Customer Reviews

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - Vol. 3, The Deadly Toys Affair/The Minus X Affair [VHS]

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The Men from U.N.C.L.E. have to deal with the small fry in the two episodes on Volume 3. "The Deadly Toys Affair" (Episode #37, November 12, 1965), gets off to a fun start as a defecting Thrush scientist warns Mr. Waverly of a project by the bad guys to use poison gas. However, the scientist runs off to Switzerland to rescue his son (Jay North!) from a boarding school run for Thrush by Angela Lansbury. Solo and Kuryakin show up to try and save both the boy and his father from Thrush. Written by Robert Hill, "The Deadly Toys Affair" was directed by John Brahms. "The Minus-X Affair" (Episode #58, April 8, 1966), has guest star Eve Arden as Thrush scientist Lillian Stemmler, who has the "Plus-X" serum which heightens the senses and increases the intelligence. Stemmler also has created "Minus-X," which makes people revert to the level of children. Wackiness ensues as you might imagine. An excellent story from writer Peter Allan Fields with a less than happy ending, this episode was directed by Barry Shear. A couple of above average episodes from the Sixties spy spoof series.

"The Deadly Toys Affair" and "The Minus X Affair" is my favorite second season episodes besides "The Foxes and Hounds Affair", "The Discotheque Affair", and "The Dippy Blonde Affair".

Episode 38 "The Deadly Toys Affair": THRUSH plans to use Bartlett Warshowsky (Jay North), a boy genius, for its own purposes. When Elfie Von Donck (Angela Lansbury), an eccentric movie star, assumes the boy's custody, THRUSH agent Noubar Talemakian (Arnold Moss) convinces her that Bartlett will do better to go to a non-American school, though he purposely forgets to tell her that the school he will be enrolled in is controlled by THRUSH. UNCLE sends Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) posing as a toy salesman, and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum), posing as a hairdresser to Joanna Lydecker (Diane McBain), to help Bartlett escape out of THRUSH's grasp. * This is a very fun and exciting episode with plenty of both Vaughn and McCallum. Angela Lansbury is perfect for the part of the movie star with her very strong foreign accent. Diane McBain is also wonderful as Illya's employer who has a crush on him. My favorite part is where Illya makes Joanna shut up by kissing her and where they escape out of the cooling storage.

Episode 58 "The Minus X Affair": When Professor Lillian Stemmler (Eve Arden) invents a drug called Plus X, which enhances all of the human senses, Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin are assigned to protect her. What they don't know is that she is actually working for THRUSH and though and first willingly, is now having second thoughts. To ensure her cooperation in having the drug infiltrate a U.S. govenment plutonium plant, THRUSH agent Rollo (Theodore Marcus) kidnaps her daughter, Leslie (Sharon Farrell). Solo and Kuryakin try to stop THRUSH from going into the plutonium plant when they realize that not only is there a Plus X drug, there's also a drug called Minus X, which dulls all of the human senses. * An episode which has lots of action and a pretty good twist in the plot. This episode has also great special guest stars such as Eve Arden and Sharon Farrell. My favorite part is Illya infiltrates the plutonium plant but still gets caught by the THRUSH agent.

I just recently joined the wonderful world of amazon.com andthis was my first purchase. I think you will really enjoy these two episodes. The Deadly Toys Affair is about a boy genius that Thrush wants to get their hands on. It has some very good scenes involving Illya(aka David McCallum) fighting with a Thrush guy and a scene where he has to kiss a girl to shut her up! The Minus-X Affair is about a Thrush scientist who has invented a drug called Plus-X that enhances a persons five sences. She also invents the drugs counterpart Minus-X, which turns a normal adult into a babbling five-year-old. One of the cutest scenes in this episode involve Napoleon. He has to pretend that he has been injected with the drug and is singing these little nursery songs in a little cute voice! Both of these episodes are good and if you are a Man From Uncle fan you'll want to add this tape to your collection! Its a winner!

I loved the Deadly Toys and Minus X Affair! Illya and Napoleon are great and I love Angela Lansbury as the actress, Elfie Von Donck. I love the first part in the Deadly Toys affair where Illya and Napoleon have to blow up the plant. I also like it when Joanna follows Illya to the school. My favorite parts in the Minus X Affair is where Illya infiltrates the plutonium plant and where Napoleon pretends to be drugged with the Minus X!

The men from U.N.C.L.E return in another classic video featuring episodes from the series when it was at the top of it's game. Basically THRUSH is making toys that kill and Solo has to put a stop to it... "open channel D!" I love that!

The Deadly Toys Affair shouldn't be missed if for no other reason than to see Angela Lansbury's over the top performance as Elsie, and Illya turned hairdresser for Diane McBain's character. It's clear that Elsie is patterned on Auntie Mame, which Lansbury later played on Broadway, with Jay North as her nephew who Thrush wants to send to their 'special school'. Napoleon gets to play a joke and novelty toy salesman, and Illya is the hairdresser that most women would love to have. When he kisses Diane McBain to shut her up while they're being chased by the Thrush sentries, it makes the whole episode worthwhile.

The Minus X Affair was later in the series, but compared to some of the other offerings from season 3, it's pretty good. Eve Arden made a great scientist who was working for Thrush, she could always do a good villian. It's fun to watch Napoleon pretend to be five years old (actually, he didn't do half bad), but the plot continuity left a lot to be desired. Why is it that when the Thrush agent shoots Illya with a sleep dart it takes him a full two minutes to realize he's just been drugged? Still, if you're willing to suspend logic, it's an entertaining episode.

"Deadly Toys" is a perfect example of the pitiful quality this show began reflecting in its second season. "Minus X" is nothing less than camp. The show should've been canned the second year. Save your cash on this one unless you're a bit crazy.