Created by Mel Brooks + Buck Henry
USA 1965-70
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Consistently incompetent, often lucky and always endearing is the character of secret agent Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) in the classic and hilarious sitcom/spy spoof "Get Smart" that debuted in 1965 and ran, eventually bouncing around to all three major networks in its short 5 year history. The show's often brilliant humor, certainly unique for 60's television, escalated its devout following to have many judge it as one of the best shows ever put on the tube. It runs popularly in syndication to this day.
Perhaps part of the shows post-cancellation success was how it remains consistently funny even after multiple viewings. It could be some of the best work and writing of co-creators Brooks and Henry. Adams defined the role of 'Max' and made it his own with generous support from Platt, Feldon and the likes of Kopell, Ketchum and Gautier. It really was a special and nostalgic time introducing a cynical biting edge of humor while still maintaining much of the positive-ness of the 60's. I am thrilled to have this entire series on DVD. It was my 2006 Christmas present to myself. |
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TV Premiere: September 18th 1965
DVD Review: HBO - Region 1 - NTSC
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CLICK to order from:
NOTE: This is currently only being sold on Amazon by third party profiteers - see our text below. |
| Distribution | HBO - Region 1 - NTSC | |
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On August 5, 2008 HBO Home Video are releasing Season One through Amazon HERE. From the looks of the cover posted it appears to be the exact package from the Complete Series reviewed on this page. If so, this amounts to a pretty strong deal with 30 episodes and commentaries but without the fifth disc of supplements - price-wise it is far more reasonable than the entire package.
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| Runtime | Approx 57.5 hours of Get Smart plus 9 hours of bonus material. | |
| Video | 1.33:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.0 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
| Subtitles | None | |
| Features |
Release Information: Edition Details: • Audio
Commentaries by co-creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, Barbara Feldon,
Don Rickles, Bill Dana (Agent Quigley) and others. • Introductions
by Barbra Feldon |
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Comments: |
NOTE: On August 5, 2008 HBO Home Video are releasing Season One through Amazon HERE. From the looks of the cover posted - it appears to be the exact package minus the 5th disc of extras (4 discs of 30 episodes) from the Complete Series reviewed on this page. If so, this amounts to a pretty strong deal with 30 episodes and some commentaries for less than $20. If this is the case for all 5 season boxsets (5X$18 = $90) - it is a far better deal than buying the costly entire collection at upwards of $200 just for the fifth DVD (X 5). If we note that this is somehow different - we will post here.
*** This package from Time/Life is incredible. Far beyond the hopes of any of Get Smart's massive cultish following. It is 5 separate boxsets containing 5 DVDs each with usually 8 episodes on each dual-layered disc and a 5th DVD per boxset of extras.
That is 25 DVDs covering all 138 episodes (see list at the bottom of this review). The complete series. Generously Time/Warner have added over 9 hours of supplements (audio commentaries, featurettes, bloopers, interviews, etc. etc.). This is the earliest contender for DVD of the Year - 2007, although I admittedly received mine in late 2006 (not completing my viewing till 2007).
Now - our advice on buying this: I don't suggest using the third party profiteers from Amazon as they are tending to double and triple the actual available price from the Time/Life website. We have also received email from patrons of the Time/Warner site that are not overly happy with the customer service that they have received. I would expect that very soon Amazon.com themselves will sell this item - surely one of the more popular so far from 2007. We will post on our homepage and in this review when they do.
The image and audio are both stronger than I would have anticipated. Certain episodes look a bit darker than others, but still probably as good - or better, than I ever saw them on television. The only black mark on the set would be a lack of optional subtitles whose absence is actually more-or-less standard for TV-to-DVD these days. No one bothers to do it as it can be quite costly. Understandable.
The extras are vast and I enjoyed the commentaries and especially the blooper reels. Some of the interview and featurette supplements have minor overlaps but it is not extensive enough to make a case over.
Bottom line: For those keen on this show, this escalates to essential status. From the telephone booth packaging to beautifully designed animated menus to the keen and well-thought out digital extras - this is one of the most complete boxset collections that I own. Absolutely tremendous!
'Watching Get Smart at my leisure .... and... loving it!' |
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Sample Supplements
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| DVD Box Cover |
|
CLICK to order from:
NOTE: This is currently only being sold on Amazon by third party profiteers - see our text below. |
| Distribution | HBO - Region 1 - NTSC | |
|
|
On August 5, 2008 HBO Home Video are releasing Season One through Amazon HERE. From the looks of the cover posted it appears to be the exact package from the Complete Series reviewed on this page. If so, this amounts to a pretty strong deal with 30 episodes and some super supplements.
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| EPISODES Season 1, Episode 1: Mr Big |
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Gary Tooze 1775 Rowntree Court Mississauga, Ontario, L4W 4V3 CANADA |
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