Get Smart - Season 1 (1965)

Smart. Maxwell Smart. The dumbest spy in the world, who fights on behalf of the forces of goodness and niceness, and succeeded in making democracy vs. communism a lot more entertaining. With the comic trio of Don Adams, Barbara Feldon and Edward Platt, this hilarious spy spoof is still funny today.

Don Adams is Agent 86, Maxwell Smart, a not-so-bright spy with an endless arsenal of strange devices and odd sayings. The bumbling spy at a top-secret government agency called Control, which is responsible for keeping the free world free. Backing him up is his beautiful partner/love interest Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) and his long-suffering Chief (Eward Platt) who puts up with Smart's constant mistakes.

Together with 99 and the Chief (and his faithful dog Fang), Max battles the forces of badness and rottenness -- namely, the anti-Control called KAOS. Among the enemies the Control agents face: the dwarfish "Mr. Big," the fashion forces of evil, a likable killer robot, a Chinese mastermind called the Claw, and explosive paintings. And that's only the start...

"Missed it by that much!" Maxwell Smart's catchphrases and goofy confidence made him the perfect antidote to the suave James Bond. Unlike Bond and similar movie spies, Max succeeds out of luck and bumbling more often than not, but he still succeeds.

The comic timing is a little awkward at the very beginning, but rapidly gets its footing. What's really funny is the endless spoofery -- Max is given all sorts of weird gadgets, including the legendary "shoe-phone," and he faces off against all sorts of cartoonish villains.

The political clime of the mid 1960s is all over the series, especially in the form of KAOS. But fortunately they don't get preachy -- KAOS is merely a big evil organization, no more. Some references are dated, and this definitely debuted before the era of political correctness (there's a bizarre episode about American Indians threatening the US government, and the Claw is funny if un-PC).

Don Adams MAKES this series, with his quirky facial expressions, nasal voice and odd body language. Hard to tell how he could keep a straight face throughout many of the lines he says. Barbara Feldon is the least quirky of the cast, but does a good job as the brains behind Max, while Edward Platt is just wonderful as the long-suffering Chief, who always looks slightly frayed.

Though some of the 60s-era references are a bit dated, "Get Smart" is still gutsplittingly funny. You'll roll around on the floor, laughing yourself sick... and... loving it.
By : E.A Solinas