I have placed the two Probe-Search books from my collection on Ebay at

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1534317417

Thank you.

Some of the briefing footage in Short Circuit is from Voyage To The Bottom
Of The Sea.  For our record keeping here, I know that the shot that begins
in the middle of a pan and goes to a large plug in the side of an equipment
bank and breaks out into flame is from the third season episode Doomsday
Island.  I say the middle of a pan because the shot actually starts with
the camera showing unconscious crewmen on the floor, and then pans to the
exploding missile firing panel.  They couldn't show Chief Sharkey and two
extras on the deck...so they picked up the shot once they were clear of the
shot.

The shot of the flashing computer bursting into sparks was also used in
Doomsday, but I know that shot was used before, so I don't place it as
originating in this episode.

I am still on the lookout for the wide shot of the control room exploding
(which of course was almost every episode in the third and fourth seasons),
but the shot they used in Search was fairly unusual for Voyage in that
there were no crewmen present in the shot...which is why Search was able to
use it.

I have one question which maybe our Hollywood members can answer:  how does
footage shot specifically for a 60's tv show produced at Fox end up as
stock footage in a Warner's show in the 70's.  I understand footage from
one show being used in another show produced by the same studio...but how
does that footage make it's way to a different studio?

--- In probe_control@y..., actingman@m... wrote:
> I have one question which maybe our Hollywood members can answer:
> how does footage shot specifically for a 60's tv show produced at
> Fox end up as stock footage in a Warner's show in the 70's.  I
> understand footage from one show being used in another show
> produced by the same studio...but how does that footage make it's
> way to a different studio?

Hmm.  Maybe Irwin Allen got desperate or something.  I remember
during the late 60's, there was a show called "Bracken's World" about
backstage studio politics and there would be props and things from
other shows in the background of some of their shows.  I seem to
remember they had a scene involving the "Lost in Space" chariot in
one of their episodes, but I may be mistaken.  Can anyone confirm
this one?

Along these same lines, has anyone researched "The Time Tunnel" and
found any stock footage from movies that were not by 20th Century Fox?

--Don H.

Hello everyone
   Liked the informed look from our Outer Limits chap. Might be worth doing a
straw poll & see how many of us watched 'The Man From UNCLE' as well,
wouldn't it??
   In the UK in the 60s, anything that was out of the ordinary got watched.
There was at a few years gap between UNCLE & Search though. We just tended
to pick out the jewels a lot easier.
   What other competition did you chaps & chapettes have on your side of the
pond at the time that might have swayed you elsewhere anyway??

Gotta go
Geoff Willmetts




********* GF Willmetts ****************************

Commissioning Editor: http://www.crowsnestbooks.com
THE E-BOOK PUBLISHER THAT TRIES HARDER

Editor: http://www.sfcrowsnest.com
THE SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY MAGAZINE
Quicker website access?? Try:  http://www.computercrowsnestbooks.com
***************************************************




_________________________________________________________________
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--- In probe_control@y..., "Geoff Willmetts" <gfwillmetts@h...> wrote:
>...Might be worth doing a
> straw poll & see how many of us watched 'The Man From UNCLE' as
> well, wouldn't it??
>   In the UK in the 60s, anything that was out of the ordinary got
> watched. There was at a few years gap between UNCLE & Search
> though. We just tended to pick out the jewels a lot easier...

Hi Geoff:  I was an enjoyer of "Man from UNCLE" when it first ran in
the mid to late 60's on NBC, but I didn't get to see too many of the
episodes.

UNCLE had one run in syndication in Atlanta just after it left
network, but it disappeared shortly afterward.  UNCLE didn't reappear
in my area until the mid 80's when CBN started their syndicated run.

UNCLE was a bit too "tongue in cheek" spoofy for my taste, however
some episodes rose above this.  After the premiere of "Batman" in
early 1966, it seems UNCLE (like many shows during that time) went
for the same pop-art look and cutesy villains and scripts.

I felt SEARCH had a realistic edge to it despite the "ahead of its
time" technology.  SEARCH mined it's humor in the various situations
that would crop up.  SEARCH never had a cartoony villain, although
Dr. Moen probably comes close.  While many have compared SEARCH to
UNCLE, I think the better comparison is with "Name of the Game."

But then again, that's just me.  :-)

--Don H.

----- Original Message -----

From: Geoff Willmetts

To: probe_control@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2002 3:36 PM

Subject: [probe_control] Are we also UNCLE fans??

Hello everyone
  Liked the informed look from our Outer Limits chap. Might be worth doing a
straw poll & see how many of us watched 'The Man From UNCLE' as well,
wouldn't it??
  In the UK in the 60s, anything that was out of the ordinary got watched.
There was at a few years gap between UNCLE & Search though. We just tended
to pick out the jewels a lot easier.
  What other competition did you chaps & chapettes have on your side of the
pond at the time that might have swayed you elsewhere anyway??

Gotta go
Geoff Willmetts




********* GF Willmetts ****************************

Commissioning Editor: http://www.crowsnestbooks.com
THE E-BOOK PUBLISHER THAT TRIES HARDER

Editor: http://www.sfcrowsnest.com
THE SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY MAGAZINE
Quicker website access?? Try:  http://www.computercrowsnestbooks.com
***************************************************




_________________________________________________________________
Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

I was absolutely bowled over by the Diana Rigg/Patrick Macnee
"Avengers."   I'm Omaha, Nebraska, born and raised, and I can't tell you
what an impact this series had on me when it first showed here in the
summer of 1967.  We had 3 channels, all the network affiliates, and
that's it.  No independents, nothing.  The shows were always being
pre-empted for a religious crusade, political debates, and anything else
that was bland and uninteresting.  Those shows still sit in my brain,
taking up dead space and haunting my dreams.  Anyone not raised in the
far-too-quiet midwest won't understand, but those that grew up here
will.

I would have loved to live in London during the 60's, after seeing "The
Avengers." It was like a blast of color and life in our hot summer
nights.  I loved them and still do; I've got them on DVD and can
probably recite them all by heart.  "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." was a lot
of fun, too, but I remember liking "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E." much more,
even though it was only on for 1 season.  I had the "Man from
U.N.C.L.E." game and used to play it constantly.

Marta

http://www.steveandmarta.com

           Home of
"The Graveyards of Omaha"
             and
"The New Twilight Zone"
           websites

          as well as
"Memories of the Indian Hills Theatre in Omaha, Nebraska"
The last round Super-Cinerama theatre in the world
Demolished August 20, 2001 for absolutely no reason by Methodist Health
Systems

Sign the Petition to protest the demolition of the Indian Hills Online!
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/steve/petition.html

Call Stephen Long, CEO of Methodist, at 402-354-4000 and tell him the
theatre should have been reopened as a working film venue.

Email comments@..., Methodist's website, and tell them the
theatre should have been saved, and pass the email address and phone
number on to everyone you know!

And ---
Join the Indian Hills and Cinerama and Widescreen Discussion Group
http://www.egroups.com/group/cinerama_widescreen_movies

Lord Byron, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley Discussion Group
http://www.egroups.com/group/mary_percy_shelley

-----Original Message-----
From: Geoff Willmetts [mailto:gfwillmetts@...]
Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2002 3:37 PM
To: probe_control@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [probe_control] Are we also UNCLE fans??

Hello everyone
   Liked the informed look from our Outer Limits chap. Might be worth
doing a
straw poll & see how many of us watched 'The Man From UNCLE' as well,
wouldn't it??
   In the UK in the 60s, anything that was out of the ordinary got
watched.
There was at a few years gap between UNCLE & Search though. We just
tended
to pick out the jewels a lot easier.
   What other competition did you chaps & chapettes have on your side of
the
pond at the time that might have swayed you elsewhere anyway??

Gotta go
Geoff Willmetts




********* GF Willmetts ****************************

Commissioning Editor: http://www.crowsnestbooks.com
THE E-BOOK PUBLISHER THAT TRIES HARDER

Editor: http://www.sfcrowsnest.com
THE SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY MAGAZINE
Quicker website access?? Try:  http://www.computercrowsnestbooks.com
***************************************************




_________________________________________________________________
Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com





Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

A few weeks back I was contacted by Trevor from Australia.  He was looking
for some Search episodes.  Seems he was missing three of them...having
taped all the rest directly off the air on Beta when his local station ran
them in the early 80's.

He was missing Countdown, Packagers and Ends of the Earth.

I sent him a copies of Countdown and Packagers.

He sent me copies of all his tapes.

Which means we now have Moonrock, Live Men Tell Tales and A Honeymoon To Kill.

When they ran the pilot down there, they ran it with the Probe titles, and
with both opening scenes...which means I have to rewrite the FAQ on our web
site.

Trevor says this was not the Network Ten run...this was his local station
running Search.

  From what I can tell...they were running high quality 16mm
prints...complete with dirt, splices...everything we in the U.S. missed out
on when Search was withheld from syndication.  I say high quality cause the
colors of the flying globes are very bright and true...but it doesn't have
the full clarity of 35mm prints.  I have always believed that Network Ten
ran Search from video tapes.

For those of you who are in PAL regions, he said he will be happy to
share.  And it makes more sense for PAL members to go directly to
him.  Below is his info:

From: "trevoran" <trevoran@...>

You can tell the fans. PAL is a lot easier for me to copy. I charge $30.00
AUSTRALIAN per three hour tape, this includes air-mail postage.

Hi Again John,
I forgot to mention, if they want four hour tapes with five eps per tape as
I have done for you, I can do those for $45.00 AUSTRALIAN per tape (again
this includes the cost of air mail postage).
Regards
Trevor

_________________________

Me again:

The tapes he sent me are in PAL, and for some reason my converting machine
acts like Macrovision when you try to dub from them.  I found a workaround
by first copying to my HD recorder (which proves they do not have
macrovision cause the HD would not record it otherwise) and then dubbing
them to NTSC VHS.

Anyway...this makes for longer dubbig times, so be patient, contact me off
list, and I am now taking a deep breath, cause I know I am about to get deluged.

Okay, I guess I'm ready to order the episodes; how do I go about that
again?

Marta

http://www.steveandmarta.com

           Home of
"The Graveyards of Omaha"
             and
"The New Twilight Zone"
           websites

          as well as
"Memories of the Indian Hills Theatre in Omaha, Nebraska"
The last round Super-Cinerama theatre in the world
Demolished August 20, 2001 for absolutely no reason by Methodist Health
Systems

Sign the Petition to protest the demolition of the Indian Hills Online!
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/steve/petition.html

Call Stephen Long, CEO of Methodist, at 402-354-4000 and tell him the
theatre should have been reopened as a working film venue.

Email comments@..., Methodist's website, and tell them the
theatre should have been saved, and pass the email address and phone
number on to everyone you know!

And ---
Join the Indian Hills and Cinerama and Widescreen Discussion Group
http://www.egroups.com/group/cinerama_widescreen_movies

Lord Byron, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley Discussion Group
http://www.egroups.com/group/mary_percy_shelley

-----Original Message-----
From: actingman@... [mailto:actingman@...]
Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2002 11:35 PM
To: probe_control@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [probe_control] What a find

A few weeks back I was contacted by Trevor from Australia.  He was
looking
for some Search episodes.  Seems he was missing three of them...having
taped all the rest directly off the air on Beta when his local station
ran
them in the early 80's.

He was missing Countdown, Packagers and Ends of the Earth.

I sent him a copies of Countdown and Packagers.

He sent me copies of all his tapes.

Which means we now have Moonrock, Live Men Tell Tales and A Honeymoon To
Kill.

When they ran the pilot down there, they ran it with the Probe titles,
and
with both opening scenes...which means I have to rewrite the FAQ on our
web
site.

Trevor says this was not the Network Ten run...this was his local
station
running Search.

  From what I can tell...they were running high quality 16mm
prints...complete with dirt, splices...everything we in the U.S. missed
out
on when Search was withheld from syndication.  I say high quality cause
the
colors of the flying globes are very bright and true...but it doesn't
have
the full clarity of 35mm prints.  I have always believed that Network
Ten
ran Search from video tapes.

For those of you who are in PAL regions, he said he will be happy to
share.  And it makes more sense for PAL members to go directly to
him.  Below is his info:

From: "trevoran" <trevoran@...>

You can tell the fans. PAL is a lot easier for me to copy. I charge
$30.00
AUSTRALIAN per three hour tape, this includes air-mail postage.

Hi Again John,
I forgot to mention, if they want four hour tapes with five eps per tape
as
I have done for you, I can do those for $45.00 AUSTRALIAN per tape
(again
this includes the cost of air mail postage).
Regards
Trevor

_________________________

Me again:

The tapes he sent me are in PAL, and for some reason my converting
machine
acts like Macrovision when you try to dub from them.  I found a
workaround
by first copying to my HD recorder (which proves they do not have
macrovision cause the HD would not record it otherwise) and then dubbing

them to NTSC VHS.

Anyway...this makes for longer dubbig times, so be patient, contact me
off
list, and I am now taking a deep breath, cause I know I am about to get
deluged.





Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Okay...tell me *exactly* what I have to do, how much I have to send, to where
do I have to send it...so my SEARCH collection can be one (three, actually)
steps closer to being complete.

"Moonrock" was one of my all-time favorites!  And after listening to the audio
of "Live Men Tell Tales," I can't wait to see that one again either!!!  And, of
course, the third one is a classic as well!

Thanks...this is excitement on this end!!

Jack



=====
Jack

Check out the finest in independent science fiction novels at Fine Line
Publishing:
http://www.Fine-Linepc.com/AC.html
http://www.Fine-Linepc.com/TWLB.html

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness
http://health.yahoo.com

Does this mean every episode is now present & accounted for?
Incredible.

--- In probe_control@y..., actingman@m... wrote:
> A few weeks back I was contacted by Trevor from Australia.  He was
looking
> for some Search episodes.  Seems he was missing three of
them...having
> taped all the rest directly off the air on Beta when his local
station ran
> them in the early 80's.
>
> He was missing Countdown, Packagers and Ends of the Earth.
>
> I sent him a copies of Countdown and Packagers.
>
> He sent me copies of all his tapes.
>
> Which means we now have Moonrock, Live Men Tell Tales and A
Honeymoon To Kill.
>
> When they ran the pilot down there, they ran it with the Probe
titles, and
> with both opening scenes...which means I have to rewrite the FAQ on
our web
> site.
>
> Trevor says this was not the Network Ten run...this was his local
station
> running Search.
>
>  From what I can tell...they were running high quality 16mm
> prints...complete with dirt, splices...everything we in the U.S.
missed out
> on when Search was withheld from syndication.  I say high quality
cause the
> colors of the flying globes are very bright and true...but it
doesn't have
> the full clarity of 35mm prints.  I have always believed that
Network Ten
> ran Search from video tapes.
>
> For those of you who are in PAL regions, he said he will be happy
to
> share.  And it makes more sense for PAL members to go directly to
> him.  Below is his info:
>
> From: "trevoran" <trevoran@t...>
>
> You can tell the fans. PAL is a lot easier for me to copy. I charge
$30.00
> AUSTRALIAN per three hour tape, this includes air-mail postage.
>
> Hi Again John,
> I forgot to mention, if they want four hour tapes with five eps per
tape as
> I have done for you, I can do those for $45.00 AUSTRALIAN per tape
(again
> this includes the cost of air mail postage).
> Regards
> Trevor
>
> _________________________
>
> Me again:
>
> The tapes he sent me are in PAL, and for some reason my converting
machine
> acts like Macrovision when you try to dub from them.  I found a
workaround
> by first copying to my HD recorder (which proves they do not have
> macrovision cause the HD would not record it otherwise) and then
dubbing
> them to NTSC VHS.
>
> Anyway...this makes for longer dubbig times, so be patient, contact
me off
> list, and I am now taking a deep breath, cause I know I am about to
get deluged.

We are missing Ends Of The Earth.

At 11:05 PM 5/5/2002 +0000, you wrote:
>Does this mean every episode is now present & accounted for?
>Incredible.
>
>--- In probe_control@y..., actingman@m... wrote:
> > A few weeks back I was contacted by Trevor from Australia.  He was
>looking
> > for some Search episodes.  Seems he was missing three of
>them...having
> > taped all the rest directly off the air on Beta when his local
>station ran
> > them in the early 80's.
> >
> > He was missing Countdown, Packagers and Ends of the Earth.
> >
> > I sent him a copies of Countdown and Packagers.
> >
> > He sent me copies of all his tapes.
> >
> > Which means we now have Moonrock, Live Men Tell Tales and A
>Honeymoon To Kill.
> >
> > When they ran the pilot down there, they ran it with the Probe
>titles, and
> > with both opening scenes...which means I have to rewrite the FAQ on
>our web
> > site.
> >
> > Trevor says this was not the Network Ten run...this was his local
>station
> > running Search.
> >
> >  From what I can tell...they were running high quality 16mm
> > prints...complete with dirt, splices...everything we in the U.S.
>missed out
> > on when Search was withheld from syndication.  I say high quality
>cause the
> > colors of the flying globes are very bright and true...but it
>doesn't have
> > the full clarity of 35mm prints.  I have always believed that
>Network Ten
> > ran Search from video tapes.
> >
> > For those of you who are in PAL regions, he said he will be happy
>to
> > share.  And it makes more sense for PAL members to go directly to
> > him.  Below is his info:
> >
> > From: "trevoran" <trevoran@t...>
> >
> > You can tell the fans. PAL is a lot easier for me to copy. I charge
>$30.00
> > AUSTRALIAN per three hour tape, this includes air-mail postage.
> >
> > Hi Again John,
> > I forgot to mention, if they want four hour tapes with five eps per
>tape as
> > I have done for you, I can do those for $45.00 AUSTRALIAN per tape
>(again
> > this includes the cost of air mail postage).
> > Regards
> > Trevor
> >
> > _________________________
> >
> > Me again:
> >
> > The tapes he sent me are in PAL, and for some reason my converting
>machine
> > acts like Macrovision when you try to dub from them.  I found a
>workaround
> > by first copying to my HD recorder (which proves they do not have
> > macrovision cause the HD would not record it otherwise) and then
>dubbing
> > them to NTSC VHS.
> >
> > Anyway...this makes for longer dubbig times, so be patient, contact
>me off
> > list, and I am now taking a deep breath, cause I know I am about to
>get deluged.
>
>
>
>
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

I've archived this list's messages on www.probecontrol.com .  The link to
the messages is at the bottom of the opening page.

You can go directly to the page of archives
here  http://probecontrol.com/list.html .

I saved them in simple text format, and grouped them by months.  I have
also placed all of the messages in a zip file on the page as well.

There may not be any reason for us already on the list, but you can
download them to your HD and not have to look at Yahoo's ads.

So far I have from the beginning up through February of this year.

I did not edit anything.  The message count is off a little bit because
there were some HTML messages that Yahoo cannot display, and I skipped a
couple of replies to a damaged address book request.

Other then that, it should all be here.

--- In probe_control@y..., actingman@m... wrote:
> A few weeks back I was contacted by Trevor from Australia...
> Which means we now have Moonrock, Live Men Tell Tales and A
Honeymoon To Kill...

John:  That's great news about finding three out of the last four
SEARCH eps we've been missing.

Anyone who'd like a preview of these episodes (or the newly
posted "Packagers" scans) can find our filmclip scans at
probecontrol.com:

http://www.probecontrol.com/Scans.html

For folks on the list, several months ago we were discussing this and
John basically predicted that "Ends of the Earth" would be the one we
would not being able to find on video.  (All we have on that episode
is the script and the audio-only CD.  No filmclips were available on
that episode either.)

In return, my prediction to John at that time was this:  It would be
ironic indeed if, once we do finally find "Ends," that some cable
channel would start running SEARCH in the U.S. for the first time in
some 30 years.  Ironic indeed.

--Don H.

Man from U.N.C.L.E brings back some primordial images for me. That's
when I was really staying up late. There was an ongoing joke at our
house about the charachter (Boss?) Mr. Waverly as we lived on Waverly
st. Wouldn't mind seeing it again though. I just watched a tape of
The Protectors (1972) with Robert Vaughn and it's safe to say here
that it had a very Avengers feel to it. I once read in an old copy of
Pagent magizine that Robert Vaughn was seriously considering running
for office with an eye on the US Presidency. Hmmm...reminds me of a
SEARCH episode with Bill Bixby. Perhaps the role would have been
better played by Robert Vaughn.

Don-2

Hi John; just a query about Trevor's recordings. Obviously the chief
interest for us all is the new episodes (superb news), but I wondered
if you could give us some guidance on your assessment of the quality
of the other tapes-- are they superior or much the same quality as
those we have? Some of us may be interested in getting better copies
of particular episodes if they are more complete at start, better
colour, less fuzzy or whatever. For example, does his copy of 'Goddess
of Destruction' have the missing teaser?  And what about 'Bullet' and
'One of our Probes', where Geoff's versions fluctuate between colour
and B&W? Or of course there are the occasional mechanical blips like
the break in reception in 'Short Circuit' which was discussed a few
messages back. But the main question is about quality of images. I'm
sure we'd all be interested to hear what you think of the comparison.
Richard

----- Original Message -----

From: Marta Dawes

To: probe_control@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Wednesday, May 08, 2002 6:13 AM

Subject: RE: [probe_control] Hugh O'Brian at Chicago Convention

Jim:  Do you still have any of the lithographs of the TV Guide cover?

 

Marta

http://www.steveandmarta.com

          Home of
"The Graveyards of Omaha"
            and
"The New Twilight Zone"
          websites

         as well as
"Memories of the Indian Hills Theatre in Omaha, Nebraska"
The last round Super-Cinerama theatre in the world
Demolished August 20, 2001 for absolutely no reason by Methodist Health Systems

Sign the Petition to protest the demolition of the Indian Hills Online!
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/steve/petition.html

Call Stephen Long, CEO of Methodist, at 402-354-4000 and tell him the theatre should have been reopened as a working film venue. 

Email comments@..., Methodist's website, and tell them the theatre should have been saved, and pass the email address and phone number on to everyone you know!

And ---
Join the Indian Hills and Cinerama and Widescreen Discussion Group
http://www.egroups.com/group/cinerama_widescreen_movies

Lord Byron, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley Discussion Group
http://www.egroups.com/group/mary_percy_shelley

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Alexander [mailto:probecontrol@...]
Sent: Wednesday, May 08, 2002 6:02 AM
To: probe_control@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [probe_control] Hugh O'Brian at Chicago Convention

 

Hello, gang!

 

Well... after a few days of debating, I believe I made up my mind to go ahead an go to that Chicago convention where Hugh O'Brian will be appearing.  I mean, how can I pass up a chance to meet 'Hugh Lockwood' (practically) in my own backyard!?!

 

I can't wait to push a SEARCH photo in front of him for his autograph.

 

With that in mind, if there's anyone who desires an autograph, please write me off list, and we'll try and work something out.  O'Brian (and all the celebrities there) will be charging for their autographs.  The convention is NEXT weekend-- May 18/19thth.

 

Thanks!

 

Jim Alexander

probecontrol@...

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

There were enough years between UNCLE & SEARCH, that UNCLE was a
little early for some of us. I don't remember seeing it when it first
aired.
Funny you brought up 'The Protectors' -- I remember it very well &
hardly anyone I've asked about it remembers it at all. I've been able
to track down a few episodes of it in the US, but it's difficult to
find. It was a British import show like 'The Persuaders', 'U.F.O.',
and 'The Champions'. in the US, they all ran in about 1971 or '72 I
believe, just prior or during the time of 'SEARCH'. I liked all of
these series quite a bit, but SEARCH most of all.
If Robert Vaughn hadn't been involved in another series, I wonder if
they would've asked him to become a PROBE? What actors who were
active in 1972 do you guys think might've made reasonably good PROBE
agents? William Shatner? Robert Conrad? Adam West?

--- In probe_control@y..., "crayresearch2001" <don@s...> wrote:
> Man from U.N.C.L.E brings back some primordial images for me.
That's
> when I was really staying up late. There was an ongoing joke at our
> house about the charachter (Boss?) Mr. Waverly as we lived on
Waverly
> st. Wouldn't mind seeing it again though. I just watched a tape of
> The Protectors (1972) with The Protectors (1972and it's safe to say
here
> that it had a very Avengers feel to it. I once read in an old copy
of
> Pagent magizine that Robert Vaughn was seriously considering
running
> for office with an eye on the US Presidency. Hmmm...reminds me of a
> SEARCH episode with Bill Bixby. Perhaps the role would have been
> better played by Robert Vaughn.
>
> Don-2

--- In probe_control@y..., "kevin_searchprobe" wrote:
> What actors who were active in 1972 do you guys think might've made
> reasonably good PROBE agents? William Shatner? Robert Conrad? Adam
> West?

Hmm.  If SEARCH had become a long-running show, it's possible one of
the 'big three' might have opted to drop out of their contract.

If Leslie Stevens was at the helm, like he was at the beginning, odds
would have favored actors he had worked with before.  Robert Wagner
(of Steven's "It Takes a Thief") comes to mind as a possible
replacement Probe agent.  If Jack ("Stoney Burke") Lord hadn't been
so successful with "Hawaii 5-0," he might have made a good Probe
agent, although his approach to the role likely would have been
similar to O'Brian's.

If Anthony Spinner (who worked with "Man From UNCLE") was the one at
the helm, it's possible Robert Vaughn would have been approached to
be a replacement Probe agent because of the prior association.

I remember when Tony Franciosa left "Name of the Game," Universal
used a variety of different actors to replace him.  Included among
these were:  Robert Culp as Paul Tyler, Peter Falk as Lewis Corbett,
and Robert Wagner as David Corey.  Robert Culp would have made an
interesting offbeat Probe agent, now that I think of it.

Shatner, Conrad and West may not have worked out because they
probably wouldn't want "second billing" status under Hugh O'Brian,
but if SEARCH had become a successful hit, it probably wouldn't have
mattered much.  Who knows?  :-)

More later,
Don

Don't forget Lee Majors. Although not a huge TV star at the time, he had the
Big Valley under his belt, but he was also one of the four rotating stars of
during the last year of the "Virgian" (1970-1971) in which it was titled "The
Men from Shiloh" Leslie Stevens produced the Doug MClure episodes only in which
he played Trampas, which in turn is probley why he got hired for Search. I think
Glenn Larsen produced the Lee Majors episodes which he played Roy Tate. At the
time of Search Lee Majors was starring as a second bill on Owen Marshall:
Counslor at Law, which ironically was on opposite of "Search" for the second
half of the season (JAN 73). Of course we all know that Lee Majors went on to
become the unltimate "Search/ bionic" guy in the enormously popular "Six Million
Dollar Man" begining in Jan 1973 with as a ABC TV Movie. One side note: If you
are intrested in reading about "The Men Shiloh", check out TV Party. Many fans
considered that as a sequel to the Virgian, but hated what Stevens did in terms
of writing to McClure's very popular Trampas character that he had been playing
for 9 years. Also there is one episode of the "Men from Shiloh" in which Tony
Franciosa guest starred on a Doug McClure episode. Bianco and Grover on the same
episode, I gotta find that one! Shifting gears,maybe a good question to ask Mr.
O'Brian at the convention, who was considered to be casted and why he didn't
want to do all 23 episodes. Oh yeah, one last question that I am dying to know?
Were did Search finish in the ratings!


Chris

Hello everyone
Hello Don H
   The very early UNCLEs were probably a little too serious for the networks.
Looking at the way McCallum's character was placed, the original thought was
it was going to be specifically Vaughn's show as the US James Bond - which
indeed he was as Fleming was involved in his creation. The problem was for
TV, the lead character needed someone to tell what was going on & the public
liked McCallum's Kurikan character. The more lighter touches were no doubt
used to off-set the violent behaviour. Clever guns. Lotta fire power no
blood.
   In some respects, the Outer Limits chap is wrong. Whereas UNCLE made light
of the entire situation, with Search, it was the characters recognising the
humour within the situation. Not quite the same thing. Something I think we
both agree about.

   I'm not sure I agree about the Batman camp totally approach though. I
mean, 'It Takes A Thief', 'Mission: Impossible' & 'I Spy' were around at the
same time just about & they share things more in common with Search.

Hello Marta
	 Hitting on UK shows is definitely home territory but it would be hard to
say whether 'The Avengers' had any influence on any US shows cos of the
'British' feel to it. The series lived within its own reality. You've only
got to look at the backgrounds & the absence of any other characters to see
it working. It was done that way purely to keep the budget down but it
became its trademark. 'Course, it had wonderful scripts that helped a lot.

	 I wasn't old enough to visit London until the early 70s. The pop culture
was ingrained & we just took it for granted with our musical tastes.
   By the by, did you ever get to see the UK 'UFO' SF TV series?? The Long
Sleep' episode hit on the 70s drug culture & promptly got it allocated to a
late night viewing by the TV channels that might make you feel nostalgic.
Not about the drugs, just the scenes of London from that time.

Hello Don-2
	 Even reading the book on UNCLE gives no clues as to who is really in charge
of the organisation. Waverley headed the American branch but it's sorta like
the FBI where power is delegated down I guess.
   'The Protectors' was an odd Anderson show (the same people who made 'UFO',
Marta). 27 minutes was hardly long enough to get the show rolling although
there were a couple of good episodes in there. We often wondered who they
were supposed to be protecting cos much of the time, it was just an excuse
for an adventure story.
   Considering our low budgets over here, story quality counted far more.
Apart from 'The Avengers', there is still some regard for 'The Champions',
'Department S', et al - Brian Clemens wrote for these as well as I recall.
For straight spy stuff, 'Callan' & much much later, 'The Sandbaggers' really
gave a feel for how we big boys played spies in the UK.

	 Speaking of Robert Vaughn. Considering he played the bad guy in the TV
series 'Washington: Behind Closed Doors' based on Watergate, I don't think
he could have been considering that seriously moving into politics. 'Sides,
who'd have an actor for a president. :)

	 You're right about the late Bill Bixby. He was just too nice to play bad
guys. He'd have to get big & green to be really angry.

Hello Kevin
	 'The Protectors' came after 'Space: 1999'. We had a repeat showing in the
early 90s but it has never been issued on video - whether that's a blessing
is debatable. If you're curious, there is a novelisation called 'The
Protectors' by Robert Miall that you can probably located via abebooks.com.

	 As to other possible Probe agents. The problem working against all your
suggestions is the baggage they'd have carried. Shatner's Kirk & West's
Batman was still difficult for them to shake off at the time. They'd have
also been too contemporary to what they needed. McClure was there cos he
looked younger & a definite contrast & looking like a beach bum - were there
any other actors who'd have qualified for that part. Franciscosa, correct me
if I'm wrong, was there cos of studio contract. O'Brian cos he was
part-financing. It's all the way the apples fall from the trees.

Gotta go
Geoff Willmetts






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I haven't looked at all of them yet...but they are probably all superior
quality.  None of the "rabbit ears" reception problems that the Network Ten
tapes have.

No color fading.

I scanned quickly through The Bullet...quality is much better, and it is
complete.

Goddess does have the teaser.

None of the episodes have the squares going across the screen with the
stinger...at least the ones I have looked at.

A woman living in York, England has contacted Trevor...so she may be
getting the episodes.  So you may hear first hand how they look on a PAL
playback...she may join the list.

At 09:54 AM 5/8/2002 +0000, you wrote:
>Hi John; just a query about Trevor's recordings. Obviously the chief
>interest for us all is the new episodes (superb news), but I wondered
>if you could give us some guidance on your assessment of the quality
>of the other tapes-- are they superior or much the same quality as
>those we have? Some of us may be interested in getting better copies
>of particular episodes if they are more complete at start, better
>colour, less fuzzy or whatever. For example, does his copy of 'Goddess
>of Destruction' have the missing teaser?  And what about 'Bullet' and
>'One of our Probes', where Geoff's versions fluctuate between colour
>and B&W? Or of course there are the occasional mechanical blips like
>the break in reception in 'Short Circuit' which was discussed a few
>messages back. But the main question is about quality of images. I'm
>sure we'd all be interested to hear what you think of the comparison.
>Richard
>
>
>
>
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

--- In probe_control@y..., dmanmetz@a... wrote:
> ...Shifting gears,maybe a good question to ask Mr. O'Brian at the
convention, who was considered to be casted and why he didn't want to
do all 23 episodes. Oh yeah, one last question that I am dying to
know? Were did Search finish in the ratings!

Hi Chris:  I don't know which article it was, but at the time O'Brian
was signed to star in SEARCH, he did not desire the grind of a weekly
series.  Stevens dusted off the "revolving heroes" format which
worked for "Name of the Game" and NBC's "Mystery Movie" and applied
it to SEARCH, and it got O'Brian's OK.  Plus O'Brian became part
owner of the series.

A better question for O'Brian would be why has SEARCH languished in a
vault with no U.S. syndication for some 30 years?  If he was part
owner of the show and if the series ended in a deficit, it seems sad
that no effort was made to try to recover the cost of the series
through reruns.

While 23 episodes are usually not enough for syndication (they'd
rather have 80 to 100 episodes), that didn't stop the one-season
wonders "Battlestar Galactica," "Time Tunnel," "Kolchak," "The
Prisoner" and others from becoming worldwide cult hits.

On ratings, the only article I ever saw on the Neilsen ratings of
SEARCH was for the January 1973 first run of "A Honeymoon to Kill."
As I recall, that episode got a 35 out of some 64 shows.  SEARCH
wasn't exactly a runaway hit for NBC, but it wasn't doing that badly
either.

--Don H.