Inspector Gadget

[Dingo]

I was taking a stroll down Memory Lane a while ago and I remembered a TV series I always enjoyed back when in played on Nickelodeon (1988-1992 I seem to remember). I always enjoyed the series growing up and in a fit of nostalgia remembered it. I began to do research on it for a possible fanfiction story.

I wonder what people thought of the series?

 

[Silverstar]

Inspector Gadget was an OK show, if a tad repetitive. It fell into the Scooby-Doo trap of repeating the same basic story structure every show, but I could sit through it for a half an hour and not complain for the most part.

The series came close to jumping the shark when they added the character of Corporal Capeman, a dorky sidekick for Gadget who was somehow even more inept and quixotic than the Inspector, but thankfully he wasn't around too long.

There were also 2 additional Gadget series, Gadget and the Gadgetinis and Go Go Gadgetinis, which I never saw. Gadget also starred in an "edutainment" series called Gadget's Field Trips.

This should prove informative:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Gadget

 

[Dingo]

I've also seen Gadget Boy which wasn't too bad. Thanks for the wikipedia article Silverstar.

I did find quite a few episodes to be rather formulaic and Corporal Capeman to be irritating if noble minded.

Penny and Brain were also very interesting characters. I did find it to be a heck of a contrast that Penny would be the behind the scenes heroine one minute and the damsel in distress the other minute.

 

[KJ Styles]

I liked Inspector Gadget. Corporal Capeman was a subpar character but I wouldn't say that he brought the show down since he was only in like 10 episodes or so. It was funny how Penny was so much smarter than her uncle, and Brain's antics often cracked me up. I was surprised that this show only got 2 seasons (even though it was syndicated for several years thereafter) It was very popular and I've never met anyone who disliked it. Probably would have lasted longer on SatAM than weekday syndication. I wish they'd release the complete series on DVD. To my knowledge, only season 1 is available. That doesn't make sense to me given this shows popularity. Doug E Fresh and Slick Rick used the theme music from Inspector Gadget for "The Show", one of the greatest rap songs of all time.

This and Heathcliff were the best DIC-produced cartoons IMO.

 

[Dingo]

I liked Inspector Gadget. Corporal Capeman was a subpar character but I wouldn't say that he brought the show down since he was only in like 10 episodes or so.

I never thought he brought the show down. I know he added some comic relief but I think he was more detrimental than helpful for the overall plot of the series.

...Brain's antics often cracked me up.

Especially the one episode where he fell in the river and was getting gnawed on by piranhas. I for some reason remember him coming out of the river with some costume he wore torn up with patches of fur missing and one piranha clinging to his tail.

I wonder if they ever canonically established what state that Inspector Gadget took place in? Just curious for fanfiction purposes.

 

[dothesmartthing]

I thought Inspector Gadget was good and entertaining to watch. It truly had a perfect blend of suspense, mystery, and comedy. Oh, wow, I even remember Brain disguising to help fight the crimes!

 

[launchpad20]

Inspector Gadget was an OK show, if a tad repetitive. It fell into the Scooby-Doo trap of repeating the same basic story structure every show, but I could sit through it for a half an hour and not complain for the most part.

I agree. The show, while repetitive, was still pretty enjoyable.

The series came close to jumping the shark when they added the character of Corporal Capeman, a dorky sidekick for Gadget who was somehow even more inept and quixotic than the Inspector, but thankfully he wasn't around too long.

I never cared much for the season 2 episodes, myself, and I probably wasn't missing much with Capeman.

There were also 2 additional Gadget series, Gadget and the Gadgetinis and Go Go Gadgetinis, which I never saw. Gadget also starred in an "edutainment" series called Gadget's Field Trips.

This should prove informative:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Gadget

The other shows I honestly could do without.

 

[ABrown]

I think IG was a pretty good cartoon. I had included it in my thread for the best cartoon of the 80's:https://www.toonzone.net/forums/showthread.php?t=265118. I'd say that it stands the test of time pretty well. Of course, it wasn't without its flaws. But I'd say that it definitely was one of the better cartoons of the 80's.

 

[chrisno51]

Inspector Gadget was a great cartoon for it's time. My dad and I used to love watching it together when I was young. It was always funny to see how Brain and Penny did a lot of the work for Gadget. I have an old VHS tape with I think four episodes on it.

 

[Daxdiv]

I like it. So it's repetitive, so what, that still doesn't detrack me from enjoying it. I've been watching some of the episodes on Hulu, and I still like watching this show from time to time. For some reason, my favorite moments was when Gadget would chase down Brain thinking that he was the culprit. Oh Gadget, you must suffer from some sort of memory problem.

 

[Collie]

I like it. So it's repetitive, so what, that still doesn't detrack me from enjoying it. I've been watching some of the episodes on Hulu, and I still like watching this show from time to time. For some reason, my favorite moments was when Gadget would chase down Brain thinking that he was the culprit. Oh Gadget, you must suffer from some sort of memory problem.

They played with this in Gadget and the Gadgetinis. There was an episode where we discovered that Brain retired to a farm because he was so traumatized by the Inspector constantly mistaking him for a bad guy that he went into convulsions every time he heard the word 'gadget'.

The show was interesting to me because of how inept Gadget was. Most shows, you're thinking 'How's he going to get out of this mess?' Gadget made you wonder how he was going to make it worse.