I'm rewatching every episode of the Man from UNCLE series from start to finish. This review contains spoilers.
Professor Lillian Stemmler (Eve Arden) has developed an experimental drug that temporarily boosts (or reduces) all attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma). The professor is sponsored by THRUSH, but I guess she doesn't have full THRUSH membership because to ensure her continued loyalty they kidnap her estranged daughter, Leslie (Sharon Farrel).
Theo Marcuse, who I guess is a pretty good Donald Pleasence impersonator, is the dapper THRUSH villain who intends to use Stemmler's Plus-X formula to boost the attributes of his own thugs.
At the same time, he's decided to use her Minus-X formula on the guards of a high security government building to render them useless. The end goal? An important MacGuffin, which I've completely forgotten.
This episode is pretty lackluster. It's sort of an avenue for a mother-daughter reconciliation arc, but I didn't find myself caring about their relationship all that much, and I didn't feel terribly sympathetic to Professor Stemmler. The THRUSH plot lacked inspiration, and there's little I enjoy less than seeing adults awkwardly acting like they're five years old. Or at least, that's what we're told Minus-X does. I find myself wondering what direction the actors got, because everybody seemed to interpret Minus-X differently. Some of them sort of act childish, others act like they've gotten a dose of laughing gas, others just seem sleepy. It's all over the place, and not that much fun to watch in any case.
Lead image by Anthony DELANOIX under the terms of the Unsplash License. Modified by Seth in Inkscape.