There are a few television series that transcends just being a hit to the exalted level of a defining part of our culture. Such shows give us characters that become prototypes of a myriad of imitators, none ever as good as the originals. The catch phrases for the characters become more than just memorable lines of dialogue as they enter into the common vernacular of our speech. These are shows that changed pop culture forever. One of the highest ranking members of this rarified community is ‘Get Smart’. In its five year run starting in 1965 it became one of the most beloved shows ever on television. Many at the time of its initial broadcast thought it was just another sit-com that was good for a few laughs each week. After watching a couple of episodes it became clear to most that this was television history in the making. It rapidly became one of the most watch series of its time and one of the first water cooler series as people would discuss the previous night’s episode with friends. For many years the DVD release of the series was delayed for many of the usual legal reasons. Last year Time Life released a complete series box set but with a cost close to $200 it was out of the price range for many fans. Now, Warner Brothers and HBO Home Video are beginning to release season sets with a suggested retail price of $25. Die hard fans will certainly want the special packaging and all the episodes now but in these difficult economic times it is great that fans can opt for this first season set at an affordable price. Even more than the historical significance of this first season it is a part of our childhood for those of us in the baby boomer generation.

The first thing to note about this series is it came along at exactly the right time. The mid sixties was the height of the spy craze here in the States. James Bond was taking off in the box office and for television there were several espionage oriented series such as ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’, ‘Wild, Wild West’ and for a little girl power, ‘Honey West’. This was a natural trend since the cold war between American and the Soviet Union was at its height. The threat of ‘the bomb’ destroying all life on earth was no longer science fiction; it was real and in every news source of the day. Spies were seen as the last, best defense we had against our enemies. The typical secret agent was James Bond. He was suave, debonair and as successful in killing his foes as he was in seducing beautiful women. These ultra successful spies relied on a plethora of fancy and futuristic gadgets that would amaze the audience. Where the old school spies maybe had a little camera this new generation had lighters could shoot lasers and jet packs. This growing genre was all the rage of the mid sixties and two men decided it was about time to get in on the bandwagon and make fun of it all. These two strange and wonderful men were Buck Henry and Mel Brooks. About a decade after this Henry would be one of the most popular recurring hosts for Saturday Night Live. Brooks would go on to creating such incredibly funny films as ‘Young Frankenstein’ and ‘Blazing Saddles’. They were the sharpest comic minds of their generation and they infused this combination of dry humor and slapstick into ‘Get Smart’. As you watch this first season just note how silly it is. It takes an incredible amount of talent and control to achieve this especially on a weekly basis.

The foundation of any spy story back then was two diametrically opposed groups; one fighting for good, the other seeking to dominate the world. Instead of Her Majesty’s Secret Service and SPECTRE or U.N.C.L.E. and Thrush here we had Control and KAOS. Control is a top secret government intelligence organization. The use of the intelligence in this particular instance is extremely relative. At the top of the organization is a man known only as ‘The Chief’ (Edward Platt) who along with his assistant Larabee (Robert Karvelas) coordinate and assign missions to their field agents. The top agent for Control is Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) also known as Agent 86. He is a bumbling dolt with the best intentions who somehow always manages to trip into doing the right thing. His partner is the beautiful Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon). Through out the five year run of the series here real name is never disclosed. Smart sees himself as the same sort of spy as Bond, smooth, efficient and deadly. Actually he often makes more trouble for any given mission that the KAOS agents could ever provide. He is dimwitted and easily fooled by the flimsiest of ploys. In a pinch he can fight his way out of a situation but more often than not, take that as every episode, he is captured and tied up. Thankfully Agent 99 is the complete opposite of Smart. She is very good at her job but since she is a woman and Smart has an excess of ego he rarely listens to her. This was something for those days; having a woman perform the job better than a man. This was just about the time of the Women’s Liberation movement and made a lot of female fans for a genre that predominately appeals to men. Many boys of my day had their first crush on Agent 99. Watching this DVD season set brought me back to my preteen years.

Like his counterparts with Bond and the men from U.N.C.L.E. smart had an assortment of gadgets to help in his work. The devices would either not work or if they did were commonly misused by Smart. The most iconic of all his equipment was the phone concealed in his left shoe. The shoe phone was one of the most widely known props in the history of television. There is a scene where his shoe phone would go off while Smart was undercover at a concert much to the annoyance of the other patrons. Now this is a common place thing with cell phones but back then it was something totally unheard of. Another famous device was the infamous ‘cone of silence’. This was a plastic shield with two bubbles that would descend over a pair of people to prevent any eavesdropping. The running gag is it never worked at all. Every week Smart and 99 would face some deadly threat from KAOS and manage to always save the day. Along the way they would try to kill Smart usually bringing on one of his famous catch phrases ‘You missed me by that much’. That and his ‘Wouldcha believe’ routines were used every week but to this day never get old.

HBO has gotten the season distribution rights from parent company Time Warner. Not only is this a more affordable way to get the series it has never looked or sounded as great as it does here. This is a completely re-mastered audio and video. The colors are bright and realistic while the Dolby mono is crisp and clear. It is one thing to have a set like this to bring your memories back to life but when it is done so well it is a must have box set.