Television Thursday Reviews: Get Smart

The Daily Sentiment
Apr 18, 2019
2 min read

Get Smart (1965-1970)

Starring: Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, Edward Platt, Robert Karvelas, David Ketchum, Victor French, Bernie Kopell, and King Moody.

Summary

Secret agent 86 or Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) and his partner Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) work for the covert government agency known as CONTROL. The head of CONTROL is The Chief (Edward Platt), who assigns them to various dangerous missions to save the world from numerous villainous plots headed up by the known terrorist organization, KAOS.

Max, 99, and The Chief at CONTROL headquarters

Armed with a dozen different gadgets that help to save the day, Max works alongside many other agents, just as prepared as he is. Agents 13 (David Ketchum) and 44 (Victor French) are always undercover and ready to assist Max and 99. Usually to be found inside a dryer or outside a porthole window on a ship, these two are on the ball.

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Agent 13 undercover in a trash can

Max’s arch-nemesis is Siegfried (Bernie Kopell), who is always out to “Get Smart”. However, he usually fails due to his bumbling assistants and the ability of CONTROL to stop him. Nevertheless, his loyal minion Shtarker (King Moody) tries to help whenever he can.

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Siegfried with Shtarker

Max lives in apartment 86, where he is protected by many gadgets, including an invisible wall. He often calls The Chief from his shoe phone, a handy devise for times like these. When at CONTROL headquarters (which is 10 stories below ground), Max tries to be as secure as possible by using the Cone of Silence when talking about secret information. However, it often does not work, but this does not deter our super spy!

Max and The Chief using the Cone of Silence

Agents 86 and 99 eventually get married and have children, rounding out the perfect spy family! Never fear, Max will win out in the end!

Review

A comedy spy show, popular during the 1960s, Get Smart hit the spot for everyone. The 1960s were full of intrigue and wonder, especially with the Cold War going on with Russia. The idea of espionage and spies got people’s attention and Get Smart was one of many other spy television shows.

Max is quite idiotic and really can’t accomplish anything on his own, yet somehow manages to save the day by accident. He is the top CONTROL agent based on that career, but is often the main reason for the perpetual headache that The Chief has. And for some odd reason, Agent 99 loves Max, although she is aware of the importance of accomplishing the mission at hand. Her comment of “Oh Max!” happens quite often. No one ever discovers her real name, she is simply 99…adding to the intrigue. Together, their cover is working for a greeting card company.

Max is known for his numerous sayings, such as…