Inspector Gadget

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For the 1999 live action film, see Inspector Gadget (film).

Inspector Gadget
Genre	Animated series
Running time	22-23 Minutes
Starring	Don Adams Frank Welker Maurice LaMarche Cree Summer
Country of origin	Canada  France  United States
Original channel	Syndicated
Original run	September 10, 1983–February 1, 1986
No. of episodes	86

Inspector Gadget is an animated television series about a clumsy, absent-minded, and oblivious detective, Inspector Gadget, who is a human being with various "gadgets" built into his anatomy. Gadget's main nemesis is the mysterious Dr. Claw, leader of an evil organization known as MAD (Mean And Dirty). This was the merchandising company DiC Entertainment's first syndicated show, and ran from 1983 to 1986 in syndication. This article pertains to the original cartoon series and its characters and plots; for information on its later spinoffs, see Inspector Gadget spinoff incarnations.

Don Adams, who voiced the titular character, also played the main character on the hit 1960s American television series Get Smart!; a secret agent named Maxwell Smart. As a result, similarities between the two series' and his characters are often drawn. However, Inspector Gadget has far more in common with the bumbling trench coat–clad Inspector Clouseau of The Pink Panther movie series than Get Smart!. In fact in the pilot episode of Inspector Gadget, Gadget had a mustache just like Clouseau's. It was removed afterwards apparently because MCA threatened to sue because he was too similar to Clouseau. The episode was even revoiced so Gadget could claim the mustache was simply part of a disguise.

The series was later adapted into a feature film starring Matthew Broderick as the Inspector, and a direct-to-video sequel starring French Stewart. The name has passed into common parlance to refer to people similarly obsessed with gadgetry.

Contents 1 Cast of characters 2 Plot 3 Episodes 4 Inspector Gadget's gadgets 4.1 Most commonly used gadgets: 4.2 Other gadgets: 4.3 Operation of the gadgets 5 The Gadgetmobile 6 Penny and Brain's gadgets 7 MAD 8 Unexplained facts 9 Background information 10 Music 10.1 Soundtrack 11 Trivia 11.1 Inspector Gadget's Custom Closing Logo 12 DVD releases in the US 13 See also 14 External links 15 References

[edit] Cast of characters

Inspector Gadget (voiced by Don Adams)

Bumbling and somewhat quixotic cyborg detective, who is also the title character. The character is similar to Adams' Get Smart character Maxwell Smart and Inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther film series.

Penny (voiced first by Cree Summer, then by Holly Berger)

Gadget's niece. Inspector Gadget is her guardian and caretaker, though often she seems more suited to be his caretaker due to Gadget's clumsiness and general cluelessness. Penny's hair is blond and she has green eyes. She nearly always wears a red t-shirt with a white stripe in the middle and a pair of green jeans with off-white patches on the knees. But we occasinally see her in a bikini at the beach or a coat in the wintertime. Unknown to any of the recurring characters other than Brain, she is the one truly responsible for foiling MAD's schemes. The name Penny may be a joke on the "detective adventures," particularly the James Bond film series, that the series constantly parodied. Penny thus is to Miss Moneypenny like Doctor Claw and MAD are to Ernst Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE, respectively. Her name is Sophie in the French version.

Brain (voiced by Frank Welker)

Penny's dog. He assists her in keeping Gadget out of danger and solving the crime. Although Gadget is in contact with Brain almost the entire time while he is supposedly solving a case, Gadget never sees through his disguises (and as often as not, Gadget assumes Brain is a MAD agent while ignoring all the real ones). Brain can speak a human language, though in a gruff "dog" voice (with a speech impediment featuring constant uses of the letter "r"), similar to Astro of The Jetsons or Scooby-Doo. Sometimes it is impossible to understand what Brain is saying. It is not known what breed of dog Brain is.

Doctor Claw (voiced by Frank Welker)

The main villain in the series and leader of the evil organization known as MAD. His face and the majority of his body are never shown throughout the series; only his arms and gloved hands are visible. Dr. Claw shares many characteristics with Ernst Stavro Blofeld from the James Bond films.

Mad Cat (voiced by Frank Welker)

Dr. Claw's fat pet cat. He is always at Dr. Claw's side. In many episodes he attempts to do something simple, but fails. He doesn't have a voice of any kind but will laugh when Dr. Claw laughs.

Chief Quimby (voiced by Maurice LaMarche)

Gadget's boss. He appears at the beginning of each episode with his own theme music to deliver Gadget his mission only to be blown up by the self-destructing message (which is clearly marked) due to Gadget's stupidity, and appears again at the end of each episode to congratulate Gadget on a job well done. Again, the character is a synthesis of The Chief from Get Smart! and Chief Inspector Dreyfus of the Pink Panther films.

Corporal Capeman (voiced by Townsend Coleman)

A nerdy sidekick who dresses in stereotypical superhero garb and accompanies Gadget in a few episodes during the second season. He is even more clueless and dumber than Gadget. The two have a student/mentor relationship, though Gadget is rarely teaching anything nor is Capeman learning. Capeman is obsessed with learning to fly and often mistakenly believes he has miraculously acquired the power of flight while in the midst of dire circumstances. His last appearance is in the series' last episode: "Gadget and the Red Rose" (#86).

In the first season, nearly every episode saw the introduction of some supervillain who had come to be employed by Dr. Claw to commit a crime suited to their special skills. They are typically arrested at the end of the episode, and do not appear again in the series.

[edit] Plot

Inspector Gadget was apparently employed by the Metro City police department, and many episodes either took place or began somewhere in Metro City. However, his missions would often take him to a different exotic locale, generally without giving any explanation as to how a crime on the other side of the earth was of any interest to the Metro City police.

Although there were rare exceptions, every single episode of the first season followed a standard plot, with little variation:

• Gadget, Penny, and Brain are engaged in some family activity that is interrupted by Police Chief Quimby calling on the Top Secret Gadget Phone. He then appears in an outlandish disguise - a gas barrel, a gypsy fortuneteller, even a gargoyle on Gadget's house.

• Quimby gives Gadget a mission on a self-destructing sheet of paper. As Gadget reads the message, his eyes dart back and forth and we hear the sound of a typewriter. The last line of the message always reads "This message will self destruct.", a spoof of the exploding taped messages from the television series Mission: Impossible. Gadget says his catchphrase, which is "Don't worry, Chief, I am always on duty.", before he crumples up that paper, then unintentionally throws the message back at Chief Quimby and walks away in total ignorance. The message explodes seconds later in Quimby's face, who asks himself something like "Why do I put up with him?". The only episode without the exploding paper is "Health Spa" (#5), in which Gadget does not even get a mission. Instead, Gadget slams the door into Chief Quimby shortly after Quimby says, "At last, an assignment that won't blow up in my face."
• Dr. Claw is always somehow visually monitoring this event on his computer from his desk or car, and introduces his scheme and usually a new super villain employee to the viewers. The schemes nearly always include trying to eliminate Gadget as well as stealing valuable things.
• Gadget bumbles through his mission oblivious to the dangers and overall situation around him. He almost invariably mistakes hostile enemy agents for helpful allies, and vice versa.
• Brain is always instructed by Penny to follow Gadget to make sure he does not get hurt. Brain would make use of various costumes (although how he got them is not explained) and often interacts with Gadget, who never recognizes him. Gadget usually considers the disguised Brain to be the main suspect. When intervening to save Gadget from MAD agents, Brain often becomes the victim (along with the agents themselves) instead of Gadget. Gadget himself rarely comes to any harm, and if he does, it's usually self-inflicted. Even when Inspector Gadget falls into a MAD agent trap, he always escapes by using his gadgets.
• Penny investigates the crimes and is usually the one to solve the case with the help of her Computer Book. With it, she can override the controls of just about anything electronic -- if she can, as she always says, "find the right frequency." She often stops the MAD agents when she overrides the controls of the vehicle MAD agents drive and forces them to crash. Sometimes, she uses her Computer Book to override the controls of one of Doctor Claw's evil machines, causing it to overload and explode. On occasion, Inspector Gadget unintentionally solves the case without being aware of it. Penny may get captured and escape the criminals during her investigation, when Brain comes to rescue her. Sometimes, Penny escapes herself when the Mad Agents don't do a good job of locking her up, or are distracted by something. She will sometimes use the help of her Computer Book to escape as well.
• Shortly before Penny solves the case, she calls Chief Quimby to the crime scene.
• Inspector Gadget invariably gets credit for solving the mission, with everyone believing that he has in fact stopped Dr. Claw single-handedly. Chief Quimby appears and congratulates him. No one ever suspects that it was in fact Penny and Brain who did all of the work. Typically, they show up and Gadget doesn't even know how they got there, but he is delighted to see them. Like many cartoons, the episode usually ends with them all laughing at something.
• After this, Dr. Claw is seen either in his hideout or escaping in some advanced jet, car, or submarine, delivering his catch phrase: "I'll get you next time, Gadget! Next Time!!!". This phrase is also played towards the end of the end credits in every episode.
• In common with many 1980s American children's TV shows, Inspector Gadget's last scene is a safety tip often relating to the episode.

While the show was admittedly formulaic (at the time, it was often compared with the 1960s TV show Get Smart, which also starred Don Adams, but the two have very little in common), charming and appealing main characters, exotic and varied locations, and solid writing kept the series entertaining. Also, children tend to enjoy formulas and repetition, which helped keep the show popular long after its cancellation.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Inspector Gadget episodes

[edit] Inspector Gadget's gadgets

Inspector Gadget's gadgets were the most unique aspect of the show, and although they are central to his character, they rarely ever actually do him any good when it comes to solving his case.

The inspector seems to have an infinite supply of gadgets located all over his body. However, there are several that appear regularly.

[edit] Most commonly used gadgets:

• Gadget Binoculars: Binoculars lower down out of his hat and over his eyes.
• Gadget 'Brella: A hand holding an umbrella that comes out of his hat. It can be used as a parachute. More often than not, he will fall rapidly when using his 'Brella' when it turns inside-out.
• Gadget Coat: His trench coat inflates when he pulls one of its buttons and enables him to float — in water or in the sky. It is almost always deflated by being punctured, causing him to leap through the sky as the air is released before falling from a great height.
• Gadget Copter: Helicopter propeller blades that come out of his hat that enable him to fly.
• Gadget Cuffs: A handcuff comes out of his forearm just above his hand.
• Gadget Eyes: His eyes move mechanically while he reads, accompanied by a sound similar to a typewriter.
• Gadget Hands: Several mechanical hands can pop out of Gadget's hat. These hands will sometimes hold various objects including a camera, a motorized fan, a spotlight, a can opener, and other useful things. Of course, there are times when they will also be holding something useless or unhelpful to the situation.
• Gadget Legs/Arms/Neck: His neck, arms, and legs can telescope and extend to great lengths.
• Gadget Legs (springs): As well as being telescopic, his legs can also extend with springs, which is useful for jumping and landing.
• Gadget Phone: A telephone in his hand. The antenna comes out of one finger and the speaker and receiver on others. This is one of the few gadgets that is not voice activated. (At one point, there is also a regular telephone inside Gadget's hat.)
• Gadget Skates: Roller skates come out of the bottom of his shoes. He is often very clumsy and struggles to keep his balance on the skates. Later in the series, he tries adding his own modifications in the form of rockets that come out from the sides. These have even more glitches than most of his gadgets for their first few appearances.
• Gadget Spring: A spring comes out of his hat, enabling him to bounce, usually when falling head first and hitting his head against the ground.

[edit] Other gadgets:

• Gagdet Flower: A mechanical hand holding a big sunflower emerges from his hat and can either spray water or sleep gas towards.
• Gadget Ears: Metal cones that deploy from his head, around his ears, allowing him to hear better.
• Gadget Hat doff: Possibly one of the Inspector's most interesting (and revealing) gadgets of all: when Gadget greets a lady, instead of doffing his hat, a mechanical hand emerges from his hat, in the hand is another hat; from this other hat emerges a second mechanical hand, which is also holding a hat, totaling three hats! (Probably only seen once in Do Unto Udders)
• Gadget Lasso: His necktie turns into a lasso.
• Gadget Magnets: Magnets come out of the bottom of his shoes. More often than not, the magnets end up sticking to any metallic object with a magnetic attraction. It is sometimes useful when attempting to avoid slipping on slippery surfaces.
• Gadget Mallet: A wooden hammer held in a robotic hand that also comes out of his hat. It usually winds up bopping someone it should not — sometimes even the Inspector himself.
• Gadget Parachute: A relatively small, red parachute which was probably only used in episode #48, Do Unto Udders. Here, Gadget gets stuck in his parachute on a farm, making an ill-mannered bull "see red" and attack him.
• Gadget Respirator: A self-contained breathing mask and the only gadget that Gadget has to physically reach for and pull on as he said his "Go-go Gadget" command for it.
• Gadget Siren: A police light and siren pop out of the top of his hat.
• Gadget Skis: Skis extended out of the ends of his shoes.
• Gadget Teeth: His teeth pop out of his mouth and will float around, biting the air. He can't talk when this is in use (at least not well).
• Gadget Wind sail: A huge wind sail emerges from his hat, which, when combined with gadget skis, allows him to wind sail down a snowy track (probably only used once, in Bad Altitude)
• Finger Gadgets: There are several gadgets inside his fingers, accessed by taking the end off his finger to expose the gadget. These include a flashlight, key, laser, pen, screwdriver, drill bit, snow gun, corkscrew, water pistol, water finger (ie hose) and whistle.

[edit] Operation of the gadgets

The Inspector can activate each of his gadgets by calling its name, "Go-go gadget arms!" (for example), but there are times when gadgets appear to be activated by reflex rather than being called. Quite often, either the called gadget will malfunction, or the wrong one will be activated. When this happens, the Inspector will muse that he desperately needs to get them fixed, although he apparently neglects to ever actually do so. In The Boat, while falling through the air, Gadget calls several gadgets that do not activate, finally calling "Go-go gadget anything!" to which the gadget 'brella activates. Gadgets also have a tendency to activate (or eject) en mass whenever the Inspector falls over, sneezes etc. — this often occurs at the end of an episode, accompanied by all the characters laughing. The gadgets occasionally seem to have a bit of a mind of their own: in episode #48, Do Unto Udders, one of the hands uses a severe pointing finger to stop Gadget from buying unhealthy food.

It is hard to determine if calling the gadgets is mandatory or not: in Bad Altitude, the Inspector is trying not to wake a sleeping Penny, so whispers "Go-go gadget pen" quietly, suggesting that the gadget would not work without the call. Conversely, there are many times when the Inspector seems quite capable of producing any gadget without calling it. For example, in Mad Trap, Gadget competes with a jack-in-the-box by producing a variety of gadgets from his hat; or in The Boat, Gadget performs a quick test of several of his gadgets, all without calling any of them. One explanation for calling the gadgets is that it could be etiquette or protocol — more for the sake of warning other people than for any functional reason. Another explanation is that the Inspector finds it difficult to activate the gadgets purely by thought, and so calls them aloud in order to focus his mind (similar to how people sometimes command themselves to "think" when they need to concentrate hard). This hypothesis seems to tie in with the fact that Gadget has more difficulty activating gadgets while under pressure. However, these inconsistencies can also simply be attributed to the general inconsistent nature of most aspects of the cartoon.

[edit] The Gadgetmobile

Similar to his body, Gadget's car, the "Gadgetmobile", is also fully loaded with a seemingly limitless arsenal of gadgets. It has all of the clichéd features of any fictional crime fighting vehicle (like the Batmobile, or a James Bond car for instance) including a smoke screen, ability to drop a trail of tacks to blow out a pursuing vehicle's tires, ejector seat, and a winch on the front.

Besides having all of the typical features, it has many specialized ones as well, such as the ability to extend its wheels (not unlike Gadget's arms and legs) to great lengths, and to completely transform into another vehicle altogether, the Gadgetvan, even while in motion. All of the Gadgets on the Gadgetmobile are voice activated in the same way that the gadgets on his body are activated, by calling its name, "Go go gadget van!" (for example), although when changing into the van and back, he usually moves a lever while saying it.

In one episode (The Ruby), Inspector Gadget summons the Gadgetmobile while on foot ("Go-go gadget car!"). The Gadgetmobile then arrives on the scene and — in usual malfunctioning style — drives straight past him.

It is also, for the most part, nigh invulnerable. There are a few occasions where it has taken head-on collisions, attacks or has fallen from great heights and remained completely intact.

[edit] Penny and Brain's gadgets

As well as Inspector Gadget, Penny and Brain have a few of their own gadgets:

Penny's Computer book
A phonebook-sized machine that functions like a laptop computer — a device virtually unheard of during the show's run — and is apparently capable of hacking into and interfacing with any piece of electronic equipment, and some non electronic equipment, like a safe. The 'book' apparently does not have multiple pages, as we always see exactly the same control configuration whenever Penny is using it. Penny usually carries her computer book in her backpack (we tend to only see her wearing the backpack when the computer book is to be used shortly after).

Penny's Wristwatch
Penny's wristwatch appears to have three main functions:

• Primarily used to communicate with Brain (in a manner very similar to a modern cellular videophone).
• Used in most episodes to contact Chief Quimby, although this is clearly an audio-only communication, and probably one-way, as we never hear a response from the Chief.
• Can fire what appears to be some kind of directional laser beam, capable of cutting through a heavy metal door (as seen in Bad Altitude).

Brain's communicator
Used for communicating with Penny, Brain's communicator is hidden in his dog collar. When a call is received, the collar's studs extend out around Brain (usually three studs are shown extending but this number does vary). Presumably, the three studs contain a camera, speaker and microphone.

[edit] MAD

MAD is an organization whose chief operation is committing crime and wreaking havoc. Headed by the mysterious Dr. Claw, MAD would seem to have numerous agents working for it but on the series only six or seven are seen repeatedly and only the special ones hired from the outside crime world, including Knuckles and Dr. Noodleman, are named. MAD is obviously a spoof on large scale evil organization (such as SPECTRE) with grandiose schemes for world conquest seen in James Bond and other secret agent fiction. On some merchandise fans will notice that MAD is shown as an acronym for "Mean and Dirty". No mention of this fact is ever made in the series, and it is not considered canon.

MAD corporate identity
For an evil organization, MAD seems oddly enthusiastic about self-promotion and branding. Everything MAD creates seems customized to incorporate the MAD logo, or MAD-like imagery (ie cat heads and fangs). All MAD agents are assigned with corporate clothing covered in the MAD logo, even down to their underwear (as seen in Did You Myth Me and Do Unto Udders). And just for good measure — as if the costumes weren't conspicuous enough — all MAD agents drive around in trucks with 'MAD' written on the side. Inspector Gadget never recognizes the MAD logo, MAD uniforms or MAD imagery.

MAD salute
MAD agents often show their respect/allegiance to Dr. Claw by performing the MAD salute. This basically involves swiftly putting a clenched fist to (or punching) the side of one's head. The salute seems to be used more in later episodes, and possibly wasn't conceived until midway through the show's production.

[edit] Unexplained facts

One element of Inspector Gadget's popularity was the fact that a lot of the show's premises were never fully explained, which in turn led to open speculation. The show offered virtually no back-story, which forced viewers to use their imaginations to explain the unexplained.

For example:

• Dr. Claw's identity; no back story is ever given to him, and we never see his face (although an action figure line released after the series' cancellation featured a Dr. Claw figure with a face, which was hidden by the packaging)[1]. Many fans suspected Chief Quimby was actually Dr. Claw, due to the closing credits sequence in which Dr. Claw's voice would threaten the Inspector while Quimby angrily spoke to him, implying Claw's voice was coming out of Quimby's mouth. This was probably an audio gaffe, but it would explain...
  • How Chief Quimby acquires detailed information about every one of Dr. Claw's plans.
  • How Chief Quimby can appear wherever Inspector Gadget is.
• The source of Dr. Claw's wealth.
• Why every crime Gadget investigates turns out to be organized by MAD.
• The history of Dr. Claw's feud with Gadget (they are long-time enemies in the pilot).
• Why Claw uses such elaborate methods to eliminate Gadget (rather than just shooting him).
• The location of Penny's parents. Usually, fans assume she is an orphan.
• Where Brain gets his endless amount of costumes and disguises.
• Gadget's first name and/or real name. (In the series, he introduces himself by saying, "My name is Inspector Gadget", while Penny always calls him "Uncle Gadget". Other references make it clear that "Inspector" is his legal first name and "Gadget" his legal last name.)
• How Chief Quimby always thinks Gadget solved the case when Penny is the one who calls him in.
• The location of Dr. Claw's hideout, and why, if Quimby was able to obtain all of his other information about Claw, he never discovered and raided the hideout (most episodes depict Claw in the same fortress in the same location).
• How Dr. Claw, despite all his surveillance, has failed to identify Penny and/or Brain as major threats to his criminal operations, and why he has never specifically plotted to eliminate them.
• How the message Chief Quimby gives to the Inspector explodes after he reads it.
• How Dr. Claw is able to visually monitor virtually any event anywhere.
• The circumstances under which Gadget had his gadgets installed. (We only know that they were installed by Professor von Slickstein, making the first of his few appearances in the fourth episode to air, The Amazon. This, however, contradicts another episode in which one of Gadget's ancestors, a caveman, is seen with gadgets as well.)
• How much of Gadget's body is biological/mechanical.
• The origin of the Gadgetvan/Gadgetmobile, and whether the transformation is purely aesthetic (to signify off duty/on duty), or if the Gadgetmobile is actually more powerful or agile than the Gadgetvan.
• The source and nature of Penny's Computer Book.
• The origin and technology behind Penny's wristwatch and Brain's communicator. The fact that Brain's communicator is custom-made for a dog strongly suggests that Penny and Brain were given all their technology (most likely by Professor von Slickstein), rather than coming across it by accident. This, in turn, would suggest that Penny knew her uncle before he acquired his gadgets.

[edit] Background information

The initial idea for Inspector Gadget came from Andy Heyward, who also wrote the pilot episode, Winter Olympics (often syndicated as episode #65, Gadget in Winterland), in 1982. Jean Chalopin helped him develop the format and concept for the rest of the episodes, whereas Bruno Bianchi designed the main characters and served as supervising director. Peter Sauder was the head writer during the first season.

The first season was aired from September 10, 1983 to November 1984, comprising sixty-five 22½-minute long episodes. The original pilot episode had a slightly higher budget than the rest of the series, but because of several animation problems and a far from established formula, the other 64 episodes of the season stand out as better. After the first season, the show was a worldwide hit.

The first season episodes were repeated during the 1984–1985 season, with 21 new episodes premiering during the second and last season of Inspector Gadget from September 1985 to February 1986 making 86 in all. Several significant changes were made to the established formula in the cheaper episodes in the second season:

• Evil henchmen have recurring roles, appearing in as many as three episodes in a row without being arrested. Even though this allowed for better continuity, the show lost some of its moral fiber that way, and it also became confusing that the villains merely disappeared from the show after their third episode, still not in jail.
• The crime would more often revolve around simply getting rid of Gadget.
• Gadget, Penny, and Brain move into a high-tech house filled with many gadgets, where a few of the episodes are actually located — probably another result of the lower budgets.
• Penny doesn't get into trouble as often, something which may have made the show less appealing to children, and also weakened her character.
• In the season's fourth episode, the writers introduced a sidekick named Corporal Capeman, who was (and is) widely unpopular with the show's fan base. He appeared in eight non-consecutive episodes.

Although these differences lessened the repetition, the show's popularity sank. Apparently the removed elements had all been part of the great success of season one.

The first sixty-five 22½-minute episodes were written, designed, storyboarded, and voiced-recorded in Canada at Nelvana Animation Studio, while being directed (long distance) by a French director. Most of these episodes were animated in Tokyo, Japan by Tokyo Movie Shinsha, the studio that animated most DiC cartoons of the 1980s, while a few episodes were animated in Taiwan by Cuckoo's Nest Studio, before being finished in post production by the same Canadian studio Nelvana that did preproduction, and broadcast in the North America in September, 1983. A month or so later, the show premiered in France, whose version also featured a theme song with French lyrics and the French title Inspecteur Gadget appearing in front of the episode (the American o was changed with the French eu).

Don Adams, the voice of Inspector Gadget in the American version of the cartoon, had also played Maxwell Smart, the lead character in Get Smart, giving both shows a certain resemblance to North American viewers. When recording moved to the U.S. for the second season, several of the voices (among them Cree Summer, who played Penny) were replaced.

[edit] Music

The theme music for the show was composed by Shuki Levy & Haim Saban. Both of them composed background music for this show and many other DiC cartoons of the 1980s. When listening to the instrumental version of the theme tune during the credits, the words "Inspector Gadget" can still clearly be heard in the synthesizer melody alone, with no vocals playing.

Most of the background music cues are some sort of variation of the Gadget melody. Even at festivals or dances in the cartoon, the Gadget theme is usually played. Occasionally during an episode, such as in Launch Time, Inspector Gadget will hum or even sing his the theme. Levy and Saban also had a range of other musical cues for each character as well as for the various moods of the scenes. Penny and Brain each have several different versions of their respective musical themes.

[edit] Soundtrack

A soundtrack LP to accompany the series, named "Inspecteur Gadget - Bande Originale de la Serie TV", was released in France in 1983 by Saban Records, the current production company of Shuki Levy and Haim Saban. The LP is extremely rare and almost impossible to get hold of. It features the following tracks:

1. Inspector Gadget (with French vocals) 2. Penny's Theme (with French vocals) 3. Brain The Dog - The Song (with French vocals) 4. Gadget on Mars 5. Ghost 6. Mad Art in Museum 7. Gadget in Japan 8. Chocolate Factory 9. Rodeo 10. Mad's Theme 11. Heroes in African Jungle 12. Gadget with the Incas 13. Look Out 14. Gadget in Trouble 15. Arabian Desert 16. Sophisticated Gadget 17. Train Machine 18. Kingdom 19. Car Race 20. Pharaohs 21. Penny's Theme 22. Inspector Gadget (Instrumental)

With the exception of the first three tracks, all the music on this album is incidental music directly from the TV series. The album is far from a complete soundtrack, although this would be impossible as there were probably several hours of source music used in the series. Some tracks on the album are more location/episode-specific or for special sequences. There were also at least two other records released by Saban Records (both in French). One of these was the single of the theme music (with French vocals, released both in 1983 and 1985 with different sleeve covers), and another was an audio story named "La Malediction de la roi Touthankamon", based on the episode "Curse of the Pharaoes".

[edit] Trivia

• Around the same time Inspector Gadget was being made, DiC Entertainment was also making a syndicated cartoon version of the comic strip Heathcliff, which was done by the same animators. It is not at all uncommon to see characters from one show make a brief cameo on another show produced by the same company, and Inspector Gadget and Heathcliff were no exceptions. For example, on one episode of Heathcliff, some characters are watching a television program called "Inspector Gadget on Ice" and the inspector is visible on the television figure skating. Also, Inspector Gadget's "Bad Dreams Are Made Of This", a detour through an alley in the Gadgetmobile startles Hector, Mungo, and Wordsworth from Heathcliff, who are eating out of trashcans there. In yet another episode, Riff Raff briefly watches Inspector Gadget on a television, and hums part of the Inspector Gadget theme song.

• There seems to be a distinctive lack of racial diversity in the drawings of the cartoon. This is most obvious in the Indian episode (The Ruby), where every single person in India is Caucasian.

• Inspector Gadget was occasionally mentioned in the live-action segments of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. Episode #60, Defective Gadgetry, even featured a special guest appearance by Maurice LaMarche playing the role of Gadget. Lamarche would later take over the role as Gadget's voice artist from Don Adams (see the Inspector Gadget spinoff incarnations).

• Gadget once made a brief and unusual cameo appearance on Stunt Dawgs, in which he was nearly run over by the Stunt Dawgs' monster truck, prompting his trademark exclamation "Wowsers!"

• A line of cereal box trading cards sporting Inspector Gadget scenes circulated in 1991. Most cards had a frame from an episode on one side, and a short, meaningless bit of information on the other side with the cereal logo. (The canonicity of this information is unknown - the actual Inspector Gadget card claims he received his gadgets after slipping on a banana peel.)

• In the episode "Gadget's Gadgets", the MAD agent "Dr. Noodleman" is assigned by Claw to get rid of the Inspector's gadgets. A character named "Dr. Noodleman" also appeared in Get Smart and was Maxwell Smart's physician.

• Robot Chicken did 2 parodies of the show:

• There were 86 episodes of Inspector Gadget produced. Coincidentally, 86 was also the secret agent number of Maxwell Smart.

• The episode M.A.D. Trap is one of the few episodes in which Gadget actually shows some competence. When Dr Claw traps him in a steel foundry, he shows a degree of intelligence, using his gadgets flawlessly to save Penny and Brain. Later, in the "moral", they muse that it was a good thing his gadgets were in top shape.

[edit] Inspector Gadget's Custom Closing Logo

For the 1983 season of Inspector Gadget, it had a unique closing logo. A green DiC logo on a blue background is seen. Gadget enters from the right side of the screen roller skating. Halfway through, his Gadget mallet is activated and smashes a round hole above the "i" "dotting" it. He then clumsily exits on the left side of the screen. The music is a trombone solo of the end notes to the theme music. In Season Two, they began using their first standard end logo, featuring the DiC logo coming up on a CGI vortex. Another DiC cartoon from the era, The Littles, also had an almost-similar custom end logo featuring Dinky Little, but unlike the Gadget logo, this one was used throughout the entire run of that show.

These logos, along with the "Vortex" and "The Kid in Bed" have usually been replaced with the "The Incredible World of DiC logo" now. The Gadget logo is deleted on all current DVD releases of the show in the USA, including the 4-disc DVD set Inspector Gadget: The Original Series from Shout! Factory (most episodes have the "Incredible World of DiC" while a couple of episodes feature the "Kid in Bed" logo). However, in Europe this logo is still present, followed by the Saban International and Fox Kids Europe logos, and, more recently, the Buena Vista International logo (since Disney now control the distribution of most former Fox Kids cartoons in Europe, renaming the channel Jetix).

[edit] DVD releases in the US

• Inspector Gadget - The Gadget Files - a single disc DVD released by UAV Corporation in July, 2004; containing the first five episodes and an interview with Andy Heyward.

• Inspector Gadget - The Original Series - A four disc DVD set entitled Inspector Gadget: The Original Series, collecting the first 22 episodes, released in North America on April 25, 2006 by Shout! Factory. It also contained three special features (in addition, interview with the voice cast was initially to be included):
  • "Wowsers" - a retrospective featurette with Andy Heyward (DIC Chairman) and Mike Maliani (DIC Chief Creative Officer)
  • Original art gallery
  • Inspector Gadget fan art contest winners

Due to lower sales than hoped, however, it's currently not known whether or not the remaining episodes will be released. In November 2006, FOX apparenty got the DVD rights to Inspector Gadget,though no further plans are announced.

[edit] See also

• Inspector Gadget spinoff incarnations
• Robocop is another police cyborg, but in a much darker tone.

[edit] External links

• YTV page
• DiC Page
• Character sheet for Inspector Gadget
• Inspector Gadget at TV.com
• Inspector Gadget at the Internet Movie Database
• Opening Sequence
• Opening and closing sequences, including the rare pilot episode, on retrojunk.com

[edit] References

• Adrian Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable, ISBN 0-304-35871-1

Formerly Broadcast Animated Nickelodeon Shows of the 1980s
Channels on the Nickelodeon Network: TV Land | Nick Too | Nick GAS | Nicktoons Network | Noggin / The N
Premiered between 1983-1989: Bananaman | DangerMouse | Belle and Sebastian | Star Trek: The Animated Series | The Little Prince | The Smurfs | Mysterious Cities of Gold | Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea | Adventures of the Little Koala | Heathcliff | Jim Henson's Muppet Babies | Inspector Gadget | Maple Town | Count Duckula | The Alvin Show on Nickelodeon | Beetlejuice | Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics | Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon | Noozles | The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! | The World of David the Gnome