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 3 of Get Smart! For the first half, click here.
74. The King Lives? (1/6/68)
Max discovers he's a double for a King of a faraway country and has to go save 99 when she is kidnapped by the King's brother.
This episode was co-written by Don Adams and his sister and continues the cameo parade with the return of Johnny Carson in another small role. It seems like an episode Adams would write with its focus on his brand of humor. The settings is fun and unique and the plot moves along fairly well. I didn't find myself too invested in the story but I appreciated it being a fairly ambitious episode. I do wonder what the story was behind all these cameos by comedians this season.
RATING: 7/10
75. The Groovy Guru (1/13/68)
Max and 99 try to thwart a hippie radio DJ planning to brainwash the nation's youth with subliminal messaging.
This was the first Get Smart I ever saw when it aired as part of Nick at Nite's 10th Anniversary Week in 1995. I'm not sure my nine year old self fully understood the plot, but I know I enjoyed watching it. I can see watching it now why it was selected as a standout episode. First of all, it's the mostly delightfully 60s-centric episode of the entire series. Larry Storch does a great job as the title character and it's also a standout episode for Don Adams with a lot of funny lines and good delivery. Maybe I'm being a little bit nostalgic but I agree with Nick at Nite that this is a standout episode of Get Smart.
RATING: 9/10
Max discovers he's a double for a King of a faraway country and has to go save 99 when she is kidnapped by the King's brother.
This episode was co-written by Don Adams and his sister and continues the cameo parade with the return of Johnny Carson in another small role. It seems like an episode Adams would write with its focus on his brand of humor. The settings is fun and unique and the plot moves along fairly well. I didn't find myself too invested in the story but I appreciated it being a fairly ambitious episode. I do wonder what the story was behind all these cameos by comedians this season.
RATING: 7/10
Max and 99 try to thwart a hippie radio DJ planning to brainwash the nation's youth with subliminal messaging.
This was the first Get Smart I ever saw when it aired as part of Nick at Nite's 10th Anniversary Week in 1995. I'm not sure my nine year old self fully understood the plot, but I know I enjoyed watching it. I can see watching it now why it was selected as a standout episode. First of all, it's the mostly delightfully 60s-centric episode of the entire series. Larry Storch does a great job as the title character and it's also a standout episode for Don Adams with a lot of funny lines and good delivery. Maybe I'm being a little bit nostalgic but I agree with Nick at Nite that this is a standout episode of Get Smart.
RATING: 9/10
76. The Little Black Book Part 1 (1/27/68)
Max's old army buddy visits and arranges a date with two KAOS agents after thinking a KAOS code book is Max's little black book.
The parade of Don Adams' friends guest starring continues and now it's not just cameos. Larry Storch was a good friend and this two-parter has Adams' very close friend Don Rickles. I have to admit, I know Don Rickles is a comedic legend, but I have never found him all that funny. His character is pretty dense in this episode and the show seems to rely on Rickles carrying the comedy of it all. If you like Rickles, that probably works. If you find him irritating, the episode doesn't work nearly as well. Barbara Feldon notes in her DVD intro that this wasn't meant to be a two-parter but there was a lot of ad-libs from Don Rickles and Don Adams. It's interesting it wasn't intended to be two parts because I do feel like it had more plot than some other two part episodes they've done.
RATING: 4.5/10
77. The Little Black Book Part 2 (2/3/68)
Max convinces his army buddy that he is a secret agent and they set off to recover the black book.
It was more clear in the second part of the two part episode that it was originally intended to be just one episode. This conclusion is pretty low on plot and instead feels like "The Don Adams and Don Rickles Show." As I said, I'm not a big fan of Rickles. He definitely has the old "Rat Pack" feel to his style of comedy and it just doesn't work for me. I know others love pretty much everything he does so they probably enjoy seeing two friends hanging out throughout this episode. It's not for me and drags on so much more than the first part.
RATING: 2.5/10
Max is framed by KAOS and then convicted for a bank robbery and sentenced to death, but he escapes and must find the one armed man to prove his innocence.
This parody of The Fugitive probably could have actually been a two part episode. But I'm glad it's not because this is a very well-paced episode that is also well directed by Don Adams. The plot seems like it would have been very tempting to make a multi-part episode but then I'm sure it would have felt bloated. Instead, it is crisp and tight. It's suspenseful and elaborate with Max being on the run. The cameo parade continues with Milton Berle appearing in this episode as a hotel desk clerk. It is always funny in true 60s fashion though to see a gunfight with obvious hits and absolutely no blood.
RATING: 9/10
79. 99 Loses CONTROL (2/17/68)
99 leaves CONTROL to marry a suave casino owner and Max tries to get her back.
This casino-set episode is obviously a take off on James Bond and has another cameo (Bob Hope this time). While I like the concept, I don't feel like this episode actually takes off. It is a little predictable and spends too much time in lead-ups to action. It's interesting to compare this episode to the previous episode because Get Smart either nailed its pacing or it didn't at all. This is an example of the latter and even though the setting is fun and it does build up the Max and 99 relationship a little bit more, it ultimately falls flat.
RATING: 4/10
80. The Wax Max (2/24/68)
Max wins a doll for 99 at an amusement park that is filled with plutonium as part of a KAOS plan.
This is a fun episode in part because I really enjoy seeing a 60s-era amusement park. It's also a fun place for an attempted escape from KAOS. Sometimes I have felt like Get Smart doesn't use its setting for the episode to full effect but they really do here. Max and 99 have scenes in so many different parts of the amusement park that it makes it, well, amusing. There's actually not any crazy cameos in this one for the first time in what seems like forever but it's a solid episode made better by its very fun setting.
RATING: 8/10
81. Operation Ridiculous (3/2/68)
CONTROL is set to be profiled in a magazine but KAOS uses tricks to undermine Max's credibility.
For an episode called "Operation Ridiculous," you would think this episode would be a little more ridiculous. Perhaps the most ridiculous moment is the Chief's toupee (which is a pretty funny sight gag). But that being said, it is still a pretty fun episode. The idea of the magazine profile works better than you might think and there are some good guest appearances from the magazine team and KAOS agents. I just found myself wishing it was more ridiculous. They don't spend a lot of time trying to hurt Max compared to what their plan seems to imply.
RATING: 6/10
Max and 99 team up with Siegfried and KAOS to find a mad scientist threatening to destroy the world.
This episode provides a rare opportunity for CONTROL and KAOS to team up. Although I'm not a big Siegfried fan (as you probably know by now), I like this episode where they team up a little bit more. I think one reason Siegfried can be so annoying is Bernie Kopell seems to try to "one-up" Don Adams a lot. That doesn't need to happen as much when they're on the same side. I actually think it's an arc Get Smart could have explored but long story arcs weren't too common with 60s sitcoms. There's a strong guest turn by veteran film actor Percy Helton who plays the mysterious villain well. Though that beeping pigeon is super annoying!
RATING: 7.5/10
83. Run, Robot, Run (3/16/68)
KAOS agents prevent two Olympic athletes from running in a race so CONTROL has Hymie run in their place.
If you've been reading my Get Smart summaries, you know that Hymie is not one of my favorite characters and I find Hymie themed plots to be pretty irritating. There are some nice moments here and this is a fun setting and plot. I just wish Hymie wasn't the solution. His jokes fall as flat as his delivery. Hymie running in his suit is certainly meant to be played for laughs but just seems dumb. It's interesting how Get Smart can be so inventive at times and so predictable/standard at other times. This is an example of the latter.
RATING: 3/10
84. The Hot Line (3/23/68)
Max takes control of CONTROL while the Chief goes undercover as a singing waiter.
A young Regis Philbin appears at the beginning of the episode, which is fun to see. It's also a more time-era specific episode with a vocal parody of then President Lyndon Johnson that I'm sure is not super clear to people watching now since they never mention Johnson by name. It's a little surprising that it took until the 84th episode to play with the idea of Max running CONTROL. It allows for some good comedy (Max telling the Chief about his predecessor "leaving a mess" for him). The switching of roles is funny and as a bonus we get the Chief singing! All in all, a creative and enjoyable episode.
RATING: 9/10
85. Die, Spy (3/30/68)
KAOS and CONTROL work together to find a third spy network that wants to destroy them both.
Barbara Feldon gave some interesting info on the DVD intro to this episode. The third spy network, CBA, is an anagram of ABC, which was consistently the third place (out of three) network on TV back in those days. It's also a parody of I Spy and has a cameo from I Spy star Robert Culp. This is the second time in three episodes that KAOS and CONTROL team up, but this time it doesn't involve Siegfried. Despite the interesting setup, the show doesn't move along as much as I would like and there's just entirely too much ping pong throughout the episode. It's a little predictable but also, would someone that good at ping pong really not be able to return a lob?
RATING: 5.5/10
An informer is willing to give CONTROL a list of KAOS agents in exchange for CONTROL finding his wife so CONTROL finds a double for her.
The third season of Get Smart ends with an episode that features famed Batman actor Cesar Romero. But he's of course not playing the Joker here. Romero brings some gravitas to the episode, but there's also a strong performance from guest star Julie Sommars (though it is a little creepy that the characters are supposed to be married considering the age difference). The scene with Max trying to stop a "drunk" Mimsie from making advances plays very funny and is well done by both Sommars and Don Adams (and Romero for that matter). It ends the season on a strong note.
RATING: 8/10
AVERAGE RATING FOR SEASON THREE:
6.6/10
The Best Episodes:
1. "The Groovy Guru" (#75) - 9/10
2. "The Spirit is Willing" (#64) - 9/10
3. "Don't Look Back" (#78) - 9/10
4. "The Hot Line" (#84) - 9/10
5. "Supersonic Boom" (#66) - 8.5/10
The Worst Episodes:
1. "The Little Black Book" Part 2 (#77) - 2.5/10
2. "Run, Robot, Run" (#83) - 3/10
3. "Viva Smart" (#62) - 3/10
4. "99 Loses CONTROL" (#79) - 4/10
5. "The Mysterious Dr. T" (#73) - 4/10
Tomorrow: The Friday Five - Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
Next Thursday: A look at the first half of Season 4 of Get Smart!
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