Sonic Boom, Episode 2.52: Eggman the Video Game Part 2: The End of the World

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.52: Eggman the Video Game Part 2: The End of the World 

Original Air Date: November 11th, 2017

The first half of the season finale of "Sonic Boom: Season Two" – aired back-to-back with the second half – had the kind of silly premise you expect from this show. Eggman is trying to make his own video game and shit gets wacky. While Shadow showing up was enough for the season one finale, the show runners clearly wanted to escalate things for season two. As the subtitle makes apparent, season two wasn't ending with a mere supervillain royal rumble. Instead, the entire world was going to end. Or at least be brought to the edge of Armageddon. That ended up being a fitting choice for a season finale topic, as "The End of the World" was also destined to be the end of the show. I'm sure every TV crew writes a season finale with the hope that they might get to return to this setting but most programs have to write with the always-present threat of cancelation in mind. Considering how "Sonic Boom" had been jerked around in its second season, I'm sure Natalys Raut-Sieuzac and the talented team around her saw the writing on the wall. So, if you're gonna go out, might as well go out with a bang, baby. 

We pick up where we left off, with Shadow and Sonic beating the snot out of each other. During the fisticuffs, Sonic informs Shadow that Eggman mislead him. The so-called Ultimate Lifeform isn't going to allow such a betrayal to stand and he immediately turns his wrath on Eggman. Not wanting to get disremembered today, Eggman rushes into Mombot's hut and asks for Steve's help. He is given the dimensional portal gun, crossing over into the alternate world from "Where Have All the Sonics Gone?" and convincing the dictatorial Lord Eggman to crossover into the main "Boom"-verse. Sonic and Shadow, briefly united, go after their Eggman into the alternate universe. A duel with Metal Sonic, the result of Eggman's motion capture tech, ensues that stretches back into the original zone. While this is going on Shadow captured both Eggmen and hides them somewhere around here, causing the very fabric of the universe to start to break up. Now, Team Sonic has to locate Lord Eggman and send him back home before shit gets apocalyptic. 

If the unusually convoluted plot synopsis above didn't make it apparent, "Eggman the Video Game Part 2" properly raises the stakes for the season finale. In what is a real butterfly effect situation, Eggman getting splashed with mud escalates to the entire universe nearly shattering apart. (Actually, this started with Amy not having enough eggs for her baked Alaska, so it's her fault.) "Boom" goes for it too. In order to get the stakes as high as possible, as quickly as possible, the clouds darken and storms start to blow in immediately after Shadow announces his intentions. We are greeted to a cool montage of Team Sonic searching around the entire island, over land, sea, air, and lava flow. Vector gets a cameo. I have no doubt that the producers figured they might as well get their money's worth and pack this episode with as many pre-existing assets as possible. The Gogobas' response to the impending end times – "It's okay, we understand that you're too busy to save us..." – was presumably cut for time. 

What I truly like about this episode isn't merely that it goes as big as "Boom" probably could, in order to feel like a proper climax of all that has come before. It also, like much of season two has, organically builds on elements introduced in previous episodes. Here we have a story that smoothly combines Shadow, Mombot, Steve, the alternate universe from "Where Have All the Sonics Gone?," the premise of a dimension collapsing if two of the same people co-exist in from "Two Good to Be True," and Metal Sonic. Only the last of those seems like a bit of a reach. I'm sure if the writers could have thought of a way to do it, they would've thrown Dave, the Lightning Bolt Society, T.W. Barker, Charlie and Belinda, Og and the Froglodytes, Roboken, the Bike Chain Bandit and Muckfoot into the mix too. I never expected "Sonic Boom" to develop such a fleshed-out world. Seeing that come into being has been one of the unexpected delights of this season. 

Bringing Metal Sonic into this story clearly serves another purpose. Shadow appearing on this show was a big deal for "Sonic" fans, because Shadow is one of the most popular characters from this franchise. Metal Sonic, similarly, is another very popular established "Sonic" character. Though they've both been in "Boom," they've never been in an episode together. Cramming Sonic and two of his most frequently reoccurring enemies together was obviously an attempt to top the previous season finale. Better yet, it quickly ramps up into a three-way melee between Sonic, Shadow, and Metal. I'm not the biggest Metal fan but even I'll admit that the appeal of these three powerhouses wailing on each other isn't beyond me. Sometimes you just want to see the good guys and the bad guys punch it out. 

Moreover, the action scenes are quite well done. "Boom" has come a long way in that regard. From the utterly sluggish and graceless fights of the first season, we've arrived at this: a cool series of duels. The opening fight between Sonic and Shadow sees the asshole-ish hedgehog using his teleporting abilities offensively, something we really haven't seen Shadow do that often in his other appearances. The fight between them and Metal Sonic actually has some well done choreography, of punches and kicks interlacing. The sequence where all of Team Sonic works together to bring down Metal Sonic is even better. Honestly, it's probably the best action scene from the entire series. Even Lord Eggman from Dimension X gets a decent action beat, when he whips out an off-brand lightsaber. If you had gone back after I finished watching season one and told me this show was going to feature some genuinely decent fight scenes some day, I don't know if I would've believed you. 

Last time, I postulated why the "Boom" version of Shadow is a bigger asshole than his Sega counterpart, eventually concluding it's probably because he's bitter about living in a cave. "The End of the World" shows us that Shadow's rage extends much further than simply wanting to pound Sonic in a not-sexy way. Shadow intentionally captures the two Eggmen, knowing full well that their presence will lead to a cataclysm. His justification for this is simply to say "I want revenge on this whole pathetic universe." Revenge for what? What happened to Shadow that he has to kill every single living thing on this planet and any other ones in order to feel vindicated? Who hurt you, Shadow? What is your fucking problem, dude?! If this was all out of some deluded desire to do away with anything inferior to him, that might make sense... Except that an interdimensonal infarction that wipes the entire universe would presumably destroy Shadow as well.

We shall never know what could possibly motivate Shadow to do this. However, I think this definitely makes "Boom" Shadow the evilest version of this character. King Shadow from Archie's "25 Years Later" setting just subjugated the globe to his rule. The darkest pathways Sega Shadow takes in his own game only results in him destroying or conquering Earth. This Shadow is going to kill everyone on this world plus other potential beings living on other probable planets. Because, as far as I can tell, his feelings are hurt. Listen, man, I have grumpy days too but it doesn't make me want to commit universe-wide genocide. What a dick! At the end of the episode, after his plan has been foiled, he simply shrugs his shoulders and says he's "not thrilled with the results" but "impressed" that Sonic saved the universe. Is... Is this how Shadow the Hedgehog flirts? By nearly wiping out all of existence and all life within it, including his own? Truly, "Boom" Shadow is 2 edgy 4 me. 

The stakes are high and "The End of the World" plans them fairly straight. The big conclusion of the episode, where Sonic's speed saves everything, is about as iconic a moment as this version of the blue hedgehog could ask for. None of this prevents "Eggman The Video Game Part 2" from also being a funny eleven minutes. Natalys Raut-Sieuzac is credited with the script. I've come to believe that most of the "Boom" episodes had other writers inserting some jokes here and there. However, if Raut-Sieuzac truly did write this one all by herself, it's by far her funniest script. Volcano Wonderpants, the relative fastness of panthers, the difference between imply and infer, and whether Lord Eggman is "emo" all make for some fine comedic lines here. There's some wonderfully silly visual gags, in how Eggman abruptly leaves Orbot and Cubot to deal with Shadow or Steve's solution to hiding from the rampaging hedgehog. Probably the biggest laugh, for me, came when Eggman pops into the alternate world, the other Eggman immediately – and casually – accepting the rules of interdimensonal travel. Love that kind of shit, when characters dismiss science babble as another fact of life they deal with. 

"The End of the World" – and all of "Sonic Boom" – concludes with Eggman making a crack about how "There's always next season." If the cartoon had gotten a third season, this wouldn't have been anything more than another of the show's self-aware, fourth wall leaning gags. With this being the final episode of the entire series, that moment feels like a tactile admission that the show runners knew "Sonic Boom" had no future. Eggman losing all his research from these last two episodes, then hoping that he can make up for it next season – when there isn't a next season – feels like a fitting joke to wrap things up on. Right up until the end, Eggman simply can't catch a break. I've got more thoughts about "Sonic Boom" ending but I'll save those for next time. As for "The End of the World," it is a fine installment. [7/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.23: Nominatus Rising

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.23: Nominatus Rising

Original Air Date: April 15th, 2017

When you think of great superheroes, one of the first related concepts that come to mind is the great supervillain. It's been observed before that a hero is only as good as his adversaries and the most popular superheroes in the world – Batman and Spider-Man – are generally recognized as having the best rogues galleries in comics too. And think about that phrase... A "gallery" suggests a wide ranging display of rogues, a collection of many different notable names that writers and artists can pull from whenever they want. If you think of Sonic the Hedgehog as a superhero, a problem presents itself quickly. He really only has one notable rogue, doesn't he? Lots of other enemies have challenged the blue hedgehog over the years. Yet, as far as official Sega canon goes, almost all of them are connected back to Eggman/Robotnik in some ways. If you were to ask the average dude on the street to name a "Sonic the Hedgehog" baddie, Eggman is the only one they're likely to mention. The other probable candidates, Shadow and Metal Sonic, are examples of a rival/antihero situation and a minion of Eggman. 

The point I'm making is... Sonic definitely has a Joker/Green Goblin but attempts to give him a Penguin/Doc Ock have never really caught on. Not that people haven't tried. Peripheral "Sonic" media, like the comics and cartoons, are absolutely packed with non-Eggman baddies that have remained obscure outside the niche fandoms for those branches of the franchise. Even "Sonic Boom," about as far away from the action/adventure roots of the series as you can get, threw in oddballs like Charlie and the Lightning Bolt Society. Natalys Raut-Sieuzac, the day-to-day showrunner of "Boom," did her part to add to Sonic's rogues gallery by introducing weirdo digital threat Nominatus in season one episode, "Let's Play Musical Friends." I don't think that episode or the character were all that well received but, when you are the director of every single episode of a show, you get the chance to bring back your personal pet character. Even if nobody gave a shit about them the first time. And so, Nominatus would return to vex Sonic and the crew again in season two ep, "Nominatus Rising."

 

We begin with Tails' introducing a fancy add-on to his Build-A-Box device. (Which seems to be a 3D printer type of thing. Everyone treats it like an established part of the show, even though this is its first appearance.) The machine can now bring digital characters into the real world. The gang immediately manifests into reality Ms. Tomatopotamus, the distaff counterpart to the previously introduced video game franchise within this video game franchise. Tails has a throttle cap on the machine, that keeps any characters it creates in real life pint-sized. Via Eggman's Spybot, sentient computer virus Nominatus becomes aware of the machine. While Sonic and the gang are playing with their new hippo pal, Nominatus and his henchmen hijack the Build-A-Box and force themselves into meatspace... At action figure scale. It's not long, however, before the digital demon removes the data cap and he can begin his conquest of reality once again. 

Many times, across the decade I've been reviewing "Sonic" comics and cartoons, I've found myself with a particular feeling. Namely, the sense of "What the fuck am I reading and/or watching?" I do believe that "Sonic" franchise's reputation for impenetrable weirdness can partially be linked back to various writers, artists, and animators using the profitable "Sonic" license to shoehorn in their own largely unrelated characters and stories. Ken Penders' vast catalogue of echidna OCs is surely the most notorious example of this but I don't think it's the oddest. Personally, I found the tone of "Sonic Underground" and "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog's" most aggressively offbeat moments to be better examples of something that neither looks nor feels like "Sonic the Hedgehog" being packaged under that brand name. The "Boom" cartoon has largely avoided this. Even the episodes that revolve around Dave the Intern or the Gogobas or whatever have, in some way, linked back to the blue hedgehog and his pals. 

However, there is a sequence in "Nominatus Rising" that really made me pause. Nominatus and his henchmen, the large and simple-minded Beta and the small and sneaky Retro, recreate themselves IRL and realize they are 1:16 scale. What follows is a slapstick sequence of the tiny villains crossing the lab, fording around a spilled glass of water, and encountering some non-anthropomorphic animals. Watching this moment, I had that old "Underground"/"AoStH" feeling, that my quest to watch every bit of "Sonic"-related stuff had seen me encountering something that has nothing to do with Sonic. The sheer sense of investment this episode has in Nominatus – including treating his sidekicks as if they've always been there, when they are in fact making their first and last appearances here – gives me the impression that someone was determined to make this guy a fan favorite. This is also evident in how he proves to be a creditable threat to both Sonic and Eggman, forcing the two of them to work together. Ya know, it just feels like a kid writing a fanfic that introduced his amaaaaazing new villain that curb stomps all the good guys and bad guys in minutes. "Nominatus Rising" doesn't go that far, as the titular villain is still humiliated in a typically flippant "Boom" manner. Yet I can't escape this sense that an original creation that barely has any business being in this universe was forced into the spotlight here. 

If I'm correct and Nominatus is Natalys Raut-Sieuzac's Monkey Khan, then the question begs to be asked: Why did she think this guy was so cool, that she attempted to brute force him into being a fan favorite twice? Nominatus has a retro video game gimmick, his energy blasts taking the form of pixelated lightning bolts. His moves are accompanied by old school sound effects. His presence brings with it callbacks to classic video games like Ms. Pac-Man, Mario, and Centipede. But, beyond that, there really isn't anything interesting about the guy. He's a generic looking demon-like villain. He has a generic, Skeletor-like relationship with his bumbling goons. His goals, of escaping his digital prison and taking over the flesh-and-blood realm, are equally uninspired. I think that's why the scene focused on him give me such a feeling of disconnection. Nominatus feels like he could be the bad guy in any Saturday morning cartoon show. There's nothing representive of the "Sonic" universe about him. That's also clear in the scenes around him, such as him and his henches fighting Tails' cat... When the fuck has Tails ever had a cat!?!

All of that bullshit aside, what do I think of this episode overall? It's okay. There's a handful of sensible chuckles. The reveal that Knuckles has been hiding sea bass under Tails' floorboards, attracting all sorts of wild life, is a likably cartoony gag. Eggman being incensed that the heroes are having an adventure that doesn't involve him is a good line. In general, the established elements of these characters – Knuckles is a big strong dimwit, Eggman's villainy covers up obvious insecurities, Sticks is paranoid – is so ingrained now, that it's easy for the show to just riff on that and get a few laughs. Overall though, one gets the impression that Raut-Sieuzac finds verbal shout-outs to old, thoroughly run-into-the-ground video games and internet memes more amusing than I do. "Let's Play Musical Friends" gave me that feeling too, so it's fair to say that maybe this is just her style.

My main takeaway from this episode is that Ms. Tomatopotamus is cute. I wouldn't mind having a little pink hippo with a bow that can launch tomatoes with deadly accuracy as a pet for a wacky, lesson-inducing afternoon. Even if Tails building a machine that can transform digital images into living and breathing, flesh homunculi feels like some real mad scientist shit. Some total "Black Mirror"/"Brainscan"/"Lawnmower Man"/"How to Make a Monster" blatherskite. There's even a throwaway line from Knuckles about how Ms. Tomatopotamus is a crime against nature. That could've been the foundation for a stronger episode, of Tails following the "coulda, not shoulda" principal of invention and learning a valuable lesson about scientific responsibility. Instead, the showrunner decided to force her not-that-interesting original character on us again. At least the message that nobody cares about Nominatus must've been received, as this was his last appearance. If only Tommy Turtle or Locke could have gotten that response. If they were going to bring back a random season one baddie for another episode, why not Swifty the Shrew or Cowbot? Alas. [5/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.17: Blackout

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.17: Blackout

Original Air Date: March 4th, 2017

As far as action/adventure cartoon plots go, "Blackout" has a fairly standard one. Sonic and friends are just chilling on their couch, watching some trash TV, when the power goes out. A quick trip to Mayor Fink's office reveals that the magical Meroke Crystal that powers the entire city has run out of juice. Sonic and the others are tasked with braving the snow swept near-by mountains to retrieve another one. They soon find themselves in an ancient temple, completing a series of deadly tasks, in order to appease some stone guardians and get a new rock to generate electricity for the village. But will they succeed in time???

I think I've made this observation before but the "Sonic Boom" island is just lousy with ancient temples, magical relics, and other left-behind magical juju. All this stuff just laying around and waiting to be dug back up and form the basis of an episode or video game plot. "Blackout's" script does not outright state if the Meroke Crystal and it's surrounding temple are from the same ancient civilization as all the prior relics the show has featured. Considering how different the vaguely Olmec inspired designs of this temple and its stone guardians are from the previous similar locations and golems the team gave encountered, I'm beginning to think that the term "Ancients" doesn't refer to just one group. Instead, it increasingly feels like the island was home to a number of competing ancient civilizations that all had advanced, magi-tech of their own. 

Not that I ever expect the show to actually explain this stuff. And not that it matters either. The various ancient temples and magical doohickies they left behind serve their purpose as plot devices and that's all that really counts. Instead, Sonic and his pals encountering one old temple filled with booby traps after another serves another purpose. "Sonic" is, after all, a video game based franchise. And temples riddled with traps and pitfalls are among the most common locations in platforming game history, precisely because they make good video game stages. The "Boom" cartoon going back to this well is really just an example of this show following the source material in a generalized sense. 

In fact, I figured that was the case literally at first. While watching this episode, I assumed that the Meroke Crystal and the associated temple must've been taken from one of the later "Sonic Boom" video games that I never got around to playing. The wiki informs me that this is not the case. In fact, this episode appears to be the only appearance of the Meroke Crystal ever. (Not that this stops it from essentially filling the same role the Chaos Emeralds do in the main series, being both a source of power and a MacGuffin to seek out.) If this episode isn't based on one of the games, its source of inspiration is easy to spot then. Once again, we can't undersell the impact "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and later "Indiana Jones" media had on wider pop culture. Aside from the general structure of this episode being taken from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade's" final act, there are several expected, explicit shout-outs to that film series. The old movies and serials that George Lucas and Spielberg ripped off ended up inspiring like half of all pop culture in the last fifty years, didn't they?

The focus on our heroes traversing a temple in pursuit of a magical plot device, while completing a number of challenges, does make this one of the more plot focused episodes of "Sonic Boom." There are still room for plenty of jokes though. One of the main reoccurring gags here that Knuckles ends up resolving each of the riddles the temple's guardians gives them, usually by mistake or dumb luck. You'd think the other characters would make more of a big deal out of their densest friend unexpectedly saving their asses with some hidden depth. Instead, the episode just brushes it off. "Boom" Knuckles' intelligence has always fluctuated with the needs of the story and comedy but, between this and the last episode showing him holding down a demanding advertising job, maybe we should all give "Boom" Knuckles more credit for being less of an idiot than he appears. I'm sure we'll get another episode based around him being an utter simpleton soon enough though. 

Nevertheless, this is a funny episode with a number of solid gags. As the cadre climbs the blizzard infested mountain on their way to the temple, Tails narrates a letter back to Zooey. (Good to know she is still around.) Sonic ends up agreeing with Sticks a few times. Various deadpan remarks about Eggman's front door, Mayor Fink's lack of communication, Tails struggling with a simple slide puzzle, and just building jokes around the island suffering a power outage all made me chuckle. This deep into its run, "Boom" has really turned into a reliable comedy machine. For every one-liners or gag that doesn't land – Eggman insulting Orbot and Cubot's intelligence is a pretty limp one – a better joke is usually right around the corner. Even totally expected bits here, like the stony temple guardian actually being fairly laid-back, manage to work simply through decent timing and delivery. 

Despite "Blackout" having a typical action/adventure plot – voyage to this foreign location and answer me these riddles three – the show is expectedly glib about all of it. However, there are some elements that the program was clearly forbidden from joking about. After the power outage occurs, Sonic and the gang's Luminescence Suits activate. They are named out-right several times and featured all throughout the episode's first half. The one joke we get about these power-ups is awkwardly built around how useful they are. Later, Sonic saves his pals from the heavy snow on the mountain by jumping in the Blue Force One and activating its snowmobile mode. What follows is a lengthy montage focusing on the vehicle's special abilities and heroes looking cool, snowboarding behind it. You'd expect a show as self-aware and meta as "Boom" to mock such blatantly radicool moments as these. The lack of dialogue pointing out how toyetic "Boom" is being in these scenes suggests to me that these moments were intentionally inserted to sell toys. (Especially since we know that the popularity of "Boom's" merchandise helped redeem the sub-series commercially after the video games flopped.) This is an expected element of children's television but "Boom's" usually sarcastic, in-joke prodding writing makes the lack of such comments during a very commercial moment like this all the more noticeable. 

This episode being a cog in a vast corporate machine designed to sell kids plastic bullshit doesn't stop it from including some of "Boom's" darker humor. While discussing the Meroke Crystal, Mayor Fink has a line about how it has been passed down from generation to generation. This suggests that, despite Fink ostensibly being an elected official, some dynastic system is actually in place here. The town's lights being kept on by some magical rock is probably intended as a hand wave to brush over why such an otherwise primitive community has television and motorcycles and robots. However, it does feel a bit imperialistic to me, a modern day culture using the leftover relics of an ancient one to power their modern conveniences. As always, Fink is depicted as a buffoon, going right along with the program's repeatedly displayed cynicism about society in general. We also see this in how the village's residents going into riot mode after only a few hours without electricity, before the TVs flicking back on pacify them once again. Maybe this is less unusual than it seems to me but I still maintain that a show designed for seven-year-olds pushing the message that the populace is irrational and violent and only kept in-check by mindless drivel while the political systems put in place to police them are run by hopelessly incompetent stooges is... Pretty dark, ya know? 

Anyway, did anyone actually buy the Blue Force One toy? Was it as bitchin' as the show makes it seem? Or has a cartoon lied to me once again? If nothing else, the writers repeatedly emphasizing the vehicle's various alternate modes has helped justify why super-fast guy like Sonic needs a motorcycle in the first place. (Other than just him thinking it's cool which, in "Boom's" goofy and laidback world, is probably justification enough.) I think I've rambled on about this episode enough. It's decent! [7/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.12: Knuck! Knuck! Who's There?

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.12: Knuck! Knuck! Who's There? 

Original Air Date: January 28th, 2017

During a standard battle with Eggman and a handful of easily destroyed Badniks, Knuckles flies cranium first into a rock. This gives him a case of sitcom amnesia which is quickly cured but leaves the echidna with a lingering sense of familial emptiness. Knowing he's the last of the echidnas, Knuckles seeks out a family willing to adopt him. He goes through several homes, none of which are very welcoming, before ending up in the arms of his would-be archenemy, Charlie. Charlie and his wicked wife Belinda quickly decide to turn the home-sick Knuckles against his friends. 

For most of its existence, "Sonic Boom" was one of those self-aware sitcoms that poked fun at the hoary clichés of the genre but rarely did anything to actually defy them. The show might goof on the idea of doing a "Groundhog Day" episode or an unlikely roommates premise but that didn't stop them from actually doing those episodes. So when Knuckles got hit on the head in the opening minutes of "Knuck! Knuck!" and forgot who he was — and Tails cracked a line about how that only happens in cheesy old sitcoms — I really expected the show to run with the easy amnesia idea. Giving credit where it is due, the "Boom" team quickly discard this setup, simply using it as the beginning of another stock sitcom premise. That would be a story of someone not realizing that they already have a found family until after exploring other options. Still, the swerve did catch me off-guard at first. Kudos are in order for surprising me, even if it was just for a second. 

The inevitable moral about Knuckles cycling through a couple of rubes who treat him badly before finding himself back with the people he's always belonged with is slightly undermined though. Not so much by how Sonic and the gang have treated Knuckles like a big dumb pet in some previous episodes. We just aren't meant to think too hard about that. No, it's that each of the people Knuckles ends up with are familiar background players in this show. We know that the crazy old wolf lady, previously seen scamming people, will only use Knuckles as a prop. As soon as the echidna is in the Gogoba village, we know that they will just guilt him excessively. That's the only thing those characters do! This gets especially sweaty when Knuckles briefly tries to become the daughter of the prissy Lady Walrus. (Let's not examine the gender fluidity at play in this moment too closely...) Obviously that's not going to work. Charlie and Belinda flat out announce their evil plan when Knuckles appears to them. 

This really isn't the fault of Natalys Raut-Sieuzac, "Boom's" ever present director getting one of her rarer writing credits. It's rather a consequence of "Sonic Boom" being a CGI animated cartoon on a TV budget. The reason the show constantly brings back characters like these or Dave the Intern for easy gags is because they are assets the animation team have already created. Yet knowing exactly what's going to happen with Knuckles when he meets up with these people dilutes the comic payload of the punchlines. It's an unfortunate example of "Boom's" budgetary limitations running into its tendency to play with sitcom tropes. You can't really tell a story about Knuckles realizing his friends already love and value him if the only people he has to play off of are one-note background players. But that's literally all the show had to use, because there probably wasn't any money left over to model some new cast members. This is a problem that a comic book or a traditionally animated show probably wouldn't have had to deal with. 

Another way you can tell that a lack of money might've impacted this episode is that it looks like shit. I mean, it's not just me, right? Even by standards of "Boom's" frequently lackluster animation, this one looks a little unfinished at times. Especially whenever we get close-ups of the characters as they talk. Something about the way the mouths move and the teeth sit in their jaws looks off. When we get to the action scene at the end, it's especially stiff and slow. The episode tried to cover for this by having shock waves spiral out of the ground every time Knuckles punches it but that just makes things look cheaper. Once again, I can't help but wonder how "Boom" would've been improved if it had just been done with ink and cells, instead of computers and polygons. 

Despite these shortcomings, "Knuck! Knuck!" is still a pretty decent episode. First off, the script gives us more insight into the "Boom" version of Knuckles' backstory than we've ever gotten before. Ya know, most "Sonic" characters have vague origins, at least in the video games, so "Boom" could get away with never mentioning them. Knuckles is one of the few classic cast members that actually does have an explicitly referenced home land. The show got away with never discussing Angel Island, the Master Emerald, or the extinct echidna race before because, well, it's not that kind of show. That stuff isn't relevant to the wacky hijinks "Boom" usually occupies itself with. However, if nothing else, this episode does confirm that "Boom" Knuckles does come from Angel Island and is the last of his kind. I doubt that information will ever come up again but now we know. I'm still going to assume the Chaos Emeralds don't exist in this universe though...

Finally, the other reason this episode is worth seeing is because the gags are good. This is one of those "Boom" installments that pack the jokes in. I suspect another writer might have helped sharpened Raut-Sieuzac's script, as her entries usually aren't this quippy. Not a minute passes in this episode without a snippy line of dialogue or a goofy sight gag. Some of these are actually pretty good, the characters being especially quick-witted here. I really liked small lines about old-timey photos, skeletons, and awful shoes. As for the bigger jokes, some of these are fairly sharp too. Such as a montage of Knuckles opening doors in town which is subverted at the last minute, Knuckles crying on a couch like a little kid, and a random silent movie interlude. Good shit.

By the way, this is apparently the third time in “Boom” where Knuckles switched sides temporarily. He did it in the first arc of the comic book too. I guess this is another example of how pliable Knuckles' child-like mind really is. Anywho, “Knuck! Knuck! Who's There?” isn't an all-timer but it got some honest chuckles out of me. Even if an episode about Knuckles loosing his memory probably would have been just as good... [7/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.07: I Can Sea Sonic's Fear from Here

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.07: I Can Sea Sonic's Fear from Here

Original Air Date: December 24th, 2016

After another humiliating defeat, the seventh episode of "Sonic Boom's" second season has Eggman coming to the same conclusion I did last time: Maybe he should take advantage of Sonic's fear of the water and inability to swim. He soon cooks up a submarine that can cause devastating tidal waves. As soon as Sonic realizes this plan occurs underwater, he becomes apprehensive. Some coaching from Soar the Eagle and Tails inventing fancy wet-suits gives Sonic the courage to face his fears... But he still must face them, which proves easier said than done. 

Since this blog is named after Sonic's lack of swimming skills, I can't help but be interested in how this particular character trait has evolved. Early "Sonic" tie-in media always depicted the blue hedgehog as being a very able swimmer. He does just fine underwater in several issues of Archie "Sonic," "SatAM," and "AoStH." Fidelity to the games, where Sonic definitely can't swim, was less valued in those days. Of course, the games never had Sonic being afraid of water either. He was wading through underwater ruins from the very beginning of the Genesis days, nary a sign of fear on his face. Even the later Dreamcast games, which went so far as to give Sonic a major enemy made of water, never commented on his aversion to the wet stuff much. It was just a gameplay mechanic, not a personality quirk.

Japanese media seemed more aware of Sonic's trademark lack of swimminess but still never depicted it as full-blown hydrophobia. He almost drowns in the OVA but is still effortlessly running around the ocean earlier. As far as I can tell – unless there's an earlier manga or Fleetway issue that gets into it – the "hedgehogs can't swim" element of Sonic would graduate to an actual fear in "Sonic Underground." After that "Sonic X" would show the hedgehog as nervous around water multiple times. I'm betting that's when it really became a defining characteristic of his personality, being built into an actual phobia here and later referenced in the live-action movies and "Prime." 

It's easy to see why Sonic being actually terrified of water is something writers would return to. On land, Sonic is just about unstoppable. By the time of "X" and "Boom," Sonic's superpowers had escalated to the point where he could destroy massive doom machines with ease. Giving such an overpowered hero a major weakness evens the playing ground a little. Having deep bodies of water be the blue hedgehog's Kryptonite, David Dunn style, is fine by me. Hell, the fact that "Boom" is set on an island means it could even be a reoccurring element, though I doubt it will be. 

Since "Boom" is a sitcom, it also provides lots of comedic potential. Seeing Sonic, often a cocky braggart, reduced to a panicking scaredy pants is worth a few chuckles. His friends' confusion when he starts stalling after Eggman reveals his evil plan is a good moment. As is his actions after sneaking to the bottom of the seabed. This is probably best utilized during a moment where he pops an inner tube with his quills, even if Soar the Eagle's role in this episode is largely unnecessary. Sonic's phobia builds up to an amusing non-revelation of the final scene. 

This is also, surprisingly, one of the more action-oriented episodes of "Boom" I've seen in a while. Eggman's plot to generate a devastating tidal wave is mostly played straight. It's a serious threat, with real stakes, and the heroes respond accordingly. There's even a pretty cool moment where Sonic's oxygen tube is cut, forcing Tails and Sticks to think fast. She grabs a coolant tube off Tails' plane and dive into the water, swapping it out with Sonic's cut tube. That's such a neat, dynamic moment that it easily would've fit into any of the other, more action-y "Sonic" cartoons. 

Yet this is still a comedy cartoon. By far the funniest moment here is when Amy and Sonic attempt to fight some Badniks underwater, discovering the different terrain greatly effects their abilities. That's a hell of a gag, though the montage where Prbot and Cubot rock some hair metal wigs and letters comes close to topping it. Sticks also gets some good one-liners. I especially liked her comment about sea people. Knuckles also gets a great one-liner about the kids at the community pool that I really didn't expect. 

As I've come to expect from the episodes both written and directed by Natalys Raut-Sieuzac, some of the jokes here are a bit awkward. Knuckles comparing himself to a penguin is a gag extended way too far. A sequence where an octopus falls on Tails' head is pretty stiff. In general, there's just a few too many stuffy one-liners here that don't quite work. Still, this is a decently funny episode with a solid premise. I feel like I almost have to give a positive score to a whole eleven minutes devoted to how hedgehogs can't swim. [7/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.43: Fire in a Crowded Workshop

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.43: Fire in a Crowded Workshop

Original Air Date: September 12th, 2015

1950 saw the release of Japanese director Akita Kurosawa's film, "Rashomon," in its home country. Though popular at the native box office, Japanese critics were largely unimpressed with the movie. The following year, it played at the Venice Film Festival, where critics and other filmmakers were wowed by the movie. "Rashomon" would go on to become a critical hit with international audiences, becoming the first winner in the foreign language film category at the Oscars. Not only did the movie establish the global careers of Kurosawa and star Toshiro Mifune, it largely opened the gates for Japanese cinema to be taken seriously all around the world. Today, "Rashomon" is regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. 

Perhaps the film owes its popularity and success to the universal theme present in its story: the inherent subjectivity of the truth. "Rashomon" is about the murder of a samurai and the assault of his wife, as recounted by three different people. Each person gives their own version of events, coming to different conclusions and presenting themselves as the real victim in each telling. The movie presents all three recollections, leaving it up for the viewer to decide what really happen. The film is a great testament to the malleability of human memory, how our own emotions and ego influence our perception of events. 

Why am I talking about classic Japanese cinema on my "Sonic the Hedgehog" blog? That's because "Rashomon's" structure – an event told from the perspective of different people, each recollecting different outcomes – has become a stock story type across all media. The same set-up has been used in countless TV episodes, comics, movies, and plays. There's even an understood sociological phenomenon called "The Rashomon Effect." It's especially common in sitcoms, who often tack a definitive telling of events on at the end. This isn't even the first time I've brought this up, as there's a classic Archie "Sonic" story that does the same thing. So it should come as no surprise that "Sonic Boom" would put their own spin on this classic structure, with typically irreverent result. 

Which brings us to the plot synopsis for "Fire in a Crowded Workshop." Tails arrives at his workshop to see Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, and a new girl named Perci covered in soot and ash. The workshop is in disrepair from a fire. Each person presents their own version how they arrived at this point, their own egos served by each rendition. The general facts are: After leaving Meh Burger, the trio came across Perci, who had fallen off her bike and hurt her arm. The parts of the broken bike splattered into a puddle and splashed Perci's scarf with mud. They returned to Tails' workshop, where Sonic attempted to fix the bike with a blowtorch, while Knuckles washed the scarf and Amy tended to Perci's wounds. A pillow might have been involved. The fire was either caused by Knuckles putting the scarf in an industrial strength kiln, Amy dropping a heating pad onto some old newspapers, or Sonic leaving his torch unattended. Tails attempts to uncover the truth. 

What makes the "Rashomon" premise so mutable is that it allows a story with an ensemble cast to explore each character's perception of themselves and their perception of their friends. It's popular on sitcoms especially because each telling can usually be exaggerated for comedic effect. We see this keenly in "Fire in a Crowded Workshop." Sonic's tale – which the episode launches right into, so as to squeeze as much into its eleven minute runtime as possible – begins with Amy flying into an unreasonable rage at Meh Burger. Later, in one of the episode's funniest moments, she scolds Perci on proper bicycle safety. Perci is immediately impressed with Sonic. Knuckles is a total idiot who is entirely dependent on Sonic's care. 

This reflects Sonic's perception of himself as a super cool ladies' man who is there to protect his friends. Knuckles is too much of a simpleton – Sonic even calls him that – to function without him. Amy is an oppressive sourpuss without Sonic there to balance her out. Being a protector is admirable though it also causes Sonic to have an ego, which is why he remembers Perci catching the vapors upon meeting him. It's also pretty funny to see Knuckles as a subservient dum-dum and Amy as an overly emotional, perpetual buzzkill. Hearing the cast deliver such precise, absurd dialogue adds to the amusement. 

"Boom" has already established Knuckles as prone to exaggerated recounting of events, as a childish buffoon with a very strange perception of reality. This means his segment is when "Fire in a Crowded Workshop" gets nutty. It's surprising how much comedic value there is in Knuckles talking as a self-assured authority on everything. It's especially amusing when contrasted with Sonic as a whining, wimpy manlet who is always trying to be as impressive as his mentor, Knuckles. The script is very strong here and really bites into some goofy dialogue, Knuckles' version of what he thinks smart people sound like. The more deranged the recollection grows – the way the fire is put out is especially amusing – the better this version gets. 

Amy is alternatively depicted as a buzz kill or an idiot in the previous flashbacks but her own memory is equally unflattering. She imagines Perci as a floozy with a Southern Belle accent, who either intentionally seduces the brain-dead men in order to get them to complete tasks for her or lacks the initiative to do these things herself. This positions Amy as a woman with who perceive other women as inferior because they rely on men or as rivals for her romantic interests. She even calls Perci, who is a perfectly reasonable and nice person throughout, a "wicked siren" with a "damsel-in-distress act." Damn, Amy, maybe dial back the internalized misogyny a bit. 

And speaking of Perci! The episode seems to position her recollection of events as the objective truth. Yet even her telling seems to favor her as the hero of this story. The bike injury was just a minor scrape, not a big deal. She could've fixed it herself, if she had some tools. The guys rush around trying to impress her, which Perci seems totally neutral about, while Amy negs her as not a self-reliant woman. I guess the only reason we don't know whether this reflects the actual events or is Perci's own prejudices clouding her memory is because we don't know Perci at all. Aside from a few cameos, this is essentially her first appearance in the show. 

So that weakens the end of "Fire in a Crowded Workshop." Maybe some security camera footage that showed an unjudging eye of what happened would've been the best conclusion. (The aforementioned Archie story did something similar.) Especially since there's a clever little twist mere minutes before the end that removes all wrongdoing from everyone. I wouldn't expect a kids cartoon to do a Kurosawa style embracing of ambiguity but I still think the way it presents what I assume to be the "truth" could've been handled a little better. Having said that, I do think the very final scene of this episode is absolutely adorable. 

But let's talk about Perci a little more. Of the minor characters exclusive to the "Boom" setting, she's definitely the most popular. This might be because she was the most prominent NPC in "Rise of Lyric." Yet I think her likable design probably has more to do with. The oversized shit-kicking boots and patched-up blue jeans she wears gives the impression of a tomboy. Yet her bangs and the ribbon in her hair add an undeniable feminine quality too. Plus she has an exposed midriff and smoky eyes. Since Rouge was never in "Boom," that makes Perci the closest thing the show had to a "sexy" female character. And it doesn't hurt that she has certain superficial similarities to Julie-Su and Mina. (And she looks as much like a bandicoot as those two do an echidna and a mongoose.) I like her too and would've liked to have seen more of her. 

By the way, Sticks appears briefly in each segment, spouting off a different conspiracy theory just for one of her friends to say she's "actually very nice." In Perci's version of events, she just screams incoherently. It would've been funnier to me if Sticks' rant was the same in each memory, her craziness being the one event everyone can agree on. I mean, I guess that's still the intended message of this running gag. I suppose each changing ramble from Sticks also reflects the teller's persona, as Amy's memory puts some libertarian insanity in Sticks' mouth about our "tax dollars benefiting others." That made me chuckle. 

Nevertheless, this episode is quite funny. It's definitely the sharpest episode Natalys Raut-Sieuzac has written herself, full of the clever dialogue and keen understanding of the cast members that were lacking in her previous scripts. If nothing else, this one feels more fully formed than a lot of episodes. These eleven minutes are packed. It all adds up to a pretty good episode that would've been one of the series' all-time best with just a few minor adjustments. [8/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.29: Curse of the Cross Eyed Moose

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.29: Curse of the Cross Eyed Moose

Original Air Date: July 15th, 2015

Moose is a funny word. It’s like “pickle” or “goober” or “mukluk," where the combination of various phonetic sounds just tickles our funny bones in a way that's hard to describe. Wikipedia has a whole article about "inherently funny words," so we know this is a very real lingual phenomenon. The double o sound in "moose" stretches out in an odd way, followed by the curt conclusion of the "se" sound, makes a simply goofy word that is fun to say. Just roll that around in your mouth a couple of times. Moose. Mooooose. See, it's fun! It's also one of those wacky words, like fish or sheep, that singular and plural. "A moose" and "A herd of moose" are both correct phrases. 

And if any animal looked exactly like how its name sounds, it's the moose. They have these long, awkward looking snouts that narrow down to doofus-y lips. Their coats are shaggy, their legs are scrawny, their ears are cute, their bodies are lumpy. They are these big, lumbering creatures that usually docile. (Though there are many exceptions.) The velvety, "open-hand" look of their antlers are a lot less threatening than your typical horns. All of this makes it unsurprising that, since at least the time of Bullwinkle, moose have occasionally shown up as figures of frivolity in animation. The same gangly physicality is probably by there aren't too many moose "Sonic" fan characters, as far as I can tell. This did not dissuade Natalys Raut-Sieuzac from giving a moose title billing the second time she did double-duty as both a "Sonic Boom" director and writer. 

Of course, the titular cross-eyed moose – who has also briefly appeared in a few previous episodes, confusing me why this normal moose is just walking around – doesn't have much to do in this episode. He doesn't appear again outside of the first scene. Which means that rambling two paragraph introduction might have just been an excuse for me to talk about how much I like the word "moose." Anyway, Sticks is out fishing when she crosses oath with a cross-eyed moose. She believes this to be a grave omen and becomes convinced a curse now afflicts her and her friends. Sonic and the gang are not so sure, even as bad luck begins to befall them. They still go along with Sticks' plan to traverse the dangerous forest and meet a marmoset mystic, who can remove the curse. Shenanigans, as they often do, ensue. 

As I've watched my way through "Sonic Boom," I've noticed that how an episode turns out really depends on who's writing it. I don't just mean whether an episode is funny or not. I mean the style of humor it employs. The best episodes of "Sonic Boom" tend to be self-reflective about sitcom tropes, action/adventure clichés, or at least the roles its own characters play in these stories. Like half the episodes of this program are built around subverting the limits of the hero/villain relationship Sonic and Eggman have in every other branch of this franchise. Other episodes favor wackiness over sarcasm, seeking to revel in the cartoon absurdity of these characters and scenarios. And yet other installments reflect another comedic sensibility, that's more about kid-friendly silliness and goofy puns. 

"Curse of the Cross-Eyed Moose" is squarely in the last category. In fact, this one frequently feels like an extended homage to old-time-y vaudeville slapstick. There's a montage midway through, of our heroes encountering spider and log related bad luck through the woods, set to jaunty ragtime music. I half-expected the Keystone Cops to show up. A lot of comedy here is derived from Sticks reeling off paragraph about her kooky conspiracy theories, while in that (still inexplicable) goofy Brooklyn accent of her's. When the gang finally tracks down the marmoset mystic – whose name appears to be "Mr. Monkey-Face" – he speaks in a similar Borscht Belt fashion. Considering his blasé attitude about the curse lifting business, I'm reminded a lot of Miracle Max from "The Princess Bride." It definitely feels like a throwback, a bit corny, though not in a way that isn't amusing. 

In fact, this episode has got some decent gags in it. After finally finding Mr. Monkey-Face, who is none too pleased to see them, he assigns tasks to the heroes that will supposedly lift the curse... And it becomes apparent quickly that he's dictating a guacamole recipe to them. The idea of a mystical healer who is seriously fed up with the entire thing is a decent gig. So is Eggman coming to his door because he wants to "diversify" his evil career. Sticks leaving moose traps out around everyone's cabins, in an attempt to capture this cursed moose, leads to a couple of funny moments. There's also a pretty good beat in the action scene where Sticks jumps on a Bee-Bot and directs it into another Bee-Bot, a rare clever action beat in this show. 

For an episode this goofy, there's not much for even an overly analytical nerd like me to dig into. This is just a bit of slapstick silliness. However, I think there is an interesting theme of sorts here: Sticks' beliefs are, obviously, completely disconnected from logic and reason. Considering she's already a completely unhinged conspiracy theorist, having Sticks also believe in any number of bizarre and imaginary magical practices doesn't seem unreasonable. Her friends, less crazy than her, don't really believe any of this shit. They humor her, go along with it, just in case she's right. Yet Tails, the super-genius inventor of the group, constantly points out how illogical the whole ordeal is. I feel like a show with more time or depth probably could have develop a funny and deeper story out of the debate between magical thinking and straight logic.

Compared to the last episode Natalys Raut-Sieuzac wrote, this one is a lot smoother. It still feels kind of weirdly off-key and out-of-date with the rest of the show. I still get this lingering vibe that Raut-Sieuzac did not have a clear grasp on the American sense of humor. Yet, instead of just being unfocused and awkward like "Let's Play Musical Friends" was, this one comes off as kind of charmingly old fashioned. I didn't know I wanted an old vaudeville bit reenacted with "Sonic" characters but I sort of liked it. I don't know if that's a thing that needed to exist either but, if "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" could do all the random and stupid shit it did, I think "Boom" is entitled to a few episodes like this too. [6/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.23: Let’s Play Musical Friends

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.23: Let’s Play Musical Friends

Original Air Date: April 25th, 2015

Here we have another episode of “Sonic Boom” that focuses mostly on Cubot and Orbot. The two lackeys are dismayed to see that Eggman is spending all his time with a new online friend, who calls himself Nominatus and hides behind a demonic looking avatar. The robots get so upset that their creator is ignoring them, they go live with the Sonic Team for a while. After playing around with Tails’ computer, they discover that this new friend is actually plotting to take over Eggman’s base and robots. This evil scheme soon goes into action. While Sonic and Eggman make a truce to fight off the corrupted Badniks, Cubot and Orbot head into cyberspace to fight Nominatus. 

“Let’s Play Musical Friends” is an episode where a lot of things happen for vaguely defined reasons. Presumably Eggman and Nominatus met online, even though there’s never been a reference to the internet existing in this show’s universe before. Nominatus is a sentient computer virus that seeks to conquer meatspace and destroy all life forms, though we have to assume some of that information. Cubot and Orbot discover the virus' plan when they drop Tails' laptop and it randomly shows them images of this new threat taking over Eggman's base. The two robots confront the villain after downloading themselves into a video game and I'm not really sure how that works either. We just have to take a lot of the events that go down here at face value. 

I know Nominatus reappears in at least one more episode, so maybe his origins and motivations are expounded on some then. But "Let's Play Musical Friends" does feel messy. Was this another example of a story that needed more than eleven minutes to be told? Natalys Raut-Sieuzac is the credited writer but she's usually a director. (In fact, she directed every single episode of "Sonic Boom.") Perhaps she's better at the visual parts of assembling a narrative than the coherent storytelling parts. She's also French, so maybe some things were just lost in translation. Even that title is kind of weird. I guess it’s comparing Orbot and Cubot swapping friends to a game of musical chairs. Which is kind of an obtuse metaphor and doesn’t relate that much to the episode’s premise. Perhaps I'm just overthinking a comedy cartoon for children. I do that often. Yet this one definitely feels off.

Nevertheless, there is a clear moral here. It's one that has been stated many times before but that young kids, in our modern age, probably can't hear too many times: Be careful who you trust online. Eggman seems to have just met Nominatus and immediately begins to tell him everything. He trusts this stranger, who turns out to have ulterior motives, because they seem trusting. That's because this so-called new friend knows exactly what kind of person Eggman is. (Hopelessly naïve and vulnerable to flattery, like a child would be.) He knows how to manipulate him to get what he wants. Of course, Nominatus is a living computer virus, instead of some random creep. He wants to take over Eggman's technology and use it to subjugate the fleshy world, instead of just getting him to send nudes or credit card numbers. I know this is a comedy show and the metaphor falls apart if you think about it too hard. Yet it's difficult to imagine this wasn't somewhat on the show runners' mind here. 

Writers may be able to clearly illustrate the message of "use caution when talking to people online." Still, even after it's been a major part of our lives for two and a half decades, lots of creative folks continue to struggle with how to make the online world cinematic. Lots of stories still depict cyberspace as another realm that we can simply download our physical bodies onto. "The Matrix" did it, "Digimon" did it, and "Sonic Boom" was still doing it in 2015. A tactic I've been seeing all the time lately — with "Ms. Marvel" being the latest guilty party — is shows and movies putting text messages and chats up on-screen as big animations. "Boom" does this too, as Nominatus has emojis pop around his head. (Even though he is capable of just talking too.) 

The truth is, our internet lives exist parallel to our real world lives. It's not a physical space, no matter how much some might wish it to be. The internet exists to trade information, not sensation, and we still haven't found a way to touch people through a cellphone or computer screen. This makes the "cyberspace as physical place we physically explore" concept seem increasingly out-of-date, a throwback to a time when we all thought virtual reality was going to be cooler than it actually turned out to be. As for flashing text and emojis on-screen, that's just a desperate attempt to make the deeply uncinematic act of sending words and pictures back and forth seem cinematic. I wouldn't expect the creators of a silly blue hedgehog show to figure this out, when actual pop culture geniuses like the Wachowski sisters are still struggling with it. Yet it's strange to me that we all live online 24/7 now and we still haven't figure out better ways to depict these ideas on-screen. 

The best "Let's Play Musical Friends" can do is just make it like a video game. Cubot and Orbot are transported into a pixelated landscape, which reflects the look and layout of '90s platformer. When they encounter Nominatus, it definitely feels like they've reached a boss battle. Even the way Cubot and Orbot doing things in the online world has direct actions in the waking world feels video-game-y. This is reasonable, I suppose. "Sonic Boom" is based on a video game after all. Yet it all feels pretty out-of-date too, reflecting an antiquated image of gaming. You can also see this in the gags that follow during these scenes: There's a cutesy reference to classic "Sonic" games, which is fair enough. I'll even allow Cubot to joke about 16-bits. Yet the shout-outs to "Your princess is in another castle" and the Konami Code couldn't have been hoarier in 2015. (And those games weren't even on the Genesis!) I guess kids watching a "Sonic" cartoon are more likely to be interested in early nineties gaming than most but this still feels like jokes conceived by and pitched at people who haven't picked up a controller since 1992.

Yet all the bitching I've done here is really besides the point. We don't watch this cartoons for cutting edge commentary and depictions of our digital lives. This is "Sonic Boom," not "Serial Experiments Lain." We are here for shenanigans involving lovable, simply understood cast members. And, despite its many flaws, "Let's Plat Musical Friends" does pull that off. I’m really growing fond of Cubot and Orbot. They are such goofy losers. When Eggman rejects them in favor of a shinier, newer friend, they march off to Sonic and the gang, the only other people they know. They pathetically beg to be included in this group. Of course, the heroes don’t really want to interact with the socially awkward sidekicks of their enemy. The episode’s funniest moment has everyone ditching the bots, until Tails ends up stuck with them. No matter how much they talk about wanting to escape Eggman, Cubot and Orbot — like all of this show’s sitcom stock roles — can’t imagine a life for themselves outside of the parts they’ve been assigned. They obviously hope Tails will take over as their new master, that they can be lackeys to a different inventor. When he also ditches them, the robots retreat into childish bickering between themselves. 

And that’s what I’m really starting to like about this show. It’s not the action scenes — there’s more forgettable Badnik bashing here — or it’s mostly lackluster additions to the greater “Sonic” lore. (Nominatus is a generic baddy, seemingly pulled from the same uninspired aesthetic as the Deadly Six.) It’s how the show zooms in on the comic book cartoon rivalries between good guys and bad guys until they become indistinguishable from mundane human interactions. At the end of the episode, after Nominatus is defeated, Sonic and Eggman decide they are too tired to fight today. They make plans to fight next week. Because, once you get meta enough about it, enemies are just friends in reverse and we’re all living in our own personal sitcoms. 

Maybe that’s why I kind of found myself kind of liking this one, even though it’s a complete mess and only a handful of the jokes really work. I guess I’ve gotten attached to these versions of the characters, or at least the dysfunctional friendship Sonic and Eggman have. The episode barely makes any sense and mostly approaches its premise in cliched and worn-out ways. But I like spending time with these goofballs and seeing their weird relationships play out. [6/10]