The Fastest Show Alive

[StewShearerOld]

The Fastest Show Alive

The Sonic games might be aging, but this cartoon gem still holds up wonderfully.

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[ShadowGandalf01]

I never watched this back in the day (I'd never heard of it... did it air over here in the UK?) but I saw it recently and enjoyed it a lot. I was introduced to it's existence by the Nostalgia Critic, then went out and got it after thinking how awesome it looked. There were some episodes I didn't enjoy, (like the one where Sonic moves in with Antoine), but I did enjoy most of them. Of course, the ending of last episode is a tease... but, oh well. Still a cracking show with a kick ass theme. (my very first console game was Sonic the Hedgehog on my Sega Mega Drive... or Genesis to you americans)

 

[Darth Marsden]

I never watched this back in the day (I'd never heard of it... did it air over here in the UK?)

I can safely say that this DID air in the UK, as I have fond memories of watching it as a child (heck, even taping a few episodes - remember VHS?).

 

[Charli]

I never watched this back in the day (I'd never heard of it... did it air over here in the UK?)

It aired at fucking FIVE AM on channel 4 on a sunday morning.

...DO NOT ask me how I knew that. And it was the only time it aired. So I had to set an alarm for stupid o'clock on a weekend as a child to see the 'GOOD sonic cartoon' that everyone claimed didn't exist because the stupid one aired during the day.

But I knew better.

 

[Hawki]

There's a reason why SatAM is my favorite Sonic the Hedgehog animated series. And this editorial hit the nail on the head as to why that's the case.

 

[P-89 Scorpion]

I never watched this back in the day (I'd never heard of it... did it air over here in the UK?)

It aired at fucking FIVE AM on channel 4 on a sunday morning.

...DO NOT ask me how I knew that. And it was the only time it aired. So I had to set an alarm for stupid o'clock on a weekend as a child to see the 'GOOD sonic cartoon' that everyone claimed didn't exist because the stupid one aired during the day.

But I knew better.

It aired later than that as well on a Saturday but it was in one of those Saturday morning programs were they took a 20 minute cartoon and broke it up into 3 parts to air over the whole 3 hour program.

 

[Charli]

I never watched this back in the day (I'd never heard of it... did it air over here in the UK?)

It aired at fucking FIVE AM on channel 4 on a sunday morning.

...DO NOT ask me how I knew that. And it was the only time it aired. So I had to set an alarm for stupid o'clock on a weekend as a child to see the 'GOOD sonic cartoon' that everyone claimed didn't exist because the stupid one aired during the day.

But I knew better.

It aired later than that as well on a Saturday but it was in one of those Saturday morning programs were they took a 20 minute cartoon and broke it up into 3 parts to air over the whole 3 hour program.

I was not aware of that showing, I was usually glued to SMTV or that one that came before it on a Saturday anyway. Since my household was a 2 kid affair and I rarely got control of the viewing.

Still cool to know.

 

[LittleMikey]

At first I was going: "This is nothing like the cartoon I remember". And then after finishing the article I realised that what I had seen in my childhood was Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm now really disappointed that childhood me never saw this (Though I did have a few of the comics) and now I really want to watch it all!

 

[webkilla]

In the words of the nostalgia critic, part of the brilliance of the show was that it was a kids show with a SUBTLE environmental message

I mean - evil robot industrial empire VS woodland rebels - but the environmental message was never rubbed in our face: It was always just about sabotaging robotnik's robot industry and military

 

[Naraku578]

This was the best Sonic show ever made, Robotnik was an actual tyrannous villain. If you like this show you should read the Archie comics on Sonic, it spiritually continued the show.

 

[w23eer]

I think I only ever caught a couple of episodes of this (as well as Brotherhood, which I'd rather forget). Sonic Adventure was on much more often (in Ireland).

What I fell in love with were the comics - not the Archie ones (I didn't even know they existed) but the Sonic the Comic series. Again, they were rare to come across in Ireland, but I think I must've checked the newsagents every damn day on my way home from school in the faint hope that it was there. It wasn't as dark as the show, but it was still heavy at times (one of Sonic's friends, and longtime cast member, literally dies at one point, and Super Sonic was represented a little... differently than he was in the games).

I happened to run across a couple of the old issues I had, and they definitely still hold up.

 

[flying_whimsy]

I don't remember much of the show other than the fact that I really liked it. At the age I was when it aired, I couldn't even play a sonic game (my reflexes and coordination were too poor; although as an adult I still suck at it...), but that story really sucked me in. I haven't seen anyone mention Uncle Chuck: Sonic's roboticized relative that often flitted back and forth between hostile and friendly as he fought his robotic nature. It was heartbreaking and reminds me of my first encounters with people suffering from dementia. I can't remember if the show actually ended. I've been meaning to look it up on netflix (I think I have it in my queue); now I'm feeling more inclined to watch it.

Actually, that version of the show kind of ruined everything else sonic for me: nothing ever seems to be as engaging or even remotely interesting. I would have really liked a video game based on the show. Geez, now I'm all nostalgic thinking about it.

(Everytime the captcha asks me about life insurance it immediately follows up with fruit for the code. Weird.)

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Oh man, I loved this show! I got my nickname from it (in grade school, no one was faster than me. Literally) and I still, now that I'm thirty, sing that theme song from time to time. My brother and I made sure we also had our cereal ready to go when the show came on.

I...uh, may have had a crush on Princess Sally. I still say she's better than Amy.

I remember that horrible other Sonic cartoon too. We tried to watch it, but after a few episodes, we were like, "Where's everyone else? Where's Sally and the rest of the freedom fighters? Where's Uncle Chuck? Why is Sonic's voice different?"

Perhaps my only complaint about the show is that is suffered from the same thing that so many other shows suffered from: it ended without finishing! I wanted to see them WIN! I was so sad when I realized that never happened. And then it happened again in Sonic Underground (which wasn't as good, honestly).

 

[Norithics]

This show may've been my entire reason for getting interested in not only Sonic, but storytelling and art in general. It was a really lovingly made cartoon that didn't condescend the viewer, and never shied away from hitting kids with heavy concepts. It was quite unique and I don't really see that much out there that carries on this tradition- possibly except for Avatar/Korra.

Also it was the first time I remembered funny animals doing anything completely serious. I think the closest competitor in that arena was possibly Darkwing Duck? Either way, it's a little sad to me that creators have moved away from them almost entirely as time's gone on.

 

[Snotnarok]

It's impresive that this show got canned while the other shows that came out kept screwing it up.

This show really had it all, solid animation, amazing backgrounds, a rather deep story for something that was aimed at kids and ...as the Nostalgia Critic said has an environmental message that's ..."SUBTLE!?". Robotnik's voice was evil dipped in candy it's so sinister and fun to hear and not helped by the mentioned robotisizer. Cheesy at times but not overly so- though I'll warn anyone diving into this, the pilot episode has little to nothing to do with the show; characters change, are added things are different, it's weird.

Also, the show gets a full passing grade regardless of anything else because it actually has a love plot that ENDS, there's no entire seasons based around "Will something happen"! (looking at you Castle, how many seasons? Feh!)...though loses points due to a cliffhanger- that I feel can be ignored since some big things happen and get wrapped up a bit

 

[ExileNZ]

I remember being stuck in Adventures of Sonic limbo - they played that shit endlessly, and for all intents and purposes it was basically just Roadrunner with a new paintjob.

Sonic SatAM ran, as far as I can tell, all of ONCE on my available networks, so after I missed it the first time I was pretty much screwed.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

I loved this show as a kid. I need to pick it up again. I was young enough though that the cheaps gags of AoStH keep me away from boredom when Ren and Stimpy's vulgar antics weren't on, but SatAM was the kind of show even really young kids could get emotionally invested in and make them think. (Also, PINGAS!... Sorry, I had too.)

It's really is sad such a remarkable cartoon was canceled, right at a cliffhanger. (What is it since good 90's cartoons getting cancled right at cliffhangers? *cough* Reboot with a villain reappearing with new powers*cough*)Since I believe the Archie comics series continued the plot line SatAM left off, I might get into those someday. It's the longsest running video game comic, though, so the archive binge scares me.

In the words of the nostalgia critic, part of the brilliance of the show was that it was a kids show with a SUBTLE environmental message

I mean - evil robot industrial empire VS woodland rebels - but the environmental message was never rubbed in our face: It was always just about sabotaging robotnik's robot industry and military

The subtlety also probably works better than the other shows that were in-your-face about any message they were trying to teach. Captain Planet was so cheesy that Ted Turner might as had painted himself blue, put on that spandex costume and ran around schools saying "plants tree, pollution is eeeevil," for all the good it did. I was more interested the celebrity-voiced villains getting foiled by a super hero than the environmental and social aesops they were pushing.

Sonic's show and Sonic CD (and the other games, to a much lesser extent) handled the "nature vs technology" concept much better. They were about balancing the two. The roboticizer was invented to help the weak and sick. Robotnik was just a monster that used tools for evil, that were meant for good. Even with the Sonic media staring mostly anthropomorphic animals, they was more like the real world than having a mutant rat-man named Verminous Skumm dump barrels of toxic waste in rivers, because that's just how he rolls.

 

[fix-the-spade]

I never watched this back in the day (I'd never heard of it... did it air over here in the UK?)

Oh yes, a couple of times.

Getting up super early to watch this is one of those burned in memories from my child hood. Also burned in is the episode with the subterranean giant creature-thing and the mining snake robots. That episode gave me nightmares...

As did the episode when they succeed in briefly un-roboticising Sonic's uncle.

 

[P-89 Scorpion]

I...uh, may have had a crush on Princess Sally. I still say she's better than Amy.

Never ever, ever google image search Sally with safe search off NEVER DO IT EVER!

But yes Sally was very popular and it's because Kath Soucie voiced her with her normal voice which is sexy (she also voiced Lola bunny in Space Jam).

 

[kris40k]

The subtlety also probably works better than the other shows that were in-your-face about any message they were trying to teach. Captain Planet was so cheesy that Ted Turner might as had painted himself blue, put on that spandex costume and ran around schools saying "plants tree, pollution is eeeevil," for all the good it did. I was more interested the celebrity-voiced villains getting foiled by a super hero than the environmental and social aesops they were pushing.

Actually I believe his catchphrase is

Spoiler: Protect the environment, or I'll @#$%&^ kill you!