Sonic Underground, Episode 1.23: Hedgehog in the Iron Mask

Sonic Underground, Episode 1.23: Hedgehog in the Iron Mask

Original Air Date: September 29th, 1999

Sonic, Sonia, and Manic receive a hint that their mother might have been imprisoned in a foreboding tower under a perpetual storm cloud. They hope to find some records of her location inside. Instead, they find Sleet and Dingo and hear the cries of a prisoner. Dingo lets it slip that the prisoner is someone important. The trio return later to free the mysterious hedgehog, who wears a mask that will explode if it's removed. He claims to be their uncle, who was imprisoned when Queen Alena came to power because only one monarch can rule. This information soon forces a schism between the siblings...  But it's all been a trap set-up by Robotnik. 

At least conceptually, "The Hedgehog in the Iron Mask" is one of the better "Sonic Underground" premises. The set-up attempts to mine tension not from an outside antagonistic force but from within the group. If there's anything that will break up a group of tightly knit siblings, it's squabbling over royal problem. Sonic, Manic, and Sonia turning on each other is a lot more compelling idea than them facing off with the easily defeated Sleet and Dingo again... 

But in execution, this idea is far from satisfying. The triplets bicker but they always stick together, so them going their separate ways because of some random guy is not convincing. Further hindering things is how obvious it is that their "uncle" is part of a trap. None of our heroes question why their mother, always depicted as utterly benevolent, would lock up her brother. Even the normally suspicious Manic buys his story immediately. They never question his story, whether his blinking mask could be a spy camera or the rings he gives them could be trackers. It's obvious to the audience that this guy is fishy and it would be even if the script didn't reveal early on that Robotnik is plotting something. 

Then again, maybe our hedgehogs are simply having an off-day. They also walk up to big orange items several times, even though they should know by now that big orange Dingo maintains his coloration when turned into mundane objects. (Dingo's "disguises" this time include a statue of the Queen but the episode cuts away, robbing us of the truly bizarre image of Sonia being man-handled by a giant, orange version of her mom.) These are all examples of how half-baked Bob Forward's script is. This also includes the groan-worthy reveal that the hedgehog in the iron mask is a famous actor named "Luke Periwinkle." Or the storm clouds over the tower, which go totally unexplained and vanish after it collapses. 

The dumb, lazy writing is also evident in the truly underwhelming action scenes. Once again, I must emphasize how much these SWATBots suck. While pursuing Sonic into an auto shop, they stand perfectly still atop a pneumatic lift so Sonic can elevate them right up into the ceiling. Later, they don't move again while standing in a straight line down a winding staircase. When Sonic slices through one bot's ankles, he falls over and causes a domino effect. Robotnik really didn't program these guys with the ability to... move? To cap it off, Manic once again smashes a SWATBot's head with his flimsy drumsticks. Also, the trio later defeat Sleet and Dingo with a sheet. The fact that this is the army that took over the world is really starting to push credibility. 

But why should we expect a sensible plot or compelling action scenes from a show that sucks as consistently as "Sonic Underground?" Look at Luke Periwinkle's character design. He's two feet taller than Sonic, Sonia, and Manic. He has a generally humanoid built, not a cartoon hedgehog one. The only indication he's a hedgehog at all are the tiny spines extending from his head. His cyan – not periwinkle – fur color is deeply unappealing. It's another totally hideous "Underground" character design. Later, there's a hilarious moment of terrible animation, where the triplets and Periwinkle leap over a SWATBot's head without moving their bodies, the group effortlessly floating through the air. Nobody gave a shit if this cartoon was good or not.

The only thing this episode has going for it is one of the show's more tolerable songs. "Part of the Problem" features Sonia, who has the least annoying singing voice of the triplets, on lead vocals. She's matched, once again, with quasi-New Wave sounding music, a style the show's musicians were clearly more comfortable with. The song's hook features slightly less awkward lyrics than usual. It helps that the song's premise, scolding people who refuse to join the Resistance by saying they're "part of the problem," is a little edgier than the show's subject matter usually is. (The song also occurs five minutes into the episode, at a point in the story where it actually makes sense for the heroes to be singing.) It sounds a little bit like Oingo Boingo. If this came on Sirius XM First Wave, I wouldn't immediately change the station. 

The song proves to be the sole bright spot of an otherwise dreadful episode.... Which isn't saying a lot, as even a better "Sonic Underground" musical number is mediocre by any other standard. [4/10]