Wowzers! After a terrible live-action film staring Mathew Broderick, a nearly unplayable PlayStation game and a straight to video movie sequel staring French Stewart, the original Inspector Gadget animated series is finally coming to DVD. Shout Factory's four disc set covers shows 1-22 of the 65 episodes comprising the show's first season, which first aired from 1983-1984 in syndication.

Inspector Gadget, voiced by the late Don Adams, must defeat the evil Dr. Claw and his worldwide terror organization known as M.A.D. (which for the record stands for Mean And Dirty) with an assortment of high-tech gadgetry. Unfortunately Gadget is better equipped physically than mentally, leaving the real crime solving to his niece Penny and her super intelligent dog Brain. While every episode may follow this very simple outline, it allows for innumerable variations and digressions that ultimately keep the series far fresher than its central conceit might suggest.Fans will be happy to know that the pilot episode is included with this set, in which Gadget dons a mustache and Penny's voice is dramatically different. Gadget lost the mustache after MGM became concerned the design fell too close to Inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther films. The pilot was clearly budgeted higher than the subsequent shows produced; it was also produced on 35mm film while the show was likely produced on 16mm. For a pilot, the episode sets up surprisingly few background details for each of the characters.As a result of this hit-the-ground-running approach to storytelling, the series never reveals who Penny's parents are, how Gadget got his equipment, or precisely what earned him such an illustrious position - not to mention many other mysteries. The minor variations aside, the pilot holds up very well to the production episodes, and its inclusion here shouldn't throw new viewers off too badly.There is one thing I'd like to bring up for hardcore revivalists. Be warned; it's incredibly minor and won't bother anyone but the super anal. The DIC logo that finishes out the show has been replaced by a new "The Incredible World of DIC" logo. This is sad, mainly because Inspector Gadget always ended with a custom logo of Gadget going by on skates. He bumbled about the screen for a minute before his mallet smashed the dot into the logo's 'I' and Gadget skates off screen again. I have no idea why these would not be used instead. They could at least use the classic "kid in bed" logo that is permanently embedded in the memories of anyone who grew up the 1980s.The other 21 episodes are classic Gadget. The first season of Inspector Gadget marks a time before Penny and Brain lived in that weird computer house (these episodes leave her relying on the laptop-book hybrid) and the annoying Corporal Capeman came into the fold. Unlike the later episodes, the first episodes seem to follow the Speed Racer-esque idea that Gadget, Penny and Brain are always traveling. While improbable, it helps to have them going to a ski resort one day and Egypt the next.Additionally, the constant variation will keep children interested long after they too have deconstructed the cookie-cutter plot lines. While the show's writing was never very strong (as was the case with most of DIC's shows), the physical comedy holds up nicely and there's still plenty of laughs left in the series after all the years. After all, a pie in the face is just as funny now as it ever was.Like most of the 80s cartoons receiving DVD releases, Inspector Gadget doesn't hold up well to modern quality standards. While there is very little wrong with the animation itself, the original film stock - not to mention the 20-plus year old master tapes - leave some clarity to be desired. Some grain and tape artifacts aside, the shows look just as good as they did upon first airing.With voice talent including Don Adams and well-known voice actors Frank Welker, Cree Summer, and later on Maurice LaMarche, the audio is where a lot of the show's strong points exist. Of course, let's not forget the importance of the forever hum-able theme music. While the audio may be basic mono and only in English, it shouldn't detract from the average person's enjoyment of the show. Home audio fans can take comfort in knowing that their TV's speakers have some use left in them after all.There are no subtitles for this release.Previous DIC and Shout! Factory sets have been a little thin on features in the past. Thankfully, Inspector Gadget Volume One is a marked improvement from releases such as The Legend of Zelda, which only featured a memory game and trivia.First there is "Go Go Gadget Creators," a sit down with co-creators Andy Heyward and Mike Maliani. While nothing special, it mostly consists of the two sitting around a table of