Top Secret Mission
"MAD gone back in time to ancient Rome. Trying to decipher Roman forum mosaic. Searching for treasure of Rome. Stop MAD."
Synopsis
Inspector Gadget, Penny, and Brain are sent back to the past again, this time to ancient Rome to prevent Dr. Claw's time-traveling agent, Thelma Bodkin, from decoding an ancient mosaic and stealing the treasure it describes. Arriving at the Coliseum, the inspector, his niece and dog soon meet Gadget's Roman ancestor. Identical in looks to his 20th century descendant, Gadgetorum, a slave, wears gloves and a hat, though in place of a trenchcoat, pants and shoes, he's outfitted in a simple slave toga and sandals. Gadget has arrived at a critical time: his ancestor is about to be thrown to the lions and now he must join him. In an unusual display of adeptness (and with a little help from Brain) the inspector saves himself and Gadgetorum before flying out of the Coliseum and into the clutches of two MAD agents. They offer the Gadgets a free tour of Rome that ends with the two relatives being thrown into a fast-moving waterway. Gadget and Gadgetorum emerge unscathed in a Roman bath for women, and quickly charm the occupants. Meanwhile, Penny has unraveled the mosaic's secret and searches the catacombs beneath Rome for the treasure. Behind a secret door she finds it: a scroll and a small bag of gold coins. Quickly pocketing the gold, Penny no sooner reseals the chamber before Bodkin finds it, pries open the door, and makes off with the scroll. Outside, Gadget and his ancestor are picked up again by Claw's goons who enter them in a chariot race. Despite some MAD foul play, the two Gadgets win the race. With just minutes to spare, Gadget, Penny, Brain, and Gadgetorum head back to the time machine. There Penny presents Gadgetorum with the bag of gold to buy his freedom out of slavery, as well as a copy of what the scroll contained--a recipe for Veal Scaloppini--and encourages him to open a restaurant. Claw, of course, is livid when he realizes that not only did all attempts on the Gadgets' lives fail, but the treasure of Roma is nothing but a recipe--albeit a good one--for Italian food.
Quotable Quote
"We need to be polite if we want the sandwiches." --Gadget to Gadgetorum, after two MAD agents promise them there's lunch waiting for them at the top of a tall ladder.
Notes
A busy little episode: the Roman Coliseum, catacombs, treasure, the famed indoor plumbing of ancient Rome, everything!
Be On The Look-Out For...
...a tattoo. Penny recognizes Thelma Bodkin when she sees the MAD logo inked on her shoulder. And we thought tattoos on women was a trendy 1990s thing...!
...Mad Cat. His penchant for comic relief--and good food--knows no bounds: at the episode's end, he's dressed in an apron emblazoned with the MAD logo and holding a pot--no doubt excited about trying the recipe.
MAD Agent Count
Three: Thelma Bodkin and two regulars.
Unanswered, Nit-Picky Questions
Claw maniacally threatens to exterminate Gadget and his ancestors once he realized he's lost another round with the inspector. What's preventing him from simply going back in time again and having Bodkin take out Gadgetorum minutes before Gadget arrived? Or going back to any time in the 20th century and destroying Gadget? Huh? Ah, the inevitable loopholes in time-travel shows!
Ridiculous Safety Tip
Use aprons and pot holders when cooking.
"Gadget's Roma"