Oh yes, I know I should be doing my civic duty and watching election coverage on one of 899 channels… I will wait until tomorrow to find out who the new owner of America country will be.  Instead, I caught another film that I missed out on last summer.  I believe that my introduction to the television series Get Smart
came in the 7th grade.  My cousin (whose last name is Maxwell) became a favorite target of our junior high phys ed instructor.  He was known as Maxwell “Get” Smart and I was known as “Get Dumb.”  It was about this time that reruns were playing on Nick at Nite (whatever happened to the “classic tv” that was promised on this channel and its sister channel TVLAND).

The movie, starring the always brilliant Steve Carell as wildly inept CONTROL agent 86 and Anne Hathaway as the capable agent 99 was very fun.  A total update of the series while retaining much of the original.  Clippings in the opening credits of past villains such as “The CLAW” (NOT CRAW… THE CLAW) and Mr. Big (who was not so big after all).  The series of doors that led to the telephone booth that dropped agents to headquarters.  Agent 13 (Bill Murray) hidden in the most ridiculous of places and Fang. Plus a brief cameo by an original series cast member.

I will not dwell too much on the plot because like the series it is just silly, mindless fun.  However as always Max and 99 are hot on the trail of KAOS’ own Ziegfried and (no… not Roy) Shtarker.  Some of the villains had an almost Bondian quality.  There was an 8 foot behemoth whom I almost expected to have a mouthful of steel teeth.  I could have sworn that it was Richard Kiel, the same actor who played Jaws (of The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker) as well as Mr. Larson from Happy Gilmore, but alas it was not.  Shtarker also bore a similar appearance to Oddjob (from Goldfinger).

All I can say is that if you enjoyed the original or if you enjoy Steve Carell’s work, go out and rent Get Smart.  There are enough in-jokes from the series to keep the fans pleased and enough fun and excitement to keep the new entertained.

The television series Get Smart was created by Mel Brooks in the 1960s as a spoof of the James Bond phenomenon. Don Adams played the bumbling Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) to the much more competent Agent 99 (played by Barbara Feldon). Originally, 99 was to be Agent 69; however, as many would guess, the name was changed to prevent any sexual censorship.

Each episode finds the CONTROL agents (spies who actually punch time clocks) on missions to thwart the evil plans of counter agency KAOS. Two of the memorable recurring villains was Ze Craw (NO, NO…. not Craw, The Claw) who had a large magnet in place of his left arm and the evil Siegfried (who incidentally was a master magician (who used the “old gun in the rabbit trick.”)

Like Bond, Max has several devices at his disposal (the shoe phone and the inflato-jacket to name but two). The most memorable device is the Cone of Silence that never worked. 86 and the Chief would be surrounded by a large transparent bubble. However, there was a sheet of plexiglass placed between them which made it impossible for them to hear each other.

On Friday June 20, new audiences will be introduced to the characters when the comic genius Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway assume the roles created in the 1960s. This time instead of being the top agent of CONTROL, Max is promoted from analyst to field agent and goes on his first mission. This should matter little since Mr. Smart bumbled his way through 5 seasons on television but somehow always managed to foil the evil plans of KAOS. Facing every kind of danger imaginable…. AAAAND LOVING IT.

Some bits of trivia form the series:

Barbara Feldon was taller than Don Adams. Mr. Adams would stand on platforms to remedy the situation or Ms. Feldon would scrunch or sit down.

The acronyms CONTROL and KAOS actually stood for nothing.

Agent 99’s real name is never revealed.

The Chief’s real name was revealed as Thaddeus.

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Get Smart – Season 1