Background and History
Contributors Behind the Scene
Actors
Episode Guide
The Return Movie
The Characters
The Gadgets
The Soundtrack
Print Tie-ins
TV Schedule
Articles
Other Resources
Buying and Collecting U.N.C.L.E.
Vintage Collectibles
Memorabilia
Videos / Laser Discs
Where to Buy
U.N.C.L.E. Fan Fiction
Introduction
In Print
Online
Spotlight on Authors
Interact with Other Fans
Media Conventions
Mailing Lists
Fan Clubs
Newsletters
SAME OLD, SAME OLD?
by C. W. Walker
Alfred Hitchcock called them "MacGuffins." They're the devices, the gimmicks, that initiate the action of a suspense thriller: secret documents, formulas, plans, codes, machines, devices, manufacturing plants. It almost doesn't matter what the MacGuffin is, because once the story gets going, it's almost entirely beside the point. As Hitchcock himself pointed out in one of his famous conversations with Francois Truffaut, although the MacGuffin is of vital importance to the characters, it's usually forgotten by the audience in the sweep of the narrative.
U.N.C.L.E. had lots of MacGuffins. Every week, it seemed, THRUSH (or someone else) was inventing or stealing something which would enable them to throw civilization into havoc and thus rule the world. MacGuffins also appeared as recurring subplots. For example: threatening one or both of the agents with a shotgun wedding.
So: how many secret formulas were there anyway? Just how many scientists were kidnapped? How often were devices that caused natural disasters used to put our guys in motion?
Recently, in doing research in producer Norman Felton's papers at the University of Iowa, I came across a curious document. Dated March 9, 1967 it's an analysis by Moya Morin of the story themes used during U.N.C.L.E's first three seasons.
I've queried some people connected to Arena productions, but no one can seem to figure out who Moya Morin was or who ordered the analysis. George Lehr, who was Norman Felton's line producer, guesses she (?) may have been a story "reader" for either NBC or MGM, but doesn't recognize the name.
Despite these mysteries about the documents' source and purpose, the analysis itself is interesting. There are 24 theme categories with the appropriate episodes listed and summarized. Here's the report [my notes are in brackets]:
Amnesia
The Nowhere Affair; The Pieces of Fate Affair.
Atomic War Survival and World Reconstruction
The Neptune Affair; The Shark Affair.
Brain Tampering
The Brain-Killer Affair; The Green Opal Affair; The Minus X Affair; The Very Important Zombie Affair; The Candidate's Wife Affair; The Her Master's Voice Affair; The Suburbia Affair.
Captive Scientists [very popular]
The Love Affair; The Neptune Affair; The Birds and Bees Affair; The Cherry Blossom Affair; The Project Deephole Affair; The Adriatic Express Affair; The Virtue Affair; The Bridge of Lions Affair; The Take Me to Your Leader Affair; The Sort of Do It Yourself Dreadful Affair.
Coups D'Etat [very, very popular]
The Dove Affair; The Abominable Snowman Affair; The Iowa-Scuba Affair; The King of Knaves Affair; The Quadripartite Affair; The Deadly Games Affair; The Alexander the Greater Affair; The Virtue Affair; The Four Steps Affair; The Jingle Bells Affair; The Napoleon's Tomb Affair; [My Friend the Gorilla Affair?]
Diamonds
The See Paris and Die Affair; The King of Diamonds Affair; The Galatea Affair.
E.S.P.
The Bat Cave Affair.
Ethnic Groups
The Bow-Wow Affair, The Terbuf Affair (gypsies); The Indian Affair Affair (Native Americans); The Yukon Affair (Eskimos); The Concrete Overcoat Affair, The Super Colossal Affair (Sicilians); The It's All Greek to Me Affair (Greeks).
Fanatical Religious Groups
The Love Affair (Revivalist); TheYellow Scarf Affair (Thugees); The Very Important Zombie Affair (Voodoo).
Heterogeneous Armies
The Finny Foot Affair (General Yokura has private army); The King of Knaves Affair; The Quadripartite Affair; Shark Affair; The Foreign Legion Affair (the Legion itself); The Children's Day Affair (children's army).
Important Child Characters
The Abominable Snowman Affair; The Children's Day Affair; The Deadly Toys Affair; The Four Steps Affair; The Her Master's Voice Affair.
Invasion of U.N.C.L.E. HQ
The Double Affair; The Mad Mad Tea Party Affair; The Green Opal Affair; The Birds and Bees Affair; The Children's Day Affair; The Discoteque Affair; The Waverly Ring Affair; The Off-Off-Broadway Affair.
Involvement of Secret Weapons [really popular!]
The Girls of Nazarone Affair; The Hong Kong Shilling Affair; The Finny Foot Affair; Love Affair; The Project Strigas Affair (bogus); The Quadripartite Affair; The Yellow Scarf Affair; The Alexander the Greater Affair; The Arabian Affair; The Birds and Bees Affair; The Cherry Blossom Affair; The Foxes and Hounds Affair; The Indian Affair Affair; The Minus X Affair; The Moonglow Affair; The Bat Cave Affair; The Nowhere Affair; The Project Deephole Affair; The Ultimate Computer Affair; The Dippy Blonde Affair; The Adriatic Express Affair; The Waverly Ring Affair; The Bridge of Lions Affair; The Yukon Affair; The Yo Ho Ho and Bottle of Rum Affair; The My Friend the Gorilla Affair; The Apple a Day Affair; The Concrete Overcoat Affair; The Deadly Smorgasbord Affair; The Five Daughter Affair; The Take Me to Your Leader Affair; The Hula Doll Affair; The Matterhorn Affair; The Monks of St. Thomas Affair; The Pop Art Affair; The Sort of Do It Yourself Dreadful Affair; The Suburbia Affair; The Thor Affair; The When in Rome Affair.
Matrimony Plays a Part
The See Paris and Die Affair; The Alexander the Greater Affair; The Foreign Legion Affair; The Deadly Goddess Affair; The Round Table Affair; The Ultimate Computer Affair; The Apple a Day Affair; The Concrete Overcoat Affair.
Plans Pursued for Personal Profit
Bow-Wow Affair; See Paris and Die Affair; Secret Sceptre Affair; Terbuf Affair; King of Diamonds Affair; Re-Collectors Affair; Tigers Are Coming Affair; Yukon Affair; My Friend the Gorilla Affair; Jingle Bells Affair; Matterhorn Affair; Thor Affair.
Rock n' Roll Elements
The Discoteque Affair. [The Hot Number Affair]
Seekers of Asylum from the Law
The Round Table Affair. [ The King of Knaves Affair]
Spies in the Enemy Camp
The Double Affair; The Mad MAD Tea Party Affair; The Green Opal Affair; The Odd Man Affair; The Arabian Affair; The Moonglow Affair; The Waverly Ring Affair; The Deadly Smorgasbord Affair.
Threats to World Peace
The Bow-Wow Affair; The Double Affair; The Finny Foot Affair; The Giuocco Piano Affair; The Mad Mad Tea Party; The Love Affair; The Neptune Affair; The Odd Man Affair; The Project Strigas Affair; The Quadripartite Affair; The Deadly Games Affair; The Cherry Blossom Affair; The Deadly Goddess Affair; The Bat Cave Affair; The Bridge of Lions Affair; The Apple a Day Affair; The Jingle Bells Affair; The Napoleon's Tomb Affair; The Sort of Do It Yourself Dreadful Affair.
Troublemaking Leaders Who Rise From the Dead or Threaten to Do So
The Secret Sceptre Affair; The Dippy Blonde Affair; [The Deadly Games Affair; The Girls of Nazarone Affair]
U.N.C.L.E. Strikes at THRUSH and Vice Versa [most popular of all!]
The Brain Killer Affair; The Deadly Decoy Affair; The Fiddlesticks Affair; The Green Opal Affair; The Never Never Affair; The Arabian Affair; The Foreign Legion Affair; The Birds and Bees Affair; The Cherry Blossom Affair; The Children's Day Affair; The Deadly Goddess Affair; The Discoteque Affair; The Foxes and Hounds Affair; The Indian Affairs Affair; The Bat Cave Affair; The Nowhere Affair; The Project Deephole Affair; The Ultimate Computer Affair; The Dippy Blonde Affair; The Adriatic Express Affair; The Waverly Ring Affair; The Cap and Gown Affair; The Come with Me to the Casbah Affair; The Deadly Smorgasbord Affair; The Five Daughters Affair; The Galatea Affair; The Hot Number Affair; The Hula Doll Affair; The It's All Greek to Me Affair; The Off-Off-Broadway Affair; The Pieces Of Fate Affair; The When in Roma Affair; The Yo Ho Ho Bottle of Rum Affair [The Double Affair?]
Undertakings of Personal Revenge
The Gazebo and the Maze Affair; The Deadly Toys Affair; The Virtue Affair; The Hula Doll Affair; The Super Colossal Affair.
Wildlife and Domestic Fauna
The Bow-Wow Affair; The Birds and Bees Affair; The Bat Cave Affair; [The My Friend the Gorilla Affair; The Tigers Are Coming Affair?].
World Domination
The Double Affair; The Finny Foot Affair; The Giuoco Piano Affair; The Quadripartite Affair; The Alexander the Greater Affair; The Deadly Goddess Affair; The Deadly Toys Affair; The Bat Cave Affair; The Ultimate Computer Affair; The Adriatic Express Affair; The Yukon Affair; The Five Daughter Affair; The Take Me to Your Leader Affair; The Monks of St. Thomas Affair.
Back to ARTICLES Index Page