If you think you're getting the complete, original (1965) Get Smart series, make no mistake. The original series is still available only directly from Time-Life, and is still $199.95. (Update 10/08: Now scheduled for 11/4/08 availability from Amazon at discounted price!)
This is the brief (7 episode) Get Smart revival series which aired on Fox in 1995. The series brings back Don Adams (now chief of CONTROL), Barbara Feldon (now a congresswoman), and David Ketchum (Agent 13), but the main characters are now Max and 99's son Zack (Andy Dick) and his partner, Agent 66 (Elaine Hendrix).
I was pleasantly surprised that this series managed to maintain some of the character and humor of the original series -- especially the episode which brought back Bernie Kopell as Siegfried.
And I'm also pleasantly surpised to see this short-lived gem available on DVD.
But if you order it thinking you're getting the original series for under $20, you may be in for a surprise of a different sort. Get Smart: The Complete Series
Okay, the year was 1995. FOX broadcasting wanted to bring in a mid-season replacement, as they are known to do. Their decision? Dig up "Get Smart".
In this new series, Max is now the Chief of Control and 99, still his wife, is in Congress. His son, Zack, is a spy and teams up with Agent 66. (No mention is made of their other offspring, however.)
7 episodes were made.
Some of the benefits accorded the new series:
* Agent 0 -- played by a different actor each week, you never know when 0 appears.
* Most of the humor remains in the same spirit as the original
* Sharply written plots
* Good acting
Some of the downsides to this new series:
* Overtly sexual in many episodes; even the pilot has more innuendo than many of the subsequent episodes combined.
* "Casino Evil", a great story, is a rewrite of an original series plot. (I don't care much for rewrites, but this one did work.)
* Stopped after 7 episodes
Highlight episodes:
* Pilot (ep 1) -- Zack and 66 investigate KAOS' attempt to steal indestructible fabric. Ignore the innuendo, some of which does get chuckles; there's more to like than dislike in this premiere.
* "Casino Evil" (ep 2) -- Zack and 66 infiltrate a casino operated by KAOS.
* "Goodbye Ms. Chip" (ep 3) -- A KAOS agent kidnaps and brainwashes 66 to kill an ambassador.
* Wurst Enemies (ep 6) -- An old enemy of Max returns.
* "Liver Let Die" (ep 7) -- Zack and 66 infiltrate a KAOS hospital. This one is my favorite of the new series; it handled the dark concepts and humor immensely well.
I'm surprised this series has been scheduled for release, but am gratified. My VHS off-air tapings are falling apart. I do have more than a soft spot for this series, as despite being a newly commissioned series, a lot of it really gels together. It deserved more of a proper chance than to be axed.
Please check back later to get a rundown on DVD audio/video quality. It'll probably be very good.
Fox had a brilliant idea in bringing back this classic series. I was so excited that Get Smart was being brought back years later in an updated version. First, start with the surviving cast (Don Adams, Barbara Feldon -still gorgeous, David Ketchum, and even a guest shot by Bernie Kopell as the evil Sigfreid.) They also added the stunning (and funny) Elaine Hendrix as another CONTROL agent.
Their one fatal mistake was adding Andy "the unfunniest , most annoying man on Earth and appropriately named" Dick as 86 and 99's son Zack. In the original series Max and 99 had twins. So it could have been worse, with the aforementioned Mr. Dick playing a dual role. But had they cast someone more likeable, the series would have went on much longer. I even remember reading an interview with Andy Dick where he trashed the show when it first came out because he also had a role on Newsradio and wanted out of his contract.
So in what could have been a great reboot of the series, CONTROL was not vanquished by KAOS, but bad casting. And niceness did not triumph over evil on this sequel. Sorry about that Chief!
It still amazes me to this day why Andy Dick has a career. I've tried to watch him with other wonderful casts on Newsradio and Less Than Perfect, but have a very low tolerance level to his brand of humor. Well, to each his own, but he's ruined many a fine show for me. Let's hope his 15 minutes are up.
The main problem in following up a classic series is that fans who love the original---and thus, make up the bulk of TV viewership---can make or break a new series. After all, the name of the game among networks is the Ratings Game---if you don't have the high numbers, then it's bye-bye.
This is what seemed to have happened with "The New Get Smart", which never made it beyond its first seven episodes.
It's too bad that TNGS didn't catch on, because it held promise. Don Adams (who looked more fit & healthy here than five years earlier in the "Get Smart Again" TV-movie) and Barbara Feldon reprise their roles as Max & 99. Except this time around, things have changed: Max is the chief of CONTROL (Lord help us!) and 99 is a congresswoman with budget ties to her old organization. Actually, they are more of supporting characters for the newly-promoted antics of their son, Zachary Smart (a typically nerdy but likeable Andy Dick). Of course, Zach is just as bumbling as his Dad, but in Dick's own comic stylings. As history repeats itself, he is partnered with a beautiful, skilled & intelligent blond partner, Agent 66 (99 turned upside down..get it?), played by Elaine Hendrix.
Some new supporting players are included: Trudy, a ditzy secretary hired as a temp who thinks CONTROL is a talent agency (!!), a faceless femme-fatale now running the evil organization KAOS, Agent Zero (a master of disguise), and Agent 9 (who is really IS nine years old).
Even some old familiar faces pop up: Dave Ketchum reprises his role as Agent 13 (hiding in a bowl of cole slaw in one episode) and even Bernie Kopell guest stars as the nefarious Siegfried, unemployed by KAOS and exacting revenge on both Max & Zach.
I loved the hilarious opening credits for this series, a new variation on the old access-to-CONTROL theme, by using a car wash as cover. This series lacks the satirical zing of the old series, but it has its moments of loopy verbal comedy & goofy gadgets, 1990's style.
Who knows what this series could have accomplished if it continued? They were barely scratching the surface of Zach & 66's partnership-relationship.
TNGS is probably too obscure for the casual viewer, but definitely of interest to lovers of Get Smart. - Tv Series - Don Adams - Comedy - Classic Tv'
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