Would you believe that they’ve released a box set of the complete run of Get Smart? Well you should since it’s true. This fabulous set collects all the adventures of CONTROL agents 86 and 99 and is well worth having… and loving it!
Way in my youth I was a big James Bond fan. I also discovered Get Smart by way of the Nude Bomb. Since it was basically a spoof of Bond I thought it was the cat’s pajamas. We didn’t have cable and this film was my first exposure to the world of Maxwell Smart. Sadly, my childhood hilarity was proven false when I watched the film as an adult and found it was an unfunny mess.
Luckily, the original television production holds up and still delivers the laughs. It was woefully unavailable at the time of the Nude Bomb so I didn’t know what I was missing. Oh the humanity! A big screen remake of the series starring Steve Carrell seemingly will fare better than the Nude Bomb since the previews look very good.
Maybe Hollywood will learn from its mistakes in this case. Let not the Nude Bomb flavor your appreciation of the original since the televised adventures of Maxwell Smart still hold up after all these years (the same cannot be said of the Nude Bomb).
Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) is a spy for the CONTROL agency codenamed agent 86. He’s joined in his world-saving duties by Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) and they both report to the Chief (Edward Platt). The nemesis of CONTROL is the KAOS organization, led by Sigfried (Bernie Kopell), vice president of public relations and terror.
Max and Agent 99 fought the forces of darkness on NBC and later CBS for a total of five seasons (1965-1970) and 138 episodes. Not to mention that it won seven Emmys in the process, including outstanding comedy series (twice) and outstanding actor in a comedy series to Don Adams (thrice). HBO and Time Life have collected all five seasons in this twenty-five DVD set. It’s a grand set and was awarded Best of Show, Best 1960s Series, and Best Complete Series Set at the Fourth Annual TV DVD Awards in 2007.
The series comes housed in a box made to resemble the phone booth and elevator from the iconic opening credits. Get Smart is presented in fullscreen as they were aired on television, not to mention they’ve been lovingly restored. Special features are numerous and could never be said to have “missed it by that much” in fact they’re pretty much a bullseye.
Barbara Feldon gives audio introductions to every one of the 138 episodes (as well as the majority of the special features). Season one has commentaries by Mel Brooks (“Mr. Big” pilot), Buck Henry (a second commentary on “Mr. Big”), and Barbara Feldon (“Kisses for KAOS”). The rest of the special features appear on disc five of season one (and subsequent seasons) beginning with a 22 minute 2006 interview with Buck Henry and continues with the 17 minute “Secret History of Get Smart.”
The TV Appearances and Spots section starts off with the 6 minute “Bill Dana Show (1964)” clip that has Adams doing a “would you believe” gag (and also has a commentary by Dana). Next are 5 minutes of clips of Adams on the Andy Williams show circa 1965, a 1 minute Top Brass Hair Care Commercial, with Feldon, from 1964, the 10 minute NBC Fall Season Preview from 1965, a 24 second Get Smart Promo from 1965, and a second 12 second promo from 1965.
Next are 2 minute of bloopers, the hour-long “Get Smart Reunion Seminar from 2003 at the Museum of Television and Radio, and finally an interactive bonus feature of the Chief’s Office. Season two starts off with commentaries by Bernie Kopell (“How to Succeed in the Spy Business Without Really Trying”) and executive producer Leonard Stern (“A Man Called Smart, Part 1”).
Disc five starts off with a 31 minute interview with Stern and the 14 minute “Barbara Feldon: Real Model to Role Model.” Next is the 3 minute clip from the 1967 Emmy Broadcast where Get Smart won Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy. Next are 2 minutes of bloopers and 5 more minutes of the Get Smart Reunion Seminar. Another treasure trove is the 53 minute Don Adams’ 75th Birthday Celebration at the Playboy Mansion in 1999.
Finally we have some NBC Broadcast Standards Memos and an interactive bonus of all the items in Agent 99’s Purse. Season three has commentaries from Don Rickles (“Little Black Book, Pt. 2”) and Buck Henry and Barbara Feldon (“99 Loses CONTROL”). Disc five starts with a 31 minute interview with director Bruce Bilson and the 13 minute “Spooks, Spies, Gizmos, and Gadgets.”
The TV Appearances and Spots section contains 4 minutes of wins from the 1968 Emmy Broadcast, a 3 minute Syndication Promo, a 4 minute clip with Adams from “Milton Berle’s Mad, Mad World of Comedy,” and 6 minutes of clips of Adams on the Andy Williams Show circa 1966. Finally we get more bloopers, more of the 2003 Seminar, more Standards Memos, and the interactive bonus of Smart’s Sunbeam Tiger car. Season four has commentaries from Henry and Feldon (“With Love and Twitches”) and guest star James Caan (“To Sire with Love, Pt.2”).
Disc five starts with a 22 minute Bernie Kopell interview and 24 minute Barbara Feldon interview. The 14 minute “Code Words and Catchphrases” follows. The TV Appearance and Spots section contains a 1 minute clip of the Rose Parade from 1969 with Adams and Feldon, 5 minutes of Adams on the Andy Williams Show circa 1966, a 2 minute Syndication Promo, 2 minutes of wins from the 1969 Emmy Broadcast, a 1 minute Pepsodent Commercial with Adams from 1967, a 1 minute White Castle commercial with Adams (including storyboard) from 1990, and a 30 second Chief Auto Parts commercial with Adams from 1983.
Next are more bloopers and an interactive version of Max’s Apartment. Season five features a commentary with Bill Dana (“Ice Station Siegfried”). Disc five has the 14 minute “Fans of Get Smart” and the 81 minute “Don Adams Memorial” from 2005. The TV Appearances and Spots has a 45 second bit from the 2003 TV Land Awards with Feldon and Adams, 6 minutes of Adams on the Andy Williams Show circa 1966, the 46 second “Don Adams Learns He’s a Father” where Adams is told of his first child being born on set (lost audio, but a lip reader was brought in to translate what he said), two Big Chief Auto Parts commercials (1 minute total) from 1981 and 1983, two White Castle commercials (1 minute total) from 1990, a 40 second Choice Hotels commercial from 1991, and a 30 second Buck-A-Call commercial from 1999. Finally there are more bloopers, a 20 minute “Ultimate Clip Reel,” and an interactive Spy Aptitude Test.
Wow! Who would’ve believed all that bonus material! I would, got writer’s cramp from writing it all up. Get Smart is a treasure trove in both the hilarious show (and it still holds up) and some extremely welcome bonus material (Reunion Seminars, Adams’ Birthday, and the Memorial Service are most welcome). Would you believe five stars? Well, you should.
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