When I was a wee lad, I was quite sure that I’d grow out of my “childish habits” by the time I became a man. It's been a long time since becoming a man and these so-called "childish habits" dominate my life now more than ever. Of course, I've accumulated a few adult activities over the years, but I’m still a kid at heart. Cartoons are one of those "childish habits.” So, when I was given the chance to review the first season of Inspector Gadget (IG), I jumped at it.

I hadn’t seen IG since the early 80’s so I really didn’t know what to expect. I was filled with so many questions. Mainly: Would it stand up today? Could I appreciate it as an adult as much as I did as a child?

I popped the first of four discs into my DVD player. I clicked the “play all” episodes option and was greeted with the familiar and excellent IG theme song. Then I became instantly confused. IG had a mustache? Huh? The episodes appear in order. The pilot episode plays first and is significantly different from the way we remember IG. The most noticeable changes is the inclusion of a mustache on IG (a mustache which never appears again) and the different voice actors playing recurring characters parts like Chief Quimby (IG’s boss). It’s ironic in a later episode in the season IG wears a disguise that consists of glasses and a goofy mustache!

The pilot episode was great. It’s a shame that the entire season shares a similar formula. Gadget gets an assignment; Penny (his niece) and Brain (the dog) have to get to the bottom of each plot while keeping him out of trouble. Dr. Claw (IG’s nemesis) gets angry when his plot is foiled and they do it all over again. The episodes rely far too much on IG’s appeal. Don’t get me wrong, he is appealing. When that’s all you have, it breeds boredom and episodes seem to blend together.