Some weeks ago here, we griped about companies that bring out DVDs of great old TV shows on a season-by-season basis…and then, after fans of the show have bought each volume, out comes the "complete collection." And of course, the new set is cheaper and contains bonuses that weren't in any of the individual releases, thereby forcing the die-hard buff to buy the whole thing again. We do not like when they do this.
So we're pleased as punch, however pleased that may be, to report that the folks releasing Get Smart on DVD seem to be reversing the process. In November, they will release all five seasons of that show in one set. Later on, they'll be putting out DVDs of individual seasons for those who wish to get their Maxwell Smart that way but you can order the whole thing right now. I'm hearing that the video quality on this set is quite good and that the special features are especially good. Paul Brownstein's company is doing them and when I ran into Paul recently, he told me they'd just obtained permission to include some video from the memorial service for Don Adams, which I hear was quite wonderful.
Now, here are the catches. All five seasons (138 episodes on 25 discs) will run you two hundred bucks. They're saying the season-by-season releases, whenever they get around to putting them out, will be $40 each. If that's true, then $200 for the lot is no great bargain and you may think it's a lot of money to shell out at one time. You also can't go bargain-hunting for this if you crave it now because the set is available only from Time-Life Video until late next year, they say. (There's an option to pay in installments if that makes a difference to you.) Also, we can't guarantee that the individual releases won't contain some bonus material that isn't on the complete set, though that seems unlikely.
So you wanna buy a complete set of Get Smart: The Complete Collection? Then click on that name and start filling in your particulars. That's a commissioned link so this website gets a tiny payment which I think I deserve for posting an entire item about that show without employing one of its 8,022 catch phrases.
By the way: Get Smart was produced (and brilliantly so) by Leonard Stern, who had previously given us the one-season wonder, I'm Dickens, He's Fenster. I don't know if that show — which starred John Astin and Marty Ingels as two hapless constriction workers — was ever syndicated. Until recently, I don't think I'd seen an episode since they originally aired on ABC for the 1962-1963 season but I've always remembered it as a very clever, funny show. But a week or two ago, I saw one and I was delighted to see my memories validated…an experience you may soon be able to experience for yourself. Two different sources are telling me that a complete set of all 31 episodes is currently being prepped for DVD release early next year.