OK Go!

Cone-Head

Mel Brooks' greatest creation may well be the world's most clueless secret agent, Maxewell Smart of CONTROL. Smart was true role model for yours truly. I recently learned they'd finanly produced a Get Smart! Complete Five-Season DVD Box Set, and I ordered an advance exclusive from TimeLife.

Of course, Max had the world's first cel phone - in his shoe! My second favorite gadget was, of course, The Cone of Silence. In the words of Carl Birkmeyer, host of the wonderful Get Smart! site at wouldyoubelieve.com, "The Cone of Silence. One of Max's favorite gadgets, it never worked properly, yet Max never gave up faith in it. It was designed by Professor Cone, at least in the show's mythology. In reality, Set Designer Stan Jolley, designed the Cone for the show. "

From Wikipedia: In the series, whenever Maxwell Smart ("Agent 86") wanted to speak to his boss ("Chief") about a top secret matter, he would insist on the use of a comically defective technology called "the Cone of Silence." The Chief, usually with annoyed skepticism, would press a switch, causing the device to descend from above the Chief's desk, surrounding the heads of the two would-be conversers. The awkwardly impractical device was clear plastic in the shape of two interconnected inverted bowls. Part of the humor was in the irony that Agent 86 and Chief could never hear each other clearly, while bystanders in the room could hear everything they said. Often at the end of the labored conversation, the Chief would be terribly frustrated and upset.

Variations on the Cone included a portable version, made of two globes for the participants' heads connected by a tube (pictured above left); and the "Umbrella of Silence", which supported up to four people. In "Tale of Two Tales," (pictured right), Max and the Chief, unable to hear, are forced to use Control Card File to communicate. In "I'm Only Human," Max and the Chief enter the Cone, but so does a bee. The sound of the bee buzzing overwhelms both of them, and what's worse, the Chief is bee-phobic. Of course, it lands on the Chief's nose, and of course, Max says 'Don't worry, I'll just...' You can imagine the rest... In another episode, (pictured left) The Chief doesn't want to use the Cone because it hasn't been working properly, but Max insists. As they talk, the Cone starts rising and descending. As they finish their conversation, the Cone keeps descending, crushing the Chief's desk and forcing Max and the Chief to drop to the floor.