Gajetto Keibu! The Japanese Dub of Inspector Gadget

"Does anyone have any Japanese-dubbed clips from Inspector Gadget?" You may be surprised, but talking with and observing fellow Gadget fans online over the years, I've seen this request pop up more than a little often. I find it a bit strange just how strong the interest is, considering that Inspector Gadget was not produced in Japanese language like DiC's earlier series Ulysses 31 and The Mysterious Cities of Gold. But this obviously holds a special fascination for many fans... so today, I'm gonna share the one and only Japanese-dubbed clip I've ever been able to hunt down. Click play to hear Penny and Gadget discuss ladder safety in Japanese...

As you might notice, this is the safety tip from the season 2 episode "Gadget and Old Lace". The original English version can be seen here. Notably, it's followed by a version of the season 2 outro where all written credits have been omitted (!). Makes you wonder – was it really that controversial to show English-language credits for a cartoon on Japanese television? Or did the broadcaster intend to translate the credits, but didn't get around to it? Or both? (Then again, both the outro song and Dr Claw's spoken line is in English, so it's still extremely obvious that this is not a Japanese series.)

Funny thing, by the way: in the comments to one of my old YouTube videos, I actually said almost four years ago to OriginalAkivara that the existence of a Japanese dub "would be news to me". I had apparently completely forgotten about this little clip, which I later rediscovered in my file collection. The clip was originally uploaded to YouTube around six to seven years ago by the user ohitea5963, under the title "ガジェット警部 エンディング" (literally translated: "Inspector Gadget ED"). It has also been up since September 28, 2009 on nicovideo.jp. I first assumed this was the source for ohitea5963's YouTube upload, but since the video description there says "YouTube import", it appears the opposite is the case.

And here's another funny thing. Remember how – before Season 2 was released to DVD – the only place for most of us non-US Gadget fans to watch the second-season episodes was an old torrent with a mixture of TV and VHS rips? Well, a few of the VHS-ripped Season 2 episodes in that torrent were missing their safety tips – and that included "Gadget and Old Lace". So when I first found this Japanese clip on YouTube way back in '09, I had to check a French DVD rip of "Old Lace" on Dailymotion to confirm that this was indeed the safety tip for that particular episode. All I knew was that the scene was nowhere to be found in the English-language AVIs floating around.

Consider that for a moment. During that brief period in time, the safety tip from the Inspector Gadget episode "Gadget and Old Lace" was MORE easily available to watch in Japanese language than in English. Doesn't get much more absurd than that.

So why exactly is the Japanese dub interesting? Again, I'm not really sure. The Japanese dub has nothing to do with the original production of the Inspector Gadget series. Gadget was an outsourced production, with the characters' lipsync animated to the pre-recorded, English-language voices. Furthermore, from what little I've been able to find out, the show was only dubbed to Japanese many years after the actual production took place. I hate to use Wikipedia as a source, but the Japanese Wiki page for Inspector Gadget – "ガジェット警部", a.k.a. "Gajetto Keibu", as the series is apparently titled in Japanese – is one of the few sources of info I've been able to find at all. So here's what it has to say on the broadcast in Japan:

日本ではNHK衛星第2テレビジョンの衛星アニメ劇場の枠で、1990年8月15日から9月14日の間にまず26話が放送され、1994年4月7日から1996年3月21日からの再放送で残りの話数も加えて放送され全65話。

In English, with the "help" of Google Translate:

In satellite animation theater of frame of the NHK satellite second television in Japan, broadcast the first 26 episodes between August 15 and September 14, 1990. From April 7, 1994 to March 21, 1996, all 65 episodes are broadcast, and in addition, also the rest of the story the number of re-broadcast from. 

BOY, is that grammar awful. I'd VERY much appreciate a better translation here, if any of my readers knows Japanese. But the point should be clear: Provided that the Japanese Wikipedia is correct, Inspector Gadget did not air in Japan before 1990. (Additionally, if you use Google Translate on this 2006 forum thread, you'll see Japanese commenters wax nostalgically about the time when Gadget aired on the NHK channel.)

Wikipedia also lists the following Japanese voice actors. Perhaps these are the voices we hear for Gadget and Penny in the above video:

Inspector Gadget: Tesshō Genda (玄田哲章)
Penny: Yumi Takada (高田由美)
Chief Quimby: Masato Tsujimura (辻村真人)
Dr Claw: One-Ozeki (小関一)

ANYWAY. Considering Inspector Gadget's close production links to Japan – and the many anime connections to be found in its animation – I guess I can understand, to an extent, the longings of some fans to watch the show in Japanese. Many Inspector Gadget episodes FEEL so much like anime visually that I can sorta relate to the desire to also hear the characters speak with Japanese voices. Sorta. If this is your cup of tea, I sincerely hope you enjoyed it!

I'll end with a li'l snapshot from Maroin Eluasti and Nordine Zemrak's DiC history book, "Les séries de notre enfance": a sales brochure used to market the series in Japan. A small caption in the book reads, "Plaquette pour la vente de la série aux chaînes japonaises", which means, "Brochure for the sale of the series to Japanese TV". So perhaps this was used to sell "Gajetto Keibu" to the NHK satellite channel...?

TAAFI 2016 Session: DHX on "The Evolution of Inspector Gadget" (Sunday, April 24)

The Canadian animation festival TAAFI  – short for Toronto Animation Arts Festival International – is taking place this weekend in Toronto. In its schedule for Sunday, April 24, a rather interesting-sounding feature is listed among the "Studio Sessions". Can you find it? Have a look at this snapshot from the PDF schedule:

Maybe a closeup is in order...

There we go!

"DHX: The Evolution of Inspector Gadget" will be held in a session room at the George Brown College at 1:30 pm tomorrow, the Sunday that is April 24. Unlike many other events in the TAAFI festival's schedule, this session doesn't have its own presentation on the web site – but it's not very diffcult to guess what it will be about: the changes DHX brought to Inspector Gadget in the process of making their new and updated reboot television show. Maybe some video footage of this will pop up on the web later.

Boomerang Turkey Premieres the Inspector Gadget Reboot on Saturday, April 23 at 11 AM

It's been a while, but tomorrow, a new country will join the list of global broadcasters for DHX's Inspector Gadget series. Why? Because Boomerang EMEA expands into Turkey tomorrow. Here's Turner's official press release about it:

Boomerang to launch in Turkey 

Wednesday, April 13, 2016 

Popular kids’ entertainment channel becomes first to launch on the country’s National Children’s Day – 23rd April 

Boomerang now available in 60 countries, over 55 million homes across EMEA 

[London & Istanbul, Wednesday 13th April 2016]: Having won the hearts of children with Cartoon Network in Turkey, Turner is now preparing to launch its second flagship kids’ channel, Boomerang across the country. What’s more, Boomerang will become the first channel in Turkey’s history to launch on National Children’s Day (23rd April) – marking the perfect celebration for the brand, which plays host to fun and funny, timeless animation that the whole family can enjoy.
Available on D-Smart and Tivibu platforms from Friday 23rd April, Boomerang will offer viewers the latest episodes of classic, globally-loved animations such as The Tom & Jerry Show, Scooby-Doo, Looney Tunes, Inspector Gadget, Mr Bean, Garfield and more; broadcast in HD.
Patricia Hidalgo, SVP, Chief Content & Creative Officer, Kids, Turner EMEA & International Kids Strategy said: “The timing of this launch is significant as we continue to invest in new, original content for Boomerang and further develop the brand as our second flagship kids’ channel across the region. Turkey is a big priority market for Turner and we feel confident that, with its strong portfolio of classic animation and loveable characters, Boomerang will offer a fun, light-hearted entertainment experience for families to enjoy together.” 

This latest launch sees Boomerang’s EMEA presence grow to 60 countries, 15 languages and over 55 million homes across the region.

It took a bit of effort to find a TV guide for Boomerang Turkey's launch tomorrow, but I finally came across one at the official site of D-Smart, the satellite television provider for the new channel (after learning from Posta Gazetesi that Boomerang is channel 122 in D-Smart's package). So scroll down to 122 in the TV channel guide, select "Yarın" (meaning tomorrow) as the day; and you'll see the following...

(Red circle emphasis by me.)

As we can see, "Müfettiş Gadget" will premiere in Turkey tomorrow at 11AM in the morning. And here's the information that pops up when you press the specific broadcast:

Translation: "Saturday April 23" / "Duration: 25 minutes"

And now we know!

Cool Fan Animation: Go Go Gadget Neck

Hey, check out this great fan animation of Gadget by ShinyStrawberry over on DeviantArt!

"Gadget animation" by ShinyStrawberry (Feb 22, 2016)

Off-model, obviously – and the start especially could use some more inbetweens – but I love the lively, spontaneous feeling of this. Very nice timing and bounce to the Gadget neck animation in particular. I wouldn't mind seeing more fan animation in this vein.

The style on Gadget reminds me a little bit of the specific visual design seen in Season One episodes of the original show which were animation-directed by Shingo Araki. (I once misidentified Araki as likely to have worked on an episode like "The Japanese Connection", but have since learned otherwise, thanks in part to the "Les séries de notre enfance" book.) Here are a couple of episode stills showing off Araki's distinctive style:

From "Did You Myth Me?"

From "The Coo-Coo-Clock Caper"

DHX Has Started Promoting the Upcoming Season Two of their New Inspector Gadget Series

Second Season To Consist of 26 Half-Hour Episodes

I'm late with reporting this, but during April 4-7 this past week, DHX was busy promoting the upcoming Season 2 of their Inspector Gadget series (along with other in-the-making DHX shows) at the MIPTV media market in Cannes, France. DHX issued a press release announcing this last week, on March 30, and if you click that link, you might notice something funny: the press release describes Teletoon's order for Gadget Season 2 as a "new commission".

But wait! We have already known about Season 2 being in production since July 2015, when executive story editor/co-head writer Josh Saltzman revealed it on his LinkedIn profile. And we know that the voice recording started in October of 2015, when actors Ivan Sherry and Lyon Smith announced this on their Twitter feeds. In other words: in reality, Teletoon's order for the second season was made almost a year ago, if not earlier.

You know, if I have learned one thing from reporting news and production developments about DHX's (once Cookie Jar's) Inspector Gadget reboot over the past four years, it is this: production and distribution deals are very often made long before the producers or distributors issue their own, full-fledged announcements about them.

Why is this? I can only guess, but I imagine it has to do with the producers/distributors preferring things to be absolutely set in stone – i.e. being 100% certain that the deals and productions they are promoting are actually happening – before making these wide-spread, public announcements. In this specific case, I doubt anybody thought the second season of Gadget wouldn't happen once voice recording started last October; but it still makes sense when looking at the wider pattern. (Remember how news of the Inspector Gadget reboot originally leaked out in January of 2012, through a Mobile Games Forum panel with Ray Sharma of XMG Studios? It took a full year and a half after that for the official press releases from Teletoon and DHX to emerge; and even then, it was described as a "new commission".)

Gadget voice actor Ivan Sherry seems to humorously comment on this in a recent Tweet and Facebook post linking to the press release, stating, "It's officially official!"

It's officially official! #inspectorgadget #seasontwo #cartoons #animation #grateful https://t.co/ge7sQOAwmV

— Ivan Sherry (@The1IvanSherry) 30. mars 2016

Which is exactly it. The second season has already been official for the past nine months. So now, it's officially official! Good to have that in black and white, ain't it?

Here's the full, relevant excerpt of DHX's press release:

DHX MEDIA ANNOUNCES NEW COMMISSIONS FOR THREE SERIES 

Original DHX content Chuck’s Choice, Space Ranger Roger and Inspector Gadget season two will be featured product at MIPTV

Halifax, NS, 30 March 2016 – DHX Media ("DHX" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: DHXM; TSX: DHX.A, DHX.B), a global leader in kids and family entertainment content, is heading to this year’s MIPTV, the world’s biggest TV and digital content market, with new commissions for three series: Chuck’s Choice has been commissioned by YTV in Canada, and has already been licensed to Turner Broadcasting France; Space Ranger Roger is commissioned by Family Jr.; and season two of Inspector Gadget has been commissioned by TELETOON, in Canada. All three series are being produced at DHX Studios. 

Josh Scherba, SVP Distribution at DHX Media, said: “We have a very strong slate for MIPTV with these new commissions underscoring our reputation for producing standout original content for kids and families. Driven by notable creative talents, with Kervin Faria creating and Rob Boutilier directing Chuck’s Choice, and Jeff Rosen behind Space Ranger Roger, our newest two shows have fantastic pedigrees. Along with the iconic Inspector Gadget, now going into a second season after significant global demand, we are looking forward to debuting these shows to the international market at MIPTV.” 

Taking place April 4-7, 2016, in Cannes, France, MIPTV gathers the world’s most successful distributors, buyers and producers to strike distribution and co-production deals. Please visit the DHX Media team at stand R7.A11, in the Riviera hall of the Palais des Festivals, to learn more about Chuck’s Choice, Space Ranger Roger, Inspector Gadget and other great DHX shows. 

(...) 

About Inspector Gadget 

3D animation series, Inspector Gadget from the DHX studio in Halifax, returns for Season 2 (26 x 30’). 

The new Inspector Gadget is back – again! The stakes are higher than ever in season two for Inspector Gadget, his niece Penny and their trusty dog, Brain. Will they be able to defeat Dr. Claw and his nephew Talon? Or will the MAD villains finally be victorious? Both sides are more determined than ever to come out on top…even if Inspector Gadget still hasn’t got a clue.

Of course, this release also contains bit of info that we DIDN'T know on beforehand – namely that Season 2, like the first, will have 26 half-hour episodes. And not least, it told potentially interested buyers or investors that they could check out Season 2 of Gadget at MIPTV, which was likely the number one reason for mentioning it in the press release to begin with.

On an unrelated note: Browsing through Ivan Sherry's official "actor" page on Facebook (which I only discovered a few days ago), I couldn't help but smile as I realized that Sherry is actually a reader of my site, and has been linking to and quoting from it several times over the past year. Thanks, Ivan!

Fingers crossed!
Posted by Ivan Sherry - Actor on 29. mai 2015

Season 2 is coming! Read all about it here . . .
Posted by Ivan Sherry - Actor on 21. juli 2015

Finally, here's the latest production update directly from Ivan himself: Season 2 was still recording as of four days ago.

Breakfast at SuperSonics yesterday before recording Inspector Gadget. Taaaaaastyyyyyyyyy.
Posted by Ivan Sherry - Actor on 6. april 2016

"Inspecteur Gadget, Saison 1, Vol. 1" on iTunes France in 1080p HD

In what is unquestionably the best-quality release of the reboot series in France so far, French iTunes users can now purchase the first half of Season One in full HD. I'm not sure exactly when this iTunes package was published, but I believe I first came across it last week. The episodes on iTunes France are split into 11-minute segments, rather than the original half-hour format they were produced in, which is why the first package consists of 26 separate chapters:

As we can see, this covers episodes 1-13 going by the original production format. Note too that this release comes courtesy of public broadcaster France Télévisions, and as such the release date listed is August 29, 2015, the date the series premiered on France 3; despite the fact that it was broadcast on Boomerang France half a year prior.

Video Interview: Inspector Gadget's Voice Actor Ivan Sherry Chats with Dr Stevil

Here's something which should be fun if you like Gadget's new voice actor: the first video interview I've seen with Ivan Sherry talking about his role, and about the reboot as a whole. Among the things we hear:

• The series is doing really well across the world (which, of course, is also indicated by Season 2 being in production).
• Sherry was originally brought in to audition for Dr Claw and Quimby, but pushed to try out as Gadget.
• Sherry's view on why Inspector Gadget, as a character, continues to resonate with audiences.

The interview was conducted this weekend at the Canadian pop culture expo Hero Fest Lindsay, which Sherry attended as a guest (you may recall he also talked about Gadget during last spring's Hero Fest Kingston) – and for the record, the rather strange interviewer here is "Dr Stevil" of the Chatting With Stevil YouTube show; a character who's an obvious nod/tribute to Dr Evil from Austin Powers. If you know as little about this guy as I did upon finding this video, here's a quick presentation.

Original Inspector Gadget Animation Drawings from "A Bad Altitude"

Today, a couple of 1983 animation drawings that I found a long time ago on Rubberslug. Animation frame drawings from the original Inspector Gadget series are quite hard to come by -- a number of drawings are for sale on Ebay right now, but they're all from either Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas or Inspector Gadget's Field Trip (despite many of the sellers claiming otherwise). These two drawings, however, are sourced from the vintage Season 1 episode "A Bad Altitude":

"A Bad Altitude" has several standout sequences with great-looking animation, and the extended action scene with Brain on top of a M.A.D. cab is one of 'em. Even by themselves, these two still drawings from the scene have a real dynamic feel. I also enjoy seeing the hand-written Japanese notes on the first one, which I'm guessing are instructions from the key animator to the inbetweener (I believe both of these drawings are key frames).

For comparison, here are the matching frames from the finished episode, seen at ca. 16:15. Go here to see them in motion.

My List of Global Premiere Dates for DHX's Inspector Gadget Series

It had to happen sooner or later. For over a year now, my right-hand news column about DHX's reboot show has included an ever-growing list of worldwide premiere dates (and broadcasters). Today, however, I'm removing that list from the news column and transferring it to this blog post. I felt at the time that it was important to cover the worldwide launch of the series properly; especially since my readers come from a lot of different countries. But that time is past now. While I can't be 100% sure, I don't think there is any major area left for the reboot to debut in - or at least, certainly not coming up anytime soon. And the most recent big launch I can think of, on Teletoon Canada, is more than four months old already.

This is not a truly complete list. I can think of at least a couple different countries' premieres that slipped through my fingers, either for lack of time to update or because I only found out about the show airing in that specific country long after the actual premiere (researching exact dates in retrospect can be a pain). And even excluding those, I wouldn't be surpriced if I missed hearing about some areas altogether. If any of my readers knows something missing from this list, regarding ANY country's broadcasting channel or premiere date, I would love to hear from you. This post can certainly be updated over time.

It has been a ton of work researching the new series' whereabouts in so many different countries. Honestly, had I known just how much work before going in, I likely wouldn't have done it. But since I HAVE done it, I might as well preserve this list for posterity. Maybe years from now, it can be useful to someone else researching aspects of the Inspector Gadget franchise's history.

Speaking of research, I'm adding one thing to the list below which was not included in the news margin version: Direct links to all the blog posts where I originally reported the various premiere dates. In a few of those posts you may hear me sounding somewhat uncertain about this and that exact date (most of them were written in advance of the air date in question); but as of this writing, to my knowledge, all of the dates are correct and accounted for. If you should have information saying otherwise, let me know.

Now then, on to the lists...

PREMIERE DATES:

• December 27, 2014 on Boomerang Australia (pre-premiere of ep #01a, "Gadget 2.0 Part 1"). 
• January 3, 2015 on Boomerang France.
• January 5, 2015 on Boomerang Australia.
• January 5, 2015 on Boomerang Asia.
• January 9, 2015 on Super RTL in Germany.
• January 14, 2015 on Boomerang EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, Africa).
• February 2, 2015 on Boomerang CEE (Central & Eastern Europe).
• February 2, 2015 on Boomerang Netherlands.
• February 2, 2015 on Boomerang Italy (pre-premiere of ep #01, "Gadget 2.0").
• February 16, 2015 on Boomerang UK.
• February 16, 2015 on Boomerang Italy.
• February 16, 2015 on Boomerang Germany, Austria & Switzerland.
• March 7, 2015 on Boomerang Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark).
• March 27, 2015 on Netflix US.
• April 19, 2015 at the TIFF Kids Film Festival in Toronto, Canada (Canadian pre-premiere).
• July 25, 2015 on Boing Spain.
• August 10, 2015 on Boomerang Latin America.
• August 29, 2015 on France 3.
• September 7, 2015 on Teletoon Canada.
• April 23, 2016 on Boomerang Turkey (part of Boomerang EMEA)

BROADCASTERS:

• Teletoon in Canada.
• Netflix in the United States.
• Super RTL in Germany.
• France 3 in France.
• Boing in Spain.
• Boomerang in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Australia and probably even more places.

UPDATE (April 23, 2016): I added Boomerang Turkey to the list of premiere dates.

Unique Teletoon Promos

Two Teletoon promos for the reboot recently made it to YouTube... and I find them a bit more interesting and unique than the plethora of ads I've seen from Boomerang, Netflix and others. Why, do you ask? Well, have a look...





Thing is, rather than just being clipshows from episodes, these commercials include specially-made footage of the characters talking about their new show, and about it showing on Teletoon. With Teletoon being the network DHX produced the new series for, it makes sense that DHX would also do some custom promos for the channel.

I'm guessing these first aired on Teletoon around the time of the premiere last September. Nice to finally see them online.

"New Inspector Gadget, Season 1, Vol. 4" on Australian DVD and iTunes Today

..and thus, the first season of the reboot series is complete on DVD and HD Digital Video in Australia. Universal's "Season 1 Volume 4" - launching today on disc and on iTunes - contains the final six half-hours of the season, episodes #21-26. Here's the hi-res DVD cover via The Viewing Lounge:



And here's a snapshot of the 1080p HD release on iTunes Australia, showing the list of episodes:



Since this volume concludes Season 1, I thought I'd sum up Universal's three previous releases as well. iTunes links are included in the title for each volume...

Season 1, Volume 1 (episodes #01-07)

Season 1, Volume 2 (episodes #08-13)

Season 1, Volume 3 (episodes #14-20)

13 Half-Hours of the New Gadget Series Available on iTunes Canada in Standard Definition

I have an update on Australian iTunes and DVD releases coming later today, but before that, a quick mention of another country where the new TV series has been available on iTunes for a while: Canada. This release apparently comes directly from Teletoon, the Canadian network which ordered the reboot from DHX (or Cookie Jar at the time development started). It was published on iTunes on September 7 of last year, the same day the reboot started broadcasting on Teletoon Canada... and if memory serves, more episodes have been added to the package after that inital release date. It now totals 13 half-hours:



Unfortunately, in terms of picture quality, it is not as good a deal as Universal's Australian iTunes releases. The episodes are only available in SD (Standard Definition), whereas Australian iTunes customers can choose between SD and HD. Also, the iTunes Canada release doesn't follow the original production chronology of the episodes, but instead seems to use Teletoon Canada's broadcast chronology.

I haven't been following Teletoon's airing of the reboot very closely, but I do remember seeing the episode "Fountain of Cortez" (ep #17a in the original episode chronology) being advertised on their Facebook page only one week after the September 7 premiere. Teletoon was airing the series weekly, every Monday evening, during the initial launch - and as mentioned before, they aired two half-hours on the premiere day of September 7. Which means that episode 17, broadcast one week later, was the third half-hour to air on their channel. And of course, it is also "episode 3" in the iTunes Canada release of Season 1, Vol. 1; so it all adds up.

Why did Teletoon decide to mess with the episode chronology? I believe the answer is fairly obvious: By the time they premiered the Gadget reboot last September, the first 13 half-hours of season 1 had already been airing on Boomerang in most countries for many months (as well as received DVD releases in Australia) -- and the first 16 half-hours had been up on Netflix US for almost as long. Even if Canada didn't officially get any of those releases, Canadian fans certainly had a number of opportunities to watch those half-hours early. So what would the most attractive option for Teletoon be? To start off with episodes which have NOT been available globally for a long time, obviously. So after episode 1, "Gadget 2.0" - which is necessary to set up the series - they followed not with episode 2, but with episode 24... and then a week later, with #17.

The chronology does jump back to episodes from the series' first half after that, as we can see above, but this reasoning still makes sense to me as far as the first few premiere weeks go.

The Family

One of the more charming pieces of promo art I've seen for the Inspector Gadget reboot can currently be found on the site of Audio Postproduction SPR Inc., the company which carried out the series' French-language dubbing. A very fun group shot of all the main "good guys":

I'm posting it in as high a resolution as Blogger allows, but if you want to see the pic in its original, ultra-large size, go here.

Of course, this piece is not quite as awesome as the picture SPR originally had up on their site, but as replacements go, it ain't half bad.

Netflix Launches Inspector Gadget "New Year's Eve Countdown" Short

End-of-the-year surprice! I have already stated a few times on this site that - contrary to popular belief - Netflix was not involved in any way with the actual production of half-hours #01-26 of the new Inspector Gadget series (i.e. Season 1, which Netflix US confusingly split into two seasons). That remains true... but it seems Netflix did have a more direct hand in a special, 2-minute short which launched on their services three days ago. Entitled "Inspector Gadget - New Year's Eve Countdown", the short is part of an initiative from Netflix to-- well, let's quote Fox6Now for the explanation:

Netflix is bringing back its kid-centric countdowns for parents who want their children out of sight long before they ring in the New Year. 

Netflix claims most parents fool their kids (or try to, anyway) into believing that midnight happens earlier than it actually does on New Year’s. Netflix helps them by offering a streaming three-minute countdown led by characters from kid’s show.

GeekDad's Jonathan H. Liu adds the following personal tip:

Ring in the new year whenever you want, with six different short videos featuring characters from kids’ shows. Each one is about 2 minutes long and ends with the 10-second countdown to the new year. Pull it up on the screen at 8pm, and hustle your toddler off to bed before your game night (at least, that’s how I’m celebrating New Year’s Eve). 

Your options are: Care Bears, Inspector Gadget, Peabody and Sherman, King Julien, Project Mc², and Puffin Rock.

So there it is. A noble effort from Netflix to help parents trick their kids on New Year's Eve. The idea is that parents can start playing one of these countdown shorts for their children at any time they choose - thus making them believe, for instance, that the new year kicks in at 8 PM rather than midnight. Here's the synopsis for the Gadget short via FlixSearch:

Celebrate 2016 on your time! Talon tries to ruin the New Year's party, but Inspector Gadget, Penny and Brain leap into action to save the surprise.

Another thing revealed by FlixSearch fascinates me a bit: The short is available on Netflix not only in the United States, but also in Canada, the UK, Ireland, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Australia and New Zealand. All the while the regular series is still only seen in the US. It seems this New Year's short is targeted not only towards users of the American Netflix, but also toward people who may have watched the new Gadget series on TV channels like Boomerang or Teletoon in the above-mentioned list of countries.

At any rate, what does all this tell us? Firstly, it feels like a pretty solid indicator that the new Inspector Gadget is a hit on Netflix in the States: this short was by all accounts commissioned directly by Netflix, unlike the regular series; and Gadget is one of six kids' shows selected to ring in the new year. Secondly, "New Year's Eve Countdown" is probably the first true "bonus material" to emerge from the reboot. It's not part of the 26 half-hours of the regular TV series in any way, nor a trailer or a teaser. Whether it will be released through other venues than Netflix remains to be seen. It would certainly be nice to see it as a special feature on Universal's Australian DVD and VOD releases (Season 1 Volume 4 is still slated for January 14 next year), but I wouldn't hold my breath. For one thing, it probably depends on how exclusive Netflix's rights are to this specific short -- and my guess is they may be more exclusive than the TV series.

In the meantime, I suppose this is as good an occasion as any to say: HAPPY NEW YEAR! After all, with the help of Gadget, we can start saying it any time we want...

(Screenshot via Geekdad.)

"New Inspector Gadget, Season 1, Volume 3" Is Now On iTunes Australia in 1080p HD

Quick reminder: Episodes 14-20 of the reboot series are now available on the Australian iTunes in full 1080p HD, as "New Inspector Gadget, Season 1, Vol. 3". As mentioned before, this third volume was released to iTunes on December 14, about 1 1/2 month after the physical DVD release.

NBC Print Ad for Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas (and Noel)

Speaking of Brain disguised as a reindeer, as we were the other day, how about checking out a piece of promotional art for the 1992 special Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas? 'Tis the season after all. Clipped from a vintage TV Guide, this is a combined ad for Gadget and the concurrent Christmas special Noel, as the two of them premiered back-to-back on NBC that year.

(Via RetroNewsNow)

I find this particular promo piece interesting for several reasons. For one thing, it makes the Gadget special look a LOT better and more entertaining than it was. The characters look great, as if we're right back in a 1983 episode; and then there's their seasonal clothing. Penny dressed up as an elf? Santa Gadget? Hell yeah... THIS I wanna see! Of course, the actual special gave us none of what this artwork teases, and the crude animation from Hung Long Animation Company couldn't hold a Christmas candle to the original show.

There is however a specific reason why the above promotional drawing looks so good - it was based directly on a 1983 model sheet. Namely this one...

(For more original-series model sheets, go here.)

I'd like to provide a little more context on the print ad while I'm at it. It appears to have run in a number of TV magazines in 1992. Here it is from two other TV Guide publications:

(From the Toledo-Lima Edition of TV Guide Magazine;
via Vintage Toledo TV.)

The below press kit from NBC - dated November 20, 1992 - was up on Ebay sometime last year. It includes separate artwork and a written press release for both specials. Quite clearly, this is what the TV Guide ad was put together from:

(A small contradictory detail: the headline of NBC's press release says the two specials will premiere on December 4, but the first paragraph says December 3. Just for the record, December 4 is the correct premiere date. For evidence, see this extract from the December 4, 1992 edition of The Cincinnati Enquirer, which tells us that Gadget aired at 8pm and was followed by Noel at 8:30 (search through the OCR text).)

And finally, in case you're wondering: yup, the Gadget artwork does exist in color. Way back in 2006, this full-color promotional cel was sold on Ebay. Gotta say these colors look nice...

Brain's Secret Christmas Mission

Okay, this just amuses me too much not to share.

Over at Instagram, the user Claudia González Iglesias has posted this photo of a reindeer Christmas display in a shopping mall, accompanied by the following caption (via Google Translate): "Kids say they are reindeers... but for me it is the dog in Inspector Gadget with antlers! Is he on a secret mission??"

I do believe Claudia is right here, folks. To the ordinary child, these may look like reindeers, but we seasoned Inspector Gadget fans know better. Brain, I'm sorry, but your cover has been blown...

Two More Bruno Bianchi Drawings

A few months ago, I did a post featuring some latter-day Bruno Bianchi drawings collected off the web. Today, I have two more to add...



The first one - a very nice rendition of Gadget's face - was drawn for none other than Nordine Zemrak, the co-writer of the in-depth DiC history book "Les series de notre enfance". The caption reads, "For Nordine. Best wishes. B. Bianchi". I'm guessing this was done during the period when Nordine and his partner Maroin Eluasti were working on their book. Sourced from Nordine's ink361 page.



The second drawing is also a bit special, primarily because it's the first time I've seen Penny pop up in one of these Bianchi pieces. This was up on Ebay a few weeks ago with the description, "Rare dédicace sur feuille de Bruno Bianchi le créateur de la série mythique inspecteur gadget. Format A4 sur papier dessin type canson. Signé" ("Rare dedication on paper by Bruno Bianchi, the creator of the legendary Inspector Gadget. A4 format, Canson drawing paper. Signed"). As we can see, it has the same year and signature type (B. BiANCHi) as drawing number one in my previous post, suggesting that they were done for the same occasion.

This drawing is very loose, but I love the style on both Penny and Gadget. As with several of the previously seen drawings, Bianchi's linework here has a certain flavor of the classic French-Belgian comic book style, which is fun for me to see. Gadget's character design quite clearly came from that tradition to begin with, and Penny, while rendered simpler than her animated design, is also instantly recognizable.

Season 2 of the New Inspector Gadget Series Is Recording Now

The quickest of quick updates to report this: The upcoming Season 2 of the new TV series - in production since July - has now started recording. The current voice actor of Inspector Gadget himself, Ivan Sherry, gave the reveal on Twitter on October 8:

It's official! We're heading into the studio this month for Season Two! @netflix #animation #cartoons #voiceactor pic.twitter.com/fXeRlWDENN

— Ivan Sherry (@The1IvanSherry) 8. oktober 2015

Talon's voice actor Lyon Smith has also shared a few tidbits, including this snapshot from a recording session on October 28:

Go go gadget season 2! Here we go! #inspectorgadget #talon #voiceactor pic.twitter.com/3rd6vnRG8h

— Lyon Smith (@lyon_smith) 28. oktober 2015

...and this quick tweet from November 17:

Record day for #inspectorgadget . Playing #talon is such a pleasure.

— Lyon Smith (@lyon_smith) 17. november 2015

Just to be perfectly clear: This second season of the reboot has nothing to do with what Netflix in the United States is calling "Season 2", which is in reality the last ten episodes of Season 1. Netflix's deal with DHX included only the first 16 half-hours of Season 1 (of 26) when they first launched the series in March... so when the 10 holdover episodes were finally added on August 28, Netflix decided to call them "Season 2". This is a bit unfortunate, not only because of the confusion it leads to among U.S. viewers, but because it will undoubtedly lead to MORE confusion down the road. You can bet that when the real Season 2 hits Netflix US sometimes in the future, it will be called "Season 3". But, ah well, that's marketing for you.

Season 1, Volume 3 of the Reboot Out on Australian DVD Now (and on iTunes from December 14)

Yeah, I know. I want this site to be more active too, but for a number of personal reasons (including personal health), I haven't been able to keep up postings as much as I'd like. Still, Universal's Australian DVD releases of the reboot series - which continue to be the only home video releases in the world as far as I know - is a topic I have covered thus far, and so I wanted to notify readers of the latest developments. After a break of four months, Season 1 Volume 3 was finally released to DVD on November 5. Cover art below:

According to several online retailers - for instance Sanity - the disc contains half-hours #14-20, leaving one volume to collect the final six episodes of Season 1. I should add that in addition to buying Volume 3, fans currently also have a chance to win a copy over at Mum's Lounge (yes, I'm very late with reporting that, but hey, still three days left of the giveaway).

So much for physical media. But what about the digital video release - which, until now, has happened concurrently with the DVDs? Well, for whatever reason, Season 1 Volume 3 has not seen an iTunes release yet... and it still won't for a few weeks. I asked about this on the Facebook page of The Viewing Lounge (a home media showpage run by Universal in conjunction with several other distributors), and was told: "It'll be available on iTunes from December 14." So episodes #14-20 ARE coming to the VOD world, they've just been delayed slightly. The upcoming iTunes release is expected to be in full HD like the Season 1, Volume 1 and Season 1, Volume 2 packages were.

...and that is NOT quite all. Because as I was googling about for details on Volume 3's release, I noticed that the low-res cover art for Volume 4 has already popped up a few places. Customers won't have to wait four new months for this one: According to Digitales, Season 1 Volume 4 will come out already on January 14, 2016. Presumably it will contain the remainder of Season 1, half-hours #21-26. So in not too long, the entire first season (i.e. the entire series at this point, even though Season 2 is in production) will have been released to DVD and VOD in Australia. [UPDATE (December 2): I found a higher-res pic of Volume 4's cover than the one I first posted, so I replaced it below.]

Finally, we happily note that the covers for both Volume 3 and Volume 4 look much better than the one for Volume 2, which you might remember featured a bizarrely misplaced and badly edited smile on Gadget's face. Photos of the physical DVD have turned up on Ebay in recent months, so I can now conclude that the worst version of the smile did indeed end up on the final cover. Ah well. It looks awful, but at least three out of four covers came out decent. (And of course, there are also those who prefer the crooked smile on Gadget - each to his own taste!) I still can't understand why it's so important that ALL the main characters smile on EVERY cover motive, though.