Sunday, April 19, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
I Spy Rolex GMT: Season 1 [Episode 1]
Introducing
I Spy Saturday
Season 1 [Episode 1 : So Long, Patrick Henry]
Original Air Date: September 15, 1965
I am introducing a cool new project on Jake's Rolex Watch Blog today named "I Spy Saturday." My objective is to analyze every episode of I Spy from the first episode to the last and get all the best screen captures. I hope to publish a new episode every Saturday until we get through all of them.
Why would I ever commit to such a project? Because it is really cool!!! Why do I think it is really cool? For a zillion different reasons. I was not even born when I Spy debuted on prime time TV and I have only seen a few episodes in my life. This way you and I can watch all the episodes together and comment on them.
If you are not familiar with I Spy, it was a TV show starring Bill Cosby and Robert Culp who were both secret agents for the U.S. Government. Wikipedia perfectly sums it up:
"I Spy was an American television secret agent adventure series. It ran for three seasons on NBC from 1965 to 1968 and teamed Robert Culp as international tennis player Kelly Robinson, and Bill Cosby as his trainer Alexander Scott. In reality, they were both top agents for the Pentagon and, while ostensibly traveling as "tennis bums" (a talented amateur who plays tennis with rich people in return for food and lodging), they were usually busy chasing villains, spies, and beautiful women."
Bill Cosby was amazing and I Spy was the first prime time TV show to star with an African American in a leading role. Throughout the TV show, the color of his skin or the fact that he was of African American decent was never mentioned. So I Spy was really a groundbreaking show.
In this first shot we see Bill Cosby and Robert Culp both wearing Rolex GMT Master watches with Pepsi bezels. In this first episode from the first season there is a young Chinese boy from Hong Kong who seems like he was the archetype for theShort Round character in Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom movie which starred Harrison Ford.
I can't think of another TV show in history where both the stars wore the same Rolex watch–pretty cool. I Spy was also revolutionary in the sense it was always shot on location, all over the world. This first episode was shot on location in Hong Kong. We also learn from watching this very first episode from the first season, that both characters wore GMT Master watches from the very beginning–also pretty cool.
The are several references to 007 including a few mentions of Goldfinger. I remember when I was younger, I always thought it was tacky to wear a sport Rolex watch like a GMT or Submariner with a suit and tie, but I must admit that I now think it looks really cool.
Both Robert Culp and Bill Cosby were nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, three times each, from 1966 to 1968 and Bill Cosby who had never acted before won all three times.
I invite you to watch along with me as we go through the episodes in chronological order, and feel free to comment in the comment section. I hope to analyze a new episode every week–hopefully every Saturday.
I realize in many ways, I Spy is dated and campy and kitchy, but that is what makes it kind of cool and fun. The mod fashions are pretty cool and I think studying the social mores and historical context should be fascinating an fun. I also look forward to doing a podcast with Bill Cosby and Robert Culp in the future...
Note: If you wish to watch I Spy full-screen on your computer, just hit the play button and once the episode starts, if you put your cursor over the video window, you will notice a little square in the upper right hand corner, which will play the episode full screen on your computer.
Need NATO's?
Need NATO's?
Roy Taylor at RLTWatches.co.uk has a big selection of NATO straps as well as all kinds of other straps and watches. You can visit his website at www.RLTWatches.co.uk. Roy ships all over the world and has very reasonable prices. Roy is also a really nice guy.
Friday, April 17, 2009
60 Minutes: Scott Pelley on Creating The Bionic Arm...
Creating The Bionic Arm
Scott Pelley Daytona
Scott Pelley from 60 Minutes has been wearing his trademark stainless Rolex Daytona for many years, but this story is not about Scott or Rolex, it is about amazing innovation. Watch the video below to learn all about the development of the bionic arm.
Rolex Lume Shot of the Day: Eduardo's SEA-DWELLER
Eduardo's SEA-DWELLER
Eduardo who is a regular reader of Jake's Rolex Watch Blog sent in this amazing lume shot of his Rolex SEA-DWELLER.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
AskMen.com Article Titled "GMT & World-Time Watches."
AskMen.com has an article which you can view by clicking here, titled GMT & World-Time Watches and they say "The archetype is the Rolex GMT-Master II, which was originally engineered for Pan-Am Pilots in the 1950s and 1960s." The article points out the significance of being able to keep track of time in two different places simultaneously.
Since the article did not show the Pan Am GMT Master, I thought I would share a few shots with you that Marlon took of his utra-rare white dial GMT Master. On Jake's Rolex Watch Blog we refer to this rare combination as a Vanilla Pepsi. As the folklore goes, Rolex developed the GMT Master for the Pan Am pilots with the standard black dial, and for the executives they developed a rare white (silvered dial) as seen in Marlon's photo below.
Time Machines Movie on Watch Collection & Obsession
Time Machines Movie
on
Watch Collection & Obsession
This is a really funny and interesting movie you can watch for free online by clicking here. Note that you HAVE to put in an email address in order to watch the film–although you don't have to put in your email address.
The LUXURY channel presents a movie named "Time Machines" which kind of has a Benny Hill funny vibe to it. I mean this as a compliment and they could have titled the movie "WISitus Sufferers."
The movie is accurate but I will point out that they refer to a Rolex 1655 orange hand as a "Steve McQueen" model, and this is a false association since Steve McQueen never wore a Rolex Explorer–Steve wore a Submariner [Reference 5512]. I do find it strange that people who are supposed to be experts on Rolex are perpetuating a false myth, but that detail aside, the movie is fascinating and excellent overall. You can learn all about Steve McQueen's Submariner by clicking on the Steve McQueen Rolex Collection link below this story in the Labels section.
Note: Notice the jumbo coffee cups on the table in the photo below. I think people who suffer from WISitus like to get all hopped-up on caffeine and talk about Rolex ;-))))))))))
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