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 2 of Get Smart! For the first half, click here!
When the number two agents keep getting killed, CONTROL installs Hymie as number two unaware that the KAOS agent is also a robot.
What's worse than an episode with one robot? An episode with two robots. I have already mentioned by dislike for Hymie and it stems from my dislike for robot stories in general. On top of that, there's no Barbara Feldon so the whole episode feels a little bit off. I think the Hymie plots were something that the creators enjoyed a whole lot more than the viewers, but maybe that's just me. Maybe if I wasn't such a hater of robots, I would find this premise clever
RATING: 2/10
47. Someone Down Here Hates Me (1/14/67)
KAOS puts a reward on killing Max and creates other incentives to make it happen.
One of the things I like that Get Smart does is treat KAOS like any other business instead of an evil empire. In this case, they are incentivizing their agents to kill Maxwell Smart with the threat of... cancelling the holiday party. The ho-hum-ness of it all was always a funny dichotomy with Get Smart and this is a good example of that. There is some Siegfried in this episode (strangely, Bernie Kopell was not credited for it though) so that knocks things down a couple notches but it's still a funny concept and pretty funny execution.
RATING: 8/10
48. Cutback at CONTROL (1/21/67)
When CONTROL deals with financial difficulties and faces cutbacks, Siegfried offers Max the chance to join KAOS.
There are a lot of similarities between this episode and the previous one because it deals with the day to day business aspect of KAOS and CONTROL. In this case, the concept of cutbacks forcing an agent to go from one place to another is very much something that would happen in the business world but Get Smart turns it on its head by putting it in a business with much higher stakes. I think the concept is better than the execution in this one though as there is entirely too much Siegfried for my liking and the actual reasons behind Max's move are less surprising or different.
RATING: 7.5/10
Max and CONTROL work with an Israeli agent to protect an Arabian prince.
This is a pretty fun romp of an episode even if some of the Arab depictions would certainly not fly on TV today. But it was the 60s, I get it. I still like the frenetic pace of this episode and the silliness that ensues. These are often the funniest episodes of Get Smart. Even though there are some predictable elements of this episode, I like that it keeps turning in different directions. For a show that struggles with that sometimes, it's worth noting when they get the tone right.
RATING: 8/10
50. The Mummy (2/4/67)
Max investigates a Washington museum where KAOS is smuggling agents through mummy cases.
I think I would have liked this episode more if it played a little more into the creepiness of the premise instead of the silliness. Every once in awhile, Get Smart can do a really good creepy episode and this episode should have been that. But instead it just doesn't really go anywhere and feels more aimless than many of the season two episodes do. This is one of several episodes where Barbara Feldon doesn't appear. I'm not sure why she missed so many during the second season.
RATING: 3/10
51. The Girl From KAOS (2/11/67)
Max is assigned to protect Miss USA from KAOS because she is the daughter of a famous scientist.
This episode seems a little similar to "The Man From YENTA" from two episodes ago except it doesn't quite strike the same tone or have the same fun pace. This episode might have been a little racy for 1967 but it's awfully tame by today's standards. There's some funny moments and the pacing isn't bad but it just doesn't quite come together as well as it should for a pretty solid premise. If you want to watch good content about action involving a beauty pageant, watch my favorite guilty pleasure movie - Miss Congeniality.
RATING: 6/10
52. Smart Fit the Battle of Jericho (2/18/67)
Max investigates a madman blowing up high rise buildings and can't figure out how he is doing it.
This is a very middle of the road episode though there there is a standout moment with the first of two episodes with CONTROL's disguise artist, Charlie Watkins. He appears as a cigarette girl played by model Angelique. And the ridiculousness of Get Smart just lets us go with the concept that the beautiful woman is an agent in disguise. That's a joke that a 60s sitcom can do in ways that a current sitcom couldn't. The rest of the episode is just so-so with the drama of the plot never really rising to a level where it becomes super interesting.
RATING: 6.5/10
After hearing of a KAOS plot but before he gets to share it, Max develops amnesia thanks to KAOS.
It wouldn't be a 60s sitcom, especially one like Get Smart, without an amnesia episode. That was such a popular 60s trope but it seems to mostly be limited to shows from the 60s. The amnesia story is always good for a few laughs and Don Adams plays the victim quite well though Max is always generally befuddled so it maybe isn't as much of a contrast as it is for some sitcom characters. There's also a funny sight gag with a tightly parked car.
RATING: 8/10
54. The Expendable Agent (3/4/67)
Max hides a British scientist with a rocket formula in his apartment.
Another solid episode in a season that is much more consistent than the first season. Get Smart is always better when its mission is very focused and closer to home for the agents. That's certainly the case here with Max actually hosting the British scientist at his apartment. It allows for natural action without biting off more than it can chew. The task is simply to protect the scientist. When the plot is more streamlined like that, the humor shines through better.
RATING: 8/10
55. How to Succeed in the Spy Business Without Really Trying (3/11/67)
After saving Max and 99, Siegfried claims he wants to defect to CONTROL.
This episode is a good use of Siegfried, a character I often have problems with. But even a good use of him is still a Siegfried-centered episode and that hurts it a bit in my ratings. Another pro to this episode is it's the first appearance by King Moody as Shtarker, Siegfried's henchman and personal punching bag. Obviously we know where this episode is going and the point isn't to think Siegfried might actually be defecting, but the fun is seeing what his actual plot is.
RATING: 7/10
56. Appointment in Sahara (3/25/67)
KAOS gets ahold of a nuclear bomb and the Chief sends Max and 99 to the Sahara desert to try to stop them.
Max and 99 head out to a far away locale in this episode but I don't like it as much as some other episodes where they go to far flung places of the Earth. I wanted the Sahara scenes to be better and the whole episode felt unfocused. There was too much time spent in silly scenes involving the bomb and the mission almost felt a little bit superfluous. This was the first episode directed by Don Adams and he would ultimately direct 13 episodes including some pretty good ones. He got better as a director as he got more chances.
RATING: 4.5/10
Max and 99 go undercover as two German scientists when important scientists keep disappearing after going to the Pussycat Club.
After a little bit of an aimless episode, this one is much tighter and much funnier with an obvious riff on the Playboy Club culture of the 60s. It's about as adult as a 60s sitcom can get and features the second guest appearance by Ted Knight, this time in a more prominent role. Don Adams and Barbara Feldon are a hoot as the scientists and the show wisely uses Charlie Watkins again. I think one reason I didn't get tired of Watkins is he was only used twice. If he became another recurring segment on the show, I don't think it would have worked as well.
RATING: 8.5/10
58. A Man Called Smart Part 1 (4/8/67)
KAOS attempts to dry up the entire water supply in the United States and Max goes undercover as a KAOS informer to stop them.
This three part episode was originally meant to be a movie but plans for that were scrapped after the failure of The Munsters movie (Munster Go Home) a year earlier. It's a pretty ambitious trio of episodes so it makes sense that it was meant to be a movie. Perhaps it would have worked a little better as a movie though. There are parts in this first part that drag and that would have been more understandable in a feature film but it doesn't work as well as a stand-alone episode.
RATING: 6/10
59. A Man Called Smart Part 2 (4/15/67)
As CONTROL continues to try to stop KAOS, the Chief is temporarily replaced by the original CONTROL chief, 91 year old Admiral Hardgrade.
The second part of the three part epic to close the second season is a big improvement on the first part and that is thanks in large part to William Schallert. The actor, often known as a straight man on shows like The Patty Duke Show, seems to be relishing being a larger than life personality as the very old man. Just like Charlie Watkins, Admiral Hardgrade is best used in small doses. He's a hoot in this episode but would get old (pun intended) fast. His presence aids the story quite a bit even if the overall plot still feels like it could be accomplished in one episode instead of three.
RATING: 8/10
After saving the Chief from an assassination attempt, Max and 99 attempt to figure out who is behind the KAOS plot.
Get Smart ends its season with the conclusion of the "A Man Called Smart" trio of episodes and this one is closer to the first episode than the second episode unfortunately. The second episode had some imagination with Admiral Hardgrade and though he returns in this episode, it once again suffers from not having enough plot to make a three episode saga. For the finale of a three part episode and the finale of the season (not that it was a big deal back then), everything feels surprisingly anticlimatic.
RATING: 6/10
AVERAGE RATING FOR SEASON TWO:
6.5/10
The Best Episodes
1. "Casablanca" (#36) - 9/10
2. "Kiss of Death" (#45) - 8.5/10
3. "Island of the Darned" (#41) - 8.5/10
4. "Pussycats Galore" (#57) - 8.5/10
5. "The Greatest Spy on Earth" (#40) - 8/10
The Worst Episodes
1. "The Only Way to Die" (#34) - 2/10
2. "It Takes One to Know One" (#46) - 2/10
3. "The Mummy" (#50) - 3/10
4. "Maxwell Smart, Alias Jimmy Ballantine" (#35) - 3/10
5. "Bronzefinger" (#42) - 3.5/10
Tomorrow: The Friday Five - Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
Next Thursday: A look at Get Smart Season 3 (Part 1)!
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