Get Smart

Don Adams died earlier this week. September 25th, to be exact. The phrase "I asked you not to tell me that" came to mind. And that got me to thinking of other catch phrases from the show, like "I missed him by that much" or maybe "Would you believe...."

I was quite surprised at the richness of my memories of Get Smart when I read those phrases. It's like I could hear them again as I did when I was a kid. Bob Denver's death last week didn't affect me very much but maybe that was because Gilligan's Island wasn't nearly as interesting a show.

Get Smart ran for 5 seasons and began in 1965 when I was 4 years old so I was 9 when it ended. The shows I remember so well were probably all from the last couple of years.

At left are Agent 86 (Max), the Chief and Agent 99 (whose name is never given on the show).


HBO is supposed to be releasing DVDs of the shows in 2006 but they aren't being shown on television now. At least not nationally in the US. They are being broadcast in several other countries--I hope the world forgives us. LOL Fond as my recollections are of Get Smart, it was quite a silly show. For example: "Zis is KAOS, we don't Dududu here"

Or the gimmicky items like the shoe phones illustrated in this picture or the phone booth that hid an elevator. Of course this was all spoofing the spy movies of the 60s like James Bond and the 007 legend.

Wow. Seeing those 1969 era television sets really takes me back. Color tvs were just becoming widely available and affordable around then.
This is from Wikipedia:
As late as 1964 only 3.1 percent of television households in the U.S. had a color set. The number of color television sets sold in the U.S. did not exceed black and white sales until 1972, which was also the first year that more than fifty percent of television households in the U.S. had a color set.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Utenzi, "Get Smart" was one of my favorite shows of all time. I remember it well, and all of those great lines stayed with me, such as "I asked you not to tell me that". Michele sent me this time.
utenzi said…
It was a very easy show to enjoy, Judy. Especially as a kid since so much of the humor was quite open even to the very young.

By the way, the Blogger problem I referred to was it not loading due to maintenance for an hour around 7pm EST.
Anonymous said…
Hi Utenzi. Michele sent me.
I was born in 65, so Get Smart was off the air by the time I was old enough to be aware of what was on the air. I only saw it a few times, but I enjoyed the ones I saw. I loved Gilligan's Island, though!
Anonymous said…
It seems you've made a transition from bugs to TV in recent weeks Utenzi! You're gonna get square eyes if you keep sitting in front of the tube. :o)
Anonymous said…
I liked this show too. Not as much as Gilligan but I wanted to be Agent 99 when I grew up. She was so cool. Didn't they have twins on the show? did they ever marry?
Anonymous said…
I used to watch this show on Nick-at-Nite when I was a kid. Like you, I can still hear his tag lines in my head....
Anonymous said…
Thanks for such a great post! Being a child of the 60s, i adored Max and 99...my favorite was "Himey" the robot agent!
utenzi said…
Michelle, surely you're kidding. You look like you can't be more than 30. No way you date back to the 60s!

Aaron, it's weird how vividly I remember the way they talked on the show. Especially Don Adams, though Feldon's voice was VERY nice too. LOL

Keb & Blond Girl, Gilligan?? *cringe* You're right about the twins, Keb.
Anonymous said…
I watched that show too sometimes. I'm sure the syndicated version. ;)
Have a great weekend!
Lois Lane
Anonymous said…
I was home sick yesterday and I wathced a special about his life. He looked so different as he got old. I used to love that show also.

P.s Michele sent me.
Anonymous said…
I didn't grow up in the Get Smart generation, but thanks to Nick at Nite I got to experience all of those great old shows, and grew up loving Maxwell Smart as well as Inspector Gadget!

What a great memorial to a great talent. Michele sent me :)
Anonymous said…
Sorry, not my generation but I enjoyed your post nontheless.

BTW, Michele sent me
utenzi said…
Lois, you're never going to let me forget that, are you? I'm surprised with as many things on your mind you even remembered.

Day by Day, I hope you're feeling better today.

Angela & Meems, thanks for visiting my oldies blog. I like kids--even though I'm sure you don't think of yourselves as kids. LOL
Anonymous said…
Thanks for reading, Utenzi. Yes, anon was so grumpy that I deleted his dumb comment. Apparently he misunderstood the whole point of the post.
Anonymous said…
nice tribute! hi from Michele's!
Anonymous said…
Oh, I love that show! It's so silly, it never fails to crack me up!

Here via Michele's. ;)
Anonymous said…
Haven't see that show in ages. Hey, you're almost as old as me - cool!

Michele sent me....
Anonymous said…
I remember reruns of get smart. I loved Gilligan and can still sit and watch it today with my kids...:)
Anonymous said…
dropping in to say HI.

I have never seen this show, but it sounds good [in a spoofy kind of way!].

Hope you're having a good week Untenzi!
Anonymous said…
that show was awesome, I remember watching reruns when I was a kid... That shoe phone rocked, I use to always pretend to talk in my shoe and my mom would slap me and tell me to cut it out... LOL...
Anonymous said…
I was born in 1965, and my parents watched the show. As I learned to talk, "Sorry about that, Chief." became one of my favorite phrases. Thanks for this post.
utenzi said…
Sophie, so in a way it was an educational show and helped you talk! LOL Who needs Sesame Street?!

Craig, Your mom should have had greater appreciation for your imagination. ;-)

Ciera, you missed a great show--campy, 'tis true but great.
Anonymous said…
Aw they certainly don't make TV like they used to do they?! Michele sent me by the way!
Anonymous said…
WOW. I remember GetSmart, barely but I do remember. First Gilligan now this? ugh!

:-) - Here from Michele's
Anonymous said…
hi, utenzi! michele sent me. haven't seen the show but it sounds like it was a hoot. hope they make the dvds available here so i can check it out. :)
Anonymous said…
Hi Michele sent me.

I was sad to hear about Don Adams.
Anonymous said…
Unfortunately I've never heard of Don Adams or this show before...in my defence I did just ask my parents though and they don't remember the show so I feel a little less worried!
Anonymous said…
Very sad!! Here from Michele's...just kidding, for once I'm nowhere near you over there! Thought I'd come by anyway. I watched 3 wishes last night (with Amy Grant) Made me cry...
Anonymous said…
I don't really remember it from when it originally aired, but I watched it on Nick at Nite. Love it!
Anonymous said…
LOL, i wish David! Your way too kind :)
Anonymous said…
When I was a little kid not long ago since now I'm a big fat kid, I always wanted to have a shoe phone so when we went to shoe stores I was trying to find one to make a phone call, so the shop keepers gave me beaver faces. I stopped looking for a shoe phone when I picked up the wrong shoe, because it stinked, but dad washes his feet now, which is good.

Hi, Michele sent me!

I hope you're having a nice weekend, Utenzi!
Anonymous said…
It's amazing how those sound files stay intact in the head when untouched so long isn't it? I can still hear Maxwell Smart's voice when you type his lines.
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