JoJo31

I watched the debut of Get Smart on September 18, 1965. From that point on, I was hooked.

The acting is absolutely brilliant - Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, Ed Platt, Robert Karvalas, Dick Gautier, Bernie Kopell, King Moody. The actors brought their characters to life, and made them believable. After all, who in this world IS perfect?? And as for the writers and creators - Leonard Stern, Buck Henry, Mel Brooks . . . Marvelous.

Maxwell Smart not especially "smart", but he is far from dumb. He is shy, prone to drop things and have things go not exactly as they should. Week after week, Max always tried his best and keep plugging away. Max is one of the bravest spies to come along. He would jump in where angels fear to tread and come through victorious . . . even though his methods were a bit unorthodox. Helping Max was his partner, known only and forever, as Agent 99. While everyone else treated Max as though he was from another planet (or, as Carlson once asked the Chief, "Are you sure he's on our side?"), 99 saw through Max's bravado. She saw the man that wasn't always sure of himself, the man who knew he wasn't the suave, sophisticated person he pretended to be. She loved him - and she gave him the courage to go on by treating him like a normal person and applauding his achievements, even though many of them were really HERS. The Chief saw this in him too, and Max and 99 became "The best working team I?ve got." Max tried to ignore his growing feelings for 99 for a long time, knowing she could do much better. Finally, in a very moving scene, he finally admits his love for her.

Get Smart was one of those rare shows that was way ahead of it's time. Not just because of the gadgetry (of course, who can forget the Cone Of Silence? The portable Cone Of Silence? And, one of the worst inventions ever, the Closet Of Silence?). Get Smart also teaches us friendship . . . and love of country. As Harry Hoo would say, "Amazing . . ."

Nicholas was King George V's cousin and Alexandra was Queen Victoria's granddaughter, so the casting of British actors Michael Jayston and Janet Suzman was a stroke of genius (and they are hardly "unknown" actors, at least in Britain). You actually believe they ARE the couple. Michael Jayston is truly remarkable as Nicholas and even resembles him. The rest of the cast is superb, especially Tom Baker's portrayal as Rasputin . . . marvelous!

The movie sticks pretty much to the facts. Keep in mind, Nicholas was not a bad man, but he didn't want to be Czar. He would have preferred to be a potato farmer. You feel the fear growing as Nicholas and his family slowly withdraw into their own world because of Alexis' Hemophilia. Nichola's stand that "God meant for me to rule" causes him to rarely listen to the good advice of the people around him and not heed the warning that he not go to the front to "take charge." Add to this the rumor of Alexandra being a German spy, Rasputin's death by Prince Yusupov and Grand Duke Dimitry, the loss of thousands of soldiers, the starving Russian people . . . and Nicholas leaves the door wide open for Lenin and his eventual return to power. After he abdicates, he and his family are shuttled around until they end up in Ekaterinburg and "The House of Special Purpose."

This is a great movie. See it if you have a long afternoon with nothing to do, you won't regret it.

BTW, the DVD version adds deleted scenes that sew up some loose ends.