Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.35: The Last Resort

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.35: The Last Resort

Original Air Date: October 15th, 1993

Ah, the pun. Obviously the finest form of linguistic humor. In its early years, the "Sonic" franchise was very fond of puns. "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" and the early Archie Comics used them constantly. For whatever reason, the double meaning of the phrase "the last resort" — meaning someone has exhausted all other solutions but their final one but also a vacation spot that's a terminal destination — has been irresistible to "Sonic" puns craftsman over the years. Today, we are talking about the "AoStH" episode with this title but "Sonic Underground" and "Sonic X" also have installments with the same title. I mean, it's not even that good of a pun, you guys. You couldn't have called one of those episodes "National Lam-doom's Sonic Vacation" or something?

Anyway, this episode begins with Sonic arriving in a city being attacked by giant robots. Just as the fight is about to begins, the machines get the signal to leave. Robotnik then makes the announcement that he's retiring to take care of his mother. Sonic is not so convinced but Tails talks him into taking a vacation anyway. The mayor of the city offers him a trip to an exclusive resort... Which is, of course, a trap. Robotnik has filled the island with traps and duplicitous robots. 

 

Aside from sharing its title with two other "Sonic" cartoons, "The Last Resort" is most notable for being so indicative of its time and place. In the nineties, anything "x-treme" was considered cool. To the point where corporations started attaching the phrase to anything — including our favorite blue hedgehog — in an attempt to make it look edgy, exciting, and cool. Before "X-Sports" like skateboarding or BMX became an officially recognized sport later in the decades, activities like white water rafting, bungie jumping, or parachuting were experiencing an influx of interest. 

Since Sonic was already associated with speed and coolness, it made sense that he would be involved with such thrilling hobbies. (This is probably also why he took up snowboarding later in the decade.) "The Last Resort" really runs with this, depicting Sonic participating in all of the above activities. The nineties' fascination with these sports grew out of a culture wide association between coolness and surfer culture. So it only makes sense that this episode is also awash with instantly dated surfer lingo. Grounder even says "Cowabanga!" at one point, recalling another totally tubular franchise that was popular at the time.

"The Last Resort" is also one of those few "AoStH" episodes that remembers this show is based on a video game. Sonic exploring a picturesque setting littered with deadly traps, including the trademark spikes popping out of the ground. The fish-like Chompers Badniks appear, and are even referred to by name, while Scratch and Grounder utilize a submarine that is a dead ringer for the Jaws Badnik. The plot is also vaguely reminiscent of "Knuckles' Chaotix," several years before it came out. I guess an island resort that's secretly a Robotnik death trap is a pretty obvious "Sonic" plot. 

And it is a good premise. Sonic letting his guard down to enjoy some rest and relaxation is a solid idea. As is the hedgehog grappling with the idea that Robotnik really is done with evil-doing. Honestly, a whole episode dealing with that — Sonic wondering if his suspicions are well-founded or if he should live and let live —would've been good. Instead, "The Last Resort" is a highly repetitive episode with zero amusing jokes. This is one of those episodes composed almost entirely of Sonic easily turning traps meant for him against Robotnik and his henchmen. The animation is bad — a shot of Sonic paddling a kayak back up a waterfall looks terrible — and the character designs are ugly. 

In fact, "The Last Resort" is the kind of episode that makes my mind wander. The walrus-y mayor who awards Sonic the vacation is a robot built by Robotnik. Did the residents of the city realize their mayor was an android? Did Robotnik replace a pre-existing politician with a robotic lookalike? Or has he been playing the long game by installing dummy politicians, machines loyal to him, all over Mobius? The island resort is run by an unidentifiable funny animal guy named Guido, who is also revealed to be a robot. (And also voiced by Canadian cartoon man, and Garry Chalk's "Beast Wars" co-star, Scott McNeil.) But Guido isn't the only resident on the island, as Sonic and Tails get lei-ed by two fox girls in hula skirts earlier. Are they robots too? Did Robotnik build the entire island? Or is he employing some locals in his scheme? What kind of pay do Robotnik employees make? So many questions without answers. 

Anyway, I think I've exhausted just about everything I can say about this one. Watching this episode triggered a vague sense of deja vu, suggesting I might have seen "The Last Resort" as a kid when it first aired. Then again, it's such a typical episode so very indicative the show's overall quality, that I might be mistaking it for another one I saw as a kid. [4/10]