One of my favorite TV shows ever is Get Smart, so it is with great pleasure that I report that today’s Amazon Gold Box spotlight deal of the day is Get Smart – The Complete Series Gift Set for $74.99 (that’s 62% off the list price price of $199.95).

Also as part of the Gold Box offer today, as part of Amazon’s week of Network TV DVD deals, is Gilligan’s Island: The Complete Series Collection for $43.99 (that’s 62% off the list price of $114.82) and The Waltons: The Complete Seasons 1-9 for $103.99 (that’s 62% off the list price of $275.98).

Note, these deals are for only for today — Saturday, May 8, 2010 — until midnight PST or before that while supplies last.

Since this is one of my favorite TV shows of all time, I am so excited to report that today’s Amazon Gold Box spotlight deal of the day is Get Smart – The Complete Series Gift Set for $67.99 (down 66% from the original price of $199.95).

This is the massive 5-volume collection with all 138 original episodes of the Mel Brooks/Buck Henry-created 1960s TV spy comedy, which starred Don Adams as the bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart and Barbara Feldon as his beautiful, more capable partner Agent 99. The episodes have been digitally restored and remastered and there’s over nine hours of rare footage and bonus features — including episode intros by Feldon and selected-episode commentary by the show’s cast and crew — in this 25-DVD box set, which is housed in a cute little box that opens up like the payphone from the show’s opening credits.

For a detailed rundown of all of this DVD set’s bonus features, along with some video, see the review of this boxed set last February.

This weekend’s 99-cent Video On Demand rental deals are Fred Claus and the rated version of You Don’t Mess with the Zohan. I haven’t seen the latter and have been hesitant to spend any kind of money to see it, but hey, for a buck, I’ll do it. And Fred Claus is a cute holiday film, so well worth the small amount of money.

Last weekend’s picks — Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Incredible Hulk, and Get Smart (2008) — are now available for rental for $3.99.

Better yet, for $2.99 for 24-hour rental get Ghostbusters ($5.99 to buy), Beetlejuice ($9.99 to buy), Labyrinth ($9.99 to buy), Airplane! ($9.99 to buy), and Tommy Boy (only available as a rental).

Get Smart
Directed by Peter Segal
Starring Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin
Rated PG-13
Release date: June 20, 2008

“Compared to Clouseau, Attila the Hun was a Red Cross volunteer!” — Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfuss from The Return Of The Pink Panther

“They ought to put you in Missing Persons. You know everybody.” — Joe Friday from Dragnet (1987)

“A good agent doesn’t need gadgets. The only gadgets I’ve ever needed are a sharp eye, sensitive hearing and a whole bunch of bigger brains.” — Johnny English from Johnny English

Steve Carell Is In Control

Don Adams will always be Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, from the classic, subversive, and sarcastic 1960’s television series, Get Smart. I grew up watching the television series in reruns in the 1970s. It would be much later realized that the show was a clever satire written by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. I would expect nothing less from these two comic heavyweights. The show was a response to the intelligence craze in pop culture at the time when James Bond dominated the landscape. There were plenty of spoofs to go around such as the Matt Helm films starring Dean Martin, the Derek Flint films starring James Coburn, and of course, the ultimate James Bond spoof, the original 1967 Casino Royale. Think of these films as the Austin Powers of their day– Mike Myers was deeply influenced by Casino Royale. Henry and Brooks created a television series which was a response to the intelligence blunders of their times — specifically, the Vietnam War. The other great benefit of the show was the wonderful cast featuring Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, and Edward Platt. They worked very well together. The show holds up remarkably well.

Get Smart
The Complete Collection
5-Volume, 25-disc DVD Set
Created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry
Starring Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, Edward Platt
HBO Video/Time Life
On sale Nov. 2007

This massive 5-volume collection, available now from Time Life, includes all 138 original episodes of the 1960s TV sitcom created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, plus over nine hours of rare footage and bonus features, all in this 25-DVD box set. I’ve been spending the better part of the last few weeks plowing through each episode of the show (… and loving it), which starred Don Adams as secret agent Maxwell Smart (aka Agent 86) and Barbara Feldon as his beautiful, capable partner Agent 99.