80s animated television shows by and large revolved around pre-existing characters. Most shows were based on toys, games, movies, older TV shows, greeting cards, comic strips, or some combination thereof. One of the few hit shows to have original characters was the action-comedy Inspector Gadget, which premiered in daily syndication during the fall of 1983. To be fair, the show itself was hardly original. Homages to the James Bond series and Mission: Impossible were built into the show's DNA, and Gadget himself bore more than a little resemblance to Peter Sellers's Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther franchise. Gadget's voice actor, Don Adams, recycled the voice he used in his own hit spy spoof sitcom, Get Smart. Still, the series, in which hopelessly naïve and trusting cyborg policeman-or-secret agent Gadget (the show never really made it that clear) was forever being sent to stop the latest scheme of the evil Dr. Claw and his terrorist organization, M.A.D, forever mistaking the M.A.D. agent out to eliminate him as a trusted ally, and never realizing that the case was solved by his niece, Penny and her master-of-disguise dog Brain, was a huge hit, running for three years (a long time in 80s animation) and being seen in reruns for years afterward.
In 1992, over six years after the final episode had aired, Inspector Gadget returned in the NBC prime time special Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas. The special follows much of the formula of a typical episode, except for one big difference--instead of letting his agents handle most of the dirty work, Dr. Claw (whose face, just like in the original series, is never shown) takes a front and center role in his plot to kidnap Santa and ruin Christmas.
Naturally, Gadget's agency gets wind of the plot and sends Gadget to the North Pole to protect Santa. In true Gadget fashion, he promptly believes that Dr. Claw is the actual Santa, that the actual Santa is the impostor, that Brain is in cahoots with the "fake" Santa, and that the various attempts on his life are all just harmless fun. And, as usual, it's Brain and Penny who solve the case. If you've seen one Inspector Gadget, you've seen them all, and this one really isn't different.
The main members of the voice cast reassembled for the special, with Adams returning as Gadget, Frank Welker as Brain and Dr. Claw, and Maurice LaMarche as Chief Quimby. As original Penny Cree Summers had outgrown the role, she was voiced by Erica Horne.
Obviously, the continued popularity of the franchise has kept this special from fading away, but there was another surprising development that ensured this would be remembered--and it's all thanks to The Simpsons. Emmy rules, then and now, prohibit animated series from participating in both the animation and comedy categories. After being nominated for Animated Program for its first three seasons, the producers of The Simpsons decided to try to compete in the far higher profile category of Comedy. Even with Homer and Marge gone, the category in 1993 was still quite respectable, with a most worthy winner in Batman: The Animated Series. Three of the other nominees--the innovative Liquid Television, the cult hit Ren & Stimpy, and the charming British import The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends, would very likely have been nominated even if The Simpsons had competed in that category. It's the fifth nominee that is the obvious filler. It was, as you've probably guessed, Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas.
I don't know if this was an attempt to bring the show back for another run, or if this was always intended to be a one-off. If it was the former, it didn't work, as the show didn't get revived, though a prequel series, Gadget Boy, would arrive in 1995. Since then, there have been several other spin-offs and sequels, not to mention the 1999 live-action movie, with Matthew Broderick as Gadget, and its straight-to-video sequel.
Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas is probably fun for fans of the original show. For those who don't like it--or have long outgrown it--it proves to be rather tedious. No no Gadget.
Next time: We wish you an MCU Christmas.
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