A lot of people seem to pan this TV series for being too campy; I don't have as much of a problem with that as with the fact that it's not as much fun as it could have been. The two leads, Stefanie Powers and Noel Harrison, are likable enough, Leo G. Carroll provides dependably gruff support, there are lots of famous guest stars, and the production is colorful. However, the direction is usually pedestrian, the pacing sluggish, the scripts talky, the globe-trotting unconvincing, and the title misleading, since about 95% of the action is handled by Mark Slate and not by April Dancer; on the rare occasion she has a fight, she almost always loses. It's not a terrible show, it has some 1960s nostalgia value, but it is rather disappointing. ** out of 4 for the series as a whole, a couple of episodes might get an extra half-star.
Review of The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
