The espionage products I like

[Goodlun]

I am going to put Magnum PI here instead of the 10k bullets thread because the more I look at Magnum the more I think trouble shooter vs say a PI

I think Magnum's still in the crime genre more than the spy genre. While he certainly gets up to some paramilitary stuff in certain episodes, his attitude, voice, and cases are much more in the vein of Philip Marlowe or Archie Goodwin (with the rich, unseen patron being Nero Wolfe) than Bond or Fisher. I seem to recall there even being an episode in black-and-white that was a deliberate homage/parody of noir cliches.

This. Magnum isn't particularly espionage; given his background as a SEAL, his initial base class is likely Commando but I think that's about as close as you're going to get. There's no trade craft, it's basically an action comedy with darker overtones that come from referencing the Vietnam War  

Odd when I watch it I see quite a bit of trade craft during his investigations.

[mathey]

Tradecraft and detective work (at least the sort that appears in popular fiction) do look similar a lot of the time, I guess. It tends to boil down to presentation and the way their respective tactics skew. When Magnum goes to talk with his buddy at the bar about some local criminal, he's probably not that removed from Bond checking in with Felix to ask about a given lieutenant or mastermind. The distinction, though, comes in how they apply that information.

Magnum would continue asking questions around town and piecing together a mystery that he can solve and then take to the cops. Bond would try to infiltrate the enemy organization and take it apart from the inside. Since both are in the action genre, they could potentially involve fistfights, car chases, and gunplay, but one tactical approach emphasizes exposing truths and getting justice while the other emphasizes deceit and sabotage.

There's also ties to covert and overt warfare in tradecraft that just don't exist in detection, which is about law enforcement, not affairs of state. Bond has a License to Kill which he uses fairly frequently, Magnum has to worry about keeping a P.I.'s license if he so much as harasses somebody or forgets to get a gun permit. This informs their respective personal "codes" and what is tolerated in their worldview.

Burn Notice is an interesting crossbreed in that you have a character (or characters) utilizing tradecraft solutions to what might be more traditionally detective/cop kinds of scenarios.  You can see many parallels to Magnum P.I. in Burn Notice, of course, but if you notice the distinctions in how they go about their business you should get a good sense of what delineates the genres.

[Dace]

24 is already on the list. But in case you haven't seen it a cartoon called Archer would be good inspiration. Very good in a very light hearted spy kind of game.

[MOrab46019]

Mission Impossable the TV show.
The old FBI TV show

[Mister Andersen]

The Ev3nt

[Desertpuma]

Mission Impossable the TV show.
The old FBI TV show

These were both early editions to the list. have you seen the '88-'89 Mission: Impossible series? ... It was filmed in Australia and did star Peter Graves with 4 other actors including Jane Badler (previously of the original V at that time in the 2nd Season).

[wordsampersand]

I'll also give a big thumbs up to The Sandbaggers. Track it down if you can (I've been watching it via Netflix, for what it's worth).

[jolt]

As usual, people have covered things very well here.  I am surprised that no one mentioned The Avengers TV series (or I missed it if someone did) though that show varied wildly in tone and mood as the series progressed.  The TV series Wild Wild West was espionage of a different era.  Some of the gadgetry was over the top but, argueably, no moreso than some of the Bond flicks.

jolt

[Desertpuma]

I think both we're mentioned. I seem to recall us on the forums asking for a Wild Wild West book or maybe a conversion or something.

[mathey]

The Avengers and Wild Wild West are wonderfully bizarre camp fun, aren't they? I HATED the film versions of both - they focused too much on props rather than on sensibility - but the original television series are definitely worth checking out if you like your spy adventures dipped in self-conscious humor, '60s style, and the downright surreal. Also, a young Diana Rigg in a catsuit is hard to pass up.


 

[Desertpuma]

The film version of Wild Wild West was killed by Will Smith. They should have had some has boxer experience play the role of Jim West ... some like Tom Cruise.

[Dace]

I don't think I've seen the X Files mentioned. It was very good when it came to cover ups and conspiracies and getting to the bottom of something.

[Desertpuma]

You can do it with SC2.0 and the Fragile Minds supplement.

[Dace]

Having watched it again I think Inception deserves mention. It's not your typical spy thriller but it does touch upon a lot of the same themes and works really well for inspiration. More so if one considers mind altering drugs as a spies arsenal.

So not a literal translation if you know what I mean.

[mathey]

Inception was explicitly Christopher Nolan's head-trippin' homage to Bond movies and heist films, so I'd say it counts here and for 10K Bullets.