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Inspector Gadget

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TV Series

The Resume

    (September 12, 1983-February 1, 1986)
    Created by DIC Entertainment
    Aired in syndication (1983-85) and on CBS (1985-86)
    Voice cast:
    Don Adams as Inspector Gadget
    Cree Summer (season one) and Holly Berger as Penny
    Dan Hennessey (season one) and Maurice LaMarch as Chief Quimby
    Frank Welker as Brain and Dr. Claw
    Premise: (Mis)adventures of a bumbling cyborg police inspector with an endless array of gadgets as he battles Dr. Claw and his M.A.D. henchmen

Why Inspector Gadget might be annoying:

    It was basically Get Smart with the gadgets implanted in the agent instead of his shoes.
    It also ‘borrowed’ the ‘this message will self-destruct’ bit from Mission: Impossible.
    In the pilot, Gadget sported a mustache, but MGM complained that it made him look too much like Inspector Clouseau, resulting in Gadget going clean-shaven in future episodes (and the addition of dialogue to the pilot indicating that the ‘stache is part of a disguise).
    There was never an official explanation in the series of what ‘M.A.D.’ stood for.
    Somehow, Chief Quimby never figures out that Penny is the one actually foiling Dr. Claw, even though she frequently contacts him via her wristwatch while working on the cases.
    Like many 80s cartoons, episodes would end with Gadget (and often Penny and Brain) delivering a public service announcement.
    The live-action film adaptation with Matthew Broderick was a critical flop.

Why Inspector Gadget might not be annoying:

    Considering how much the show owes to ‘Get Smart,’ it seems appropriate that they hired Maxwell Smart to be Inspector Gadget.
    Gadget managed to become suddenly competent when Penny was threatened.
    Its oddly catchy theme song was based on Edvard Grieg’s ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King.’
    Penny’s ‘computer book’ was basically a smartphone ahead of its time.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 12 Votes: 8.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 168 Votes: 51.79% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 618 Votes: 50.97% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 15 Votes: 13.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 275 Votes: 52.36% Annoying