Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.26: Submerged Sonic

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.26: Submerged Sonic
Original Air Date: September 9th, 1993

Much like “SatAM,” “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog's” relationship with the actual Sega video games it was created to promote was marginal, at best. “SatAM” really took nothing but Sonic, Robotnik, and the Power Rings, while adapting stray elements from the games in an extremely loose manner. “Adventures” wasn't much different in that regard but would, occasionally, make the connection a little more explicit. In “Submerged Sonic,” the 26th episode to be produced and the fourth to air, the cast visits the underwater kingdom of Labyrinth. To make this connection to the first game's Labyrinth Zone more obvious, the Jaws badniks put in a brief appearance in this episode.

That's about it, as far as “Submerged Sonic's” connection to the game goes. Here's the plot: In the underwater kingdom of Labyrinth, King Saline is disappointed with his mermaid daughter, Bubbles. She has fallen in love with surfer dude merman Surff and wishes to marry him. The king is so incensed, he throws both of them out of the domed city. At the same time, Robotnik attacks Labyrinth with his brand new submarine, determined to steal the kingdom's supply of Power Pearls. That would be pearls with explosive properties. After Bubbles is kidnapped, Surff floats to the surface and recruits Sonic and Tails to help.

The main issue facing “Submerged Sonic” as an episode is this: The merfolk are largely terrible. King Saline is a blustering, overprotective dad whose temper is out of control. Bubbles is a flighty and empty-headed girl without much in the way of an actual personality. Surff, meanwhile, is extremely annoying. His unappealing visual design – sickly green skin and a bright orange pompadour – is paired with the dopiest surfer dude dialogue you could imagine. Even Sonic seems deeply annoyed by the guy, especially during a moment when he almost blows up their submarine with those aforementioned Power Pearls. The episode's best joke, if it was even intended as a joke, has Sonic trying to discourage Tails from accepting the guy's request for help. (Also, this is the second episode where Sonic and Tails help some random stranger out with their romantic problems. It's weird that is becoming a reoccurring theme so early on in this show.)

Truthfully, humor does not seem to be the primary goal with “Submerged Sonic.” Yeah, there's lots of jokes but they are of the most uninspired slapstick. Sonic and friends get comically squished against a wall when tossed in the prison. Sonic squashes their guard when he kicks down the door. King Saline gets shocked in the ass with his own lightning bolts. If anything, the action/adventure plot seems to take precedence this time, even if that ridiculous cartoon logic is maintained through. Our heroes spend a good chunk of the episode being chased by Robotnik's submarine. The big climax involves Sonic fighting – and swimming, once again disproving the title of my blog – a giant robotic sting ray.

You see this episode's shift towards more action/adventure plotting in a scene where Robotnik attempts to intimidate the King. In this single scene, while holding the Princess hostage and threatening to torpedo Labyrinth, Robotnik actually seems like an effective villain. This makes the rest of the episode, where Robotnik and his minions are subjected to some super lame slapstick, all the more disappointing. Scratch and Grounder's antics – confusion over the meaning of the word “fire,” accidentally smacking Robotnik with a stick, rowing in opposite directions while being in the same raft – are truly tiresome this time. The only joke here I like, of Grounder begging the doctor to let him destroy the city, does not feature any physical comedy.

Why it isn't always the case, the Sonic Says segment this time ties into the rest of the episode. Surff attempts to dive into a lake off a cliff, only for Sonic to stop him. This leads to a warning about not diving into shallow water. (And also continues to make Surff look like the biggest fucking idiot in the world.) Sonic makes sure to point out that, while such an action wouldn't hurt a cartoon character, a real person wouldn't be so lucky. It's less cringe-inducing than previous segments devoted to not believing what you see on TV or not running away from home. But Sonic sure isn't the Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water, alright?

Also, this episode features Sonic and Tails doing dishes together in one scene. Which pushes their friendship in a very domestic direction, raising a lot of hilarious questions in the process. Over all, “Submerged Sonic” is kind of a weird episode in that it's a little more story-driven and less madcap than “Adventures” has been up to this point. Sonic doesn't even put on a disguise this time! Yet it's still full of annoying characters and less-than-inspired gags. So, if this was an attempt to maybe redirect the series' tone a little, it wasn't very successful. [5/10]