Official Synopsis:
The very first 22 episodes of the beloved Inspector Gadget® series are now contained in this hilarious, collector-quality box set. Watch as Inspector Gadget® takes on the evil Dr. Claw and his henchmen, armed with an arsenal of misfiring gadgetry, his brilliant niece Penny and their loyal dog Brain. In 1983 the lovable bumbling Inspector Gadget® (voiced by Get Smart's Don Adams) first hit the TV airwaves, entertaining and inspiring children across the United States. Since then the show's popularity has expanded around the world to 55 countries and has been broadcast in 24 different languages!
Our Take:
Ask anybody about Inspector Gadget, and I’d be willing to bet that nine times out of ten, anyone who remembers the show will sing, whistle or hum the theme song for you. “Do do do do do Inspector Gad-get! Do do do do do do-doooo!" I don’t know exactly what it was that made this show so cool. Was it all the cool gadgets? The fact that this one guy had all these cool things popping out of his head, like helicopters, hands, mallets and umbrellas? (Not to mention the fact that his coat could blow up like a balloon, or a pair of skis could pop out of his feet.) Or was it the whole Dr. Klaw element, (voiced by Frank Welker, whom you might know as one of a dozen voices on Transformers, most notably Soundwave and Megatron) and the fact that we never see his face? Then there's Penny and her faithful dog, Brain, who were always bailing Inspector G out of trouble and helping him solve the case. You know, as a kid, I ALWAYS wanted one of those computer books.
Now, thanks to the great efforts of SHOUT! Factory, Inspector Gadget has returned to our TV sets on this great DVD set. This is definitely one to classify under "pure fun and nostalgia." Whereas other cartoons don’t hold up well a lot of times, Inspector Gadget still has it. I remember a lot of these episodes from watching the show when I was younger, so seeing them again is a real treat.
I’d like to give a shout out to Shout! Factory. They’ve established themselves as one of the best companies to look to for classic animation releases. As well as Inspector Gadget, they’ve also had a hand in releasing such classics as Heathcliff, The Super Mario Brothers Super Show, The Legend of Zelda, C.O.P.S., and several others. I hope they continue to release these great shows, as well as others that deserve to see a proper DVD release.
Included with this set are few features that I bet Dr. Klaw would love to get his hands on.
* Wowsers! (7 minutes) - A look back at Inspector Gadget with Andy Heyward and Mike Maliani, talking about how Inspector Gadget was created, and its eventual success. I would have liked for this to be longer than seven minutes, however.
* Original Art Gallery (4 minutes) - Drawings of Inspector Gadget, Brain, Penny and other characters.
* Inspector Gadget Fan Art Contest Winner - Apparently, Animation Magazine held a contest in 2005, and part of the prize was the winner’s art would be featured in this set. It’s not bad.
This is a great show for a little dose of nostalgia. Or, if you’ve got any kidlets, tell yourself you’re picking it up for them, but don’t be afraid to watch! Go! Go! Go Get Gadget!!!
Overall Picture:
Show: B
DVD: B
- Chris Lawrence
Staff Writer
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