"Get Smart" (1965-1970) and "Get Smart Again!" (1995)
Mel Brooks (The Producers) and Buck Henry (The Graduate) are responsible for this, one of the funniest sitcoms in TV history. It was an action/comedy concerning the most inept secret agent ever, a guy named Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) who worked for an organization called CONTROL. His sidekick, a woman only known as Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) was smarter than he was, but she often downplayed her brain power to build him up. Their boss was Thaddeus, better known as The Chief (Edward Platt), whom Max irritated repeatedly with his screw-ups.
CONTROL's enemies were the members of KAOS, another Washington, DC based spy organization, who were out to control the world. Max's main problem out of that bunch was Siegfried (Bernie Kopell), whose character amazingly appeared in less than 15 episodes of the series, but had a great impact.
Each week, Max and 99 found themselves in dangerous situations as they went about shutting down the forces of evil. They had various gadgets at their disposal including Max's phone, a type of cell phone, located in the sole of his shoe. There was also the Cone of Silence, used for having secret conversations. The device, located in the Chief's office, never worked, but Max always insisted on using it. There were also things like plastic lips (to ward off poison lipstick kisses), truth pills, invisible bulletproof walls, and guns hidden in telephone receivers.
Many of the jokes commented on things that were happening in the world at that time, both culturally and politically. Listen closely, and you'll find many other jokes that could easily apply to today's situations. Max explained to the daughter of a prominent scientist that a vicious, murderous group of people who wanted power at any cost was trying to kidnap her. He was referring to KAOS, but the woman remarked, "Oh, you mean the Republicans."
Other crazy characters on the show were Larambee (Robert Karvelas), an agent who was even dumber than Max; Hymie (Dick Gautier), a robot who once belonged to KAOS; Agents 13 (Dave Ketchum) and 44 (Victor French) who specialized in hiding in strange places; Admiral Hardgrave (William Schallert), a senior citizen who had been Chief of Control decades before; and Prof. Carlson (Stacy Keach, Sr.), one of several scientists who created the gadgets for CONTROL agents.
After dating on-and-off for a few seasons, Max and 99 got married during the 1968-69 season. However, NBC canceled the show in the spring. CBS picked it up for one more season. During that season, Max and 99 gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Twenty-five year later, the FOX Network revived the show. This time, the adventures focused on Zach Smart (Andy Dick), who was paired with Agent 66 (Elaine Hendrix), who happened to be smarter and cooler than Zach. Max had become Chief of Control, while Agent 99 had become a congresswoman. It was explained that the couple's daughter become upset when she found out her parents were spies, and had left home. It wasn't the same vibe as the original show, and the revival lasted less than a season.
The late Don Adams was a stand-up comedian. He also provided the voices for cartoon characters Tennessee Tuxedo and Inspector Gadget. Earlier, he was a regular on "The Bill Dana Show" (1963), playing a hotel detective. Dick Gautier was a regular on another Mel Brooks sitcom called "When Things Were Rotten" (1975). The late Victor French later appeared on "Carter Country" (1977-1979) and "Highway To Heaven" (1984-1989). The late Robert Karvelas was Adams' cousin. William Schallert was Patty Duke's dad on "The Patty Duke Show" (1963-1966).
CONTROL's enemies were the members of KAOS, another Washington, DC based spy organization, who were out to control the world. Max's main problem out of that bunch was Siegfried (Bernie Kopell), whose character amazingly appeared in less than 15 episodes of the series, but had a great impact.
Each week, Max and 99 found themselves in dangerous situations as they went about shutting down the forces of evil. They had various gadgets at their disposal including Max's phone, a type of cell phone, located in the sole of his shoe. There was also the Cone of Silence, used for having secret conversations. The device, located in the Chief's office, never worked, but Max always insisted on using it. There were also things like plastic lips (to ward off poison lipstick kisses), truth pills, invisible bulletproof walls, and guns hidden in telephone receivers.
Many of the jokes commented on things that were happening in the world at that time, both culturally and politically. Listen closely, and you'll find many other jokes that could easily apply to today's situations. Max explained to the daughter of a prominent scientist that a vicious, murderous group of people who wanted power at any cost was trying to kidnap her. He was referring to KAOS, but the woman remarked, "Oh, you mean the Republicans."
Other crazy characters on the show were Larambee (Robert Karvelas), an agent who was even dumber than Max; Hymie (Dick Gautier), a robot who once belonged to KAOS; Agents 13 (Dave Ketchum) and 44 (Victor French) who specialized in hiding in strange places; Admiral Hardgrave (William Schallert), a senior citizen who had been Chief of Control decades before; and Prof. Carlson (Stacy Keach, Sr.), one of several scientists who created the gadgets for CONTROL agents.
After dating on-and-off for a few seasons, Max and 99 got married during the 1968-69 season. However, NBC canceled the show in the spring. CBS picked it up for one more season. During that season, Max and 99 gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Twenty-five year later, the FOX Network revived the show. This time, the adventures focused on Zach Smart (Andy Dick), who was paired with Agent 66 (Elaine Hendrix), who happened to be smarter and cooler than Zach. Max had become Chief of Control, while Agent 99 had become a congresswoman. It was explained that the couple's daughter become upset when she found out her parents were spies, and had left home. It wasn't the same vibe as the original show, and the revival lasted less than a season.
The late Don Adams was a stand-up comedian. He also provided the voices for cartoon characters Tennessee Tuxedo and Inspector Gadget. Earlier, he was a regular on "The Bill Dana Show" (1963), playing a hotel detective. Dick Gautier was a regular on another Mel Brooks sitcom called "When Things Were Rotten" (1975). The late Victor French later appeared on "Carter Country" (1977-1979) and "Highway To Heaven" (1984-1989). The late Robert Karvelas was Adams' cousin. William Schallert was Patty Duke's dad on "The Patty Duke Show" (1963-1966).
Labels: Andy Dick, Barbara Feldon, Bernie Kopell, Buck Henry, Dave Ketchum, Don Adams, Ed Platt, Mel Brooks, Robert Karvelas, Victor French
posted by Hillari | 9:29 PM
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