snorlax3111984

Recently I finished watching every episode of the original "Inspector Gadget" episode. It's kind of crazy considering I didn't even like the show as a kid.

The main reason for the differences because how I perceive Gadget as a kid as an adult is that when I saw it as a kid, I didn't know who Don Adams was. Becoming acquainted with "Get Smart", I learned what a genius Don Adams was and this gave a lot more credibility to Gadget as Don Adams voiced him. "Inspector Gadget" has long been considered a spiritual successor to "Get Smart". It helps that Gadget said "sorry about that, chief" on a few occasions and even said "would you believe..." once or twice.

"Inspector Gadget" is one of those shows that has a set formula for what happens in each episode but it's so entertaining in action and comedy that even after 86 episodes it didn't seem stale. No matter what happens, you'll still be laughing at Gadget and cheering on his niece Penny & dog Brain as they're the real ones who save the day. You'll probably laugh at the self-destructing messages harming Chief Quimby but I always felt sorry for him.

Of course you can't talk about "Inspector Gadget" without its awesome villain. Dr. Claw is always entertainingly evil (he perhaps gets his name from Get Smart's villain "The Claw"). I never get tired of hearing him threatening his underlings. His pet/punching bag, Mad Cat is also very entertaining, especially when he does random stuff like mimicking Dr. Claw's fish- shaking or tying Dr. Claw's hand to his chair for no reason.

While the show was always good, it declined a bit in the second season. It seemed a tad lazy to use the same chief henchman in 3 separate episodes after all Season 1 episode used a different chief henchman. I was disappointed that they did less travel episodes and keep most of Season 2 in Metro City. The less said about Corporal Capeman the better. DIC thought he's be a welcome addition and they were wrong.

One good thing I can say about season 2 is they had good parodies of movies like Ghostbusters, Gremlins, The Godfather and Arsenic & Lace. It's good to see Frank Welker & Maurice Lamarche working on the same show 1 year before they began voicing Egon & Ray in "The Real Ghostbusters".

DIC was no match for Nicktoons or Disney Afternoon but they still made some dang good cartoons.

Pros 1. F. Murray Abraham more than deserved his Best Actor Oscar for his unforgettable performance as Salieri. He makes Salieri's frustrations and jealousy completely believable and relatable even for people like me who have never been interested in becoming a professional musician. Tom Hulce, in my opinion, would certainly have won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar if he hadn't unwisely been submitted in the Best Actor category. The decision to make Mozart silly and fancy-free was controversial but makes him more relatable and understandable.

2. The entire supporting cast is great. Even Elizabeth Berridge, who is usually the Amadeus cast member who gets the most flack, does a great job as Stanzi. She shows Stanzi as a woman who gives Mozart when he needs, whether he needs a friend or a kick in the rear. I especially liked all the court members like the Emperor, Chamberlain Von Strack, Count Orsini-Rosenberg and Kappelmeister Bonno as they struggle with Mozart, a music force clearly after their time. Also worth noting is Karl-Heinz Teuber's hilarious appearance as the wig salesman.

3. It's no wonder this film won Art Direction & Costume Design Oscars. The set design and outfits never fail to impress. This was the first big Oscar hit to win for Best Makeup and with the gorgeous old Salieri makeup, it's not hard to see why. The makeup doesn't look fake at all.

4. It goes without saying that a movie about Mozart has awesome music. It's not hard to understand why Salieri thinks Mozart has divine music talents.

5. This movie has no shortage of funny parts: Salieri falling out of a kid's bed, Mozart giggling sheepishly to Katerina Cavaleri when it's revealed he's engaged, the Emperor mocking Mozart's fixation on love, etc.

6. The movie does have a happy ending: Mozart dies tragically young but will live forever in his music and as for Salieri: he fought the God and the God won.

7. Best Line Salieri: (referring to Mozart's Serenade For Winds) On the page it looked nothing. The beginning simple, almost comic. Just a pulse: bassoons, trumpets. Like a rusty squeezebox. Then: high above it: an oboe. A single note standing there unwavering... until a clarinet took it over and sweetened it to a phrase of such delight. This was no composition by a performing monkey. This was a piece i'd never heard. Such longing, such unfulfillable longing.

What's wrong with Amadeus? Not a dang thing!