The Real Get Smart Hits Stores In August

Get Smart: The Complete Collection (we're talking about the real Mel Brooks/Buck Henry Sixties classic here starring Don Adams, not any of the various pretenders) has been available for a year and a half as an exclusive from TimeLife, but the plan all along was that TimeLife's window of exclusivity would last just a year. After that, HBO Home Video would have the right to distribute the classic series in stores. And now, finally, they've decided to exercise that right. According to TVShowsOnDVD, the first season, containing all thirty episodes including the fantastic pilot, "Mr. Big" (the only black and white episode) will hit stores on August 5, 2008. No retail price or list of extras has been released, but TVShowsOnDVD cautions that HBO's press release lists the set as being four discs, whereas TimeLife's Season 1 was five discs, so it looks like the bonus disc (chock-full of extras) will be omitted. For more details on this and other disturbing discrepancies, head on over there. No matter what the release includes, however, it's good news for spy fans who don't have deep pockets that there will be an alternative to TimeLife's expensive set!