Parents' Guide to Inspector Gadget

Age has done nothing to lessen this detective's incompetence, but that doesn't mean that his adventures are any less comical. No matter how many times Penny and her talented canine sidekick, Brain (Scott McCord), save the day from Inspector Gadget's ill-fated efforts to do the same, you still want to root for the perpetually optimistic gumshoe. The good news is that her brilliance and courage make Penny a deft female role model, and the new-fangled gadgets—including a portal transport—and CGI animation give the show a modern flair. The bad news is that her oblivious uncle continues to take credit for success that isn't his.

This classic good-vs.-evil struggle is a harmless way to introduce kids to the idea of cartoon villains, since Dr. Claw rarely gets the upper hand on the heroes, and we never see any more of him than his infamous hand. What's more, the series often uses Talon to poke fun at Dr. Claw's flawed logic that sabotages his own schemes, such as creating an ignition system with only one key or setting a countdown clock with too much time. Much of it will go over young kids' heads, but parents who grew up with the original show will pick up on the little jab in the ribs to bungling TV villains overall.