Tuesday, December 9, 2014

First 10 Episode Titles of Inspector Gadget's Reboot Revealed - The Show Kicks Off With The Two-Parter "Gadget 2.0"!

Via the sites fernsehserien.de and tvinfo.de, I've been able to find the episode titles and German air dates for the new series' first five half-hours, i. e. the first ten 11-minute episodes. The episode guide provided by broadcaster Super RTL handily includes both the German and the original English-language titles. I'll list them in English first...


Episode 1
1a. Gadget 2.0 - Part 1
1b. Gadget 2.0 - Part 2 

Episode 2 
2a. Towering Towers
2b. Game Over Man, Game Over 

Episode 3
3a. Rock Out 
3b. Strike A Pose 

Episode 4
4a. Better Class Of MAD
4b. Cough Due To Claw 

Episode 5
5a. Dog Show Days Are Over
5b. One Bad Apple


So, YAY! The series starts out with a full, 22-minute two-parter! I had been hoping the half-hour production format would be utilized this way, should the story require it... and if I'm right, then the plot of "Gadget 2.0" really might require that much time. This is very likely the story that has been teased in the German-released series synopsis, of how the retired Gadget is forced to return to his job as a police inspector due to Dr Claw being freed from "hibernation" and reactivating M.A.D. (Sigh. If anyone German reading this knows an alternate translation for the word "Kältestarre", please let me know. I really don't get that hibernation part.) "Gadget 2.0" is the start of a new chapter in the lives of Gadget and his family - at least that's how I'm reading the title.

Amusingly, many of the German-translated titles are pretty far off from the original English versions. Whereas the English titles are stuffed with wordplays and alliterations, the German ones seem to be more straightforward regarding the storylines of the episodes. (Understandable to some degree -- wordplays can be hard to translate.) In the below airing schedule for the first 5 half-hours on Super RTL, I have added direct translations of the German titles in brackets:


SUPER RTL AIR DATES 
(Note: all episodes will be rerun at 09:35 on Super RTL the day after their first airing.)

Friday, January 9, 2015 at 19:45
1a Die Rückkehr (1) [The Return (1)] - Gadget 2.0 - Part 1
1b Die Rückkehr (2) [The Return (2)] - Gadget 2.0 - Part 2 

Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 19:45
2a Wolkenkratzer-Alarm [Skyscraper Alarm] - Towering Towers
2b Die Alien-Attacke [The Alien Attack] - Game Over Man, Game Over 

Friday, January 16, 2015 at 19:45
3a Der doppelte Pop-Star [The Double Pop Star] - Rock Out
3b Professor Rotoskop in Gefahr [Professor Von Slickstein In Danger] - Strike A Pose 

Saturday, January 17, 2015 at 19:45
4a Der entführte Filmstar [The Kidnapped Movie Star] - Better Class Of MAD
4b Gute Besserung, Gadget! [Get Well Soon, Gadget!] - Cough Due To Claw

Friday, January 23, 2015 at 19:45
5a Der beste Hund [The Best Dog] - Dog Show Days Are Over
5b Operation Monster-Apfel [Operation Monster Apple] - One Bad Apple


Note the title of episode 2B, "Game Over Man, Game Over", which is translated to "The Alien Attack" in German. This is clearly the episode we see an excerpt of in the WorldScreen preview clip, but for some reason, its on-screen title there is just "Game Over, Man". I guess time will tell if the title has been changed for the TV airing.

Also, here's a bonus -- the separate TV Info sites for episodes 4 and 5 on TV Info included some actual screenshots! All low-res, unfortunately, but we'll take what we can get. Judging by the picture descriptions there, it seems possible to link some of the images to specific 11-minute episodes... so I'll do that where I can.

Episode 4 - Better Class of MAD / Cough Due to Claw

Loving this one of Penny and Brain in action.

From 4a, Better Class of MAD. Gadget, Penny and Brain study
a poster image of, probably, the episode's kidnapped movie star.

Did Brain ever drive the Gadget Mobile in the original series? I can't
remember seeing that. (Not that I doubt his driving abilities.)

From 4a, Better Class of MAD

Episode 5 - Dog Show Days Are Over / One Bad Apple

From 5a, Dog Show Days Are Over

From 5a, Dog Show Days Are Over. This picture of Brain working
undercover on the dog show makes me smile. He is Brain, after all. Can't
just go there as a dog.

From 5a, Dog Show Days Are Over

One last thing to round off: The comprehensive separate sites for each half-hour on TV Info additionally includes synopses of the episodes. I considered translating these... but then, after looking at them in Google Translate, came to the conclusion that they reveal a little too much of the plots for my taste. Images and episode titles are one thing, but synopses are naturally much more informative and detailed.

Some of you might be surpriced to hear me say this. After all, I've been searching for every bit of info I could find about this series for more than 2 1/2 years. And admittedly, skimming through some of the episode plots, of course I found them interesting. Looking for news about this reboot is in my blood now. But there comes a point in time - especially now that the premiere is drawing closer and closer - when you don't necessarily want to know every little detail about the series' plots and storylines. When it feels better to just wait for the episodes to start airing... and then sit back, relax and (hopefully) enjoy watching them.

Besides, except for the opening two-parter, all the episodes announced so far are eleven minutes. I do hope to see more double episodes pop up through the 26 half-hours... but, considering the short run times as well, I really don't need to know everything before going in.

Still, because I like to make my news reports as complete as possible, I'll include the synopses in German underneath. I'm not sure what I'll do when English-language synopses start popping up. Maybe copy them without looking, or maybe just link to them. (Or hey, maybe I'll change my mind about all this tomorrow.) Anyhow, those who are curious enough can paste the German text into Google Translate. I'll make note of one detail, though: As seen in the synopsis for episode 3a, Dr Claw's nephew Talon is named "Titus" in German.


1. Die Rückkehr - Teil 1 / Die Rückkehr - Teil 2 (Gadget 2.0 - Part 1 / Gadget 2.0- Part 2)
Lange Zeit war er der Schrecken aller Verbrecher, doch vor einigen Jahren hat sich Inspector Gadget in den Ruhestand zurückgezogen. Jetzt genießt der schusselige Rentner sein Leben, doch wird er jäh aus diesem Zustand gerissen: Die Polizei bittet ihn, sie im Kampf gegen Dr. Kralle zu unterstützen, der aus der Kältestarre erwacht ist. Die Lage ist so ernst, dass Inspector Gadget keine Wahl bleibt und er in den Polizeidienst zurückkehrt. Gemeinsam mit seiner Nichte Sophie und ihremHund Fino nimmt er den Kampf gegen Dr. Kralle wieder auf. Natürlich kann er dabei nicht auf seine berühmte Uniform sowie die genialen Go-Go-Gadgetos verzichten...

2. Wolkenkratzer-Alarm / Die Alien-Attacke (Towering Towers / Game Over Man, Game Over)
1. Geschichte: Dr. Kralle hat einen hinterhältigen Plan: Er will die weltweite Kommunikation beherrschen! Um dies zu erreichen, lässt er eine Antenne von schier unvorstellbarer Größe errichten. Inspector Gadget macht sich mit Sophie und Fino an die Arbeit, um Dr. Kralles Plan zu durchkreuzen 2. Geschichte: Astronauten verschwinden unter ungewöhnlichen Umständen von einer Raumstation. Inspector Gadget eilt zur Hilfe und hat schon bald eine Vermutung: Aliens müssen hinter den unerklärlichen Vorgängen stecken...

3. Der doppelte Pop-Star / Professor Rotoskop in Gefahr (Rock Out / Strike a Pose)
1. Geschichte: Dr. Kralles Neffe Titus versucht verzweifelt, sich als Rockstar zu etablieren. Um seinem Ziel näher zu kommen, versucht er, die Rolle des Superstars Nigel einzunehmen. Doch damit nicht genug: Mithilfe eines Gedankenmanipulators will er die Fans zu einer willenlosen Armee umpolen. Kann Inspector Gadget ihn aufhalten? 2. Geschichte: Dr. Kralle hat es auf Professor Rotoskop abgesehen, denn er will an dessen neueste Erfindung gelangen. Inspector Gadget und Sophie begleiten den Wissenschaftler zu einer Messe, um ihn vor MADetta, einer Agentin von Dr. Kralle zu beschützen.

4. Der entführte Filmstar / Gute Besserung, Gadget! (Better Class of MAD / Cough Due to Claw)
1. Geschichte: Sean Shrapnel, ein berühmter Schauspieler, verschwindet spurlos. Jetzt ist es an Inspector Gadget, die Ermittlungen zu übernehmen. Gemeinsam mit Sophie und Fino macht er sich auf den Weg zur Insel Isla Diabolica, wo ihn die letzte Spur von Shrapnel hinführt. Baald wird klar, dass Dr. Kralle seine Tatzen beim Verschwinden im Spiel haben könnte... 2. Geschichte: Inspector Gadget hat sich eine schwere Erkältung eingefangen. Deshalb muss Sophioe eine Mission für ihn übernehmen: Sophie soll einen Dieb schnappen, der im Auftrag von Dr. Kralle Kunstwerke aus Museen stiehlt. Doch als Sophie den Übeltäter auf frischer Tat ertappt, erlebt sie eine faustdicke Überraschung...

5. Der beste Hund / Operation Monster-Apfel (Dog Show Days Are Over / One Bad Apple)
1. Geschichte: Dr. Kralle verkleidet seine Katze als Hund, damit sie an einer Hundeshow teilnehmen kann. Dort soll sie eine Spezialbrille tragen, um per Hypnose alle Hunde unter ihre Kontrolle zu bringen. Ob Inspector Gadget diesen Plan durchkreuzen kann? 2. Geschichte: In einem Geheimlabor hat Dr. Kralle riesige Monster-Äpfel gezüchtet, um die Menschheit mit ihrer Hilfe zu unterwerfen. Inspector Gadget stellt sich ihm in den Weg, doch seine Vorliebe für Apfelsaft droht ihm zum Verhängnis zu werden. Gut dass Sophie nicht weit ist und ihren Onkel unterstützt...
 

9 comments:

  1. Nice! So there will be two-parters, good to hear!

    That "movie star" looks very familiar...

    I think Brain may have taken control of the Gadget Van briefly once before, don't happen to remember which episode it was though. Safe to say I would still trust Brain's driving over Gadget's any day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Nice! So there will be two-parters, good to hear!"
      I leapt with joy a little upon seeing that myself. :P Hope it's not the only one.

      "That "movie star" looks very familiar..."
      He does, doesn't he? You know, this is probably a sign that I'm getting too stressed/tired from trying to keep track of and reporting every single bit of news I can find - I didn't even notice that was the Chief, I was just so busy doing the post. Another signal that it's time to relax and lower the shoulders a bit, I guess... especially considering that the news will undobtedly pop up more and more frequently in the coming weeks.

      (Regarding that, hope you weren't disappointed by the 'missing' synopsis translations. ;)

      "I think Brain may have taken control of the Gadget Van briefly once before, don't happen to remember which episode it was though. Safe to say I would still trust Brain's driving over Gadget's any day."
      Oh, certainly. Gadget Mobile or not, the pooch has long since proven that he can drive/steer/pilot just about anything... while Gadget has proven the opposite. ;)

      Delete
    2. Brain drived the Gadgetvan/Gadgetmobile in "A star is lost" to let Gadget reach the rock star kidnapped by Dr. Claw, Rick Rocker.

      Delete
    3. Ah! Good catch, stephdumas. :) One nit-picky detail, though... I just rewatched that part of the ep, and before Brain starts "driving", Penny actually pre-programs the Gadget Van with her computer book to make it drive Brain and Gadget to the needed location. So Brain doesn't actually do the driving himself... once he starts the car's engine, it goes to the warehouse Penny plotted in. He just needs to pretend he's driving to put on the nurse act in front of Gadget. We can even see that the car shifts gear by itself (to go into Gadget Mobile mode) a few seconds into the driving scene ... and we also see Brain sitting with both feet on the driver's seat, nowhere near the car's pedals, in another shot.

      Interesting, though. Does this mean there might really be no scene where Brain - or Penny, for that matter - are actally DRIVING the Gadget Mobile all by themselves, in the original series?

      Delete
    4. "Does this mean there might really be no scene where Brain - or Penny, for that matter - are actally DRIVING the Gadget Mobile all by themselves, in the original series?"

      We could wonder if the Gadget Mobile had a sort of artificial intelligence like K.I.T.T. and K.A.R.R. in Knight Rider? ;-)

      Delete
    5. Hmmm. Interesting, but what are you basing that theory on? In the scene I described above, I'm pretty sure everything the Gadget Van/Mobile does happens because of Penny's pre-programming. The shift from Van to Mobile occurs very shortly after Brain starts the car engine; and it makes sense to me that this, too, was part of Penny's programming, simply to get Brain and Gadget to the warehouse as quickly as possible. (When I said the car shifted gear "by itself" earlier, it was to specify that Brain didn't have anything to do with it.)

      I can't remember any scenes in the original series which indicate (to me, at least) that the car actually has artificial intelligence, and thinks/lives on its own. Aside from some obviously exaggerated, cartoony moments, like some of the driving during the first minutes of "Haunted Castle", it always seems to be controlled by the characters one way or another. (And I have to admit I prefer it that way... the disastrous, humanized Gadget Mobiles seen in DiC's direct-to-video animated films, post-Disney movie, left a bad taste in my mouth.) The original Gadget Mobile is awesome, but the way I see it, awesome as a vehicle.

      Delete
    6. What I based on the idea of a sort of articifial intelligence was simply a fluke or lucky guess. I watched too much Knight Rider. ^^;

      Delete
    7. Heh, I haven't watched any Knight Rider myself, admittedly. :P Though, looking for a few seconds on that Wiki page, I guess I can see how it might be cool from the perspective of a fan to imagine similar stuff about the Gadget Mobile... even though the IG series itself doesn't indicate anything like that.

      Delete
  2. Sorry, but seeing Brain drive the Gadgetmobile reminded me of the Robot Chicken parody. ("I'm too young to have a license, Brain. You drive; you're a dog!")

    ReplyDelete