Inspecteur Gadget

If there is anyone out there who enjoyed 1980's cartoon shows then I recommend you head for the nearest convention and get some old tapes because the 80's were brilliant for cartoons.

Each episode Inspector Gadget would receive his instructions from Police Chief Quimby who would usually be hiding in the oven or a wastebin. Gadget would then go off to fight crime with the aid of countless gadgets such as an umbrella which came out of his head and springs in his feet. In fact, Gadget had loads and loads of gadgets; how they ever got them all into the human body is a mystery.

Gadget would go out to solve the crime but he was actually a bumbling detective. It was actually his niece Penny and his dog Brain who would solve the crime but of course Gadget took all the credit.

The villains were good. The organisation was M.A.D. (I cannot remember what M.A.D. stood for)which was headed by the unseen Dr. Claw whose face was never revealed throughout the show (I could be wrong). Claw was one of those typical wicked 80's villains.

Gadget had it all-comedy and action. It was brilliant.

This show was before my childhood but my brother used to love it, I think it was his favourite show of all time.

But it is on every morning very early on Canada's children's network so I have seen it a lot lately and I think it's a great show for kids. If you ask me, it is a good show after all these years but also educational for children, not just entertaining.

The theme song really sticks in your head but not in an annoying way (at least not yet for me).

The voices were all great. Whoever did Inspector Gadget must have been a known actor because it is a familiar voice and was perfect for the part. Dr. Claw's voice was awesome, I love how you never see him and only get to see his metal hand. Every episode he sends agents to get Inspector Gadget, who is a bumbling stumbling guy who always ends up in various accidents but somehow accidentally gets the bad guy in the end (always with the help of Penny and his dog Brain who seem to be the only ones who realize how bumbling he is). The show always ended up with Dr. Claw seeing he's defeated and shouting "next time, Gadget, next time!" For each episode these missions seem to almost always be in a different place, so that kids watching learn about other parts of the world.

I hope it stays on the network so I can see every episode and that it is on when I have kids someday (fingers crossed).

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.

Here's your assignment: find another animated policeman who could possibly match Jacques Clouseau for accidents per hour...and happens to be loaded with all kinds of mechanical props.

"Inspector Gadget" makes for the perfect kid's show: lots of slapstick, the kids are the smartest ones in the room, the bad guys are all lunk heads, good always wins over evil and the dog gets all the best scenes. And then, there's Gadget himself.

Logic would dictate that Don Adams should do the voice (after all, he WAS Maxwell Smart!). That sharp, snappy voice was the perfect accent for a character who thought himself right all of the time; no matter whether he was or not.

When searching for clues, foiling the plans of Dr. Claw and his MAD organization with a heroic declaration like "I'm always on duty", accidentally blowing up his Chief Quimby every episode and striking fear into all agents out to destroy him (usually, through no fault of his own), Gadget was always cool, on top of the situation and, even when his first guess was always wrong, his third or fourth guesses made up for them.

His niece Penny was the thinker of the family, though, with her computerized notebook and keen mind for deductive reasoning. She was the main reason her uncle stayed around every episode. And faithful pet dog Brain kept a close eye on Gadget and, even when mistaken for a MAD agent, helped him time and again out of very sticky situations.

Forever alive in syndication, nothing can ever dim the might and power that is "Inspector Gadget". Gadget is, quite simply, THE MAN (main emphasis on the "simply" part)!

Ten stars. Go, "Gadget", go!

This was a hilarious cartoon and remains a classic series like Transformers. Perhaps the brilliance of the show is how Inspector Gadget's niece does most of the work and Gadget himself just stumbles onto it. Don Adams was a great choice to voice the title character. Anyone whose seen Get Smart knows that. Truly a great series.