The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: The Complete Series

An outgrowth of the James Bond phenomenon (and one reportedly suggested in part by Bond creator Ian Fleming), this spy series starring Robert Vaughn and David McCallum was red hot for a few years in the ’60s. Time Life’s massive 41-disc box set collects all 105 episodes of the NBC series and is positively stuffed with value-add material (booklets, featurettes, cast/crew interviews, art galleries and more) that supplies answers to questions that even the most devoted U.N.C.L.E. aficionado couldn’t think of. Also part of the package is the unaired pilot episode, which the above-mentioned diehards have been waiting 40 years to see.

Shelf Talk: An absolute wow of a collection, this long-awaited release is perfectly timed for the holiday season and could get a little extra oomph from fan enthusiasm deriving from the recent re-release of the James Bond library. This is red meat for baby-boomers who command enough disposable income to purchase this $250 box set, which is packaged in a way, way cool U.N.C.L.E. attaché case. The collection will not be made available for sale at retail until the fall of 2008, so a store copy could prove to be a solid rental item in the vintage TV section during the upcoming year.