Inspector Gadget is an animated television series about a clumsy, absent-minded, and oblivious detective, Inspector Gadget, who is a cyborg with various "gadgets" built into his anatomy. Gadget's main nemesis is the mysterious Dr. Claw, leader of an evil organization known as MAD. This was the first syndicated cartoon show from DIC Enterprises (as well as the first from the company to be created specifically for American viewers, along with The Littles) and ran from 1983 to 1986 in syndication. This article pertains to the original cartoon series and its characters and plots; for information on its later spinoffs, see Inspector Gadget spinoff incarnations.

The series was later adapted into a live-action feature film of the same name, starring Matthew Broderick as the Inspector, and a direct-to-video sequel starring French Stewart.

A spin-off, Gadget and the Gadgetinis, was aired in 2001 and ran until 2003. In that series, Gadget was a lieutenant, assisted by a pair of robot look-a-likes.

The series was a co-production between DIC and Nelvana, with the animation work outsourced to Tokyo Movie Shinsha in Japan, and Cuckoo's Nest Studio in Taiwan.

Inspector Gadget is a 1999 live-action film based on the characters of the popular animated cartoon series Inspector Gadget. It starred Matthew Broderick as the title character, along with Rupert Everett as Dr. Claw, and Michelle Trachtenberg as Penny. Two new characters were introduced, Brenda Bradford (Joely Fisher) and the Gadgetmobile (D.L. Hughley). This film was produced by Caravan Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures, and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. It was filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Los Angeles, California with the iconic ice castle-like main tower of PPG Place playing a central role.

A remake of the television series, Matthew Broderick stars as Gadget, who suffers an accident at the beginning of the film, and befriends Brenda (Joely Fisher), a robotic surgeon who repairs Gadget so that he can defeat the villain Claw (Everett). In the meantime, Gadget and Brenda fall in love. Written by Ari Herzog

Security guard John Brown wants to be a cop. After a battle with a cyberthief leaves him critically injured, Brown's employer, Dr. Brenda Bradford, turns him into the robotic cybercop Inspector Gadget. Gadget and Brenda battle the Claw, an evil industrialist intent on stealing Brenda's technological secrets and destroying Gadget once and for all. Written by Ray Hamel

Bumbling Inspector Gadget battles the forces of M.A.D. with the aid of the various gadgets he has on his person: pop-up rollerskates, extensible arms, a helicopter-hat, etc. Despite the arsenal at his disposal (which is just as likely to misfire as work properly), Gadget never seems to be able to catch Dr. Claw, the mastermind behind M.A.D. Quite often, in fact, any success that Gadget might have is often caused by his niece Penny and her dog, who Gadget consistently fails to recognize as working incognito on the case. Written by Murray Chapman

An international police inspector named "Gadget", is the inept inspector who is on the trail of M.A.D. and their sinister leader Dr. Claw. Along with his overly eager niece Penny and his trusted dog Brain, He is determined to bring down M.A.D. Unfortunately, Gadget is not good at his job and most of his gadgets are not much help either. So, Penny and Brain do all of the hard work for him, but let him take all of the credit. Written by John Wiggins