|
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Covington: Illya Kuryakin
By Gary Covington
Looking In
"The show's two main characters were supersmooth Napoleon Solo played by Robert Vaughn (and a million miles from the gunslinger he played in Yul Brynner's The Magnificent Seven) and his sidekick Illya Kuryakin played by Scot David McCallum."
CHANNEL 23 have caught RPN disease. They're shunting programs about.
CSI I've lost merely temporarily but worse--far, far worse is that Survivor is missing from its usual Sunday evening spot. The show had just reached a critical point. One tribe down to only three members; the other, having won almost all of the challenges, at nearly full strength.
Did the tribes merge? Who was sent home last week? Did Jeff get eaten by sharks? I don't know and I get really ratty without my weekly fix of the million dollar castaways. If I were quicker I'd kick the cats.
Survivor's been replaced by something called Y Speak, a chat show for teenagers. The chat is in Filipino and being linguistically challenged, i.e. a bonehead, I couldn't understand a word. I clicked the clicker.
Over on RPN was a new show, NCIS--not to be confused with CSI or NCCC--the initials standing for (I think) Navy Criminal Investigative Service. CSI on the ocean wave.
The show's format is familiar. A dirty deed is done, the field team swings into action and supported by technicians back at the office, crack the case and fling the guilty party into jail or, in naval parlance, into the brig.
The field team, a trio, and excepting that they drive to work by helicopter or a handy warship, are passably normal folk. It's the lab crew who are the weirdoes.
It's the norm on these scientific whodunnits. There's a handful on our screens at the moment and all can brag a 'character' or two. Maybe there's a laboratory equivalent of cabin fever--all that staring down microscopes and analyzing stuff--where a dash of madness is essential to stave off complete insanity.
Have a click around. Crossing Jordan's techie is a Brit--I doubt than anyone can understand a word he says--but how about that hairstyle? He's a dead ringer for the Tremeloes' lead guitarist. The Tremeloes?...Brian Poole?...Silence is Golden?...Here Comes My baby?...never mind.
Or CSI Miami's pathologist, a sexy colored lady who carries on one-way conversations with her customers as she slices and saws. Her boss is the monosyllabic Horatio Caine--it's probably the nearest she gets to a decent gossip all day.
The lab crew at NCIS are a lady computer wizard (wizardette?, wizardess?) who reminds me of my Aunt Brenda (too much lipstick and a 40s hairdo) and a pathologist.
He seemed familiar too. Unruly blond hair,granny eyeglasses,a bow tie,a tendency to ramble on and look who it is. Illya Kuryakin. Last seen ages ago on TV's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. but when?
I dug into my collection of records and there it was--The theme from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. written by Jerry Goldsmith in 1964. It's not the original twangy guitar version but a meatier big band recording with bags of sax and brass.
Forty years on and it's still a great piece of secret agent music (but not quite as great as the original theme to Mission Impossible which has to be the best).
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was only one of a bevy of thrillers which appeared on our screens in the sixties and all rode on the success of the early James Bond movies.
The show's two main characters were supersmooth Napoleon Solo played by Robert Vaughn (and a million miles from the gunslinger he played in Yul Brynner's The Magnificent Seven) and his sidekick Illya Kuryakin played by Scot David McCallum.
Each week the pair were dispatched to rid the world of a megalomaniac and why am I telling you all this stuff. There's a separate article here. Good to see Illya again though and NCIS is not a bad show either.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (April 24, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
