HOLLYWOOD WATCH : Luv Ya’, Boris Baby

No question, these guys have had one helluva image problem: Invariably clothed in ill-fitting, glistening suits and encumbered by thick, menacing accents and Soviet-style dental work, KGB agents have long had a bad rep--and gotten a bum rap--in this country.

Western television and movies have had great fun at their expense: There were Boris Badenov and his sidekick, Natasha Fatale, from the Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons. Behind them, in the shadows, was their fearsome midget leader, Mr. Big.

And if C.O.N.T.R.O.L. (“Get Smart”) and U.N.C.L.E. (“The Man From . . . “) were meant to parody the CIA, their archenemies, K.A.O.S. and THRUSH, brought to mind the KGB. James Bond, British agent 007, tangled with an endless assortment of sinister chaps and viperous seductresses from SPECTRE, Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. The flavor was also distinctly Soviet.

So it comes as no surprise to learn that a group of former KGB agents have wearied of seeing others profit from their derring-do and now want a piece of the action for themselves. They have hired ECHO, an appropriately acronymic West Hollywood talent agency, to tell their stories to the world.

Who can blame a spy newly in from the cold for wanting to make a few rubles? (Fellas: Make your deal in dollars, and get the money up front.) After all, nowadays there’s a shortage of archenemies. And these guys were nothing if they weren’t damn good villains. On screen and off.