Maxwell Smart

I first became a fan of "Get Smart" in 1991 via Nick at Nite's airings, and by the end of 1993 I had every episode on tape (of course this was in the days before full-season DVD releases of every TV show ever made), so when in December 1994 I heard "Get Smart" was back in production, I was a very happy fangirl, being that my interest in the show was still at a peak!

When the first episode aired on Fox in January 1995, I was on a vacation, but I still made sure I was in the hotel to watch it (and I had it taping on timer back home), I was practically squeeee'ing with delight!

After watching all 7 of the new episodes over January and February, I went away from the experience happy, but with the mindset that the original was still better. As for the one commenter who said Zach (whose agent number was never revealed) had no straight-person to play off of, I think 66 was perfect for that role. She was as serious as Zach was silly, and I think the interplay between them really worked for some good comedy, and their uneasy tolerance for each other would have kept the two from becoming lovers had the series been picked up for 1995-96 season, avoiding falling into the "Moonlighting" trap.

The new arrangement of the show's theme really worked too, it was very modern-spy-movie chic, but still recognizable as the "Get Smart" theme :)

Overall: I would say a 7 out of 10. They should have tried to get the show's creators back, but it was still a very entertaining and valiant effort on Fox's part.

It sucked. Andy Dick was pathetic. He was too effeminate to pull off this poorly written comedy. As a big fan of the original get smart, I am glad they pulled the plug on this stinker. What made the original series fun was the great schtick written by none other than Mel Brooks and Buck Henry.

I was one member of the small writing/producing staff on the remake of Get Smart. I can't argue with any of the comments left by the fans of the original.

Get Smart (the original) is my favorite show of all time. So you can imagine how thrilling it was to write new material for Maxwell Smart and Agent 99. (and Siegfried!) Andy Dick was really very, very funny. And Elaine Hendricks, who played his co-agent, is a gem still waiting to be discovered. But it is REALLY hard to re-do something that was almost perfect to begin with. Imagine remaking Casablanca or The Wizard of Oz -- Well, in the sitcom world, Get Smart was the equivalent. The standard was just too high.

So, the experience was great, and I have a picture of myself standing between Maxwell Smart and Siegfried that's worth a million bucks... Would you believe, a dollar-fifty?

I was a big fan of the original series. I was in third grade when it first came on and 7th when it ended. Our family watched it every Sunday night.

The problem with the remake, which was a new show trying to get the startup Fox TV Network going, was the main characters were not that exciting, one being the child of Maxell Smart. Frankly, Andy Dick who played smart's son, just did not have the charisma to carry the show. He's more like this annoying, contrived little twit you feel like smacking upside the head rather than laughing at.

What would have been the problem with Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 (Susan) as the main characters instead of just cameos at the beginning and end of each show, in 99's case just the first show? Better to watch funny older people than annoying young people. Maybe they would have made more than six episodes.

With Pierce Brosnan rejuvenating the James Bond franchise, the time was ripe to bring back the greatest spy parody ever, _Get Smart_. And personally, I think the series would have worked if the lead character had been a suave but wimpy wannabe like Brosnan's Steele character was in the first couple of seasons on that show. This would have been a great contrast to the character of Maxwell Smart, who had the ability, just not the brains.

Instead, what we got was Andy Dick playing a character who had neither the brains nor the ability. His character was simply childish and annoying, leaving it completely in the hands of the writers to make the show funny. Sometimes they delivered; far more often they did not. I'm glad the show was put out of its misery quickly, and I'm equally glad we got to see Max and Siegfried square off one last time before that happened.