Spy fiction parody from The Sixties created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. Definitely a Sitcom. It starred Don Adams as CONTROL agent 86 Maxwell Smart, a bungling but perpetually optimistic secret agent who often managed to save the day and defeat the bad guys almost despite himself, and Barbara Feldon as his partner, Agent 99, a slighty daffy Mata Hari. They received their assignments from CONTROL's hapless chief.Offered a tremendous number of Catch Phrases, largely at the insistence of star Don Adams, who knew they would help make the series succeed. The series ran from September 1965 to September 1970, a total of 138 episodes in five seasons, with the first four airing on NBC and the fifth on CBS. Was revived three times:
Get Smart, Again!, a 1989 TV movie following the adventures of old, married, retired Max and 99.
A short-lived 1995 revival series focusing on one of their twin offspring (played by Andy Dick) following in Max's footsteps. Don Adams and Barbara Feldon were still around, except this time Max was Da Chief, running CONTROL.
Actually Not A Vampire: In "Weekend Vampire", the eponymous vampire isn't a vampire, he uses a musical blowgun to blow two small Poison Darts that he aims at his victim's neck. But he still has a Creepy Castle and uses a coffin as a bed (and secret stairway to his underground lair).
Adipose Rex: The episode "Survival of the Fattest" featured a fat Arab prince who had to maintain his weight to maintain his rulership.
Almost Dead Guy: Spoofed regularly, usually along the lines of Max leaning over to hear the dying man's Last Words.
Armed Legs: The sea captain in "Ship of Spies" had a gun concealed in his wooden leg. He had a spare leg that contained a hidden blade.
Art Attacker: One villain uses "Dorian Gray" paint: he retouches photos of his victims (adding gray hairs and wrinkles) to make them rapidly age and die.
Banana Peel: A major clue in the black and white pilot is a rubber banana peel.
Big Little Man: In the pilot episode, KAOS is run by the mysterious "Mister Big" (as opposed to Siegfried). It's only when Mr Big and Maxwell Smart are in the same room do we realise that Mr Big is actually a dwarf.
In the 1980's Get Smart movie The Nude Bomb, Max puts his gun in his pants. It goes off, he turns around, you hear the sound of him pulling his zipper down and up again, and he then turns around again with his Catch Phrase "Missed it by that much". Oddly enough NBC dubbed in "Missed the bone by that much" which oddly sounds dirtier than the original.
The episode "Washington 4, Redskins 3" had its title changed to "Washington 4, Indians 3" for reruns and for the DVD, also curing a bit of Fridge Logic in the process. The only pro sports team, then or now, called the Redskins was the NFL's Washington Redskins. The replacement title makes more sense, evoking a game between Washington's baseball team at the time, the Senators, and the Cleveland Indians.
Breakup Breakout: For Don Adams and Bernie Koppell. The others... not so much.
The Cameo: Various stars appeared on the show, but one that stands out is Johnny Carson doing a rare guest-acting turn as the conductor on the episode "Aboard the Orient Express".
"Would you believe...", a more complex one that signals a form of inverted Inflationary Dialogue. For example:
Max: At the moment, seven Coast Guard cutters are converging on us. Would you believe it? Seven. Villain: I find that hard to believe. Max: Would you believe six? Villain: I don't think so. Max: How about two cops in a rowboat?
In one late episode, it was subverted in that the Chief actually HAD surrounded the building with CONTROL agents!
"[insulting crack about x]"; Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...; "I hope I wasn't out of line with that [insulting crack about x]..."
"...and loving it."
"Oh, Max..."
"That's the second biggest [whatever] I've ever seen."
"That's the second time I've [occasionally they've] fallen for that this month/week/year!"
"99, don't tell me [something bad has happened or is about to happen]" "[Statement of that explicit thing which has happened or is about to happen.]" "I asked you not to tell me that, 99."
[after an Expodump] "Would you mind repeating that last bit?", "Which bit?", "That bit after 'Ok, now listen here, Max...'"
"Of course, the old [incredibly specific description of what just happened] trick!"
Variants of the following conversation:
Max: Wait a minute, chief. Isn't this classified information? The Chief: Yes, Max. Max: Shouldn't we activate the Cone of Silence? The Chief: Max, do we have to?
Common responses from Max being "I demand the Cone of Silence!" and reminding the Chief about CONTROL regulations. (The joke, of course, is that the Cone of Silence never works).
Chekhov's Gunman: In Tequila Mockingbird, a figure wearing a sombrero can be seen slumped against a wall before the climax. When a shootout starts, the man turns out to be the Chief when he pulls a gun.
Chekhov's Skill: Early in "The Hot Line", the Chief breaks a mirror with his voice. He later uses this skill to break the glasses of a KAOS agent holding him, Max, and 99 hostage.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: In the short-lived 90's revival, right at the end of the Cold War and before the War on Terror, KAOS didn't have anything to be but an evil, mostly-legitimate business out to rule the world through financial domination.
Crazy-Prepared: Max apparently keeps plastic lips on his person at all times, just in case some beautiful KAOS killer tries to kiss him with poisoned lipstick.
Cyanide Pill: "It will kill in nine seconds." "But how do I get them to take it?"
In one episode, KAOS and CONTROL have pretty much captured all the agents from the other team. Max and Siegfried meet to discuss trading. As they strip themselves of their weapons, Max pulls out a Cyanide pill, says it's "Raspberry flavored this month," and offers Siegfried a taste. Siegfried counters that he has a suicide ring: If he takes it off, his wife will kill him.
In another episode Max admits he's taken Cyanide Pills, but "only two or three times, as a favor to the Chief."
Disappearing Box: The Chief is captured in this way in the episode "A Spy For A Spy".
D.I.Y. Disaster: Maxwell Smart would have cars with crossed wiring, so a button meant to operate one thing instead operated another. His apartment was also crosswired that way. This turned out to be a subversion, since only Max knew which switch did what, meaning he alone could effectively negotiate his own home.
Drugged Lipstick: Once a bad girl wears some and tries to kiss Max; once 99 wears some and uses it to knock out (not kill) a bad guy who was about to kill her and Max.
Dueling Scar: Siegfried has a large scar on his cheek, revealed in The Movie to be from a duel with his brother in Heidelberg.
Enemy Mine: On one episode Max Smart from CONTROL and Siegfried from KAOS team up against a man conspiring to destroy the world, since if he succeeded they would have nothing to fight about and would be out of a job.
Face Palm: The Chief grasps the bridge of his nose with his fingers whenever Max does something egregiously stupid. Max is puzzled that the Chief seems to get headaches so frequently whenever he's around.
Flirting Under Fire: In a late episode, Max and 99 are caught in a death-trap with no apparent means of escape. Thinking they are about to die, Max realizes that he's in love with 99 and declares that if they could get out he'd marry her. She immediately thinks of a way to escape and they get married a few episodes later.
Guile Hero: While Max does have occasional moments of genius, 99 fits this trope to a T. Max was (usually) the better hand-to-hand combatant, but 99 almost always had a good idea to hand.
Heel Face Mole: Siegfried tried this in one episode, going so far as turn his own sister in to CONTROL. His actual plan was stopped by Max at the last minute.
Likewise, in two episodes ("Double Agent" and "Cutback at CONTROL") Max becomes a Heel Face Mole.
Hollywood Magnetism: Sigfried used a giant magnet to pull the entire Seventh Fleet to his island.
I Can't Hear You: The Cone of Silence is meant to keep anything said while it's lowered strictly confidential. This it does very well, provided that the other guy in the Cone is the guy you want to keep secrets from. Nevertheless, it does have its uses; in one episode, Smart mentions he likes when the Chief uses the Cone in hot weather, because it's twenty degrees cooler inside.
Max is meeting his contact in a record store, so he plays a record up high in case they're being bugged. They end up shouting so loudly everyone in the store can hear what they're saying.
I Don't Pay You to Think: In "Smart the Assassin," Devonshire tells someone "KAOS doesn't pay you to think, you men were sent here to obey."
Inflationary Dialogue: Maxwell Smart is a big fan of these. It usually starts with him telling something impressive. As the other party finds it hard to believe, he changes it to a slightly less impressive, asking if they'd believe that. As they don't, he changes it to something lame.
Invincible Incompetent: Max. He once disarmed an atomic bomb by getting his tie stuck in the timer.
Irony: In an episode when the Chief gets demoted and Max ends up in his position, Max comments on the former Chief's work with the line "Give a man an inch, and he immediately thinks he's a ruler." The irony is such a statement only applies to Max himself.
Knife Throwing Act: Max is going undercover in a circus when his identity is blown. The circus strongman seizes him while the knife-thrower chucks his knives, but as he's trained himself to just miss the target they miss Max and stick in the arms of the strongman holding him. Max naturally responds with his Catch Phrase, "Missed me by that much!"
Let's Get Dangerous: As bumbling Max is, when it's do or die with the world in the balance, he can become unstoppable saving the day.
Like A Son To Me: While under the influence of Truth Serum in the episode "Smartacus," the Chief tells Max this is the only reason he hasn't fired him.
Mad Libs Catch Phrase: "That's the second [adjective]est [noun] I've ever seen!" and "This is KAOS! We don't [action] here!"
Meaningful Name: 86 means "to decimate", reflecting how destructive Max tends to be.
More like "cancel" or "terminate", which still fits the point. "Decimate" is closer to "thin out the ranks".
86 as a slang term comes from New York State Liquor Code 86 which allows a patron to be refused service or "removed from the premises.
The reason why the third spy network was called ACB is as easy to see as ABC.
Inverted in the case of Fang. Co-Creator Buck Henry has stated that he insisted that the dog's agent number NOT be K-9.
Motorcycle Jousting: In "The Mild Ones", Max has to infiltrate a biker gang called the Purple Knights. The initiation test is jousting on motorcycles.
Mutual Masquerade: In "The Double Agent", Smart is assigned to infiltrate a KAOS cell which turns out to consist entirely of other double agents, the real KAOS man who founded it having since died.
The Chief's first name is given as Thaddeus eventually, although his last name remains a mystery. However, he frequently uses the alias "Harold Clark".
99, too - it's a running gag. In one episode where she was about to marry a KAOS agent Agent 99 says her name is Susan Hilton...then later when Max calls her Susan tells him that was an alias. In another episode Max calls her by a name and 99 replies he never used that name for her..."...if only that was my name!" When Max and 99 are married, when they're about to say 99's name, the camera cuts away to a man snoring on the floor when it's said.
And in the last season, the Smarts being married at least a whole year, someone asks Max why he called her '99'; he matter-of-factly replies "I don't know her name."
In the sequel, 99 has been elected to Congress... and her name is STILL withheld from the viewers.
Max: But even if they do get a man into the Pentagon, that's not saying he'll be able to get out. I remember one of our own agents was lost in there for three days. Chief: Three days? Max, no agent could be that confused. Max: Well, let me see now. I went in there on a Thursday...
Then again, The Pentagon has a total of 17.5 miles (28.2 km) of corridors... with a very confusing layout. Some of those corridors turn out to be ramps, and before you know it, you're a floor up from where you need to be...
Obfuscating Disability: The crippled Portugese polo player in "Ship of Spies". Who "isn't crippled, isn't Portugese, and probably isn't even a polo player."
Max: But even if they do get a man into the Pentagon, that's not saying he'll be able to get out. I remember one of our own agents was lost in there for three days. Chief: Three days? Max, no agent could be that confused. Max: Well, let me see now. I went in there on a Thursday...
Playing Drunk: Max has to pretend to be an alcoholic in one episode. He is issued a pill to keep under his tongue that absorbs all the alcohol he drinks. As he puts it, "I'll look drunk, act drunk, even smell drunk, but I'll be stone sober!" Then he accidentally swallows the pill, causing all the alcohol it absorbed to be introduced into his system at once.
Buck Henry: While writing the pilot episode, it took all the restraint I could muster to keep from calling Fang 'Agent K-9'.
Prison Episode: In "The Not-So-Great Escape" two-parter, CONTROL agents are being kidnapped and held in a KAOS prison (located in New Jersey). Max goes undercover as a KAOS official, but after getting found out, he leads repeated breakout attempts.
Public Secret Message: The Chief (disguised as a singing waiter) communicates a message to Max and 99 by slipping code phrases into the song he is singing.
Punch Clock Villain: This also came up in one of the books, when it turned out that KAOS' sinister "Doomsday Plan" was in fact the "Dooms Day Plan" — that is, a retirement party for longtime KAOS agent Arthur Dooms.
Max: "Where I come from, we have a saying. 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall.'" Fires off a judo chop, two body blows, and a punch to the jaw that have no effect
Max: "Haven't heard of that one, eh? Well, maybe you know this one. 'The quality of mercy is not strained...'"
Slept Through the Apocalypse: Larabee apparently remained at CONTROL headquarters after it was shut down sometime after the cancellation of the original series until Max picked him up partway through Get Smart, Again, having failed to notice that CONTROL had been disbanded. He did this because he had been given an executive order to remain at his post. This order had been issued by President Nixon. The movie takes place at either the very end of the Reagan administration or the very beginning of the G. H. W. Bush administration.
Title Drop: Often at the end of the episode's intro.
Theme Tune Cameo: At the end of Part 2 of "The Not So Great Escape".
Ultimate Job Security: Max does not fear being fired. If he is, CONTROL's seniority regulations will force the Chief to promote Larabee into Max's job.
The Walls Are Closing In: Max and 99 fall into and escape this trap in "Dr. Yes". It was in a mobile home, so the trap was portable, too.
Weird Trade Union: Both CONTROL and KAOS agents have unions. KAOS agents have a better union, or at least one able to give them better benefits. This becomes a plot point a number of times. Imagine CIA agents going on strike for greater benefits!
Wimp Fight: In the 1989 TV movie, a sidekick and a Mook grab decorative swords to fight each other, but they can barely lift them above waist level.
With My Hands Tied: Played with in one episode, where Max and his friend Sid are shackled by their hands in front of a deathtrap. Max frees himself by releasing the fake hands that were bound by the shackles.
Sid: "Oh, the old false-hands-in-the-chain trick!"
Worthy Opponent: Hinted between Siegfried and Max: whenever the two meet, Siegfried always gives Max a formal salute to which he replies (usually damaging his Shoe Phone in the process).
Yellow Face: Most notably, Leonard Strong as "The Craw".
Also Joey Forman as "Harry Hoo".
Yiddish as a Second Language: The entire show can be taken as a riff on Jewish stereotypes of the time being applied to the spy genre - almost everything from the name of the robot (Hymie) to Max's "Would you believe...?" is, in essence, taken straight from the Yiddish-speaking Borscht Belt comedians.
Actually, Adams had already used the "Would you believe...?" shtick for his character on the Bill Dana Show.
No surprise at all, given that the show was created by the great Mel Brooks.
You Are Number Six: Both agents, but applies to 99 much more than 86, given that the former's real name is never said once in the whole series.
The 1995 sequel series provides examples of:
Banana Peel: Zach finds one at the scene of KAOS's latest crime, takes it to his father's office for his debriefing, and discards it on the floor when he's done. His father's secretary points out that it ought to be picked up before someone slips on it, then moments later slips on it herself.
Generation Xerox: Zach Smart is a bumbling CONTROL agent who has romantic tension with his glamorous female partner, Agent 66. Also, in one episode the villain turns out to be the daughter of Siegfried.
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