Sonic Underground, Episode 1.07: The Deepest Fear

Sonic Underground, Episode 1.07: The Deepest Fear

Original Air Date: September 7th, 1993

Despite the name of this blog, I don't take the idea of Sonic being unable to swim very seriously. Lots of media depict him as having no trouble with water. Considering how strong his legs are from all that running, it doesn't even make sense that Sonic can't swim. Yet, because Yuji Naka was operating under the mistaken belief that real hedgehogs really can't swim, that is Sega's official statement on the matter. In the games, Sonic just sinks to the bottom when stepping into water. (Presumably because drowning made an innovative hazard and programming a swimming action would've been really hard.) Most "Sonic" media doesn't comment on this but "Underground" exaggerated the hedgehog's inability to swim into full-on hydrophobia. That fear took center stage in "The Deepest Fear."

The royal triplets hear their mother may be hanging around Port Mobius, a port town. This is a problem for Sonic, who has a deep rooted fear of the water. When they arrive, they discover that the entire town is faithful to Robotnik. That's because the residents of Port Mobius live in fear of a sea monster called Moby Deep, who has been sinking their ships, and Robotnik promises to protect them. Pursued by Sleet and Dingo, the trio meet up with Captain Squeegee, captain of a cruise ship. Squeegee hopes to hunt down Moby Deep and stop it. Sonic soon discovers that the real Moby Deep is docile and that a Robotnik submarine shaped like the monster is responsible for the sinkings. In the process, he faces his fear. 

Once again, the promise of meeting their mom is just the shallowest excuse to send the hedgehogs on an unrelated adventure. (Turns out Queen Alena is the name of the fucking ship, that hoary cliche.) The whole sea monster premise/"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" homage really is the least interesting idea here. More intriguing is the idea of a town that actually likes Robotnik. It makes sense. As we all know, fascists always have their true believers. Showing how dictators play on the public's fears to stay in power is a great idea this cartoon would never explore. But throwing Sonic, Sonia, and Manic into a place where they aren't welcome would've, at least, been a decent set-up for an episode. Alas, Port Mobius is left behind soon after it's introduced and the focus turns towards the seafaring business. 

Like most "Underground" episode, this one has a ham-fisted moral. Sonic's fear of water has been referenced since the second episode, so I guess it was inevitable a whole story would be built around it. At first, his fear is so serious that he has elaborate nightmares about it and even gets nervous when crossing a small bridge. Yet, later, the hedgehog has no problem leaping around the ocean or utilizing an improvised jet ski. So which is it, "Sonic Underground?" Is Sonic deathfully afraid of water or can he shake it off? 

When Sonic meets Moby Deep, he turns out to be not-so-bad. The beast isn't the tentacled Kraken-like entity Sonic imagines in his dream. Moby Deep is just a big whale. Contrary to the legend, he's actually afraid of boats. To emphasize this point, Garry Chalk takes a break from voicing Robotnik to give Moby an Eeyore-like voice. Obviously, the idea here is that Sonic's fear isn't so bad once he faces it head-on. But, as I'm sure you've noticed, something about this metaphor doesn't really connect. Sonic's fear of Moby Deep was just an extension of his hydrophobia, which he never really addresses. At the end, there's even a line suggesting Sonic only might've overcome his phobia. (Presumably in case future writers wanted to abuse that character trait more.) The moral is horribly half-assed, is my point. 

There I go actually examining the show on a thematic level. How silly of me to assume the story would be good or the cast would be treated with respect. Let's talk about more pragmatic matters, like how ugly the character designs are. Everyone in "Sonic Underground" looks gross or weird. The residents of Port Mobius are more of the hideous alien slug creatures that make up this show's background characters. Dingo has his body morphed into several mundane objects – a sheet, a door, a buoy – in typically uncomfortable fashion. Yet Captain Squeegee really is next level, as far as unappealing visuals go. He's a literal sponge, his body covered with holes and jutting out at awkward angles. His eyes float on little stalks, at the side of his face. He absorbs water, his body expanding, which has to be one of the grosser superpowers I’ve seen recently. Even that name, Captain Squeegee, lingers on the tongue in the most unpleasant way. He might be the ugliest character on a show full of hideous designs. 

There was about three minutes left in this episode before I realized “Oh wait, there hasn’t been a song yet.” I naively hoped we might actually get through a full half-hour without an embarrassing musical number. No such luck. Befitting the setting, the "Sonic Underground" song writers tried their hands at a sea shanty. "Face Your Fears" is, predictably, dreadful. But not for the reasons you expect. I'm sure the lyrics are terrible but I couldn't hear them over the atrocious production. The jangly, obnoxious music drowns everything out. The attempt to approximate a sea shanty is an annoyingly ramshackle melody. It's bad though I'm not sure it's as bad as some of the other songs, simply because it's so poorly mixed it doesn't even register as music. 

I'll give "The Deepest Fear" this much: It's bad in a way that's kind of funny. When a shot of Sonic racing up a lighthouse's spiral staircase is simply reversed, to show him running back down it, I laughed. Captain Squeegee's whole existence or shit like the Ahab-inspired opening nightmare are so bizarre as to become entertaining. That's more than most episodes of this show have thus far accomplished. Unintentional entertainment value is better than no entertainment value at all. [5/10]