On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show. This year, I will be splitting full seasons into two posts so today I am looking at the second half of Season 1 of Get Smart! Here is a look at Part 1!
GET SMART: SEASON ONE
1965-1966
30 episodes
1965-1966
30 episodes
16. Double Agent (1/8/66)
Max pretends to turn on 99 and join KAOS without letting her in on a master plan. However, his first KAOS assignment is to kill her.
Just like the episode "My Nephew the Spy," this episode takes too long to get going into its main plot. The actual plot is a pretty clever one with Max acting as a double agent even to 99. But the episode takes forever to get to the main plot and unlike "My Nephew the Spy," it's not even that great once it gets to the main plot. While 60s sitcoms can benefit from having more thorough stories than today's sitcoms with their A, B and C plots, this can be the downside. There just apparently wasn't enough plot to make it a 25 minute episode.
RATING: 2/10
17. Kisses for KAOS (1/15/66)
99 goes undercover to romance an art dealer with a plan to blow up foreign embassies while Max poses as 99's chauffeur.
This episode is one of the first to start to play up the Max-99 relationship when Max clearly gets jealous during the operation. That produces a few funny moments especially when Max poses as the butler in his own apartment. But otherwise, the plot is not all that compelling. It actually seems to be more about Max and 99 then the art plot and it seems a little too soon to do that. I like the hinting at it, but trying to build an episode around Max's jealousy doesn't feel earned yet.
RATING: 3.5/10
18. The Dead Spy Scrawls (1/22/66)
Max goes undercover as a pool shark with a remote control cue ball while 99 searches the KAOS communications center.
One of the nice things about watching Get Smart on DVD is listening to Barbara Feldon's introductions. I learned in the intro to this episode that Don Adams was actually an expert pool player. This episode also features Leonard Nimoy a year before he hit it big in Star Trek. Knowing that makes Maxwell Smart's ineptness even better. There's some fun moments here, but this is further proof that in Season One, Get Smart often didn't have the pacing down for their episodes and too many of them drag on without enough plot. This is another one of those.
RATING: 4/10
Max pretends to turn on 99 and join KAOS without letting her in on a master plan. However, his first KAOS assignment is to kill her.
Just like the episode "My Nephew the Spy," this episode takes too long to get going into its main plot. The actual plot is a pretty clever one with Max acting as a double agent even to 99. But the episode takes forever to get to the main plot and unlike "My Nephew the Spy," it's not even that great once it gets to the main plot. While 60s sitcoms can benefit from having more thorough stories than today's sitcoms with their A, B and C plots, this can be the downside. There just apparently wasn't enough plot to make it a 25 minute episode.
RATING: 2/10
17. Kisses for KAOS (1/15/66)
99 goes undercover to romance an art dealer with a plan to blow up foreign embassies while Max poses as 99's chauffeur.
This episode is one of the first to start to play up the Max-99 relationship when Max clearly gets jealous during the operation. That produces a few funny moments especially when Max poses as the butler in his own apartment. But otherwise, the plot is not all that compelling. It actually seems to be more about Max and 99 then the art plot and it seems a little too soon to do that. I like the hinting at it, but trying to build an episode around Max's jealousy doesn't feel earned yet.
RATING: 3.5/10
Max goes undercover as a pool shark with a remote control cue ball while 99 searches the KAOS communications center.
One of the nice things about watching Get Smart on DVD is listening to Barbara Feldon's introductions. I learned in the intro to this episode that Don Adams was actually an expert pool player. This episode also features Leonard Nimoy a year before he hit it big in Star Trek. Knowing that makes Maxwell Smart's ineptness even better. There's some fun moments here, but this is further proof that in Season One, Get Smart often didn't have the pacing down for their episodes and too many of them drag on without enough plot. This is another one of those.
RATING: 4/10
19. Back to the Old Drawing Board (1/29/66)
Max and 99 discover that KAOS has programmed a robot to cause trouble but they try to reprogram him to work for CONTROL.
I'm not a big fan of the Hymie episodes, probably because of my general dislike for sci-fi themed stuff. If I was more of a fan of sci-fi things, I think this is a pretty good introduction to the character especially with the on-going story that Max doesn't realize Hymie is a robot or part of KAOS. I think one problem with Hymie is he becomes a very one-note joke. He's basically Amelia Bedelia where everything he's told is taken literally. That can be funny once or twice but it gets tiring in this episode, and especially as he becomes a recurring character.
RATING: 5/10
20. All in the Mind (2/5/66)
Max poses as an insane colonel to go after a psychiatrist who is giving top secret information to KAOS.
This is one of the most action driven episodes to date and I'm sure it makes at least a few people feel claustrophobic as they watch the phone booth fill with water. There's some good moments even before that climactic scene. I would have to look but this seems like an early show to deal with psychiatry. There's also some funny moments with the Chief at the beginning and a good play on the psychiatry bit at the end of the episode with Max and the Chief. A solid episode.
RATING: 7.5/10
Max and 99 try to find the missing diary of a CONTROL agent who lives in the Spy Retirement Home.
I love when Get Smart creates its own world for something and they do here with Spy City, the spy retirement community. It also allows for very original plotting and less forced situations because everything can be on their terms. When Get Smart is in its own world, it allows the eccentricities of the show to play very naturally. All that being said, I think the plot is not as strong as the setting though there are still some funny moments and there's also some strong performances from the retired spies.
RATING: 6.5/10
22. Smart, the Assassin (2/19/66)
Max is kidnapped and hypnotized to shoot anyone who says checkmate so that KAOS can get him to assassinate the Chief.
This episode never really gets going and feels pretty stuck in neutral the whole time. I think one of the reasons is it's pretty much a one joke episode. It's almost entirely predicated on one moment that is anticipated for the entire episode, Max shooting the Chief when he says "checkmate." When you know the Chief isn't going to actually die or anything like that, it makes it too big a moment to build a whole episode to. That makes for a disappointing episode that is also lacking in any really funny moments or lines.
RATING: 1.5/10
23. I'm Only Human (2/26/66)
Max convinces the Chief to take Fang out of retirement after CONTROL agents are killed by their own dogs.
As much as I love dogs in real life, I'm never a big fan of dog-themed episodes. I'm not sure what the reason is but I always kind of roll my eyes when I know a plot is going to be about a dog. This one had a hard time keeping my interest with a pretty silly plot about dogs attacking their owners and the continued unnecessary use of Fang as a character in the show. It picked up a little bit when Max and 99 go undercover but even then, it never really got going.
RATING: 2.5/10
Max and 99 have to disarm an atomic bomb being assembled by KAOS on a mountain hideout.
This is a pretty high stakes episode that plays on a topic that was very relevant for 1960s America. It also features Ted Knight a few years before The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The setting is fun too with a mountain cabin and a race against time to disarm an atomic bomb. This episode does a good job with pacing and mixing comedy with suspense. As I've said multiple times already, the first season of Get Smart seems to run into pacing issues quite a bit. But this one feels important and meaningful all the way through and that helps the comedy shine brighter.
RATING: 7.5/10
25. The Amazing Harry Hoo (3/12/66)
Max and 99 go after the Claw who is using a Chinese laundromat as a KAOS front, and they are assisted by a Hawaiian detective.
This is the second episode in a row that has a scene at the Washington Airport. That doesn't really matter much, just an observation. This is not a great episode because it relies too much on a character we only see twice in the whole series - Harry Hoo. He's not a funny character (not to mention a little bit racist). I also am not a fan of The Claw as a villain so that's strike two from me. The climax of the episode too when Harry Hoo shows up is really a letdown too. A very weak episode.
RATING: 1/10
26. Hubert's Unfinished Symphony (3/19/66)
Max and 99 try to discover information about KAOS from an unfinished symphony by a composer who was killed.
This episode starts as a "Who Done It?" but we the audience find out some answers before Max and 99 and then Max and 99 find out but can't do anything about it. That makes for an interesting approach to storytelling as the show doesn't quite go where you think it's going to go. The setting of a symphony with some very stuffy players is strong as well. While the climactic moment isn't a little bit of a letdown, there's a great comedic moment with Max after the fact that helps.
RATING: 7.5/10
Max and 99 book passage on a freighter looking for stolen KAOS plans.
The first two-parter of Get Smart and an episode that won an Emmy for writing, this is a fun setting for a story with the mysterious "clip clop" noise permeating through the ship. Adding to the fun of the setting is the constant rain which makes for a gloomy setting and also one of the visually stronger Get Smart episodes. Despite all the compliments, I am not sure this really needed to be two parts though. It seems like the plot is not any thicker than a regular episode with the exception of the longer introduction than usual.
RATING: 6/10
28. Ship of Spies Part 2 (4/9/66)
Max and 99 continue to look for a mysterious passenger aboard the freighter with only a "clip clop" sound as a clue.
The moody rain is gone for Part 2 but the plot picks up a little bit more with more going on the just following the clip clop noises. I still am not convinced that this plot needed to be a two parter, but they did have a decent amount of plot in this episode with some surprises and twists. While I thought part two was paced better than part one, I missed the mood setting and feeling of the first part. Again, this is why one tight episode could probably have been among the best so far in the series.
RATING: 6.5/10
29. Shipment to Beirut (4/23/66)
99 goes undercover as a fashion model to figure out how a dress designer is sending secret plans to Beirut.
Like so many season one episodes of Get Smart, this is an episode that has a great and original premise but doesn't quite stick the landing in its execution. It starts promising with a funny bit of Max not realizing who the CONTROL agent is at the designer show. But once it gets into the main thrust of the plot, it only a so-so episode. It's interesting that as we are basically at the end of the first season that Get Smart really hadn't found its footing yet. I don't remember that from watching it years ago.
RATING: 5/10
Max pretends to be a swimming trainer to rescue a member of the Russian swim team.
I think the sports club in this episode had to be the same set that was used in a couple different Bewitched episodes, but that's not my main takeaway from this episode. This episode features Alice Ghostley in a nice guest role. It's also a good action-based plot with some pretty good production values for a 1960s sitcom (in particular the scene in the pool). This episode seems to be signs of a better season to come with a nice mix of comedy and thrills.
RATING: 7/10
AVERAGE RATING FOR SEASON ONE:
5.3/10
The Best Episodes:
1. "The Day Smart Turned Chicken" (#8) - 8.5/10
2. "Aboard the Orient Express" (#13) - 8/10
3. "Survival of the Fattest" (#15) - 8/10
4. "All in the Mind" (#20) - 7.5/10
5. "Our Man in Toyland" (#4) - 7.5/10
The Worst Episodes:
1. "Washington 4, Indians 3" (#6) - 1/10
2. "The Amazing Harry Hoo" (#25) - 1/10
3. "Smart the Assassin" (#22) - 1.5/10
4. "Double Agent" (#16) - 2/10
5. "I'm Only Human" (#23) - 2.5/10
Tomorrow: The Friday Five - A look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
Next Thursday: A look at the first half of Season 2 of Get Smart!
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