By Jordyn Turney, 19, reporting from Alpine, CA, on her love for the original Agent 99 on the 1960s TV classic Get Smart
I have a long list of fictional characters I adore, right near the top of which is Get Smart's 99.
Not the Anne Hathaway, 21st-century version who knew she was hot stuff and thought she was just so much better than Max, but the original Barbara Feldon 1960s version, the former model secret agent who was so obviously in love with her partner-in-crime.
She's kind of the ultimate girl role model. For starters, she's awesome. She's beautiful, but not like she's been airbrushed to death. She's trained to fight on the side of good and can throw a punch like nobody's business. She's smart--fluent in multiple languages and an expert when it comes to things like shadowing (important for spies, not so much for the rest of us).
But beyond her extreme level of awesome, there's another reason I love this fictional character: because she's real. Or rather, because even though she's smart and pretty and seriously kick-butt, she's still capable of being just as immature and jealous as any of us when it comes to matters of the heart. Like mimicking the annoying squealy voice of her romantic rival, or looking very much like she wants to sink into the floor when she sees another girl (a pretty blonde with a job title much more feminine than her own) kiss the guy she loves.
OK, so maybe being jealous and a bit petty isn't something to aspire to. But it is human--and in the world of fictional characters who are personal heroes, that's always a good thing. And let's face it, when you're the only single girl, surrounded by happy couples, it's nice to know that even in the land of television not everyone is annoyingly happy and paired-up. — Jordyn Turney
Watch a tribute to 99 video (Barbara Feldon is singing!), and order the original DVDs here.