Stanford Sherman's 'The Cap & Gown Affair' rounded off Season 3, the most controversial of the four 'M.F.U.' seasons. In fairness, some love its colourful, way-out campery, but others see it as the point where the show went into decline. Jon Heitland, author of the definitive guide to 'M.F.U'., did not mince words when he titled a chapter: 'Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory: How A Good Show Went Bad'.
The story begins with THRUSH blowing up a limousine containing Mr.Waverly. Only he is not in it; a life-like dummy is. The U.N.C.L.E. chief is due to get an honorary degree from Blair University, which he is determined to accept, even if it makes him a prime target for THRUSH. Illya poses as a student ( ! ) and mingles with a protest group who oppose the Waverly visit, while Solo gets to hang about with 'Dean Timothy Dwight' ( Henry Jones ) and his lovely daughter 'Minerva'. THRUSH plans to replace Dwight with a double who will then shoot Waverly at the ceremony...
Directed by george waGGner, this is dull stuff indeed, not as bad as some others this season but not near as good as it should have been. It never recovers from the scene where co-eds thwart THRUSH agents by battering them with pillows. As was the case with the hippies in 'The Pop Art affair', the students are depicted inaccurately. Carolyne Barry - who plays 'Minerva' - and Melanie Alexander ( a.k.a. 'Patricia Darling ) are easy on the eye, but are not enough to sustain interest in a fifty-minute show. The recently deceased actor/director Zalman King appears as 'Hamysh'.
The finale has Solo and Illya, along with Dwight and Minerva, tied up and forced to answer questions on a teaching machine. If they give an incorrect answer, the room will fill with deadly gas. Nice idea but you may have nodded off by the time you get to it.
When 'M.F.U.' returned after the summer break, it was in a completely unrecognisable form. Boris Ingster had moved on, and Anthony Spinner had taken over. Episodes like this would thankfully be things of the past.
The story begins with THRUSH blowing up a limousine containing Mr.Waverly. Only he is not in it; a life-like dummy is. The U.N.C.L.E. chief is due to get an honorary degree from Blair University, which he is determined to accept, even if it makes him a prime target for THRUSH. Illya poses as a student ( ! ) and mingles with a protest group who oppose the Waverly visit, while Solo gets to hang about with 'Dean Timothy Dwight' ( Henry Jones ) and his lovely daughter 'Minerva'. THRUSH plans to replace Dwight with a double who will then shoot Waverly at the ceremony...
Directed by george waGGner, this is dull stuff indeed, not as bad as some others this season but not near as good as it should have been. It never recovers from the scene where co-eds thwart THRUSH agents by battering them with pillows. As was the case with the hippies in 'The Pop Art affair', the students are depicted inaccurately. Carolyne Barry - who plays 'Minerva' - and Melanie Alexander ( a.k.a. 'Patricia Darling ) are easy on the eye, but are not enough to sustain interest in a fifty-minute show. The recently deceased actor/director Zalman King appears as 'Hamysh'.
The finale has Solo and Illya, along with Dwight and Minerva, tied up and forced to answer questions on a teaching machine. If they give an incorrect answer, the room will fill with deadly gas. Nice idea but you may have nodded off by the time you get to it.
When 'M.F.U.' returned after the summer break, it was in a completely unrecognisable form. Boris Ingster had moved on, and Anthony Spinner had taken over. Episodes like this would thankfully be things of the past.
