THE INNOCENT: Dorothy Provine as Tracey Alexander, separated from the villain and desperate to make him sign divorce papers so she can get her million-dollar inheritance from a prior wealthy husband back. Bit of a gold digger, styled like Doris Day, a smoker, changes her outfit for every scene, and is definitely a comedy character. Unlike most Innocents, she's not recruited, but rather forces herself on the team. Provine did a lot of television (and a few light-entertainment movies like It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World) in the late 50s and through the 60s, quitting acting, for the most part, after she got married at the end of that decade. Prior to this guest spot, she had been a regular on The Alaskans and The Roaring 20's and The Alaskans.
REVIEW: Season 2 brings with it a number of cosmetic changes. We're in blazing 60s color, of course, and I don't like it more than the black and white for this kind of material, honestly, but the villain mansion with the colored lights throwing jungle shadows on drapes is beautiful and, I hope, a sign of things to come. There's a cold open now, less bongo in the theme song, new headshots in the opener... I do grieve for the original with Solo behind the glass, but this first episode gives us something similar, in-story, with Alexander's mirrors. I'll get used to all the changes in short order, I'm sure.
Alexander... I don't think I've seen Rip Torn this young before - almost didn't recognize him - but he's a pretty good Bond villain. I generally like it when UNCLE fights a "supervillain" (though I think I prefer it when they work for THRUSH), and that extends to this episode. I do have some concerns about the number of gimmicks/themes they give him, however. He styles himself as the heir to Alexander the Great, even lives in Greece, etc. - Alexander was Macedonian, but let that go - but he leaves calling cards (stop tablets) with numbers relating to the Ten Commandments because he wants to infringe every "moral law" (which includes making his parents work in a quarry as a chain gang). He also loves chess and treats his duels with Solo as a chess game of moves and countermoves, which is another theme entirely. And he's not a GOOD chess player. At his party, when he makes people play pawns and other pieces on a giant chessboard, he thinks Solo is BLUFFING about a checkmate on the next move. That's not how chess works. So there's a LOT going on with this guy and his scheme to take over the world with will-sapping gas stolen from the U.S. government's least secure bioweapons research facility (honestly, people are just walking by as the bad guys fist-fight the one guard). Oh, and did I mention his secret lair in a booby-trapped tomb on the island of Minos? How about the princess he wants to steal from James Hong?
His one real mistake, one supposes, is that he married Tracey for her money so he could finance his plans, and she wants it back now that they're estranged. Dorothy Provine plays it like she's a light comedy film of the era, inveigling herself into our agents' plans at every turn so she can get Alexander to sign divorce papers. It's a twist on the usual set-up where UNCLE recruits women who are on the inside somehow, but here try to ditch her at every opportunity. If my comments make it seem like this is mostly about the Alexanders, it's because it is, but our heroes do get a lot of exciting stuff to do. Illya coming out of a guard box swinging is a neat magic trick. There's a chase through quarry tunnels that makes use of a neat location. Solo DOES play chess well, which extends to figuring out Professor Kavon is a traitor and disabling his weapon. And in the end, the boys get put into a trap that serves as a fine cliffhanger.
ONE SPY TOO MANY - THEATRICAL RELEASE: The two parts of this story were combined into a film for the European market. We'll discuss it at the end of Part 2.
HEARD ON CHANNEL D: "Taxi! Follow that spy!" (Tracey)
"What do you think of the human condition, Mr. Kuryakin?" "I'm in favor of it." (Kavon and Illya)
"You might try to remember that it is he with the power who forgives." (Alexander)
BONDED: Bond went up after many industrialists with delusions of grandeur, just like Alexander, villains with gimmicks and who place the heroes in death traps. Dorothy Provine was the sister-in-law of Ernest Day, camera operator on You Only Live Twice, and assistant director on The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium-High: The villain is worthy of a two-parter, but possibly because they really over-egged his pudding.
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