You forgot "love makes you stupid".
Also, what do you mean by "expand on it"? What you described sounds like an expansion - maybe some things are lost, which is bad, and some things are added, which isn't very good, but more of the same "strictly formula" doesn't sound like an expansion.
I mean they could expand on the concepts. Penny snoops around, so changing her into a fighter is a change, but not an expansion. Especially with her being treated as an agent who fights alongside Gadget.
I wouldn't call this an expansion, so much as replacing ideas with more generic stuff.
The switch to 1/4 hour stories basically makes any sort of meaningful "snooping around" subplot impossible. I wonder if the change in theme followed from the change in format or vice versa.
I don't mind Talon per se, obviously they were going to want to vary the old formula a bit, but the whole Gadget-Penny/Claw-Talon setup means that Claw ends up being Gadget's Villainous Counterpart—there's no real sense of menace anymore, as Claw is now just as incompetent and buffoonish as Gadget, and Talon is too much under Claw's thumb to really be all that menacing himself.
Without the dire consequences of failure, much of the blackly humorous edge to Gadget's hijinks is lost. Sure, they go to some effort to show that the heroes believe that Claw is up to something truly diabolical, but the viewer always knows better.
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Destroying the classic formula and replacing it with 2010s generica
Cartoons get updated to change with the times, I get that. But let's not forget that things work for a reason.
The original cartoon had a certain formula that made it what it was. Gadget would be off trying to stop bad guys, but would mistaken enemies for allies, and as such, his super-powered abilities would be put to comedic use about as much as they'd be put to genuinely useful use like trying to keep himself alive. Penny, his niece, would sneak around and try to stop the bad guys using her wits and intelligence. Brain, their pet dog, would try to lure Gadget into the appropriate spot and keep him out of danger. Dr. Claw, the main villain, was an intimidating man shrouded in shadow and mystery, who ordered his agents around from behind a computer screen.
Well, now things have changed, and in the process of doing so, removed part of the appeal of the original cartoon.
Penny is now being trained to be a fighter, alongside Gadget. So much for, well, a lot of things. Indeed, the problems start there.
The appeal of the original character was multi-fold. She investigated the crimes and used her sneakiness, intelligence, and her computer book to solve them. She did this behind Gadget's back. Gadget had no idea, and neither did Chief Quimby. Penny was the "secret main character".
Now, Penny is more overtly the main character. The show actually focuses more on her now. And she can fight, so there goes the sneaking around. Gadget still receives ultimate credit, but that sort of plot element doesn't work like it used to.
Penny now has a crush on Dr. Claw's nephew, a boy named Talon, all while knowing that he's evil. All Girls Want Bad Boys? Love Makes You Stupid, I guess. Dr. Claw, meanwhile, is way less sinister and, dare I say, interesting.
The new cartoon is very much a product of our times, which is a shame. Action Girls are more popular, but it pigeonholed an existing character into that trope, rather than inventing a new character or even a new franchise. At the same time, said Action Girl is stupid enough to have a crush on one of the major villains. I can't help but feel like two polar opposite worldviews are colliding here.
The original cartoon's formula was fine. Why not expand on it, or make tweaks, or at least keep what made it work? Instead, we get generic 2010s tropes.