Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) switches sides and goes to work for KAOS in Double Agent. It was written by Joseph C. Cavella and Carol Cavella. It debuted on 8 January, 1966.

The Chief (Edward Platt) is the only one who knows, besides Max, that he’s on a mission, and hasn’t actually switched sides. Max has to drink, gamble and make it appealing for KAOS to approach and recruit him. He gives Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) the brush off, unable to tell her the truth. Or poor Fang.

He’s equipped with some gadgets to make it look like he’s actually drunk. He’s outfitted to look like he’s falling apart. How far will he have to go to make it believable? Well he and the Chief have a violent encounter in a bar while KAOS agents watch.

But when he gets his first assignment – to take out 99 what will he do? As they prepare for an escape, they discover that everyone who was posing as a KAOS agent are all actually undercover agents from different acronyms.

It’s light and funny. Adams is delightful playing Smart against type, pretending to be a slovenly drunk, while still trying to protect the feelings of his friends, especially 99.

She seems especially hurt by his rejection, but also refuses to believe he means it. But poor Fang!

And I like how the episode bookends itself with a gag about listening bugs that goes wrong both times Max is asked to be involved.

No matter how the show plays out, Adams is fantastic in this role.

KAOS is at again with another dastardly terrorist plot in Kisses for KAOS. Written by Stan Burns and Mike Marmer, this episode first debuted on 15 January, 1966.

KAOS is detonating bombs all over Washington. And they’ve hidden them in paintings! 99 has to go undercover and romance Savage (Micheal Dante), an artist using explosive paint at the behest of KAOS.

Max poses as her chauffer, and has to keep his jealousy in check.

They main assignment requires them to get Savage’s fingerprints, but he rarely takes his gloves off. Lots of wackiness ensues.

There are some great gadgets in this episode, a car’s steering wheel that also serves as a phone dial, a painting of a camera that is a camera, and a hat that does the same.

And that’s only the beginning. 99 hosts an intimate dinner, staged in Max’s apartment. Can Max keep his jealousy in check? And the climax that sees them trapped by explosive paint is hilarious.

It’s fun to see 99 take a bit more of a leading role this time out. But Adams is just so able tto draw attention to himself with his performance. But Feldon is charming throughout and shows she’s more than a match for Adams, and they work wonderfully together.

The show is charming, Feldon is fun, and Adams is, as always perfect as Max. You can’t imagine anyone but him in the role.

A different but very fun episode.

The Dead Spy Scrawls first hit airwaves on 22 January, 1966. It was written by Burns and Marmer, and reveals that KAOS is using a pool hall as its communication hub.

Smart goes undercover as a pool shark in the episode. Adams was a proficient pool player, and had to adjust his performance for Smart’s haplessness.

And there among the KAOS agents is a villain named Stryker… played by Leonard Nimoy!! He’s armed with dark sunglasses and dangerous briefcase.

When Stryker kills a CONTROL agent, the dying spy is able to leave a coded message in the cement at a bus station. The team works to decipher it, but it could cause Smart to walk right into Stryker’s sights.

The code leads them right to the pool hall run by Shark (Jack Lambert). Shark and Stryker work together, and Smart is stepping into the lion’s den to take them on.

To help he’s outfitted with a shotgun pool cue, and 99 has a special device that will help him look like a gifted pool player.

It ends wonderfully, has some great moments, and man, it’s so cool to see a young Nimoy here, just a short time before he began the role that would change his life.