In 2004, the original DiC-produced
Inspector Gadget animated series was first released on DVD by UAVCO, first with the original 5 episodes in
The Gadget Files, and then with 3 other episodes added on to a 1992 Christmas special in the holiday release
Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas. While many of the UAVCO DiC "Animation Station" releases have been re-released in their original identical form by NCircle Entertainment, these two are not among them.
Then, in 2006, there was a nice 4-DVD package put out by the folks at Shout! Factory, simply referred to as
Inspector Gadget - The Original Series. It contained the first 22 episodes out of the show's 86-episode run (which originally broadcast from 1983-1986). It was supposed to be the first of several such releases, but Shout! never moved forward with the other sets.
Now apparently the property has moved over to Fox Home Entertainment. Online retailers (like
Amazon and
DVDEmpire) have recently posted pre-order listings for
Inspector Gadget - Big Little Problems, coming out on
June 17th. We've found out that this single-disc release only sports a total of 3 episodes, one of them considered a "bonus episode", but all 3 of them have never been released on DVD before in the USA:
Lately, small things in Gadget's life are creating huge problems!
First, five mean little men with razor-sharp teeth set out to devour Gadget, and then at an invention convention, Gadget gets shrunk to the size of a mouse! Can he regain his stature and defeat the MAD men around him?
- "Gadget in Minimadness" (Episode #72)
- "The Incredible Shrinking Gadget" (Episode #73)
- Bonus Episode: "Tyrannosaurus Gadget" (Episode #81)
Cost is $14.98 SRP in the USA (CA$15.98 SRP in Canada), but DVDEmpire is pre-selling it for $10.99 at this time, and Amazon for just $9.99 at this moment. Running time is 44 minutes, officially, but that probably does not include the "bonus episode". Package art isn't available yet, but we'll let you know when it go-goes to press from Fox.
