Inspector Gadget/YMMV

The cartoon

 * Alternate Character Interpretation: Some people say that Gadget isn't stupid, he's willingly being a distraction so Penny can accomplish the mission, since when Penny's safety is threatened, he suddenly seems to become a lot more competent.
 * Others interpret his complete obliviousness as a defense mechanism against dealing with what he has become.
 * Body Horror: What may happen if you start to think about how and WHERE the different gadgets fit into his body.
 * Ear Worm: "Doo-doo-doo-doo-doot, Inspector Gadget..."
 * The theme song comes up rather often on the show in the background. No matter what locale Gadget goes to, the local music is simply the theme song reworked to that particular country's musical style. This further ingrains the theme song in your ear and also saves the sound people from having to worry about copyrights.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse: Take one guess who.
 * Evil Is Cool: Claw. Who wouldn't want that voice?
 * Fanon Discontinuity: Some fans feel this way about the second season, and for good reason.
 * First Installment Wins: The first season and series are possibly the most parodied out of the franchise.
 * Harsher in Hindsight: A MAD agent couldn't dare sneak blunt objects on a plane today, nor could Penny and Brain sneak into the cargo hold to get to destinations under Gadget's nose without plenty of TSA office visits and permanent inclusion on the no-fly list.
 * Jumping the Shark: It's typically accepted that season 2's time travel story arc was this show's shark jump moment. Interestingly, Gadget Boy jumped the shark in the same way, except that story arc lasted a whole season.
 * Memetic Mutation: Gadget appeared to give instructions on a lot of early DiC DVD menus (even in series that had nothing to do with him), and some of the things he says have caught on due to a review by Mike Matei of Cinemassacre. Move the glow around the button you want to select!
 * Recycled Script: May as well be the Trope Codifier.
 * The Scrappy: Corporal Capeman.
 * They Changed It, Now It Sucks: The second season, which has a different film look to it, most of the action takes place around Gadget's neighborhood, many of the voices are much different and the plots...
 * A bunch of mobsters who have retired to the old folks home try to recapture their past glory and take over the city...with a potato gun named Rose Red. What.
 * They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Gadget is a pretty darn awesome superhero in concept, but he spends the entire series gleefully clutching the Idiot Ball and generally being useless. Alot of people say that Penny's a lot better a protagonist, and wish that she was the series' primary focus.
 * Non Sequitur Scene: In the episode "Gone Went The Wind", Inspector Gadget finds Chief Quimby in the frozen chicken isle at the supermarket, but before Quimby appears, one of the frozen chickens inexplicably gets out and walks away.

The films
"Claw: "Ok. Turn me on, Kramer...""
 * Broken Base: And how! The fans are divided between those who despised the first film for not being close enough to the cartoons, those who hated the second film for not being enough like the first, people who hated both and prefer to stick to the cartoons, and the people who actually liked both films.
 * That's not even taking onto consideration the people who liked either of the movies, but disliked the cartoons.
 * Complete Monster: Apparently, the two years he served out of a life sentence, combined with the seizure of all his assets following his conviction of the murder of Dr. Artemus Bradford and attempted framing of Gadget for crimes committed by a pure robotic double he had set loose on Riverton, hardened Claw's heart further and fueled his desire for revenge against Gadget, to the point of actually trying to tempt Penny to his side by rubbing her uncle's refusal to take her seriously in her face and promising her he won't be like that (not that it works). This gets to the point where the second film may as well be titled Inspector Gadget 2: The Revenge of Dr. Claw. He finally does get his revenge some time after the halfway point, using two of his minions and a controlling device to put Gadget out of the way so he could set forth his plan to rob the Federal Reserve empty and get his wealth back. Of course, he didn't count on Gadget making a comeback to stop him once G2 got deactivated for failing to stop his latest crime, where the currently disgraced Gadget was serving as a valet, shortly afterward and Penny got abducted while snooping around his hideout...
 * Fridge Logic: Isn't the name "Robo-Gadget" kind of... redundant?
 * Gadget's a cyborg, and Robo Gadget's an android.
 * Hilarious in Hindsight: In his first scene, after being accused of speeding, the Gadgetmobile says, "Speaking of breaking the law, who's not wearing a seatbelt? Gotta wear the belt, baby. It's a Disney movie!" Several years later, Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray both violated that rule in the exact same scene as each other in a Disney concert film that was nevertheless rated G.
 * As a few memes have pointed out, the "Sore Guru" bears more than a passing resemblance to Osama bin Laden.
 * Ho Yay: That Kramer really seems to get off on Claw's abuse... while Claw praises Kramer in comparison to constantly dumping on Sikes. Not to mention:

"John Brown: Now you've crossed the line! Pull over, you!
 * Moral Event Horizon: Scolex crosses it in his very first scene. Interestingly, John Brown (the future Gadget) thinks Scolex's MEH wasn't the murder of Dr. Artemus Bradford, but having his henchman track oil behind his limo, thus causing Brown's '87 Chevette to flip onto its roof and slide into a Yahoo! billboard. What makes that worse is that Scolex enjoys watching Brown suffer for going after him.

Sanford Scolex: Stop the car, Sikes, I want to enjoy this."


 * Nightmare Fuel: Gadget with all of his robotic parts exposed.
 * Overused Running Gag: The gag of the hearts popping up on Gadget's hat showing he's in love pops up in both movies, several times.
 * The Scrappy: The Gadgetmobile... although, this is hardly the only thing wrong with it.
 * Sequelitis: The direct-to-video sequel dropped most of the better aspects of the film adaptation, the high-quality cast and the large budget was cut drastically.
 * Surprisingly Improved Sequel: On the other hand, the direct-to-video sequel was given props from following the cartoon's formula more closely than its predecessor.
 * Uncanny Valley: Ironically used effectively in a negative capacity with Robo-Gadget. The shifty eyes and fake teeth are scary without really even trying. One could argue that Broderick made a better villain than a hero in the film.
 * Visual Effects of Awesome: The original is worth watching just for Stan Winston's realisations of Inspector Gadget's gadgets.
 * What the Hell, Casting Agency?: one of the main complaints in reguards to the first film.