Myst's SatAM: The Complete Series Review
Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Series Review
By: lol_internet
"He's the fastest thing ali-iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!"
Back in the days of my childhood, i'd eagerly await Saturday Mornings, when i'd flock to my TV set at 8 in the morning,
to catch what in my eyes was the greatest cartoon ever concieved, Sonic the Hedgehog. I had played the games since '91,
and now he was not only a videogame character, but a cartoon character as well. The theme song was undeniably cheesy, but
perfect for a Saturday morning cartoon show. I loved the way Sonic just blasted onto the screen at the beginning of the intro,
as Robotnik's giant airship loomed over Sonic's land, cutting away to his dark and dreary labs. It seemed to capture the
videogames I adored so perfectly.
Emphasis on "seemed" As cool as the intro was, and as much as it reminded me of such fun levels as "Wing Fortress Zone"
and "Scrap Brain Zone" the show itself seemed to stray from the high-speed action, and giant robots the videogames were
known for, and relied more on convoluted backstories of the new characters created specially for the show, most notably,
newcomer Princess Sally Acorn, as she tries to free her dad, "the King of Acorns" from the Zone of Silence and restore her
old home from Dr Robotnik, who has seemingly taken over the world.
The show itself was leaps and bounds above it's sydnicated counterpart, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, in terms of
animation quality. The backgrounds were lush and detailed, but by today's standards, you probably couldn't tell, as animation
is always getting better and better. It's not as pretty, and nicely detailed as the recent anime series, Sonic X, but for its
time, it was almost feature quality.
I ate this show up as a kid, as I did with anything containing Sonic's blue mug on it. But I never realized just how much
of an annoying twit he was in this show until now. He says the word "mondo" in almost every sentence, along with other
'ultra-cool' buzzwords, like bogus! and totally! And let's not forget his two classic catch phrases from the series:
"Gotta Juice!" and "Way Past Cool!" also, there's "Let's do it to it!" Man, that guy had a lot of catch-phrases.
The problem with the show is that almost all the things you've come to know and love from the videogames are nonexistent,
save for rings, and a cameo by Buzzbombers in one episode.
You want Chaos Emeralds? Sorry.
Super Sonic? Nuh-uh..
Metal Sonic? No sir.
Knuckles? Knuckles didn't come around until a few months after the series. The episode with The Floating Island did sort
of tease at a possible inclusion of Knuckles, but nope. Not here.
Another problem with the show is, this is a kids cartoon with talking animals. Yet they act, and are treated as humans,
something writer Ben Hurst admits in an interview on the DVD. All of the drama surrounding these Disney rejects, and the
complex love triangles they have is just bizarre for talking cartoon animals, and fits a Soap Opera, or some sci-fi show,
like Stargate SG-1, or something, better.
Regardless of how dramatic the series gets, there are some occasional episodes that are genuinally entertaining, such as "The
Odd Couple" when Sonic moves in with french stereotype, Antoine, and drives him nuts. Other standout episodes like Sonic & The
Secret Scrolls and Sonic Boom, are a good watch..
The DVD menus are very nice, and while I don't have a giant surround speaker system, to properly judge the audio, it sounds
pretty good on my Philips Stereo TV.
The artwork on the box is hit-and-miss. The coverart is average, and captures the feel of the series well. The two slipcases
for discs 1-4 are littered with Sonic fanart, which ranges from grade-school scribbles on notebook paper, to really good
pieces of all the characters. One I liked in particular is a drawing of a stained-glass window, with Sonic holding up a ring as
Robotnik ominiously looks on. I was hoping for a little booklet, like The Simpsons Season sets got, but only a little fold-out
poster of all of Shout! Factory's products.
As far as special features go, this set includes two featurettes, storyboards, and a printable script.
The Ben Hurst featurette was interesting, and told a lot about how the series began, and why it was canned. Apparently,
my beloved Power Rangers were the reason this show got the axe. Cue frowny emoticon.
I expected to really enjoy the interview with Jaleel "Did-I-Do-thaaaat?" White, voice of Sonic, but it really bored me.
Not much info on the series, or Jaleel's opinons on Sonic as a character, just him talking about how he got the job, and
what he did in the recording booth, snore. I would've liked to see some old ABC Promos for the show, but this set is done
by Shout! Factory, not Disney or ABC, so it's understandable that they are missing.
Pros:
-Very cool intro, accompained by a cheesy, yet very catchy, theme song.
-Very nice and detailed animation
-Menus are exceptionally done
Cons:
-Deveates too much from the videogames they are based on, and lacks their charm
-Coverart is hit-and-miss
-The show gets a little too "serious" for a Saturday Morning Cartoon about talking animals
Too Many:
-Star Wars references
Overall: 6.9
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