Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.18. Blank Headed Eagle

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.18. Blank Headed Eagle

Original Air Date: September 21st, 1993

“Blank-Headed Eagle” may seem like one of those non-sequiturs that “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog” loved but it actually makes sense in the context of this episode's story. Scratch and Grounder are fans of a superhero television series “Edgar Eagle,” about a heroic eagle with a nifty one-man helicopter. After building his own “eagle-copter,” Grounder dares Scratch to go after Sonic on his own. In the resulting crash, Scratch seemingly looses his memory and believes himself to actually be Edgar Eagle. Meanwhile, Sonic has agreed to help a turkey farmer (as in a farmer that is a turkey, not someone who farms turkeys) whose land is being threatened by Robotnik. The typical heroics of the day are complicated when the farmer's daughter falls in love with the newly heroic Scratch.

You might notice that plot synopsis is more detailed than “Adventures” episodes usually are. “Blank-Headed Eagle” has enough premise for at least two episodes. The idea of Scratch bumping his head and getting amnesia – a stock plot I'm really surprised the show hasn't done before – probably could've set up enough wacky misunderstandings and slapstick for twenty minutes. For whatever reason, writer Dennis O'Flaherty fuses that set-up with a western-style “farmer threatened by big business” story. It's not necessarily bad. Honestly, the fact that this is one of the more story-driven episodes of “Adventures” is in its favor. But it is surprising to see the show take on two well-trodden ideas in one half-hour.

 

This is also an episode that raises many questions. Someone getting conked on the head and getting amnesia, inevitably solved by another conk on the head, is as common place a television premise as you're likely to see. But it usually happens to flesh-and-blood people, not robots. Are we to assume that Scratch jogged his memory chip or something with that blow to the head? Considering how often he's smashed to bits, what was so special about this particular cerebral trauma? And let's not even get into the particulars of an organic turkey lady falling in love with an obviously robotic chicken. (Granted, that wouldn't be the only example of someone being easily confused by a person claiming to be something they obviously aren't. In fact, that's probably the most common occurrence in this show and in fact happens two other times in this episode.)

Also, I'm confused by the idea of Robotnik offering to buy the farmer's land. Isn't Robotnik a dictator? What's stopping him from just building the factory on the farmer's land anyway? It's not like he's ever paused when erecting some new factory or casino or whatever before. The episode itself seems inconsistent on this issue, as giant machines are already working on the turkey's land, even though he's explicitly hasn't taken Robotnik's offer. What kind of government is Mobius operating under anyway? Later in the episode, Edgar Eagle's actual actor seems more than happy to do a favor for Sonic. But, if Robotnik rules Mobius, Sonic is an enemy-of-the-state. How can a prominent actor get away with openly being a fan of Public Enemy #1? Do television networks receive any sort of state funding? Is Edgar Eagle, in fact, pro-Robotnik propaganda?

I am, of course, thinking way too much about this, like I always do. This is a dumb-ass comedy show and not meant to be exposed to deep thought. And “Blank-Headed Eagle” may be one of the funnier “Adventures” I've witnessed thus far. The bet Scratch and Grounder make revolves around which of the machines Robotnik “loves” more, an amusingly bizarre and childish way to frame the question. After Scratch jumps in his Eagle-Copter, Sonic dresses up as a highway patrolman and pulls him over. Which leads to some decent one-liners about wearing a seatbelt or drinking motor oil. It also leads up to the immortal line “You robot chickens make me sick!” Another decent gag occurs when Grounder answers a phone call from Robotnik and just hears incoherent growling on the other end. Or Tails' vocal annoyance when Henrietta asks him to stay behind and watch her parents. 

For every half-way decent joke, there's a lot of dumb-ass slapstick too. The sequence of Scratch being chased around his room – why does a robot have a bedroom? – when assembling his Eagle-Copter is groan worthy. As is a sequence where Sonic, Scratch, and Henrietta fall for a very obvious trap, involving a chili dog vending machine that launches the trio into low orbit. This show being what it is, there's also a lot of grotesque body horror being presents as goofy comedy. Such as Robotnik busting the buttons on a uniform Grounder attempts to squeeze him into to. Or Sonic, while barely disguised as a doctor, inflating the doctor's head or yanking his tongue out of his skull like an measuring tape.

The joke about seat belt safety, it turns out, was foreshadowing. That is also the topic of the “Sonic Says” segment. As another good example of how half-assed this show's edu-tainment segments where, the seat belt in question is inside a one-man helicopter, a vehicle most children probably will never ride inside. Not that kids needed to be told to wear a seat belt by this particular cartoon character. PSAs on that topic were rampant in the early nineties. Least we forget that the popularity of the Crash Test Dummies PSAs were such that they spawned toys and cartoons of their own. (Which, rather counter-intuitively, where designed around the idea of crashing into things.) The nineties were weird, I guess is my point.

Also of note is that this episode, in production order, follows “Over the Hill Hero.” Meaning two episodes in-a-row revolved around superheroes. I'm beginning to think that the “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog” crew just wanted to make a half-assed superhero parody show instead. (Though I suppose it's a matter of debate over whether Sonic counts as a superhero.) Anyway, as dumb as this shit is, I laughed a little more than I expected. Which means “Blank-Headed Eagle” might be one of the better “Adventures” I'll go on during this journey. [6/10]