# Secret Organization Acronyms (TV Trivia)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 16, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947 "2003-07-16T18:48:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@NameAlreadyTaken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NameAlreadyTaken)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/1 "2003-07-16T18:48:17Z")
If you had the choice would you want to work for:
OSI - Office of Scientific Investigations (with Steve Austin and Oscar)
The Phoenix Foundation (with MacGyver)
FLAG - The Foundation for Law And Government (with that icky guy and his cool black car)
SPECTRE - Acronym? - Where you can beat up James Bond
UNCLE - Anyone know what this expands to? - The question is whether you’d have to time travel back to the '60s.
MASK - Mobile Armored Strike Command - Of course you’d have to be animated and spelling impaired.
Or, for those where I can’t remember the organization…
Anyone tough enough to work with Matt Helm?
Talented enough to work with Remo Williams?
Think you can entice Agent 99 away from Max Smart?
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/2 "2003-07-16T18:55:34Z")
UNCLE = United Network Command for Law and Enforcement (if memory serves)
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2003, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/3 "2003-07-16T19:11:21Z")
[hijack]
I like how SMERSH was real.
[/hijack]
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### Author:  [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/4 "2003-07-16T19:15:58Z")
**SP** ecial **E** xecutive for **C** ounterintelligence, **T** errorism, **R** evenge, and **E** xtortion.
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### Author:  [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/5 "2003-07-16T19:17:55Z")
Don’t forget KAOS!
(Don’t think it spelled out anything, though)
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### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2003, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/6 "2003-07-16T19:32:25Z")
APE: Agency to Prevent Evil
CHUMP: Criminal Headquarters for Underworld Master Plan
SHADO: Supreme Headquarters, Alien Defense Organization
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### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/7 "2003-07-16T19:34:58Z")
BTW, one of Lance Link’s enemies was “The Baron,” a character voiced by Bernie Kopell, which was for all practial purposes a simian “Siegfried.”
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### Author:  [@TeaRoses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaRoses)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/8 "2003-07-16T19:55:02Z")
Well, whoever wants to entice 99 away from Smart, I’ll take charge of distracting Smart while you do it, 'kay?
Somebody once told me that the Israeli spy network on Get Smart was called YENTA, for Your Espionage Network and Training Academy. I used to love Get Smart but I don’t remember this, was he putting me on?
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### Author:  [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/9 "2003-07-16T20:00:38Z")
Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp. Now that’s a blast from the past. Whew.
And for a bit of trivia, Barbara Felden (Agent 99) won $64,000 on the gave show “The $64,000 Question.” I believe her area of expertise was Williams Shakespeare. Dr. Joyce Brothers won in the area of boxing.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2003, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/10 "2003-07-16T20:14:36Z")
THRUSH
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### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/11 "2003-07-16T20:20:25Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by TeaRoses \*
> \*\*Somebody once told me that the Israeli spy network on Get Smart was called YENTA, for Your Espionage Network and Training Academy. I used to love Get Smart but I don’t remember this, was he putting me on? \*\*
There was an ep of “Get Smart” called “The Man from YENTA,” but I don’t recall whether or not they said what it stood for. Alan Oppenheimer played Agent 498 from the Israeli agency (YENTA).
Also, even if they did, you still might not hear it (it’s still airing on TVLand), because there are about four minutes of syndication cuts in a 1960s-and-older half-hour program (and eight in a 60-minute one!).
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_Snerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_Snerd)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/12 "2003-07-16T21:26:16Z")
ZOWIE: Zonal Organization World Intelligence Espionage.
The secret agency from the Flint movies.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/13 "2003-07-16T21:53:06Z")
Someone or another fought against VENOM, the Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem (I think this was MASK’s opposite organization). And in the Dragnet movie, there was PAGAN, or People Against Goodness And Normality.
And I was never quite clear on just what the Phoenix Foundation was, or what it was trying to do, but McGuyver was just so cool that that has to be my choice.
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### Author:  [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2003, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/14 "2003-07-16T23:34:05Z")
SD-6 fights Sydney
The Centre chases Jared (not the guy from Subway)
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### Author:  [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2003, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/15 "2003-07-17T00:03:49Z")
WASP… World Aquanaut Security Patrol (Stingray)
WIN… World Intelligence Network (Joe 90)
Wouldn’t want to work for either of them - too many strings attached…
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### Author:  [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/16 "2003-07-17T00:13:13Z")
THRUSH = Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity. Bonus points - who founded this organization?
THUNDER? I know it isn’t TV - but I am about to order the second archive, so it is on my mind.
Regards,
Shodan
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### Author:  [@Mephisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mephisto)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2003, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/17 "2003-07-17T00:17:04Z")
Pardon my ignorance, but what/who is FLAG?
Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/18 "2003-07-17T01:02:31Z")
I’d rather work for FEAR (the Federal Egg Answering Room). Which is really just a front for FEEBLE (the Freeworld Extra-Earthly Bodies Location and Extermination center).
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### Author:  [@Vlad\_Dracul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Dracul)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/19 "2003-07-17T01:45:04Z")
Mephisto…
FLAG is outfit that Michael Knight worked for on “Knight Rider”. NameAlreadyTaken gave the correct words for the acronym, as far as I remember.
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### Author:  [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-organization-acronyms-tv-trivia/188947/20 "2003-07-17T01:59:41Z")
This originally started as a TV specific thread, but movies have been brought up and no one complained so . . .!
**SHIELD:** Marvel’s premeir super-secret agency has been known as bothe the Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division, and the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate
**AIM: Advanced Idea Mechanics** For a criminal terrorist organization, they sound an awful lot like a legitimate tech company. But then, so does Microsoft . . .
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