Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligence agencies. It was given new impetus by the development of fascism and communism in the lead-up to World War II, continued to develop during the Cold War, and received a fresh impetus from the emergence of rogue states, international criminal organizations, global terrorist networks, maritime piracy and technological sabotage and espionage as potent threats to Western societies. As a genre, spy fiction is thematically related to the novel of adventure, the thriller and the politico-military thriller.
The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy. Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, le Carré, Ian Fleming (Bond) and Len Deighton. It is a significant aspect of British cinema, with leading British directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Carol Reed making notable contributions and many films set in the British Secret Service.
Robert Ludlum was an American author of 27 thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original The Bourne Trilogy series. The number of copies of his books in print is estimated between 300 million and 500 million. They have been published in 33 languages and 40 countries. Ludlum also published books under the pseudonyms Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd.
Get Smart is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the James Bond films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, and had its television premiere on NBC on September 18, 1965. It stars Don Adams as agent Maxwell Smart, Barbara Feldon as Agent 99, and Edward Platt as The Chief. Henry said that they created the show at the request of Daniel Melnick to capitalize on James Bond and Inspector Clouseau, "the two biggest things in the entertainment world today". Brooks described it as "an insane combination of James Bond and Mel Brooks comedy".
The Bourne Identity is a 1980 spy fiction thriller by Robert Ludlum that tells the story of Jason Bourne, a man with remarkable survival abilities who has retrograde amnesia, and must seek to discover his true identity. In the process, he must also determine why several shadowy groups, a professional assassin, and the CIA want him dead. It is the first novel of the original Bourne Trilogy, which also includes The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum.
Jason Bourne is the title character and the protagonist in a series of novels and subsequent film adaptations. The character was created by novelist Robert Ludlum. He first appeared in the novel The Bourne Identity (1980), which was adapted for television in 1988. The novel was adapted into a feature film of the same name in 2002 and starred Matt Damon in the lead role.
Spy-fi is a subgenre of spy fiction that includes elements of science fiction, and is often associated with the Cold War. Features of spy-fi include the effects of technology on the espionage trade and the technological gadgets used by the characters, even though the technologies and gadgets portrayed are well beyond contemporary scientific reality.
This is a list of bestselling novels in the United States in the 1980s, as determined by Publishers Weekly. The list features the most popular novels of each year from 1980 through 1989.
Phineas and Ferb is an American animated musical-comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh which aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD for four seasons between August 2007 and June 2015. The series follows stepbrothers Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher during summer vacation. Every day, the boys undertake the construction of a grand project, or embark on a spectacular adventure, to make the most of their time on vacation. This annoys their controlling older sister Candace, who frequently tries to expose their schemes to her and Phineas's mother. The series follows a standard plot system; running gags occur in every episode.
Martin Olson is an American comedy writer, television producer, author and composer. He is known for his unusual subject matter, and is an original member of the Boston Comedy Scene. He is the father of actress Olivia Olson.
Bourne are a series of three novels by Robert Ludlum based on the fictional spy Jason Bourne. The series has since been further extended by Eric Van Lustbader after the death of Robert Ludlum. When Eric Van Lustbader decided to stop writing the Bourne novels during the writing of The Bourne Nemesis, Brian Freeman was approached by the Ludlum estate to continue the stories of Jason Bourne.
Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film, is a genre of spy films produced in Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain, that either sincerely imitated or else parodied the British James Bond spy series feature films. The first wave of Eurospy films was released in 1964, two years after the first James Bond film, Dr. No, and in the same year as the premiere of what many consider to be the apotheosis of the Bond series, Goldfinger. For the most part, the Eurospy craze lasted until around 1967 or 1968. In Italy, where most of these films were produced, this trend replaced the declining sword and sandal genre.
Perry the Platypus is a fictional bipedal platypus from the American animated series Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law. Perry was created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Perry is featured as the star of the B-plot for every episode of the series, alongside his nemesis Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. A mostly silent character, his lone vocal characteristic is provided by Dee Bradley Baker.
"Phineas and Ferb Get Busted!" is the 45th broadcast episode of the first season of the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. The episode aired on Disney XD in the United States on February 16, 2009. The episode follows Phineas and Ferb finally being caught by Phineas' mother and sent to a reform school, where a harsh and cruel sergeant attempts to destroy their imagination by sitting them down to a commercial about good boys that mind-controlled them into the obedient drones. Candace goes to save them after she sees a news report about their horrible condition.
"It's About Time!" is the 21st broadcast episode of the first season of the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. It originally aired on Disney Channel on March 1, 2008. The episode concerns stepbrothers Phineas and Ferb fixing a time machine on display in a museum and using it to travel back to prehistoric times. Meanwhile, Perry the Platypus deals with being replaced with a panda bear as the nemesis of the mad scientist Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz.
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension is a 2011 American animated science fantasy action-adventure comedy-drama television film based on the American animated TV series Phineas and Ferb. The film premiered on August 5, 2011 in the United States. It was first announced by Jeff "Swampy" Marsh during a January 2010 interview with the Daily Telegraph. The events of the film take place during the third season of Phineas and Ferb. It is the first feature-length film of the Phineas and Ferb series, and the third animated Disney Channel Original Movie, following Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama and The Proud Family Movie.
Milo Murphy's Law is an American animated comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series premiered on October 3, 2016, on Disney XD. It revolves around the title character, Milo Murphy, who is a descendant of Edward A. Murphy Jr., the namesake of Murphy's law, which states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. The series takes place in the same universe as Povenmire and Marsh's previous series Phineas and Ferb, with multiple references to the show occurring across season one, culminating in a crossover at the beginning of the second season and continuing throughout with other plot threads from the former series.