Product Details

• Actors: Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, Edward Platt, Robert Karvelas
• Format: Box set, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 25
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: HBO Home Video
• DVD Release Date: November 4, 2008
• Run Time: 3450 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (157 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001E0O8DA
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,486 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Get Smart - The Complete Series Gift Set" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Review

The feature film may have missed it by that much, but Get Smart, the TV series, still hits the target with deadly funny accuracy. The right show at the right time, Get Smart brilliantly spoofed the spy genre that was all the rage in 1965, with James Bond on the big screen, and such series as Danger Man, The Avengers, The Saint, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and I Spy more or less playing it straight on the small screen. Get Smart, on the other hand, had a license to kill…with laughter. Mel Brooks and Buck Henry created one of TV's all-time greatest characters, Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 of CONTROL, the super-secret agency vigilantly on alert against the forces of KAOS. Smart (Don Adams in his iconic, Emmy-winning role), an American Clouseau, was not stupid. Though all evidence to the contrary, he was, in his own mind, a suave and sophisticated spy, albeit one who would inadvertently lean against a freshly painted wall while shadowing an enemy agent. Get Smart hilariously deglamorized the business of espionage. Agents punch a time clock and dispute vacation time. Cool spy gadgets, such as the infamous Cone of Silence, are prone to malfunction. One running joke throughout the first season finds Agent 44 (Victor French) perched in a variety of unlikely and uncomfortable hiding places, among them a grandfather clock. Although the series would only get smarter and funnier in subsequent seasons (Bernie Kopell's KAOS mastermind Siegfried would be introduced in season two), the first season contains several essential episodes, including the Emmy-winning two-parter, "Ship of Spies," "Aboard the Orient Express," featuring a cameo by Johnny Carson as an unflappable conductor, "Diplomat's Daughter" with the arch --and decidedly non-PC-- villain, the Craw, and "Back to the Drawing Board," featuring Dick Gautier as Hymie the robot. From "Sorry about that" to "Would you believe," no show before Get Smart introduced so many catchphrases into the national language, while Smart and his partner, Agent 99 (the ravishing Barbara Feldon), were perhaps TV's first "will they or won't they" couple. Brooks and Henry contribute separate commentaries for the black and white pilot episode, while Feldon provides commentary for another, and purrs introductions to each episode (beware plot spoilers). With Get Smart, you will be witness to some of TV's funniest moments, sharpest writing, and expertly-executed physical comedy. And… loving it. --Donald Liebenson

Product Description

Maxwell Smart is back... And loving it! And so is Agent 99, The Chief, Fang and the rest of the fearless Get Smart gang. Here is the legendary, Emmy Award-winning spy-spoof series inspired by the comic genius of Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, digitally resored, remastered and brought to you for the first time on DVD. Now it's easier than ever to out-smart the world's least secret...secret agent, in this cunningly funny 25-DVD collection, featuring all 138 original episodes of Get Smart! This Get Smart Giftset is a must-have collector's item!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

124 of 126 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Get it NOW ...now that's SMART! November 4, 2008

By Richardson TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

I paid twice as much to Time/Life a year ago for this as BestBuy has it today $109..and I don't feel ripped off at all...its worth every penny.
EACH season has a bonus DVD chock full of amazing stuff from commercials to appearances on other shows (Andy Williams) to numerous EMMY awards wins..and a fabulous ROAST of Don Adams...his Eulogy...goodness they did this thing right..and the packaging..WOW..even more fun and functional. This is the best set of a TV series I own and I own many. If you are only a casual fan I'd consider buying each season as they come out....they are cheap at $16 and do not have the bonus disc..which is essential viewing for true fans! The prints are great..each episode has an intro by beautiful Barbara Feldon (Agent 99) ...this is one of my treasures along with the Twilight Zone complete series. I've dipped into this over and over in the last year and have never once regretted the purchase. For a kid who grew up in that era its great on so many levels. With the economy as it is I felt compelled to review this set from the standpoint of value and I certainly think its a fabulous deal for fans.

117 of 127 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "The old spy in the spoof trick!" January 10, 2007

By E. A Solinas HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Smart. Maxwell Smart. The dumbest spy in the world, who fights on behalf of the forces of goodness and niceness, and succeeded in making democracy vs. communism a lot more entertaining. With the comic trio of Don Adams, Barbara Feldon and Edward Platt, this hilarious spy spoof is still funny today.

Don Adams is Agent 86, Maxwell Smart, a not-so-bright spy with an endless arsenal of strange devices and odd sayings. The bumbling spy at a top-secret government agency called Control, which is responsible for keeping the free world free. Backing him up is his beautiful partner/love interest Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) and his long-suffering Chief (Eward Platt) who puts up with Smart's constant mistakes.

Together with 99 (whom he marries late in the series), and the Chief (and his faithful dog Fang), Max battles the forces of badness and rottenness -- namely, the anti-Control called KAOS. They battle against their archnemesis Siegfried and a bunch of other KAOS agents, with explosive paintings, lovable robots, explosive pianos, evil hippies, and much more.

"Missed it by that much!" Maxwell Smart's catchphrases and goofy confidence made him the perfect antidote to the suave James Bond. Unlike Bond and similar movie spies, Max succeeds out of luck and bumbling more often than skill... but somehow, he still succeeds.

The comic timing is a little awkward at the very beginning, but rapidly gets its footing. What's really funny is the endless spoofery -- Max is given all sorts of weird gadgets, including the legendary "shoe-phone," and he faces off against all sorts of cartoonish villains. And it has dozens and dozens of movie spoofs -- "The Great Escape," "The Most Dangerous Game," "Maltese Falcon," "King Kong," and even the Bond movie "Goldfinger...."

The political clime of the mid 1960s is all over the series, especially in the form of KAOS. But fortunately they don't get preachy -- KAOS is merely a big evil organization, no more. Some references are dated, and this definitely debuted before the era of political correctness (there's a bizarre episode about American Indians threatening the US government, and the Claw is funny if un-PC).

Don Adams MAKES this series, with his quirky facial expressions, nasal voice and odd body language. His Max overestimates his own skill and believes himself to be a sexy, karate-chopping Bondian treasure, though he survives mostly by luck ("Missed it by that much!").

Barbara Feldon is the least quirky of the cast, serving as the "straight woman" for Max, as well as the brains for his adventures. Edward Platt is just wonderful as the long-suffering, stressed-out Chief, who always looks slightly frayed, and Bernie Kopell is hysterical as the stiff-backed, volatile Siegfried.

It should be noted that right now, the entire series is only available directly from Time Life, with a big price tag (I was lucky enough to watch a relative's copy). Wait until Fall 2007, and it will be widely available at a lower price. They're also exquisitely remastered, with all that sixties colour, and they've reinserted little bits that were cut for commercials. It actually improves the flow.

It's been decades since "Get Smart" was first aired, but it is still gutsplittingly funny. You'll roll around on the floor, laughing yourself sick... and... loving it. Read more ›

78 of 85 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The old spy in the spoof trick! August 27, 2008

By E. A Solinas HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Smart. Maxwell Smart. The dumbest spy in the world, who fights on behalf of the forces of goodness and niceness, and succeeded in making democracy vs. communism a lot more entertaining. With the comic trio of Don Adams, Barbara Feldon and Edward Platt, this hilarious spy spoof is still funny today.

Don Adams is Agent 86, Maxwell Smart, a not-so-bright spy with an endless arsenal of strange devices and odd sayings. The bumbling spy at a top-secret government agency called Control, which is responsible for keeping the free world free. Backing him up is his beautiful partner/love interest Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) and his long-suffering Chief (Eward Platt) who puts up with Smart's constant mistakes.

Together with 99 (whom he marries late in the series), and the Chief (and his faithful dog Fang), Max battles the forces of badness and rottenness -- namely, the anti-Control called KAOS, whose role it is to spread, ahem, chaos and mayhem across the globe when they're not trying to take out Control. They battle against their archnemesis Siegfried and a bunch of other KAOS agents, with explosive paintings, lovable robots, explosive pianos, giant magnets, assorted evil geniuses, femme fatales, evil hippies, doppelgangers (repeatedly!), aging paint, and much more. And despite his klutziness and bizarre problems, Max always somehow saves the day.

"Missed it by that much!" Maxwell Smart's catchphrases and goofy confidence made him the perfect antidote to the suave James Bond. Unlike Bond and similar movie spies, Max succeeds out of luck and bumbling more often than skill... but somehow, he still succeeds.

The comic timing is a little awkward at the very beginning, but rapidly gets its footing as soon as the formula for the series is established.... Every episode is packed with humor, ranging from several running jokes ("I ASKED you not to tell me that!") to hilarious little word gags ("Larabee, confiscate that plant!" "I can't do that, Chief. I'm not a priest"). And of course, lots of pratfalls, slamming doors and wacky fights, as well as Max's calm acceptance of the bizarre (holding a meeting of agents hiding in furniture) and the perpetually unlucky Agent 13 hiding in various disgusting, cramped and unpleasant locations.

What's really funny is the endless spoofery of the whole spy genre -- Max is given all sorts of weird gadgets, including the legendary "shoe-phone" (a shoe with a phone in it, as you might have guessed) and he faces off against all sorts of cartoonish villains, ranging from Germanic dictators to socialites to evil maids. And it has dozens and dozens of movie spoofs -- "The Great Escape," "The Most Dangerous Game," "Maltese Falcon," "King Kong," and even the Bond movie "Goldfinger."

The political clime of the mid 1960s is all over the series, especially in the form of KAOS -- they're very totalitarian, very pre-Cold War. But fortunately they don't get preachy -- KAOS is merely a big evil organization whose purpose it is to cause problems for our heroes to solve, even if it involves kidnapping all the Control agents as Max kidnaps all of theirs. Some references are dated, and this definitely debuted before the era of political correctness (there's a bizarre episode about American Indians threatening the US government, and the Claw is funny if un-PC).

As for the lead actor... Don Adams MAKES this series, with his quirky facial expressions, nasal voice and odd body language. His Max overestimates his own skill and believes himself to be a sexy, karate-chopping Bondian treasure, though he survives mostly by luck ("Missed it by that much!") and occasionally 99's more formidable brains. And there's also something endearingly childlike about Max's passion and enthusiasm, despite the fact that he's clearly very grown-up.

Barbara Feldon is the least quirky of the cast, serving as the "straight woman" for Max, as well as the brains for his adventures -- and while her role diminishes a little after they get married and have kids, she's still the stable axis of the series. And she manages to produce a lot of comedy just by playing off Max ("I can't see through the keyhole! There's something blocking it." "The KEY!"). The late Edward Platt is just wonderful as the long-suffering, stressed-out Chief, who always looks slightly frayed, and Bernie Kopell is hysterical as the stiff-backed, volatile Siegfried, who is constantly infuriated by his informal sidekick Shtarker.

It should be noted that all these episodes have been exquisitely remastered down to crisp, bright clarity, with all that sixties colour. And they've reinserted little bits that were cut for commercials in the old reruns. It actually improves the flow.

It's been decades since "Get Smart" was first aired, but it is still gutsplittingly funny. You'll roll around on the floor, laughing yourself sick... and... loving it. Would you believe... giggling and enjoying yourself? How about a snicker and a two-minute diversion? Read more ›

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Would you believe ... FINALLY out on DVD? December 15, 2006

By Michael K. Beusch VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

As a dedicated spy nut, I was ecstatic when I heard that Get Smart was being released on DVD at last. Even with the anticipation, the set still managed to exceed my expectations. The box is set up to look like the elevator Max disappears into during the title credits. In addition to sharp, bright and clean episode quality, each season is loaded with extras, including commentary from both Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, numerous documentaries, a touching clip from Don Adams' memorial service and commentary from Barbara Feldon before EACH EPISODE. The set also includes the black and white pilot episode which I had never seen before. In short, this sucker is loaded. Nick at Nite hasn't shown Get Smart for years now, so those of you going through advanced cases of Max and 99 withdrawl can have your Get Smart cravings satisfied forever with this great set. Here's hoping the set will soon be more widely available so Amazon can offer it at its usual rock-bottom price.