I Spy the TV series 1965-68

 I Spy was a groundbreaking series from 1965 to 1968 that shot portions of its show on location around the world: Morocco, Spain, Greece, Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico, and more. It was also groundbreaking because of the equal top billing of its two costars, Bill Cosby as Alexander Scott and Robert Culp as Kelly Robinson. This was the first time that an African-American received top billing. They are partners working for US Intelligence but Kelly's public identity is a tennis bum and Alexander is his trainer, traveling the world while pitting Kelly's skills against wealthy hosts while enjoying social gatherings and occasional tennis competitions. 

The show's 82 episodes has a bittersweet view of the spy business, from struggling to justify legitimate expenses and losses of equipment to the financial caretakers of the organization they work for to the glamorous lifestyle they lead when not on the spy clock. Often their fun is interrupted with a planned or unplanned mission or someone in need of help. Many parts were a little over the top but the show also surprised me for the mature way things were dealt with. For instance there were also episodes of gravitas where one or the other character struggles with the decisions they or their government have to make. Heavy stuff for TV in the cold war late 60's.

The backstory for the two is that they have been working together for a few years before the first episode and the interplay between the two actors makes you believe it. They tease, poke fun, and egg each other on, even in the thick of danger as a way to cut the tension for the characters and the audience. It works and works well.

Now the elephant in the room: Bill Cosby and his actions towards many women since the 1970's. I bought the three seasons of the series in 2013 and had just started watching the episodes when the first allegations against Bill Cosby appeared. Because of those allegations it sat on my shelf of things to watch until last year, when I had some time and he was in jail. Since then I've seen the entire series because it won so many awards and acclaim for breaking ground in the way the subject matter was portrayed; the hard life of the Intelligence service. 

I also wanted to see it for the way the show and two actors dealt with the fact one partner was white and the other African-American; which was that it didn't matter. Scott is the brains and planner and Kelly goes by his gut. They were both good at what they did, they valued each other for who they were, and were friends who helped each other. The US Intelligence service also didn't care that one of the agents was African-American, only that all their agents could complete missions and keep under budget. 

The show did had sexist parts, especially how Kelly was casual with women. But that got thrown in his face sometimes by strong women, which mirrored the changes in society in the late 60's, in particular the final episode of season three.

I enjoyed the series and will watch it again in a decade or two. If you want to see them for free online, head here at PROClassic TV.