Sonic Boom, Episode 1.13: Unlucky Knuckles

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.13: Unlucky Knuckles

Original Air Date: February 14th, 2015

Presumably to dissuade any ominous qualities the number thirteen may have, the "Sonic Boom" writers decided to make the thirteenth episode of the series about the concept of luck. (The episode also just missed airing on Friday the 13th, which would've made things all the more perfect.) Sonic and Knuckles must be incredibly bored because they are playing golf at the start of "Unlucky Knuckles." After repeatedly missing the hole due to unlikely circumstances, Knuckles becomes convinced Sonic is luckier than him. Sticks tells him her crazy theory on the idea, that there's a universal luck balance. That he can redistribute the luck to his side by doing unlucky things. Knuckles goes along with this idea, grievously injuring himself in an attempt to burn through his bad luck, which really concerns his friends. As Eggman has an exceptionally lucky day, Sonic gets an idea.

There's certainly a great deal of debate around whether "luck" even exist. Some say that luck is merely when "preparation meets opportunity." Some go so far as to say that luck, if it exists at all, is a matter of quantum mechanics. I, for one, do believe in luck because I see the universe as so inherently chaotic that, inevitably, that chaos will come to favor random people at random times. Others, however, say that skill and planning are the only factors that determine the outcome of our lives. To quote a previous "Sonic" cartoon, it's all probability. Though this does not account for, say, whether you're born into a rich or poor family but let's not meander too far. It's a conversation worth having is the point.

This is the foundation of "Unlucky Knuckles" and in a surprisingly funny way. Sonic is strictly in the "skill" camp of the luck debate, which makes him seem more reasonable. Especially when compared to Knuckles and Sticks' unhinged ramblings. The episode exaggerates the idea of "luck" to such an absurd degree that the entire concept starts to look silly. Really, are we to believe that there's some sort of amorphous force in the world that, at unpredictable times, rewards some people while punishing others for no knowable reason? And yet, "Unlucky Knuckles" definitively concludes that luck is real, at least within the confines of this cartoon show. Knuckles misses the golf hole repeatedly because of ridiculous contrivances, like birds flying right in front of the ball or a leaf landing just in the right spot. By the end, luck bends the universe in increasingly unlikely ways. "Unlucky Knuckles" concludes that the concept of luck is totally ridiculous and also 100% real.

"Unlucky Knuckles" is fun for another reason. It is, thirteen entries in, the first episode of "Sonic Boom" that actually focuses on Knuckles. As I've said in the past, this version of Knuckles is by far the simplest member of the cast. He's a lovable dumbass, a child-like buffoon that exist to bounce the softest of softball gags off of. He intentionally resists the concept of depth, which must make it tricky to build an episode around him. The writers manage to find an angle here, making Knuckles' stupidity the crux of the story. Only a total fool would go along with such an absurd plan. Yet you end up sympathizing with Knuckles along the way, because who among us hasn't occasionally felt like the universe's chew toy? It's a good way to get us to both laugh at Knuckles' misfortune without the episode seeming mean-spirited about it.

Comedy, after all, is timing. This is especially true of slapstick comedy. A pratfall coming two seconds too late is the difference between a laugh and something seeming desperate. "Unlucky Knuckles," astonishingly, understands this. It's shown in a simple gag. After repeatedly abusing himself, by swinging into trees or leaping in gorges, Knuckles is battered and bruised. Sonic expresses concern but Knuckles can only focus on his petty fixation on gofer ball. After walking away from this conversation, a refrigerator lands on Knuckles. It would've been easy to fuck this joke up. If the world is too wacky, inexplicable events such as these loose their shock value. If too much attention is focused on Knuckles getting hurt, the same thing happens. By distracting us just enough, the random event of our echidna pal getting squished by a falling fridge generates a laugh. 

If timing is crucial to comedy, delivery is equally important. A lot of episodes of "Sonic Boom" have sunk potentially funny lines by being too madcap or too relentlessly smarmy. "Unlucky Knuckles," perhaps because its central premise is so wacky, goes the deadpan approach with its dialogue. The results are fantastic. Sticks' nonsensical belief in "the luck balance of the universe" isn't done with a wink. This is also true when Sonic and Tails talk to her about it later. Knuckles never waivers in his commitment to his plan, making his endlessly masochistic behavior seem funnier than it would've been. Sonic mostly becomes the straight man here, in contrast to the absurdity around him. All of these elements are downplayed, to balance out the wackiness of the rest of the story. 

You can really see this in Eggman's subplot. The villain is introducing testing his laser guns... What he's actually doing is playing laser tag, a joke that might go over the really young kids' heads but is thankfully not explained. Eggman is also a believer in the luck balance, an amusingly unexpected contrast to his hyper-rational scientist beliefs. When things start to go spectacularly wrong in the last act, he just mumbles excuses to himself and flies off. Here is where Mike Pollick's vocal performance really makes a difference, the casualness he brings to the lines really helping to sell the joke. The same is true about Travis Willingham's performance as Knuckles. He manages to make an exchange with Amy, about feelings, one of the highlights of the episode. 

Though this one does raise one question. During his attempt to burn off his bad luck, Knuckles enters a canyon that is seemingly always being pelted with falling asteroids. That's the second time in this show that falling space debris has come up. Kind of weird, don't you think? Further proof that Seaside Island is actually some sort of post-apocalyptic wasteland. Anyway, "Unlucky Knuckles" is definitely one of my favorite episodes of "Boom" so far, because it's both really funny and gave me some deeper themes to chew on. I like it when that happens. [7/10]

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.