Get Smart (1995)
Would you believe that the show misses the mark – by “that” much…
Tags: Get Smart Categories: DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Jun 4th, 2008
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“Get Smart” was once of the best sitcoms to come out of the 60’s. It proved so popular that years later a television movie and theatrical release would follow up on the success – even a cartoon series (“Inspector Gadget”) was loosely based on the same concept (complete with Don Adams providing the titular voice).
Looking to replicate the success of the original series, in 19995 the FOX network commissioned a new series. Because of Don Adam’s age, he couldn’t be expected to do the heavy lifting. Instead, for this new series, Maxwell Smart is now head of CONTROL, the Government agency whose primary duty is to take down (as usual) KAOS.
Barbara Feldon reprises her role as Agent 99, only this time she has been elected to Congress and serves on the committee that oversees CONTROL. Instead the focus of the series is on Agent 66 (Elaine Hendrix) as the competent bombshell with Andy Dick as Zach Smart, the son of Max and 99. KAOS is now a multi-national corporation bent on global domination rather than a group of Cold War agents from the communist block.
The new series had much of the same bumbling humor, but lacked the same charm as the original. The production values were also fairly poor – watching the series made me feel as if I was watching a syndicated program from the early 80’s rather than a network produced show from 1995.
What this series is perhaps best known for, at least its strongest legacy, is that it introduced the world to Andy Dick in a regular series before he would move on to “News Radio”. With only 7 episodes produced, the new series died a quick death. Perhaps that was for the best, as this doesn’t honor the legacy of the original.
A few of the recognizable faces that crop up in these 7 episodes include Robert Goulet, perennial guest star and recognizable face Terry Kiser, Tucker Smallwood, Louis Mandylor, Phil LaMarr, Keone Young, Richard Fancy, and Lu Leonard. Dave Ketchum reprises his role as Agent 13 (he previously appeared in Get Smart, Again) and Bernie Kopell reprises his role from the original series as Siegfried, Maxwell Smart’s main counterpart with KAOS.
There are no special features on the DVD. I’m not expecting a look at the upcoming theatrical film because that’s from a different studio. It would have been nice to at least include a few minute interview with Barbara Feldon as she is still alive with her memories of the show.
Such as it is, this 1995 version of “Get Smart” is for two types of people – those that are Andy Dick fans and want to see where he was early in his career and those really die-hard “Get Smart” fans that have to get it all in. Either way you’re going to be disappointed, but going in with low expectations will help.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
| + Don Adams and Barbara Feldon have a great chemistry | 3.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Sadly that chemistry is skipped over in favor of the younger agents - Production values are shoddy - Scripts are lacking the same charm the original had |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| For Andy Dick and absolute die-hard Get Smart fans | |
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Tags: Get Smart
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Jun 4th, 2008 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
