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The original Smart Phone |
It's true. The show that introduced Maxwell Smart, Secret Agent 86, to the world is reaching its fiftieth anniversary this month. And since the only thing I know being done to celebrate this event is a release of the episodes on digital download (cool, but since I've already got everything on DVD, it means little to me), I figure I need to do something to ensure that this occasion is remembered.
For those who don't know, Get Smart is a spoof of the secret agent genre most typified (at least, at the time the show premiered in the 1960s) by James Bond, although the gags are by no means limited to Bond pastiches. Maxwell Smart, played to bumbling perfection by Don Adams, was a secret agent working for the supposedly-super secret organization called CONTROL (although, as one episode revealed, the local telephone operator knew all about them). In most episodes, Max would be assigned to thwart some evil scheme perpetrated by the evil KAOS organization. Although Max was a bit of a dunce and a klutz, his dedication to the job could never be called into question, and he would inevitably foil KAOS' plans by the end of each story.
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Most of these revivals have received a lukewarm reception at best (I think I can safely say that the ABC movie was an exception to this rule), causing some to wonder if the magic of the original series can ever be captured again. Truly, it came at a particular point in history where the cultural realities and technological capabilities of the era combined with the specific writing and comedic talents of its creators to make something special, and when any element of that formula is changed, the question of whether the new combination will work is up in the air.
Whether or not Get Smart can (or should) be revived to its former popularity, it is a show that any serious student of pop culture would do well to seek out. You'll be reliving a show that millions of people have enjoyed before you...
...And loving it!
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