The original Get Smart television series stands as one of the best spy spoofs ever to be produced. With Don Adams as Maxwell Smart the show became a success back in the 60's and even today we still see evidence at how popular it truly was. Granted Hollywood seems out of ideas lately but a Get Smart movie is just around the corner, which shows that there is at least some audience out there who wants to see more of CONTROL and KAOS.

That cult following was the target of FOX's 1995 revival of the franchise with Get Smart. Yes the show had the exact same title and yes it featured Don Adams and Barbara Feldon reprising their roles but this was a totally different experience. Though Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 returned, their roles were significantly different this time around. Max was now the Chief of CONTROL and Agent 99 is a congresswoman who is in charge of financing the organization. As prominent as these characters are and as sure as you can bet they're the reason you're coming to the show they sadly take a backseat to a new roster of characters.

Leading the fight against KAOS this time around is the Smart's son Zach (Andy Dick) and his partner Agent 66 (Elaine Hendrix). Agent 99 and Max take on the role of support characters way too easily and in many cases are brushed to the sidelines here. Zach and 66 simply don't have the chemistry that 99 and Max did, but that is most likely due in part to the lesser talents of Dick and Hendrix.

For all intents and purposes Dick and Hendrix just aren't fun to watch. Throughout the course of this short-lived program you will never once feel for the characters or find their antics amusing. The show even tries to thrust familiar antics at you such as the shoe phone but Dick performs such gags as well as an elephant that is trying to squeeze into a phone booth. It just doesn't work no matter how much you force it. Frankly, that's the problem with 1995's Get Smart revival; it just feels too forced.

While it's great to see Adams and Feldon again there also no denying that their new positions detract from the dynamic they added to the show. Without Edward Platt as The Chief, Adams has lost a viable comedic partner and as good as Adams is he was not a suitable Chief. Given the continuity of Get Smart I appreciate the amount of thought that went into given these characters new life. It's entirely plausible that the Smarts would have a kid and he'd become a CONTROL agent but that's not exactly what people want to watch. Get Smart fans wanted to see Adams and Feldon on patrol again though given their age I suppose that would have been difficult. Either way you slice it though this was a road that was better off not being traveled; but you can always say those things in hindsight.

If you question my disappointment in the series then all you have to really do is look at the fact that it only received seven episodes before it was cancelled. Though the creative team was mostly the same, the jokes were tired and simply not as sharp as they were thirty years prior. Six of those seven episodes are so average and forgettable that you may find yourself falling asleep through them. There's certain monotony to them though the writing for the show is somewhat similar to the original's. The only truly shining moment from this quickly cancelled program is an episode entitled "Wurst Enemies."

In "Wurst Enemies" Bernie Koppell reprises his role as KAOS agent Siegfried who is out to rule the world one last time. Siegfried uses his daughter to get close to Zach and attempts to launch a nuke to destroy CONTROL once and for all. Sadly this is the only episode out of this revival that even remotely comes close to capturing the feeling of the original series. Even so Dick takes the center stage once again and even the old players can't perform as well as they could because of it.

In the end Get Smart's 90's facelift was a flop by anyone's standards. The show offered a plausible timeline of events that brought Smart and 99 to the point in their lives they are at, but beyond that the concept falls apart. Andy Dick as the center of attention is an utter failure when you compare his performance to what fans got from Adams. Because of this the show didn't last long and I'm sure it won't have much life on DVD beyond interested fans of the franchise who venture out of curiosity. If you're an adorer of the original series then you're going to get the most mileage out of the Siegfried episode because beyond that this release isn't worth your time. Rent it at most or simply ignore it if you don't want your memory of the original to be sullied.

Get Smart is presented on DVD with a 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio and for what it's worth it does look decent. All seven episodes are packed onto one disc and it appears as though some touchup of the picture has taken place. The video is mostly clean with a little grain and compression to mar the experience somewhat. The overall image is soft with decent details and the colors appear natural enough. This isn't a bad looking show but like the quality of the episodes, it's easily forgettable.

The audio for Get Smart is presented with Dolby Digital 2.0 output and for what it's worth the sound is decent, if unassuming. Dialogue is clear, sound effects are sharp, and would you believe even the canned laughter is kept at an acceptable quality (sorry, I had to). Like the video, the sound quality here is average at best and you're not going to get a "wow" out of your home theater by playing it loudly.

Some previews and two "minisodes" from News Radio and T.J. Hooker are included here but those really aren't extra "features".

Get Smart's 1995 revival was a dud and this DVD showcases why. Andy Dick was a failure as the lead character and the fact that Adams and Feldon were support characters to his antics just didn't help matters. Though it's undeniably a part of the same "Get Smart" Universe there is simply nothing about this show that captures the magic of the original. Only one episode out of the seven is truly worth your time and because of that this release comes up as a rental only. Watching the original and this series side by side shows the vast differences of quality and if anything this remake will only get you to appreciate the 60's show

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