Why am *I* Like This? (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fangasmic2010-04-15 07:04 pm
whyareyoulikethis) wrote in fangasmic2010-04-15 07:04 pm
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[news] Next in line to get the reboot treatment, Man From U.N.C.L.E.!
First things first, I am hanging on to coherency here by sheer force of will. In fact, this post was two morning cups of coffee away from being nothing but pages and pages of straight up keyboard smashing.
Why?
Because, as the scifiwire reports, Warner Bros has kicked off the script-writing process for a planned reboot of the beloved-by-fandom 1960s TV show, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Some of you might be thinking, "What the fuck are you talking about,whyareyoulikethis? Man From U.N.C.L.E.? Was it a show about a dude with an uncle? Why should I care?"
For you sad, deprived folks, I offer a brief introduction into the awesome:
Conceived as a television riff on James Bond, the 1960s TV show The Man From U.N.C.L.E.- henceforth known as MFU because a)that's what it's called and b)typing out "U.N.C.L.E." is annoying- centered on the exploits of Napoleon Solo, spy extraordinaire. As played by Robert Vaughn, Napoleon was well dressed, debonair and slyly funny, the sort of guy who wouldn't be out of place in an Ocean's Eleven movie.
His name is Napoleon Solo. I bet *your* name is pretty damn weaksauce compared that.
He was also a bit of what we'd call nowadays a giant freaking manwhore.
Or maybe 'ladykiller' is a better word. Also, I have no idea WTF is going on in this picture.
Anyway, like a lyric without a melody or condoms without lube, Napoleon was incomplete on his own. So they gave him a partner. A brilliant, acerbic Russian named Illya Kuryakin.
For those of you to whom he seems vaguely familiar? That's David McCallum who also plays Ducky on NCIS.
And so the two of them went around fighting evil, bantering, getting tied up, wearing disguises and staring at cleavage.
No, I have no idea why this picture exists either.
Plenty of fen have already done the heavy lifting fandom overview work for me, so if you want something a little more coherent than the above, there's a newbie guide, a crack_van overview a Napoleon/Illya ship manifesto, and the tvtropes page that are all good introductions to the show.
It's true that Man From U.N.C.L.E might date to a younger viewer- it's like Star Trek TOS but with spies instead of space and without William Shatner's acting! But as pure vintage slash it's delightful, and I'm not the only one who thinks it holds up pretty well. If you want to watch it, the DVDs are available from Netflix and the usual sources. And if you have $200 lying around, you could always spring for the shiny complete box set that comes in a briefcase and is so pretty I want to rub up against it shamefully.
But why reboot?
Others of you might be thinking, "Dear God, no, why must they reboot everything? Why can't Hollywood go bulldoze someone else's sandbox?"
Now the recent trends of rebooting and Fandom is a whole 'nother essay for another day, but I for one generally love reboots. This is probably because I'm shallow and enjoy moar hot people- just think, SPIES: NO UGLIES, it could be coming!- and explosions in my entertainment.
Of course, the MFU reboot could be closer to a Get Smart fail than a Star Trek XI win, but I'm erring on the side of optimism for now. And we can always hope that at the very least it will introduce a whole new group of fans to the show.
Now the only lingering question is: who are they going to get to play them?
Have a seat on the Fandom Casting Couch, Good Idea/Bad Idea style.
Napoleon Solo
Good Idea:
Robert Downey Jr.
I would literally sacrifice 20 goats to make this come to pass. Robert Downey Jr. can do anything, we know this, and I think he'd be a great fit for the character, who was always had more depth and quirkiness than the nice suits and endless string of girlfriends suggested. Now if only he could find time in his schedule between filming the Avengers and that Sherlock Holmes 2 movie...
Bad Idea:
Zachary Quinto
The mind rebels on so many levels I can't even articulate them.
Illya Kuryakin
Good Idea:
Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany's got the looks down right- blond hair, blue eyes. He's also a cerebral enough actor to pull off Illya's snark, moodiness, and dry sense of humor. The Russian accent, though? Who knows.
Bad Idea:
Bradley James
I believe the proper expression is, "Oh, the humanity."
The MFU film is obviously still in the early stages of development, so who knows when/if it will come to the big screen, but as for me, consider my ticket bought and my pants already peed from excitement. What about you guys? And do you have any casting suggestions?
Why?
Because, as the scifiwire reports, Warner Bros has kicked off the script-writing process for a planned reboot of the beloved-by-fandom 1960s TV show, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Some of you might be thinking, "What the fuck are you talking about,
whyareyoulikethis? Man From U.N.C.L.E.? Was it a show about a dude with an uncle? Why should I care?"For you sad, deprived folks, I offer a brief introduction into the awesome:
Conceived as a television riff on James Bond, the 1960s TV show The Man From U.N.C.L.E.- henceforth known as MFU because a)that's what it's called and b)typing out "U.N.C.L.E." is annoying- centered on the exploits of Napoleon Solo, spy extraordinaire. As played by Robert Vaughn, Napoleon was well dressed, debonair and slyly funny, the sort of guy who wouldn't be out of place in an Ocean's Eleven movie.
He was also a bit of what we'd call nowadays a giant freaking manwhore.
Anyway, like a lyric without a melody or condoms without lube, Napoleon was incomplete on his own. So they gave him a partner. A brilliant, acerbic Russian named Illya Kuryakin.
And so the two of them went around fighting evil, bantering, getting tied up, wearing disguises and staring at cleavage.
Plenty of fen have already done the heavy lifting fandom overview work for me, so if you want something a little more coherent than the above, there's a newbie guide, a crack_van overview a Napoleon/Illya ship manifesto, and the tvtropes page that are all good introductions to the show.
It's true that Man From U.N.C.L.E might date to a younger viewer- it's like Star Trek TOS but with spies instead of space and without William Shatner's acting! But as pure vintage slash it's delightful, and I'm not the only one who thinks it holds up pretty well. If you want to watch it, the DVDs are available from Netflix and the usual sources. And if you have $200 lying around, you could always spring for the shiny complete box set that comes in a briefcase and is so pretty I want to rub up against it shamefully.
But why reboot?
Others of you might be thinking, "Dear God, no, why must they reboot everything? Why can't Hollywood go bulldoze someone else's sandbox?"
Now the recent trends of rebooting and Fandom is a whole 'nother essay for another day, but I for one generally love reboots. This is probably because I'm shallow and enjoy moar hot people- just think, SPIES: NO UGLIES, it could be coming!- and explosions in my entertainment.
Of course, the MFU reboot could be closer to a Get Smart fail than a Star Trek XI win, but I'm erring on the side of optimism for now. And we can always hope that at the very least it will introduce a whole new group of fans to the show.
Now the only lingering question is: who are they going to get to play them?
Have a seat on the Fandom Casting Couch, Good Idea/Bad Idea style.
Napoleon Solo
Good Idea:
I would literally sacrifice 20 goats to make this come to pass. Robert Downey Jr. can do anything, we know this, and I think he'd be a great fit for the character, who was always had more depth and quirkiness than the nice suits and endless string of girlfriends suggested. Now if only he could find time in his schedule between filming the Avengers and that Sherlock Holmes 2 movie...
Bad Idea:
The mind rebels on so many levels I can't even articulate them.
Illya Kuryakin
Good Idea:
Paul Bettany's got the looks down right- blond hair, blue eyes. He's also a cerebral enough actor to pull off Illya's snark, moodiness, and dry sense of humor. The Russian accent, though? Who knows.
Bad Idea:
The MFU film is obviously still in the early stages of development, so who knows when/if it will come to the big screen, but as for me, consider my ticket bought and my pants already peed from excitement. What about you guys? And do you have any casting suggestions?