Sonic the Hedgehog
I remember the first five episodes very vividly (excluding the pitched pilot). Why? Well, Dr. Robotnik was menacing and evil. It looked as if he already achieved his goal of being supreme ruler and was taking a break to see his machines in action. The setting looked bleak as Sonic and his crew tried to live out their days in secret away from his mighty fortress. Every now and then they would try to fight back in very dangerous, very risky missions. The only thing Sonic had going for him was his speed. He didn't have any other special abilities that could stop Robotnik's machines. Sonic was witty, yes, but you could feel his emotions whenever he was scared, surprised, or egotistical. Even though there were, on occasion, cartoon physics, much of the world and the characters in it felt very real.
The remaining episodes of the first season was hit-or-miss. I recall certain plot points but failed to grasp the episode in its entirety. I think they tried to open up the world with Dr. Robotnik persuing things outside his fortress of solitude with things like underground cities and ventures in outer space. The episodes still held up but the plot holes got worse. Episode 6 tries a Robin Hood approach but the goal of catching Sonic falls flat when Robotnik decides to follow through with the race. Episode 8 has Sonic and Rotor managing to fly into outer space with an already drained rocket that fell off the satellite during take-off. At least Episode 12 made sense where turning dinosaurs into robots would be beneficial to Dr. Robotnik.
What about Season 2? Actually... I don't remember anything of Season 2. I guess ABC really didn't like the direction of Season 1 and ordered to have the dark tones reduced, adding more humor to the episodes. My reaction to this is rather mixed. Rotor's character redesign is terrible and the fear of Dr. Robotnik doing anything against the Freedom Fighters is gone. I'm neutral to Sally's new stature wearing a jacket and Nicole's personality shift when around Sonic. Although Antoine was ultimately clumsy and a risk to the team, I simply could not tolerate Dulcy and the convenience of having a dragon fly the team around the area and shoot ice from her nose. I think Sonic's anti-gravity boots were way too powerful but I welcomed Dr. Robotnik finally developing good counters to the little hedgehog's speed.
How about the storyline of Season 2? I loved the continuity and the exploration of events of the past and future. I hated how it was executed. It was just way too silly: The Void, how Robotizing worked, Time Travel, Uncle Chuck overcoming Dr. Robotnik's control, Snively taking control of Robotnik's forces, and half-episode shenanigans. Oh and I definitely feel like the power stones was a cop-out ending. I enjoyed it for what it was but it wasn't what I fell in love with all those years ago. I think at least we all can agree that it was much better than Sonic Underground.
There was no season 3. They lost that slot to Power Rangers. If you really wanted to continue the story, you could read Archie comics. I hear there are currently more than 250 issues you could catch up on. I still have Issues 7 through 34. I think they follow the events of the cartoon very loosely until Issue #50. However, be prepared for the usual... horrible... stories the comic writers usually come up with. If you are any familiar to Marvel's alternative timelines, universes, crossovers, and reboots then... I guess you will fit right in.
12-11-2016