Inspector Gadget

After the Nostalgia Critic's scathing review of the movie, I went and looked into the original cartoon again.

In the course of my torrent hunting, I found the soundtrack to the show. The MP 3 files are supposedly from an LP. While the lyrics were in French, there was an instrumental version of the theme in the torrent.

I noticed something interesting about the music: it sounds like it could well have been synthesised on MIDI equipment of the era. I can't help but think that the safe sound in the intro is the Telephone instrument played low.

So, has anyone else noticed anything interesting about the show?

Before someone else can post the theme song...

The series had a good premise and likable characters, but it could have used a lot more variation. It became way too repetitive, way too soon.

Oddly enough, I like it better now than when I was a child.

The show had a lot of music, and needless to say most of it isn't on the soundtrack. Penny's theme alone has upwards of four distinct variations that were used semi-regularly on the show, only one of which was on the soundtrack. Let alone Gadget's.

Brain's regular theme didn't even make it to the soundtrack. Hmph.

I really like the show's soundtrack (it's so extremely 80's cartoon music), so I've been trying to track down the other tracks, or failing that trying to learn how to get them off the clips they're on.

It's kind of a boring show.

It'd be better if Gadget was less oblivious and actually had a hand in solving the crimes.

It had about one plotline: Bad guys do something, Gadget gets sent in, spends half an hour being completely clueless, niece and dog sneak along, get captured at some point, escape, do all the work, let Gadget take credit.

The only time Gadget appeared to be anything less than brain-damaged was the pilot episode and he was still sort of stupid.

Christ, the show was actually less imaginative than Scooby Doo.

edited 19th Mar '11 9:12:31 AM by RichReeders

That's why I actually kind of liked the movie. For all its flaws, GADGET ACTUALLY DOES THINGS RELEVANT TO THE PLOT.

And that is why the movie was good.

Like he said, the only way it was superior to the cartoon.

I wouldn't quite go that far, but it really is more of a "cartoon you watch for laughs every once in awhile" rather than something that can be appreciated for any artistic merit.

I once WM Ged that Gadget was perpetually high from the chemicals used to run his machines, and that's why he's so stupid and comes to some batshit insane conclusions sometimes. Watching it in that sense makes it far more entertaining.

Having only one plot is not always that bad: Wile E. Coyote approves.

However, I think it would have been better if it had a Rogues Gallery rather than the antagonist being always "M.A.D. and its Field Agent Of The Week".

I have memories of watching this back when Nickelodeon aired it constantly. While the show is a bit lackluster looking back at it, the main theme music was always worth watching it for. That, and this show wasn't the first time Don Adams played a bumbling spy.

edited 12th Apr '11 7:19:27 AM by GreenMachine2084

^^ Hey, those field agents weren't half bad.

Clearly you don't remember MACHO MIGUEL! (mariachi riff)

Eh, I'm fine with the "he fights M.A.D. Agents" approach.

I don't really like Rogues Galleries, to be honest. In those situations, the villain is always an underdog, which not only makes him more sympathetic (and makes the hero seem like something of a bully) but also means you have to jump through hoops or make ridiculous, suspension-breaking assumptions to have them get back in power in time to actually matter a damn. They also make the premise of any given series feel a lot weaker.

To put it another way: I know that Gadget (and more specifically, his niece and her dog) can take on this global, high-tech professional crime organization on an almost routine basis, why should I be worried if, in one episode, they're all the sudden taking on some Mafia goon, or a bank robber, or something? It's better to have one unified threat who is somehow or other related to everything than to have dozens of little threats.

One major threat and several smaller ones don't have to be mutually exclusive, you know.

That's true, but... usually when you have a Major Threat, all the Minor ones tend to be kind of annoying.

To be honest I can only think of two cartoons that mixed Major and Minor threats and actually pulled it off: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and The Smurfs. The former tended to do it by simply telling different types of stories in non-Skeletor episodes, while the latter worked mostly because the premise of the show was such that technically, villains were a mere accessory—anything could generate a plotline.

Getting back to Inspector Gadget though, to be honest half the reason you watched this show was because of the mystery behind Dr. Claw and you hoped an episode would reveal more about him (especially his face), so naturally if you ever tuned in and Dr. Claw wasn't even the villain, you suddenly had a lot less reason to care. To their credit, DIC actually realized this and even when they released a Dr. Claw action figure, they had a sticker on the packaging that covered his face until the moment you tore the box open. Having minor threats probably would not have worked, in this case.

Possibly the main character why the Inspector Gadget movie gets trashed so much (other than the plot changes so to give Dr. Claw an origin story): thirty minutes were cut before release. The film originally ran 110 minutes but bad test screenings forced the film to be cut down to 78 minutes. This is also why a lot of scenes in the trailer aren't in the final cut.

...If this movie ever gets a blu-ray (long-shot I know) I WANT TO SEE THOSE SCENES.

Speaking of hard to find Gadget material, has anyone here actually seen any of season 2? I have personally watched about 5 different channels that have broadcast Inspector Gadget, but for whatever reason they NEVER show season 2. I've heard all the stuff about it not being as good, largely because of Capeman, but the fact that it's so hard to find mkaes it almost desirable. Is there even anywhere online where you can watch season 2?

Anyone remember "The Japanese Connection" or "Eye of the Dragon"? Claw goes to Japan/Hong Kong to meet with another evil dude with a furry pet who's face you can't see. They plot to do evil things by combining their powers but in the end Gadget Penny botches everything up and they end up yelling at each other. I'd have loved to see either of these guys make an appearance again, possibly as an alternative to Claw so he isn't used all the time. Plus it would have given us a chance to see bad guys fighting bad guys. Maybe MAD would even win once in a while. Too bad that never happened. Ah, well, a man can dream can't he?

edited 30th Nov '11 6:14:27 PM by WillKeaton

I do wish they would release some season two episodes, even though I do recall them being not that great.

But yeah, for some reason it looks like the second season is being suppressed. Australia has the complete season one on DVD but no second season... maybe there's some sort of rights issue?

Dude, I don't think I saw that team up episode.

This show was awesome to me as a kid, but did not at all live up when I came back as an adult. It bored me so badly I couldn't get more than three episodes in.

I really liked the movie. I felt that the sequel did a better job of living up to the cartoon (by being cartoony, Gadget being more clueless, Claw being The Faceless), but neither one of them get the respect they deserve.

There were actually two "team up" episodes. For those who are curious here's The Japanese Connection and Eye of the Dragon.

As a kid you don't notice just how stupid Gaget is. I mean, you know he's dumb but good greif! Remember that one episode where he got lost in the dessert and thought everything he saw for the entire remainder of the episode was a mirage? And I do mean everything. Guy almost went his entire life saying "just a mirage" to everything he encounters. watching it as an adult I've also noticed Gadget can be quite a dick, mostly by dismissing what Penny tells him because he thinks he knows better. And is it just me or is this show really racist? Don't get me wrong, I still have fond memories of the show, it's just that looking back on it now it doesn't seem as novel.

^ The show loved racial stereotypes, but they did tend to balance it out by caricaturing pretty much everyone, not just certain races.

As for Gadget dismissing Penny, looking back on it I've noticed Gadget does it a lot less than I remember him doing it. Race To The Finish was the worst example, and in several a few other episodes (like Photo Safari), but nowhere near to the harsh extent he gets remembered for. It tends to be a bit more memorable, though, because we know Penny's right.

In fact, looking back on it as an adult his relationship with Penny is a great deal more heartwarming than I noticed as a kid.

Also, if you think Gadget's stupid in this show, try an episode of Gadgetinis. *shudder*

edited 1st Dec '11 8:34:53 AM by KnownUnknown

I've heard of Gadgetinis. Apparently it never aired in North America, unless I'm mistaken.

Know what's even worse? Gadget Boy. Inspector Gadget as a little kid, working with an adult woman. It's as stupid as it sounds.

As dumb as Inspector Gadget is, its a lot more clever and intelligent than many shows on TV today.