‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’ returns

First, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” wasn’t available at all on DVD.

Then, Time Warner had exclusive rights to the complete “U.N.C.L.E.” series for more than a year, selling its ambitious and exhaustive box set via its web site and those late-night TV ads.

Now, Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin are back in action — in video stores and on Amazon — via Warner Home Video. “The Man from U.N.C.L.E. : The Complete Series” makes a fantastic gift for guys who grew up in the Sixties, as well as spy action buffs.

Unlike so many action shows of the era, “U.N.C.L.E.” plays beautifully these days, at least episodes from the first two seasons. Vaughn says in the DVD box set’s extras, “The first year of shows were better. They were adventure and romance with a little bit of humor.

The show’s technique of having an “innocent” involved in the action brought in a swarm of notable guest actors that helped keep things fresh. For example, the black-and-white episode “The Never-Never Affair” enlisted Barbara Feldon as an U.N.C.L.E. secretary looking for fun and adventure. Cesar Romero played a suave bad guy from THRUSH (that’s like SPECTRE, Bond fans). The series always went for humor, but the action had its share of edge.

The quality of images is quite good on “The Man from U.N.C.L.E. : The Complete Collection,” including the early black and white shows.

The series ran from 1964-1968 and made stars of Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as they vamped on the secret agent craze set off by the James Bond movies. McCallum, the cool guy with the long hair, was treated like a Beatle when he tried to do a PR gig in Times Square (and had to flee).

“U.N.C.L.E.” returns packaged in a surprisingly well-made silver attache case that holds every episode from the series’ four seasons — that’s 105 shows including a quickie theatrical movie that ended up repurposed for TV. The many special features in “The Man from U.N.C.L.E. : The Complete Collection” include a 90-minute “reunion” with Vaughn and McCallum, who seem to be longtime pals.

Individual seasons of “U.N.C.L.E.” also are available separately.

Perfect gift for: Baby Boomers, spy guys, classic TV-on-DVD lovers.

Buy “The Man from U.N.C.L.E. : The Complete Series” from Amazon right now.