The King of Caronia, a dead ringer for Maxwell Smart (Don Adams), except for the moustache (which Max is required to add), is in Washington, and is staying with the Smarts. Wackiness ensues for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that 99 (Barbara Felon) can’t tell them apart.

Written by Arne Sultan and Chris Hayward, To Sire with Love: Part 1 debuted on 15 February, 1969.

Max and 99 are attending a soiree with the King, and of course, there is mass confusion over who is who, which is when the Chief (Edward Platt) gives Max the assignment to keep the King safe. There are ridiculous costumes, dastardly villains, and lots of laughs.

And it seems someone is out to get the King, or is it Max? And that would be the Rupert of Rathskeller (an uncredited James Caan! He and Adams were friends, and this was a favor). Rupert wants the King out of the way, and specifically wants the king’s scepter.

And the scepter goes missing, and there’s a whole complicated routine as they go looking for it. No wonder it’s a two-parter.

The episode concludes with the baddies releasing a tarantula into the Smart’s apartment, and it’s crawling up Smart’s robe! To be continued!

Part 2 aired on the 22 February, 1969, the conclusion was written by Adams, and Gloria Burton (Adams sister).

How will Max deal with the tarantula? And after that, how will he and the king deal with Rupert?

And Max also wants to test 99 by pretending to be the King. On the flipside, 99 is very dedicated to Max, but when she finds out that Max is masquerading as the King to test her, she turns the tables on him. But the tables turn again, and again. It’s very funny, if silly.

But his jealous ploy must take back seat to the mission when the King is kidnapped, and Smart has to race to the rescue.

Not only is James Caan in this episode as the baddie, but there’s also an appearance by Don Rickles!

And of course, there’s a big sword fight at the end of the episode, and both Adams and Caan are obviously having a great time doing it.

In the end, everything works out for Smart, the King, and 99. 99 and Max straighten things out, the King is rescued, and Rupert escapes. This one is fun.

Shock It to Me was writteby Sultan and Hayward and it was first broadcast on 1 March, 1969.

KAOS is up to no good, again. They have a scientist who has ordered the theft of all manner of electrical equipment. It seems he has a plan to reanimate some of their deceased agents. And that means, there is a nod to some of the classic mad scientist tropes.

When equipment is stolen right out from under Smart’s nose, he identifies the agent who did it. But he’s dead. It’s a fun, if familiar idea, and honestly, it’s showing up at the wrong time. This episode would have worked a little better closer to Halloween and they should really have leaned into it.

The pair of agents have to go after Dr. Zharko (Tom Poston)and stop his dastardly plan.

It doesn’t quite hit the moments it needs to, never quite getting either horrific or funny. It seems content to take a middle road and misses out on some possible gags and story beats. There are some fun moments, but this on could have been a lot more than it is.

Hey! There’s Sid Haig! He plays the fun, stereotypical hunchback role.

Next time, I finish season four and get ready to dive into the fifth and final season.