In this, the pilot episode of "Get Smart", CONTROL agent Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) gets a call from the Chief (Edward Platt) to rescue a scientist who's invented something that's in the hand of the criminal organization called KAOS. He is to meet Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) at a certain place. From there, the fun begins...With today being the general release day of the new movie version of "Get Smart" with Steve Carell in the title role, I thought I'd finally watch the very first episode of this classic television comedy series that Mel Brooks and Buck Henry created some 43 years ago. And yes, there's a "and" instead of a "with" in the writing credits when the two get credited here. This is where we first see the shoe phone and the cone of silence, hear Max's famous lines "And loving it!" and "Would you believe..." (while Smart says sorry a few times, there's no "...about that, Chief!" yet) And it's here that he-and we-first see 99 and though we know it's a woman, Max doesn't realize it yet since she's in uniform with a cap on. Plenty of funny lines abound with some of my favorites during the cone of silence sequence which turns into a "Who's on First?"-type of confusion dialogue concerning the number "57" and "Hong Kong". Also loved the code sentence being about the Mets winning so when Max hears a little boy say it, he asks if he's 99. "No, I'm six and a half," comes the reply. And then there's the meeting with Mr. Big... If there's some quibble here, it's that 99 seems a bit too kowtowed to Max for my tastes and the fights are soooo fake here. Still, this was quite an entertaining beginning for the beloved comedy series that lasted five seasons on the air. P.S. Was that female enemy agent called Zelinka named after executive producer Leonard Stern's former writing partner Sydney Zelinka when they wrote for "The Honeymooners"?
5 Reviews
New York Mets win double header.
Hey_Sweden8 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Secret agent Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) is an efficient if not overly bright type, and he's the man assigned to stop the evil organization known as KAOS and their fiendish leader Mr. Big. KAOS has stolen an "Inthermo Ray", kidnapped its inventor (played by the great character actor Vito Scotti), and threatens to use the weapon to destroy American landmarks. Smart will be teamed with the equally efficient Agent # 99 (the beautiful Barbara Feldon) and a canine agent known as # 13, or "Fang".
It's easy to see how this sitcom, created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, was so successful for a handful of seasons. It's wonderfully funny, having a high old time spoofing the entire spy genre. We meet some of the familiar characters, including the Chief of CONTROL (Edward Platt), and likewise see for the first time iconic items such as the Shoe Phone and the Cone of Silence. (Particularly hilarious is the way that Smart and the Chief can't properly HEAR each other when using the Cone of Silence.) Smart utters some of his well-known catch phrases: "AND loving it", "Would you believe...", etc. Priceless gags abound, especially when an enemy agent is dispatched. The name of the villain is deliberately ironic, given that he's played by the diminutive Michael Dunn (of 'The Wild Wild West' fame).
Snappy, witty, and very, very likeable, 'Mr. Big' finds the whole cast in fine form, and marked a solid beginning for this classic series.
Eight out of 10.
It's easy to see how this sitcom, created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, was so successful for a handful of seasons. It's wonderfully funny, having a high old time spoofing the entire spy genre. We meet some of the familiar characters, including the Chief of CONTROL (Edward Platt), and likewise see for the first time iconic items such as the Shoe Phone and the Cone of Silence. (Particularly hilarious is the way that Smart and the Chief can't properly HEAR each other when using the Cone of Silence.) Smart utters some of his well-known catch phrases: "AND loving it", "Would you believe...", etc. Priceless gags abound, especially when an enemy agent is dispatched. The name of the villain is deliberately ironic, given that he's played by the diminutive Michael Dunn (of 'The Wild Wild West' fame).
Snappy, witty, and very, very likeable, 'Mr. Big' finds the whole cast in fine form, and marked a solid beginning for this classic series.
Eight out of 10.
Would You Believe...
zsenorsock12 February 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Would you believe it was all there, right from the start? The shoe phone. The ashtray bit. The Cone of Silence. The attraction between Max and 99. And Loving it. "Would you believe"? The agent hidden in an unlikely place. Fang. The music. The old "fill in the blank" trick. "If only he had used his genius for good..." Don't know what Buck Henry and Mel Brooks got for writing this pilot, but they earned every penny of it. They created a number of jokes that played on for years. They did borrow one gag from Buster Keaton in "The Navigator" as Smart rushes out of a Washington concert and leaps in to CONTROL headquarters...across the street! For this assignment Max must recover the Inthermo Ray which has been stolen by Mr. Bigg ( dwarf Michael Dunn who played Dr. Lovelass in the "Wild, Wild West" series). It all plays extremely well. Adams is funny, sharp, convincing while the Chief is already in mid-season form in being frustrated by Max. They even touch on the idea that the Chief thinks of Max as a son. Barbara Feldon is gorgeous and knows just how to play a scene to help punch Adams' gags. And Fang is at his best, and in a rare moment actually does something to SAVE Max rather than get him into more trouble.
"You're a boy!"
ShadeGrenade28 December 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Whenever a successful new genre appears, so do the spoofs. In 1965, the vogue on both television and in cinema was for spy thrillers of the James Bond and 'Man From U.N.C.L.E.' variety. Mel Brooks ( later to make some of the best comedy films of the '70's ) said that 'nobody had ever made a show about an idiot before. We ( he co-created the show with Buck Henry ) decided to be the first.".
The pilot opens with a portentous narration akin to that used on some early 'U.N.C.L.E.' episodes, briefly outlining the functions of the top secret organisation known as 'CONTROL'. Max Smart ( Don Adams ) is enjoying a night at the opera when his shoe phone rings. He slips into a broom closet to take the call. The Chief ( Ed Platt ) wants him back at CONTROL H.Q. as the world is in danger once more. Max tries to leave, but cannot get out and has to use his gun to blast the lock.
Jumping into his car, he drives across the street and enters a faceless building whose corridors are protected by sliding doors ( another dig at U.N.C.L.E. ). At the end of a long passage is a phone booth. Smart enters, dials a number, and then vanishes through a trapdoor. This became the standard opening of the series.
When Max enters The Chief's office, he clocks in as though he is in a factory. Professor Dante, inventor of the 'Inthermo' ( Dante's Inferno, get it? ) death ray, has been kidnapped by KAOS, an evil organisation out to rule the world. Max is given two new partners - Fang, a dog, and sexy Agent 99 ( Barbara Feldon )...
This has all the zaniness of Brooks' later classics such as 'Blazing Saddles' and 'Young Frankenstein', and accurately parodied the way-out plots and daft gadgetry of the Bond series while providing many catchphrases and gimmicks of its own, such as 'The Cone Of Silence', a device that enables Max to communicate with The Chief without fear of eavesdroppers, yet does not really work because neither can properly hear what the other is saying. The secret code phrase Max is given concerns baseball, and is rendered worthless by an unexpected victory by the team concerned. As 'Smart', Adams is marvellously deadpan, and particularly adept at physical comedy. KAOS villain 'Mr.Big', played by Michael Dunn ( 'Dr.Loveless' from 'The Wild, Wild West' ), turns out to be a dwarf. As '99', Barbara Feldon is both beautiful and funny, and the perfect foil to Adam's klutz.
Directed by Howard Morris, a frequent Brooks associate.
Funniest moment - Max threatens the villain by telling him his base is surrounded by eight police boats. Mr.Big does not believe this, so Max tries again. "Six police boats?". Again Mr.Big is not convinced. Max makes one last attempt: "Two police men in a rowing boat?".
A great start to a classic show.
The pilot opens with a portentous narration akin to that used on some early 'U.N.C.L.E.' episodes, briefly outlining the functions of the top secret organisation known as 'CONTROL'. Max Smart ( Don Adams ) is enjoying a night at the opera when his shoe phone rings. He slips into a broom closet to take the call. The Chief ( Ed Platt ) wants him back at CONTROL H.Q. as the world is in danger once more. Max tries to leave, but cannot get out and has to use his gun to blast the lock.
Jumping into his car, he drives across the street and enters a faceless building whose corridors are protected by sliding doors ( another dig at U.N.C.L.E. ). At the end of a long passage is a phone booth. Smart enters, dials a number, and then vanishes through a trapdoor. This became the standard opening of the series.
When Max enters The Chief's office, he clocks in as though he is in a factory. Professor Dante, inventor of the 'Inthermo' ( Dante's Inferno, get it? ) death ray, has been kidnapped by KAOS, an evil organisation out to rule the world. Max is given two new partners - Fang, a dog, and sexy Agent 99 ( Barbara Feldon )...
This has all the zaniness of Brooks' later classics such as 'Blazing Saddles' and 'Young Frankenstein', and accurately parodied the way-out plots and daft gadgetry of the Bond series while providing many catchphrases and gimmicks of its own, such as 'The Cone Of Silence', a device that enables Max to communicate with The Chief without fear of eavesdroppers, yet does not really work because neither can properly hear what the other is saying. The secret code phrase Max is given concerns baseball, and is rendered worthless by an unexpected victory by the team concerned. As 'Smart', Adams is marvellously deadpan, and particularly adept at physical comedy. KAOS villain 'Mr.Big', played by Michael Dunn ( 'Dr.Loveless' from 'The Wild, Wild West' ), turns out to be a dwarf. As '99', Barbara Feldon is both beautiful and funny, and the perfect foil to Adam's klutz.
Directed by Howard Morris, a frequent Brooks associate.
Funniest moment - Max threatens the villain by telling him his base is surrounded by eight police boats. Mr.Big does not believe this, so Max tries again. "Six police boats?". Again Mr.Big is not convinced. Max makes one last attempt: "Two police men in a rowing boat?".
A great start to a classic show.
Entered in Character
cjmitch233 November 2013
Mr. Big was an excellent starter episode to an iconic series. The story was well developed and nicely paced. The major characters to whom we are introduced, Max, 99 and the Chief enter the episode fully in character as if we had just been privy to a what a day would be in their, to them, perfectly normal lives.
Max, Agent 86, is a well meaning, if only slightly inept and barely secret, Agent for Control, He bounces back and forth between brilliance and pratfalls and introduces us to some of what will become classic lines, "that's the second time I fell for that....", "would you believe...".
99, stunningly beautiful and mostly under-appreciated for her contributions to the success of the mission.
Chief, the long suffering leader of Control, an international Agency based in the US and reporting to the President.
Further, we are treated to an array of barely functional gadgets that will reappear over the life of the show. The Cone of Silence, the Shoe Phone.
There are far too many gags to list and I wouldn't want to anyways because they truly need to be seen to be appreciated. The comedy that came out of Get Smart would set the stage for many comedy shows and movies to come. Mel Brooks and Buck Henry had brought farce and satire to television comedy that had previously been mostly formulaic.
Max, Agent 86, is a well meaning, if only slightly inept and barely secret, Agent for Control, He bounces back and forth between brilliance and pratfalls and introduces us to some of what will become classic lines, "that's the second time I fell for that....", "would you believe...".
99, stunningly beautiful and mostly under-appreciated for her contributions to the success of the mission.
Chief, the long suffering leader of Control, an international Agency based in the US and reporting to the President.
Further, we are treated to an array of barely functional gadgets that will reappear over the life of the show. The Cone of Silence, the Shoe Phone.
There are far too many gags to list and I wouldn't want to anyways because they truly need to be seen to be appreciated. The comedy that came out of Get Smart would set the stage for many comedy shows and movies to come. Mel Brooks and Buck Henry had brought farce and satire to television comedy that had previously been mostly formulaic.
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