Get Smart: The Complete Series

Does not playback on Linux due to Bad Blocks/Sectors Copyright Protection. (ie. Possibly ARccOS Protection) (Now resolved as of 2015.08.05! See update footnotes below. Playback via MPlayer and Xine is now problem free!)I think I've found a (rather tedious) workaround. Use either dvdbackup or vlc to first make a copy of the DVD, and only then can you play back the video on Linux. Disc one is the only disc so far without the inaccessible (ARccOS) protection. Maybe they omitted disc one having (ARccOS) protection, to get the product through quality control? Why else would somebody omit such a restrictive copyright protection scheme on the first disc, as I've heard some DVD players do not accept such restrictive copyright protection schemes.Most times I just want to watch DVD movies and toss them back into their cases. Other times, such as these long TV series, I prefer to temporarily cache to hard drive for watching each show sequentially at night without having to (again) insert each DVD repetitively more than 100 times. (Similar to having to enter a combination to a safe, when you know you're going to be inside the safe five minutes later.) I hate it when people force the innocent to jump hurdles just to enjoy a product they've purchased. Almost like buying a product with foreign instructions, but you need to read the foreign instructions each time you try to use the product!Pros:1) A great TV Series2) Has Barbara Feldon interesting facts preceding each show.3) Additional literature inside each series.4) If you love packaging gimmicks, then this one deserves an A+.5) The TV series deserves an A+ for showing off 1960-1970's suit styles. Look no further than Maxwell Smart for how to dress appropriately!6) Includes lots of additional video material from Emmys, birthday parties, and interviews.Cons:1) DVD recording studio used an incompatible DRM protection or likely something called ARccOS Protection, preventing Linux users from enjoying the recorded material. Forget simply using a software player such as MPlayer or Xine. You'll first likely be required to copy the material to hard drive first using dvdbackup or VLC. (Hopefully by the time you're reading this comment, ARccOS or the copyright protection used for these DVDs will be added to MPlayer and Xine.) (Now resolved as of 2015.08.05! See update footnotes below. Playback via MPlayer and Xine is now problem free!)2) Due to how the multiple DVD's are packaged laying atop of one another within the plastic trays, the DVD's are easily scratched. I was able to call Amazon.com customer service and they sent another boxed DVD set out for replacing the scratched DVD's and then returning the bad DVD's. However Season 4 Disc 2 was also scratched within the boxed set as well. Since this is the only remaining scratched DVD, I opted to buy the Season 4 DVD, and also noticed the individually packaged DVD series now have fixed DVD packaging trays entirely averting overlapping and scratching.As they say, at least be thankful there is a workaround, since the idiot thieves are spoiling the products for the hard workers and manufacturers want to exploit the most restrictive copyright protection possible. Brings to mind, maybe the manufacturers and publishers should really try to get smart?UPDATE 2015.07.08: After watching the first season, I'm really enjoying this DVD bundle. Toward the end of the first season, they've added many (unfinished) clippings or anything that could be construed as valuable to the fans of the Get Smart show. A good sign they left nothing out of this bundle! (ie. Some publishers get itchy when they see unfinished material; but in the eyes of fans, the unfinished bits of material appear as real gems!) As far as getting around the DVD protection on Linux based computer systems for viewing or enjoying the material (one time), I'm finding I have a solution using dvdbackup (ie. http://dvdbackup.sourceforge.net/) and this maybe because somebody with a higher power might just want me to copy the entire DVD bundle to hard drive. Albeit, I've never had a need to copy any other DVD material in the past to a hard drive, unless the content were musical or audio content. Cheers fans of Get Smart! Hopefully you're enjoying the DVD bundle as I am!UPDATE 2015.08.04: After watching the entire first and second season DVDs, I cannot stand giving only four stars due to inaccessible copyright protection. I've added full five stars. I still say the (ARccOS?) copyright is a bit over the top, as how many locks do you need on a CD/DVD to prove copyright protection was circumvented? Anyways, I'm not thoroughly "loving it" or loving the DVD series. It's such a wonderful work of art, aside from the (ARccOS?) copyright protection scheme. (Whomever watched added the copyright protection obviously never watched the Get Smart TV series!) Added several more Pros and clarified Con, as well as increasing to five stars.UPDATE 2015.08.05: After rebuilding some libraries as of Sunday (ie. libdvdread-5.0.3, libdvdnav-5.0.3, mplayer-1.2_pre2015073, ...) I'm now finally able to view the DVDs without apparent problems of copyright protection. However at the same time, I now found a huge scratch/knick in several of the center placed DVDs of the season folders. Thankfully, Amazon.com readily is sending a replacement. Since it's impossible to watch or verify every DVD within several days, I'll continue with the previous method I've already been using for enjoying the DVDs, and only took a few hours. So as of now, the copyright protection method I previously reported now appears completely resolved within MPlayer and Xine!UPDATE 2015.09.05: Noted multiple scratched DVD's within the original boxed set. Also noted the individually packaged series DVD's now contain fixed packaging averting overlapping and preventing scratching.

My wife has been begging me to get this set for her ever since the original series was released to DVD. I had been putting it off due to the high cost, but when the price came down a little, I decided to pull the trigger and get it for her birthday.The design effort put into the packaging is quite clever... set up like the opening sequence with the phone booth and the security doors. However, once you get past all the cardboard doors it is impossible to remove the inner DVD cases without damaging the inside edges of the inner box. The 5 full season DVD cases are designed with the same theme, folding open one door at a time revealing each DVD behind another security door! However, the "Top Secret" table of contents documents tucked inside the front flap inside each of the DVD boxes were not inserted properly so they were all bent and folded on the edges. For all the engineering that went into the concept of this package, it was a little disappointing to see the somewhat poorly manufactured and assembled presentation. Someday this set could be a collectors item and the wear and tear on the box trying to remove and replace the DVD cases will bring down the value!Each episode starts with an introduction narrated by Barbara Feldon. The volume level and audio quality of each introduction is very poor and makes it difficult to understand what she is saying. Once the episode starts, the Audio and video quality are quite good. Again, a small detail that was overlooked in the production for this set.The last disk inside each DVD case contains the added bonus material. They are interesting and informative but some of them are repeated on more than one of the DVD sets. The only reason I can find for the repeated bonus material is that each season was probably originally produced for individual sale and just thrown together for the entire series box set.For someone who has purchased other complete sets like the "Back to the Future" trilogy, I was a little disappointed with the way it was apparently "thrown together" in some respects for the money.I gave it 4 out of 5 stars for this reason.

This is a great nostalgia trip for anyone over a certain age. I recall watching the original "Get Smart" series as a child and it's great to see the episodes again through the eyes of an adult. The show is just as funny. Every episode begins with a short intro by Barbara Feldon, who sounds just like she did back in the series, albeit her voice sounds a bit older. The episodes also have a commentary track too; I'm torn between watching with or without the commentary. I like to hear the behind-the-scenes details, but it virtually mutes the audio from the episode.The discs are cleverly packaged in a box with flaps that resemble the iconic series of doors that Maxwell Smart passes through at the start of each episode. The audio and visual quality of the episodes is also very good. I don't know why, but I still laugh at the "Cone of Silence" gags. All in all, a great way to relive some memories if you're a Get Smart fan (or even for non-fans curious about what the fuss is about).

If you are in love with the original series you will love this purely from a nostalgic point of view. I believe only 3 episodes aired and was cancelled likely due to poor viewing numbers. It is classic stuff. Of no use to anyone who has never seen the original but must be seen by lovers of Agent 86.

I watched these as a kid and thought they were great. Seeing them now, I get all the references Brooks was making to current events or recent history that I missed. As kids we got the obvious ones but missed lots. Still funny and entertaining.

This collection is an incredible discovery. The quality of the transfers, the sound perfection. The comedy, the acting, the irony: nothing has aged. What a pleasure. And never for a second does it feel as though I am swimming in nostalgia. Watching Get Smart in color on a flat screen (I saw them in black and white as a teenager on the first Tvs) is like viewing Agent 86, Agent 99, and Chief for the first time. And loving it!

I remember getting home dumping the homework and books because Max was on at 4:30.This is a treasure of untold memories and clean fun humor.....This is a series that didn't have the 4 letter language of today because "crap" was as bad as it came.Hours of winter vegging comming up....