The question as of May 8, 2000 is:
Here are the responses:
According to AgentTamara Snyder who resides at Tamara's Scarecrow & Mrs. King Page-"I think the Agency is just what CONTROL evolved into. (CONTROL is the secret agency that Maxwell Smart (agent 86), The Chief, and 99 worked for in "Get Smart")."
We also have another response from Agent Christine Davis. Christine has been an SMK watcher since the original airing. It helped her through a bad childhood so she has an even more special place in her heart for the show than most fans. She is a new mother for the first time and she loves it!
Agent Davis examines the question thoroughly with her response:
We know The Agency was founded by Harry Thornton. The questions are why and how?
I have always felt that the President (or someone very high up in the White House or Pentagon) believed that the FBI and CIA needed to be watchdogged. I think The Agency fills that role. Even more importantly, I think there were certain cases which the President and his people didn't want handled by the FBI and/or CIA for various reasons.
The Agency is (supposedly) a completely secure group. No leaks, no egos, etc. With the CIA and FBI, you're bound to get people who want to sell information to the bad guys, leaks to the media, corruption, etc, etc. I think The Agency was supposed to be top-of-the-line, best-of-the-best, people who would never turn traitor, people who could be given sensitive assignments with the government resting assured they would remain Top Secret...that type of thing.
You'll notice that directives to Dr. Smyth or Billy often come from the President himself. I've always looked at The Agency as the Secret Service to the American People. In much the same way that the President directs the SS, he directs The Agency. I'm thinking that Harry Thornton must have known the President (whichever President was in office when he founded The Agency) and was asked personally by him to spearhead the project due to his experience, knowledge and abilities.
Also, as far as the Russians are concerned, I feel the government views The Agency as its first line of defense against them. Not the military, not the CIA, not the FBI. 90% of The Agency's business centers on KGB operatives, Americans who've turned traitor for Russia, etc, etc. Although they handle things like security for important domestic events, they also handle sensitive foreign cases. I think there's a lot of resentment of The Agency among the FBI and CIA folks because of the relationship The Agency has with the President and the higher ups.
To me, The Agency is the epitome of perfection (or is supposed to be). They're kind of the white knight of the U.S. Where all other agencies might not be as trustworthy, or might fail, The Agency always comes through.
Agent scotmoi@gvtel.com's reply is as follows: I agree with Agent Davis! I feel it is a whole separate agency from the CIA and FBI. I think that in our government things are "checked and balanced". The way the government has been set up, is the same why The Agency, the CIA and the FBI are kept in balance.
Agent Hunt Agrees with a couple of the other agents. "It's got to be something that the President set up. Seeing, as how the Agency has been around for a while, it seems to reason that it an ultra secret organization that the President knows about. Although the other agencies know about it, the AGENCY takes its direct orders from the Commander in Chief."
Agent Stephanie, who used to watch Scarecrow with her mom in the 80s and has recently caught up with the show again replies with the following: For the longest time I actually thought the Agency was the CIA or FBI. I was pretty young during the original airing. After I discovered the truth, I came to the conclusion that the Agency was a secret government operation, hence, secret agents. Mulder and Scully, being FBI, are agents, but not secret agents. Because I concluded the Agency must be secret I was always confused as how people knew what Lee and Amanda were talking about when they said they were from the Agency. If the Agency was supposed to be a secret, how did the people they questioned know who they were?
Thank you to all of the Agents for answering the query. Now, as for the rest of you, send your responses to MandaScarecrow@aol.com today. It's an order!
