Get Smart - Season 1 (The Original TV Series) | 
| Directors: Norman Abbott (ii), David Alexander, Reza Badiyi, Richard Benedict, Paul Bogart
Actors: Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, Ed Platt
Studio: HBO Home Video
List Price: $24.98
Buy New: $16.39
You Save: $8.59 (34%)
New (48) Used (18) Collectible (1) from $15.00
Rating:  70 reviews
Sales Rank: 222
Format: Box Set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Original Recording Remastered, Restored, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Items: 4
Running Time: 900 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.6
MPN: HBOD40779D
UPC: 883929031085
EAN: 0883929031085
ASIN: B00005JNS8
Theatrical Release Date: September 18, 1965
Release Date: August 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Studio: Hbo Home Video Release Date: 08/05/2008 Run time: 750 minutes Rating: G
Amazon.com
The feature film may have missed it by that much, but Get Smart, the TV series, still hits the target with deadly funny accuracy. The right show at the right time, Get Smart brilliantly spoofed the spy genre that was all the rage in 1965, with James Bond on the big screen, and such series as Danger Man, The Avengers, The Saint, < I>The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and I Spy more or less playing it straight on the small screen. Get Smart, on the other hand, had a license to kill…with laughter. Mel Brooks and Buck Henry created one of TV's all-time greatest characters, Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 of CONTROL, the super-secret agency vigilantly on alert against the forces of KAOS. Smart (Don Adams in his iconic, Emmy-winning role), an American Clouseau, was not stupid. Though all evidence to the contrary, he was, in his own mind, a suave and sophisticated spy, albeit one who would inadvertently lean against a freshly painted wall while shadowing an enemy agent. Get Smart hilariously deglamorized the business of espionage. Agents punch a time clock and dispute vacation time. Cool spy gadgets, such as the infamous Cone of Silence, are prone to malfunction. One running joke throughout the first season finds Agent 44 (Victor French) perched in a variety of unlikely and uncomfortable hiding places, among them a grandfather clock. Although the series would only get smarter and funnier in subsequent seasons (Bernie Kopell's KAOS mastermind Siegfried would be introduced in season two), the first season contains several essential episodes, including the Emmy-winning two-parter, "Ship of Spies," "Aboard the Orient Express," featuring a cameo by Johnny Carson as an unflappable conductor, "Diplomat's Daughter" with the arch --and decidedly non-PC-- villain, the Craw, and "Back to the Drawing Board," featuring Dick Gautier as Hymie the robot. From "Sorry about that" to "Would you believe," no show before Get Smart introduced so many catchphrases into the national language, while Smart and his partner, Agent 99 (the ravishing Barbara Feldon), were perhaps TV's first "will they or won't they" couple. Brooks and Henry contribute separate commentaries for the black and white pilot episode, while Feldon provides commentary for another, and purrs introductions to each episode (beware plot spoilers). With Get Smart, you will be witness to some of TV's funniest moments, sharpest writing, and expertly-executed physical comedy. And… loving it. --Donald Liebenson
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 65 more reviews...
 "The old spy in the spoof trick!" December 6, 2004
E. A Solinas (MD USA)
135 out of 154 found this review helpful
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.
The Old Funniest Show EVER on TV Trick! May 10, 2005
P. Pattison (United States)
90 out of 96 found this review helpful
Why has Get Smart not yet been released on DVD? It simply boggles my mind because this is about the funniest show I have ever watched. I grew up with Get Smart and its good natured spy humor.
If you are like me, you think of Siegfried and not Doc Bricker when you think of Bernie Kopel. the only character that comes to mind when you think of Dick Gautier is Hymie the Robot. the great Edward Platt will always be The Chief and Barbara Feldon's character 99 will always be the ever faithful comic foil and love interest to Maxwell Smart, Secret Agent 86 of CONTROL.
All of Get Smart's legion of fans want to see the return of Leadside, and the Tequila Mockingbird, and the Craw NOT the Craw!, and Agent 13, and Stocker, and Harry Hoo The Famous Hawaiian Detective, and the Groovy Guru, and Destructo, and Mary Jack Armstrong the Strongest Woman Alive, and the lovable King of Coronia, and TBO The Big One, and well the list can and does go and on!
Please, please give us EVERY season of Get Smart on DVD! I am begging you PLEASE! PLEASE!! PLEASE!!!
EDIT 12/5/06
well i just received my complete series from Time Life and it is wonderful! Barbara Feldon narrates an intro before each episode and the quality is astounding! they did a wonderful job with this boxed set! i heartily recommend anyone who loves Get Smart to buy it! and Time Life oftens issues coupon codes so sign up on their site and purchase with the coupon code like i did to save thirty bucks! ENJOY!
When TV Comedies Were Actually Funny November 14, 2006
John P. Morgan (Beautiful San Dimas, CA)
55 out of 60 found this review helpful
Not too long ago I wrote a review of the book, The Get Smart Handbook written by Joey Green. In the review, I basically made a plea to the universe to bring this show out on DVD. Well, would you believe on November 15, 2006, I will get my wish?
Time-Life is offering The Complete Get Smart Collection. A 25 disc collection featuring every episode digitally remastered. I guess it is selling for approximately $200. It could be $2,000 and I would still buy this classic show.
I have friends' that tell me I am stuck in a time warp because I watch very little television that is actually new. For some reason or another the writing of the older shows far surpass the writing of today's television shows. I watched a rerun of Friends' the other night and I was literally dizzy after watching that show. There were like four stories going on in one show? Have we become that much of an ADD society where we can't just have one show with one plot for thirty minutes? It seems as though everything today is so "extreme" and so in your face. I actually get offended at some of the things I have watched and I'm not easily offended.
But this show, Get Smart, conceived by certified "Wack Jobs" Mel Brooks and Buck Henry is in a class all by itself. This show is brilliant in every way. The writing, the acting, the production value. It did get a little cheesy when Maxwell Smart and agent 99 got married, but even those episodes were funnier than the stuff that's out there now.
The only thing that I really feel saddened about is that this release is coming after Don Adam's death. For a very long time, Don Adams was my hero. While other kids on the playground pretended to be the Six Million Dollar Man or Batman, I was Secret Agent 86. I used to purposely forget my homework so I could do the "Would you believe?" shtick with my teacher.
Mmmmm..it was always funnier on the show than in real life.
Well, I know one of my Christmas presents this year because I am going to buy this collection for myself.
Peace & Blessings, everyone, and may television return to the dally of the belly laugh...
The Old Bare Bones Relase In The Boxset Trick... June 16, 2008
Andrew Salmon (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada)
22 out of 27 found this review helpful
"Would you believe Get Smart Season One hits stores the first week of August?"
"I find that very hard to believe"
"Would you believe all the bonus features have been removed from the Time Life set?"
"I don't think so."
"How about a cheap version of Season One with all of the great episodes and no extras for $24.99!"
Yup, that's what the dim bulbs at HBO are doing. Season One, bonus feature free, comes out August 5th. Now the episodes are priceless. I know from the Time Life collection that the picture quality is nothing short of stunning. But the bonus features for this series are what really set it head and shoulders above other vintage TV releases.
Here's what's NOT in the retail release of Season One:
1.Buck Henry interview
2."The Secret History of Get Smart"
3.Adams TV appearances (6 of these)
4.BLOOPERS
5.Excerpts from the Get Smart Reunion Seminar (2003) with Adams and Feldon plus producers, directors and Bernie Kopell talking about the show.
and, probably, no commentaries. And there are 2 on this set.
This is hours of content not included. Wouldn't surprise me if they are saving all this stuff for the big series collection after all the single seasons have been released.
It's a shame they have to remove all this great stuff.
But the show is fantastic and finally on DVD. Completely remastered. I know from having watched all of Season One (I just finished Season Three) that the picture is stunningly clear and sharp. They went to town on the episodes. And Season One has the original pilot that is not shown in syndication because it was done in black and white.
Great show! Better than the lame "re-imagining" that's coming on Friday.
Get Smart hitting stores should be joyous news, but with this bare bones edition, it's a bit of a downer. I can't recommend the show highly enough though. And the Time Life version is a darn near perfect DVD release.
for budget minded...INCLUDES bonus features not noted...enjoy! August 5, 2008
Richardson (Sunny California USA)
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
As others have written, this is an abbreviated version of the season 1 and full series being offered by TimeLife.com but some have not properly noted the EXTRAS on this set. I have both the full set and just picked up this handy season 1 version which surprisingly enough doesn't mention all the BONUS FEATURES on its packaging. This version DOES have the pilot episode in Black and White with both Buck Henry AND Mel Brooks commentaries! Its a great episode and features Michael Dunn (the diminutive star from the Wild Wild West!)...this set also features the wonderful episode introductions by Barbara Feldon...so it appears to be exactly the same as the more expensive versions from TimeLife. The ONLY difference is the bonus DVD..which each season on the timelife version has...and they are chock full of amazing goodies...from new featurettes, to bloopers, and rare tv appearances from other shows to Emmy Award telecasts..and for me are a MUST.
Super fans ( I loved this show as a child) will want the TimeLife full set..and its stunning packaging...casual fans will be thrilled with this more inexpensive version and may even become super fans...
I'm only reviewing the DVD and not the series...that's been done very well by others...it was and is a classic and the failure of the big screen version recently only reinforces that fact!!! I will also add that the episodes look stunningly sharp and colorful...very well presented.
Don Adams was a comic genius and Barbara Feldon played her part with equal parts deadpan humor and adoration...brilliant stuff from a childhood to be cherished..I'm not sure if you didn't experience it the first time how it will hit you but I forgot how much I loved this show until watching these again...and the classic lines we all said in school...'missed it by that much' ..." and loving it" .."I told you not to tell me that"....wow...how fun to revisit childhood.
|
|
|
