Inspector Gadget: Gadget's Greatest Gadgets

Obviously made to cash in on the crappy 1999 "Inspector Gadget" movie, this made-for-video cartoon is actually pretty good. The framing story is interesting (even though half of it is merely recycled animation from older episodes given new voices) and three classic episodes of the series are also shown here.

The new segments are pretty cool. Maurice LaMarche provides a decent Gadget voice (though it can't match Don Adams) and also voices Chief Quimby, while Cree Summer reprises the role of Penny (predating the 2006 "Robot Chicken" episode) and Frank Welker voicing Brain, Dr. Claw and M.A.D. Cat. There's some new animation of Inspector Gadget in the computer-filled laboratory from the episode "Gadget's Replacement" combined with old clips from said episode and several others, and he also contacts Penny and Brain and chats with Chief Quimby. However, the music in the new segments is not as good as the music from the actual series, but at least it's passable.

The three episodes include one from the first season and two from the infamous low-budget second season. They cut the safety tips for some strange reason, though. I would've liked to see those as well. The first-season episode included is "Prince of the Gypsies," and while it's rather decent, there were plenty of other episodes to choose from ("Eye of the Dragon" and "The Curse of the Pharaoh" particularly come to mind). The second season episodes include "The Capeman Cometh" and "Gadget's Gadgets," both of which feature the dreaded Corporal Capeman (the IG equivalent to Poochie the Dog!) The second season wasn't as good as the first, especially with the out-of-place music and Corporal Capeman and Penny's different voice.

However, I recommend this if you are an Inspector Gadget fan and if you can tough Corporal Capeman :P