Popular Nostalgia

“Go-go-gadget legs!”

Inspector Gadget was a buffoonish policeman who had a whole host of gadgets, most of which consisted of making his legs or arms extend. He also had helicopter style rotor-blades which came out of the top of his head.

Most of the crimes which Inspector Gadget ‘investigated’ – his missions – were given to him by his boss, Chief Quimby, in note paper which would “self destruct” after he has read it. Chief Quimby would usually, inexplicably, pop up from inside a dustbin, or out of a man-hole cover from the sewers.

Inspector Gadget would have got himself into a lot of scrapes if it was not for his niece, Penny, and her dog, Brain. Penny and Brain would follow Inspector Gadget around and make sure everything was OK, and would save the hapless detective’s life without his knowledge – Gadget would always express his surprise when he saw Penny and Brain and would tell them that it was not a safe place to be. My first lesson in irony.

Inspector Gadget’s arch nemesis was a super criminal called Dr. Claw who, in typical arch-nemesis fashion would watch proceedings from his swivel chair, whilst stroking a cat (called MAD Cat).

This was one of my favourite cartoons as a child, not least for the He-man style safety tips at the end of each program.