The James Bond craze of the 1960s produced a host of spy heroes eager to cash in on the popularity of 007. Some were slavish imitations, but others reflected a willingness to poke fun at the genre. One of the most successful satires, created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, was the television series Get Smart, which ran on NBC from 1965 to 1970.

Don Adams played Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 of CONTROL. Barbara Felton was Smart's partner, Agent 99. The inept spy and his far more capable partner fought against the evil organization KAOS. They usually won, mostly due to Smart's tendency to do the right thing for the wrong reason. The show made two contributions to popular culture in the late 1960s—the phrase "Sorry about that, Chief," and a running gag built around the question "Would you believe," as in, "Would you believe you're surrounded by 100 armed agents?" "No, I wouldn't." "Would you believe four Boy Scouts and an angry nun?"

Further Reading:

Green, Joey. The Get Smart Handbook. New York, Collier Books, 1993.

Meyers, Richard. TV Detectives. San Diego, A.S. Barnes and Co., 1981.