Get Smart (1995): The Complete Series
Studio: Sony
Year: 1995
Rated: Not Rated
Length: 158 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 anamorphic widescreen
Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese
Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese
The Program
I must admit that when Fox decided to air this revival of the classic sixties television series Get Smart in 1995 as a mid-season replacement, I was not even aware of it. Not that there was much time for awareness – the show premiered on January 8 and was cancelled after only seven episodes. Sony has now packaged all seven episodes as Get Smart: The Complete Series (not to be confused with the original series set being sold by Time-Life).
Don Adams returns as Maxwell Smart, who has become the Chief of CONTROL, and Barbara Feldon reprises her role as Agent 99, who has long since retired from CONTROL and is now a Congresswoman. Max and 99 have a young adult son, Zach (Andy Dick), who in the opening episode becomes a full-fledged CONTROL agent. Zach is teamed with Agent 66 (Elaine Hendrix), a brilliant, sexy and independent agent who is less than thrilled about having to work with Zach.
The series consists of the following episodes:
Get Smart
Casino Evil
Goodbye Mr. Chip
Shoot up the Charts
Passenger 99
Wurst Enemies
Liver Let Die
As a big fan of the original Get Smart, I was fully prepared to hate this series. However, most of the episodes are actually quite funny. The dynamic of the newer show is different because Max, as CONTROL’s Chief, no longer has a straight foil (that role was filled by Edward Platt as the Chief in the original series). This is offset by the fact that Max and 99 are now supporting characters. Zach has inherited his father’s position as the klutzy CONTROL agent and his straight foil is the ultra-efficient and intelligent Agent 66. It is Zach and 66 who get most of the screen time in this incarnation of Get Smart.
CONTROL’s perennial nemesis, KAOS, is still in business and as determined as ever to conquer the world. Fans of the original series will enjoy the episode “Wurst Enemies,” in which Bernie Kopell returns as Siegfried, Max’s arch-enemy at KAOS. This episode contains a very funny line, which I will not spoil here, when Siegfried’s daughter tells Zach what she believed her father’s occupation was when she was a child.
Adams and Feldon both look great, and they demonstrate that the passage of 25 years had done nothing to diminish the chemistry which they established in the original Get Smart. Andy Dick is amusing as Zach and Elaine Hendrix is sexy and tough as Agent 66. The story lines are suitably silly and include gags such as a CONTROL agent hiding in a bowl of cole slaw (“Too much mayonnaise,” he complains).
It is difficult to say why this series failed to find an audience. Perhaps the growing popularity of mobile phones was making it more difficult for people to laugh at shoe phones?
The Video
The video quality is decent, but nothing to get excited about. Colors and flesh tones appear to be accurate, and the prints are in good shape. However, the image is soft at times, which likely is how it originally appeared.
The Audio
The packaging does not say so, but the audio is two-channel stereo. There is some nice separation with the music, but otherwise there is not much in the way of audio effects. The dialogue is always clear and intelligible. Subtitles are available in English, Spanish and Portuguese and there is closed-captioning for the hearing impaired.
The Supplements
The only special features are promotional “minisodes” of NewsRadio and T.J. Hooker. It would have been nice to have a commentary (or at least an interview) with Barbara Feldon and some production notes. Did they really film only seven episodes?
The Packaging
The single disc comes in a standard keepcase. An insert lists the seven episodes and gives a brief description of each.
The Final Analysis
Fans of the original Get Smart will probably want to get this DVD, if only for the chance to see Don Adams and Barbara Feldon together for the last time. As for the show itself, it had me laughing often enough that I would have been happy if there had been more episodes to watch.
Equipment used for this review:
Toshiba HD-XA2 DVD player
Sharp LC-42D62U LCD display
Yamaha HTR-5890 THX Surround Receiver
BIC Acoustech speakers
Interconnects: Monster Cable
Release Date: June 3, 2008
