Gadget Boy

''Gadget Boy & Heather'' is an animated television series co-produced between DIC Productions, L.P., France Animation, and M6. The series originally debuted in September 1995 in first-run syndication in the United States on Bohbot Entertainment's Amazin' Adventures II block and in October 1995 on M6 in France on the channel's M6 Kid block.

Plot

This series is about "''Gadget Boy''", a bionic kid detective with a personality similar to that of Inspector Gadget. Just as clumsy as the original Inspector Gadget, Gadget Boy was usually bailed out of situations by the more practical Heather, though he was also helped greatly by his myriad high-tech gadgets and extendable arms and legs.

Gadget Boy's bionic implants were installed by Switzerland-based inventor Myron Dabble (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) who has an unrequited crush on Heather. Gadget Boy and Heather receive their assignments from Italy-based Chief Stromboli (also voiced by LaMarche), who, much like Chief Quimby, is a frequent, long-suffering victim of Gadget Boy's bungling. Gadget Boy is assisted by the beautiful and resourceful agent Heather (voiced by Tara Strong), a very tall equivalent of sorts to Penny (the difference being that Heather is in her early 20s). He is also assisted by a robotic dog named G-9 (also LaMarche), who serves as the "Brain" of this series, which shows through his morphing capabilities to get the gang out of the stickiest situations.

The main villain of this series, instead of Dr. Claw, is the mask-wearing six-armed villainess Spydra (voiced by Louise Vallance). Spydra is accompanied by Boris, a frequently abused, wisecracking, sarcastic vulture with a Russian accent, along with her twin henchmen Mulch and Houmous; they are all played by Maurice LaMarche.

The main title theme song was written and performed by Mike Piccirillo. Musical underscore composers were Mike Piccirillo and Jean-Michel Guirao.

Characters

Heroes

* Gadget Boy (voiced by Don Adams, later Maurice LaMarche in English; Luq Hamet and later Élie Semoun in French) is a bionic police detective working for Interpol in New York City. Equipped by his dog, G-9, and assisted by Heather, he was conceived as a bionic "child" with the personality of a "perfect adult detective" (although as with the aforementioned Inspector Gadget, he is anything but). Much like Inspector Gadget, Gadget Boy is equipped with gadgets in his body while he is clumsy as Gadget but will use the gadgets to get out of sticky situations. The bionic implants were installed by the inventor Myron Dabble. Agent Heather bails Gadget Boy out of danger, though he was also helped greatly by his myriad high-tech gadgets and extendable arms and legs. However, Gadget Boy is usually seen with Heather and G-9, unlike Gadget, who in the original series, will usually inform Penny and Brain once he receives his assignment that the mission is too dangerous and that he will be going on the mission alone, and usually be convinced that a disguised Brain is a M.A.D. agent. Gadget Boy and G-9 appear to switch between being fully robotic to being half robotic in different episodes. In "Gadget Boy and the Uncommon Cold", it is revealed that Gadget Boy is half robot and thus catches a cold while G-9 does not. However, in "Boy Power of Babble", Gadget Boy is unaffected by the "babblizer ray" because he is half robot with a mechanical brain, whereas G-9 is completely robotic. As the original voice of Inspector Gadget, Adams voices Gadget Boy in a similar manner. Gadget Boy commonly says "Sowsers! Bowsers!", similar to Inspector Gadget's catchphrase, "Wowsers!"
* Agent Heather (voiced by Tara Strong, credited as Tara Charendoff, in English and Catherine Privat in French) is an Interpol agent and aide to Gadget Boy. Heather has a slim build with short auburn hair and blue eyes and wears a green jacket, white shirt, blue jeans and dark teal ballet shoes. She is a more resourceful agent and is the equivalent of Penny from Inspector Gadget, except Heather is much taller than Penny and appears to be in her early 20s. Her name is Estelle in the French version, and it is revealed in "Gadget Boy and the Wee Folk" that her bloodline is Irish.
* G-9 (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is Gadget Boy's robotic dog, similar to Brain. He can morph into anything and assists Gadget Boy to get him and his gang out of the stickiest situations. Gadget Boy and G-9 appear to switch between being fully robotic to being half robotic in different episodes. Although G-9 is a robot dog, in "Boy Power of Babble", G-9 is revealed to be half robot when he is affected by the "babblizer ray", enabling him the ability to speak in an old English, intelligent accent. Unlike Brain, G-9 is usually seen with Gadget Boy, and Gadget Boy does not mistake him for being an enemy agent, as opposed to when the original Inspector Gadget will usually, on the case, mistake Brain appearing incognito for being a M.A.D. agent.
* Chief Drake Stromboli (voiced LaMarche) is the chief of Interpol with an Italian accent. Stromboli has white hair and a white mustache and gives Gadget Boy and Heather their assignments. Like Chief Quimby, Stromboli is a frequent, long-suffering victim of Gadget Boy's bungling. Assignments are printed on a long sheet of paper, often coming out of his tie, compared to the self-destructing paper on which Inspector Gadget will receive his messages, and don't blow up in his face.
* Myron Dabble (voiced by LaMarche) is a bespectacled inventor working for Interpol. He is the man who, like von Slickstein, equipped Gadget Boy with his gadgets. Myron has an unrequited crush on Heather. In "Back to the Vulture", it is revealed that he was really born in Cleveland and speaks with a Swiss accent because he moved to Switzerland in his youth.

Villains

* Spydra (voiced by Louise Vallance in English and Monique Thierry in French) is the series' primary antagonist

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases