The show features a more dramatic and dark story than the lighter Adventures series,[3] depicting Sonic as a member of a band of freedom fighters battling to overthrow Dr. Robotnik, now a despotic dictator who conquered their home planet Mobius years prior, ruling it as a polluted industrial dystopia. To distinguish it from other Sonic the Hedgehog media, the series is commonly referred to by fans as "SatAM", in reference to its Saturday morning timeslot.[1]
The program aired for two seasons with a total of 26 episodes on ABC from September 18, 1993, to December 3, 1994,[4] and continued in reruns until 1995. A third season was planned, but was shelved when Disney bought ABC, effectively ending the series with a cliffhanger. Despite its cancellation, a fan following has elevated the series to become a cult hit.[5] Some original characters of the series later appeared in the video game Sonic Spinball; the show also inspired a long-running comic book series of the same name by Archie Comics.
Plot
The series takes place on Mobius, a planet mostly populated by anthropomorphic animals. The Kingdom of Acorn, based within the metropolitan city of Mobotropolis, was at war with an unseen enemy. King Acorn recruited a human scientist named Julian to build war machines to end the war with a victory. However, during peacetime, Julian and his nephew Snively launched a coup d'état against the kingdom. The King is banished to another dimension called the Void and most of the citizens are captured and permanently transformed into robot slaves, through a machine called the Roboticizer. Julian renames himself as Dr. Robotnik, now the dictator of Mobius. Mobotropolis is renamed Robotropolis, a polluted, industrial cityscape.
Robotnik finds himself at odds with a small collective group called the Freedom Fighters, who operate out of the hidden woodland village of Knothole. They are led by Sonic the Hedgehog and Princess Sally Acorn, King Acorn's sole heir. Other members include Sonic's best friend Miles "Tails" Prower, computer genius Rotor the Walrus, Frenchcoyote Antoine Depardieu, half-roboticized Bunnie Rabbot, and Dulcy the Dragon. They act as a rebellion against Robotnik's regime. Sonic uses the Power Rings to gain a temporary boost in power. Both the rings and the Roboticizer were designed by Sonic's uncle Chuck, one of the victims of the machine.
Early on in the series, Sonic uses a Power Ring to restore Uncle Chuck's free will in his mechanical body. Chuck decides to act as a spy for the Freedom Fighters, operating from within the city. He is eventually discovered by Robotnik in the second season and escapes to Knothole. Sally searches for her father during the series. He is found alive within the Void, shared with the sorcerer Naugus who was also imprisoned within the dimension by his former associate Robotnik. Naugus attempts to escape the Void, but both he and King Acorn discover their bodies turn to crystal if they leave the Void due to their prolonged exposure to it. King Acorn gives his daughter a list of known Freedom Fighters that they can make use of in their fight against Robotnik. The heroes gain other allies including Ari the Ram, and Lupe, leader of the elusive wolf pack.
In the series' sole two-part episode, "Blast to the Past", Sonic and Sally use the Time Stones to travel back in time, in an attempt to prevent Robotnik's planned takeover. They fail, but manage to get their younger selves to the safety of Knothole, with help from Sally's nanny Rosie Woodchuck.
In the series finale, Robotnik builds the Doomsday Project to destroy the population. The Freedom Fighters launch a full-scale attack against Robotnik, with Sonic and Sally destroying the Doomsday Project with the power of the Deep Power Stones. Robotnik is caught in the destruction and is utterly destroyed along with Doomsday and the Freedom Fighters declare victory, with Sonic and Sally kissing. In a final scene, Snively becomes the main antagonist, accompanied out of the remains of an elevator by an unseen ally with red eyes. Ben Hurst, one of the series' writers, confirmed the figure was Naugus.
Characters
Main
Sonic (voiced by Jaleel White as his older self and Tahj Mowry as his younger self) is a blue hedgehog and the main protagonist of the series. He is able to run at superhuman speed, and is the only Freedom Fighter capable of using magical rings called Power Rings. Sonic has an impatient and head-strong personality, but is also fearless, heroic, and well-meaning. He always mockingly refers to Robotnik as "Ro-butt-nik".
Princess Sally Alicia Acorn (voiced by Kath Soucie as her older self and Lindsay Ridgeway as her younger self) is a chipmunk who is the rightful princess of Mobotropolis and Sonic's love interest. As strategist and leader of the Knothole Freedom Fighters, she is knowledgeable and the voice of reason. Sally tries to keep Sonic grounded. She is known for her compassion and master diplomacy.
Bunnie Rabbot (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh) is a rabbit with a Southern accent. Half of her body was roboticized, leaving her left arm and both legs mechanical. She is skilled in martial arts and wants to be returned to normal.
Antoine "Ant" Depardieu (voiced by Rob Paulsen) is a coyote with a French accent whose awkwardness often places the others in danger and gets him captured. He has some difficulty speaking English. He has romantic feelings for Princess Sally, and attempts to impress her. However, his selfishness hinders this goal. Sonic often teases Antoine over his shortcomings.
Rotor (voiced by Mark Ballou in Season 1 and Cam Brainard in Season 2) is a walrus and the mechanic of Knothole Village. He provides the Knothole Freedom Fighters with useful inventions, and accompanies them on infiltrations.
Tails (voiced by Bradley Pierce) is a young two-tailed fox who idolizes Sonic. While usually left behind in Knothole, he proves useful in deadly missions.
Nicole (voiced by Kath Soucie) is a portable computer that Sally uses to hack into Robotnik's technology. Nicole speaks in a female monotone, and exhibits artificial intelligence. It is indicated that Sally received Nicole from her father.
Dulcy (voiced by Cree Summer) is a young dragon, who provides the Knothole Freedom Fighters with transportation. Sporting powerful lungs, Dulcy can blow enemies away and burn/freeze them with fire or ice breath. She has trouble landing, and often crashes mid-flight.
Villains
Dr. Julian Robotnik (voiced by Jim Cummings) is an evil human warlord who seeks to cover Mobius in machinery and transform its population into robotic slaves by roboticizing them. He is chiefly opposed by the Knothole Freedom Fighters. Robotnik's obsession with destroying Sonic is often his downfall. In this version, his real first name is Julian, adopting the moniker "Robotnik" after his takeover.
Snively (voiced by Charlie Adler) is Robotnik's nephew and assistant. He is constantly abused by his uncle. As such, Snively hates Robotnik and plots behind his back.
Naugus (voiced by Michael Bell) is a powerful humanoid sorcerer of indeterminate species with bat-like ears, a rhinoceros horn on his head, a crustacean-like claw for a left hand, and a lizard-like tail. He resents his former associate Robotnik for betraying and imprisoning him within the Void. Naugus desires retribution, but he cannot escape without turning into crystal due to him being in the Void for too long as he can no longer exist outside the void.
Cluck (vocal effects by Frank Welker) is a robotic chicken-like bird and the only creature Robotnik shows affection towards.
Swat-Bots (voiced by Jim Cummings and Frank Welker) are Robotnik's primary henchmen and foot soldiers.
Supporting
Sir Charles "Chuck" Hedgehog (voiced by William Windom) is Sonic's uncle, and the inventor of the Roboticizer before Robotnik stole it. He was roboticized and made into one of Robotnik's slaves, until Sonic restored his free will. He serves as a spy for the Freedom Fighters. According to Robby London, he was named after the writer and animator, Chuck Menville, who died in 1992.[6]
Ari Ram (voiced by Dorian Harewood) is a Freedom Fighter who worked as a double agent for Robotnik, only to be betrayed later and trapped in the Void. He is later rescued by Sonic and joins the Knothole Freedom Fighters.
King Acorn (voiced by Tim Curry) is the former king of Mobotropolis and Sally's father. He was banished to the Void during Robotnik's takeover, and like Naugus, cannot escape without turning into crystal due to prolonged exposure to the Void. But before returning to the Void, he gives Sally the list of all the Freedom Fighter groups in Mobius, telling her to find them, unify them under her banner and establish a Freedom Fighter network so they can be strong enough to overthrow Robotnik once and for all.
Lupe Wolf (voiced by Shari Belafonte) – Leader of the Wolfpack Freedom Fighters and one of the Knothole Freedom Fighters' allies in the fight against Robotnik.
Sonic the Hedgehog was created by DiC Animation City in association with Sega of America, which produced a total of 26 episodes for its two-season run, and the Italian studio Reteitalia S.p.A., part of Fininvest company in association with Telecinco. The show's animation was outsourced to the Korean studio Sae Rom Production and Spanish studio Milimetros. Pre-production stages of the show's first season (as well as the weekday syndicated show Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog) were handled by Canadian Studio B (later known as DHX Media Vancouver).
Before production began, Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske and its newly appointed consumer products director Michealene Risley approached DiC Entertainment's CEO Andy Heyward and the ABC network to produce a television show featuring Sonic. After being shown the character, Heyward agreed to make the show and was granted the license. According to Robby London, DiC originally made a deal to produce only the Saturday morning Sonic series for the ABC network, which was originally planned to air in the Fall of 1992.[8] The cartoon was to be more light-hearted compared to the final product, as reflected by the episode "Heads or Tails", early promotional material found in Fleetway's Sonic the Comic[9][10] and the early issues of Sonic the Hedgehog comics by Archie, which were based on the Saturday morning Sonic cartoon. However, DiC also wanted to expand the show and produce additional episodes for weekday syndication as well, similar to what DiC had previously done with The Real Ghostbusters, but Mark Pedowitz, the then-senior vice president of business affairs and contracts at ABC, who expected the Sonic cartoon to air exclusively on ABC, rejected the idea, telling London "If you guys want to do syndication, be our guest, go with God, but you won’t be on our network."
ABC would not agree to the deal until London came with a proposition that DiC would produce a separate, vastly different Sonic show for syndication instead, the result of which became Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. Afterwards, ABC was at first willing to air only a single half-hour episode as a prime-time special scheduled to air in March 1993 (which would become the episode "Heads or Tails") before ultimately delaying it and including it as part of the show which ABC picked up again for a full season, this time airing in the Fall of 1993, alongside Adventures airing in syndication at the same time. During that time, the Saturday morning Sonic cartoon received a makeover and was made darker and more serious in order to distinguish itself from the syndicated Sonic cartoon.[11][12][13] The show bible for the Saturday morning Sonic cartoon was written in February 1992[14] with the final revision made on March 10, 1993.[15]
An ancient, formerly evil wizard named Lazar takes away Sonic's speed, with the promise to return it if Sonic retrieves the wizard's computer archive of spells from Robotnik. (This episode was the actual 1st full edition of this series to air on ABC, on Sept. 18, 1993.[16])
Princess Sally and Antoine follow up on a lead that suggests that her father, King Acorn, may be alive. Meanwhile, Sonic attempts to rescue a captured freedom fighter.
3
"Sonic and Sally"
Ben Hurst & Pat Allee
October2,1993(1993-10-02)
238-202
When the Princess is captured, Robotnik creates a robotic duplicate of her as a means of spying on and sabotaging the Freedom Fighters.
4
"Hooked on Sonics"
Randy Rogel
October9,1993(1993-10-09)
238-207
Antoine goes after Robotnik himself in an attempt to impress Sally and earn personal glory.
5
"Ultra Sonic"
David Villaire
October16,1993(1993-10-16)
238-203
Sonic finds his long lost uncle, Sir Charles, after a failed mission in Robotropolis.
Sonic is paralysed by a recurring nightmare personifying his own personal fears; meanwhile, Robotnik unleashes a machine capable of destroying the world.
7
"Warp Sonic"
Matt Uitz
October30,1993(1993-10-30)
238-210
The Freedom Fighters find themselves defending an underground city of Mobian refugees, all the while coming to terms with their own personal relationships.
8
"Harmonic Sonic"
David Villaire
November6,1993(1993-11-06)
238-208
Robotnik launches a spy satellite in an effort to locate Knothole Village, the Freedom Fighters' hidden base. Sonic and Rotor head towards the satellite using a makeshift rocket to destroy it.
9
"Sonic and the Secret Scrolls"
Janis Diamond
November13,1993(1993-11-13)
238-204
The Freedom Fighters embark on a mission to find magical scrolls which may hold the key to unlimited power.
The Freedom Fighters' home, the Great Forest, is dying. In search of magical water that causes plants to grow at an accelerated speed, the Freedom Fighters journey underground where they begin disappearing one by one.
11
"Heads or Tails"
Len Janson
November27,1993(1993-11-27)
238-010/238-213
Sonic heads to Robotropolis in search of materials to build a defense against an impending invasion by Robotnik. However, the inexperienced Tails is tagging along.
12
"Sonic Past Cool"
Kayte Kuch & Sheryl Scarborough
December4,1993(1993-12-04)
238-212
Robotnik has set his eyes on the last living herd of a dinosaur-like species. The Freedom Fighters help the creatures navigate through the Great Jungle while fighting off the advances of Robotnik's machines.
13
"Sonic Racer"
Len Janson
December11,1993(1993-12-11)
238-206
Robotnik holds a race in Robotropolis in a bid to lure Sonic into a trap. The other Freedom Fighters take advantage of Robotnik's fixation on the race in hopes of destroying the city's power generator.
Season 2 (1994)
No. overall
No. in season
Title
Written by
Original air date
Prod. code
14
1
"Game Guy"
Ben Hurst & Pat Allee
September10,1994(1994-09-10)
238-302
Sonic and Sally befriend an ally who claims to be part of another Freedom Fighter group, but he is not what he seems to be.
15
2
"Sonic Conversion"
Ben Hurst & Pat Allee
September17,1994(1994-09-17)
238-301
Knothole's De-roboticizer is a success! Bunnie Rabbot and Uncle Chuck are back to their normal selves! But the Freedom Fighters' latest accomplishment seems too good to be true.
16
3
"No Brainer"
Pat Allee
September24,1994(1994-09-24)
238-303
When Sonic loses his memory, Snively takes advantage and gets the hedgehog to infiltrate Knothole.
17
4
"Blast to the Past"
Ben Hurst
October1,1994(1994-10-01)
238-304
18
5
October8,1994(1994-10-08)
238-305
Part I: The war with Robotnik goes badly. The only hope may lie in a pair of magical Time Stones: using them Sonic and Sally could travel to Mobotropolis Kingdom's past, prior to Robotnik's takeover and stop the fight before it begins.Part II: The time-travel mission to stop Robotnik has failed; his armies have already taken Mobotropolis! Also, Sonic and Sally have somehow put their younger selves and the Knothole Village in the Great Forest at risk.
Antoine is appointed king of a biker gang, unaware of their cannibalistic tradition.
19b
6b
"Ghost Busted"
Pat Allee
October15,1994(1994-10-15)
238-306b
Sonic and Tails investigate a possible ghost problem while camping out.
20
7
"Dulcy"
Ben Hurst & Pat Allee
October22,1994(1994-10-22)
238-307
Dulcy is summoned to a dragon mating ground as Robotnik seeks to Roboticize the remainder of her species.
21
8
"The Void"
Ben Hurst
October29,1994(1994-10-29)
238-308
When Sally and Bunnie disappear, Sonic and Nicole rush in to rescue them, discovering the Void. Within the Void they encounter a mysterious wizard named Naugus, a long-lost friend, as well as Sally's father, the long lost King of Mobotropolis.
22a
9a
"The Odd Couple"
Len Janson
November5,1994(1994-11-05)
238-309a
Antoine is forced to share his house with Sonic after a failed landing from Dulcy destroys the hedgehog's home.
22b
9b
"Ro-Becca"
Pat Allee
November5,1994(1994-11-05)
238-309b
Antoine accidentally activates a robot Rotor was working on. The robot suddenly develops a crush on him.
23
10
"Cry of the Wolf"
Pat Allee
November12,1994(1994-11-12)
238-310
Sonic and company finally make contact with another Royal Freedom Fighter group. They must work together when a nearly indestructable war-machine arrives to attack.
24
11
"Drood Henge"
Ben Hurst
November19,1994(1994-11-19)
238-311
Sonic and Tails team up in order to thwart Robotnik's scheme to possess the magical Deep Power Stones.
25
12
"Spyhog"
Ben Hurst
November26,1994(1994-11-26)
238-312
Uncle Chuck finds himself increasingly at risk operating as a spy in Robotropolis.
26
13
"The Doomsday Project"
Ben Hurst
December3,1994(1994-12-03)
238-313
Robotnik's Doomsday Project begins a week earlier than anyone had anticipated. With all of Mobius in danger, the Freedom Fighters prepare for what may be their final battle.
Broadcast and distribution
Initial run
The Saturday morning series differs from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, which premiered two weeks earlier and aired on weekdays in syndication. While Adventures is lighthearted and comical, Sonic the Hedgehog featured a comparatively complex plot and dramatic atmosphere. It explored unusual story concepts for animation, including losing loved ones to war[17] and relationships focusing on young couples.[18][3]
While featuring a darker tone in comparison to Adventures, the Saturday morning show's first season had an episodic structure and aired out of order, however the second season featured a story arc (which would've continued in the later seasons, had the show not been cancelled). At ABC's request, the second season included episodes devoted to humor, while darker and dramatic elements were reduced. Other changes in season two include Princess Sally donning a jacket, Dulcy the Dragon being added to the cast and Rotor receiving a new design. ABC also ended up, in some weeks, airing back-to-back episodes of this show during the 1st season, while in Season 2, each time slot for the show was for a single episode only.[19]
Syndication
After the program's initial run, it appeared on the USA Network's Action Extreme Team block from June 1997 to January 1998. ABC did not replicate this, replacing Sonic with reruns of Free Willy. Sonic the Hedgehog aired in Canada on the CTV Network, with a bonus summer run between June 10 and September 2, 1995. It has not been rerun on broadcast or cable television in Canada since its cancellation on CTV, but was present on the Shomi video-on-demand platform until its November 30, 2016, closure. In 2004, it started airing on Spacetoon TV in the MENA region until May 2015. All scenes with depicted romance have been censored due to federal laws in Saudi Arabia.[citation needed]
From 1994 to 1996, it had a complete run on the UK television on ITV and Channel 4, In December 1994, the first season was broadcast in the Republic of Ireland on RTÉ2.[20] On September 2, 2016, reruns of the series began airing on Starz.[21] As of 2020, the show can be found on demand on Pluto TV on Paramount+, as well as YouTube. On March 15, 2021, it began airing in Malaysia on TA-DAA!.[22]
In September 2003, DIC revealed a new international package consisting of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog and the Sonic Christmas Blast special, titled "Totally Sonic!". The package would also feature digitally re-mastered, color-enhanced versions of the shows with new contemporary music, as well as bonus director's cut "Secret Sonic" episodes.[23][24]
Home releases
VHS/DVD name
Episodes
Distributor
Release date
Note
Super Sonic
"Super Sonic" "Sonic & Sally"
Buena Vista Home Video (1994) Lions Gate Home Entertainment/Trimark Home Video (2002)
October 21, 1994 (BVHV) February 26, 2002 (Lions Gate)
Sonic Racer
"Sonic Racer" "Sonic Boom"
Buena Vista Home Video (1994) Lions Gate Home Entertainment/Trimark Home Video (2002)
October 21, 1994 (BVHV) February 26, 2002 (Lions Gate)
Lions Gate Home Entertainment/Trimark Home Video (2002) NCircle Entertainment (2008)
February 26, 2002 (Lions Gate) December 23, 2008 (NCircle)
The Lions Gate release has an extra episode ("Sonic and the Secret Scrolls") as an award for completing the trivia game. The NCircle re-issue has the episodes in a different order, and lacks the bonus episode.
The Complete Series
All 26 episodes of the series
Shout! Factory
March 27, 2007
This four disc boxset includes the entire 26 episodes from the series, and are presented in its original, uncut broadcast presentation.
Bonus features include: storyboards, concept art, storyboard-to-screen comparisons, deleted/extended scenes, a printable prototype script of the series pilot (Heads or Tails), and interviews with Jaleel White and writer Ben Hurst.
The individual cases and the DVDs themselves also feature fan art submitted to Shout! Factory during the box set's development phase. The set features cover art by Ken Penders, and was released by Shout! Factory and Vivendi Visual Entertainment.
The Region 2 version was distributed by Delta Music Group PLC in the UK and released on September 10, 2007. While it contains the same content and bonus features as the Shout! Factory release (minus the printable pilot script, despite being mentioned on the box, as well as the hidden extra footage from interviews with Jaleel White and Ben Hurst), it uses different artwork for menus and packaging and the content itself has been reshuffled (discs 1-3 feature all episodes in production order and disc 4 contains all bonus features).
The Fight for Freedom
"Hooked on Sonics" "Ultra Sonic" "Sonic and the Secret Scrolls" "Warp Sonic"
NCircle Entertainment
September 16, 2008
Sonic Goes Green
"Heads or Tails" "Sonic's Nightmare" "Sub-Sonic" "Sonic Past Cool"
NCircle Entertainment
March 3, 2009
Freedom Fighters Unite
"Sonic Conversion" "Dulcy" "The Void" "Spy Hog"
NCircle Entertainment
May 5, 2009
Sonic Forever!
"No Brainer" "Blast To The Past (Part 1) "Blast to the Past" (Part 2) "Fed Up With Antoine" and "Ghost Busted" "The Odd Couple" and "Ro-Becca"
NCircle Entertainment
March 16, 2010
Doomsday Project
"Harmonic Sonic" "Game Guy" "Cry of the Wolf" "Drood Henge" "The Doomsday Project"
Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic book was initially based on the Saturday morning cartoon.[26] From its earliest issues, the book shared the characters and story premise established within it. However, the comic differed in that it featured humorous plots modeled after the weekday show.[27] After writer Ken Penders had the opportunity to view the Saturday morning program, the comic gradually became adventure-driven.[28]
The comic series shifted focus again after ABC cancelled Sonic the Hedgehog, developing into a relationship-basedsuperhero story, and following a reboot, Archie's Sonic was primarily inspired by the video game series. Nevertheless, the characters and locales from the Saturday morning cartoon remained prominent until the comic's cancellation in July 2017.[26]
Several video games were intended to use elements from the TV series, although only one was completed. This was Sonic Spinball, released in 1993 for the Sega Genesis. It contained characters from the show, including Princess Sally, Bunnie Rabbot, Rotor and Muttski. Spinball was commissioned due to Sonic the Hedgehog 3 being pushed back from its intended 1993 release in the holiday shopping season to February 1994, with the game being developed in under a year.[29] An 8-bit port of the game was also released for the Master System and Game Gear due to the poor reception of Sonic Drift in Japan.[30]
Another video game tentatively titled Sonic-16 was intended to be set in the same universe, with a prototype being created by Sega Technical Institute in November 1993. However, Yuji Naka and Sega management disliked the project, allgedly due to its slow-paced nature, and it was soon cancelled without any further development.[31][32][33] Directly afterwards, the same team worked on Sonic Mars; this would have featured Princess Sally and Bunnie Rabbot as playable characters.[34] This project eventually evolved into Sonic X-treme, which was cancelled in 1996 due to development difficulties.[35][36]Hackers also found within the data of the arcade gameSegaSonic the Hedgehog (1993) a near-complete sprite sheet for the Robotnik design used in the cartoon, with it being speculated it was to be used in a scrapped English localization.[37]
In the North American Sonic CD manual, Amy Rose is identified as Princess Sally.[38]
Revival Attempts
The co-story editor of the show's second season, Ben Hurst, spent many years trying to revive the series through various media. He would go on to write for Sonic Underground, but unfortunately, due to the plot of the series already being set in stone by the time he, and his co-writer Pat Allee, came on board the series, they were unable to do so. Ben would later state that, had he been brought on to the series first, he would've made it the third season of Sonic SatAM. He would also state that, if forced to include songs in the series, he would've either simply had it play over footage, or had Bunnie and Antoine[39] (or Tails, according to his friend Allison Scharlemann),[40] sing the songs.
Ben would later attend San Diego Comic Con in August 1999, meeting the head writer of the Archie Sonic comics, Ken Penders.[41] Ben expressed interest in wrapping up the SatAM story in a comic, with him eventually being offered a Sonic Super Special. However, Ben eventually decided to pass on this. Ken said the reasoning was that he passed because Archie's pay rates were much lower than that of animation writing. Although Ben would additionally state a while after this that it simply wouldn't have been possible to conclude the series in a single comic, and would need at least 17 to 20 issues to properly conclude the story.[42] Ken’s retellings of the story would also feature some contradictions, as in an earlier telling of these events, he stated Art Mawhinney, a storyboard artist for SatAM, would’ve been assigned to do the art for this Super Special.[41] However, he would later on state that Patrick “Spaz” Spazinate was actually assigned to the pencils, with Ken likely having done the inking.[43]
After this, Ben looked into other avenues for continuing the SatAM story, with him considering the idea of either reviving the series for a third and fourth season,[44] before considering the idea of instead concluding the story in a film.[45] He’d eventually have a meeting with DiC executive Robby London on February 29, 2000. Ben learned quite a bit about the animation industry, and realized that reviving the series for more televised seasons simply didn’t seem viable. While he said direct to video was more likely, he felt the best bet was to attempt to conclude the SatAM story as a feature film. Robby London gave Ben the number of a Sega executive. “My marketing strategy is simple: a great film could create an awakened interest in Sonic, breathe new life into the existing produced series and increase the marketing and merchandising possibilities for the little blue guy.”[46]
Hurst would eventually call said the Sega executive, explaining his idea for a Sonic feature film to her, to which they had a very pleasant conversation, and she said she’d like to talk again.[47] The next day, Archie Sonic writer Ken Penders gave him a call, alerted by his contact in their office that he was interested in getting a Sonic movie going. “I generously offered to include him in the effort and told him my strategy. Get SEGA to become invested in the idea by hiring us to interview their creative game designers, execs, etc and see if we could develop a story line that would fulfill the third season - and simultaneously give them creative ideas to develop new games. A win-win, situation.”[47] However, once he called Sega back, his contact's demeanor had completely changed; they angrily stated that Sega is paid to develop Sonic projects, rather than paying others to do so. Hurst theorized that Penders had told them about their strategy in a "less-than-flattering way".[47]
While this event caused Ben to briefly give up on trying to revive the SatAM series, he would eventually start working on it again once more. During 2003, Ben would start writing a story document for the conclusion film,[48] and, according to him, he had dozens of notes with story ideas on them.[39]
In 2005, Ben’s best friend (and husband to his sister) was diagnosed with cancer, and was given only months to live. After a long talk with him about their long friendship, the topic of Sonic came up once again. “As we were discussing it, he reminded me that none of us know how long we will be allowed to stay here on earth. Then, he put his hand on my shoulder and informed me, ‘Ya gotta follow your dreams,’ and with a grin, he added, ‘Juice and jam time for both of us.’”[49] With this discussion, Ben decided to try and revive the film project one more time. His last plan to get the SatAM movie out was to get a completely separate movie out, and then use his name on that movie to pitch the SatAM movie.[40] Len Janson helped write the script, a film entitled “The Gift”, loosely based on the story of “Le Pétomane”.[39] However, this attempt also failed, with him saying “I don't think it will ever sell. It would be a monster hit, but Hollywood Execs are scared to death of it.”[39]
Ben still never gave up hope, and apparently planned to try one more time, by gathering a group of fans together to make a presentation for Sega. However, this would not come to pass.[40]
Ben Hurst would later pass away in August 2011, and his good friend, Allison Scharlemann, would release what she had of Ben Hurst’s notes for the SatAM film.[50] Allison would later share more details she remembered from her conversations with Ben on forums, the Ben Hurst memorial,[51] and for “Ben’s Vision - The Lost Sonic SatAM Third Season/Film”, a documentary which told the story of Ben Hurst’s many revival attempts, and what was known of Ben Hurst’s plans for the unmade film/season.
Team Sea3on
From 2019 onwards, a group of fans calling themselves 'Team Sea3on' spun out from the online "FUS" community ("Fans United for SatAM,") and began work on bringing a third season of the series to life, basing the plot lines on both Ben Hurst's original notes as well as the group's active webcomic. The group are presently working within 'proper legal channels' to advance the project with Sega's awareness. The effort gained attention from the likes of IGN.[52] In April 2022, a full teaser trailer was uploaded to the group's YouTube channel,[53] with a cover of the SatAM theme song "Fastest Thing Alive" by Johnny Gioeli of Crush 40.[54]
Reception
Sonic the Hedgehog ranked No. 9 for all of Saturday Morning with a 5.2 rating, an estimated 4.8 million viewers during its first season.[55]
The first season received an approval rating of 40% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on five reviews.[56] Patrick Lee of The A.V. Club gave it a positive review, saying that "the show pushed its cartoon animal characters to the most dramatic places they could go without venturing into self-parody. Over the course of the series, the characters dealt with loss, romance, and death [...] The entire series successfully pulled off that sort of balancing act, and even 20 years later, it’s still a solid Saturday morning cartoon".[57] Mark Bozon of IGN criticized the show as dated, considering it "so bad, it's good."[58] Writing for DVD Talk, Todd Douglass Jr. remarked that Sonic didn't stand the test of time. Overall, he considered it to be of low quality, although he found the stories "Ultra Sonic" and "Blast to the Past" to be "the crème of the crop."[59]
Luke Owen of Flickering Myth felt Sonic aged better than is often supposed, praising its well-executed characterizations and treatment of war, although he considered Antoine to be "one of the worst characters committed to a cartoon series."[3]GamesRadar listed the show as one of "the worst things to happen to Sonic." It criticized its plot and characters as "unwanted".[60]The Escapist journalist Bob Chipman credited the series with providing a viably menacing take on Doctor Robotnik, and an engaging narrative.[61] Bob Mackey of USgamer wrote that the cartoon's writing didn't live up to its intriguing premise. In particular, he argued that the Antoine character perpetrated negative French stereotypes.[62]
Notes
↑ Known as DIC Animation City during season 1. Produced in association with Saerom Animation
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↑ Way Past Cool!: A Conversation with Ben Hurst, Sonic The Hedgehog - The Complete Series. Brian Ward. Cookie Jar Entertainment. Burbank, California. 2007. B000M8N41W.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Sonic the Hedgehog (1993 TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
↑ "Sonic the Hedgehog, Ken Penders, Bioware, Electronic Arts, Archie Comics, Creator Rights, etc. - A review". Archived from the original on July 31, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2015. I became enamored of the storylines in the series but was told we couldn't tie-in directly to the stories in the series as DiC - just like SEGA - refused to cooperate with us in allowing us access to their material for the purpose of tying together the continuity of the book with the show, something I was very much interested in, as was Scott. It was only during the time when it was uncertain whether or not ABC would even renew the series for a third season that DiC provided us with scripts and other materials, probably out of hope that maybe the book would help attract more viewers if it were tied in more closely with the show. Mike and I were even invited to submit outlines with the idea we would be contributing to the third season as scriptwriters. … It was only when we learned the show was cancelled that I changed my mind about embracing the show as it was and instead decided to proceed as if the book were the third season and continuing beyond that. There were many reasons for this but the most important one boiled down to simply this: the book's very survival. We never, ever felt the book had much of a shelf life beyond the existence of the games and animated series if we didn't develop it into its own unique series." -Ken Penders, former writer of Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic, The Times They Are A' Changing. Original Source: http://www.kenpenders.com
↑ Kalata, Kurt (July 17, 2018). "SegaSonic The Hedgehog". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
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