Oddity: novelization of never-made U.N.C.L.E. script

U.N.C.L.E. insignia from a second-season episode

This blog stumbled on something on Amazon on Thursday night — an apparently unauthorized novelization of THE MALTHUSIAN AFFAIR, a script for a never-made attempted revival of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Producers Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts commissioned Sam Rolfe, developer of the original 1964-68 television series, to do a script for a made-for-TV movie.

In Rolfe’s 1970s story, Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin are still active in U.N.C.L.E. There’s a new chief, Victor Waverly. U.N.C.L.E. has also moved to a new skyscraper headquarters in New York.

The script features the “Madman,” what seems to be a robot, who tears into HQs and creates havoc. This is the starting point for an elaborate adventure. (For additional details, CLICK HERE.)

The Amazon page for the novelization includes a sample, including the Madman’s attack. One reason this appears to be an unauthorized novelization is that the author is listed as “p d.”

According to the Amazon page for the book, it sells for $10.