Get Smart
dir. Peter Segal (2008)
A respectful film adaptation of the original TV series. The script remains like-minded in its humour, and where not altogether faithful makes savvy choices—most notably in having 99 senior to 86. Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway and Alan Arkin are perfectly cast.
Adam Adamant Lives!, Season 1
(BBC, 1966)
Victorian gentleman adventurer Adam Adamant (Gerald Harper) is revived in 1966 and paired with happy-go-lucky groupie Georgina Jones (Juliet Harmer). With invariable plot elements and little character development, the programme followed Get Smart in relying heavily on the charisma of its leads.
‘Allo ‘Allo! (Series 1 & 2)
by Jeremy Lloyd & David Croft (BBC 1984-1985)
Repetitive, formulaic (think Get Smart) yet often uproarious, the convoluted tribulations of a café-owner in German-occupied France rose to long-running comedic heights thanks to the incomparable Gordon Kaye (as René Artois) and the premise of rendering all languages as badly accented English.