MovieChat Forums > I Spy (2002) Discussion > What the HELL happened to my I SPY????

What the HELL happened to my I SPY????

posted 18 years ago by mcpnet
7 replies | jump to latest

OK
I grew up with the Culp/Cosby I Spy series

Robert Culp was Kelly Robinson and Cosby was Alexander Scott
The names were exactly one of the novelties in a time of Civil Rights and stereotyping.

No white guy I ever knew had the last name of "Robinson" and that was part of the satire. To make fun of the stereotype system.
It was a first...Never before in the history of TV were there a black and white team like this. There was no racial boundary and the two were basically equal. Cosby's Scott was intelligent and witty and broke the mold that Hollywood and the world had created for blacks in the past. Sure, there were movies out at the time that were breaking the mold with Sidney Poitier who was the real pioneer.
Another enhancement was the dialog between the two.
They had a mumbly under the breath dialog that you had to pay attention to. That made the series even more interesting and casual like.
I watched the series from the beginning to the end.

So when this movie came out I was sadly disappointed that it was just a tired routine of practical jokes and no real chemistry like the original TV show.

I'm glad I saw this one as a DVD
rental

[–] GreenGoblinsOckVenom86 17 years ago

I don't think they were thinking of the series at all. I actually liked this movie. I guess it's a spoof of the tv show.

"Never rub another man's Rhubarb!" Joker/Jack Nicholson from Batman

[–] liscarkat-2 17 years ago

Maybe it's an o.k. movie, but they should've given the characters different names and changed the title. It ain't "I Spy".

And there are many thousands of white people named Robinson. How about that Swiss family, and that lady who seduced Dustin Hoffman (fictional characters, but quite representative of reality)?

[–] DD-931 17 years ago

The joke is that the kids who liked this show had never even heard of the original "I SPY" TV show. So it was pointless to even use the title.

[–] rogerscorpion 11 years ago

I've been saying this.

If they wanted to make a film, which totally disregarded the original--why not change the title?

It's as though they want the built-in audience--but, at the same time, don't.

Carpe Noctem!

[–] shoot-hobos 17 years ago

You've never heard of a white guy called Robinson?

[–] jmhow 12 years ago

I agree with you except for the name Robinson. The whole Lost in Space family was Robinson. That series ran at the same time.

Also there was the Swiss Family Robinson.

www.freerice.com

[–] dcram76 12 years ago

After seeing this complete travesty, I thought of how the movie could've been VASTLY improved. The two guys could've been strictly secret agents. They would've gone to Japan for the espionage and for the exotic local. Alexander Scott would've been played by Eddie Murphy and would've been the street-smart(like Axel Foley) family man(like Daddy Day Care), and Kelly Robinson would've been played by Chris Isaak and would've been the book-smart linguist and ladies man(he speaks japanese in real life). He's one of the few guys that I can picture Eddie Murphy not treating like an incompetent second banana. That's my take.