Sonic Boom, Episode 2.49: Eggman Family Vacation

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.49: Eggman Family Vacation

Original Air Date: October 28th, 2017

"Eggman Family Vacation" begins like many "Sonic Boom" episodes: With the mad scientist suffering another crushing defeat. This time, Steve/Morpho changing into a giant rock monster proves ineffectual. The quasi-brothers bickering is broken up by Mombot announcing that she bought a timeshare in Roboken. A family trip to the floating city of machines ensues. While the others sightsee, Eggman is miserable... Until he thinks of an evil plan. Working with his "brother," he steals the microchip from Bolts that is responsible for his intelligence. He heads back to the surface world below and quickly installs the chip in his regular Badniks, which make them an extra formidable threat for Sonic and his pals. (Who have been experiencing their own miserable vacation while Eggman has been off on his trip.)

"Sonic Boom" has managed to spin so many episodes out of the inadequacies and insecurities Eggman feels, usually based in his need for a sense of belonging. Despite that, one of the funniest ideas season two has explored is giving the villain a family. I've noted before that the extended "Sonic" universe is full of Robotnik relatives, a mother, some brothers, the stray nephew or niece. That doesn't mean we saw the villain interacting with Snively or Dr. Warpnik in the way you and I typically interact with family. Because of its sitcom style though, Mombot and Steve have relationships with the doctor that are much more down-to-earth. Mombot splits time between encouraging and guilting her boys, equally proud and disappointed in them. Steve and Eggman are always getting into stupid arguments together but still insist on working together. Most refreshing of all is how this family has evolved organically out of otherwise standalone episodes of "Boom." It's like we've actually been seeing Eggman evolve as a character! What a concept! 

Now that Eggman has a very non-normal normal family, he can experience all the average difficulties and victories of existing in such a unit. I don't know about you guys but I've certainly been dragged along on a family trip where I end up being utterly miserable. Watching in dismay while everyone around me is having a good time. Perhaps I'm a miserable bastard in general. Nevertheless, I definitely relate to Eggman grumbling and slumping his shoulders while Steve, Mombot, Cubot and Orbot have a good time. They swap refrigerator magnets and all Eggman can do is sigh. When we are used to seeing the character scream at his minions and make pithy comments to his enemies, sticking him in a scenario that produces a totally different – yet still very true to the character – reaction makes for a good time. Honestly, "Eggman Family Vacation" probably could have gotten a whole episode out of Eggman merely feeling sorry for himself while Mombot and Steve enjoy their time together. 

As much fun as watching Eggman grousing on a vacation is, watching him and Steve actually bond is better. The brothers argue a lot, as brothers tend to do. The two Eggmen getting into slap fights has become a reliable running joke. The two seem to dislike each other so much that they repeatedly point out that they aren't actually brothers. When they successfully work together though, capturing Bolts and swiping his chip, high-fiving and doing a secret handshake, that feels earned. This is how it is when you have a siblings. They are, somehow, both your greatest rival that annoys the ever-loving shit out of you on a regular basis and also your best bud in the whole wide world. Seeing "Boom" capture that dynamic so accurately is refreshing. 

A whole episode devoted to Eggman and Steve learning how to bond on a family trip would've been fine with me. The setting of Roboken can still be explored. The flying city has its own version of Sonic too, the cyborg copy appearing in several scenes, fulfilling any obligation that "Boom" might have, where every episode must feature Sonic. However, writer Reid Harrison cooked up a funny way to keep Sonic and the usual band of heroes involved in this story. Namely, the heroes try to have their own vacation while Eggman is away but this immediately goes awry. Type-A Amy plots out a specific journey, which soon devolves into one exhausting detour after another. Rather than showing this series of unfortunate events, "Eggman Family Vacation" turns it into a collection of amusingly bafflingly non-sequiturs. What's funnier, depicting the events leading up to Sonic and the others being in the coils of an enormous snake or cutting right to that with zero explanation? The episode probably could have gone further with this. I want more inexplicable scenes of Sonic and friends trapped in bizarre encounters with no explanation! I suppose there's a ceiling to that kind of wackiness. It makes for good laughs here and I can't help but feel like that episode could have milked it a little more. 

One assumes that there are certain expectations for action scenes in this show. "Boom" has definitely done whole episodes without any robot smashing or high-speed pursuits. However, I wouldn't have been shocked if there was some sort of percentage the show runners had to meet for every half-hour. This means "Eggman Family Vacation" must end in a big action sequence. On paper, it's a good idea. Bolts' processor makes Eggman's normal minions smarter. This soon evolves into the strategy of the Badniks constantly tossing the chip back and forth, whenever its current "host" is about to get thrashed. The idea of an enemy that doesn't have a permanent body, that can toss its consciousness around different whatever able-bodied being it can fight, is not an unusual one in superhero comics or action/adventure settings. That's not exactly what this is – the chip contains no personality beyond being really, really smart – but that's how it plays out. That makes for a perfectly satisfying foe for an action scene, forcing our heroes to think outside the box a little bit. In execution, it needs some work. Namely because both of these supposedly super-smart Badniks do not seem all that more elaborate or thought-out than Eggman's typical approaches. "Boom's" animation being as sluggish as ever, the attacks don't seem smarter than usual. In effect, it seems like Sonic and the rest are sucking for no particular reason during this confrontation. 

Far more satisfying is how this big action scene concludes, with Eggman revealing that he's learned a lot about family. This is played as a joke, naturally, and a good one too. Unavoidably, we seek to protect the people we are bonded with and sometimes we don't know why. That's what unconditional love and all that shit is about, I guess. Hearing Eggman verbalize that, after an episode devoted to showing the agony and ecstasy of having a family, makes for a good laugh. Lots of chuckles in general in this one. Sonic's growing exhaustion with the increasingly unlikely events he's been forced into is a good gag. Sticks asking to bump the senseless violence up, Amy reflecting on the serenity of nature, and Knuckles admitting he misses Eggman all got a chuckle out of me. Surprisingly, the sound design and soundtrack produce some laughter too. While sneaking around Roboken, Eggman and Morpho walk around tippy-toes, the Hanna-Barbera dingly-ding sound effect going along with it. I did not expect that. Definitely a missed chance not to play some bongos when a person is attempting to run though...

A running joke throughout this episode is missiles or rockets repeatedly taking off, accompanied each time by a musical sting that sounds like "Another Part of Me" by Michael Jackson... But specifically the 16-bit version of that song from the Genesis port of "Moonwalker." That's such a specific reference that I have trouble believing that wasn't exactly what they were going for. A "Sonic" show containing a shout-out to another best-selling game from the same console he debuted on is not inconceivable. One imagines the "Boom" staff were aware of the weird connection the blue hedgehog and the Prince of Pop have had for decades. The thought that someone who worked on this show also got stuck on the graveyard level of "Moonwalker" as a kid, making sure that ten second riff is stuck in their head forever too, does give me the warm-and-fuzzies. A real brotherhood of man moment. Anyway, "Sonic Boom: Season Two" has continuously shown that its weirdo reoccurring cast was a real boon to this show, repeatedly resulting in fresh and funny episodes like this one. [7/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.44: Vector Detector

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.44: Vector Detector

Original Air Date: September 9th, 2017

In retrospect, it's funny how much effort the "Sonic Boom" writers invested in building up the show's supporting cast in the second season. "Sonic the Hedgehog," as a franchise, is rather notorious for the ten thousand characters it has. Why spend so much time on Dave the Intern when you could have devoted an episode to beloved characters like Blaze or Silver? Hardcore fans ask questions like this all the time but the answer is obvious. Show runners and writers naturally want to develop their own world. Writers tend to make stuff their own. Creatives create. Speaking as a fan and a pretentious writer guy, I understand both perspectives. When you are banging away at a keyboard, cranking out a story, it's only natural that you're going to get invested in the deep, tragic backstory of Wade Whipple. At the same time, it does feel like a bit of a waste to have access to the vast library of "Sonic the Hedgehog" lore and not utilize more of it. When you are telling a story in an established universe, is it better to make up a new guy, to fit the needs of the plot you're writing, or should you take a pre-existing character and twist them to feed your narrative? As a fan, is it more important that the thing you like gets referenced or that it is portrayed in a way that's faithful to what made you love it in the first place? These are debates people have been having about adaptations since the beginning of human civilization. 

In other words: Does Vector the Crocodile appearing in an episode of "Sonic Boom" matter more to you than the version of Vector the Crocodile you specifically love showing up at all? It's hard to say how much the "Boom" writers grappled with these questions. Considering the show would rather throw in another joke at Old Monkey or Mayor Fink's expense than reference anything from the "Sonic" video games, I doubt it was on their minds much at all. However, rarely, the show would grab someone from established "Sonic" lore to fill a role. Considering Shadow only showed up in a season finale or Metal Sonic randomly appeared in a middling installment, this can feel like a cynical attempt to build hype. Was "Vector Detector" written because ratings were sagging and execs knew tossing in a Sega character would create buzz? Or did Reid Harrison genuinely want to use this crocodile guy, because he's a fan or he knew Vector fit the role in the story he was making? I guess we'll never know. Really, it doesn't matter. None of this matters. 

Nihilism aside, let's talk about the actual episode. Much like that one issue of the "Boom" comic book, "Vector Detector" begins with Amy noticing her beloved hammer is missing. Feeling existential angst without her trademark accessory, Amy hires a private detective to recover her beloved mallet. Vector the Crocodile, star of a reality TV show dedicated to following his exploits, is on the case. Sonic, eager to prove his own skills as a crime solver, tags along on the investigation. Together, the two follow a series of clues, discarding false leads and dead ends, that lead to the identity of the hammer thief. 

Long time readers of this blog will know that I have a complicated history with Vector the Crocodile. For years, with only one appearance in a launch title for a Genesis add-on a total of six people bought, Vector was mostly defined by his appearances in the Archie "Sonic" and "Knuckles" comics. There, Ken Penders wrote him largely as an obnoxious dumb-ass who existed to be mad at Knuckles' girlfriend – because he was in love with him??? – and spout embarrassing white guy attempts at hip-hop slang. Years later, Sega would dust the reptile off and zero in on a, up to then, downplayed part of his personality: His status as a detective. Naturally, this revamped version of Vector reached a far wider audience than the obscure Archie take. Which is probably for the best, as Knuckles really didn't need a token black friend yelling "Dayum!" or "That is whack!" 

Relics of Vector's past as a reductive stereotype still linger, such as his gold chain and headphones, but most "Sonic" media has gone all in with the detective thing. That's what "Sonic Boom" does. Their version of Vector peppers his dialogue with hard-boiled P.I. phrases. Palooka, vic, jamoke, and eighty-sixed are in his vocabulary. He calls Amy a "skirt," says someone "copped" her hammer, and accused the criminal of being a "mug." I always enjoy hearing ridiculous, old-timey slang tossed into a contemporary setting with little to no explanation. Harrison's smartly doesn't draw any attention to Vector's bizarre way of speech. However, I think more humor could've been derived from the contrast between the way he looks and sounds and his dialogue. "Boom" designers dropped the headphones and threw a leather jacket over top the standard Sega version. Keith Silverstein has been the voice of Vector since 2010, giving the crocodile a big, exaggerated sound that I've never thought fit him. (In my brain, he sounds like Tracy Morgan.) If "Boom" wanted to play into the detective thing, they should've had Vector in a fedora and trench coat, giving him a Brooklyn accent or something. Or else made a joke of why he sounds like that when he's dressed like a deejay. 

Special Guest Star Vector the Crocodile may be at the center of the story but "Sonic Boom" is still firmly entrenched with its own cast. Comedy Chimp, Wolf T. Sidekick, and Justin Beaver are all potential suspects in the hammer-napping. Fastidious Beaver has a cameo, so on and so forth. By now, "Boom" has firmly established its group of background players. That everyone in this village is always so mean-spirited and reactionary makes any of them a potential suspect. The mystery itself is not that hard to untangle. However, the trail of clues Sonic and Vector follow goes down enough wrong turns to keep me guessing for a little bit. The script copies the structure of a detective story enough to keep me intrigued throughout. This leads to some decently silly parodies of detective movie tropes, such as Vector absurdly noticing some clues that Sonic didn't see right before him, both of them playing bad cop with Dave, and a typically self-aware riff on stake-out scenes. 

Weirdly, the episode doesn't commit one hundred percent to the hard-boiled detective premise. Instead of merely being a private investigator, Vector is the star of a reality show where a camera crew follows him around as he unravels mysteries. It looks like a cross between "COPS" and "Dog the Bounty Hunter" or something but features cheesy scene transition, more akin to a sketch show from the eighties. I expected this to escalate into a proper parody of reality television, a well this show has returned to at least twice before. Instead, it's a plot point that never goes anywhere. Vector is followed around by a camera crew and that never becomes part of the story. I kept expecting a reveal that the producer or Vector were planting evidence, to make a mundane story more exciting. Or that he stole Amy's hammer in the first place, in order to necessitate being hired. Something like that kind of happens but Vector is unconnected to it and the crime has no relation to the TV show element. Definitely strikes me as a bit of a missed opportunity. 

The episode could have ran with its ideas a little more but "Vector Detector" still made me reliably chuckle. This is the first episode Reid Harrison has scripted in a while. As was the style in his season one episode, this one is packed full of jokes and sight gags. Some are self-aware in nature. Such as Amy and Knuckles obliquely commenting on how "Sonic" characters are defined by a central gimmick. Or Tails commenting on how Sonic escalated a fight with Eggman. The mad doctor, showing up for one scene of robot smashing, is a nicely irrelevant joke. As you expect from Reid, any dead space in the story is filled with tossed-off jokes. The best of which is the town cop telling a crowd that "there's nothing to see here" before noticing the crime scene and changing his mind. Or, upon seeing Justin and Fastidious interacting, Sonic deadpan suggesting that some sort of beaver conspiracy is afoot. "Boom's" silliness insists upon itself sometimes – and does so here, in a moment involving a pie eating contest – but I like the way that Harrison's one-liners casually zip by. 

I did find myself wishing Amy played a bigger role in this story. She's front and center in the opening scenes. The first moment is an amusing sequence of her greeting all the inanimate objects in her house in an overly sunshiny manner. During the fight with Eggman, she forgets she's not holding her hammer and becomes despondent, depressed without her favorite weapon. As soon as Vector enters the story, the perspective shifts totally to Sonic and the crocodile. However, Amy being confused and weepy simply because she's without her hammer could have led to way more jokes of its own. Then again, as I pointed out earlier, one of the comics featured a similar story so perhaps there was a fear of stepping on another writer's toes. Hearing Cindy Robinson act out such a scenario might have been worth it though. 

Airing so late into "Sonic Boom's" run, "Vector Detector" is naturally the character's only meaningful appearance on the show. If "Boom" had gotten a third season, I wonder if the other Chaotix might have appeared? Cartoon Network screwing this show truly robbed us of a chance to see how much speed tape the "Boom" versions of Espio and Charmy might've worn. Or at least we could have learned why this version of the crocodile has a compass tattoo on his bicep. Anyway, decent episode, even if some of its ideas are better realized than others. [7/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.50: Cabin Fever

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.50: Cabin Fever

Original Air Date: October 31st, 2015

Ya know, you would think I would’ve learned by now. When I saw that the fiftieth episode of “Sonic Boom” aired on October 31st of 2015, I got excited. Everyone knows that is Halloween and, if you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you know Halloween is my favorite time of the year. When I read that this episode involved a dark and stormy night and tensions arising inside Amy’s cabin, I thought maybe this might be an episode befitting its air date. No such luck. “Cabin Fever” is just an ordinary episode of “Sonic Boom,” with no spookiness included. Considering how much Cartoon Network jerked this show around, I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that this episode airing on Halloween was a complete coincidence and not a deliberate move. 

Anyway... The Boom team are having a sand castle building contest on the beach, judged by Amy, when a storm starts to blow in. They decide to take shelter in her cabin. The pink hedgehog's micromanaging tendencies kick in immediately, quickly annoying her rowdy friends. Sonic soon uncovers a play Amy has written called "A Rose Without Thorns," where all the characters are clearly based on Amy and her friends. Feelings hurt by their mockery, Amy hides in the kitchen and the situation quickly spirals out of control. Only after the storm passes does Sonic realize his mistake. 

"Cabin Fever" is one of those Reid Harrison episodes of "Boom" that is trying to do a couple different things at once. Ostensibly, this is an episode about how you get sick of people after being stuck inside with them for too long, even if they are your good friends. That's what the title refers to. Since "Boom" only has eleven minutes to explore its premise, and is a farce anyway, tensions arise between the gang almost immediately. Soon, they are squabbling and arguing, to the point where there's genuine antagonism at one point. It all works out, because this is a goofy kids' show and these characters are all exaggerated to begin with. Yet I do wish the unfocused nature of the script didn't cause "Cabin Fever" to wander off to other topics so quickly. I wanted to see more of the Boom Team annoying and aggravating each other. 

The reason the episode's premise of friends slowly turning on each other never quite works out is because... That's not what it's really about. Instead, most everything that goes wrong in this episode is Amy's fault. The minute she sequesters all her friends in her cabin, she demands they play by her rules. She serves frilly snacks that the gang doesn't take seriously. Her attempts to get everyone to do girly arts-and-crafts with her goes off the rails immediately. I guess it is pretty rude when Sonic accidentally breaks the horn off Amy's glass unicorn. Nevertheless, I think she should know her own friends better than that. Amy should probably realize that these wild and crazy guys will not share her passion for quiet hobbies like this. 

In fact, Amy is kind of shitty to her friends. She demands they play along with these activities she suggested, expecting them to perfectly follow her orders. When Sonic and the others instead start goofing off, she gets increasingly offended. In fact, she spends the whole second half of this episode offended. Instead of acknowledging it's a little weird to essentially write fanfiction based on her real friends, Amy just whines at her friends reading her play at all. The climax of the episode is based on Sonic and the gang apologizing to Amy, via putting on a performance of her play. But I'm not sure Amy deserved an apology! She's kind of a bitch for no reason in this episode. 

Even this is not the true sole focus of this all-over-the-place episode. A large section in the middle rambles off with a totally different idea. After Amy storms into the kitchen, Society within the cabin immediately degrades into feudalism. Each friend sets up a base in a different part of the cabin, giving them old-timey names and trading goods for access. Sticks invades and conquers Tails' "Workbenchia" while he's visiting Sonic's Kingdom of Television. Knuckles becomes a tyrant and uses his control of the thermostat, from within his cozy blanket fort, to turn the rest of the cabin into a frozen wasteland. To see polite, modern society fall apart into medieval factions so quickly is a pretty good absurd joke that Harrison easily could've build the entire episode around. 

Instead, "Cabin Fever" remembers its premise of Amy's play and centers the last act around that. This is also a fascinating idea that could've been explored more. By writing about her friends, Amy is showing how she perceives her closest pals. Which is at odds with their own conceptions of self. The joke is that Amy's versions are right on the mark. "Sonar" is an egomaniac, which Sonic derides while proving what an egomaniac he is. "Shoulders" is a dullard strongman, "Taylor" is a fearful fox in Sonar's shadows, and "Twigs" is a delusional conspiracy theorist. 

The idea that the version of us that live in our friends' heads is different from how we define ourselves is a fascinating one, ripe for comedy. Harrison gets at a little bit of that but mostly just plays with the joke of the gang not recognizing their own flaws. Or, when they do – such as Tails leaping between Sonic's legs after thunder strikes, just as "Taylor" was written to do – it is sarcastically acknowledged. Yet more wasted potential! (Though I guess Tails having a fear of lightning is consistent across all "Sonic" media.)

Honestly, this episode probably would've been funnier if it had just presented Amy's play in full. In the finale, we see snippets of it – with Dave the Intern going in drag as "Annie Rose" – but I think an episode displaying Amy's own weird fixations would've accomplished what this script clearly wanted to do better. Despite its unfocused quality, the cast does get some laughs out of the material. Travis Willingham's doofy reading of Knuckles repeatedly asking if he's the topic of discussion or Roger Craig Smith's embittered defense of TV got laughs out of me. 

It helps to have such a strong cast is delivering funny one-liners when the script is as scattered as this one. A funny idea, "Cabin Fever" probably needed more time in the workshop to really be sharpened into an amusing eleven minutes. [6/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.49: Role Models

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.49: Role Models

Original Air Date: October 24th, 2015 

"Role Models" begins with the most typical of "Sonic Boom" scenarios: Eggman is terrorizing the village, causing the heroes to rush in and defeat him. This is apparently the millionth time Sonic and the others have saved the day, prompting Mayor Fink to give them awards. They are no longer mere heroes but role models to the public. This causes D.B. Platypus, an image consultant, to step in and coach Team Boom on proper heroic etiquette. His advice effects their ability to do their jobs, both in public and in their own home. 

"Role Models" engages in a debate that has been on-going for as long as people have been getting famous. What does a public figure owe the public? We're all human beings and everyone is flawed. Each of us have our vices and every person alive makes mistakes. Yet when someone is famous, so much of their life is a matter of public opinion. Now, everything a person does is scrutinized and, if they fail to live up to the public's standards for them, it can have disastrous results for their career. 

I mean, is that fair? I'm of the opinion that we really don't owe other people anything but common courtesy and human decency. Everybody screws up and public figures, whether they be movie stars or politicians, are under an enormous amount of pressure. At the same time, the debate that people trade privacy for fame isn't without some compelling points either. Moreover, someone admired by children probably should do their best to behave appropriately in public. I do think the powerful and influential have a certain responsibility to use their resources to make the world a less miserable place, as we all should. So it's a complex debate which deserves a nuanced response. 

Unsurprisingly, an eleven-minute cartoon designed for the seven-to-twelve crowd does not provide an especially deep reading of the role model debate. Instead, "Role Model" provides the strawliest of straw men for Sonic and the gang to bounce off of. D.B. Platypus is the most ridiculous kind of fuddy-duddy. He deems everything Sonic and the gang does objectionable. They literally can't walk out of a room without him issuing criticism. How they fight crime isn't the only thing that's effected. This guy even picks apart how they behave in their own home, policing how Amy and the others cook dinner. I don't think anyone would realistically – in so much that a realistic response is warranted – object to superheroes running to the disaster zone. D.B. expects Sonic and the others to walk at a gentle pace and in an orderly manner into action.

Naturally, this restricts their ability to be heroes immediately. D.B. wants Sonic to wear blunting sponges on his quills. He demands Amy and the others talk out their problems with a violent, unreasonable Eggman. Such a depiction comes dangerously close to weirdo, libertarian politics. It's a slippery slope from "the enforcers of public safety have to make risky decisions on the fly and can't be expected to follow polite orders one hundred percent of the time" to "we should let those in power do whatever they want, because they know better than us." Moreover, making so many of D.B.'s complaints petty, annoying, little nitpicks makes those who do object to the way hypothetical superheroes might conduct themselves seem unreasonable. This episode comes uncomfortably close, at times, to feeling like a screed against the "P.C. Police." That there's some nebulous force trying to keep us all from having fun in deference to a sense of public decorum. 

Like always, I'm overthinking it. I don't think Reid Harrison set out to write a manifesto against overly sensitive zoomers keeping him from cracking off-color jokes or whatever. Nor do I think he's arguing that those in power should do whatever they want, in the name of defending us. Yet I do think this episode probably would've been more compelling if D.B. Platypus wasn't such an annoying shithead. The constant sound of his whistle annoys Sonic and the gang and it annoys me too. His persnickety attitude is obnoxious, his voice is like nails on a chalkboard. Even his design, with his off-putting yellowish brown coloration and weird glasses that float in the middle of his face, is unappealing. 

As critical as I'm being of this episode – I swear, I'm less annoying than a platypus with a whistle – it does have a couple of good laughs. There is value in taking this idea, of "what if the gang had their heroics policed?," and extending it to its most absurd conclusion. When Eggman seems to actually get into the talking method D.B. has the team using, or ask the old man monkey to more politely repeat the news of incoming disaster, that made me laugh. Sticks quickly emerges as the best character here. Her natural suspicion of authority quickly has her bristling against the platypus' control freak rules. I've got to say the exchange between them of "Don't question me!" and "Why not?" got a big laugh out of me. 

The action scenes in "Boom" are always the weakest link but this episode's structure does give them a nice boost. First off, a barely changed version of the "Magnum P.I." theme song plays during the action scenes. And the "Magnum P.I." theme fucking rocks, so that adds some nice energy. Secondly, having the gang spend almost the whole episode constrained to a bunch of bullshit rules makes us anticipate them breaking loose again. When Sonic and the others rebel against the loathsome platypus, led by the naturally ungovernable Sticks, it's is very satisfying. 

If there's anything that's kind of weird about this episode, it's that Eggman feels pretty detached from the A-plot. This leads to a number of increasingly random gags starring the mad scientist. We discover he was nominated for a Grammy, a gold record displayed in his wall in what seems to be the synth genre. He later sings for the Mayor, resulting in an awkward pause. This proceeds a bit of him attempting to pole vault. These gags are so isolated that they start to feel a little like "Family Guy" manatee gags, which is never a flattering comparison. 

Also, the Mayor's statement at the episode's beginning that Team Sonic has saved the day a "million times" seems implausible. I counted the number of holes on the punch card he holds up and I only see 130! Typical lying politician. Also also, there's a pretty good joke about bread. Anyway, this episode has a premise that keeps it from being a lot funnier than it could've been, though I still laughed a handful of times. I guess that evens out. [6/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.48: Designated Hero

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.48: Designated Hero

Original Air Date: October 17th, 2015

In "Designated Heroes," Eggman robs a toy store and is quickly thwarted by the good guys. In the post-action scene humiliation round, he makes a bet with Sonic and his friends. They always defeat him as a team, but would victory come as easily if they fought one-on-one? Everyone agrees to these terms. Eggman turns out to be wilier than anyone expected and he easily outmatches everyone during their fights. Will this be the mad scientist's path to victory? 

While the term "Designated Hero" usually refers to a distinctly unheroic character who is given the status of hero, the 48th episode of "Sonic Boom" means it in more literal terms. Every time it's one of the Team Sonic members' turn to fight Eggman, they are the chosen hero for that designated time. This is a cute example of the way this show continues to play with the traditional good guy/bad guy roles. Last episode, Reid Harrison had Eggman refer to being "outside office hours" and his time fighting the heroes as "nine-to-five." In this episode, we see Tails clock out of and Knuckles clock in. By fitting these characters into the sitcom mold, the idea that fighting each other is simply their job is more present than ever. 

The episode's structure, which has the villain encountering each of the good guys in one-on-one matches, makes another interesting point: Maybe Eggman knows his enemies better than they realize. Each scene sees the doctor taking advantage of everyone's personality. With Amy, he preys on her sense of empathy and community by saying he recycles tin cans to make toys for needy children. He plays along with Sticks' paranoid fantasies, disarming her in that fashion. He flatters Tails' genius, which gets the young and insecure kid to lower his guard. He forces Sonic to wait, testing the hedgehog's lack of patience and Knuckles' stupidity makes him easy to fool. 

All of these moments nicely reflect on the heroes' personality while also showing that Eggman is more observant than he gets credit for. It also lends this episode a really satisfying structure. During each encounter, Eggman takes an object from his opponent. He steals Amy's hammer, Sticks' shoes, a giant metal paper airplane Knuckles' created, and Tails' force field machine. (Which probably could've defeated everyone by itself but never mind that.) Once he creates a larger, more dangerous gizmo from these combined elements, it feels like a satisfying payoff. Everything fits together nicely, ya know? You love to see it. 

There's even a nice, kid-friendly moral this time. Separately, Eggman is able to conquer Sonic and his friends. In the final act, the guys "tag" each other out all throughout the fight. Essentially, they function as a team without breaking Eggman's one-on-one rule. In other words: Teamwork makes the dream work. We are stronger together than we are apart. This is also a nice message to send to the young ones and it's incorporated into the story here without being preachy or heavy-handed. 

This is another Reid Harrison episode and he packs the script with his usual tactic of non-stop gags. "Designated Heroes" actually shows a nice balance between zanier moments and more subtle gags. Such as the episode beginning with Cubot and Orbot doing a sports match style commentary on the fight. There's also lots of big, silly sight gags. Such as Knuckles cluelessly digging through the earth or Sonic, in his boredom, playing tea party. Yet the moments in this episode that really got me to laugh tended to be the smaller scenes. Sonic shaking Eggman's mustache when his hands are disabled, Amy announcing she'll still contributed to Eggman's charity after he defeats her, and Tails fumbling an attempt to look cool and effortless... Good stuff. Maybe the best joke in the episode comes with the way Tails undoes Eggman's forcefield. The machine works by responding to a smart statement. To undo the effects, he hands the controlling helmet to Knuckles. I've really come to appreciate the way this show finds time for both wacky bits of comedy and more character-driven, dialogue centric jokes. 

There's also a very small moment here that surely warrants deeper discussion. When Eggman awakens Sonic from his nap, the half-asleep hedgehog mutters out "Go away, Amy. I'm not in the mood." Now, what does that imply? Was Sonic fantasizing about Amy attempting something towards him that requires a certain mood? Or is this a default response because Amy tries to awaken Sonic from his sleep for specific, mood-adjacent activities on a regular basis? "Boom" has certainly implied, on countless occasions, that Sonic and Amy are attracted to each other. I think this is the first time they've ever slipped in a joke about them actually hooking up though. Good on the writers for slipping something naughty through. I'm sure the shippers lost their fucking minds over this. 

Anyway, "Designated Heroes" is a really strong episode. As "Boom's" first season winds downs, the show has gotten a good bead on the cast's personalities. That's evident in episodes like this, that depend so much on understanding the core characteristics of everyone and how they play off each other. Combined with some rock-solid structure and a string of quality jokes and you've got another all-timer. [8/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.47: Fuzzy Puppy Buddies

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.47: Fuzzy Puppy Buddies

Original Air Date: October 10th, 2015

Five episodes out from the end of "Sonic Boom's" first season and they throw another Amy centric episode at us. This time, Amy has become a fan of a collectible tabletop game called Fuzzy Puppies, in which adorable puppy game pieces are pitted against each other. At a local meet-up, Amy discovers that Eggman is also a Fuzzy Puppies player/collector. The two soon begin a secret friendship, meeting up at odd hours to play together. This raises suspicion in Amy's friends. At a local Fuzzy Puppies convention, Eggman's villainous nature and his new friendship with Amy come into conflict. 

It's easy to see what "Boom" is doing with "Fuzzy Puppies." When "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" debuted in 2010, it quickly garnered an unexpected fan base of adult men. There's been multiple papers and whole documentaries made about this phenomenon. At the time, the so-called "brony" community was a source of fascination and novelty. Adult men being way too into a cartoon and toy line for little girls was mocked and derided as "cringe." Bronies, not always unfairly, were widely considered to be weirdos and creeps. It was also examined as challenging gender norms and as an embracing of sincerity and wholesomeness among an older generation. 

The brony concept was also an act of irony by terminally online edge-lords. The fandom has its roots on 4Chan, after all. "Oh, look at how funny it is that we're into this girly show" was the thought process behind many of these guys. That had an obvious downside. A full decade after the fact, we've seen a whole swarth of toxic fanboys, perverts, and literal Neo-Nazis co-opt a program designed for young children. Right-wing shitheels taking over whole corners of geeky fandoms have had horrible ramifications for the whole world. That makes it hard to consider the "Brony" movement as anything but a negative force in the history of the internet and nerd culture.

In 2015, that wasn't obvious yet. Or, at least, it wasn't to people who only had a surface familiarity with the "brony" concept. Such as the "Sonic Boom" writers. They were clearly just happy to riff on the idea of a grizzled adult being invested in a cutesy, frilly hobby. Two years earlier, "Teen Titans Go!" made nearly the exact same joke and I'm sure there are other examples out there of shows spoofing "Bronies." So the concept was already a bit overexposed by this point but, like always, "Boom" was a few years behind the zeitgeist. At least Fuzzy Puppies is not a direct "Friendship is Magic" spoof. It's clearly also inspired by "Littlest Pet Shop," "Pound Puppies," (which have much smaller brony-like fandoms of their own) and the frenzied fan base for tabletop gaming in general. 

"Boom" did not make an episode about fascists infiltrating internet fandoms in order to radicalize vulnerable nerds. Instead, "Fuzzy Puppy Buddies" builds comedy around a much more easily understood concept. Amy is sneaking behind her friends' backs to spend time with someone else. Sonic and the others slowly pick up on this and become concerned. Amy, on the other hand, is exhilarated by finding someone to embrace her geeky passion with.  This leads to the potent comedic premise of conversations with two meanings, of Sonic mistaking Eggman appearing at Amy's hut as an attack. And the villain being forced to play along. Classic sitcom stuff. 

Even though this is an Amy episode, Eggman still emerges as the show's most interesting character. Eggman's oft-noted insecurities appear in him wanting a friend to enjoy Puppy Buddies with, to teach him to play. Amy fills that niche. This episode also has fun with another idea this show often returns to. Despite being sworn enemies, Eggman is basically friends with the heroes. He even refers to his battles with the Boom team as a "job" and his bond with Amy over Fuzzy Puppies as an off-the-clock activity. When Eggman's inherent villainous qualities emerge, that powers the conflict in the last third. Which is a pretty juicy little character arc and I'm satisfied with the place the show ends it at. It wouldn't be easy being friends with a would-be world conqueror like Eggman but maybe there's hope for him yet. 

I'm also glad that this episode doesn't build all its jokes around big, burly Eggman being into a cute little puppy game. Or Amy embarrassing herself with her indiscreet passion. That's definitely the source of some of the jokes but "Fuzzy Puppy Buddies" finds more fruitful avenues. The sequence devoted to Amy sneaking away from her friend is amusing. The biggest laugh comes when Tails determines, via process of elimination, that Amy must be the main character this week. Sticks unfurls an amusingly baroque monologue afterwards based around misunderstanding the word "con." The dialogue is pretty sharp here, with Sonic and Knuckles getting some solid one-liners in. Knuckles putting on sunglasses or cracking a line about "overwatering" got snorts out of me.

It also amuses me that the writers and animators of this episode clearly put some thought into how "Fuzzy Puppies" work. The rules are discussed and they generally make sense. I don't know how fun a game like this, with so many varying rules, would be to play. But I hate any tabletop game more complicated than "Monopoly," so I'm not the person to ask. If nothing else, it's obvious the animators enjoyed designing the little puppy figurines. They are genuinely cute. I can totally see people actually collecting them, just to have them. I say this as an adult man with a nearly complete Super Hero Squad collection. Anyway, this episode probably could've been something a little deeper but I enjoyed it nevertheless. [7/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.44: It Wasn’t Me, It Was the One-Armed Hedgehog

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.44: It Wasn’t Me, It Was the One-Armed Hedgehog

Original Air Date: August 30th, 2015

While dusting his evil lair, Eggman is aghast to see that his particle accelerator has been stolen. He immediately calls in the cops, who uncover the remains of chili dogs and shoe prints that perfectly match Sonic's feet. The hedgehog is accused of the crime, causing him to flee town. The townfolks form a posse, with Knuckles leading it, to track him. Sonic, living under an assumed life as a humble crate stacker named "Bob," seeks to find the real bandit and clear his name. The crook turns out to be a familiar face, at least to fans of the "Sonic" franchise. 

In the annals of classic action/adventure storylines, there aren't too many more common than the hero being framed for a crime he didn't commit, causing him to go on the run and seek out the real perpetrator. I think just about every superhero comic in existence has done this one before. The responsible party almost always turns out to be a villain, often one specifically created to copy the good guy's appearance. This is, in fact, the entire modus operandi of baddies like Reverse Flash. Sometimes, a whole series based itself around this "wrongfully accused man runs from the law" premise, such as "The Fugitive." (The inspiration for this episode's title, which otherwise makes little sense.) Alfred Hitchcock called it "The Wrong Man" trope and it was the basis for several of his films. 

This is such a common premise that the "Sonic" franchise has, in fact, done it multiple times in the past. It was the set-up for Archie's Endgame story arc and the starting point of "Sonic Adventure 2's" narrative, though both stories quickly rambled off to other plot points. Maybe that's because the idea has its limitations. Yes, the hero having to run from the law, to clear his name and find the real evildoer, is dramatic. The trust his friends have in him being shattered, and those that supported him turning against him, is a juicy development. Yet it also makes everyone around the good guy look like easily swindled fools. Obviously, it would be out-of-character for a superhero to just break the law like that. It also strains believability that all his friends would turn on him so easily. The reader, of course, knows the protagonist is innocent, making the drawn-out development of uncovering the real culprit tedious after a while. "Sonic Boom" squeezes the entire story into eleven minutes and that's about as far as it could have taken it. 

"Boom" is obviously a farce, allowing it to get away with some of the more irregular elements of this stock story type. Noted supervillain Dr. Eggman working with the police is ridiculous, from the get-go. The set-up is utilized for silly gags, like extremely incriminating evidence against Sonic being right in the open. The episode avoids the awkwardness of Sonic's friends turning on him by... Just not featuring them. We never see what Tails, Amy, or Sticks think of this. The only member of Team Sonic featured in this episode is Knuckles, who is enough of a goofball that it's to imagine him getting caught up in a panic like this. And even he is actually covering for his friend. Yes, this deception is so easily seen through that even Knuckles doesn't buy it. 

Instead, the focus is on the citizens of the village, who the show continues to depict as the most gullible and easily swayed group of maroons possible. How many times have they turned on Sonic and/or his friends? Honestly, makes you wonder why Sonic protects them all the time. But I guess that's what heroes do. This is probably why a small portion of this episode focuses on Sonic, in the persona of "Bob," seeking to help an accident-prone co-worker of his. That points towards the "Fugitive" inspiration some more, as that show was all about the hero helping random folks as he fled from town to town, in pursuit of the One-Armed Man. That subplot is fairly disposable though, making this short episode feel a bit padded out.  

Who is it impersonating Sonic? Obviously, Eggman is behind the deception but the actual doppelgänger's identity did catch me off-guard. The "Sonic" franchise features multiple evil lookalikes of the hero but "Boom" rarely delves into the extended cast, so the sudden appearance of a regular cast member from the games surprised me. Spoiler alert for a seven-year-old cartoon: "Boom" randomly introduces Metal Sonic in this episode with zero foreshadowing. Sonic acts like he's an old adversary too, really making this reveal come out of nowhere. Admittedly, it's a neat answer to the mystery here.

I have no doubt that Metal Sonic fans were pleased with his guest role here. The robot does not get "Boom"-ified in appearance or personality, looking and acting how we'd expect. He is generally silent and intimidating. Yet the showdown he has with Sonic has to be among the most underwhelming fight scenes in a show notorious for its underwhelming fight scenes. Metal sluggishly floats around, slowly shooting laser blast out of his chest. Sonic, in slow-mo, runs around and avoids the attacks. As far as a showdown between two characters known for their speed, this does not display much frantic speediness. It's less Stardust Speedway and more "Sonic's Schoolhouse." 

Then again, "Boom" is not really an action show. The jokes are the main appeal here. Since this is a Reid Harrison episode, the script is packed full of snarky dialogue and absurd comic set pieces. Some of these work really well. The opening musical number from Eggman delighted me. As did the truly random segment of Orbot leading a group of tourists through the evil lair, like it was a theme park or something. Knuckles' buffoonery leads to a few amusing bits, involving doors, spit-covered sticks, baskets, quick-sand, and an amusing shout-out to "Jaws."

Overall though, this episode does suffer a bit from sitcom-itis, in terms of all its dialogue being snappy comebacks. An exchange Sonic has with the doctor helping his co-worker definitely feels unnecessarily sarcastic. Some of the running gags are a bit belabored as well. Such as a crowd repeatedly gasping in shock or the reoccurring appearance of horse shoes knocking someone in the head. Those are the kind of gags you can only really do once and, instead, this one runs them into the ground. 

"It Wasn't Me, It was the One-Armed Hedgehog" – is that seriously the best title they could come up with? – definitely ranks as mid-tier "Boom." It has enough funny ideas and zingy timing to not make me regret wasting my precious time watching and writing about it. Yet it's not extraordinary funny and, with the exception of that surprise villain, feels largely uninspired. Still, I bet some hardcore Metal-heads get a kick out of this one, since it's only the second time ever Sonic's robotic counterpart has appeared in animation. [6/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.42: Late Night Wars

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.42: Late Night Wars

Original Air Date: September 5th, 2015

In its forty-second episode, "Sonic Boom" would do the closest thing we'll ever get to a hedgehog version of "The Late Shift." In  "Late Night Wars," Comedy Chimp is mocked for his incredibly old head shots. He gets some new photos done but, during the shoot, Knuckles wanders in while wearing a trash can on his head. As soon as the images are published, the echidna becomes a celebrity overnight. While Comedy Chimp goes on vacation to get plastic surgery, he selects Knuckles to be his guest host, assuming the echidna's incompetence will lead him to bombing. Instead, the audience loves his slapstick antics. This forces Comedy Chimp to go to Eggman and utilize a little domestic terrorism so he can get his job back. 

"Late Night Wars" is probably the most cynical episode of "Sonic Boom" I've seen so far. In the first scene, the kids buying autographs from Comedy Chimp make a crack about his old headshots having "a sparkle of hope" in his eyes. When the photographer gets a look at Knuckles, she says he's "oblivious to the never-ending sea of despair." Comedy Chimp's subplot about aging revolves around a fear of failing and being forgotten. He never thinks twice about teaming up with Eggman, a notorious villain, to regain his fame. Meanwhile, people loving Knuckles' imbecilic antics paints the public as utterly moronic simpletons who will fall in love with the most dubious level of celebrity, a point that is even acknowledged in dialogue. Knuckles similarly has no problem selling out the minute a good deal comes along. The thesis to this episode really seems to be "life is misery, greed motivates people, and everyone is stupid." 

I don't mind such a dark outlook, though it's surprising to see in children's television. I do wish there was more of a concrete point to this story though. I really thought this episode was going to be about how fickle fame is. By plopping a trash can on his head, Knuckles becomes a celebrity overnight. Like any number of human beings who have become living memes, he goes from being an anonymous stranger to an internationally recognized star by accident. Yet walking around with a trash can hat is a gimmick with few avenues to exploit. By the time he's hosting Comedy Chimp's show, it's already evident that Knux's limited intelligence will cost him this new level of fame he's grabbed. 

I really expected the public to then turn on Knuckles, his fifteen minutes being up, and the echidna forced to increasingly desperate ends to hold into that fame. His ego, which has increasingly pushed his friends away, would make him reluctant to realize this. Maybe that's when Eggman should've entered the story, capitalizing on Knuckles hitting rock bottom. Eventually, Knux would realize his friends love him for who he is and that's more important than being admired by hundreds of strangers simply for your keen taste in headwear. It's a story arc we've see before but a lesson that always needs to be taught, especially in our modern, social media driven landscape. 

That's not what this episode does. Instead, it seems like Knuckles really could have ridden his wave of fame even further, simply because his slapstick buffoonery is so irresistible. At the end, after Eggman attacks, he goes back to his friends with only a moment's pause. He delivers a line about "getting carried away by his ego," which feels like it's referencing a version of this episode we didn't see. The episode then abruptly ends, Comedy Chimp getting some last minute comeuppance for his greed. Whatever conflict might have existed between Knuckles and his friends essentially wraps itself up on its own, leading a really unsatisfying ending. 

Reid Harrison probably didn't have time to fit in a fully developed story like what I outlined above, once again because this cartoon is so short. Yet I think the real issue with "Late Night Wars" is that it's about Comedy Chimp. C.C. is, by design, a one-note character. He's the hackiest of stand-up comics, a total corporate sell-out, and the thinnest parody of celebrity possible. As a background player, who shows up for a single gag or one-liner every couple of episodes, he serves his purpose. Building an entire episode around the guy strains credibility though. Comedy Chimp isn't likable. He's a self-absorbed dickwad. I do not especially enjoy spending time with him. (The comics got more mileage out of him when they dropped this cowardly guy into the middle of a massive crossover.) He has an annoying sidekick, who is even more desperate for fame than he is, that adds very little to the proceedings. I understand that he was a favorite character of the show writers, who probably find shallow show-biz satire like this a lot more entertaining than the kids watching at home would. But focusing a whole episode on him feels like an in-joke taken too far. 

I've been pretty critical of this episode but I did find it marginally funny. Travis Willingham more-or-less makes this episode. His delivery of Knuckles’ idiotic antics got me to laugh more than anything else. The confusion he displays when trying to get through a simple monologue, or negotiating about tie-ins, is funnier than pretty much every other joke in this episode. The montage devoted to showing Knuckles’ rising celebrity does feature a mildly amusing bit about paparazzi. The last act hammers the gag about Eggman sponsoring this act of supervillainy too hard though. It creates a small grin the first time and then nothing more every time it’s repeated. I did like the simplistic way the bad guy is defeated though. 

Oh, and one more thing before I go: In this episode, we see that photographs, for whatever reason, are depicted as 2D illustrations, as opposed to the CGI animation used to bring the rest of the show to life. I guess previous episodes established this but it’s repeatedly done here. And it’s distracting, especially since the drawings look a lot more appealing than the 3D models. Not to mention it raises the question of why in-universe photos look so markedly different than everything else. I’m definitely thinking too hard about this but it’s still distracting. Anyway, mid episode! Try harder next time, “Sonic Boom!” [6/10]