Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The New Inspector Gadget TV Series Is Scheduled For 2013

This just in (or in last month, actually): The revival/spinoff series that I talked about many months ago is definitely in production! Last month in Cannes, Cookie Jar announced their upcoming Inspector Gadget series at the TV and entertainment market MIPCOM - or more precicely, at MIPJunior, a 2-day screening and conference event for kids' content which precedes the main show. Below is the short press release that has been circulating online as part of the MIPJunior promotion (snagged from WorldScreen with the help of Google Cache, since it's hidden behind a subscription wall):

MIP Junior Spotlight: Cookie Jar Entertainment
Published: October 2, 2012

CANNES: Cookie Jar Entertainment is celebrating Inspector Gadget’s 30th anniversary with the launch of a brand-new series with its Canadian broadcast partner TELETOON. 
The series will again revolve around the iconic bionic bumbling detective. Also for TELETOON is Dr. Dimension Pants, an original series by Brad Peyton. The show What Do People Do All Day?, based on the popular Richard Scarry franchise, is for the Canadian broadcaster CBC. “These shows are based on very popular children’s brands and have shown through previous productions that they rate highly with audiences around the world,” says Michael Hirsh, Cookie Jar’s CEO.

Hirsh says that the company is expecting to pre-sell Inspector Gadget, What Do People Do All Day? and Dr. Dimension Pants at the market. He is also keen to find co-production partners for the latter two titles. “We have become the number one supplier to streaming networks for their kids’ content and we look forward to meeting with our existing customers as well as new entrants to the field around the world,” he adds of his further MIPCOM goals.

Want more? Here's picture proof of the press release, taken from the online slideshow version of the MIPJunior & MIPCOM edition of TV Kids, published September 25th. (You can find the press release yourself by going to page 26 in the slideshow.)


So finally, the revival/spinoff series is an official fact. (It somehow always feels more official when the production company announces it themselves.) And, it looks like "revival" might be the right word for it. Not much detail is uncovered, but judging by the above magazine snapshot, the show's title seems to simply be "Inspector Gadget". As in... a brand new season of the 80s series "Inspector Gadget"? Plus, the one sentence actually telling us something about the show says, "The series will again revolve around the iconic bionic bumbling detective." What, so it won't revolve around the son of the iconic bionic bumbling detective? WHEW!

Of course, we don't really know yet what the show will or will not do... but if it proves NOT to have any shockingly groundbreaking twists on the classic formula (like introducing a son for the main character - just a thought that popped into my mind), I really wouldn't mind. I just want to see someone do a good, new Inspector Gadget series - a new series which doesn't take away or change everything that made the show great in the first place. I'm hoping Cookie Jar and its partner TELETOON can do that. So far, at least, I'm liking what I'm hearing. It's nice that they're timing the new show to debut for Gadget's 30th anniversary. It's nice, too, that Michael Hirsh (executive chairman of Cookie Jar and DHX Media) is the one to announce it. Considering that Hirsh was also one of the original founders and leaders of Nelvana - the famous Canadian animation studio which co-produced the first season of Inspector Gadget with DiC - it just seems to fit. The new show is being produced in Canada, like the first season of the old show was, and for some reason I just like the sound of that.

To round off, here's yet another brief mention of the new show, from the MIPCOM News - Quick Review newsletter (page 4):
MIPCOM 2012 was the first time that kids studios DHX Media and Cookie Jar Entertainment have been in Cannes since they agreed a $111m deal. Underlining Canada’s importance to the kids business, the deal creates the largest independent owner of children’s programming in the world. Executive chairman of the enlarged group, Michael Hirsh, was in town with series such as Inspector Gadget (a new version) and Dr Dimensionpants.
Plus PICTURE PROOF! (Nice shirt, Michael.)


This short brief mentions a fact I haven't yet bothered to write about: DHX Media buying Cookie Jar Entertainment in a deal which, after finalizing last month, created the world's largest independent library of children's entertainment. (Brag, brag.) So Gadget is technically owned by DHX now... even though Cookie Jar is still an up and running company, as a subsidiary of DHX. I had wondered if this buyout would affect the upcoming Gadget series in any way (maybe a bit like how the planned 2009 reboot was cancelled after Cookie Jar bought and swallowed DiC)... but this seems not to be the case here, as both DHX and Cookie Jar were behind promoting the new show at MIPCOM. Good stuff.

By the way... "iconic bionic bumbling detective" has a kind of catchy ring to it. New official tagline?

11 comments:

  1. Please, please, PLEASE don't let them screw this up...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agreed! At least it's gonna be interesting to see what they do.

      Delete
    2. You think they'll put Fidget and Digit in the new show as an easter egg; like an old family photo with all of them including Brain even though he left Gadget? :)

      Delete
    3. Actually, right now, I find it more likely that they'll just ignore the Gadgetinis show. ;) But we'll see.

      Delete
    4. Aww...I really did like the little guys...I personaly think in that show they REALLY messed up Doctor Claw. He was...too simple and more like a mama's boy then a villan. But one can only dream at this point.
      What are your thoughts on what's going to happen? :)
      P.S. My name is Hexpinteas, I just chose not to make an acount on here. :)

      Delete
    5. Never cared that much for the Gadgetinis robots myself. Okay, they weren't as annoying as, say, Capeman, but they couldn't hold a candle to Brain from the original series (whom they more or less replaced). But I definitely agree that the treatment of Dr Claw was the worst! He was actually sucking his thumb in one episode!! How low can you sink? Dr Claw was a fantastic villain in the first season of the original series... if anything, I think a revival would do better by building on that first season model and make him DARKER than before.

      To be honest, though, I haven't got many theories yet on what will happen with the new series. So few details have been announced by this point. But perhaps one possibility (and partly a hope from my side) is that the new show will be more faithful to the 1983 original than any other modern-day revival. Considering that the success of the "M.A.D. Dash" Iphone game is part of the reason for a new series being produced - and considering that the tone and style of this game kept pretty close to the classic series - I'm figuring that maybe the TV series reboot might do the same thing. But it's still too early to say anything definite, of course.

      Glad you commented even though you didn't register with an account. :)(Though I have to admit that I'm considering blocking anonymous commenters... not because I have anything against them, but because I'm getting tons of spam comments from anonymous sources, and it's becoming really tedious to get my e-mail filled with random spam comments...)

      Delete
    6. Hexpinteas: Well sorry about all your anonymous. They are really annoying to honest with you but getting back to the topic at hand. :)
      I really hate Gadget Boy. Dear god...no! Just no!
      I couldn't watch 2 minutes into that stupid show without stepping away from the screen and turning it off! I hope this never shows again!
      But I'm getting off the topic again, I hope in this new show they'll get it right and will keep true the real and original show.
      Most likely they’ll have Gadget’s new son (it’s a rumor) around his age and repeat the same formula as the old show with a few minor things to keep its own thing while honoring the very first show.
      And to be 100% fair the creators did had a lot of fall backs.
      Gadget Boy
      Inspector Gadget 3D C.G.I. looking thingy…? (I don’t know it was just lame. -_-)
      Cape Man from the first show
      Both of Disney’s Inspector Gadget Movies
      And the lame Doctor Claw “Mama’s Boy Act” with low stander’s “evil plans” from Gadget and The Gadgetinis
      Hopefully the new creators will learn from their mistakes and will know how to produce a good show.
      My hopes are they’ll put some Easter eggs into the show from all the previous things I’ve said and well…kinda personal note I kinda wanna see at least 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Episode with Fidget and Digit again, I just kinda fell in love with these guys. But if not then oh well, at least I have the DVD set. :)
      And wrapping this up with some of my last thoughts I hope they get a good actor for Gadget as well telling a bit more of Penny’s back story about her parents and what happened to them without making too big of a deal of it, kinda like Teen Titans where each one of them had a background and sometimes their own episode(s) while just being overall silly and wasn’t talking down to theirs as in terms keeping it too simple with a real story line to be followed.
      Also I’ll like to see an episode where Gadget first adopted Penny into his life and how they gotten Brain and became a family.
      Personally I always kinda secretly thought Gadget kept that silly personality to keep Penny happy in order to fill in the fact that she didn’t had parents of her own so he did his best to keep her happy to the best of his abilities.
      Can you imagine that your own brother/sister died with your brother-in-law/sister-in-law in some accident and the only thing left in the world is their daughter Penny?
      In a way Gadget became a father without any real intentions but it was kinda a match made with faith seeing he’s filled with machinery and she’s a prodigy with computers.
      I always kinda felt bad for them both thinking about this.
      Him forcing to have a smile on 24/7 while acting like a goof to hide the fact he’s just as said as Penny is but he’s being strong for her and for himself.
      While Penny is doing everything in her power to protect what little family she has left.
      Kinda makes you think…

      Delete
  2. Any more news on this revival? I've been gloriously "rediscovering" the series (which I adored as an 80s teen) and doing my own fan art lately. Ye gods I hope it'll be available in the US!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm really hoping this is gonna be a thing! A 'darker and edgier' Inspector Gadget series is everything I've ever wanted ever since discovering the show. Any more news on it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Check my most recent post (from May 9) for something that MIGHT be news...

      Delete
  4. hope you can get the new chapters, brings back so many memories this drawing, both acia me laugh when I was a kid, I remember so many drawings like this that should make back their new chapters to their fans time and all generations that marked our kids

    ReplyDelete