The Pilot Episode - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

dougiezerts · 07-20-2014, 07:02 PM

MeTV showed the pilot episode of Get Smart, last night.
I was wondering, is the the only episode that was filmed in black and white? I haven't seen too many of their earliest ones.
Interesting to see the little differences. There's a time clock they punch in, that wasn't used later. KAOS is depicted as rising again, but when Smart and 99 blow the boat up and kill "Mr Big," it's written liked they've destroyed it. And their doggie-agent wasn't used on later episodes.
Nice to hear him use some of the well-loved catch-phrases: "And. . . loving it!" "The forces of niceness!"

torcan · 08-18-2014, 02:30 PM

Yes, this show and "Hogan's Heroes" had only their pilots in black and white, and the rest in color. Both were broadcast as premiere episodes for their network runs and were never repeated until syndication.

TV_on_the_Porch · 08-19-2014, 07:50 AM

Hogan's Heroes ' pilot was included in that show's syndication package from the beginning, but I never saw the Get Smart pilot until it was shown on Nick @ Nite in 1992. I know that there are complicated reasons why most--but not all--stations did not show most of GS's fifth season episodes, but I was under the impression that the pilot was "lost" until Nick @ Nite brought it back. Am I mistaken?

torcan · 08-19-2014, 01:40 PM

I saw the black and white pilot several times in the '70s. Old TVGuides confirm CBLT Toronto aired it when they picked up reruns of the series around '72. I saw it a few times after that as well...I think CITY-TV in Toronto also aired the pilot later in the '70s. I'm sure I saw it on US stations as well.

Re. season 5 - you are correct. Apparantly when the show switched networks for the fifth season, the actors all signed new contracts which gave them bigger royalties for that season. That meant increased paperwork for those who carried the show and many stations decided just to air the first 4 seasons, since there were already more than 100 episodes available.

I read that stations who carried the show could air the fifth season up to three times before their fees greatly increased for that season, that's why you saw it pop up from time to time. Some of my out-of-town TVGuides show that the fifth season was repeated frequently until the late '70s, depending on the station. When YTV in Canada picked up the show in the early '90s, the fifth season was never shown.

Over the years the limitations on that season have been lifted, but the first time I really remember seeing the fifth season was when Nick at Nite had it in the mid'90s, then again on TVLand when they carried it for a while.

That season is easily available on DVD, both in Canada and the US.

TV Knowledge Fan · 08-21-2014, 03:58 PM

.....was produced in December 1964, when NBC was still scheduling only a handful of color shows in prime-time. After the network "bought" the series in March 1965, they decided that virtually all of their evening schedules would be filled with color programming that fall (except for "CONVOY" [no World War II naval footage in color was available] and "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" [Screen Gems/Columbia didn't believe the series would last a full season to justify the extra cost of color film, and NBC agreed]), and requested "GET SMART" be filmed in color.

jehobden · 08-21-2014, 04:47 PM

I've read that Hank, also on NBC fall 1965, like these other shows had its pilot broadcast in B&W but its remaining episodes in color, but since it only lasted 1 season, it was never syndicated, so few if any people noticed or remembered this change.

07-20-2014, 07:02 PM	#1
dougiezerts Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 20, 2012 Location: Silver Spring, MD Posts: 204	The Pilot Episode MeTV showed the pilot episode of Get Smart, last night. I was wondering, is the the only episode that was filmed in black and white? I haven't seen too many of their earliest ones. Interesting to see the little differences. There's a time clock they punch in, that wasn't used later. KAOS is depicted as rising again, but when Smart and 99 blow the boat up and kill "Mr Big," it's written liked they've destroyed it. And their doggie-agent wasn't used on later episodes. Nice to hear him use some of the well-loved catch-phrases: "And. . . loving it!" "The forces of niceness!"

08-21-2014, 03:58 PM	#5
TV Knowledge Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Long Branch, N.J. Posts: 2,577	The pilot episode.... .....was produced in December 1964, when NBC was still scheduling only a handful of color shows in prime-time. After the network "bought" the series in March 1965, they decided that virtually all of their evening schedules would be filled with color programming that fall (except for "CONVOY" [no World War II naval footage in color was available] and "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" [Screen Gems/Columbia didn't believe the series would last a full season to justify the extra cost of color film, and NBC agreed]), and requested "GET SMART" be filmed in color.

08-18-2014, 02:30 PM	#2
torcan Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 04, 2009 Location: Toronto Posts: 154	Yes, this show and "Hogan's Heroes" had only their pilots in black and white, and the rest in color. Both were broadcast as premiere episodes for their network runs and were never repeated until syndication.

08-19-2014, 07:50 AM	#3
TV_on_the_Porch anything good on? Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 18, 2005 Posts: 879	Hogan's Heroes ' pilot was included in that show's syndication package from the beginning, but I never saw the Get Smart pilot until it was shown on Nick @ Nite in 1992. I know that there are complicated reasons why most--but not all--stations did not show most of GS's fifth season episodes, but I was under the impression that the pilot was "lost" until Nick @ Nite brought it back. Am I mistaken?

08-19-2014, 01:40 PM	#4
torcan Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 04, 2009 Location: Toronto Posts: 154	I saw the black and white pilot several times in the '70s. Old TVGuides confirm CBLT Toronto aired it when they picked up reruns of the series around '72. I saw it a few times after that as well...I think CITY-TV in Toronto also aired the pilot later in the '70s. I'm sure I saw it on US stations as well. Re. season 5 - you are correct. Apparantly when the show switched networks for the fifth season, the actors all signed new contracts which gave them bigger royalties for that season. That meant increased paperwork for those who carried the show and many stations decided just to air the first 4 seasons, since there were already more than 100 episodes available. I read that stations who carried the show could air the fifth season up to three times before their fees greatly increased for that season, that's why you saw it pop up from time to time. Some of my out-of-town TVGuides show that the fifth season was repeated frequently until the late '70s, depending on the station. When YTV in Canada picked up the show in the early '90s, the fifth season was never shown. Over the years the limitations on that season have been lifted, but the first time I really remember seeing the fifth season was when Nick at Nite had it in the mid'90s, then again on TVLand when they carried it for a while. That season is easily available on DVD, both in Canada and the US.

08-21-2014, 04:47 PM	#6
jehobden Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 06, 2002 Location: DFW Area, TX Posts: 2,004	I've read that Hank, also on NBC fall 1965, like these other shows had its pilot broadcast in B&W but its remaining episodes in color, but since it only lasted 1 season, it was never syndicated, so few if any people noticed or remembered this change.