Super Agent 86: The Story of a Clumsy Spy Who Conquered the World But Betrayed His Creator

The Super Agent 86, Fiction in the lead role Don Adams and Barbara FeldonCreated by Buck Henry and Mel Brooks, it’s a break in the world of television and a world of secret agents portrayed with irony and intelligence. In the midst of the Cold War this title was a huge success and was achieved Maxwell Smart One of the large icons on the small screen.

In the sixties, Espionage In full swing. In this context, executives Dan Melnik and David Saskind met with Mel Brooks and Buck Henry to work on an idea related to the genre. The embryo was created by Melnik himself, and Henry recalls this initial report: “With a fine example of what it means to be directly down, they simply said, ‘Did you realize that the two biggest hits in the industry in the world are Bond and Clouseau?’ You understand what you are asking, right? And I said yes, of course I understood. “

Henry worked with Mel Brooks on the project. Prestigious Director Young Frankenstein He made it very clear what kind of program he wanted to do and said in an interview: “I was Disgust with so many sensitive comedies, That really distorted life. Wanted to be a An absurd comedy that talked about something other than family. And no one has ever done a show that focused on idiots, so I decided to be the first.

After a while, general instructions Super Agent 86 They were planned. The protagonist of the story was Maxwell Smart! Clumsy (but interestingly effective) control agent, A secret government agency that fought against Chaos and other criminals who tried to carry out all sorts of evil plans.

The pilot episode script was completed and the confidence in the product was very high, but it was not so easy for the project to get the green light.

“We wrote,” Buck Henry said in an interview Series hired with ABC signal, But as soon as they were read, they began to demand many modifications. And then we asked for more and more corrections. Until one day we were told that this type of material could not be offered to families who were sitting in front of the TV watching dinner. I think they thought the story was non-American. “

Some Requirements Channel executives were supposed to give the story more familiar air, and Max was asked to have a mother, which was inappropriate for Brooks. The orphan project was all about that Super Agent 86 This would never have happened until NBC came on stage.

Originally, Mel Brooks and Buck Henry wrote about pilot Tom Poston as the ideal Maxwell. “Given that actor, the pilot had a lot more physical humor, like Buster Keaton,” Henry recalls, but when they sat down to negotiate with NBC, the channel demanded that he be the protagonist. Don Adams, popular comedian Who were looking for their own series. Adams was working at the time Bill Dana ShowWhere he played a clumsy detective who looked very much like Agent 86.

On board Don Adams, the writers found that the actor gave them a new way of doing comedy, moving away from the physical cleverness that originally characterized the series. Commenting on Adams’s style, Buck commented: “A lot of repetitive jokes were his idea. ᲤRaza ‘Can you believe what I told you? ‘ That’s what he brought from the sketch he made on his previous show. “

Finally, on September 18, 1965, “Mr. Great “, the pilot Super Agent 86A chapter that became the beginning of a program that soon became a huge success.

The pilot of the series not only allowed Don Adams to shine as his cartoon character, but also revealed Agent 99, Performed by Barbara Feldon. The actress and model gained some popularity for working in advertising, in several episodes CIPOL agent. But despite the writers’ enthusiasm to add him to the project, Feldon was somewhat reluctant to play the role. For this reason he signed a contract for only four episodes, which is a real feature. After the pilot was filmed, his position changed and he gladly agreed to continue the appointment.

The clever spy was surrounded by many secrets. 99 had no name, past or relatives, No one knew anything about him. Undoubtedly, this was part of his mysticism, and Feldon once explained: “He looked like a cartoon with great warmth, you did not know his name and origin. Of course, hiring by a controller must have had some past, though it was a secret. But I did not stop for a moment to think about what his story was. He was only interested in worshiping Max, so he did. Nothing else mattered. There was not enough room to think about the past or the future. For him, everything revolved around Max.

The other big star in the cycle was the main one, played by Ed Platt. The Hollywood actor was a real pleasure for the TV show and his resume consisted of major productions directed by Alfred Hitchcock. A trio of outstanding performers and a solid writing team; Super Agent 86 It did not take long to conquer society.

The program for the mid-1960s was a Giant success. Maxwell Smart was the world sky-fever, comics and novels were published, Andy Warhol came on the cover of the TV guide with a portrait of 99 because the Emmy Awards recognized Don Adams as the best actor, Buck Henry as a screenwriter or even a TV series. As the best comedy. But success did not last forever, and maintaining a high standard of quality fiction was a task that was not sustained for too many years.

After the first season, Mel Brooks left the team to continue working in cinema, and over time the same thing happened with Buck Henry. In this way, the beginning of the fourth season, in September 1968, was celebrated The beginning of an artistically accelerated fall. The romantic conspiracy was taking up more and more space between Max and 99 Marry the heroes! A decision that Could not regain public interest. Without a possible solution, In March 1969, the 26th episode of the fourth year aired and NBC canceled the series.

It was at this time that CBS came to the rescue, giving the product another season on the air with the intention of reviving it, but the attempt made little use of it. The fifth season further highlighted the couple’s relationship between Max and 99 and made them the father and mother of twins. this way, Super Agent 86 Committed The greatest betrayal Turn away from the family comedy that Mel Brooks so rejected when creating the program. By that time fiction had already lost both its identity and that of society, and by May 15, 1970, and after 138 chapters, Super Agent 86 Is over.

The series’s popularity lasted much longer than the five years when it first aired on television.

In Latin AmericaAnd thanks to its enriched duplication, the series was even one of the most excellent shows of the seventies, eighties and nineties, and the heat of Maxwell Smart is still felt in the generations who enjoyed it as children. In the years since the comedy ended, Don Adams has enjoyed the love of the public and has returned several times in the role of Max in commercials, at the same time being voted by the public. Inspector Gadget, A cartoon also starring a clumsy secret agent. Two feature films in 1980 and 1989 Super Agent 86But none of them attracted much attention.