Top Secret Mission
"Greenfinger Institute has perfect formula to grow giant vegetables. Could feed entire world. Protect formula from MAD."
Synopsis
Inspector Gadget reports for duty at the Greenfinger Institute, a large compound dedicated to botanical science, in order to protect an important formula from MAD. But Gadget's too late: Dr. Claw already has Mr. Greenfinger tied up in the basement, and replaced him with an impostor, a bald, heavy-set man in tinted glasses. This phony Greenfinger is in charge of disposing of Gadget and organizing the theft of the formula. Brain prevents the various attempts on Gadget's life, but when things get out of hand, Penny heads over to the Institute to help out...and is immediately captured. She manages to free herself and the real Greenfinger, and advises him to call the police while she saves Brain from a vicious Venus flytrap, By now, the frustrated Greenfinger impostor is now focusing his attentions on simply loading the formula onto a blimp and escaping with it, but complications ensue when the clueless inspector tries to help him; and he is permanently grounded along with the airship when Penny overrides the blimp's controls and brings it down just as the police arrive. Dr. Claw's scheme was all for naught, anyway: It turns out the formula's effects were only temporary.
Quotable Quote
"Very lovely garden! Especially the celery down at the end!" --Inspector Gadget, trying to smooth things over with a plant that he'd just insulted with disastrous consequences.
Notes
Certainly one of the funnier episodes as far as dialogue goes: Inspector Gadget tosses out great lines from beginning ("Now there's a lawn to be proud of!" he exclaims after having rid the front yard of dandelions--at the expense of leaving it pockmarked with numerous divots.) to end ("Look, Mr. Greenfinger! I caught a MAD agent!" he shouts, as gleeful as a child, having handcuffed Brain.). The speedboat chase is a fun, fast-paced scene, and it opens with another great, utterly ridiculous line--this time involving Gadget's pet hamster.
Be On The Look-Out For...
...a slip-up in Penny's dialogue: In one instance, she refers to "The Greenfinger Institute" as "The Greenfield Institute." Oops.
MAD Agent Count
Six: Five regulars plus the Greenfinger impostor.
Unanswered, Nit-Picky Questions
Why did the MAD agent rescue Penny from the strangling vines? Have they suddenly grown consciences?
What exactly did the Greenfinger impostor sprinkle on Gadget's salad? Knock-out drops or poison? Brain switches salads after Gadget's eaten just some of the tainted food, but Gadget falls asleep anyway, making the obsessive viewer wonder what the point was in switching the bowls...
Ridiculous Safety Tip
Calamine lotion helps relieve the irritation of poison ivy.
"Greenfinger"