The Survival School Affair (20 Nov. 1967)

Kuryakin is sent to UNCLE's secret training school on a remote island. He has to find out which trainee among of a soon-to-graduate group is really a mole for Thrush. Helping him is another... See full summary »

Director:

Charles R. Rondeau

Writers:

Don Brinkley (teleplay), Jack Turley (teleplay)

Stars:

Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Leo G. Carroll

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Robert Vaughn	...	Napoleon Solo (credit only)
David McCallum	...	Illya Kuryakin
Leo G. Carroll	...	Alexander Waverly
Chris Robinson	...	John Saimes
Richard Beymer	...	Harry Williams
Charles McGraw	...	Jules Cutter
Susan Odin	...	Melissa Hargrove
Ray Girardin	...	Andrew Hague
John Bellah	...	Sentry (as John W. Bellah)
Alex Lucas	...	Trainee
Roger Newman	...	Phillips
Larry Anthony	...	Commander Jenkins

Storyline

Kuryakin is sent to UNCLE's secret training school on a remote island. He has to find out which trainee among of a soon-to-graduate group is really a mole for Thrush. Helping him is another agent posing as a trainee. Kuryakin must also deal with the obsessive head of the school, Jules Cutter.

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Plot Keywords:

spy training

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 November 1967 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arena Productions, MGM Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the only episode of the series in which Robert Vaughn doesn't appear.

User Reviews

Illya Goes Solo!

Illya Kuryakin, on his own for once, arrives at an uncharted island where U.N.C.L.E. has its agent training centre. One of the trainees is secretly working for THRUSH. Jules Cutter ( Charles McGraw ), the chief, is unhappy at Illya's presence as he has come to regard the centre as his own private kingdom and fears it may be shut down.

A security guard is found dead on the beach, then someone sabotages the automatic machine gun system, nearly killing Illya. A number of trainees come under suspicion, among them John Saimes ( Chris Robinson ), Harry Williams ( Richard Baymer ), and Melissa Hargrove ( Susan Odin ). As Illya's investigations get under way, it starts to look as though Williams is the culprit...

One of the great things about Season 4 was the detail given to the U.N.C.L.E. organisation. 'The Maze Affair' showed us U.N.C.L.E.'s method for dealing with bombs at their New York headquarters, here we see where they train agents. What we have here is in effect a 'whodunnit' with Illya acting as detective. McCallum manages to carry the show pretty well, although Solo is naturally missed.

Chris Robinson was in 'The Death Clock', one of the madder episodes of the fourth season of 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea' in which he played 'Corpsman Mallory', inventor of a machine that controls the fourth dimension. Susan Odin looks a lot like Anne Francis of 'Honey West' fame. She was married to the episode's director, Charles R.Rondeau. Tragically she died seven years after this was made. Her character - 'Melissa Hargrove' - may have been named in tribute to one of the show's top writers, Dean Hargrove.

The idea of a spy school where something rotten is going on was later reused in 'The New Avengers' ( 1976 ) episode 'Target'.