I Spy

If I think back to all of it, this show started it all. For some viewers who have not watched it, and best remember Bill Cosby from The Cosby Show. When ever this show will be shown in re-runs on T.V.Land. Just might find this show very enjoyable. Bill Cosby and Robert Culp were perfectly cast has Alexander Scott and Kelly Robinson two undercover agents going on dangerous missions and enjoying sight seeing. This show in many ways tried not to be to serious or to silly. It is a great blend of action and humor.

Not only was this show groundbreaking, but it had such quality to it that it really should be as well-known as another series that aired on the same network in those years called "Star Trek." I became such a huge Robert Culp and Bill Cosby fan after this series originally aired, and wish it would be released on DVD or VHS complete. Now that I have them in BOTH forms, I can die happy now. And I SHOULD mention here that I am the same John Peel who worked on the TV site with the late Donna Lemaster, and my e-mail has now been for some time jwpeel@tiac.net rather than the longer jwpeel@imw/tiac.net that still appears at that site, in case anyone would like me to give them any info on the show. This fabulous show inspired me to become a writer as well as feed my love for acting, but unlike other series of its type like Mission Impossible, it did not merely copy familiar ground in the spy genre like so many James Bond-type clones, but reinvented the form with great straight drama laced with comic highlights. It is just a shame that we don't see more of the dramatic side of Cosby. He was quite good in those shows, and won three Grammys to prove it, and he owed it all (and said so in his acceptance speeches) to his buddy and costar Robert Culp. Just the locations alone make it a memorable show, but the quality of writing makes it all the more memorable. If you have never experienced this show before, you must.

"I Spy" represented NBC at it's most daring, in 1965, and proved that actor/producer Sheldon Leonard, best known as the guiding force behind "The Andy Griffith Show", "Make Room For Daddy", and "The Dick Van Dyke Show", could offer a first-class dramatic entry, as well. Certainly in an era when civil rights was an explosive issue, and television series were predictable and shot exclusively on studio sound stages and back lots, a program that was filmed 'on location' and featured an African/American in a leading role for the first time (in a mainstream dramatic show) was not only revolutionary, but was potentially disastrous, as well. It is to everyone's credit that NBC, the most successful network at that time ("Bonanza" had a 'lock' on Number One in the ratings) was willing to take the risk, and introduce this remarkable series to American audiences.

Robert Culp was an established television star when the series debuted, a respected 35-year old actor with credentials that included one of the first major 'made-for-TV' movies (THE HANGED MAN), strong theatrical film work (PT 109 and Sunday IN NEW YORK), and Emmy-nominated TV guest performances. A gifted writer as well as actor, he and Leonard had discussed a TV series for a while, something that would capitalize on his dramatic abilities and avoid the stereotypes rampant in weekly television at the time. When a script involving a tennis pro and his trainer/manager, actually CIA agents, who would use their covers on worldwide missions, was hammered out, Culp knew he had found the right formula. The co-starring role became the focus of attention, and while Culp would later take credit for 'discovering' Bill Cosby, both he and Leonard were impressed by the 27-year old performer's brilliant stand-up comedy work (Leonard's friend, comedian Allan Sherman, had 'introduced' Cosby for the young comedian's first 'live' album), and both men deserve credit for offering the project to the 'untested' actor. With Cosby in place, filming began, and magic appeared.

While the initial focus was on Culp's flamboyant 'Kelly Robinson', with Cosby's 'Alexander Scott' relegated to the more serious role of the 'contact' man with the CIA, Cosby had a way of 'punching up' his dialog, adding hip one-liners and asides that not only improved scenes, but gave the character of Scott a humanity that the scripts lacked. The stories became funnier and far more interesting, and Culp and Leonard were more than pleased with the results. The series quickly became an audience favorite, with Cosby winning the first of three Emmys in his role. Culp began ad-libbing, as well, following Cosby's lead, and the chemistry between the actors was so natural and easy-going that "I Spy" became television's most popular 'buddy' show.

With the show 'on location' for much of the shooting schedule, a season's worth of scripts would have to be available by the start of filming, a practice unheard of for any other series. This resulted in some 'clichéd' episodes that writers had little time to polish, and Cosby and Culp's ad-libbing skills would be necessary to 'lift' their overall quality. The resulting humor would give the series a 'freshness' that not only made even the weaker entries enjoyable, but resulted in a series that still 'works', nearly forty years later.

Eventually, even the stars' best efforts couldn't disguise the thinning material, and after three seasons, "I Spy" was canceled (although Cosby would win his third Emmy in a row for the last season, a testament to his talent), and the remarkable experiment was over.

Sadly, "I Spy" did not dramatically change the African/American presence on TV, at that time, but Bill Cosby's success would provide him a window of opportunity for continued television exposure, and with each subsequent success, more opportunities would become available for gifted performers of other races. He was, and is, truly a pioneer of the medium, and the most enduring tribute of the series Sheldon Leonard created for Robert Culp may have been in introducing Bill Cosby to 'mainstream' America. It is a legacy that both Leonard and Culp were justly proud of!

"I Spy" cannot be denied its contributions to history, both in television production and the Civil Rights movement. As documented in the book, "I Spy: A History of the Groundbreaking Television Series," this was the first series to cast a black actor opposite a White, with equal status and billing. And, by doing so, Bill Cosby become the first Black to win an Emmy - and he would win three in a row, as Best Lead Actor in a Drama for his work here. During that first year, show business trade magazine Variety wrote that "I Spy" was a "test show," putting NBC southern affiliates "on the spot," and that the series would show "which way the winds were blowing in Dixie." The door swung open in September 1965, and, within one year, black performers were finding regular work with non-stereotypical roles on "Mission: Impossible" and "Star Trek," and, just a couple years after that, being cast as series leads, with equal or greater status than Whites, in shows such as "N.Y.P.D.," "Room 222," and "Julia." TV, and the world, changed that quickly.

"I Spy" was also the first series to shoot around the world, introducing the technology needed to achieve this. And many believe that this is where the "buddy picture" began. Series such as "Starsky & Hutch" and "Miami Vice," and even movies like "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid," certainly took their lead from "I Spy."

This historic series proved that sometimes television can do more than just entertain.

It so common that we like things because they help us to escape. We like things because we know they're not good for us. We like things because nobody else like them. And sometimes, we don't know why we like things, we just do.

Those of us who love and adore the 1965-1968 television series I-Spy have many reasons to like it. We can like it because it was the first, and up to this point the best, of the buddy pairings that have become so commonplace in TV and movies. Think about it. As far as drama/comedies go, who were the first evenly matched hero team? Crockett and Tubbs weren't, and don't compare. And there isn't anybody else worth mentioning. The rapport between Kelly and Scotty has never been equaled. Spenser and Hawk come the closest.

Then there's the presence of Bill Cosby, who wasn't handed charity. He was given an opportunity and made the most of it. The three Emmys on his mantel attest to his skill and his popularity.

Then there's the location filming. And the fun. And the charm. and some great guest performances along the way. This was and is a great show. Terrific and timeless.