The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. makes list of 15 worst spinoff series

Entertainment Weekly has come out with a list of the 15 worst spinoff series. The only spy series, and one of the oldest series on the list, is The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., which ran in the 1966-67 series.

We’d excerpt except there’s not much text. Essentially, it says Stefanie Powers’s April Dancer comes across as a weak character, suffering in comparison to Diana Rigg’s Emma Peel, who could be seen on The Avengers at the same time. You can see what EW has to say BY CLICKING HERE. Once there you can click around to see the rest of the list, which includes Joey and After M*A*S*H.

To read some detailed reviews of episodes from The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., you can go to our sister site, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. episode guide, by CLICKING HERE.

Encyclopedia of TV Spies about to debut

On March 1, Bear Manor Media will release The Encyclopedia of TV Spies by Wes Britton. From some of the promotional material:

What do you know about The Piglet Files, Doomwatch, The Sandbaggers? Has your DVD diet included Passport to Danger, Man in a Suitcase, Sleepers? That’s what The Encyclopedia of TV Spies is all about—the icons of TV past, the obscure, the neglected classics, and the misfires. If you’re a spy buff or a fan of TV history, this is one that belongs on your bookshelf!

It’s available for preorder at http://www.bearmanormedia.bizland.com/

Price is $29.95 for the 497-page, softcover book.

Happy 90th birthday Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

In the current issue of HMSS, we have a story about espionage-themed episodes of The FBI, the 1965-74 series from producer Quinn Martin. (If you haven’t seen it, you can click RIGHT HERE.)

Today, the star of that series, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. celebrates his 90th birthday. He remained active into the early part of this decade, mostly doing cartoon voices, including a long stint as the voice of Alfred in a series of Batman cartoons produced by Warner Bros.

Anyway, to celebrate, here’s the main title to one of the episodes featured in the HMSS article. It’s from the second season and was titled “The Courier.” The guest stars included Ruth Roman and Gene Hackman. Take a look: