KAOS has come up with another devious plan in Perils in a Pet Shop. First airing on 10 December, 1966, this episode was written by Martin Ragaway.

It seems KAOS is training parrots, having them memorize secret formulas, and then getting them out of the country. Can Agent 86, Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) and Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon) break the furry spy ring?

Unfortunately, KAOS knows they are coming. Soon, the pair joined by Fang, as part of their cover, find themselves squaring off against Melnik (Donald Murphy). But it’s 99 who is able to disarm the baddies, and take charge, despite some interference from 86 – though it leads to a very funny slow-motion fight.

There’s an interesting riff on civil rights, when a parrot’s lawyer shows up. I’m not quite sure if there’s an underlying theme there, or they’re just playing it for a gag. But civil rights at the time (and now)… is an important topic.

It isn’t quite the best, or funniest of the series but there are some good bits, and some nice laughs. And I do like Adams performance, he’s got great delivery and facial expressions.

Sadly, this is the last appearance of Fang, the spy dog.

The Whole Tooth and… was originally broadcast on Christmas Eve, 1966. It was written by Lila Garrett and Bernie Kahn.

Max is off to jail. It seems he’s hidden some plans, and now he has to get them out. The secret microfilm has been hidden in a tooth, which 86 has gotten into the mouth of a man who has gone to jail. Smart planted it there, not realizing the man was on his way to his new cell.

To get it back, he’ll have to go in and get it. But he’ll have to get arrested first, which is apparently harder for him than he realized. Instead he’s offered help from everyone, including mental health assistance, which is amazing to hear in the 60s.

To foster his image in prison, he trots out his Bogart impression a few times. And to help him get the tooth out, 99 delivers tools, baked inside a cake.

And Max has done so well, he’s been granted the award of Agent of the Year! And that might be how long CONTROL has to wait for him to be released from prison.

Hey look! The cone of silence makes its first appearance in a while. This may in fact be its best use so far, I love the Chief (Edward Platt) yelling in the background, trapped in the Cone.

Kiss of Death is the last episode this week. It was also the last episode of 1966, broadcasting on New Year’s Eve. It was written by Stan Burns and Mike Marmer.

Smart is in real trouble this time. He’s met Tracy Dunhill (Geraldine Brooks) and she seems to be falling for him in a big way. But it’s all a ruse, she’s dangerous, deadly, and the head of Daughters of KAOS, and she plans to eliminate Smart!

They are thrown together in a staged kidnapping that Smart ‘rescues’ her from. And then, ‘love’ blooms.

There’s a fun identi-kit with a facial reconstruction, there’s a swinging happening at Tracy’s residence. There’s also poison lipstick, and other gadgets that are trotted out. It’s goofy and fun.

To make sure Max is okay, the Chief and 99 go undercover at the happening as well (I love seeing them dancing and jamming out). And what’s more, Agent 13 (David Ketchum) is staked inside a chesterfield.

Let’s see what happens in the next week when I dig into the next trio of episodes.