‘Get Smart’ available digitally for first time

Studio executives decided to cancel the spy comedy “Get Smart” after its inaugural season in 1965. It was because of poor ratings, despite having a stellar comedy pedigree — it was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry.

“But, no one liked the show they put on as the replacement,” Brooks says. “So, I got a call saying they were putting us back on the air. Any show becomes a habit if you keep it on the air. You want to see them.”

The decision proved wise. “Get Smart” ended up running for four seasons on NBC and a fifth on CBS. It won the outstanding comedy series primetime Emmy in 1968. The goofy battles between CONTROL and KAOS went on for 138 episodes.

HBO Home Entertainment is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Emmy winning series by releasing it digitally for the first time. It can be purchased now across all major online retailers at a suggested price of $1.99 for each episode and $19.99 for each season.

Before launching “Get Smart,” Brooks already had established himself as one of the top comedy writers in television with “Your Show of Shows” and “Caesar’s Hour.” When the idea was pitched to him to produce a TV show about a New York detective, Brooks offered a twist.

“There was James Bond and the TV shows ‘I Spy’ and ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’ I told them if we had a very incompetent secret agent, we would have a good show,” says Brooks, 89, recalling details of the early days of the comedy series as if they had happened only yesterday.

The network executives liked the idea but wanted to make the show more family friendly. It was suggested that Smart be given a dog and that the agent’s mother be part of the show. Brooks was trying to get away from the standard family comedies that filled the airwaves at the time and wanted to make something that was more absurd.

He says that the network executives always wanted the opposite of what he wanted.

“They wanted everything to be friendly and I wanted it to be irritating,” Brooks says. “I said, ‘We’ve got to tell the truth to make things work. We’ve got to be crazy. We have to have fun.’ “

He finally got the OK to make the show his way.

Brooks and Henry created most of the concepts and visual gags over a game of pool. They would shout out ideas and Alfa-Betty Olsen, a long time writing collaborator with Brooks, would write them down.

Out of that game came things like the infamous Cone of Silence, a sound proof device that never worked properly, and the telephone shoe. The bumbling Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) became Agent 86 because of a job Brooks had at one time in a restaurant. When the restaurant ran out of an item they would say “86 it.”

Barbara Feldon’s Agent 99 came from how guys would look at women’s legs and rate them, such as “she’s a nine.” They doubled the compliment for the female spy.

They also came up with a long list of what would become catchphrases for Agent 86: “Would you believe …” “Missed it by that much!” “Sorry about that, Chief,” “The old (such-and-such) trick,” and “I asked you not to tell me that.”

Brooks says those were only words in the script. It was how Adams delivered them that made them so memorable.

“We were so lucky to get Don because he made the lines funny because of his expressions. He played the role very seriously and that made it even funnier,” Brooks says.

That fit the way the show was written. Brooks and Henry created each script as if they were producing a film noir drama. Then they would push everything to absurd to create the humor.

It’s been a half century since “Get Smart” was unleashed on the TV world. Since then, it has continued to pop up – there was the 1980 feature film “The Nude Bomb,” starring the original cast, and a 2008 feature with Steve Carell taking over as Maxwell Smart. There was even an attempt to relaunch the show in 1995.

The show’s popularity endures. To this day, when Brooks does speaking engagements for his feature films, he knows there will be questions about “Get Smart.”

“That’s because the series has held up so well. That’s because we wrote very tight, real stories,” Brooks says.

Had the network stuck to its cancellation plans, “Get Smart” would have “missed it by that much!”

Rick Bentley, The Fresno Bee

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.