U.N.C.L.E.: the week that was

“I can’t believe everything that’s going on, Illya.”

The week of Sept. 21-27 may be the busiest U.N.C.L.E.-related week since the 1964-68 series ended its first television run in January 1968. At least social media amplifies activity to make it seem that way.

It was also the week where news about U.N.C.L.E. 1.0 (the original series) and U.N.C.L.E. 2.0 (a movie version scheduled for release in August 2015 and starring Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer) collided.

Here’s a look:

Sept. 21: In the U.S., the MeTV channel runs the third episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Quadripartite Affair. It’s one of the best of the entire series and was the first to include significant screen time for David McCallum’s Illya Kuryakin character. The director was future movie director Richard Donner and scripter Alan Caillou would do much to develop Kuryakin in several first-season stories.

Sept. 22: Fans celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary across a variety of social media.

Sept. 23: Composer Daniel Pemberton confirms via Twitter that he’s written the score for The Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie directed by Guy Ritchie and that recording of the music begins on Sept. 24.

Sept. 24: Recording sessions of the U.N.C.L.E. score begin at Abbey Road Studios. Separately, the movie gets a rating of PG-13 from the Motion Picture Association of America, according a list of MPAA ratings compiled by Box Office Mojo.

Sept. 25: Warner Home Video announces plans to re-release The Man From U.N.C.L.E. series, according to TVSHOWSONDVD.COM. The re-release, scheduled for Nov. 4, will have all the extras a 2007 release had but the packaging will be different.

Sept. 26: The Golden Anniversary Affair, a two-day gathering of 100 fans, begins in Culver City, California, at the site of the former MGM studio where the show was produced.

Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, stars of the original series, aren’t able to attend but post greetings on the event’s website. Fans post pictures on social media of crew members, including associate producer George Lehr and composer Gerald Fried, who scored the most episodes of the show.

Also posted are photos of original props, including the U.N.C.L.E. special, such as THIS ONE by author Paul Bishop.

Half a world away, composer Pemberton makes a posting on Twitter that appears to reveal one track of his movie score will be titled His Name Is Napoleon Solo.

Sept. 27: The Golden Anniversary Affair and the U.N.C.L.E. movie recording sessions continue. Andrew Skeet, a musician working on the recording, Tweets a picture of Pemberton working on his keyboard at Abbey Road.

U.N.C.L.E. 50th anniversary event planned for LA

The original U.N.C.L.E.s

The 50th anniversary of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is scheduled to be celebrated in September in the Los Angeles area. All the details aren’t set yet, but here’s information FROM A FACEBOOK PAGE for the gathering.

“The Golden Anniversary Affair” – a two day event “Somewhere in Los Angeles”, Sept. 26th-27th, 2014, will be celebrating a half century of U.N.C.L.E.. This once in a lifetime event will feature a cast and crew reunion, a display of original props, presentations by U.N.C.L.E. aficionados as well as other surprises. A special feature will be an exclusive “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” MGM /SONY Studios tour that features a visit inside STAGE 10 where U.N.C.L.E HQ once stood. Keep Channel “D” open for more information as it becomes available.

The show debuted on Sept. 22, 1964, and ran until Sept. 15, 1968. A movie based on the series will be released in January 2015.

UPDATE (May 28): The event now HAS A WEBSITE, which says that participating U.N.C.L.E. crew members include Joseph Sargent, a leading director on the series; Fred Koenekamp, who photographed 90 of the 105 Man From U.N.C.L.E. episodes; and George Lehr, who was assistant to the producer and associate producer.