A little observation...

In the beginning of the episode when The Chief is explaining to 86 & 99 about Hunter's past, notice when he says "A communist" how Chief holds up his middle finger!! (about 1:19 into the episode). ---- MMMM?

Just the angle makes it look like he's holding up his middle finger.

Great episode BTW.

I checked out what you were talking about and he definitely did stick up his middle finger, but I think it was just because he was counting on his fingers. It was one of those things where I don't think he realized he was doing it.

Island Of The Darned is one of the better episodes of the series. Get Smart was about good vs. evil, but due to the comical nature of the show you usually didn't feel any genuine suspense or think that Max or 99 were in any real danger. But Island Of The Darned contains some genuine suspense, the chase scenes through the jungle are some of the best of the series and you actually sense that Max and 99's lives could be in danger. Ship Of Spies from season one also has some fairly suspenseful moments.