80s | 90s | Pop Culture | TV

Inspector Gadget Was The Worst Detective Of All Time But Absolutely The Greatest Show

Inspector Gadget was one of the most popular cartoons of the 80s and 90s, but honestly he was the worst detective of all time. It's not that he doesn't try his best, but pretty much everything he does has to be fixed by his young niece and his dog.

How many of your mistakes are fixed by a child and your dog? Probably not a lot right? That perhaps means you should head into a new career. I have some other questions as well, like who turned this goofball police inspector into a cyborg? Why does Dr. Claw hate him so much? And most importantly, how does Penny put up with this nonsense all the time?

You would think that Inspector Gadget's cybernetic body would give him an edge against his enemies, but no it seems as though it just makes him more accident prone. The original cartoon doesn't ever answer the big question of how he got his cybernetics, they just assume no one cares. But I do! Was he a police officer first who then was part of an experiment that turned him into a robot? Or was he a robot-man that became a police officer because he thought it would work?

Penny however is a genius and should probably not spend so much time with her uncle. She could be one of those kids who graduates from college at the age of 14 and goes on to do amazing things, but instead she is forced to babysit her man-baby uncle!

Brain, the best dog ever, is another big question. How does a dog know to use disguises, technology and do all the crazy things he does? Did he go through the same kind of experiments as Inspector Gaget? Or was he born smart which is why they named him Brain? So many questions!

Doctor Claw never reveals his real name or what his face looks like. Did he also go through the same cybernetic "Gadget-protocol" because he seems to have a metal arm as well? How does he not notice that Penny and Brain are the ones who foil his plan every time? What if he was the doctor responsible for making Inspector Gadget? Wouldn't that be a crazy twist? So many questions!

Chief Quimby is perhaps not the smartest ever which explains why he allows Inspector Gadget to run around "protecting" his city. How does someone not realize that they are going to get constantly blown up if they keep making these messages self destructing?  And why does the chief of police hand deliver all of his assignments? Shouldn't he be busier than that...

A lot of bizarre choices in this cartoon, but Wowsers, it actually worked and was by far one of the very best shows on television. It's always weird to look back at the logic, but at least it was enjoyable and that's all that really matters! The original Inspector Gadget was really perfect in every way, even though he was also awful.

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