Chief Quimby is a character from the Inspector Gadget films. He is the head of the Riverton Police Department, and is dedicated to keeping the city safe, but finds constant trouble keeping Inspector Gadget from causing chaos. Quimby usually ends up having something comical happen to him when Gadget makes a mistake.
Background[]
Developmental origins[]
Chief Quimby was created by Andy Heyward, Jean Chalopin, and Bruno Bianchi for DIC Entertainment. Not much information about the character's inception has been revealed but, he does share some similarities to Agent 13 from one of Inspector Gadget's inspirations Get Smart. The character would frequently pop out of strange and unusual places to give Maxwell Smart his assignment, much like Quimby does with Gadget.
Chief Quimby was initially voiced by Dan Hennessey in the first season of the show before being replaced by Maurice LaMarche, who occasionally voices Inspector Gadget himself. Since then, he has been voiced by Jim Byrnes and Derek McGrath.
Appearances[]
Inspector Gadget[]
Quimby is called in when Dr. Artemus Bradford is murdered and the technology he developed, stolen. Much to his surprise and annoyance, security officer, John Brown is rebuilt as the cyborg Inspector Gadget and put on the force. Seeing him as a "publicity stunt" he's forced to deal with, Quimby puts him on several small assignments, such as being a crossing guard and rescuing kittens. When Gadget demands to be put on the Bradford murder case, Quimby refuses, claiming it takes real detective work to do it.
When RoboGadget causes destruction in Riverton and pays him a visit, Quimby takes the chaos "Gadget" is causing as him lashing out in anger for not being taken seriously. Quimby tells RoboGadget that he wants him to lead the case just as officers arrive and point guns at the imposter. Quimby then watches as RoboGadget jumps out the window and damages several police cars before continuing his rampage.
After Inspector Gadget defeats his doppleganger and captures Dr. Claw, Quimby prepares to arrest him until Penny has Claw's ex-henchman Sykes tell the truth. Out of respect for all Gadget has done to prove himself, Quimby says "Wowzers" and salutes the Inspector in gratitude.
Inspector Gadget 2[]
Learning that Gadget arrested his mother for going 0.3 miles over the speed limit and driving without a license, Quimby furiously takes him to the holding cells to get his mother out before she ends up victim to the real thugs inside. However, much to his memory-recalling, he finds her giving them "tough love" - a good beating. Putting the matter aside, he warns Gadget to arrest real criminals or get fired. Upon Claw's escape from prison, Quimby calls Gadget in and shows him the voodoo doll Claw had in his holding cell; Claw still holds a grudge against Gadget. He is then accidentally knocked down the tunnel Claw escaped prison with.
With the approval of the mayor, Quimby reveals G2 to the press, explaining that she will take care of the Claw Case in place of Gadget. After Gadget bumbles in gathering information and foiling a robbery, Quimby angrily demotes him to cleaning the station toilets, something that ends disastorously as Gadget gets thrown out of the restroom after failing to unclog one. After Gadget is used as a distraction by Claw, via a control chip, Quimby angrily fires him from the force. Getting to the mayor's fun-raiser later, he is bopped on the head when Gadget (now a parking valet) gets the door. Claw attacks the museum and steals the Ruby on display, paralyzing him and the other humans with laughing gas. Because G2 also failed to stop him, Quimby deactivates her and permanently end the Gadget Program.
When Claw activates his time-displacement ray, Quimby is trying to toss a paper ball into the trash; it would have gotten in if time hadn't frozen it in place. Later, at the ceremony to congratulate the Gadgets on their victory over Claw, who got away, as well as Gadget and G2 both reinstated to the force, Quimby announces the Gadget Program is getting a bigger budget to help in the event Claw returns. He later watches with the mayor as Gadget fires fireworks out of his hat; one lands near them and explodes. Angry at the inspector, Quimby furiously yells with the mayor; "Gadgett!!!!!".
Trivia[]
- In the original cartoon, Chief Quimby would usually pop out of things and give Gadget a letter. The letter always ended with "...this message will self destruct", resulting in Gadget carelessly tossing the letter back at Quimby who would get caught in a small explosion. Quimby's opinion of Gadget always seemed to alter depending on the episode. Sometimes he obliviously supported him and other times, he would openly voice his frustrations working for the crime fighter. At the end of every episode, Quimby would usually retort to the effect of, "I don't know how you did it Gadget, but you managed to save the day again."
External links[]
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