From my favorite movies..

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

The television series "I Spy" represented NBC at it's most daring that in 1965 actor-producer-creator Sheldon Leonard,best known behind the guiding force behind "The Andy Griffith Show", "The Danny Thomas Show aka Make Room For Daddy",and "The Dick Van Dyke Show" could offer a first-class dramatic entry as well. Certainly during the 1960's when civil rights was an explosive issue,and television series were predictable and shot exclusively on studio sound stages and back lots,a program that was the first to filmed 'on location' and to featured an African-American actor in a leading role for the first time(in a mainstream dramatic series that was totally brand new in 1965)was not only revolutionary,but potentially disastrous as well. It is to everyone's credit that the powers that be over at NBC,which was most successful network at that time was willing to take this extreme risk and introduce this remarkable series to American audiences that would be the first to be filmed on location in exotic places around the world and in full color.Robert Culp was an established television and film star when the series debuted with credentials that included his work on television Westerns( the series,"Trackdown" from 1957-1959),his work on the first major made for-TV movie ("The Hanged Man"),guest star appearances("The Outer Limits","Naked City", "The Virginian", "Rawhide", "Gunsmoke", "The Corruptors","Bonanza","Mr.Novak","The Man From UNCLE"),and strong theatrical film work("PT 109", "Sunday In New York","The Raiders"),and his credentials as gifted writer and actor. The premise for "I Spy" was the adventures of a tennis pro Kelly Robinson played by Robert Culp and his trainer Alexander Scott(A Rhodes Scholar) played by newcomer Bill Cosby,who were actually CIA agents who would use their covers on worldwide missions,was hammered out. Culp knew he had the right formula with Bill Cosby and this is where the show took off. The co-starring role became the focus of attention throughout the series with the initial focus was on Culp's flamboyant 'Kelly Robinson" and Cosby's 'Alexander Scott' relegated to the serious role of the 'contact' man with the CIA. While Cosby having a way to 'punching up' his dialog this had the potential of the actor putting in one-liners and asides that not only improve the scenes but gave the character of Scott a humanity that the scripts lacked. Not only were the episodes became funny but it also added in several good action-packed sequences that made this show stand out. Not to mention some of the best dramatic acting ever assembled. Thus it became television's most popular espionage buddy show and the result won three Prime-Time Emmys during it's sensational three year run at NBC.The creative force behind the show were writers David Friedkin and Morton Fine and cinematographer Fouad Said under there production company "Triple F Productions" under the aegis of Desilu Studios where the series was produced. Fine and Friedkin were co-producers and head writers and wrote the scripts for 16 episodes, one of which Friedkin directed. Friedkin also dabbing in acting and appeared in two episodes in the first season of "I Spy". The series aired on September 15, 1965 and was placed on NBC's Wednesday prime-time schedule opposite "Amos Burke" and "The Danny Kaye Show" that did very well in the ratings. The series lasted three seasons producing 83 episodes in color until April 15,1968. "I Spy" ran for 2 seasons on Wednesday nights,and in its third season the show moved to Monday nights. Big name writers included Jerry Belson, Stephen Kandel, Edward J. Lakso, Robert Culp, Chester Krumholz, Jackson Gillis, Earl Barret,and Oliver Crawford. Big name directors from Earl Bellamy, Christian Nyby, Paul Wendkos, Leo Penn, David Friedkin, Sheldon Leonard, Tom Gries, Mark Rydell, Anton Leader, Richard Benedict, Hal Cooper, Ralph Senensky, John Rich, Richard C. Sarafian, and Allan Reisner.Big name guest stars consisted of seasoned African-American actors ranging from Cicely Tyson, Ivan Dixon, Diana Sands, Abbey Lincoln, Brock Peters, Eartha Kitt, Godfrey Cambridge, Leslie Uggams, Beah Richards, and Raymond St. Jacques. The guest stars that appeared on "I Spy" included Carroll O'Connor, Jim Backus, Maurice Evans, Nehemiah Persoff, Victor Buono, Joey Heatherton, Lee Weaver, Julie London, Roger C. Carmel, France Nuyen, Ricardo Montalban, Gene Hackman, James Best, Nancy Wilson, Madlyn Rhue, Jay Novello, Lloyd Nolan, Kamala Devi,Boris Karloff, and Harold J.Stone. along with Martin Landau. Even Sheldon Leonard was a guest star on an episode as well as producer David Friedkin was also a guest star. Other guest stars included newcomer George Stanford-Brown,along with James Earl Jones and Roscoe Lee Browne. Even "Andy Griffith" alumnus Ronnie Howard was also a guest star in an episode.The best episodes from this Emmy winning series "Home To Judgment", "Mainly on the Plains", "The War Lord", "Bet Me A Dollar", "Trial By Treehouse", "Dragon's Teeth", "So Long, Patrick Henry", "A Cup of Kindness", "Bridge of Spies", "Danny Was A Million Laughs", "The Loser",and "It's All Done With Mirrors" and so much more. The phenomenal success of "I Spy" basically opened the doors for other African-American actors who would go on to bigger and better careers,thanks in part to Sheldon Leonard who opened the door for Bill Cosby who went on to make historical contributions to this series. And the overall achievements that the television series "I Spy" made opened the doors for other actors as Nichelle Nichols("Star Trek"),Rosey Grier("Daniel Boone"), Greg Morris("Mission:Impossible"), Don Mitchell("Ironside"),Clarence Williams III("The Mod Squad"),Diahann Carroll("Julia"), Robert Hooks ("N.Y.P.D."),Otis Young("The Outcasts"),and Raymond St. Jacques("Rawhide"),and Don Marshall("The Land of the Giants") and many more. Without the success and the launching of "I Spy" this would have not been possible. Happy Annniversary "I Spy".

'I Spy' premiered on U.S. television a year after the launching of 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E'. At first glance the shows appear virtually indistinguishable - a pair of globe-trotting secret agents constantly facing danger, as well as lots of lovely women. But that is where the similarity ends. 'M.F.U.' followed the Bond formula closely, but 'I Spy' was much more original.It broke new ground by having a black man - comedian Bill Cosby - as a lead, not a supporting character. Times were changing in the mid-60's. Within months of his debut, 'Mission: Impossible' gave us Greg Morris as 'Barney Collier' and Nichelle Nichols opened hailing frequencies as 'Uhura' in 'Star Trek' . 'Alexander Scott' was as important as his friend 'Kelly Robinson', played by Robert Culp. Robinson's cover was that of a world-class tennis player, while Scott was his coach. The strong relationship between the men was an integral part of the show's success. The humorous banter they exchanged made it a joy to watch. It paved the way for the buddy-buddy shows that followed in the '70's.While Cosby rightly got the acting awards, one should not overlook his co-star. Culp, an early choice to play 'Napoleon Solo', made 'Robinson' more human than some of the other spies on television at that time. In 'Room With A Rack', for instance, we see him being tortured, and he was just brilliant.It also was the first show to boast overseas location filming. When Scott and Robinson strolled down a busy street in Tokyo, that is exactly where they were. As a consequence it had a realistic edge many similar shows lacked.The plots were more down to Earth too. No mad scientists threatening to unleash death-rays on Washington D.C. Robinson and Scott were more likely to be rescuing a kidnapped British mathematician or busting up a gang of saboteurs posing as respectable businessmen. There was no 'M' or 'Mr.Waverly' figure ( though Walter Wager's novels featured a desk-bound superior called 'Donald Mars' ), instead they got their orders from other agents in the field.The roster of guest-stars included Boris Karloff, Eartha Kitt, Peter Lawford, Martin Landau, Michael Rennie, Dorothy Lamour, Carroll O'Connor, a pre 'Jason King' Peter Wyngarde, and future Bond villain Richard 'Jaws' Kiel! The show was massively popular, winning Cosby Emmys ( as previously noted ) while Culp saw acclaim for his intelligent scripts ( the best one being Season 3's 'Home To Judgment' ).Strangely, after three years, it ended, apparently as the result of conflict between the network and producer Sheldon Leonard. Culp and Cosby went their separate ways, briefly reuniting in 1972 for the film 'Hickey & Boggs', and then as Scott and Robinson in 1994's T.V. reunion movie 'I Spy Returns' which, in my view, was not much good.2002 saw the inevitable cheesy Hollywood remake, starring Eddie Murphy as 'Robinson' and Owen Wilson as 'Scott'. Its makers had clearly never seen the show. Murphy/Robinson was now a boxer, with Wilson/Scott his promoter. The plot, such as it was, concerned an invisible plane. This insult to celluloid rightly flopped. The best thing to be said for it was that neither Culp nor Cosby were persuaded to do cameos.'I Spy' remains a thrilling, funny, intelligent show that set new television standards, ones that have never been equalled, much less surpassed.

In a world of spy spoofs like the Avengers, the Man from UNCLE, and, yes, even the Wild, Wild West, I Spy breathed fresh CIA air into the mix. There was something edgy (not as edgy as Secret Agent Man) and real in the super villain free world throughout which Kelly Robinson and Alexander Scott cavorted. Cool graphics announced each episode with Robert Culp as Kelly Robinson (who spied under the cover of being a world class tennis player) morphing from a racquet wielding serve-and-volleyer to a handgun brandishing, enemy-stalking agent. The haunting theme music is as recallable as Star Trek's even though I haven't heard it since the mid 60's. Yes, I just admitted to being a teen fan of the show. My views are therefore time colored. A card carrying nerd at the time, I reveled vicariously in any number of these kinds of shows. I pulled the plastic P38 from my Man from UNCLE shoulder holster and took aim at various on screen enemies from my top bunk bed superior vantage point. I tried to teach myself tennis banging wildly at a viaduct near our home. I even took for a brief period to introducing myself to girls as Kelly, not a complete lie since it is my surname. None of this, however, was as bad as when I shaved back my temples a couple years earlier in a vain attempt to simulate Robert Vaughn's receding hairline when I was a 14 year old Man from UNCLE zealot. I digress, and this has turned into a review about teenage boy obsessions instead of a critique of the I Spy series. Can you really critique something that affects your outcomes almost as much as your first love did – perhaps more so? Maybe it was because I was fatherless as a teen. These spy guys were the mentors and the role models I so sorely lacked. They taught me the virtues of standing up against villainy, developing rich friendships with at least one other trustworthy guy, and to keep a stiff upper lip even when you never win the Emmy. Robert Culp was, in fact, quite gracious every year when Bill Cosby would beat him out of it. Of course, Cosby's Alexander Scott was brilliant (and not just because he was a Rhodes Scholar – insert laugh track here). The sum of their complementary parts managed every week to be greater than the whole. This period of my life feels remarkably clear (aside from my skin). I think it's because shows like I Spy, many of the aforementioned and of course Star Trek made such powerful imprints on my psyche. They showed boys how to be men (including not to be afraid of liking girls). I would recommend this series to anyone who wants to return to a wonderful time in television history (or in their own lives as in my case). There were many now recognized to be classic shows, and this one is very near the top of that list is my memory.

Apparently only one comment a year is allowed for this show, so here's 2002's.The misgivings that I've got about the Eddie Murphy/Owen Wilson take on "I Spy" would seem to be justified by most accounts (even allowing for the presence of the scrumptious Famke Janssen), and now that Carlton Direct has closed down it's unlikely repeats of this fine spy show will be back on British television in the near future. Too bad.Unlike most other series, the adventures of Kelly Robinson and Alexander Scott (spies under the guise of a tennis player and his coach, played by Robert Culp and Bill Cosby respectively - the latter won three Emmys in succession for his performances, which are indeed easier to take than his subsequent incarnation as the endlessly self-adoring Dr. Cliff Huxtable) benefitted from actual location shooting around the world and from intelligent scripts, some by Culp himself - though not "To Florence With Love," a two-part story which had a most unusual ending in part one; our heroes are trying to get information from someone by threatening to cover him completely in plaster of Paris, and it ends with the would-be stooge about to be totally closed up. (He cracks at the start of part 2, obviously, but there's no doubt that they really would let him suffocate if he hadn't.)The chemistry between Culp and Cosby and the great theme music by Earle Hagen (plus scores from him and Hugo Friedhofer - bless Film Score Monthly for issuing a CD of music from the series) are two more reasons this plays well on TV today. If you take care with a product, it'll be good forever; which is why "The Cosby Mysteries" won't be fondly remembered 30 years from now. If ever.