Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.56: The Little Merhog

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.56: The Little Merhog

Original Air Date: November 26th, 1993

While it's fun to credit lonely sailors who were so horny that manatees started to look good to them with the creation of the mermaid myth, the truth is stories about people who live in the scene are as old as myths themselves. Man's relationship with the ocean, both life giving and incredibly dangerous, has always made it a source of awe and terror and wonder. The mermaid holds perhaps the most prominent place in pop culture of all seafaring myths. Part of this can be credited to Disney. The blockbuster success of 1989's "The Little Mermaid" didn't just birth the Disney Renaissance. It also led to a flood of knockoff mermaid products. Being of its time and place, "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" also rode this wave of newfound mermaid fascination... Twice, actually. Airing at the opposite end of the series as "Submerged Sonic" was "The Little Merhog," another episode that had out fleet-footed hero sleeping with the fishes. 

Sonic and Tails are out fishing when Tails accidentally hooks a half-hedgehog/half-fish. The Merhog is named Merna and her underwater home of Mertopia is in danger. A villain named Captain Memo plans to demolish the city and create some extremely oceanfront property. Sonic quickly gets the scheme to alert Robotnik that another villain is trying to conquer Mobius. This leads Robotnik's own underwater forces fighting with Memo's. However, the two soon put aside their differences to conquer together, forcing Sonic and the residents of Mertopia to fight back.

"The Little Merhog" is the rarest of "AoStH" episodes: One that has actual jokes. Yes, there are several gags here that genuinely made me smile or chuckle. I guess Captain Memo's name is a not-totally-connecting pun on Captain Nemo. But the idea of a submarine pirate obsessed with dictating memorandums is likably absurd. There's a moment where Robotnik is working on his putting game, a contrast between a mundane activity and his supervillain personality. Robotnik builds a submarine with his face, because of course he does, but the show takes that to its absurd conclusion by having the torpedoes shoot out of the nostrils. At one point, the show even mocks itself a little when Sonic's catchphrase is muffled by him diving underwater. Even the throwaway moments, like monstrous leftovers in the fridge reaching for some tossed aside pizza, represent somewhat successful attempts at actual humor. Sure, there's plenty of loud wackiness and facile slapstick but "The Little Merhog" still has to rank among the funniest episodes of this show.

"The Little Merhog" is also notable for including a villain totally unrelated to Robotnik. In fact, half of this episode doesn't even have Robotnik in it. The egg man's inevitable presence leads to an unusually conniving scheme on Sonic's behalf. He decides to play "Yojimbo," hoping the two bad guys destroy each other and save the town in the process. That alone would've been a solid premise for an episode but "The Little Merhog" throws in a further swerve, when the villains fight and then team-up. The episode then reveals itself as a story of plucky underdogs standing up to their oppressors, as the Mertopians find the strength to fight their own battles. These are all tried-and-true premises but I'm shocked "AoStH" deploys them all as well as it does. 

Maybe the reason the jokes here work better than usual is that the episode kind of takes its premise seriously. Yes, the idea of an underwater kingdom of mermaid hedgehogs is ridiculous. And the motivation of a villain razing their city to the seabed to make mini-malls and condos is silly. (Though just an absurdist exaggeration of actual capitalism.) But you do feel something for the Merhogs' plight. When Memo's giant squid shaped submarine and Robotnik's Robotnik-shaped submarine go about destroying Mertopia, it feels surprisingly serious. There's still goofy sound effects laid overtop but there's not much funny about people aquatic humanoids fleeing in terror as their homes are destroyed. When Merna uses her Aquaman-like powers to summon a horde of sea life, to fight the invaders back, it's a genuine hero moment. The show actually earns that. I'm as shocked as you are. 

I want to credit "The Little Merhog's" quality to writer Jeffrey Scott but he wrote several terrible episodes too. One trademark of Scott's I have noticed is that he always writes Sonic as a ladies man. From the minute Sonic sees the comely Merna, he immediately begins flirting with her. There's a scene where the two are playfully splashing in a fountain, under a busty Merhog statue. The episode concludes with the two sharing a heart-creating smooch, the G-rated kids show version of our hero getting laid. (We can assume Merna was never seen again because Sonic ran into the age-old mermaid dilemma.) Despite a distressing close-up of Tails' foot and the queen of Mertopia's matronly bosom, this is not one of the freakishly horny episodes of this show. It's just horny in the normal way nineties kids cartoons were. 

Going into this episode, I figured it would be one of those episodes that uses vague pop culture parody as a clothesline to hang dire bits of would-be comedic cartoon chaos on. Instead, I found myself invested in the plight of the characters, amused by the goofy new villain, and actually enjoying the experience. This is a rare example of this show briefly rising out of the muck of the disposable nineties cartoon goop to deliver a halfway decent episode. If nothing else, it's a lot better than "Submerged Sonic." [7/10]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.54: Robotnikland

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.54: Robotnikland

Original Air Date: November 25th, 1993

Whether you call him Eggman or Robotnik, his motivations usually remain the same across all "Sonic" media. The villain wants to subjugate the world to his will, usually via the application of robotics. Yet an odd quirk reoccurs throughout several versions of Robotnik, including the various games, comics, and the Japanese anime. He wants to build something called "Robotnikland" or "Eggman Land." What is that exactly? While the term is sometimes synonymous with his empire in general, it seems Eggman Land is an evil amusement park based on the doctor's image. This is a ridiculous idea – that Ian Flynn tried to normalize somewhat by also making Eggman Land a factory/command base – but ya know what? Conquering the world and then building an evil amusement park based on yourself is prime supervillain stuff. 

"Robotnikland" had been part of the character's motivations from early on, so it seems likely the "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" writers drew from that when creating the eponymous episode. Robotnik converts an amusement park named Mobius Land to reflect his own sick goals. Sonic is feeling a bit lonely on his birthday, unaware that Tails is planning a surprise party, so he leaps at the invitation to the park. When he gets there, he discovers that Mobius Land has become Robotnikland, a park designed specifically to torment him. While Sonic turns the table on his rotund capturer, Tails and friends seek to free him. 

The most fascinating moment in "Robotnikland" actually has nothing to do with the amusement park premise. It's the very first scene, a peek at the horrific domesticity of the Robotnik household. Scratch and Grounder are preparing breakfast for their boss, as he smiles while reading a newspaper and sipping coffee. (And, for some reason, wearing a fez.) When Scratch presents him with pancakes instead of eggs, Robotnik smashes him over the head with the food and beats him with the server dish. Scratch collapses to the ground... And gushes blood. Okay, so I guess it's ostensibly maple syrup from the pancakes. But the visual is undeniably morbid and I'm absolutely sure that was intentional. Something as simple as being presented with a different breakfast being met with horrible violence can't help but remind me of an abusive relationship. Robotnik's punishment of Grounder is more cartoonish but, by then, the parallels are already established. It's a moment that's meant to be funny in a goofy slapstick way and instead becomes funny in a "this is kind of fucked-up" way. 

This scene sets up a mood of cruelty throughout the rest of the episode. After Sonic makes his way to the park, he quickly turns the tables on Scratch and Grounder. After they are trapped by mechanical animals, he teases and mocks them before sitting back and watching them be beaten. Later, after Sonic successfully takes over the park, Robotnik and his sidekicks are subjected to increasingly surreal torments. This includes a nightmarish dark ride where the baddies are terrorized by ghostly visions and Scratch's shadow has its head chopped off. Once again, "AoStH's" grotesque slapstick rises to the level of sadistic, Sonic laughing with glee as his enemies are tortured.

If it wasn't apparent by now, "Robotnikland" is an unusually violent and shrill episode of this typically violent and shrill series. The last few minutes just get louder and wackier and denser as the bad guys are terrorized more. Yet the signs that this is going to be an especially obnoxious episode occurs early. Robotnik traps Sonic in a massive pinball machine, a sequence which necessitates even more flashing colors, loud sounds, and bad animation than usual. What makes the pinball scene interesting, and not just annoying, is that this is not the first time "Sonic" media featured a scene like this. A similar sequence was in an episode of "SatAM" and the kids book that loosely adapted it. I can only assume this is a sequence Sega of America insisted early "Sonic" products feature, which is why it showed up so much. (This also means this episode has more pinball in it then the episode ostensibly adapting "Sonic Spinball.") 

"Robotnikland" is an episode with so much weird stuff in it that it becomes interesting. But interesting isn't the same thing as good. There was a strong premise here. Turning the amusement park, a source of fun, into a source of terror is always a good contrast to play with. "Robotnikland" does indeed veer towards horror, in that dark ride scene and an uncanny moment where Grounder wears a spooky mask. Moreover, Sonic is trapped in the park, its walls too strong to spin dash through. But "Violence Voyager" this ain't. Sonic could've been vulnerable. He begins the episode feeling a little lonely, a little letdown on his birthday, and then ends up stuck in a place made just to fuck with him. Yet this poses no challenge to the hedgehog. He immediately goes God-mode and turns every attraction against the bad guys. I wish this show would understand that every thing, even comedy, works better when the hero is at a disadvantage. 

Still, weaknesses and all, this is too odd an episode not for me to sort of like it. The guests Tails invite to Sonic's party include some familiar faces from past episodes. That would be Dr. Caninestein, Chester Cheetah, the hideous Wes Weasly customer from the "Spinball" episode, a few other guys nobody gives a shit about, Miss Possum from "Magnificent Sonic," and one of the Beach Bunnies from "Prehistoric Sonic." (Since the last two are wearing very little clothing, one assumes Sonic is getting a far more special birthday present later in the evening.) Also, this episode features some unfortunate culturally insensitive gags. Such as some brainwashed zombies – another really random moment – doing a stereotypical Egyptian walk set to stereotypical Egyptian music or Scratch having a bone through his nose while dressed as an African native. 

This is another episode from Jeffrey Scott, whose episodes are rarely forgettable, even if that might be for the wrong reasons. While not on the level of previous surreal shit-fests like "Boogey-Mania" or "Too Tall Tails," "Robotnikland" is still a memorably fucked-up dose of Sonic insanity. [6/10]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.53: Honey, I Shrunk the Hedgehog

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.53: Honey, I Shrunk the Hedgehog 

Original Air Date: November 18th, 1993

It's somewhat forgotten today but "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" was a surprise blockbuster back in 1989. The film's success was really a testament to the ever-green appeal of the shrinking movie. From "The Incredibly Shrinking Man" up through "Fantastic Voyage," "Innerspace," and the "Ant-Man" movies, it's a premise Hollywood returns to about every decade and usually to much popularity. The "Sonic" franchise is not exempt from this fascination. An early Archie comic would follow a similar path while the fifty-third episode of "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" directly paid homage to this miniature subgenre.

"Honey, I Shrunk the Hedgehog" has Robotnik creating his most diabolical plot yet. Using a shrink ray, he has miniaturized natural resource production centers from all around Mobius. Collecting them in a very Kandor-like jar, he un-shrinks the oil, gems, and other resources to use in his global domination ploy. His latest target is Mole Mountain, a hill full of coal. Unbeknownst to Robotnik, Sonic and Tails are on Mole Mountain to help the local miners become more productive at their jobs. Shrunk with the rest of the mountain, the tiny Sonic and Tails soon escape Robotnik's jar and go on an adventure through his laboratory. 

One of the big appeals of the shrinking movie premise is that it's an easy reversal of the giant animal movie. Why make one small animal big when you can make people tiny, thus rendering every animal big? In this episode, Sonic and Tails grapple with a lizard, a rat, and – in a likely homage to the original "The Fly" – a spider. It's a neat series of obstacles to run through. Moreover, I think it's human nature to look at tiny insects and wondered what their lives are like. It takes us minutes to walk across a room but it's an epic journey for a flea-sized person. (There's even a bit where the teeny moles infect Robotnik's mustaches like fleas.) "Honey, I Shrunk the Hedgehog" also touches on that. Honestly, I'm shocked a "Sonic" game has never featured a level like this. Running a little Sonic through a giant-sized but otherwise mundane room sounds like a fun stage. 

Many shrinking stories – like the aforementioned Archie "Sonic" issue – venture inside living bodies. This too is a natural instinct, to wonder what the germs inside us go through. Here, that reasoning is applied to Scratch and Grounder. Sonic and Tails sneak inside their heads and find the control panels, taking over their bodies. This, in a roundabout way, concludes the character arcs Robotnik's two robot henchmen have been veering towards recently. Scratch and Grounder are finally allowed to rebel against their abusive creator/father figure, albeit under no control of their own. Since the status quo is king, this is probably the closest the two will ever get to getting back at their bad boss. There's also something amusing about hearing obvious Sonic and Tails dialogue spoken in Scratch and Grounder's voices. 

Once again, Robotnik's villainy shifts with the needs of the story. In recent episodes, he's tried to demolish an orphanage, take over the world with mind-control pollen, and dominate a television show. Here, he takes a more reasonable path towards world conquering. Namely, by seizing control of Mobius' natural resources. This implies that Mobius is a world dependent on gasoline and coal, which we've had very little evident of up to this point. Instead of just seizing control of these resources with brute military force, he uses wacky sci-fi gadgetry. But the pay-off is the same. This is a message to kids that he who controls the fuel controls the world. Which certainly makes Robotnik seem way more devious than he has recently.

Yet the plot still raises more questions then it answers. In the opening scene, we see Sonic gift a group of mole miners with shoes styled after his own and hard hats outfitted with blue spines. This seemingly gives the moles Sonic-like speed and sawing abilities. So, wait, his speed is in his shoes? Didn't they do a whole episode contradicting that? Why do Sonic-hats give moles spin dash powers? Moreover, where the hell did Sonic get these hats and shoes? Could anyone have access to these accessories? Why not gift s group of likeminded individuals with these and form a whole Sonic squad to take down Robotnik? That seems like a way more practical application of this technology then helping people strip-mine Mobius' natural resources faster. 

Also, since when has Sonic branched out into corporate partnership and motivational speaking? Granted, we don't know that the mole foreman paid Sonic to help. He seems to give the superpower granting hats and shoes away for free. But the implications are many. Is this a side gig to Sonic traveling the globe and fighting evil? Is this how he pays for all those chili dogs? The idea of Sonic being a corporate shill, helping out the historically shitty mining industry, isn't the only disturbing implication of this episode. For some probably racist reason, all the miner moles have Scottish or Irish accents. The foreman even has a red beard and wears a kilt. Ya know, that's a stereotype I was previously unfamiliar with and I somehow doubt our proud Scot-Irish friends appreciate being compared to animals that dig through dirt all day. 

Sorry if I spend these reviews rambling on about minor details, instead of discussing the episode's events. There's not a lot to talk about as far as the actual jokes and writing goes. There's a pretty dire slapstick sequence early on, where Scratch mistakes Grounder's head for the shrink ray's battery. Naturally, Robotnik gets his daily dose of humiliation. But I will give this episode some points for utilizing its premise in quasi-interesting ways and not annoying me too much. I've learned to be thankful for attributes like that. [6/10]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.55: The Mobius 5000

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.55: The Mobius 5000

Original Air Date: November 17, 1993

Race car driving has been popular for many, many years but, as far as I recall, professional racing first became huge in the nineties. NASCAR was and is often mocked as the sport of choice for toothless rednecks but star drivers like Dale Ealehardt still made it extremely popular at the time. You know this is true, because there was even a cartoon show inspired by the brand. As you probably guessed, I never had any interest in this sport either... But car races do have a certain cinematic quality to them. There's been many highly entertaining carsploitation flicks made over the decades. Considering it's a franchise all about going fast, it's not shocking that Sonic and car races would be mashed up sooner rather than later. 

A conclusion we can see in "The Mobius 5000," the fifty-fifth episode of "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog." Robotnik threatens to evict a porcupine orphanage unless they pay him 10,000 Mobians. This happens to be the exact amount offered to the winner of the Mobius 5000, a perilous 24-hour car race across the country. After the porcupines go to Sonic for help, he immediately decides winning the race is the best chance at getting that money. Dr. Caninestein whips up a car and they're off. But Robotnik has planned for all of this and has entered four murderous race-bots into the race alongside Sonic. 

As I said, putting the speedy Sonic in a racing context makes perfect sense. Sega touched upon this idea as early as 1994, with the Game Gear exclusive "Sonic Drift" series, and would continue to explore it in titles like "Sonic R," "Sonic Rivals," "Sonic Riders," and so on. It's a natural idea, is the point. Since "AoStH" had already done an episode based around a foot race, sticking Sonic in a race car was the next best thing. "The Mobius 5000" does a surprisingly good job of blending game elements with the race premise. The racers pass through the Chemical Plant and Casio Nights zones, those settings making ideal challenges for a race. (There's also an ice stage, predicting "Sonic 3's" Ice Cap Sone.) Sonic makes a stopover in the Special Zone, as a morally dubious short-cut to the finish line. It's a lot more than I was expecting. 

Also surprising is that the race-bots Robotnik cooks up to sabotage Sonic are... Kind of cool? They have slick, aerodynamic designs. Each has built-in gadgets, weapons, and cool code names. Scorpion has a laser shooting stinger, Scraper has a bulldozer blade, for flipping and damaging opponents. Cross-Moto is a motorcycle-style bot with a tank torrent-like head. Speedo... okay, Speedo doesn't have a cool name or gimmick but three outta four ain't bad. Most shocking of all, each of the Race Bots are treated like actual threats. They aren't goofy or ridiculous. They're actually totally functional villains. 

Furthermore, this is one of the few "AoStH" episodes were violence has actual consequences. Yeah, Robotnik gets squished with a wall. Scratch and Grounder are subjected to their usual humiliation, of being exploded and dismembered. But the Race Bots? Sonic kills all of them. Scorpion's stinger is tossed into an electric line. Sonic tricks Scraper into smashing through a frozen-over lake. Cross-Moto is flipped into the air and slammed into the ground. Speedo is straight-up sawed in two. They are never shown being reassembled or joking after their defeats. They're fucking dead. I really didn't expect this show to have as much in common with "Death Race 2000" as it did "The Cannonball Run." It's shockingly direct and brutal for this show.

Despite Sonic viciously dispatching his opponents, this is still a goofy slapstick show. Scratch and Grounder pop in from time-to-time during the race. There's an odd sequence where they decide to help Sonic. After he's buried in some ice, Scratch and Grounder become jealous of the Race Bots and decide to sabotage their success by freeing Sonic. (He repays them by burying them in the same ice, cause Sonic doesn't give a shit.) It's such an odd moment, since the two are back to trying to explode Sonic's car a few scenes later. I'd say the writers painted themselves into a corner but come on. Later in the episode, Sonic spins the car out of a pit of deadly chemicals. The hedgehog can speed-fuck his way out of any scenario. I sincerely think the showrunners just wanted to further develop this idea of Scratch and Grounder being needy, unloved kids desperate to please their dad/creator. 

It all adds up for a fairly entertaining episode, relatively free of the annoying quirks of this program. If "AoStH" maintained this balance of goofy humor, serious action, and game-derived story beats all the time, I'd enjoy the show more often. (It doesn't hurt that Caninestein replaces the more commonly appearing, and more annoying, Von Schlemmer here.) With only twelve episodes left, is the show going to end strong? Definitely not but I still kind of liked this one. I'm as shocked as you are. [7/10]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.57: Road Hog

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.57: Road Hog

Original Air Date: November 16th, 1993

This is one of those "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" episodes with about three different premises, so here we go. While running through a small town, Sonic and Tails are given a speeding ticket. Unable to pay the fine, they are quickly arrested and put on a chain-gang, doing hard labor. There, they encounter Colonel Stench, a stinky skunk chemist who has discovered a type of flower with mind-controlling properties. It turns out Robotnik is already aware of this pollen and plans on using it to seize control of the world. Stench has already perfected an antidote, which our heroes use to escape. After Sonic faces Robotnik, he gets blasted with the pollen and brain-washed into being unaware of his speed. Through further contrivances, he ends up part of a biker gang of pigs. This leaves Tails and Stench alone to stop Robotnik's mind-warping plot. Got all that?

Once again, "AoStH" stumbled its way into a progressive political statement. Here, we see a small town speed trap squeezing travelers for cash via speeding tickets. When that doesn't work, they become legal slave labor, prisoners damned to a life time of hard work with little chance of escape. (More days are added onto Tails and Sonic's sentence for the smallest infractions.) We soon learn this is all a scheme by an evil corporate master to imprison people who can damage his latest plot. Such as Sonic and Colonel Stench. The prison guards are presented as literally faceless, hulking minions, all literally under Robotnik's control. In other words: Prison labor is unjust and simply another tool by those-in-power to repress undesirables. 

This episode ends with a "Sonic Sez" segment encouraging kids to go to police officers for help. Which is funny, because everything else here is directly opposed to that message. This is the first, and only time, police have been shown enforcing a speed limit on Sonic. One can assume that the small town cops are also under Robotnik's control, that the entire ordeal was a set-up to capture the hedgehog. See, kids, cops serve their political masters, not the public trust. Later, while part of the biker gang, Sonic spin-dashes through a cop car, the officers inside being totally ineffectual. During the edutainment segment, Sonic says it is the cops' job to protect you but this is, in fact, not the law. It is very odd that whoever was responsible for the "Sonic Sez" segment were so disconnected from the moral of the actual cartoon. Sonic says ACAB, no matter what. 

Anyway: Throughout nearly every incarnation of the "Sonic" franchise, Robotnik's ultimate goal is to bend the world to his will. Through "SatAM" and the Archie comics, he did this via Roboticization. Since Robotnik doesn't seem to remember the handy ray gun he had during the Chaos Emerald saga, Roboticizers don't really exist in this show. Dousing the world with mind-control pollen is the next best thing. Honestly, this is one of "AoStH" Robotnik's best schemes. If he had just killed Stench when he was captured, he absolutely would have succeeded this time. If this show had any use for continuity, control of the brain-washing pollen would probably be an on-going plot. Its effects seemingly have few limits, meaning whole empires could be built in days with it. Or, counter wise, Sonic could've just thrown some on Robotnik and ended that threat immediately. Alas, this show is not that smart, so this is just another goofy one-off concept. 

Instead of running with the ramifications of its actual plot, "Road Hog" functions mostly as a goofy amnesia episode. This was such a stock story at the time that both the early Archie comics and "SatAM" did variations on the exact same idea. It seems "Sonic forgets who he is" was an idea writers just couldn't resist in the early nineties. Instead of turning against his friends, Sonic just spends a good chunk of this episode unaware of his powers or hanging out with that biker gang. Aside from a decent gag about the hedgehog suddenly preferring cheeseburgers to chili dogs, this plot device really goes nowhere. 

This is one of those episodes that really feel like the writers had multiple ideas and haphazardly threw them together, until they had twenty minutes of material. See also: That the episode is named after the pig biker gang even though they contribute little to the actual story. Evil biker gangs is another stock plot TV writers couldn't resist - even "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" did it - and this show adds little to the idea. (Though it is sort of funny that one of the pigs wears a Kaiser helmet.) That Sonic uses the pollen to turn the pigs good at the end is a really weird choice. It's almost like the show is saying that mind-control is bad, except when Sonic does it.

Still, this episode is better than some if only because it features fewer dumb jokes than usual. Colonel Stench, as you might've guessed, smells bad. Thankfully, the episode doesn't linger on that juvenile gag. Scratch and Grounder get tormented, and even bemoan that they're going to die at the end, and Sonic humiliates Robotnik. Par for the course but these same elements have been more obnoxious in the past. When you've watched fifty-two of these things, you just have to be grateful when one is less grating than it could've been. [6/10]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.52: Baby-Sitter Jitters

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.52: Baby-Sitter Jitters

Original Air Date: November 11th, 1993

"Baby-Sitter Jitters" begins with Robotnik casually preparing to murder an entire village. He's going to explode a dam, flooding the community of Beaverton, in order to create some pricy beach-front property. After a signal is sent to Sonic via crop duster, the hedgehog races in to the save the town. Cleaver Beaver, the town leader, is grateful and plans to throw a huge cook-out for Sonic. However, that means he has to leave to get supplies, causing Tails to volunteer to watch the three little beaver children. The beaver babies turn out to be total hellions, stressing Sonic out. When Scratch and Grounder show up, the situation gets more hectic. 

Within the opening minutes of "Baby-Sitter Jitters," Sonic patches up an exploded dam and then spins a tidal wave of water back into its original location before anyone in Beaverton even gets wet. This is such a ridiculous, "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace"-level act of superheroics that it proves Sonic is essentially unstoppable. Instead of trying to go bigger, the show zeroes in on a much smaller, domestic issue for Sonic to resolve. The God-like hedgehog can handle disasters with ease but can he take care of babies? He's just sixteen years old, after all, and parenthood really isn't on his agenda. In theory, this is a solid premise for an episode. 

But there's a problem. See, there's this subgenre of children's entertainment wherein adults are continuously humiliated and physically battered by tiny children. This is usually a staple of underachieving live-action films like "Baby's Day Out," "Clifford," "Problem Child," or "Baby Geniuses." ("Home Alone" is, I guess, on the more sophisticated end of the spectrum.) But cartoons have done it too. The idea, I suppose, is that children's lives are at the whims of adults, so seeing them take back some of that control is empowering for kids. Or maybe it's just an easy reversal, the hope being that tiny children destroying adults is suitably ironic enough to provide laughs.

The problem with this is... Usually, these shows characterize the kids or babies as not merely mischievous but utterly diabolical. Everything they do is designed to make the adults' lives hell. This is also true of "Baby-Sitter Jitters." The beaver babies are just demons. They scream at Sonic, chew through their crib, drop a cabinet on his head, and shatter the one plate he's able to save. When Scratch and Grounder pick the kids up, they drop the robots out of a fucking airplane. The episode ends with a reign of chaos, of the babies wrecking Robotnik's shit. (Even utilizing a random set of golf clubs at one point.) 

If the beaver triplets where just humiliating the bad guys, that would at least fit the show's usual antics. But, after Sonic saves them, they spray him with milk for no reason. If they just babbled and shit their pants, like normal babies, that would be annoying but understandable. Their destructive habits, and the sadistic joy they take from this destruction, elevates the hideous beaver babies to sociopath levels. The show seems to find this behavior amusing but it's just infuriating. These infants are pure demons and deserve to burn in Hell where demons belong. 

The fact that the episode devotes so much of its time to the Hellish antics of these evil babies is bad enough. Worst yet, the episode barely has any other jokes. Tails mixes up Sonic's fondness for "babes" for babies, the cutting-edge level of wordplay you should expect here. (See also: The constant visual puns about beavers and dams.) Writer Jeffrey Scott throws in a gag where Scratch cross dresses, the second time he's done that joke. No, Jeff, Sonic is the main cross dresser on this show! There's also an extended gag where Robotnik is caught in the shower, telling his rubber ducky brush how much he loves it. Which is more freaky and off-putting than funny. 

In other words, it's a miserable episode. It might be the most obnoxious episode of a show that was annoying by-default. Thank god the horrible beaver babies were one-off characters. I couldn't handle any more of these screaming monstrosities. Though it's sort of impressive that Jeffrey Scott wrote one of the best episodes of this show and what might be the worst. That's range, I guess. [3/10]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.51: Prehistoric Sonic

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.51: Prehistoric Sonic

Original Air Date: October 29th, 1993

Here we are at the final part of the Quest for the Chaos Emeralds saga. While I'm not sure I saw much of this storyline as a kid, I can definitely recall seeing the grand finale. As I've said in the past, even as a little kid, I was somewhat dismissive of "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog." I watched it and liked it but that's because Sonic was in it. I was a pretentious child, so obviously I preferred the serious storytelling of "SatAM." But "Prehistoric Sonic" made an impression on me and, at the time, I remember wishing more "Sonic" media had this kind of scope and ingenuity. (Though I didn't verbalize like that, on account of being five.)

So let's summarize this bitch: Sonic and Tails are back on the beach, where a quartet of literal bikini beach bunnies are using Sonic as a volleyball. (Weird kink, Sonic, but okay.) Dr. Caninestein appears with his latest time machine modification –  its a skateboard now –  and tells Sonic to go back to prehistoric days. That's where the Chaos Emerald of Life is located. Robotnik, having escaped the last trap Sonic stuck him in, arrives at the same time. After the required fight with dinosaurs and appeasing a volcano god, Robotnik successfully retrieves the stone. With the power to bring anything to life, he defeats Sonic long enough to get a head start. Heading back through time, Robotnik gathers the other three Emeralds. In the present, he unites the stones and becomes a god-like entity. While their enemy is seemingly unstoppable, Sonic and Tails devises a clever plan to even the playing field a little. 

In the final part of Quest for the Chaos Emeralds, "AoStH" achieves something I never would've thought possible: It becomes genuinely kind of epic. After uniting the stones, Robotnik becomes a disturbingly buff giant with freakish fingernails, a previously unnoted benefit of combining the Emeralds. He immediately has all of Mobius worshipping him as a god and tosses Sonic and Tails back to the beginning of time. Only Sonic and Tails retrieving past versions of themselves, forming a ten strong super team, is enough to defeat him. If you don't worry about the logic of this or the paradoxes it causes –  the various Sonics touch each other in a huddle, so I guess the "Timecop" rules don't apply here –  that's pretty badass. I never would've guessed a show that's usually dumb and lazy could conjure up a comic book spectacle like of this level. Considering "SatAM" used its own time travel arc just to explore its own backstory, I'm not sure any other "Sonic" cartoon could've pulled off a plot of this scope. 

In fact, several moments throughout "Prehistoric Sonic" feel so serious, I almost can't believe it. Robotnik has to sacrifice something of value to a volcano god in order to earn the Soul Stone Chaos Emerald of Life. (This is not a steal from Marvel, as the comic book Soul Stone has a way more convoluted origin than what they did in the movie. So who ripped off who is the question, I guess.) He viciously tosses in Scratch and Grounder without a moment's thought. After creating some magma men to fight Sonic, Robotnik even says the word "kill!" Later, while grabbing the Emerald of Invincibility, Scratch and Grounder physically threaten Gwendolyn with death. How is this the same show that did a whole episode about hot dog people? 

As serious as "Prehistoric Sonic" gets, the show's trademark goofiness is still present. Writer Jeffrey Scott casually breaks the rules he previously established. Robotnik does not need to be king to use the Invincibility Emerald, as he just snatches it off Arfur and uses it freely. Robotnikhotep does not crumble into dust after Robotnik takes the Immortality Emerald, allowing Sonic to unravel the mummy. Enemies do not collapse against the High Supreme Robotnik when physically attacking him, as they previously did. (Then again, considering Robotnik's not wearing Arfur's crown, maybe the invincibility stone isn't working correctly. But I'm not giving this show that much credit.) And Sonic can just do whatever the fuck he wants. After Robotnik throws him and Tails into the volcano, spin-dashes upward through the air, as if flying. How can he do that? Because "Fuck you, physics!" But I don't know why Sonic and Tails were worried about the lava, as Scratch and Grounder later crawl out of the volcano, unharmed. 

I am, of course, thinking about it way too hard. In fact, "AoStH's" complete disregard of logic and reason works in its favor this time. Upon arriving in prehistoric days, Robotnik and his gang encounter dinosaurs. Because dinosaurs are awesome. Robotnik then uses his Robo-Transmogrifier to turn a T-Rex and a pterodactyl into robots. Because robot dinosaurs are the only thing awesome-er than regular dinosaurs. Sonic later rides upon the Robo-Rex's back, spinning him into a giant, Sonic-style Buzzsaw. Sure, it doesn't make sense but who cares? The Rule of Cool wins here. I love the idea that anything Sonic touches instantly gets Sonic-like properties. Other touches in the episode also amuse. Such as a clan of caveman teddy bears - cave bears, if you will - or the Big Bang being triggered by an enormous stick of dynamite. This show really should have used its elastic cartoon logic for outrageous over-the-top fun like this more often.

You'll notice that the above is a lot to squeeze into twenty-one minutes. And it is. By the time the gang of Sonics and Tailses arrive in the present, there's only a few minutes left to whoop the Supreme High Robotnik's supreme high ass. After the other Sonics promise to return the Chaos Emeralds to their prior owners, and destroy the time machine afterwards, the episode abruptly ends. We need time for the Sonic Sez segment on electrical safety, after all. The fact that Scott could've squeeze all that plot into one episode is pretty impressive actually. But I wish DiC or Bohbot or whoever could've allowed one more episode for this story arc, to really give the climax the proper amount of time it needs. Any story where normal heroes defeat a god-like opponent unavoidably ends up feeling a little anticlimactic. But this showdown definitely would've benefited from a little more breathing room. 

It's also interesting that, out of all the superpowers the show could've assigned the final Chaos Emerald, that they went with the Power of Life. Unassisted time travel or reality warping abilities probably would've made more sense. Yet would those powers be as attractive to Robotnik? Throughout this show, and really in every incarnation, Robotnik is obsessed with creating life. He wants to make robots that are better than flesh-and-bone creatures. This is part of his desire to recreate the world in his tyrannical vision, to make everything loyal to him. (And, in "AoStH," absolutely stems from the lack-of-control he felt during his abusive childhood.) The ability to turn literally anything into a living, breathing weapon or slave is perhaps his ultimate desire. And this is why he hates Sonic, whose naturally chaotic nature makes him unwilling to obey rules, so much. But for one brief moment, Robotnik achieves that goal, of being a god-like entity capable of absolute rule, that can bend anyone or anything to his twisted will.

I'm certain Jeffrey Scott or anybody else working on "AoStH" didn't think it through that much. "Prehistoric Sonic," epic as it is, is still undeniably sloppy. Yet I still admire the show for pulling this off at all. I'm not done watching the show yet but I'm certain this will be "AoStH" high-point. When Ian Flynn was cannibalizing this show for the comic's reboot, I really wish he could've pulled ideas from this story arc. Comics is where a story of this ambition and scope truly could've flourished. As it stands now, "Prehistoric Sonic" is a highly entertaining and shockingly ambitious climax to a highly uneven four-parter. [7/10]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.50: Robotnik's Pyramid Scheme

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.50: Robotnik's Pyramid Scheme

Original Air Date: October 28, 1993

In case you were wondering how much my younger self fit the socially withdrawn nerd stereotype, I too was an Egypt kid. While it never burned as bright as many of my other fixations and fascinations, I always thought ancient Egyptian culture and mythology was pretty cool and spent a lot of time reading about it as a kid. I may or may not have even kept an ankh keychain on my backpack in fifth grade. Regardless of what this says about my social standing among my peers, I think lots of kids go through an Egypt phase. Which may be why the third episode of "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog's" Quest for the Chaos Emeralds arc was set in ancient Egypt... Sort of. 

In a surprising bit of continuity, this episode begins right where the last one left off: Robotnik, Scratch, and Grounder dropped into a Roman coliseum while still locked in their medieval stocks. They escape quickly, jump in the time machine, and head back to ancient Mobigypt. There, Robotnik attempts to interrupt Sonic's ancestor, Masonic the humble bricklayer, from falling in love with a female hedgehog named Penelope. His very existence threatened, Sonic goes back in time with Dr. Caninestein's new time traveling boogie board. Once insuring that his great^x100 grandfather scores, Sonic gets down to the business of stopping Robotnik from retrieving the Chaos Emerald of Immortality. 

This is why I said this episode was sort of set in ancient Egypt. Much like the King Arthur episode, "AoStH" presents a goofy, Sonic-ified funny animal version of our Earthly past. (Humans and animal people do not seem to have integrated at this point in Mobius history, as Robotnik and his ancestors are the only people present.) Aside from the trappings of pyramids, mummies, and eyeliner, there's no attempt to blend actual Egyptian history into Sonic's world. Sonic's ancestor being named "Masonic" is a cute pun but off by a couple hundred years. While Scratch later dresses as the properly Egyptian Horus, Grounder is dressed like a Lamassu, a creature from Sumerian mythology. There's a gag about a flying carpet, which is an Arabian thing. At one point, Robotnik's chariot spouts spikes from its wheels, a "Ben-Hur" reference. "Ben-Hur," by the way, is set around the crucifixion of Christ, about a thousand years after ancient Egypt as we think of it. Masonic and Penelope – a Greek name – get married in a very Christian-like ceremony. Not that I'd expect accuracy from this show – chili dog stands also existed in ancient Mobigypt – but writer Jeffrey Scott really didn't do his research. 

I will give Scott credit for introducing the Grandfather Paradox into this dumbass kids show. At the episode's beginning, Caninestein warns Sonic that his ancestors are disappearing, Marty McFly-style. After Sonic goes back in time, he accidentally cockblocks his great^x100 grandfather and briefly fades out of existence. Which is a pretty wild theoretical concept for Scott to introduce to kids. The show kind of looks like it might be going down the "Futurama" route, since Sonic sets his eyes on Penelope first and he looks almost identical to Masonic. (Jaleel White voices both, only pitching his voice up slightly for Masonic.) That probably would've blown the kids' minds too much, so Scott is satisfied playing with events in the past affecting events in the future. 

If the idea of Sonic's ancestors absolutely having to get together to ensure the future is safe gives you predeterminism vibes, we're not done yet. While dropped into Ancient Rome, Robotnik encounters his identical ancestor, Julius Robotnik. (Who, in a good gag, is also a huge asshole.) Obviously, Masonic and Sonic are almost indistinguishable. The tomb of Robotnikhotep not only contains Robotnik's mummified ancestor but a mummified counterpart for Sonic too. The final gag of the episode reveals a blue hedgehog fought in a World War I-like setting as well. Is the entirety of Mobius history made up of mustachioed, rotund men and fast blue hedgehogs fighting? Was Julius Robotnik dethroned by a rebelling slave named Sonicacus? Is Sonic and Robotnik's rivalry simply the latest chapter of a conflict that has been playing out for thousands of years? All signs seem to point to "yes." Scott does not explore the ramifications of this reveal but it is certainly an interesting one. 

These are not the only far-out ideas "Robotnik's Pyramid Scheme" causally throws around. Previously, I stated two Chaos Emeralds having the power of Invincibility and Immortality seemed a little redundant. This episode depicts the immortal Robotnikhotep as physically impossible to harm, similar to the effects of the Invincibility Emerald. Yet he's also clarified as living forever, untouchable even to age, which seems to be the distinction. Interestingly enough, the episode also depicts immortality as a curse. Upon handing Robotnik the emerald, Robotnikhotep thanks him before crumbling into dust. The joke here seems to be that Robotnikhotep has spent entirely being pestered by the unnamed Sonic mummy, and is thus thankful for the escape of oblivion. But it's a pretty dark idea to introduce into a kids show, that death is good and living forever sucks. 

As if this episode wasn't random enough, Scott also chooses this setting to introduce more elements from the original "Sonic" game. The interior of Robotnikhotep's pyramid is patterned after "Sonic 1's" Marble Zone. Huge stone weights and giant spikes platforms fall from the ceilings of the pyramid's stone tunnels. At one point, Sonic and friends must push a stone block onto a river of lava and float atop it. (This further muddles the historical setting, as the Marble Zone was based on Greek architecture.) Later, Sonic's mummy lookalike gives him a magical blue shield to protect him against Robotnik, similar to the classic shield power-up. Lastly, there's even a moment where Scratch and Grounder have to grab gold rings... Is this, the fiftieth episode, the first time "AoStH" has referenced the Power Rings, that most iconic of classic "Sonic" elements? What took 'em so long?

Lastly, I must note that this episode is also pretty horny. After all, ensuring Sonic's ancestor gets laid is a prominent plot point. By now, it's clear that each of these episodes will start with Sonic trying to score some strange on the beach. While attempting to impress a Miss Possum lookalike in a bikini, Dr. Caninestein appears to distract Sonic, which the hedgehog is pretty pissed about. In Ancient Mobigypt, Scratch dresses in drag in an attempt to seduce Masonic. He even asks the hedgehog is he wants to "lay some bricks," an innuendo suggestive enough to get this scene cut from the Toon Disney reruns. And because this show can never be not-freaky, a minor character's feet is tickled with a feather and Robotnik and friends are later mummified. I swear, I'm not a pervert, this show is.

While it's hard to say if "Robotnik's Pyramid Scheme" is a funny episode or not, it's certainly too bizarre and interesting to be dismissed either. If nothing else, it's a big step-up from "The Hedgehog of the "Hound" Table." Will the Quest for the Chaos Emeralds conclude in a suitably epic/gonzo fashion? Hurry back soon to find out. [7/10]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.49: Hedgehog of the "Hound" Table

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.49: Hedgehog of the "Hound" Table

Original Air Date: October 27th, 1993

While I definitely remember watching parts of "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog's" Quest for the Chaos Emeralds four-parter, I can't say I vividly recall watching each part. In fact, I can only remember seeing the final two installments specifically. After watching the second part, "Hedgehog of the "Hound" Table," I'm fairly certain I didn't see this one as a kid. Because I was one of those moody, overly serious children fascinated with Arthurian legend. (Owe this to my father letting me watch "Excalibur" when I was way too young.) In fact, I even combined my two childhood favorites. A long-running "Sonic" fan-comic/fiction I created as a kid – that I will definitely never show you – involved an O.C. being a descendent of King Arthur and carrying around Excalibur. If I had known there was an official piece of "Sonic" media crossing over these two characters, I probably would've been excited... And horribly disappointed, because this episode isn't very good. 

"Hedgehog of the "Hound" Table" begins with Robotnik successfully arriving in medieval Mobius, the location of the Chaos Emerald of Invincibility. He immediately tracks down MerLynx the Magician, the owner of the stone. While he's able to strongarm the wizard into giving him the rock immediately, the Emerald's effects only take hold if the user is king. Robotnik soon shakes down King Arfur, making himself king and truly invincible. Sonic arrives to ruin his day but an unkillable Robotnik with magic on his side turns out to be a greater threat than our speedy hedgehog hero expected. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, "Hedgehog of the "Hound" Table" is not an especially inspired or faithful take on the King Arthur story. In fact, it has pretty much nothing to do with the classic tale. Arfur – that's a pun but I thought everyone was just mispronouncing his name at first – is a coward who spends most of the episode hiding in his castle. The closest thing we get to Guinevere is a Princess Gwendolyn, who is Arfur's daughter, not his queen. The other knights appear in one scene and do pretty much nothing. Despite being referenced in the title, we never actually see the "hound" table. Lancelot, Morgan Le Fey, Percival et all are nowhere to be seen. It's clear Jeffrey Scott just wanted to stick Sonic in a castle and knights setting and used the most famous names he could think of for puns. I guess it's not shocking that this stupid kids cartoon doesn't riff more on the Camelot tragedy but it sure seems like a waste. 

At the very least, "Hedgehog of the "Hound" Table" does present Sonic with a greater challenge than usual. He just can't bash an invincible Robotnik into submission. Sonic is actually challenged for the first time in a while and even looses a fight half-way through the episode. When MerLynx's magic is used to turn his feet to stone, taking away his speed, Sonic is especially screwed. Of course, he overcomes this. With Gwendolyn's help, he escapes the castle and later outsmarts Scratch and Grounder with ease. (A moment where he yanks a hose out of Scratch's chest and slides away on the oil spill is mildly disturbing.) I always like it when Sonic is forced to outthink his opponents and not just out-run or out-snark them. 

Otherwise, this episode relies on uninspired slapstick to fill out its runtime. Upon arriving in medieval times, Robotnik and his robo-henchmen are transmogrified into various mundane objects by MerLynx's magic. While the idea of someone going into the past and blasting through the warriors of the time with modern technology is kind of funny, Robotnik's domination of the knights produces no laughs here. A moment involving Scratch being bathed in molten oatmeal seems especially desperate. And the episode even managed to sneak in a chili dog, despite its antiquated setting. 

Most annoyingly, "Hedgehog of the "Hound" Table" can't even be consistent with the rules established in its own episode. Even though he knew three other Chaos Emeralds were out there, and Robotnik still had a time machine, this episode also begins with Sonic on the beach. Once again, he tries to get laid but his chosen beach honey disappoints him. (She turns out to be a tentacled octopus gal, which I guess is too freaky for Sonic.) Dr. Caninestein has to re-convince Sonic to go back in time again. It's weird that the second part repeats itself like that. Worst yet is a gag where Tails grabs the Chaos Emerald of Invincibility long enough to become a beefy robot smasher... Despite it being clarified earlier in the episode that the stone only works if you're king! I get that it's just a quick gag but you can't just break rules you put in place a few minutes earlier! That's some ripe bullshit. I'm genuinely angry about this. 

(This episode also portrays humans as members of King Arfur's court, which is consistent with this show's universe. I'm also a bit surprise, considering how horny he clearly is, that Sonic never tries to make a move on the stuttering Gwendolyn. I guess heroics come first...)

So, yeah, it's not a very good episode. At least the animation upgrade we saw in "Black Bot the Pirate" is retained here. The scene where Sonic is first struggling with his stone feet is especially expressive. Perhaps the previous episode being half-decent got my expectations up too high. This episode is far more typical of the level of quality I associate with this series. [5/10]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.48: Black Bot the Pirate

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.48: Black Bot the Pirate

Original Air Date: October 26th, 1993

As you've heard me bitch about already, "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" was not a show that was heavy on continuity. Supporting characters rarely reoccurred and individual episodes never had lasting effects. Which is why you can watch the show in almost any order and it'll still make sense. (Though the syndication package still managed to fuck that up...) However, there is an exception to this rule. I've characterized the "AoStH" writers as unambitious and I think the general quality of the show proves that. But they must've had some ambitions because, about halfway through the show's run, they would create a four-part story arc. "The Quest for the Chaos Emeralds" is wider in scope and slightly more serious than this show usually is. While "Adventures" rarely lingered in my childhood memory, this four-parter definitely stuck out to my young brain. And so it did to many other viewers, as "The Quest" is generally regarded as the high-point of the entire series. 

"Black Bot the Pirate" begins sometime after Robotnik has captured Dr. Caninestein, a brilliant physicist who has cracked the code of time travel. Robotnik forces him to build a time machine, which the villain intends to use to track down the four magical Chaos Emerald. Each possessing an incredible ability. If Robotnik possesses all four, he'll be unstoppable. After the tyrant goes back in time, Caninestein quickly builds a pair of light-speed sneakers for Sonic. He finds them on the beach, where Sonic attempts – and fails – to pick up a shapely Breezie look-a-like. Our hedgehog hero and Tails head back in time to the days of Blackbeard the Pirate, where Robotnik is already starting to close in on the first emerald's location. 

Time travel is one of those standard sci-if premises that is almost always fun to play around with. Whether you use it to explore a distant future or to fuck around with reality-bending paradoxes, time travel opens up the story in big ways. Lots of time, shows just use it to drop characters into various historical settings. And ya know what? That's fine too. Considering how fast and loose "AoStH" is with logic, there's really no reason the show couldn't have had Sonic fighting pirates at any point. Yet dropping the hedgehog onto the high seas, and having him tangle with Blackbeard and hunt buried treasure, is a totally cromulent premise for an episode. Considering most of these "Adventures" boiled down to "what if we introduce a new, annoying character?," this is still a welcomed change of pace. 

As the title indicates, this storyline would also introduce the Chaos Emeralds into "AoStH" lore. The legendary stones have been part of the "Sonic" lore since the very first game, even if they really wouldn't become plot relevant until the third one. Something consistent about the emeralds is that they aren't consistent at all. Even across the video games, the exact number and color of the emeralds varies. "AoStH" kept them all green, changed their shapes, and narrowed it down to four. More importantly, writer Jeffrey Scott gave each emerald its own magical property. The emerald at the center of this story grants invisibility to its user. The others possess the powers of invulnerability, immortality (which seems slightly redundant), and what is described as "power over life itself." 

(If this sounds similar to a certain Marvel Comics plot device, that's probably not a coincidence. The Infinity Stones had been part of the Marvel Universe since the seventies and the story arc revolving around their collection and utilization played out in the early nineties. I have no idea if Jeffrey Scott was a comic nerd but he previously worked on superhero shows like "SuperFriends," "The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show," and "Spider-Man." It's fair to assume he was at least aware of the medium. The Infinity Stones plot would've been recent comic history around the time he got hired to work on "Sonic." So it seems like a likely intentional reference/steal to me.) 

Obviously, introducing a quest to gather magical rocks that grant god-like powers is a little heavier than your usual "AoStH" episode. This episode also has Robotnik wielding a Roboticizer-like ray gun, which he uses to turn Blackbeard and a whale into mechanical minions. (Sort of weird he had that up his sleeve and has never used it to conquer Mobius, right?) Yes, "Black Bot the Pirate" is a little more seriously plotted than most episodes of this show. The Invisibility Emerald being invisible is a clever idea. As is the way Robotnik finds the unseeable hedgehog and Sonic's answer to seemingly being stranded in the past. The animation also takes a step-up here, as the characters' movements are far more fluid and expressive than they usually are. Long John Baldry even manages to make Robotnik, a character we've seen humiliated countless times by now, sound like an intimidating villain here. 

Despite all the obvious ways "Black Bot the Pirate" is different from your typical "AoStH" episode, this is still a goofy comedy show. The first half of the episode is devoted to the characters screwing around on a pirate ship. Blackbeard wields nun-chucks in one scene. The physical comedy is pretty lame, as usual, though a bit where Tails quickly paints Grounder to resemble Sonic made me grin a little. Despite its time-spanning plot and world-in-the-balance stakes, the episode still has time to include Sonic tricking the baddies by wearing a disguise. (As well as most of the cast's stock catchphrases, though I guess there weren't any chili dog stands back in Blackbeard's day.) There's also an unlikely moment of Sonic re-programming the robot whale he and Tails are stuck in, so there's just nothing this hedgehog can't do. 

Still, I guess ambition is worth something. Even if it's exactly what you'd expect from this show, "Blackbot the Pirate" is also so atypical for this series that I kind of have to give it a positive score. We'll see how my much my opinion changes as I work my way through the rest of this story arc. [6/10]