gadget.gif“Cross Inspector Clouseau (the bumbling policeman who inspired DePatie-Freleng’s toon “The Inspector”) with TV’s Maxwell Smart, and throw in a healthy dollop of Plastic Man - and you still won’t quite equal Inspector Gadget.

Gadget was a cartoon cop whose 86 episodes were originally syndicated between 1983 and ‘85, and have been rerun endlessly ever since. In attitude and outlook, he closely resembled the title character of the secret agent sitcom Get Smart — and was even voiced by Get Smart’s star, Don Adams (whose other toon connections include having been the voice of Tennessee Tuxedo). But he went a step farther than Max by having all those sci-fi accoutrements (which he hasn’t quite mastered the use of) built right into his body. Aided by his niece, Penny (who called him “Uncle Gadget”) and Penny’s dog, Brain, he fought a wide variety of menaces, a majority of which were instigated by the evil organization M.A.D.

Inspector Gadget was never a comic book star, tho he did appear in one Little Golden Book, Inspector Gadget in Africa. Other than that and a prime-time special in the late 1980s, Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas, he remained just a cartoon character in syndicated reruns until well into the 1990s — albeit, a very fondly remembered one. Then, in 1996, The History Channel did a series called Inspector Gadget’s Field Trips, in which the character hosted a show about the history of various parts of the world. And in 1999, he followed in the footsteps of Mr. Magoo and George of the Jungle by appearing in a live-action Disney feature film.

But as that film showed, after all these years, he still hasn’t completely learned to use all his gadgets.” (ref)

Inspector Gadget was one of my favorite cartoons of the mid-80s. It ranked right up there with the Snorks, Gummie Bears, Ducktales, He-Man, GI Joe and the Wuzzles (woo, ooh, yeah). It had everything a kid could ask for; a guy who used gadgets for crime fighting, a girl named Penny and the infamous villian Dr. Claw who never revealed his face. Dr. Claw was my favorite character in the cartoon which was odd considering usually I’d root for the good guy. In the case of Dr. Claw he was just too cool not to like, I mean he had a claw for a hand.

Speaking of Dr. Claw, his face has been finally revealed in the form of a toy that debuted in 1992.