Search - Get Smart - The Complete Series Gift Set on DVD

Joan M. (whitlock) from WINTERVILLE, GA
Reviewed on 1/28/2014...

We just love the original Maxwell Smart!

Get it NOW ...now that's SMART!

Richardson | Sunny California USA | 11/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I paid twice as much to Time/Life a year ago for this as BestBuy has it today $109..and I don't feel ripped off at all...its worth every penny.

EACH season has a bonus DVD chock full of amazing stuff from commercials to appearances on other shows (Andy Williams) to numerous EMMY awards wins..and a fabulous ROAST of Don Adams...his Eulogy...goodness they did this thing right..and the packaging..WOW..even more fun and functional. This is the best set of a TV series I own and I own many. If you are only a casual fan I'd consider buying each season as they come out....they are cheap at $16 and do not have the bonus disc..which is essential viewing for true fans! The prints are great..each episode has an intro by beautiful Barbara Feldon (Agent 99) ...this is one of my treasures along with the Twilight Zone complete series. I've dipped into this over and over in the last year and have never once regretted the purchase. For a kid who grew up in that era its great on so many levels. With the economy as it is I felt compelled to review this set from the standpoint of value and I certainly think its a fabulous deal for fans.



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Same set as TimeLife

Robert Francin | 09/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the same set that TimeLife is offering, but $10 cheaper. The set has a lot of extras and is in a package that looks like the doors that Max goes through in the opening and end credits. Hilarious show!!"

A Classic Television Comedy

Ray | 11/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Get Smart must certainly be ranked as one of the most outstanding comedies of the 1960's. The show was highly successful both in terms of ratings and as a social phenomenon: the series was widely quoted and mimicked, and numerous catchphrases from the series found their way into vernacular use almost immediately upon the show's inception. Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, Edward Platt, and a host of others became famous from the show, and its five-year run (on two networks, no less) was nothing less than an apogee of television for the period.



Get Smart is based on a premise that, today, perhaps holds little meaning. Maxwell Smart, secret agent "86," works for a secret U.S. spy organization called "CONTROL" (the name is not an acronym) whose nemesis, "KAOS" (again, the word is a name, not an acronym) were in constant cold-war-style efforts to subvert one another. Someone once asked Max in an episode how one could tell the "good" spies from the "bad" spies. Max's answer was simple: "The good secret agents work on OUR side; the bad secret agents work on THEIR side." This is the basic premise of the show, a comedy based in part on the James Bond series of movies, by this point in time achieving its first international notoriety, but within the structural format of a situation comedy. This was the Cold War played out in a series of comedy vignettes, with nothing taken too seriously even if it meant the potential end of the free world once each week.



There are a number of factors which made the series so successful. As with most successful TV shows, the writing was uniformly excellent (particularly in seasons 1 - 3), with two-person writing teams used to develop many of the episodes. The show capitalized on both the Cold War fears and interests of the time, but also jumped on the James Bond phenomenon, which was an excellent background for satirical humor. But we can also in hindsight see that it is unlikely the show would have shot to such levels of popularity had it not been for the casting of Adams, Feldon, and Platt. These three made the perfect trio, with Adams yucking it up as the daffy secret agent who always, miraculously, came through in spite of his ineptness, Platt as the Chief who had the perpetual headache due to Max's behavior, and the moderating and professional competence of Feldon. Nearly every episode capitalized on the dynamic created by the contrasts within this ensemble.



Given the unique premise and idiosyncratic setting in which Get Smart became popular, it would seem natural to believe that the show would never be enjoyable to watch outside of the political and social context in which it was created. This feeling could be magnified when we consider that the show contains so much political and social commentary as a background for its episodes. It is an odd irony of the series that for some reason, perhaps due to the extent to which the show pushed its unique character, Get Smart remains extremely entertaining today. It's true that this type of humor is not everyone's cup of tea, but for most, its mix of sophmoric, tag-line humor combined with moments of sophisticated insight make it a unique entry into the comedy world, a classic that retains its humor, warmth, and charm. Some people describe the show as hysterically funny, and indeed, it can be. The humor works so effectively that, even if one has all the lines and scenes memorized, laughs are still evoked. (And Get Smart is one of those shows that defies all convention by becoming even more funny when episodes are repeatedly re-watched.)



Many have been waiting for years for this series to be released on DVD, and as aggravating as the wait was, it was completely worth it. The video and audio transfer from the original film stock is so outstanding that it almost appears as though the series was filmed last year rather than almost half a century ago. The image quality is incredibly crisp and colorful to the point that even those who have watched the show in reruns on television for years will have the unexpected experience of seeing the show in an entirely new light. Add to that the restoration of segments that have been habitually cut out to maximize commercial time, and it becomes a uniquely enjoyable experience to sit down and plow through the entire set once again.



If you have never watched Get Smart, I can tell you that this is one of the truly great comedy shows to have ever been made, and chances are you'll find a lot to enjoy in it. If you are a veteran get Smart watcher, you probably are not even reading this review, because you have already purchased the set the moment it became available. Buy the set, and if a concerned spouse raises a "magenta alert" about the $139 price tag, just say "Sorry about that, Chief!"



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