''Inspector Gadget'' is a

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program ...

that began in 1983 with the

DIC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production comp ...

animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated series, video games, and films. The franchise follows the adventures of a powerful but dimwitted

cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

police inspector named Gadget as he investigates the criminal schemes of Dr. Claw and his organization, M.A.D., and fruitlessly attempts to stop him. However, neither side is aware that it is Gadget's niece, Penny, and her dog, Brain, who are truly responsible for thwarting M.A.D.

Main characters

Inspector Gadget/Mad Gadget

The main protagonist and titular character of the franchise, initially voiced by Don Adams. Gadget is a

cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

(part man, part machine) with thousands of high-tech gadgets installed in his body, which he activates with the phrase "go-go gadget" before naming the device. Gadget is powerful, lovable, caring and protective, and loyal to his career as a lawman, but he is also dim-witted, clueless, incompetent and gullible. In many ways Gadget was reminiscent of Maxwell Smart (also portrayed by Don Adams) from the ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s, with the release of the '' James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, ...

'' TV show, using similar catchphrases and manners of speech. However, his attire and absent-minded personality are much closer to

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

' portrayal of Inspector Clouseau from the classic The Pink Panther series of movies. In fact, in the original ''Inspector Gadget'' pilot, he has a mustache just like Inspector Clouseau's, which was removed in subsequent episodes possibly to satisfy a copyright claim by MGM. Gadget has a knack of inadvertently saving the day, usually without realizing he is doing so. Gadget loves his family more than anything and would do anything to keep them from harm, especially Penny. He was voiced by Don Adams in the original series and ''Inspector Gadget's Field Trip'' until Adams' retirement from voicing Gadget in 1999, Gary Owens and later Jesse White in the original series' pilot episode, Keith Scott in the KFC commercials in Australia and

Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor, comedian, and impressionist. He has voiced the Brain in ''Animaniacs'' as well as its spin-off ''Pinky and the Brain'', Big Bob in '' Hey Arnold!'' (1996–2004), and a variety of ...

in the ''Super Mario Bros. Super Show'', ''Gadget and the Gadgetinis'', the direct-to-video animated films, and various DIC Kids Network bumpers. For the 2015 series, the voice of Gadget is provided by Ivan Sherry. It is revealed in the first live action film that Gadget's real name is Jonathan "John" Brown. He is portrayed by Matthew Broderick in the first film and French Stewart in the sequel.

Dr. Claw

Dr. Claw is the main antagonist of the franchise. He is the leader of an evil crime syndicate called M.A.D. Only his arms are shown, wearing silver gauntlets with golden spiked wrist bands and a gold M.A.D. signet ring on one of the right middle fingers. A parody of

Ernst Stavro Blofeld Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character and villain from the James Bond series of novels and films, created by Ian Fleming. A criminal mastermind with aspirations of world domination, he is the archenemy of the British Secret Service ...

from the James Bond franchise, his face is never seen at all (except in the live action film) with only his hands and pet cat visible. On a Dr. Claw action figure, the face was covered by a sticker on the box, which meant the toy had to be bought for his face to be seen. He is ruthless, murderous, sinister, dark, sadistic, and greedy, and will do anything to rule the world and destroy Gadget. In ''

Gadget and the Gadgetinis ''Gadget & the Gadgetinis'' is an animated television series spin-off of the 1983 series '' Inspector Gadget''. The series was a co-production between Fox Kids Europe, DIC Entertainment Corporation, French animation studio SIP Animation, French ...

'', he reveals that he thinks Gadget's idiocy is an act to taunt him. In the 2015 series, he is noticeably less competent and malicious and the crimes he commits are a lot more petty. He has been voiced by

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

, Don Francks, Brian Drummond, Doug Rand, and Martin Roach. In the first live action film his name is revealed to be Sanford Scolex and he is portrayed by Rupert Everett. Tony Martin subsequently took over the role of Dr. Claw in

the sequel ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Penny

Penny is Gadget's intelligent niece and the one who really stops Dr. Claw's evil schemes. She uses many high-tech devices to help her secretly solve the cases and stop the bad guys such as a computer book, a video watch, a laptop, and a holographic tablet. However, her meddling often leads to her getting kidnapped by the villains, which leaves Brain to rescue her. She is 10 in the original series, 12 in ''Gadget and the Gadgetinis'', 16 in ''Inspector Gadget's Biggest Caper Ever'', and 14 (later turning 15) in the 2015 series. Penny loves her uncle more than anything, which is why she is always ready to help him behind his back, but on a few occasions she gets annoyed by his stupidity. In ''Inspector Gadget's Biggest Caper Ever'', she is notably more selfish, and unlike any other version, she doesn't try to help her uncle at all. In the 2015 series, she has become an agent in training, is more physically active than in previous versions, and she has a crush on Dr. Claw's nephew, Talon. For the original series, her voice was portrayed by

Mona Marshall Mona Marshall is an American voice actress, known for her work in a number of cartoons, anime shows, films and video games. Her major credits include '' South Park'', where she voices many of the female characters on the show; '' Fraggle Rock: Th ...

in the pilot episode,

Cree Summer Cree Summer Francks (born July 7, 1969) is a American-Canadian actress and singer. She has worked extensively in animation, voicing long-running characters such as Susie Carmichael in ''Rugrats'' and Elmyra Duff in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' and ...

in the first season, and Holly Berger in the second season. In the commercials for KFC in Australia, she was voiced by Robyn Moore. Erica Horn provided her voice in '' Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas''. From 2001 to 2005, she was voiced by

Tegan Moss Tegan Moss (born February 7, 1985) is a Canadian actress appearing in film and television. She has been nominated for a Young Artist Award. Biography Moss was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She has two brothers, Rory Moss, and actor Jes ...

Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as ''The New Batman Adventures ...

voices her in the 2015 series. In the first live action film she is portrayed by

Michelle Trachtenberg Michelle Trachtenberg (; born October 11, 1985) is an American actress and model. Trachtenberg began her career at age three, appearing in a number of commercials, films, and television series as a child. Her starring role on the Nickelodeon tel ...

. Caitlin Wachs portrays her in the sequel.

Brain

Brain is Gadget and Penny's shy but intelligent, sweet, lovable and curious 4-(later 5)-year-old dog. He is the only one who knows that Penny is the one who really saves the world. Brain usually has the job of keeping Gadget safe on his missions while Penny investigates M.A.D's crimes. He usually disguises himself when following Gadget, which often causes Gadget to think he's a M.A.D Agent. He is absent in ''

'' and only shows up in pictures. The reason given for why he is absent is because after all the years of secretly helping Gadget, he has become phobic of gadgets, Gadget, and the word itself. He ran away to a riverside shack to get away from Gadget. He returned in the episode, ''No Brainer'', where Penny made him a translation collar in order to help find Gadget. However, he does return in later spinoffs. His voice was played in the original series by

in ''

'', and Scott McCord in the 2015 series.

Lee Tockar Lee William Tockar (born 1969) is a Canadian voice actor and visual artist who works for several studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is also a writer of children's literature, a musician, sculptor, illustrator and collected painter ...

voiced him in ''Inspector Gadget's Biggest Caper Ever''. In the first live action film he is voiced by Don Adams. In

he is voiced by

Jeff Bennett Jeffrey Glenn Bennett (born October 2, 1962) is an American voice actor who voiced Johnny Bravo in the eponymous television series, Dexter's Dad in ''Dexter's Laboratory'', Brooklyn in '' Gargoyles'' and Kowalski in the ''Penguins of Madagascar' ...

. In the Australian KFC commercials he was voiced by Keith Scott.

Chief Quimby

Chief Quimby is Gadget's boss and the chief of the metro city police (Roverton Police Department In The Live Action

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

films). He usually pops up near the beginning of each episode to give Gadget a sheet of paper describing his mission. Once Gadget finishes reading them, the paper self-destructs and blows up in Quimby's face in a parody of '' Mission: Impossible''. He appears at the end to congratulate Gadget and give him full credit for stopping Dr. Claw. He is unaware that Penny did all the work, even though she always calls him. In ''

'', he has become an agent for the CIA. In the 2015 series, he is given glasses, and his hair is blonde instead of brown. He was mentioned by Gadget in some episodes of '' Inspector Gadget's Field Trip''. His voice in the original series was provided by John Stephenson in the pilot, Dan Hennessey in the first season, and

for the second season and the 1992 Christmas Special. Jim Byrnes voiced him in ''Inspector Gadget's Last Case''. He is voiced by Derek McGrath in the 2015 series. In the first live action film he is portrayed by Dabney Coleman. Mark Mitchell portrays him in the sequel.

Recurring characters

Series and television specials

''Inspector Gadget'' (1983)

The original animated television series in the franchise, ''Inspector Gadget'', debuted in 1983 and introduced audiences to the adventures of a clumsy, simple-witted bionic

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads t ...

named Inspector Gadget – a human being with various bionic gadgets built into his body. Gadget's nemesis is Dr. Claw, the leader of an evil organization, known as "M.A.D." ''Inspector Gadget'' was the first TV series from DiC Entertainment to be produced directly for syndication. Its two seasons originally ran from 1983 to 1986 and remained in syndication into the late 1990s.

''Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas''

In 1992, DiC produced an animated Christmas special based on the series, '' Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas.'' In the special, Dr. Claw has locked up

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

at the North Pole and hypnotized his elves, forcing them to break all toys that are being produced. Inspector Gadget, Penny, and Brain travel to the North Pole in an attempt to stop Dr. Claw and save Christmas. This special was nominated for an Emmy. Don Adams,

, Erica Horn and

provide the voices for the characters.

''Gadget Boy & Heather''

The 1995 ''Gadget Boy and Heather'' series was a spinoff from the original show. The series is about a younger version of Gadget, "Gadget Boy" (also voiced by Don Adams). Instead of Penny and Brain the Dog, Gadget Boy was assisted by the resourceful Heather (voiced by

). Just as maladroit as his adult self is, Gadget Boy was usually bailed out of situations by the more practical Heather, though he was also helped greatly by his myriad of high-tech gadgets and extendable arms and legs. In this series, traditional nemesis Dr. Claw was replaced by the villainess Spydra. In addition, the chief, Strombolli had a "fax tie" that exploded after the mission was read, continuing the

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are n ...

from the original series in which Chief Quimby would get blown up by an exploding message.

''Gadget Boy's Adventures in History''

Two years later, in 1997, ''Gadget Boy & Heather'' spawned an educational spinoff, '' Gadget Boy's Adventures in History'', which aired on

The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Dis ...

. This series marked the last time Don Adams would perform a voice role for an animated Gadget series two years before his retirement from voicing an animated Gadget in 1999 and eight years before his death in 2005.

''Inspector Gadget's Field Trip''

In 1996, Gadget took students around the world in this series of 50 field trips, mainly created to market to stations to fulfill the FCC E/I requirements. The show put an animated Inspector Gadget on top of live-action filming of the locations that Gadget guided viewers through. Don Adams returned as Gadget's voice while Penny, Brain, Chief Quimby (although mentioned by Gadget in some episodes), Capeman and Dr. Claw are entirely absent.

''Gadget and the Gadgetinis''

In 2002, the French studio SIP Animation (Saban International Paris), in cooperation with DiC, produced 52 episodes of the then-new TV series ''Gadget and the Gadgetinis.'' The series debuted on Channel 5 in the UK in August 2002, followed by French channel M6 in September 2002 and then on

Fox Kids Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized as FOX KIDS) was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a j ...

channels across Europe from 2003. It was planned to air in the United States on Fox Family, but after the Channel was acquired by Disney in 2001 it never did and so it has never aired in the United States. Inspector Gadget (again voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is now a member of an organization called "WOMP" (World Organization of Mega Powers) and is now, Lieutenant Gadget. He is still aided in his work by Penny (who is now twelve years old), as well as the new robot characters Digit and Fidget, the titular Gadgetinis invented by Penny, due to Brain running away. It follows the same plot as the original series, with the dim-witted Gadget attempting to fight crime on his own, while Penny and her helpers secretly do all the work. Dr. Claw, now with the first name George, returns as the main villain, with his relatives introduced in some episodes. In some stories, he is replaced by other villains. The production values of this series were higher than any of the previous revivals and spinoff series. Also, the original creators of '' Inspector Gadget'' were all involved: Andy Heyward was one of the executive producers; Jean Chalopin wrote or co-wrote all the episodes, in addition to being credited as the new show's creator; whereas Bruno Bianchi directed and produced the series.

''Inspector Gadget'' (2015)

A new computer-animated '' Inspector Gadget'' TV series had been in development since at least the start of 2012, possibly earlier. It was commissioned by Teletoon Canada, which aired the show, and put into preproduction by

The Cookie Jar Company Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc. (also known as Cookie Jar Group and originally known as CINAR; renamed as DHX Cookie Jar Inc. from 2012 until 2014, or simply just Cookie Jar) was a Canadian media production and distribution company owned by DHX ...

. In January 2012, the then-in-development show was mentioned by Ray Sharma, the CEO of XMG Studio, which produced the hit mobile game "Inspector Gadget: M.A.D. Dash". Sharma described how the success of the game had resulted in a new TV series having been in the making: "We did 1 million downloads in a week, and it's reinvigorated the TV brand with a new TV series in production." In September 2012, Cookie Jar issued a short press release about the then-upcoming series, as part of the advertising for it during the MIPCOM market that October, stating: "Cookie Jar Entertainment is celebrating Inspector Gadget’s 30th anniversary with the launch of a brand-new series with its Canadian broadcast partner TELETOON. The series will again revolve around the iconic bionic bumbling detective." On June 9, 2013,

Teletoon Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and " cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts ...

officially announced the reboot show with two press pictures of Gadget's new look as well as a press release: "MAD Agents, look out! Criminals, beware! Bystanders … take cover! Inspector Gadget is back to battle Dr. Claw with all-new gadgets – and all-new gadget-related chaos. But the loveable, bumbling, accidentally-destructive Inspector is not alone in the fight to take down MAD. His ever trusty police-dog, Brain, is still by his side and he's getting extra crime-fighting help from his new partner, Inspector-in-training Penny (voiced by

). With MAD more powerful than ever and with the arrival of Dr. Claw's evil-genius (and totally crush-worthy) nephew, Penny and Brain will need to use every ounce of their training to keep the world safe from Dr. Claw … and Gadget." Unlike the other shows, Penny is more of the protagonist and Dr. Claw is as incompetent and useless as Gadget (if not more so). The series was produced by DHX Media, which purchased Cookie Jar in 2012. According to a DHX Media distribution catalogue released as a PDF on January 15, 2014, the show premiered in 2015 on Netflix. On December 4, 2014, it was announced that the series has 26 episodes and that it would air on

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

's international channels in 2015. The series premiered on

in Australia on January 5, 2015.

Films

Live action

''Inspector Gadget'' was adapted into a 1999 live action film by

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American Film studio, film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action featur ...

, starring Matthew Broderick as the title character and Rupert Everett as Dr. Claw. As opposed to the animated series, where Gadget is bumbling and clueless and Dr. Claw's face is never shown, Gadget appears to be more reliable and competent in detective work and Dr. Claw's face appears many times in the film. In addition, Gadget and Dr. Claw were also given civilian names; Jonathan "John" Brown and Sanford Scolex, respectively. A second film, '' Inspector Gadget 2'' featured many changes from the first one, such as Doctor Bradford no longer assisting Gadget or being his romantic interest, instead being replaced by a well-meaning and upbeat scientist named Baxter and a new romantic interest named G2 and Gadget and Claw's civilian names are no longer mentioned. Being a year later in the movie's timeline, Gadget had begun displaying his cartoon namesake's glitches by receiving the wrong gadget when he calls out a specific device. He falls in love with his intended replacement: the fully robotic G2. Furthermore, none of the cast from the first film returned to their roles except D.L. Hughley.

Reboot

In May 2015, it was announced that a new film with a rebooted version of the character is in the works. Like the live-action films, it will be done by

, with Dan Lin producing it. In October 2019, Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell were hired to write the film.

Animated

Inspector Gadget: Gadget's Greatest Gadgets

Released on VHS by Buena Vista Home Video in March 2000 to coincide with Disney's live action theatrical film, '' Inspector Gadget: Gadget's Greatest Gadgets'' takes the format of a clip show in which Gadget has a flashback to his past adventures in the original TV series, using footage from the episodes "The Capeman Cometh", "Prince of the Gypsies", and "Gadget's Gadgets"; as well as some stock footage from ''Inspector Gadget's Field Trip'' for the present-day segments. Maurice LaMarche did Inspector Gadget's voice in the modern segments, marking his first cartoon voice appearance as Gadget, who had previously been voiced by Don Adams. Original series actors

and

reprised their roles as Penny, Brain and Dr. Claw in the modern segments.

''Inspector Gadget's Last Case''

In 2002, as part of the '' DIC Movie Toons'' series of movies, DIC released a full-length animated

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

called ''Inspector Gadget's Last Case'', directed by Michael Maliani. It premiered on television on October 6, 2002, on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

and was released on DVD and VHS shortly afterward by MGM Home Entertainment. The film is about Inspector Gadget giving up his beloved but aging Gadgetmobile, while his archenemy Dr. Claw uses a competing crime fighter to discredit Gadget and cost him his badge. Penny and Brain make appearances as minor supporting characters. In this, Gadget is more competent, yet he is still bumbling, similar to his persona in the pilot episode and his Mathew Broderick counterpart. Even though the film uses the same character designs as the concurrent ''Gadget & The Gadgetinis'' TV series, SIP Animation wasn't involved with the production of this movie. Maurice LaMarche reprised the role of Gadget in this film and

Jaleel White Jaleel Ahmad White (born November 27, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Steve Urkel on the sitcom '' Family Matters''. The character was originally intended to be a one-time guest appearance on the show; however, he ...

voiced the Gadgetmobile. In most European regions, the movie aired on Disney Channel or Toon Disney. In Germany, the film aired on Cartoon Network.

''Inspector Gadget's Biggest Caper Ever''

2005's ''Inspector Gadget's Biggest Caper Ever'' was the first ''Inspector Gadget'' animated production to be completely rendered using 3D computer animation. It returned Gadget to his familiar trenchcoat from the original series. Brain is also back in his old role, while Penny is now 16 years old. Gadget is again voiced by Maurice LaMarche and Penny and Claw are once again voiced by Tegan Moss and Brian Drummond, while Bernie Mac voices the Gadgetmobile. The plot features Dr. Claw breaking out of jail with the help of a specially hired Scottish agent named Bombaboy. He and Bombaboy seek out a prehistoric dragon-like creature to get revenge on his captors and launch yet another scheme to conquer the world. Production on the film was announced in May 2004, under the working title ''Inspector Gadget Saves the Day... Maybe'', and the film was released on September 6, 2005, by

Lions Gate Home Entertainment Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian- American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered i ...

Cancelled projects

''Gadget Girl''

In November 1992, DIC announced they would be developing a spin-off titled ''Gadget Girl'', featuring a female protagonist. In 1994, Bohbot Entertainment acquired US-syndication rights for airing on their

Amazin' Adventures Bohbot Kids Network (more commonly referred to and on-screen as BKN, originally known as Amazin' Adventures until 1997) is a children's programming block operated by Bohbot Entertainment (later BKN, Inc.) that aired in syndicated television statio ...

block. However, the series would never see the light of day. During the development of fellow Gadget spin-off '' Gadget Boy'', it was confirmed by staff that ''Gadget Girl'' was one of the many ideas in what would become ''Gadget Boy''.

''GI Gadget''

In 1999, DIC announced they would be co-producing a new ''Inspector Gadget'' series to cash-in on the success of the live-action movie tentatively titled ''GI Gadget'', which would be co-produced with French-animation studio Arles Animation. ''GI Gadget'' have featured the titular character joining an elite army commando unit. The series was planned to start with a TV Movie in 2000 and the full series in 2001, but nothing else was mentioned of the series and was silently canceled not long after. Arles Animation would later be purchased by BKN International in June of that year.

Unnamed 2009 series

In April 2008, a new ''Inspector Gadget'' series was announced to premiere in Spring 2009 to celebrate the franchise's 25th anniversary. The series would have taken a darker tone than the other ''Inspector Gadget'' series, featuring a 2D/3D animesque art style with cinematic camera angles and dramatic musical cues, as well as new villains alongside Dr. Claw. The series was never produced, and was canceled likely due to DIC's purchase by Cookie Jar Entertainment in July 2008.

Video games

The first game developed based on the series was ''

Inspector Gadget and the Circus of Fear ''Inspector Gadget and the Circus of Fear'' is a video game based on the television show of the same name. Plot When the International Circus comes to town, a mysterious series of disappearances begin, and Inspector Gadget is called into help. ...

'' developed by Beam Software and scheduled for release by Melbourne House in the UK in 1987 for the Commodore 64 and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...

. It resembled the arcade title Metro-Cross and was a left-to-right scrolling racing/jumping game with a quasi-isometric forced 3d perspective. Although the game was completed, and preview copies were reviewed (unfavourably) in the computing press, it was scrapped on the verge of release. The game featured a cameo by the titular character from the Horace series of games. An

adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

based on the series, '' Inspector Gadget: Mission 1 – Global Terror!'' was eventually released on the PC in 1990 by a company called Azeroth. An LCD Electronic ''Inspector Gadget'' developed by Bandai was released in 1984. An NES game was planned for release by Hudson Soft, but was quietly cancelled. Instead, Hudson released an SNES game in 1993 simply called '' Inspector Gadget''. The game features a rare glimpse of Dr. Claw's face. In March 2000, it was announced that

Ubi Soft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include ''Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry (serie ...

had teamed with Light & Shadow Production to release an ''Inspector Gadget'' game for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...

. That game was revealed as '' Inspector Gadget: Gadget's Crazy Maze'', with a

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

title '' Inspector Gadget: Operation Madkactus'', following as well. After this partnership, Light and Shadow Production released three ''Inspector Gadget'' titles on their own - '' Inspector Gadget: Advance Mission'' for

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...

(Published by DreamCatcher Interactive in the United States) and two European-exclusive titles - '' Inspector Gadget: Mad Robots Invasion'' for the PlayStation 2 and ''Inspector Gadget Racing'' for the Game Boy Advance. After Light & Shadow Production was purchased by Hip Games, the latter company released '' Gadget & Gadgetinis'' for the PlayStation 2 and PC in Europe. ''Inspector Gadget's MAD Dash'' was released for iOS devices, iPhone and

iPod Touch The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music pl ...

, by XMG Studio in 2010. It features Shuki Levy's original theme music and also includes original voices from the show. In the same game, Doctor Claw reveals his face and is once again given the first name George.

Music

The original ''Inspector Gadget'' theme song was composed by American composer Shuki Levy (who also wrote the themes for ''Power Rangers'' and ''Digimon''), and was based on

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

's " In the Hall of the Mountain King". Several early rap records sampling the ''Inspector Gadget'' theme song were released in 1985. The Kartoon Krew also released "Inspector Gadget" on ZYX Music, which contains vocal samples and quotes from the popular cartoon series, reenacted by the rap group for the song. East New York rap group Bad Boys & K-Love released a record on Starlite Records, "Bad Boys", featured on the UK hip hop compilation ''

Street Sounds Electro 9 Street Sounds Electro 9 is the ninth compilation album in a series and was released 1985 on the StreetSounds label. The album was released on LP and cassette and contains eight electro music Electro (or electro- funk)Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh used samples from the ''Inspector Gadget'' theme song on their single " The Show". The theme song has been heavily sampled in the years since then.

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

-based punk band

Lagwagon Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, California, just outside Santa Barbara. They formed in 1989, went on hiatus in 2000, and reunited several times over the years. Their name comes from the band's tour van, which ca ...

recorded a short instrumental cover of the theme song on their 1992 album ''

Duh Duh or DUH may refer to: * DUH (band), a California-based noise and alternative rock group * ''Duh'' (album), a 1992 album by the punk rock band Lagwagon * "Duh", a 2009 song by rapper Brianna Perry * Matija Duh (1989–2013), Slovenian motorcycl ...

''. The new (2015) theme was composed by Canadian film and TV composers Stephen Skratt and Asher Lenz, "once again using ''In the Hall of the Mountain King'' as inspiration".

Books

A new ''Inspector Gadget'' comic book, based on the original 1983 TV series, was launched in the U.S. by Viper Comics in 2011. A preview issue was published as part of

Free Comic Book Day Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to attract new readers to independent comic book stores. It usually takes place on the first Saturday of May and is often cross-promoted wi ...

on May 7, 2011; the entire story was then released officially in August as a 48-page comic book titled "Inspector Gadget: Gadget on the Orient Express". The comic book was written by Dale Mettam and illustrated by José Cobá. No follow-up issues have been released to date.

Other appearances

On a 1989 episode of '' The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'', another DiC production, a live-action bumper segment titled ''"Defective Gadgetry"'' had a guest appearance by Inspector Gadget, in which he came to the Mario Bros. for help in repairing him. This was his first live-action appearance predating the 1999 live action film that was released ten years later. Maurice LaMarche (who would assume the voice role in ''"Inspector Gadget: Gadget's Greatest Gadgets"'' ten years later) plays Gadget in this segment. A second live-action segment, ''"Treasure of the Sierra Brooklyn"'' had Gadget returning to help the Mario Bros. find a lost treasure. The ''

Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writer ...

'' episode "

Adoption's an Option This is a list of episodes for the stop-motion television series ''Robot Chicken''. The first episode aired on February 20, 2005, at 11:30 p.m. EST on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim Dult is a village in ...

" featured a sketch featuring the ''Inspector Gadget'' characters in a parody of ''

The Terminator ''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor ( Linda Hamilton), who ...

''. In this sketch, Gadget replaces a faulty part with a Cyberdyne part, only to be turned into an unstoppable killing machine when

Skynet Skynet may refer to: Airlines * Sky Net Airline, a charter airline from Armenia * Skynet (airline), a Russian regional airline based at the Krasnoyarsk Airport * Skynet Airlines, a defunct Irish airline that operated in 2001–2004 * Skynet, a d ...

goes online. The sketch goes on to revolve around Penny and Brain trying to avoid being killed by the now-evil Gadget, eventually killing him in a factory. Meanwhile, Mad Cat dies of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

; at the end of the show, Dr. Claw blames Gadget for Mad Cat's death. Ironically, Dr. Claw claims that he somehow found out it was Penny and Brain who were behind all of Gadget's successful missions, and planned to gain control of Inspector Gadget via Skynet, and use him to kill them using the Cyberdyne technology that gained control of him. (Penny is voiced by

and Brain & Dr. Claw by

, who were the original voice actors for the characters.) The 2019 video game ''Tales of the Neon Sea'' features a reference to Inspector Gadget in the form of a character called "Detective Gadget of Starlight City", who joined the police force on the 6th of September 2117 and was killed in action on August 5, 2126, protecting civilians. In 2022, Gadget and Brain made a brief cameo appearance in a Renault Clio commercial made for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, featuring " Video Killed the Radio Star" by

The Buggles The Buggles were an English new wave band formed in London in 1977 by singer and bassist Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes. They are best known for their 1979 debut single " Video Killed the Radio Star", which topped the UK Singles Ch ...

. Inspector Gadget has been the subject of internet memes parodying a 2012 Cinemassacre

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

video by internet personality

Mike Matei ''The Angry Video Game Nerd'' (abbreviated as ''AVGN'') is an American retrogaming review comedy web series created by and starring James Rolfe. The series centers on Rolfe's titular skit character, often simply shortened to "the Nerd" (someti ...

, titled "Minecraft with Gadget", where Inspector Gadget features as a co-host to Matei's review of

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before bein ...

. Notable quotes, voiced by Matei, include "brown bricks" and "Minecrap", both of which have been referenced in the video game Deltarune.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Disney franchises Television franchises Comedy franchises Fictional secret agents and spies English-language television shows Film series introduced in 1999 Walt Disney Studios (division) franchises