Fleming and The Man from UNCLE (Page 1 of 2)

I've been reading an amazing feature on Fleming's involvement in The Man from UNCLE series. He came up with the name Napoleon Solo, and was in discussion on the origins of the series from the start. However, with the success of Bond, EON tried to scupper it for fear of his lending too much involvement to it, and for similarities.

He didn't come up with the Uncle name, which was supposed to suggest ties to the United Nations. Not that they're very effective these days.   

Nor did he devise the Russian agent played by David McCallum.

Fleming did come up with the name of April Dancer, for the short-lived Girl from UNCLE starring Stefanie Powers.

Too much humour did for the UNCLE series, as it tried to be like the Batman series, too campy etc.

Road? You had roads?!!!

Barbel wrote:

Sir Miles wrote:

You were lucky you had a telly ! 

Aye, you had it soft. We used t'live in shoebox in middle of t'road...

Well, he's good casting for Napoleon.

In 1962 producer Norman Felton was in an enviable position having been responsible for a string
of immensely popular television programmes. His most recent offering, DR. KILDARE, was
attracting massive audiences around the globe. Despite this latest triumph Felton forged ahead
constantly looking for a new idea to develop into what he hoped might be his next successful
television venture.Being an admirer of the works of Alfred Hitchcock, in particular the Cary
Grant vehicle NORTH BY NORTHWEST, Felton began to formulate a concept using the premise of
an unsuspecting, but resourceful, character drawn into a web of intrigue, espionage and danger.
Although fascinated by the idea he realised that episodic television could not be sustained whilst
chronicling the adventures of a seemingly innocent member of the public thrust constantly into
situations of this nature on an unfeasible, weekly basis. Changing direction Felton turned to the
literary world of espionage for further inspiration and came upon the soon to become legendary
character of James Bond and, of course, his gifted creator. Ian Fleming, an already much lauded
writer, was soon to enjoy a bountiful flirtation with the world of celluloid as his own famous
creation was being launched imminently onto the cinema screen. Aside from Fleming's obvious
skill as an imaginative writer Felton was impressed too by his incisive attention to detail.
This skill, along with his ability to create completely believable environments through the use of
rich descriptive pros, led Felton to view Fleming as a potential collaborator with whom he might
develop his latest idea.
In the autumn of 1962, after a creative meeting between the two
talented men in New York, a name was decided upon for the lead character in the proposed
series, Napoleon Solo. Further to this Fleming would sketch out a background to the character
as well as a number of adventures in which Solo might possibly become embroiled. This creative
coupling would sadly bear no further fruit as Fleming became dogged with health problems
along with an increasingly stronger commitment to Eon Productions and their interpretation of
his beloved James Bond.

Following the amicable parting Felton turned to renowned television writer/producer Sam Rolfe
to build upon the foundations which both Fleming and he had laid. Rolfe welcomed the
challenge of adding flesh to the bones of Napoleon Solo and to the organisation under who's
jurisdiction the character would operate. The writer did so with such aplomb that the characters
and concepts to which television viewers were first introduced on September 22 1964 were very
much those of the fertile mind of Sam Rolfe.
Indeed NBC, who had begun to back away from the project following Fleming's departure, gave a
pilot episode the green light on the strength of Sam Rolfe's outlines for the proposed series.
After some eighteen months of development the project which had been referred to variously as
SOLO-CITIES AROUND THE WORLD, MR. SOLO and IAN FLEMING'S SOLO finally went before the
cameras with the shooting title of simply, SOLO. Arena Productions commenced filming on
SOLO's pilot episode, 'The Vulcan Affair', in November 1963.
The pilot was approved by the network and filming for the series proper began in early June
1964 with Robert Vaughn, David McCallum and Leo G. Carroll assuming the three leading roles.
Nobody connected to the series could possibly have foreseen that within a year the World would
experience the phenomenon that was THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E..

I remember seeing The Man From UNCLE on BBC2 in the 1990s too. Can all the episodes from the TV series be purchasede on Region 2 DVD as of now? Or are they only on Region 1? Thanks in advance if anyone here knows the answer to this one.