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Waging the Cold War with maximum cool, Robert Culp and Bill Cosby played offbeat secret agents for the U.S. Department of Defense in the classic mid-1960s TV program
I Spy. Using the cover of "tennis bums on the circuit," the two roamed the world on unusual and very dangerous assignments that inevitably brought them into contact with plenty of action, romance, and tongue-in-cheek humor. The program was novel at the time for casting an African American in a lead role, but for the most part the show wasn't meant to be terribly serious. In the episodes in this collection the agents do clandestine battle with various bad guys and even face a dangerous international villain played to the hilt by the show's producer, Sheldon Leonard. The individual plots hardly matter, of course, as the point is that the dashing undercover agents get into fistfights that are accompanied by jazzy soundtracks, meet up with dangerous ladies in evening gowns, and manage to make sardonic comments no matter the danger. Yet one surprising episode does inject a bit of dark reality into program, as it begins in an office in the Pentagon, and involves Culp parachuting into jungles somewhere in Southeast Asia. Films of B-52s flying in formation may bring some seriousness to the proceedings, but for the most part these
I Spy episodes are classics of escapist television.
--Robert J. McNamara
Video Description
Episodes: "The Barter" - A teenage American girl living in the Orient with her businessman father is kidnapped by Red agents as barter for a Communist scientist who has defected to the West. Co-Starring John Abbott and Lisa Jager. "Turkish Delight" - Several internationally famous agronomists disappear in Mexico City, where they were expected to attend a conference. Co-Starring Diana Sands and Victor Buono. "Return to Glory" - Agents Robinson and Scott are assigned to learn what plans former Latin American strongman Ortiz has for returning to his homeland. Co-Starring Victor Jory and Dolores Del Rio. "The Conquest of Maude Murdock" - Assigned to investigate security surrounding wealthy Maude Murdock, an Oklahoma widow serving on the American Embassy staff in Mexico, Robinson and Scott find their ingenuity challenged. Co-Starring Jeanette Nolan and Philip Borneuff.