Follow TV Tropes

Reviews WesternAnimation / Sonic Boom

Go To

BackgroundGuy Since: Feb, 2016
11/17/2016 19:12:08 •••

Slapstick Sonic Is Best Sonic

Most of the shortcomings in the Sonic series can be traced back to the clumsy attempts at drama. But take a look at Lost World - I'm not saying that script is destined for any hall of fame or something, but it works so much better. Even at its corniest, it still works.

With Sonic more comedy-oriented, it just feels so much more natural. Sonic was off-the-cuff from the very beginning - there's little more than an Excuse Plot in his very first game, which is designed to give the feeling that you're racing at heretofore unimaginable speeds through every level. Totally ingenious, and yes there are some dramatic overtones, but the game emphasizes Sonic's triumph over Dr. Robotnik (as he was then known in the West). You're not supposed to dwell on the drama too much - see the light at the end of the tunnel. Everything will be okay in the end.

Which is why right now, it's all about his 'tude, his snark, and his speed. And Sonic Boom has all of that. Sonic Boom in general would have been way more successful were it not weighed down with Obvious Beta games to support it. If they'd just skipped the games altogether, who knows? (I've heard Fire & Ice was okay, though.)

That being said, this show was off to a rocky start. It seemed to settle into a groove as things went on, but at first things can be a little... out of left field, so to speak.

For instance, Comedy Chimp. He's actually the host of a late night show. Okay, I'm fine with that. Totally fine. But his very first appearance is a total non sequitur. Did they intend for that one to air after he was shown on his talk show for the first time? As it stands, he shows up with no context, and I have no idea what the joke was even supposed to be.

As with any first season, Season One of Sonic Boom is a bit klutzy at times. It is a bit scatterbrained with its focus on side characters, but fortunately Sonic and his crew remain front & center for the majority of it. Even as a part of that crew, Sticks, as I recall, doesn't get any more attention than anyone else and makes a more than welcome addition to the cast. It's refreshing to see a conspiratoid nut rather than another straight man character, especially since she's a girl who's not in love with anyone (at least that we know of yet). Anyone who loves Taxi will feel right at home with her. Iggy lives on!

There is also some meta humor, as the show is very well aware that it could become another cliché save-the-world-every-week show. It doesn't take itself very seriously, and neither should anyone else.

kkhohoho Since: May, 2011
11/17/2016 00:00:00

You have a point in that the games arent really that strong on the story front anyway and cant be taken all that seriously, and if the games were all there were, then sure, maybe I'd agree with you that Booms approach was the way to go. But the games arent all there are. Sonic Am, the Archie Comics, and even the UK Fleetway comics are all a thing, and they all show how you can not only do a serious take on Sonic, but make it actually work. Heck, you can enjoy all three of them without being big fans of the games; thats how good they are. Im not saying that Sonic Boom is bad, seeing as I havent even seen it and therefore cant really judge it, but I will say that Sonic can do and has done straight drama just fine, and that its a shame that the games havent really been able to do the same. (Or at least not well.) I might still enjoy Boom if I ever do see it, but it's far from the only route that Sonic can go down.


Leave a Comment:

Top