Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.20: So Long Sucker

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.20: So Long Sucker

Original Air Date: September 29th, 1993

Here comes another episode of "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" that's not so concerned with interior logic. While running around Mobius' surreal landscapes, Sonic comes across a multicolored doorway appearing out of thin air. He correctly, and causally, assumes this to be a rift in reality leading to another dimension. After running off, a small, black, blob-like creature leaps out. It follows Sonic to a park bench, where Tails has prepared a feast of chili dogs. After discovering the creature, Tails immediately grows attached to it, naming it Goobster. Goobster, however, soon displays a ravenous appetite for chili dogs. When displeased, it grows to giant size and sucks everything in the nearby area into its gaping maw. Robotnik soon realizes that such a creature, as well as Tails' attachment to it, can be exploited. 

"So Long Sucker," very briefly, features an angle I wish "Sonic" media would play up more. That would be a conflict between Sonic and Tails. The two are always depicted as the closest of friends, with early cartoons like this having Sonic be more of a brotherly or mentor-like figure to the smaller fox. Yet friends disagree sometimes. My best buddy, who has been my friend for about nineteen years, almost always disagrees with me and that's part of our adorable dynamic. Aside from a few Archie issues, "Sonic" media has been reluctant to show any strife between Sonic and Tails, even though that's a pretty fruitful source for good drama and tension.

For a very short moment in "So Long Sucker," Sonic and Tails are at odds. Sonic realizes Goobster is too dangerous to keep around. Tails, meanwhile, begs to keep him. The fox comes along pretty quickly to Sonic's way of thinking but it's still something. Honestly, I think Sonic is way too chill about the whole thing. During a humiliating sequence where Sonic attempts to appease the insatiable Goobster, the hedgehog has both a steak and a sandwich (referred to as a PB&J, even though it's clearly lettuce and tomato) spat back in his face. This Numemon looking motherfucker almost eats Sonic and Tails a few times. I think the hedgehog is pretty right to be pissed-off. 

Sonic is, of course, right that Goobster — not to be confused with a globster or  a goofy goober — has no business being Tails' pet. This is one of the few "AoStH" episodes with a clear moral, which extends into the Sonic Sez segment. This cartoon is a plea for responsible pet ownership. Just cause a critter is cute doesn't mean you should let live it in your home. I'm reminded of those dumbasses who think they can keep a monkey or a raccoon the same way you and I share our lives with cats or dogs. The same dumbasses are inevitably shocked when the wild animal they tried to keep as a pet goes crazy and attacks somebody. At the episode's end, Tails asks if he can have some other crazy animal as a pet before Sonic gingerly recommends a goldfish. 

Still, I have some sympathy for Tails here. He immediately bonds with Goobster, declaring the disgusting little blob his favorite thing in the world within minutes. This is actually pretty accurate, as anyone who has seen a kid with a puppy can attest to. Robotnik trying to use Tails' new pet to get at Sonic is one of the villain's more clever schemes. But even this obese dictator has a soft spot for critters. During a scene that adds nothing to the story, and was included presumably because the writers thought it was funny, Robotnik recalls the intense fondness he once had for his pet cockroach, Mr. Bobo. Which is an unexpected beat of character development. 

All of its thematic concerns aside, did I actually like "So Long Sucker?" I did not find Goobster as endearing as Tails, as his amorphous body and fleshy inner folds are mildly unsettling. Yet he's less annoying than baby Boom-Boom or Da Bears, so I guess that counts for something. There's also one or two decent gags here. Like Grounder volunteering to kick his own ass after displeasing Robotnik or the grand villain gleefully deciding to give himself a pay raise. A moment where Sonic has paced a groove into the ground slightly amused me as well. This episode is also a little better animated than the last few, the chase scenes being fairly fluid and the characters being a little more expressive than usual.

So I guess it adds up to a pretty decent episode. I don't have any desire to see Goobster again and we never do, as he happily returns to his dimension in the final scene. As an one-off though, this was fine. It's dumb and cheap and mildly gross but, by the standards of this particular series, it still gets a thumbs-up from me. [6/10]