Sonic the Hedgehog (1993), Episode 1.11: Sub-Sonic

Sonic the Hedgehog (1993), Episode 1.11: Sub-Sonic
Original Air Date: November 27, 1993

Since “SatAM” takes up a large piece of mental real estate in my brain, you'd think I'd horde trivia about it and remember every last detail about the show. The truth is this retrospective is probably only the second time I've done a complete watch-through of the series. Despite my best efforts to be as huge a classic “Sonic” nerd as possible, there are facets of the franchise – and even this very program – that have gotten away from me. Such as “Sub-Sonic,” the eleventh episode of “SatAM.” Going into this episode tonight, I had absolutely no memory of it. I might as well have been watching it for the first time. I'm old now so I just forget shit sometimes, I guess.

“Sub-Sonic” is written by Barbara Slade, another one-and-done “SatAM” scribe who is probably best known as the creator of the animated “Angelina Ballerina” adaptation. The episode begins with Robotnik drilling deep into the Mobian earth for oil. Instead, his Snake Probs drill into a subterranean world, inhabited by a giant purple walrus monster. This puncture causes a strange green water to flow into the Great River. Accidentally and through a convoluted series of events, Sonic discovers that this green water can magically regrow the trees devastated by Robotnik's pollution. As Sonic, Sally, Antoine and Rotor – I guess Bunnie is watching Tails back at home – seek the source of this water, they stumble into the purple monster's underground world.

As I've mentioned roughly a hundred times since starting this retrospective, “SatAM” had a strong environmental element, as was trendy at the time. “Sub-Sonic” pushes this theme even further than the forefront than usual. After the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, the devastating effects of such an event were common topics in the nineties. So, inevitably, Robotnik goes drilling for oil. It's surprising that the dying trees in the Great Forest are never directly connected with this. That subplot seems to also teach kids about regular gardening habits, as Tails has to instruct Antoine on what the purpose of fertilizer is.

Yet “Sub-Sonic” obviously doesn't think its environmental themes all the way through either. The exact origins of the magical green water from the underground world are never addressed. It just... Exists, capable of doing extraordinary things for no particular reason. At the end of the episode, Sonic and friends use this magic liquid to restore the trees to their former glory and instantly clean out the river. But, ya know kids, in real life, there are no short cuts like this to save the environment. Not only is this mysterious magic water instantly saving the forest a cheap narrative short-cut, it's also a troubling message to send to the little ones in the audience. (Or, at least, the little ones who were in the audience in 1993.) Underwritten plots like this are a stark reminder that this is a 22 minute long kid's show that only has so much time to introduce and resolve its plot points. But maybe you shouldn't tackle such heavy themes if you're not prepared to properly resolve them, early nineties Saturday morning cartoon writer's room.

However, “Sub-Sonic” is still a half-decent episode. A subplot focuses on Rotor. While the Freedom Fighters are tracking the green water to its source, Rotor starts to feel a little down on himself. He doesn't think being a mechanic is as cool as being a bad-ass action hero like Sonic. While the hedgehog agrees – of course he does – he still encourages Rotor not to be so down on himself. This is resolved when Rotor ends up saving the gang from a sinking pit of stinking slime. He does so rather courageously, fighting off an invading tentacle by whacking it with a wrench. By the end of the episode, Rotor has come to the conclusion heroism is too exhausting for him but, presumably, he has a little more confidence in himself. It's not a lot but it does add some more emotional content to the episode and I really appreciate that.

The episode also has some mild suspense in it that I like. When the Freedom Fighters first encounter the tusked giant creature – officially, this guy is known as the Kraken but is never actually referred to by name in the episode – you can't help but wonder how they'll react. It doesn't go well, initially anyway. The establishing shot of them in the quicksand-like bog pit is pretty cool, as it shows some sort of monster living in the muck too. While there's never any doubt Rotor will rescue them in time, there is a moment of mild suspense as you wonder if the walrus will get to his friends in time. Owe this to those shots of the gang slowly sinking into the gunk, up to their necks.

Though Mobius itself is already a bizarro fantasy world on its own, dropping the Freedom Fighters into an even weirder underground world is fun too. The sequence of the water changing color as the gang float down the river is borderline psychedelic. Another moment, involving large carnivorous plants – Barbara Slade also wrote an episode of the “Little Shop of Horrors” cartoon, I must point out – attacking Sally, is also amusing. As for Robotnik's machine of the week, I do like the mechanic design of the Snake Probes. They tunnel via lasers, which seems practical, and have very neat steel trap-like jaws. Over all, I'm really finding myself admiring the mechanical design of this series this time.

Still, I'm probably going to rate “Sub-Sonic” on the lower end of things. There are other things that bug me about the script, aside from the fairly serious aforementioned issues. Antoine's tendency to mix up his phrases is pushed a little too far here. Even when the heroes are about to drown, the script is still playing Antoine's verbal dyslexia for humor. And what of the Kraken? His craggly voice is hard to underground. His lumpy, garish design – which brings a walrus and an elephant to mind, more than the many-tentacled beast of Norse legend – doesn't exactly work for me. We learn he was once the ruler of an underground kingdom, which has been destroyed by Robotnik's pollution. He initially assume the Freedom Fighters are responsible, hence his desire to kill them. A simple explanation from Sally is enough to change his mind, which is a bit underwhelming. In general, we learn so little about the Kraken and his world that he comes off as largely inexplicable. Just this weird monster hanging out in his weird monster world underground, never mentioned before and never to be mentioned again. (Save for a brief shout-out in the Archie Sonic Comic Encyclopedia, where Flynn integrated the Kraken in with the Nerbs.)

After the animation highs of “Warp Sonic” “SatAM” slides back in quality here. By no means is this a bad looking episode. The painted backgrounds are gorgeous as always. Except for some shots where Sonic's legs look weirdly thick, everyone is on-model. However, there are several noticeably choppy moments. While floating down the boat, there's a shot of Sonic and Rotor's arms repetitively swaying back and forth. An action scene of Sonic pushing the boat back up a waterfall is awkwardly assembled. The boat just floats back up the waterfall, a sense of motion and speed – much less danger – never being felt. When Rotor hands the quicksand-bound Sonic a Power Ring, the blue guy just shoots up into the air automatically.

And then Sonic saves the day with the Power of Rock. Earlier in the episode, we see the hedgehog jamming on his guitar and warbling out a Jerry Lew Lewis-esque number. (This leads to a manic episode of Sonic being dragged behind a large fish up the river, another uninspired action beat.) This is an important plot point, it turns out. Once he discovers the control panel to the Snake Probes, Sonic starts pressing the buttons as if they were piano keys and sings his song again. This activates the self-destruct sequence – convenient how Robotnik installed one of those, isn't it? – but instead of exploding, the Probes simply vanish in a pink mist. Which was, undoubtedly, another way for the animation team to cut some cost. It's, uh, something, that's for sure.

“Sub-Sonic” has enough weird moments like that to make me wonder how I could ever forget this one so totally. Yet the fact that it features so few elements that would reoccur throughout the series – you'd think that magical healing water would come in handy at some point – probably contributes to the episode's forgettability. I suppose the Kraken is comparable to Lazaar and the random fantasy elements this show introduce from time to time. But I wouldn't say he's even that memorable. I wish I liked this one more. Rotor's character arc is cute, as he even gets a kiss from Sally, but this one just didn't work for me enough. [6/10]