Season 1 | Sonic Boom: TV Series Discussion

[Failinhearts]

I haven't seen a lot of this show. I think Green With Envy was the last episode I watched. I'm gonna have a binge-watching session some time later and I might post my reviews on episodes that stand out to me.

But as it stands, I really like this show. Yeah, there were some few dud episodes here and there, but I still think it's a fun watch. Just seeing some of my favorite characters interact with each other like this, with great voice acting makes me happy.

[Jason Berry]

Who's gonna bet that Tails's crush turns out to be Perci ? (Perci's the new bandicoot that's supposed to show up in the cartoon somewhere down the line).

It'll be a blender or some kind of machine I bet.

 

I get the whole jaded approach to the hero vs villain formula, it's part of what adds to Sonic's relationship with the villains, especially Orbot and Cubot. They know how things will go down so clearly they decide they may as well help each other along the way.

I guess the problem is that, compared to this, the civilians of the show aren't really developed outside their negative, apathetic aspects. The hero thing's gotten old so they don't see a reason to be nice to Sonic, even as a standard person. I've yet to really see a member of the supporting cast that has been portrayed positively. Even the villains have way more chances to develop redeeming aspects than them.

With the exception of Dave the intern, the villagers aren't the focus of the show. They don't need development.

[Shaddy Zaphod]

With the exception of Dave the intern, the villagers aren't the focus of the show. They don't need development.

But then, why protect them? Nobody has shown themselves to be useful, or even nice to the main characters. If we had an Archie#175 episode (I know it isn't going to happen) nobody would care about everyone being kidnapped like in the comic, because none of these characters exceed in any regard but hatefulness. I'm not opposed to the whole "Crapsack world" approach to Sonic, but there has to either be some reason the characters defend such worthless extras, or just be crazy or mindless enough not to notice in the first place, excluding minor exceptions (ala Dib from invader Zim). But since these people are so not worth defending, and Sonic and the others are clearly aware of this, what is anyone bothering with this? It writes them into a corner with what they're able to do with the episode plots, and basically forbids it from going to a more serial approach for the series. There's only so much we can do in this tiny village, and without something important or likeable to defend, it's doomed to either going to end early or go stale (or you could take the Archie #175 approach but have this be the start of Roboticization in this series, which I would adore).

[SpongicX]

But then, why protect them? Nobody has shown themselves to be useful, or even nice to the main characters. If we had an Archie#175 episode (I know it isn't going to happen) nobody would care about everyone being kidnapped like in the comic, because none of these characters exceed in any regard but hatefulness. I'm not opposed to the whole "Crapsack world" approach to Sonic, but there has to either be some reason the characters defend such worthless extras, or just be crazy or mindless enough not to notice in the first place, excluding minor exceptions (ala Dib from invader Zim). But since these people are so not worth defending, and Sonic and the others are clearly aware of this, what is anyone bothering with this? It writes them into a corner with what they're able to do with the episode plots, and basically forbids it from going to a more serial approach for the series. There's only so much we can do in this tiny village, and without something important or likeable to defend, it's doomed to either going to end early or go stale (or you could take the Archie #175 approach but have this be the start of Roboticization in this series, which I would adore).

Because that goes against everything Sonic and his friends fight for. Sonic and his friends have abilities that most others can't imitate, and just like super heroes, they use their abilities to stop threats. It doesn't matter if the people are oblivious idiots or not, it would go against Sonic and his friends' status as heroes/defenders, to just let citizens die without trying to save them. Sonic's fights with Eggman can get pretty destructive, and it would be irresponsible for Sonic to let civilians get killed in the process. Just because someone doesn't treat you fairly, doesn't mean they should be killed for it.

I don't get why people get so worked up with the villagers, I'm glad they're not a focus on the show. The writers seem to use the characters as bland background extras, in order to show how Eggman's schemes are a threat, and to make the main characters stand out as the characters you want to root for. The main characters and villains are the focus of the show, and that's how it should be. The viewers want to see what happens with Sonic, his friends, and enemies. I doubt they tune in to see what walrus civilian #1 will be doing...  But it wouldn't make sense if the show only included Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Sticks, Orbot, Cubot, and Eggman. It just wouldn't feel right to see Sonic's team and Eggman fighting in an area where there's no civilization. Having background characters running in fear, or cheering for the heroes gives the show more atmosphere. Also, I love how they handled the citizens overall.

When I saw all the concept art for the characters of this show, I feared this was almost going to be like Sonic X, where episodes put too much focus on characters that the viewers won't care about. Luckily, that wasn't the case, out of all the characters, only one of the new characters was made into a main character, and that was Sticks. I'm glad they chose only Sticks. She wasn't like Chris Thorndyke, who was forced into every episode, and offered nothing to contribute to the Sonic fans that tuned in. Unlike Chris, Sticks has a very unique personality out of any Sonic character ever made. She's quirky, paranoid, wild, surprisingly useful in battles, and always tries to keep her friends and herself safe, even if nobody believes her. Imagine if this show put too much focus on the background extras of this show, it would get pretty boring, or odd. I remember liking the idea of Sonic X for instance, but the show was kind of ruined for me, when a majority of the episodes focused more on Chris moping around and wondering where Sonic is. Sonic X wasn't  just annoying with episodes focused on Chris, there have been episodes that focused too much on other boring/awkward made up human characters, like Chris's friends, Chris's teacher, the army, etc. If you're going to make a show based off a game series, then they should actually focus on the material and characters from the games.  They shouldn't make up a new character, and force them in as the focus. Sonic Boom's use of characters is Sonic X done right. They made their own characters, but they didn't force them into the show's plots. Even with Sticks being a new main character for the series, she's still handled much better than Chris. It's not like every episode has Sticks stealing the show (that's more like Eggman's doing, lol.) Sticks is just an addition to the show. She's not a main focus, she's a main supporting character who's mostly used for the comedy of the show. If this show tried giving the minor background characters too much likability, then it wouldn't make the show as interesting. It also serves as a challenge for the main characters. Having difficult characters for the main characters to deal with can set up some good moments of humor. As long as they don't make the villagers do awful things, like hurt Sonic and his friends, destroy their property, or humiliate them, then what's the point in hating on them? 

[Shaddy Zaphod]

Because even characters without depth and serving a purpose only to establish the villain as a threat can and should be likeable? I'm not saying they need complexities, giant and expansive personalities or whatever, I'm just saying that they're coming off as more of a liability to the heroes than something that deserves protection.

And again, this is probably just because I want it to go further than just this island and village in later seasons (Sonic can only go super using the blue emerald!) and have at least some form of progression. The most we've gotten so far is callbacks to previous episodes, but that just further lampshades how little permutation the show has.

I know. I'm biased to a fault towards the more canon-oriented Sonic stuff, but I just feel that the series as a whole doesn't necessarily do anything to actively mark itself as Sonic the Hedgehog currently. Most of these plots could be happening to completely different characters, but we're only on the tip of the turning point. If Shadow, Metal Sonic, Chaos Emeralds, anything from the other universes that is identifiable as Sonic were to show up and take us somewhere else than this island, I would most likely shut my face.

[Jason Berry]

Does Sonic need a reason to protect the baby animals and Flickies in the game? He's the hero. That's what he does.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Found Episode 37 on Youtube

 

[Shaddy Zaphod]

Does Sonic need a reason to protect the baby animals and Flickies in the game? He's the hero. That's what he does.

Flickies don't have episodes where they antagonize Sonic or force themselves into his adventures.

As for the episode, it was really funny. Dave is totally professor chaos in anthro form. Mixed with Howard Wolowitz, maybe.

 

Also, when Dave accidentally started that dance party, I'm 100% sure the music playing was the YMCA song.

Edited August 3, 2015 by Shaddy

[juliejo2001]

With the whole Tails' Crush episode, I seriously hope there's a joke about Plane getting jealous.

[E-122-Psi]

About the villagers, it's not they challenge Sonic at all. I like this idea of Sonic's ideals actually being challenged. Sonic wants to help people and yet it sometimes gets made as thankless and arduous a job as possible. It actually shows some of the most frustrated and upset moments we usually get from Sonic, and yet he still goes through with it without question. That makes him pretty sympathetic and noble.

I think it's more the problem that's usually the only quality we get from the supporting cast, they don't have a lot of redeeming moments. It makes Sonic's dynamic less one of pros and cons to more just consistently cynical and a bit depressing, especially since they get away with it a lot of the time, thus negating him trying to maintain justice (seriously who doesn't want the Gogobas to get their head kicked in at least once?). It would be nice if some of the civilians got establishment that wasn't just negative and there to make things harder for Sonic, otherwise it borders as a Crapsack world.

Edited August 3, 2015 by E-122-Psi

[Shaddy Zaphod]

I guess if it were a plot point that the villagers weren't worth saving and it leads to some character development or furthering of the storyline, I'd be okay with it. And it has done that a little, so I think I am overreacting a bit. Being kind of hypocritical too, since I was always defending the whole subseries as "what it is, not what you want it to be" and here I am criticizing it for not going in the direction I want.

[SpongicX]

About the villagers, it's not they challenge Sonic at all. I like this idea of Sonic's ideals actually being challenged. Sonic wants to help people and yet it sometimes gets made as thankless and arduous a job as possible. It actually shows some of the most frustrated and upset moments we usually get from Sonic, and yet he still goes through with it without question. That makes him pretty sympathetic and noble.

I think it's more the problem that's usually the only quality we get from the supporting cast, they don't have a lot of redeeming moments. It makes Sonic's dynamic less one of pros and cons to more just consistently cynical and a bit depressing, especially since they get away with it a lot of the time, thus negating him trying to maintain justice (seriously who doesn't want the Gogobas to get their head kicked in at least once?). It would be nice if some of the civilians got establishment that wasn't just negative and there to make things harder for Sonic, otherwise it borders as a Crapsack world.

To be fair, the Gogoba Chief did get his foot crushed under a giant boulder in "Eggman Unplugged", and Sonic ended up leaving him there. I'd say that's payback, especially since that's still the last episode to feature him so far. 

I noticed a big graphical error in the episode "Next Top Villain." Just look at Amy in the picture bellow, and you should notice a big error. 

[Kiah]

Although a bit late, I didn't want to give my take on Episode 37 until I had some means of adding images like I usually do. Now that I can do so...here we go!

"Next Top Villain" was a good episode. Dave the Intern's idiotic antics throughout the episode I thought was funny. I still find Dave annoying but at least he's been making me laugh as of late! Although it was inadvertent, Dave did catch Dr. Eggman and was able to achieve villainy.

Aside from that, some additional observations I noticed from Episode 37:

Dave flying around shooting lasers, Team Sonic scared and losing the battle, Sonic begging for mercy...I knew this was a fantasy scene as there is no way this would happen for real within the show!

The action figures Dave plays with are like the ones for the figures used by the "Eggheads" (Episode 8 "Eggheads") when they planned their attack on Sonic. Or tried to, anyway

These guys are so sad...The Lightning Bolts Society actually thought this prank was super evil?

Dance party at Sonic's house! To the "Y.M.C.A" song!

Seeing Team Sonic playing with and petting the rabbits among Dave's 3rd failed plan was cute

Notice Dave's action figures on the left? In this shot from left to right there is a figure of a Crab Bot, The Pepper People (from Episode 30 "Chili Dog Day Afternoon"), T.W. Barker in his lawyer outfit (from Episode 17 "Don't Judge Me") and Tails' plane

Sonic and Dr. Eggman afraid of Dave's mom...hilarious! 

And Tails for for the Lightning Bolts Society's prank!

So again, this was a good episode I enjoyed. Especially with all of the observations that I noticed as they were fun to pick up. And aside from Dr. Eggman pretty much everyone had a happy ending. Even Dave as he didn't deserve one but hey, getting your  parents' approval is always an awesome thing

I've already seen the upcoming Episode 38 in French as wanted to test out my listening and comprehension skills in regards to my second language and I enjoyed this episode very much from what I heard, saw and understood! I can only imagine how much I will enjoy it once I hear it in English come next week!

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

Next Top Villain thoughts:

• I liked how this episode was focused on Dave the Intern, despite that he failed badly in trying to destroy Sonic... At least he captured Eggman for a brief moment!
• Dave's mom screams Howard's mom to me! Also, it was hilarious that Sonic and Eggman were afraid of her.
• DANCE PARTAY!
• I thought Sticks hated cute and fluffy things.
• The Lightning Dolt Society is back agh! Oh well, they tricked Tails, of all people lol.
• The acting was good though, over dramatic and Sonic's panic voice! 
• I'M BILLY THE ECHIDNA! Dat reference...

[E-122-Psi]

Pretty good episode. As someone who wasn't big on Double Doomsday this was a much funnier episode for Dave. Liked the Lightning Bolt's evil scheme too (so should have put sinister dramatic music for the final shot though).

Anyone getting vibes of Professor Chaos from this episode, especially with the 'minions' gag?

[SpongicX]

Next Top Villain thoughts:

 

• Dave's mom screams Howard's mom to me! Also, it was hilarious that Sonic and Eggman were afraid of her.
• I thought Sticks hated cute and fluffy things.

I also found it funny how Dave's mom was most likely voiced by Cindy Robinson (Amy's voice actress.)

In the episode Buster, it's safe to assume that Sticks learned to appreciate little animals. In the beginning, she was reckless and uncaring towards cute fuzzy and adorable creatures. After all her time with loving her pet Buster, Sticks probably learned that pets and other animals can be treated the same way as she treated Buster. Not to mention, Sticks might feel lonely without Buster, which caused her to start growing a respect towards other animals. Besides, I'm glad Sticks was petting the rabbit in this episode, that would have been sad to see Sticks want to cook them all, like she wanted to do to that (evil) rabbit in "Into The Wilderness." 

[Forte-Metallix]

Seeing Team Sonic playing with and petting the rabbits among Dave's 3rd failed plan was cute

 

Wait, I thought Sticks hated cute, fuzzy, and adorable things?

[AshGreninJovan]

Wait, I thought Sticks hated cute, fuzzy, and adorable things?

You need to watch Episode 4 of Sonic Boom TV.

[FriendBot]

They all laughed when they said I'll retire of making Boom episode reviews but guess what FOOLS WHO'S LAUGHING NOW?!

...wait, what do you mean you knew I was going to do this anyway?

aw man, so much for my chances to be as evil as Dave....

Next Top Villain is another really good episode! I was quite surprised that there's an episode focused on a character that isn't part of the main cast so that's cool that we have a Dave episode.

But yeah, seeing Dave tries his best to be a villain and it hilariously fails every time, it's both funny and sad. But after his mom acknowledges that he's finally a villain was kind of sweet.

Of course, the jokes are aplenty. Whether it's Dave's fantasies, Sonic and Eggman being afraid of Dave's mom, Dave's failed villainous attempts and Tails falling for the Bolts' latest scheme.

Overall, just a funny but surprisingly cute episode.

 

[Forte-Metallix]

You need to watch Episode 4 of Sonic Boom TV.

...Yeah, I did.

That was the episode that established that Sticks hates those things.

What's your point?

[AshGreninJovan]

...Yeah, I did.

That was the episode that established that Sticks hates those things.

What's your point?

It looks like Sticks' "good" behavior about loving "cute" animals still continues...

[Ducktor Naldush]

Simply put, Boom isn't about continuity and consistent characters' personalities. There are some fixed points, like Sticks being paranoid, Knuckles being stupid and Tails being an inventor, but everything else is subjected to rule of funny.

 

So yeah, Sticks likes fluffy things for that scene

[DiamondX]

Oh no...

If Boom is at Boomerang in UK, that means i will get it in Boomerang too

No offence to boomerang fans, but i dont really watch it...

But ill still watch the show...

[DarkLight]

That dance-off between Sonic and Eggman was the highlight of the episode for me.

And the gang minus Sonic (sorta) continue to be overly-mean jerks to Tails. Only this time it's over something as trivial as decorations. And they just love overusing the "Not cool, _____" don't they?

[SonicWind]

And the gang minus Sonic (sorta) continue to be overly-mean jerks to Tails. Only this time it's over something as trivial as decorations. And they just love overusing the "Not cool, _____" don't they?

In my opinion, it's not so much being jerks as it is just calling him out on a technicality (and Sticks being paranoid... again). Also, that New Year's ball was probably the only one they had at the moment, so making a bad joke about its mishandling most likely really irritated the others on that basis.

But hey, you have your own opinion, and I won't fight you over it.

Edited August 8, 2015 by SonicWind