Television Espionage of the 1960's
During the 1960's, the steady flow of James Bond movies gave rise to a great number of espionage, or "spy" series on TV. These programs were almost always patterned after Ian Fleming's master spy, 007. In spite of this, the programs were often different in many ways. Some were basic, two-fisted, 'shoot-em-up" programs, but some managed to span into the realm of true art. Because of this, espionage series need to be classified. These programs should not be considered as identical. Each program possessed its own individual personality.
The first example is I Spy, which starred Robert Culp and Bill Cosby. I Spy was basically an international intrigue show in which Culp played an American spy posing as a tourning tennis pro. Cosby was his partner, and together they fought for their homeland. I Spy was a snappy, fast-moving series filled with exotic scenery and a fair share of women. Violence was kept to a minimum, though. Often the series centered on the personal lives of the two men. I Spy could be categorized as a conservative spy series.
One program which kept more with the 007 mold was The Man From U.N.C.L.E., which premiered in 1964 starring Robert Vaughn and David McCallum. As in I Spy, the two men were partners, and the program was abundant with exotic scenery and women. The big difference, though, was the basic concept. In U.N.C.L.E. violence was more graphic and the plots more far-fetched. By the time the series was cancelled, some of the scripts bordered on the realm of science fiction. This could surely be labelled as a liberal, "classic" spy thriller.
The last category is fit for only one program. This series, my favorite, premiered in the summer of 1968 and lasted for only one season. Although the basic plot could be considered conservative, the overall concept of the series was extremely . The show was called The Prisoner and starred Patrick McGoohan as a retired British intelligence agent who is captured and placed in a small, enclosed "village" with other captives. The village is like any other small town, ringed by forest and a lake, but there is no escape. The only reason you are there is to surrender top secret information to unknown sources. Although his captors were clever, our hero out-witted them at every turn. This is the only spy series that could be called a "think piece," or intellectually stimulating program. I believe it is the best of the 60's spy series and is the prime reason for categorizing all the programs.
I like the topic of this paper, but the writer doesn't know enough about the subject. Remember that an example is not a category. Categories are bigger. To develop satisfactorily, it is usually necessary to have more than one example per category. This fellow doesn't.
Secondly, make sure your categories are appropriately labeled. What do the words "liberal" and "conservative" have to do with these programs? Why is "The Man from Uncle" more "classic" than "I, Spy"? The student recognizes the need for category labels, but he hasn't been able to come up with good labels.
The last example isn't a category at all and isn't labeled, giving the paper a weak finish.
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