Sonic Boom, Episode 1.03: Translate This

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.03: Translate This

Original Air Date: November 15th, 2014

The third episode of "Sonic Boom" begins with the crew having a delightful day, relaxing on the beach and playing volleyball. That is spoiled when Tails arrives with his latest invention, a small robot named U.T. Which is short not for "urinary track" but "Ultimate Translator." The robot is such a good translator that he can even decipher the true thoughts and motivations behind everything the characters say. This soon leads to chaos among the group, which is witnessed by Eggman. He kidnaps the real U.T. and replaces it with a copy, that says exclusively insulting things. Tails quickly figures this out and goes to rescue the real deal, knowing his friends will be along to save him soon enough. 

The best thing about "Translate This" – a title that really needed an exclamation point at the end there – is U.T. himself. A robot that blabs our inner most thoughts to everyone is an inspired comedic device, largely because it's relatable. Every single day, all of us say things that are more polite versions of what we are really thinking. Unfiltered thoughts being spewed to even our closest friends is a set-up for some solid comedy. And it doesn't hurt that U.T. has excellent timing. Sonic or Amy will say something ordinary and then the machine parrots back their humiliating actual intentions, in that perfectly dry and emotionless robot voice. That's the main reason why the opening scene on the beach quickly builds to belly-laughs. 

Another reason this episode really worked for me is because of how it showcases Tails. I previously pointed out that "Boom" Tails fits the role of the ever-optimistic, naïve kid who lacks the cynicism of his more mature friends. "Translate This" really runs with that. Tails has obviously invented an evil robot that will do nothing but sow chaos. Our thoughts are private for a reason. Yet he's so focused on the good that a universal translator can do, that he doesn't even consider the horrifying applications of his device. That purity is why Tails' friends love him, why they immediately set out to rescue him, even if his prepubescent genius can unleash man-made horrors yet untold. Colleen O'Shaughnessey's cupcake sweet delivery helps this interpretation. Once again, I appreciate "Sonic Boom" showing an obvious fondness for its characters beneath all the constant joking.

If Tails is unerringly innocent, Sticks is an unfettered whirlwind of bedlam. It's notable – not to mention a really good gag – that her initial statements around U.T. come out totally untranslated. Sticks' paranoid ramblings mean exactly what she says they mean. To paraphrase the wise words of Charlie Kelly, Sticks is "the wild card." And that serves an important role in stock sitcom storylines like this. This is also why, at the end, Sticks is the one who gets to toss U.T. into the ocean. Her natural inclination towards erratic behavior allows her to do that, dissolving the episode's conflict without hurting anyone's feelings. (This is also why she can hiss and claw at Knuckles earlier, like a feral cat, and it's not mentioned again.) She is just as pure as Tails is, in many ways, just significantly more unhinged. Which is funny, on TV anyway.

This sincerity within the "Boom" gang is maybe why the dialogue is sharper and funnier here than in the last two episodes. The segments centered on Eggman still feature some of the smarmy sitcom humor that I dislike. The running gag about him hating Orbot gets trotted out again, with a charmless moment where he produces a computer to tell the robot his official standing. But maybe it's the mind-reading robot or Mike Pollock's delivery, because these scenes still got me laughing pretty consistently. U.T. reveals that egotism floats behind all of Eggman's statements, a decent joke. (And that egomania contrasts nicely with Eggman's actually depicted level of confidence, which includes his evil scheme being quickly uncovered because he puts his logo on everything.) The scenes where Eggman convinces Tails to be his slave "assistant," making the child do dangerous tasks, are pretty funny. Pollock's grumbling delivery really helps there. 

Once again, I can't help but notice the clear divide between "Sonic Boom's" comedy and its action scenes. Most of the episode is devoted to jokes and japes. Once Team Sonic heads out to save Tails, the action portion kicks in. There are jokes during the action scene, mostly devoted to the gang fighting a tank-like robot, but they aren't incorporated with the action. Which strikes me as odd. The most notable thing the action sequence does is bring things back around, recalling the opening volleyball game by having Knuckles spike a ball-shaped bomb into the robot's eye. The least notable thing it does is indulge in some tacky slo-mo, an action cliche that I really had hoped was passed by 2014 but I guess not. Thanks for that, Zack Snyder... 

I'm still not used to "Sonic Boom's" cheap, CGI animation. The character models continue to move in a way that strikes me as both weightless and overly stiff. Yet I will say that the design team on this show does really good work. This is the first episode to really give us a good look at Eggman's Badniks. And they are adorable. I really love this version of the MotoBug, which is designed more like an aerodynamic monocycle and features prominently crooked antenna and big cartoonish exhaust pipe. The Crab Bot is also really cute, with its spiky but segmented shell and vice grip-like pinchers. U.T. is cute too, looking suitably homemade but still like a stereotypical robot. Even a blink-and-miss-it prop, a cake Eggman serves that is also patterned after his logo, has a really appealing design. It just makes me wish this was a traditionally animated cartoon, where this ace design work could really shine instead of standing aside from the uncanny animation. 

Nitpicks aside, this is definitely my favorite episode of "Sonic Boom" so far. I don't know if this is because Dave Polsky is a slightly funnier writer than Doug Lieblich, who handled the teleplays for the first two episodes, or if the bumps were just getting worked out as things progress. I guess we'll find out as I watch more of the show and notice if the quality noticeably changes depending on whose credited. As for "Translate This," it made me laugh a good amount and surprised me a little while still having general respect for its characters, so that gets a [7/10] from me.