Get Smart, Again!
Encyclopedia
Get Smart, Again! is a made-for-TV movie based on the 1965-1970 NBC
/CBS
television series, Get Smart
!, which originally aired February 26, 1989 on ABC
(the network that rejected the original pilot for the Get Smart
! TV series). It has subsequently been released twice on DVD
by different publishers. In the video release of the movie, the laugh track
is absent.
, but was better received by fans of the original program. The Nude Bomb featured only four characters from the original TV show: Smart, Larrabee (played by Don Adams' cousin, Robert Karvelas
), The Chief (with Dana Elcar
replacing deceased Edward Platt
) and Agent 13 (Joey Forman
, replacing Dave Ketchum
; Forman had played Harry Hoo in the series); meanwhile, Get Smart, Again! featured all of the surviving original cast reprising their roles. The tone and feel of Get Smart, Again! were also closer to that of the 1960s TV series, especially as it was written and produced by Leonard Stern
, co-producer of the original Get Smart. It also ignored completely
the continuity established in The Nude Bomb, such as the renaming of CONTROL as PITS (Provisional Intelligence Tactical Service). (Although as CONTROL is said to have disbanded in the 1970s, it's not impossible for both CONTROL and PITS to co-exist in the Get Smart universe.) The twins (boy and girl) that 99 gave birth to in the late 60s were ignored in the film, but mentioned briefly in the TV-movie.
Barbara Feldon's character, 99, makes a reference to THRUSH, the evil organization in The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
, a show on which Feldon once guest-starred.
. In this case, however, the corridors were covered in cobwebs and the phone-booth elevator that led to CONTROL headquarters worked in reverse, causing Smart to be thrown to the top of the booth.
), acting as a protocol officer since CONTROL
was disbanded in the early 1970s, is reactivated as a counterintelligence agent by Commander Drury (Kenneth Mars
) of the United States Intelligence Agency. KAOS, long considered defunct, has been revitalized by a corporate takeover. Its first scheme involves turning a forgotten American scientist and using his weather control machine to extort $
250 billion from the United States Government. (This plot is similar to the one used in the 1990s Avengers movie, another film based on a 1960s TV spy series.)
Drury, convinced that only Smart has the expertise to combat KAOS, gives him carte blanche to reactivate former CONTROL agents to assist him in his task. Along with Drury's bumbling aide, Beamish (Steve Levitt
), Smart recruits Larrabee (who, believing that he was under orders from Richard Nixon
to stay at his post until relieved, has been living in his office in the now-abandoned CONTROL headquarters tending his office plants), Agent 13, Hymie the Robot (now employed as a crash test dummy
) and ultimately, his wife 99 (Barbara Feldon) to find the security leak that allowed the scientist to defect, locate the weather machine and disarm it. They are opposed by a KAOS mole (John de Lancie
) within the USIA, who is able to predict Max's every move with the aid of stolen copies of 99's unpublished memoirs.
The visible head of the KAOS scheme is revealed to be Max's old nemesis, Siegfried (Bernie Kopell
), but he is merely the agent of a higher executive whom even he has never met. This new leader is finally revealed as Nicholas Demente (Harold Gould
), 99's publisher, who intends not only to extort the money but also to create weather that will keep people eternally indoors and interfere with television reception, forcing millions of Americans to entertain themselves by buying Demente's books and publications. Max, 99, and Beamish infiltrate KAOS with the aide of Siegfried's twin brother Doctor Helmut Schmelding. After defeating Demente's henchmen with medieval weaponry, the CONTROL agents kill Demente with his own weather machine. Max and 99 celebrate by causing it to snow.
-style sight gags (such as a duel between Max and a KAOS hitman using remote controlled file cabinet drawers). The film also features the array of bizarre gadgetry and political satire that were hallmarks of the original series. The Cone of Silence has been replaced by "Hover Cover" where a meeting is held on a rooftop with three helicopters hovering overhead. The failure of Hover Cover leads to the development of "The Hall Of Hush", a soundproofed room where words print out silently in mid air, a success at first until the words begin to print forward, backward and on top of each other. (The original Cone of Silence now hangs over Max and 99's bed.)
weekly series on FOX
, also titled Get Smart
, with Don Adams and Barbara Feldon reprising their characters as their bumbling son, Zach (Andy Dick
), becomes CONTROL's star agent. (Zach's unnamed twin sister is not seen in the new show.)
The show also starred Elaine Hendrix
as Zach's sexy partner, Agent 66, and Heather Morgan as Max's secretary, Trudy, who is convinced she works for a talent agent.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
/CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television series, Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
!, which originally aired February 26, 1989 on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
(the network that rejected the original pilot for the Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
! TV series). It has subsequently been released twice on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by different publishers. In the video release of the movie, the laugh track
Laugh track
A laugh track is a separate soundtrack invented by Charles "Charley" Douglass, with the artificial sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into television programming of comedy shows and sitcoms.The term "laugh track" does not apply to the genuine audience laughter on shows that shoot in...
is absent.
Differences between Get Smart, Again! and The Nude Bomb
The film is not as well-known as the earlier theatrical release, 1980's The Nude BombThe Nude Bomb
The Nude Bomb is a 1980 comedy film based on the television series Get Smart. It starred Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, and was directed by Clive Donner...
, but was better received by fans of the original program. The Nude Bomb featured only four characters from the original TV show: Smart, Larrabee (played by Don Adams' cousin, Robert Karvelas
Robert Karvelas
Robert Karvelas was an American actor who was notable for his role as the Chief's dense assistant, Larrabee, on the 1960s sitcom Get Smart. He was Don Adams' cousin....
), The Chief (with Dana Elcar
Dana Elcar
Dana Elcar was an American television and movie character actor. Although he appeared in about 40 films, his most memorable role was on the 1980s and 1990s television series MacGyver as Peter Thornton, an administrator working for the Phoenix Foundation...
replacing deceased Edward Platt
Edward Platt
Edward Cuthbert Platt was an American actor best known for his portrayal of "The Chief" in the 1965-70 NBC/CBS television series Get Smart...
) and Agent 13 (Joey Forman
Joey Forman
Joey Forman was an American comedian and comic actor. He first attracted attention in Las Vegas as the opening act for Mickey Rooney...
, replacing Dave Ketchum
Dave Ketchum
Dave Ketchum may refer to:*Dave 'Thumper' Ketchum, drummer for Coney Hatch*Dave Ketchum , actor on Get Smart...
; Forman had played Harry Hoo in the series); meanwhile, Get Smart, Again! featured all of the surviving original cast reprising their roles. The tone and feel of Get Smart, Again! were also closer to that of the 1960s TV series, especially as it was written and produced by Leonard Stern
Leonard B. Stern
Leonard Bernard Stern was an American screenwriter, film and television producer, director, and one of the creators, with Roger Price, of the classic word game Mad Libs.-Life and career:...
, co-producer of the original Get Smart. It also ignored completely
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
the continuity established in The Nude Bomb, such as the renaming of CONTROL as PITS (Provisional Intelligence Tactical Service). (Although as CONTROL is said to have disbanded in the 1970s, it's not impossible for both CONTROL and PITS to co-exist in the Get Smart universe.) The twins (boy and girl) that 99 gave birth to in the late 60s were ignored in the film, but mentioned briefly in the TV-movie.
Barbara Feldon's character, 99, makes a reference to THRUSH, the evil organization in The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
, a show on which Feldon once guest-starred.
Theme music
Get Smart, Again! also reprises the TV program's original theme music and opening credit sequence, which were absent from The Nude BombThe Nude Bomb
The Nude Bomb is a 1980 comedy film based on the television series Get Smart. It starred Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, and was directed by Clive Donner...
. In this case, however, the corridors were covered in cobwebs and the phone-booth elevator that led to CONTROL headquarters worked in reverse, causing Smart to be thrown to the top of the booth.
Synopsis
Maxwell Smart (Don AdamsDon Adams
Don Adams was an American actor, comedian and director. In his five decades on television, he was best known as Maxwell Smart in the television situation comedy Get Smart , which he also sometimes directed and wrote. Adams won three consecutive Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Smart...
), acting as a protocol officer since CONTROL
Control
Control is the ability to purposefully direct, or suppress, change.Control can also refer to:-Literature:*Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, "Control" was the head of the Circus, a stand-in for MI-6, in the 1974 British spy novel by John le Carré...
was disbanded in the early 1970s, is reactivated as a counterintelligence agent by Commander Drury (Kenneth Mars
Kenneth Mars
Kenneth Mars was an American television, movie, and voice actor. He may be best-remembered for his roles in several Mel Brooks films: the insane Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in 1968's The Producers, and the relentless Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Fredrich Kemp in 1974's Young Frankenstein...
) of the United States Intelligence Agency. KAOS, long considered defunct, has been revitalized by a corporate takeover. Its first scheme involves turning a forgotten American scientist and using his weather control machine to extort $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
250 billion from the United States Government. (This plot is similar to the one used in the 1990s Avengers movie, another film based on a 1960s TV spy series.)
Drury, convinced that only Smart has the expertise to combat KAOS, gives him carte blanche to reactivate former CONTROL agents to assist him in his task. Along with Drury's bumbling aide, Beamish (Steve Levitt
Steve Levitt (actor)
Steve Levitt is an American actor who has appeared in films and on television. He is best known for his role in the 1987 movie Hunk as Bradley Brinkman and a recurring role in the Showtime TV series The Paper Chase....
), Smart recruits Larrabee (who, believing that he was under orders from Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
to stay at his post until relieved, has been living in his office in the now-abandoned CONTROL headquarters tending his office plants), Agent 13, Hymie the Robot (now employed as a crash test dummy
Crash test dummy
Crash test dummies are full-scale anthropomorphic test devices that simulate the dimensions, weight proportions and articulation of the human body, and are usually instrumented to record data about the dynamic behavior of the ATD in simulated vehicle impacts...
) and ultimately, his wife 99 (Barbara Feldon) to find the security leak that allowed the scientist to defect, locate the weather machine and disarm it. They are opposed by a KAOS mole (John de Lancie
John de Lancie
John de Lancie is an American actor. He has been active in screen and television roles since 1977, though he is best known for his recurring role as Q on the various Star Trek series and as Frank Simmons in Stargate SG-1....
) within the USIA, who is able to predict Max's every move with the aid of stolen copies of 99's unpublished memoirs.
The visible head of the KAOS scheme is revealed to be Max's old nemesis, Siegfried (Bernie Kopell
Bernie Kopell
Bernard Morton "Bernie" Kopell is an American television character actor who is probably best known for his roles as Dr. Adam Bricker in The Love Boat and KAOS agent Siegfried in Get Smart...
), but he is merely the agent of a higher executive whom even he has never met. This new leader is finally revealed as Nicholas Demente (Harold Gould
Harold Gould
Harold V. Goldstein , best known by his stage name Harold Gould, was an American actor best known for playing Martin Morgenstern in the 1970s sitcoms Rhoda and The Mary Tyler Moore Show and as Miles Webber in The Golden Girls...
), 99's publisher, who intends not only to extort the money but also to create weather that will keep people eternally indoors and interfere with television reception, forcing millions of Americans to entertain themselves by buying Demente's books and publications. Max, 99, and Beamish infiltrate KAOS with the aide of Siegfried's twin brother Doctor Helmut Schmelding. After defeating Demente's henchmen with medieval weaponry, the CONTROL agents kill Demente with his own weather machine. Max and 99 celebrate by causing it to snow.
Comedic style
The script is littered with typical Maxwell Smart verbal gags, and large portions of the plot serve only as set-ups for Get Smart!Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
-style sight gags (such as a duel between Max and a KAOS hitman using remote controlled file cabinet drawers). The film also features the array of bizarre gadgetry and political satire that were hallmarks of the original series. The Cone of Silence has been replaced by "Hover Cover" where a meeting is held on a rooftop with three helicopters hovering overhead. The failure of Hover Cover leads to the development of "The Hall Of Hush", a soundproofed room where words print out silently in mid air, a success at first until the words begin to print forward, backward and on top of each other. (The original Cone of Silence now hangs over Max and 99's bed.)
1995 revival
The relative success of the film prompted the development of a short-lived 19951995 in television
The year 1995 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1995.For the American TV schedule, see: 1995-96 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
weekly series on FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, also titled Get Smart
Get Smart (1995 TV series)
Get Smart is a short-lived American comedy television series that aired in 1995 on FOX. The series was a sequel to the original Get Smart television series that ran from 1965 to 1970. The series premiered on January 8, 1995 and ended its original run on February 19, 1995.-Overview:Maxwell Smart is...
, with Don Adams and Barbara Feldon reprising their characters as their bumbling son, Zach (Andy Dick
Andy Dick
Andrew R. "Andy" Dick is an American comedian, actor, musician and television/film producer. His first regular television role was on the short-lived but highly influential Ben Stiller Show. In the mid-1990s, he had a long-running stint on NBC's NewsRadio...
), becomes CONTROL's star agent. (Zach's unnamed twin sister is not seen in the new show.)
The show also starred Elaine Hendrix
Elaine Hendrix
Elaine Hendrix is an American actress, producer, singer, dancer, and activist. She is best known for her roles in the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, Inspector Gadget 2, and the 2004 documentary What the Bleep Do We Know!?....
as Zach's sexy partner, Agent 66, and Heather Morgan as Max's secretary, Trudy, who is convinced she works for a talent agent.
See also
- The TV Series Get SmartGet SmartGet Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
- Get Smart 2008 movie