Sonic Boom, Episode 30: Chili Dog Day Afternoon

Sonic Boom, Episode 30: Chili Dog Day Afternoon

Original Air Date: July 16th, 2015

In the past, the American "Sonic" cartoons would get a lot of mileage out of chili dogs being Sonic's trademark favorite food. "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" built multiple whole episodes around the Blue Blur's fixation on meat sauce and sausages. It definitely got weird quickly and several of those episodes were among the show's strangest. While the "Sonic" franchise never got that aggressively surreal or chili dog-centric again, both elements lingered within the series' DNA. "Sonic Boom" would pay homage of sorts to that era of the franchise in the thirtieth episode of the first season. By which I mean this episode is odd and dumb and has way too many jokes about food in it. 

After a couple of references to it, this episode confirms that chili dogs are "Boom" Sonic's favorite good too. He's such a chili dog connoisseur that he's judging the village's annual chili cook-off. All of Sonic's friends, and a few enemies, are competing in the contest. When Knuckles discovers the "one of a kind" chili pepper he bought is a fake, he purchases a map from the same merchant. This soon leads him on a perilous journey, in search of the Lost Pepper of Claggerhorn. When he discovers the pepper, he learns that it is a bipedal, sentient creature that leads a whole race of pepper people, who seek to reclaim their lost homelands. Knuckles is swept up in this adventure and is soon fighting his own pals, on behalf of the pepper people. But how will this effect the chili cook-off?!

While reviewing "Eggman Unplugged," I had some positive things to say about Reid Harrison's rambling narrative structure. In that one, I liked how the episode took one idea – Eggman abandoning technology – and spun it off in a wackier direction. "Chili Dog Day Afternoon," also written by Harrison, does something similar but gets way zanier as it goes on. And, keep in mind, the first half of this episode features an old lady con artist who constantly has comedic deliveries and tries to escape on a bicycle. The climax of the episode features Knuckles in a kilt and tartan, wearing war paint, and tossing miniature pepper warriors in a sling at his friends. It's almost impressive how we get from the grounded premise of "Sonic and friends have a chili cook-off" to something as utterly wacky and unusual as that. 

And, honestly, I think that's a bit of a problem. While "Eggman Unplugged" extrapolating a bigger idea out of its simple premise was unexpected and funny, this shift just seems random. "Sonic Boom" has certainly gotten cartoonish and outrageous before but humanoid vegetable people is on another level. A sentient pepper clan is bizarre enough, that it feels outside what is plausible in this show's reality. And it's just an exceptionally bonkers gag in general. The Pepper of Claggerhorn is patterned after a Scottish warrior for some reason, from the accent on down. He even jokes about haggis. Is Scotland well known for its chili pepper? Because I'm pretty sure it's not. It's a combination of details that feels arbitrary. When I say this episode reminded me of "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog," I don't really mean that as a compliment. The wackiness is so over-the-top, that it's more confusing than amusing. 

There's a reason for this, it turns out. Spoiler alert for a seven year old children's cartoon that, if you're reading this, you've almost definitely already seen: The second half of this episode is a dream. After walking into the woods, Knuckles ate an exceptionally hot pepper. It was apparently so hot and spicy, Knuckles passed out and had a nightmare/hallucination that comprised all the craziness that followed. While this certainly explains why something as strange as humanoid pepper creatures with their own history and culture could exist in this show, it still feels like a cop-out. "AoStH" at least committed to its weird-as-shit gags. This feels like the "Boom" staff doing something so crazy, they realized they overstepped and needed to reel it back in. Considering how meta and snarky this show usually is – this episode includes a joke about scene dissolves – the dream reveal feels snotty and cowardly. "We realize how stupid this is too!" It seems to be saying. "Then why are you doing it?" I ask. That kind of insecurity is death for comedy. Commit to the dumbass, freaky jokes. Don't act like you're above them. 

Honestly, the best thing about this episode is that it stars Knuckles. The "Boom" version of Knuckles is such a buffoon, that he just accepts everything that happens to him with no judgement. Of course he'd immediately join a group of pepper people freedom fighters, without a second thought! Knuckles doesn't think about anything! The echidna's big doofy comedic presence is best used in a sequence in the middle of the episode. On the way to the pepper's valley, Knuckles wonders through a series of bizarre traps. He punches his way up a flight of stairs, falls off a cliff, hugs over eighty exploding robot ducks, and finally gets strapped Into a recliner and hit with a pie. Knuckles' ability to absorb abuse and just keep cluelessly going forward works for a madcap montage like this. That scene is when the episode comes closest to reaching the zany, "Looney Tunes" style energy it's clearly striving for. 

Ultimately, I just wish this episode was funnier. The opening scene, of Sonic and the others bickering among themselves while attempting to build the stage for the contest, is probably where most of the laughs happen. Eggman barging into the cook-off and Dave's attempt to compete probably could've been at the center of a less insane episode. I imagine the backstabbing and petty in-fighting of cooking contests could've produced solid comedy. Once the devious old lady shows up, the wackiness starts to feel a little overbearing. Honestly, "a race of pepper people in a chili dog themed episode" is a joke that strikes me as pretty corny. "AoStH" could get away with ass-pull gags like that, because that show was corny and didn't give a shit about anything. So "Chili Dog Day Afternoon" bugs me because it's unwillingness to embrace the weirdness of its story and how out-of-place that weirdness feels within the show's general atmosphere. 

Also, the pepper people just look bad. Like "VeggieTales" rejects or something. The "Sonic Boom" house style has its limits and applying that to stubby vegetable creature pushes pass it. Like I said, this episode has its moments. Knuckles' simpleton charms gets a laugh or two out of me. I really wanted to like it. Ultimately, I was left more bemused than amused by this one. And we don't even find out who won the chili dog contest in the end, nor does the Pepper of Claggerhorn return home, making the entire eleven minutes feel wasted. Next time someone eats something they shouldn't on this show and trips balls, I expect the experience to be more entertaining. [6/10]