Day 4

[graculus]

Day 01 - A show that should never have been cancelled
Day 02 - A show that needs more viewers
Day 03 - Your favourite new show (aired THIS TV season)
Day 04 - Your favourite show
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favourite episode of your favourite TV show
Day 07 - Least favourite episode of your favourite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you’ve watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favourite childhood show
Day 14 - Favourite male character
Day 15 - Favourite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favourite mini series
Day 18 - Favourite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favourite kiss
Day 21 - Favourite ship
Day 22 - Favourite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death

Day 4 - Your favourite show

Rather than talk about a current show, I'm choosing to define this question as 'the show I have loved longest' since surely longevity is a sign of something? So, for me there's only one choice and that choice is Man from UNCLE.

I first fell in love with UNCLE back in the 1970's, when BBC2 aired a load of the episodes at tea time, which was always something to look forward to when I got home from school. The same timeslot also saw shows like Monkey and The Water Margin get an airing, so I always associate these shows with that time, in the same way that while I was at university it was re-runs of The Champions and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) that I was watching after morning lectures.

Likewise, it was Illya Kuryakin I fell for, since at the time I didn't think that smarmy fellow Napoleon was good enough for him or appreciated him enough - in time, I've come to understand that Mr Solo has his own charms but it took time for that to happen. Looking back, the episode I remember most vividly was 'The Arabian Affair' (for non-fans, that's one where Illya ends up in the desert and convinces the locals that he's the son of Lawrence of Arabia, as well as getting stabbed in the leg at one point, and cuts a dashing figure in white robes and burnoose).

It would be easy to dismiss UNCLE and have moved on to shows that might seem more sophisticated to the outsider; even the folks who love the show will admit that it plumbed the depths of cheesiness in its third season. But the overall premise is sound, the chalk-and-cheese main characters remain attractive and engaging in all sorts of ways, and it's a universe that is immensely fun to play in. We don't get to see how Illya and Napoleon first met (and even if the movie goes there, for me nothing is going to make me accept it as canon) and there's always room for more exploration of their relationship, regardless of what spin you might put on it. 40 years worth of exploration to date, with no sign of that stopping any time soon.

Comments

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

Just in case you need a bit more MFU in your life, MFU is still alive and well over in the Canteen, Scrapbook and Del Floria's if you need a fix!

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, I find when I'm trying to write it (as I am at the moment, with a couple of things on the go but interrupted by RL stuff recently) I can't get too involved in reading other people's take on things...

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

I can understand that. I have had to take a step back from other writer's stuff (with a few exception) for fear that I'm going to start unconsciously lifting things.

Just wanted to let you know that MFU is happily alive and well (and a little leery of the new movie news).