Top Secret Mission
"A highly experimental missile has been stolen by Dr. Claw. It is believed he will use the missile to destroy Metro City. Your assignment is to find the missile and prevent Dr. Claw from carrying out his plan."
Synopsis
Much to Penny's chagrin, vacation plans with her uncle and Brain are put on hold when Gadget receives his latest assignment. He's off to farm country to find a huge stolen missile, and, as usual, Brain is close behind. Stopping for directions at a MAD-run country store, Inspector Gadget narrowly escapes harm by no less than three agents. Though Claw's henchmen give Gadget directions away from the missile, his bad sense of direction and the Gadget Van's empty gas tank bring him right to the farm. More MAD agents try to do him in there, but are unsuccessful and inadvertently lead the clueless policeman, who only wants to borrow some gas, right to the converted grain silo that houses the stolen weapon. Claw begins the countdown, elated that Gadget is trapped inside the building and will be burned to a crisp upon the missile's launch. He becomes even more excited as Gadget wanders inside the missile itself and is locked in. But his glee quickly turns to rage as the countdown is aborted once by Gadget himself, once by his own agents when they tell him the police have arrived, and one last time, permanently, when Penny and Brain snip the ignition wire.
Quotable Quote
"How convenient! This place has everything!" --Inspector Gadget, trying to nap while counting live sheep as they are thrown into a room to suffocate him.
Notes
Despite mediocre animation, "Down on the Farm" is a fairly decent episode. Claw is in his element in this episode, so drunk with power, and later, rage, that his agents sweat nervously, Mad Cat takes refuge under his chair, and his chronic fist-pounding leaves his desk in ruins. Tension is mounted expertly at the episode's end when Penny and Brain race against time to disable to the missile, most notable when Brain nearly snips the wrong wire and almost drops the wire cutters.
Be On The Look-Out For...
...a prudish mother shielding her daughter's eyes from the bizarre sight of Inspector Gadget unsuccessfully negotiating a revolving door.
...the full-on video camera that extends from Brain's collar when he calls Penny.
...the sow that Brain, dressed as a bale of hay, lands on when thrown off the silo--Someone give that pig a training bra!
...Don Adams employing his Get Smart shtick ("Would you believe...?") at the very end of the episode.
MAD Agent Count
Six: Three regulars, plus someone disguised as a cigar store Indian, a harmonica-playing yokel (referred to as 'Agent Six-Twelve') and a storekeeper.
Unanswered, Nit-Picky Questions
How did Gadget hear Claw's threat as Claw flies off in the MAD jet at the end?
Ridiculous Safety Tip
Don't play on or around farm equipment and be careful around livestock.
"Down On The Farm"