Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple: based on the theme of the week pick three to five titles and tell us why you picked them. For further details and the schedule visit the series main page here.
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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is TMP Television Edition - Spies
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I'm going totally random with just series I have seen over the years.
Get Smart (1965 - 1970)
When I was growing up, a lot of classic American TV series were shown in the daytime so I ended up watching quite a number of them after school including Get Smart. I don't remember much of it now except, that main male character isn't that smart and his shoe is a phone.
La Femme Nikita (1997 - 2001)
I have not seen this in ages and hardly remember it now beyond the basic premise, but it had been one of those TV shows that I stayed up to watch as a kid. I tried to watch the new Nikita with Maggie Q, I only manage a couple of episodes. I think I prefer this 1997 version.
Alias (2001 - 2006)
The other lady spy series. Very action packed and thrilling. Jennifer Garner was just awesome as Sydney Bristow and of course the disguises are always part of the fun of a spy series. And remember Vaughn, Sydney's handler? Was he not totally crush-worthy.
The Night Manager (2016 - )
I had been looking forward to this because it was so well received and people were saying that Tom Hiddleston could be great as the new Bond because of it. So anyway...the series is ok and it was shot in very beautiful locations but I didn't find it too thrilling and suspenseful. And...I didn't like Hiddleston in it, he seemed quite awkward.
When I was growing up, a lot of classic American TV series were shown in the daytime so I ended up watching quite a number of them after school including Get Smart. I don't remember much of it now except, that main male character isn't that smart and his shoe is a phone.
La Femme Nikita (1997 - 2001)
I have not seen this in ages and hardly remember it now beyond the basic premise, but it had been one of those TV shows that I stayed up to watch as a kid. I tried to watch the new Nikita with Maggie Q, I only manage a couple of episodes. I think I prefer this 1997 version.
Alias (2001 - 2006)
The other lady spy series. Very action packed and thrilling. Jennifer Garner was just awesome as Sydney Bristow and of course the disguises are always part of the fun of a spy series. And remember Vaughn, Sydney's handler? Was he not totally crush-worthy.
The Night Manager (2016 - )
I had been looking forward to this because it was so well received and people were saying that Tom Hiddleston could be great as the new Bond because of it. So anyway...the series is ok and it was shot in very beautiful locations but I didn't find it too thrilling and suspenseful. And...I didn't like Hiddleston in it, he seemed quite awkward.
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We match on Get Smart (SO FUNNY) and Alias! Jennifer Garner was all kinds of amazing on that. And yes, Vaughn (Michael Vartan) was SO crush-worthy.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Get Smart-99 was just the coolest and had the best clothes. Don Adams had the deadpan down to a science and I The Chief was wonderful as well.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any of the others though I've heard Alias praised to the skies.
Since the 60’s was a wonderland of spy series thanks to the success of James Bond I decided to do a theme within a theme of just those shows. All three have singular memorable opening music and credits.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964-1968)-A two-man troubleshooting team, American Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Russian Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) work for multi-national secret intelligence agency U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement) under the direction of Alexander Waverly (Leo G. Carroll). Week after week they combated the evil forces of THRUSH (Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity) alternating between throwing around villains and bon mots. Immensely popular in its day it spawned a spinoff series The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. as well as much merchandising. A stylish film version came out in 2015.
Mission: Impossible (1966-1973)-The Impossible Missions Force (IMF) lead a group of secret agents (including over time Leonard Nimoy, Martin Landau and Sam Elliott) lead by Dan Briggs (Steven Hill) in the first season and after that by Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) are given covert assignments each week via a self-destructing device. Using stealth and cunning as well as disguise much more than action they battle evil empires and crime lords. Tom Cruise has bastardized the franchise in a series of empty soulless action vehicles that have nothing to do with the original intelligent conception of the series.
It Takes a Thief (1968-1970)-High living but currently imprisoned cat burglar Alexander Munday (Robert Wagner) is released into the custody of Noah Bain (Malachi Thorne) head of the government’s Secret Intelligence Agency (SIA) with the understanding that he will steal whatever necessary (documents, formulas, etc.) to ensure national security. More of a high fashion romp than a tension fueled spy thriller this still had many intricate plots and a terrific chemistry between its two leads. It also had a fantastic array of guest stars including Bette Davis, Suzanne Pleshette (as a temperamental opera diva in one of the series best episodes), Leslie Nielsen and in the final season Fred Astaire as Mundy’s mischievous father, master thief Alistair.
I haven't seen any of your picks...but of course I've seen the movie adaptations of your first 2 picks and like them. I wish they made a sequel to The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
DeleteWe have 2 matches! I also chose Get Smart and Alias. Love both of those shows. Somehow I haven't seen La Femme Nikita and I never heard of The Night Manager.
ReplyDeleteI think if you like Alias...you'd enjoy La Femme Nikita. The Night Manager is a UK show. I sort of thought it was fairly popular...anyway a second series is in the works I think.
DeleteI never watched any of these but I'm kind of sad I missed out on Alias. It seems like it was Jennifer Garner at her best.
ReplyDeleteNone really??? Yes Garner was great.
DeleteWe match with Get Smart which is so funny and silly. I watched Alias and that one episode where she is on an airplane..that was just as thrilling as James Bond and yeah...he was swoon worthy. Loved La Femme Nikita. She was so good as the vulnerable, yet skilled spy. I enjoyed the earlier episodes better because I felt they lost their way later. The other characters were just as compelling especially the killer lady. Before they made her more evil, and one dimensional. I haven’t seen your last pick.
ReplyDelete"so good as the vulnerable, yet skilled spy" I would also say the same for Sydney in Alias...that's why I enjoy both series.
DeleteI almost went with La femme Nikita. I don't remember much about it but I used to watch it all the time when I was a kid and I really liked it.
ReplyDelete