Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) discovers that KAOS is shipping classified information about a national defense system known as SkyBlast to foreign countries through talking dolls. Special agent 86, Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) and 99 are on the case! They head to the department store responsible for shipping the information and work to uncover what is going on.

Our Man in Toyland was written by Stan Burns and Mike Marmer and it first aired on 9 October, 1965.

We’re introduced to hilarious gadgets right away – a car cigarette lighter which is a phone, and car phone which is a lighter! There’s lots of fun to be had in this episode, and I can’t believe how much I’m enjoying it. And man, how do you not love Fang?

There are tons of CONTROL agents undercover in the department store, and it allows for lots of fun moments.

John Hoyt shows up as Herr Bunny a Blofeld-type character who has a stuffed bunny he keeps stroking.

This is a hilarious episode. And it’s so funny to see Agent 99 assuaging the fragile male ego when she comes up with a plan, and then Smart says it after her, and she gives him credit.

The romantic subplot between the two continues as they must battle their way out of the department store if they are to survive. They’ll fight with everything the can find in the toy department!

The series, four episodes in, is skewering the superspy genre brilliantly, and I can see what else is to come.

Now You See Him, Now You Don’t was written by Arne Sultan and Marvin Worth and it debuted on 16 October, 1965.

Dr. Haskell (Gregory Morton) arrives at 86’s swinging apartment with the reveal that he’s created an invisible-raygun. He’s snatched by invisible KAOS agents who want ten million dollars for Haskell and his plans, or they will sell them to other willing countries.

The deal is set to go down at Smart’s apartment, happily it’s completely outfitted with tricks and gadgets to keep Max safe, and the audience laughing.

99 gets grabbed from her stakeout position, and things look like they are going to go badly for our agents. But KAOS is lying about the invisible ray, it’s all about tricks with wires. Can they outwit smart or will he bumble his way through?

The episode’s baddie is Joseph Ruskin, but I’ll always recall him from Star Trek’s The Gamesters of Triskelion. Rushkin plays Ehrich who, alongside Haskell, is trying to con CONTROL out of the ten million dollars – the invisible ray doesn’t work.

Tricking them back to Smart’s apartment, 86 and 99 may be able to win the day after all.

I didn’t quite enjoy this one as much as I did the previous episode but Adams is absolutely wonderful. And of course, things have to end on a light comedic note once the baddies are taken care of.

The tricks and gadgets aren’t as funny or cool as seen in prior episodes, but they do work to set up some goofy gags.

Washington 4, Indians 3 is a bit of a troubling episode, or at least it’s premise is. It’s executed very well though. First airing on 23 October, 1965, it was written by Dee Caruso and Gerald Gardner. But check this out, it was directed by Richard Donner!

Native Americans are intent on getting their land back or they will launch a missile at Washington, D.C.

Assigned to stop them, Smart goes undercover, but of course, things don’t go well. He has to face off against Red Cloud (Anthony Caruso), whose daughter, White Cloud (Adele Palacios) has a thing for Max.

99 has to go in and rescue 86 (keeping her jealousy of White Cloud in check) and the pair have to stop the uprising and war. And through it all, Chief of CONTROL (Edward Platt) seems to be barely holding on to his respect for 86, Max is driving him insane.

I’m not totally thrilled that the villains of this piece are indigenous peoples, but I am absolutely delighted to come across more of Donner’s work. He makes good use of the script, and keeps things moving.

I do like the fact that Smart realizes when he confronts Red Cloud that the government really screwed over the Native Americans and he was more than willing to let them launch the missile.

Let’s see where the series goes next week.