Review and Analysis of Inspector Gadget Episode 3 "Down on the Farm"

Here is some more perspective about the cartoon Inspector Gadget but this time, the focus will be on one of the earliest episodes of the show called Down on the Farm. Early on, viewers see that the main hero Inspector Gadget is highly disorganized and he has failed to secure his luggage. With the start of this episode, you will see a few of the common themes that occur throughout the series. He is stuck in a big traffic jam in Metro City (the name of the city in this cartoon). After Inspector Gadget picks up his entire luggage, he still fails to secure it and he puts the entire luggage on top of his Gadget van! You would think that he would have the sense to put all of the luggage in the van where it would be secure but it shows Inspector Gadget’s lack of real intelligence especially in this case. He tells his niece Penny that he was in such an anxious mood to leave the house that he failed to secure the luggage. But in reality, he was disorganized and he probably just rushed to leave the house.

Penny thinks that her uncle may get a chance at a vacation until he receives a phone call from the one and only Chief Quimby. The Inspector discovers that the assignment is located inside a hat! So much for the Gadget family getting a chance to take a vacation even though Inspector Gadget was feeling very happy in this episode.

However, Dr. Claw does not succeed in his plans because the inspector’s very smart niece Penny saves the day.

In the episode Down on the Farm, Dr. Claw gathers the parts for an experimental missile and Inspector Gadget must locate that missile in time. Meanwhile, Penny and Brain are actually the two characters that notice that the cables that connect the ignition switch to the main booster are what powers the missile. Inspector Gadget ends up in the control room and actually stops Dr. Claw from being able to launch the missile. However, it is Brain that cuts the main cable that powers the ignition switch thus ending Dr. Claw’s plot for world domination. This sets up another common theme in the series in which Dr. Claw escapes and he remains angry because his plans have been foiled.

“Fools! Where is now?”

“Well if he followed our directions, he should be miles away.”

“Get out there and make sure!” Dr. Claw instructs his agents what to do to find Inspector Gadget.

"Well, if I don't find Claw's missile, that'll be a real emergency."

Inspector Gadget

Down on the Farm represents one of the early exciting moments in the history of Inspector Gadget and we notice that the main character actually showed some analytical skills to a degree. Even though we cannot really call it a victory, Inspector Gadget was able to delay Dr. Claw’s plans for a brief moment as the timer was counting down for the missile launch.

Final rating of the episode Down on the Farm: 90 points out of 100 A