| Time-Life released
Get Smart: The Complete Collection for sale in the U.S.
in November, 2006. It's an amazing collection that has won numerous
awards, including Best In Show at the TV-DVD Awards. Get Smart: The Complete Collection
features all 138 episodes uncut and beautifully re-mastered for
$199. It's
available RIGHT NOW at a 25% discount by using this link and
entering code "GETSMART" at checkout
(expires 10/31/08). |
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The exact same box set will be released via retail outlets on November 4th (new release date) for the same price of $199. However, the 25% discount code is only valid if you purchase from Time-Life.
If you don't want the full box set, Time-Life also has all five seasons available for purchase. The normal price is $39.99, but they're available at a 25% discount by using code "GETSMART" at checkout as well! The season sets are chock-full of extras, which is why they've won so many awards for excellence. A brief look at each season set:
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Extras:
Order today and Save 25% using code GETSMART. Expires 9-30-08.
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Extras:
Order Now and Receive a 25% Discount by Using Code "GETSMART" |
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Extras:
Order Now and Receive a 25% Discount by Using Code "GETSMART" |
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Extras:
Order Now and Receive a 25% Discount by Using Code "GETSMART" |
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Extras:
Order Now and Receive a 25% Discount by Using Code "GETSMART" |
If you're looking to buy it via normal retail outlets, HBO released Season One as a normal retail release on August 5th. It's basically the same release as above, but the 5th disc with all the extras is left out and other extras have been eliminated as well. A brief look at the retail release:
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Extras:
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I want the DVDs but I don't live in the U.S. What are my options?
I'm glad you asked! Here's the details on non-U.S. releases:
Australia & New Zealand - - Australian fans can rejoice! EZYDVD is selling the show in season sets for the much more reasonable price of $50 per season. Details can be found here. They are selling Seasons 1-3 now and will be selling Seasons 4 & 5 on November 5th. It is available through normal retail outlets as well.
Canada - Time-Life Canada is selling the box set in Canada. You must buy it through Time-Life Canada. The retail releases mentioned for the U.S. above will also be released in Canada.
For you German fans - Season One was released by Kinowelt Home Entertainment/DVD on September 8, 2006. However, there are NO bonus materials and they did not use the beautifully restored masters that Time-Life/HBO are using. It is only available in Germany. However, the producers of this DVD set definitely went the cheap route on this release so I strongly recommend that you NOT purchase this set unless you can't understand English. The Time-Life set is so superior that buying this would be a waste of your money, in my opinion.
Countries other than the U.S., Australia, Canada, New Zealand & Germany - Time-Life is only authorized to sell this set in the United States. They will not ship to addresses that are not in the United States. The HBO release is available from Amazon.com and other online retailers that will ship to most countries.
Please, please please read my DVD page before e-mailing me to ask about the DVD set. Thanks!
What about the sequels?
The Nude Bomb was released on DVD on June 17th.
It can also be ordered on Amazon.com by following
this
link. |
Get Smart 1995 was released by Sony on DVD on June 3rd. It is a normal retail release issued by Sony. As you might have expected, the news was broken by TVShowsOnDVD.com. There are absolutely no extras on this disc. |
A DVD version of
Get Smart Again popped up in
early 2003 and is available at
Amazon.com |
The Nude Bomb was released on laserdisc in 1991 (thanks for the info Nate D.) and both it and Get Smart Again were released on VHS, though both are naturally out of print.
The theme song was written by Irving Szathmary, who was the brother of Bill Dana. Dana was Don Adams' close friend and writing partner. Jon Burlingame of the Film Music Society has written a superb article on Szathmary and I highly recommend it. Burlingame has also written a superb book on TV Theme Songs that is available at Amazon.com.
The music to the theme is available in a book of TV Themes. In two years of watching Get Smart on eBay, I saw the original sheet music from 1965 on sale once and it sold for around $60. That's the only time I've seen it for sale. The actual song is available on a CD called Television's Greatest Hits, Volume 1. That's available online at Amazon.com. It's also available on iTunes (thanks for the info Tom).
It wasn't funny. I thought it failed as a comedy, a spy thriller, and a Get Smart movie. Even if it had nothing to do with Get Smart, I thought it was horribly unfunny, borrowed way too much from other movies, and had uninteresting and irritating portrayals of the lead characters. To claim it as a comedy is a stretch and to say it had anything to do with the original series, other than the names, is a bigger stretch. I had been looking forward to a quality remake that featured a revitalization of the show
and was funny. Unfortunately, we got a movie with more kicks in the crotch than laughs. I go into this in-depth on my movie page. However, it's important to note that this site is dedicated to the original Get Smart and will only feature cursory information on this production and the impending sequel.Get Smart left TVLand's schedule September 1, 2003 and the chances of it returning to TVLand are pretty nonexistent. You can visit TVLand's site and request it be brought back, but that's about the only thing that can be done to return the show to the air nationally in the United States. Get Smart is airing on Channel 23 in Chicago, KDOC-56 in Orange County, CA (thanks Minatonga), WNGS-67 in Buffalo (thanks Jeff) and KWWF in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (thanks Peter), but those are the only stations in the U.S. airing the show. Worldwide, Get Smart is playing in Argentina, Portugal, Panama, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, Lithuania, and Estonia. It's also airing on the Southeast Asian cable channel Star World (thanks for the info Joseph).
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Most of the cast and crew got together in November 2003 for the Get Smart Gathering. Don Adams passed away
September 25, 2005. Barbara Feldon is living in New York and is still working. She does a ton of voiceover work and has created a one-woman play that she used to perform off-Broadway. Barbara has also written a book. "Living Alone and Loving It: A Guide to Relishing the Solo Life" was released Dec. 10, 2002. You can order the book online at Amazon.com. Dave Ketchum has a highly successful writing career and has just finished a children's book. |
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Bernie Kopell is still working and does a lot of autograph shows. You can check out his current schedule on his website, BernieKopell.com. I highly recommend picking up the Sledge Hammer! Season 2 DVD to see Bernie at his best. He also has a cameo in the Get Smart movie.
Dick Gautier has written several books on drawing and cartooning. He has a wonderful website where you can get his latest information.
What was Max's agent number and who did he work for?
Max was Agent 86 for CONTROL. According to Buck Henry, Mel Brooks came up with Max's number. It derived from the restaurant slang "to eighty-six something", which meant to cancel it, they were out of it.
Max had dozens of covers during the show's run and no one cover was used consistently. The one that was used the most was that of a greeting card salesman/executive.
It was absolutely, positively, never revealed. In "99 Loses CONTROL", she leaves CONTROL and tells her fiancée that her name is Susan Hilton. However, at the end of the episode, 99 states that Susan Hilton was a fake name. The exact lines:
Max: That's all right Susan.
99: It's 99, Max. Susan isn't my real name.
Doesn't get any clearer then that!
Many people ask how the wedding between Max was handled without revealing her name. During that part of the ceremony, the Admiral snored. In addition, 99's mother always called her "dear" or "sweetie," never by a name.
The letters in CONTROL and KAOS do not stand for anything. The names were picked because evil represents chaos and the opposite of chaos is control. Also, KAOS and CONTROL were never written as acronyms (K.A.O.S.), as U.N.C.L.E. and S.P.E.C.T.R.E. were. There was never an episode where any member of KAOS or CONTROL said that the names stood for something (yes, I've watched them all to check). If you plan to dispute this, and I get a dispute every couple of months, please cite an episode, not a memory, to prove your case.
There were several cars driven by Max during the five years of the series, but only two cars were driven with any regularity.
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The car Max drove in the first four years of the
series was a red 1965 Sunbeam
Tiger. Without a doubt, it is the car most associated with
Max and can be considered "his car." It appeared in the open of the show's
first two seasons, except for the pilot. It's also the car that was used
for the AMT
model that was sold in the Sixties. More details on the Tiger are
given below. There's a lot of mystery surrounding the fate of this car and
I'm going to try and clear it up. Don Adams did drive a Sunbeam Tiger as
his personal car for many years. However, that car was NOT the car used in
the series. Don drove a 1966 Sunbeam that was given to him by the network
because of the success of the show. That car is now owned by a private
collector. The Sunbeam used in the series was a 1965 Sunbeam and its
whereabouts are unknown, though I've heard many, many rumors about where
it has ended up.
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In season five, Max drives a gold, 1969 Opel GT. He also drove the Opel in the episodes, so it can really be called his second car. Interestingly enough, Max's Opel also appeared in the movie "Stripes." This car was used extensively by Max in the 5th season and can be called Max's second car. |
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In the opening credits of the third and fourth seasons, Max drives a blue VW Karman Ghia. However, in those season's episodes, he continued to drive the Sunbeam. The open was probably changed to reflect some type of sponsorship deal. In no episode does he actually drive the Karman Ghia. |
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In the pilot episode, Max drives a Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet. The reason for that is that they probably used a stock studio sports car for the pilot. When the show was picked up, they were able to arrange a promotional deal with Sunbeam. Alert fan and car expert Scott M. identified this car for me. |
The cars mentioned above are the only cars that belonged to Max. Yes, I know that there are episodes where he drove other cars, like the wedding episode, but they were not his car and are not going to be listed here. Some people have correctly noted that for a few episodes in the fourth season Max drove a Ford Mustang convertible, but that car was clearly designated as The Chief's car.
More Tiger information: According to Dick Sanders of the Pacific Tiger Club, "a look-a-like Sunbeam Alpine (rebadged with Tiger script on the side) of the same vintage ('65 or '66) was used in almost all of the shows where a Sunbeam appeared. There wasn't room to mount a machine gun (or much of anything else) under the hood of the V8-powered Tiger, so they used the Alpine which has a smaller 4-cylinder motor." Get Smart fan & DVD Producer Sue Kesler has a look-alike Sunbeam Alpine that she has beautifully restored to look exactly like Max's car, including the machine gun in the hood. Check out her website and see how beautiful it looks, especially with Don sitting in it.
Special credit must go to Charles Goin, President of the Mid-Atlantic Opel Association, who identified the cars used for me, since I can barely tell a Honda from a Ford. Thanks to Dick, Sue and Charles for giving me such excellent information on the cars.
For more details, Pete's Get Smart Page has an excellent section on Max's cars.
It depends! There were actually four different opens in the series and there are different doors in each. It also depends if you decide to count the car doors or not. To make it easy for everybody, my Get Smart Doors Page shows all the opens and the doors in them.
Is the Get Smart theme available as a ring tone for my cell phone?
Yes, or so I am told. I am cell phone-challenged and so can not give anybody any help on how to download them, but I will pass on the information I received from Aaron T - "There are a couple of sites with the Ringtone, including www.3gforfree.com. If you browse the site from your phone it is free and I believe it is compatible with many different wireless services. However, if you do it from your computer there is a downloading charge. I also found a ring for Nextel from www.nextpimp.com. It seems as though it is pretty expensive, but I just happened upon it." Thanks for the info Aaron!! I have also added a MIDI version of the theme song on my sounds page. I DO NOT know how to convert it into a ringtone, but I've put it there for people who know how.
The KAOS page has a copy of the logo. It's the only color copy of the logo that is in existence and was captured by Simon McKenzie (thanks Simon!). There is a rough black and white copy in The Get Smart Handbook, but Simon's version is better. There is no larger or higher quality version available, what's on that page is all that exists.
Do any of the cast have e-mail addresses?
Dick Gautier and Bernie Kopell have websites with e-mail addresses. They both also offer autographed pictures at their site.
What was the name of the robot on Get Smart?
Hymie was the CONTROL robot and was played by Dick Gautier. A list of cast regulars, along with brief bios of them and their characters can be found on my cast page.
Who played...?
A list of cast regulars, along with brief bios of them and their characters can be found on my cast page. The members of the CONTROL Lab can be found on my lab page. I have also assembled a list of every credited guest star in the series, in case you have a hankering to know who played Emilio Naharana in Our Man in Leotards.
In the pilot episode and Our Man In
Toyland, Agent 34 got that detail.
He was replaced by Victor French, Agent 44
for the rest of that season.
French was replaced by Dave Ketchum as Agent 13
in seasons two through four.
Al Molinaro played Agent 44
in the fifth season.
Joey Forman played Agent 13 in the Nude Bomb.
As with their mom's real name, this was never revealed. However, in the Fox Get Smart series, the male twin was revealed as Zach. It's up to you if you consider that part of Smartmania or not. Though the twins were supposed to be a girl and boy, the parts were actually played by male twins, the Everling brothers.
Name the catchphrases used in the show.
Would you believe that there were a whole bunch of them and a brief description of each can be found on my catchphrases page?
Is there a list of the cool gadgets and phones used in the series?
You betcha! I've assembled a list of just about everything used in the show that wasn't a normal spy-type device on my gadgets page.
There is a play called Get Smart that is still performed today. It's an expanded version of the premiere episode, Mr. Big. The play is available from:
The Dramatic Publishing Company
P.O. Box 129
Woodstock, IL 60098
The best source for photos is Jim's TV Collectables. Jim has just obtained an excellent collection of over 100 photos from episodes throughout the series' run. Visit his site or drop him an e-mail and he'll be glad to give you details.
The Movie Market is also an excellent source for
Get Smart photos. They have 9 black and white and 6 color 8x10 photos of the
show. Their prices are reasonable, $5 for the color photos and $3.50 for the
black and whites. Their catalog is available for $5 from:
The Movie
Market
P.O. Box 3900
Dana Point, California
92629-8900
949-488-8444
Another source is Movie Star News. They have several Get Smart photos and their prices are the same as The Movie Market. However, their catalogs are huge and not well-organized, so you have to search through them carefully to find the Get Smart photos.
Join the Get Smart Mailing List where 1,000+ fans discuss all aspects of the show.
Brooks and Buck Henry created the characters and basic premise of Get Smart. Brooks also helped write three episodes, but his involvement ended pretty much after the pilot was written, mainly to concentrate on getting The Producers completed. In interviews now, Brooks give Buck Henry a great deal of credit for the show. Henry, who ran the show for its first two years, clearly is the one most responsible for the direction of the series. For more information about the beginnings of the show, check out my history page.
Yes, there were many. Dale Barnard started compiling a list that has grown thanks to the contributions of several fans. Pete has collected all of the goofs into one massive collection. Please note that these are not "bloopers" in the traditional sense, merely errors in continuity.
Make-Smith & Wesson
Model-40
Ammo
/Caliber-5 Rounds of .38 Special
Nickname-LemonSqueezer!
This information
comes from Agent 102 who many years ago ran into Don Adams. Agent 102 filed the
following report:
I asked him if the sidearm that he used on Get Smart was
a particular make and model and he not only told me that it was but he showed it
to me. It was in a locked box in the back of a Land Rover in the driveway. He
had three of them, one for the close ups, one for drops and stunts (beat to
hell) and one was his personal (with permit) sidearm. All three are identical
except for serial numbers and general condition and all three were provided by
the studio. The studio has the largest collection of these highly prized
collectible handguns in the world. They are sought after by collectors the world
over. (A recent reissue by Smith and Wesson in stainless steel and with some
improvements sold out before they could get to market.)
Thanks Agent 102!
Is there a mailing list/Listserv or bulletin board about Get Smart?
Yes, there's both. The Get Smart Group averages 30 messages a week. We've got over 1,000 members and everyone is welcome to join. You may choose to receive messages through e-mail, or just post using the list's bulletin board.
Drop me an e-mail and I'll do my best to answer it. E-mails that ask questions that are answered in this FAQ will be deleted or mocked heavily. Please DO NOT e-mail me any attachments, pictures, sounds or whatever as I will just delete your e-mail. It would also be helpful if you put Get Smart somewhere in your subject, otherwise you risk your e-mail being considered spam and deleted automatically.
WouldYouBelieve.com Contents
Copyright 1995-2008 Carl Birkmeyer
First with the news was the amazing Dave
Lambert of
Unfortunately, it is a poorly done release, with no extras
and a video quality that is actually below a VHS. It is available through
Netflix also. A PAL version of Get Smart
Again is 
