Get Smart

I have always been a fan of Get Smart not only because it was a parody of the secret agent genre of film and television series, but because it was a perfect time capsule for the era of the 1960's. Just check out the episodes featuring characters such as The Groovy Guru or Jarvis "The Mad Pharmacist" Pym. The sixties were a wild era and no show captured that spirit as much as this film.

Also, let's not forget the ensemble cast that displayed such a great chemistry with each other. Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, Edward Platt, Dick Gautier, King Moody, Robert Karvelas and, of course, Bernie Kopell all made this show a great viewing experience.

Its writers/creators included Mel Brooks and Buck Henry.

'Nuff said.

But, since IMDb won't let me get away with saying just that, I'll just have to write more.

How can you go wrong with something by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry? It's obvious that the actors are thoroughly enjoying themselves in this show, and this enthusiasm was infectious. I was a very little girl in 1965, and I used to sit up with my father to watch TV after dinner and the nightly installment of whatever book he was reading to us. We sat together and watched Get Smart, Hogan's Heroes, McHale's Navy, among others, all of which are now considered classics. Why? Because, while the shows themselves were very topical (Get Smart was about the Cold War - as is Bullwinkle -- and Hogan and McHale fought in WWII which had ended barely 20 years earlier), the humor itself did not rely on specific current events. They were just out-and-out funny.

They still are.

Don Adams made himself a mark in TV history as Maxwell Smart, the toughest, and unbelievably the dumbest secret agent in the small screen. Along with his partner and girlfriend Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon), Max takes on evil KAOS agents and preserves national security, and still not have a damn clue on what's going on! GET SMART lives on thanks to Adams and his fiddle-brained alter ego.

Get Smart stands as the single most brilliant television comedy EVER. Before Hot Shots!, before Frank Drebin, before Airplane!, before Kentucky Fried Movie, before Young Frankenstein, and before Blazing Saddles, there was Get Smart, the creation of Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. This show, which would go on to inspire Police Squad!, arguably the second most brilliant television comedy ever, presented in Maxwell Smart the most completely asanine leading man thus far in television history, and as a result provided for more stupid jokes than ever before. Perhaps the first moment in television where comedy did not require a laugh track (though it did USE one, it would have flown fine without one), this show would inspire nearly every film by Mel Brooks and Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker. Can we really imagine Hedley Lamaar from Blazing Saddles without Maxwell Smart having preceded him? Can we really imagine Frank Drebin without Maxwell Smart having preceded him? The answer to these questions MUST be "no." Get Smart was a rare moment in television comedy history, and it has given us a truly rich comedic tradition ever since. Thank you, Buck, Don, and Barbara!

'Get Smart' holds a special place in the hearts of Australian kids growing up in the 1970s. Throughout that decade it was on almost continuous repeat, and at least two generations of couch potatoes almost had the whole series memorized by the time they graduated high school. But you know what? Watch it today and it's STILL the funniest TV show EVER!

Nobody but Don Adams could have played Maxwell Smart. He IS Maxwell Smart! Adams comic timing and expressions are superb. It's a pity he hasn't gotten the recognition he deserves. Surrounded by the first rate Barbara Feldon ('99') and Edward Platt ('The Chief'), supported by a fabulous group of comic actors (particularly Bernie Kopell as Siegfried), and some talented guest stars (most unforgettable - Larry Storch as 'The Groovy Guru'!), and with consistently funny scripts, this show set a standard in comedy that is as good as, if not better than, much more "respected" shows like 'M.A.S.H.', 'Taxi' and 'Cheers'.

Forget the reunions, movies and attempts to revive 'Get Smart'. Just stick with the original and best "grooovy baby" Super Spy! There's nothing as hilarious as this show at its best! One of the greatest TV shows of all time.