong found so much to write about the book and the movie (starring Michael Caine as reluctant agent "Harry Palmer") that it ran throughout the summer and into the fall.

Now, he's come up with a remarkably interesting and unusual Deighton-themed contest:

So here’s the challenge: Give us a glimpse of what an adaptation of Horse Under Water might look like. Show us a movie poster, a scripted scene, a theme song, an animation, a trailer, a level from a video game, a comic, a selection from a radio play, etc. etc. We’re not too particular. Just get it to us by midnight EST on Dec. 12th by emailing your submission (or a link to your submission) to mister8 (at) mister8.com! Improve your odds with multiple entries!

Visit the Mister 8 blog for more details, and while you're there, check out the archives.

I Wish I Was James Bond

Really, don't we all? Song by the band Scouting For Girls.

My attentions have been elsewhere, but regular posting will resume soon.

Spy-Fi Flashback: U.N.C.L.E. @ 45

Cinema Retro reminds us that forty-five years ago tonight, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. premiered on NBC. Starring Robert Vaughn as suave secret agent Napoleon Solo and David McCallum as his enigmatic Russian colleague, the show ran for four years.

The first U.N.C.L.E. show I ever saw was the 1983 TV movie reunion. Not the greatest example, obviously, but it was good enough to make me want to see more.

I never saw an episode of the original series until the mid-1980s, when cable's CBN, the Christian Broadcasting Network, ran the first season, black & white U.N.C.L.E. episodes at five AM on weekdays. I set my VCR timer to record the show, and enjoyed finally seeing the series I had been reading about for years.

In subsequent years, I caught episodes from the later seasons on stations like TNT, and last year I finally got my hands on the complete series DVD set.

U.N.C.L.E. was both a product of its time and a bit ahead of it. It was a Cold War era spy show that flat out ignored the Cold War, and showed an American agent (some sources claim Solo was Canadian, but that was never mentioned on the air) and a Russian agent working together to keep the world safe. Despite the limitations of a television budget, the producers and directors used the resources of the then-fading MGM studios -- especially its vast backlot -- to give the show a sense of scope and spectacle that its contemporaries lacked. And it was its success that helped give rise to the TV spy boom of the Sixties, making it responsible, in part, for the existence of shows such as Get Smart, The Wild Wild West, I Spy and Mission: Impossible.

So, happy anniversary to the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, for without it, this blog may not have been possible.