BIZ MARKIE DEAD AT 57

 

You can read the full story here.

Best known as a rapper, he did some acting which included guest-starring in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants as Kenny the Cat.

DON JURWICH DEAD AT 87

 

You can read the full story here.

He wrote for The Super 6, The Bugs Bunny Show, The New Tom & Jerry Show, The Mumbly Cartoon Show, Heathcliff (1980), Tom & Jerry Kids Show and Droopy: Master Detective, also serving as story editor for the latter two; worked as a layout artist for The Bullwinkle Show, Linus! The Lion Hearted, Wacky Races, Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines, Josie and the Pussycats, The Flintstone Comedy Hour, The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, The Roman Holidays and Hong Kong Phooey; served as a designer for George of the Jungle (1967); was a story director for Jabberjaw, The All-New Super Friends Hour and The Kwicky Koala Show; a recording director for Challenge of the Superfriends, The World’s Greatest Superfriends, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show and Droopy: Master Detective; production designer Emergency +4; director for Spider-Man (1981), supervising director Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, and voice director for The Incredible Hulk (1982); and was a producer for Scooby’s Laff-A-Lympics, Challenge of the Superfriends, The World’s Greatest SuperFriends, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show, The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, The Incredible Hulk (1982), The Smurfs, Tom & Jerry Kids Show, Red Planet and Droopy: Master Detective.

CHICK VENNERA DEAD AT 74

 

You can read the full story here.

He played Sammy in Foofur; Twitch in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series; Johnny T. Rex in an episode of Darkwing Duck; Pesto, Sparrow and Joe P. in various episodes of Animanaics (1993) and an episode of Pinky and the Brain; a chauffer in an episode of Batman Beyond; and Ferret in episodes of Static Shock. He also provided additional voices in The Karate Kid: The Animated Series.

BENJI, ZAX & THE ALIEN PRINCE

 

BENJI, ZAX & THE ALIEN PRINCE

(CBS, September 17-December 17, 1983)

 

Hanna-Barbera Productions, Mulberry Square Productions

 

 
MAIN CAST:
Chris Burton – Prince Yubi, T.J. Parker
Ric Spiegel – Zax, Circon, Harwell Thompson
Benjean – Benji
Angie Bolling (eps. 1-8) & Anna Holbrook (eps. 9-13) – Darah
Joe Rainer (eps. 1-8) & Dallas Miles (eps. 9-13) – Khyber
Ken Miller – Zanu

 
 
            Joe Camp had some concerns over G-rated films in the United States. He felt that many studios just churned them out with little regard to quality, leading to the overall public feeling of “If it’s G, it can’t be for me.” Camp decided to make his own G-rated film, and to make it a good one. Rustling up $500,000 and inspired by Disney’s Lady and the Tramp, Camp conceived of a film starring a dog: Benji.

            Benji was about the titular dog, a stray who had various human friends around a small town; particularly the Chapman children, Paul (Allen Fiuzat) and Cindy (Cynthia Smith). Unfortunately, their father, Dr. Chapman (Peter Breck), wasn’t fond of dogs and refuted all attempts the children made to adopt Benji. However, when criminals plotting to kidnap the Chapman children ended up taking residence in the abandoned house Benji stayed in, he quickly came to their rescue to foil the sinister plot.

Higgins with Frank Inn.

            Benji was a small mixed-breed dog named Higgins, rescued from the Burbank animal shelter by trainer Frank Inn in 1960. Before becoming the titular canine, he had appeared in most of Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies, won a PATSY award in 1966, and was featured on the cover of TV Guide. Inn had called Higgins the smartest dog he ever worked with, who was able to learn new tricks and routines every week and retain them, making him ideal for use in various and complex roles. Higgins also had a very expressive face, able to convey a wide array of emotions. Benji was Higgins’ final role before his death in 1975.

Lobby card for Benji featuring the titular dog and some of his human co-stars.

            Benji opened on October 17, 1974, written, directed and produced by Camp through his production company, Mulberry Square Productions. It ended up pulling in $45 million at the box-office, becoming the 9^th highest-grossing film of the year. Higgins was nominated for another PATSY, although he lost out to Tonto the cat from Harry and Tonto. In 1977, a sequel was released called For the Love of Benji, which embroiled the canine in an international spy thriller. Camp again helmed the film, this time with Ben Vaughn co-producing and co-writing it, and with Higgins’ pup Benjean taking over the role. The following year, Benji headed to television with the Emmy-nominated Benji’s Very Own Christmas Story on ABC, co-written by Dan Witt, with two more following in 1980 and 1981.

The first misstep came with the third Benji film, Oh! Heavenly Dog. Abandoning the lovable stray format, this film, co-written by Rod Browning, saw private investigator Benjamin Browning (Chevy Chase) murdered after he finds the woman he’s hired to bodyguard dead. In the afterlife, Benjamin was told he needed to solve his own murder before moving on and was reincarnated as a dog. The film, the first to be rated PG in the series, was released on July 11, 1980 and only grossed $6 million. Chase, who took the role based on the initial script, was turned off by later rewrites and often considered it his worst film.

Publicity shot of Zax, Yubi, Darah, Benji and Khyber.

Rather than return to form, Camp took the franchise in another new direction; likely inspired by the massive success of Return of the Jedi. Partnering with Hanna-Barbera Productions for one of their rare live-action productions, Camp created a television series that would see Benji befriend an alien prince and his robot caretaker. Developed by Len Janson and Chuck Menville, the series followed young Prince Yubi (Chris Burton) from the planet Antars, exiled to Earth with his droid, Zax (Ric Spiegel), when evil despot Zanu (Ken Miller, who also worked on special effects) conquered the planet. He sent hunters to retrieve the Prince; primarily Khyber (Joe Rainer for the first half, Dallas Miles for the second) and Darah (Angie Bolling for the first half, Anna Holbrook for the second) with their own droid, Zord. Due to the hunters’ own incompetence and Benji’s intelligence, Yubi, Zax and Benji were often able to evade capture (or weren’t captured for very long) before moving on to try and lose their pursuers. Additionally, their paths often crossed with other hunters sent to aid Khyber and Darah, or Antarians who took up residence on the planet before them.

The evil Zanu.

Fellow aliens weren’t the only ones they had to worry about. In their travels, they encountered some equally unethical humans such as a group of delinquent kids called The Vikings, a greedy couple posing as Benji’s owners to rob a wealthy man, and a mischievous thief that resembled the prince. Fortunately, there were just as many, if not more, good humans for the trio to befriend and get occasional help from. Additionally, Yubi had to be protective of his cipher; a bracelet-like device that allowed Antarians to survive on Earth.

Hiding out.

Benji, Zax and the Alien Prince debuted on CBS on September 17, 1983 after being part of The CBS Saturday Morning Preview Special the night before. Like most of the Benji films, the series was shot in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with interior sets built at Las Colinas studios in Irving, Texas. Along with Janson and Menville, who served as story editors, the series was written by John Bradford, Ray Parker, Gene Ayres, Glenn Leopold and Michael Reaves with music by Benji composer Euel Box. Yubi’s costume was designed by Nike. The series only lasted a single season of 13 episodes, with CBS opting to not renew it for another. Between 2003 and 2004, GoodTimes Entertainment released the show onto DVD in both a complete series set and across four three-episode volumes.

The Benji franchise wasn’t done yet, however. Benjean had one final outing in the 1987 film Benji the Hunted, which finally did away with the grandiose plots and returned to the essence of Benji being an intelligent and helpful stray. It grossed over $22 million as a result. Camp’s final film in the series was Benji: Off the Leash! in 2004, which only managed to gross over $3 million and became considered the weakest entry of the franchise. In 2018, Camp’s son Brandon wrote, directed and produced a revival film for Netflix, which became Blumhouse Productions’ first family film. It garnered mixed reviews. 

 
 
EPISODE GUIDE:
“The Prince and the Bag Lady” (9/17/83) – Zax is damaged when he and Benji are chased by Zanu’s hunters into a junkyard and ends up captured.
 
“U.F.O.” (9/24/83) – Investigating a report of a downed spacecraft leads Yubi to be captured by a hunter from Antars.
 
“The Day of the Hunter” (10/1/83) – The hunters lure Yubi out of hiding by using Benji and leaking the whereabouts of his ship to the authorities.
 
“Goldmine” (10/8/83) – Yubi discovers an old cattleman is actually an Antarian, and the hunters set their sights on capturing him.
 
“Goodbye Earth” (10/15/83) – A birthday message from his mother prompts Yubi to get a job at NASA in the hopes of getting home.
 
“Ghostown” (10/22/83) – Benji, Zax and Yubi end up in an abandoned town where outlaw twins hide, and Zax is convinced they’ll sell out Yubi.
 
“The Locals” (10/29/83) – Benji and Zax must retrieve Yubi’s cipher from a gang of boys.
 
“Puppy Love” (11/5/83) – Yubi falls for a girl that ends up being an Antarian sent by Zanu to trap him.
 
“Double Trouble” (11/12/83) – Yubi and a similar-looking shoplifter are confused for each other by the authorities and the hunters.
 
“Don’t Fence Me In” (11/19/83) – Yubi feels smothered by Zax and moves away.
 
“The Flying Lesson (12/3/83) – Yubi’s gift for a kindly veterinarian may be just what they need to get a wounded horse to a faraway animal hospital.
 
“Benji Call Home” (12/10/83) – A wealthy man gives Benji to a crooked couple who claim to be his owners and then proceed to rob his house.
 
“Decoy Droid” (12/17/83) – The hunters manage to capture Zax and replace him with a duplicate droid on their side.

RICHARD DONNER DEAD AT 91

 

You can read the full story here.

Best known for his films like Superman, Goonies or Lethal Weapon, in his early career he was directing television which included the Danger Island segments of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. As one of the rights holders to the EC Comics library, he was given an executive producer credit in Tales From the Cryptkeeper as well as a special thanks credit in the final season. 

OZZY & DRIX

 

OZZY & DRIX
(WB, September 14, 2002-July 5, 2004)

 
Conundrum Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Phil LaMarr – Osmosis “Ozzy” Jones, Vitamin A, Iron, Mitosis Jones
Jeff Bennett – Drixenol “Drix” Koldreliff, Pb, Butane, Frank DeTorre, various
Justin Cowden – Hector Cruz
Alanna Ubach – Mayor Paul Spryman, Hector’s mom, Hector’s sister
Tasia Valenza – Maria Amino
Jim Cummings – Chief Gluteus, B Complex, Ernst Strepfinger (season 2), various

 

 

 Emboldened by the success of Disney’s animation renaissance, other studios—in particular Warner Bros.—made their own moves back into feature animation. Warner Bros. had been distributing animated films up until that point, but had not been actively making them; choosing to instead focus strictly on television projects.

Promo art featuring Ozzy and Drix.

Their first film was 1996’s Space Jam, which received mixed reviews but was a success regardless. Unfortunately, it was the only one the studio would see. 1997’s Cats Don’t Dance, the last film Turner Feature Animation was working on before it was absorbed into Warner Bros., suffered from poor marketing and was a box office flop despite great reviews. 1998’s Quest for Camelot fared a bit better, but still ended up a flop due largely to inexperienced executives leading to cost overruns and production nightmares. 1999’s The Iron Giant was a critical darling that still managed to underperform at the box office, thanks to the poor marketing campaign that resulted from Warner Bros.’ growing skepticism over theatrical animation (home video and television syndication would turn it into a cult classic in the following years). At this point, the Feature Animation division was in financial trouble and they needed a hit. Two movies were up for consideration as their next project: a new film by The Iron Giant’s director Brad Bird, or an animation/live-action hybrid written by Marc Hyman. The studio chose the latter, and Osmosis Jones went into production.

The City of Frank.

Osmosis Jones was set inside a human body, known as The City of Frank (Bill Murray). Osmosis “Ozzy” Jones (Chris Rock) was a white blood cell and a member of the police force responsible for protecting Frank’s body from threats, and boy did he have his work cut out for him as Frank was a slovenly zookeeper with no interest in taking care of himself. When Mayor Phlegmming (William Shatner) caused Frank to accidentally ingest a nasty virus, Thrax (Laurence Fisburne), Ozzy was teamed up with cold pill Drizenol “Drix” Koldreliff (David Hyde Pierce) to stop him before he ended up killing Frank. In typical buddy cop fashion, they were total opposites as Ozzy was overzealous and impetuous while Drix was stoic and more by-the-book.

Frank--health-conscious, he's not.

All of the inner body sequences were animated, directed by Tom Sito and Piet Kroon, while all of the external was done in live-action. Unfortunately, that’s where the film hit a snag. Even though the animation was progressing as planned, Warner Bros. had trouble finding a director or a star for the live-action. Eventually, Murray was signed to star and Peter and Bobby Farrelly were hired to direct (and given sole directorial credit, despite having nothing to do with the animated portions). Initially, the film was rated PG-13 for “crude language” and “bodily humor”, resulting in Warner Bros. making extensive cuts and removing entire scenes in order to achieve a family-friendly PG rating.

Osmosis Jones opened on August 10, 2001, after an August 7^th premiere at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre. While the film received praise for the animated sequences, which earned it numerous Annie Award nominations, it was heavily criticized for the comparatively lethargic live-action scenes. The gross-out humor of the live scenes, a trademark of the Farrelly brothers, was also panned. Ultimately, the film ended up grossing only $14 million against a $70 million budget. As a result, the feature unit was significantly scaled back and eventually folded into the main animation unit with the next box office disappointment, Looney Tunes: Back in Action. And Brid’s film that Warner Bros. passed on? It was released by Disney as The Incredibles. 

Hector, Ozzy & Drix's new charge.

 Despite the failure, Warner Bros. evidently still had faith in the property as a spin-off series was put into production over at the Television Animation division. Developed by Alan Burnett and Hyman, Ozzy & Drix saw Ozzy (Phil LaMarr) and Drix (Jeff Bennett) removed from The City of Frank (Bennett) by a mosquito and deposited into the body of 13-year-old Hector Cruz (Justin Cowden). After help defeat Scarlet Fever (Tim Curry) who also arrived from Frank, Ozzy and Drix were set up as private investigators to help keep Hector healthy. As in the film, Ozzy was impetuous and always following his gut into trouble, while Drix was kept strait-laced with an added dose of naivete and innocence.

Maria, Mayor Spryman, and Chief Gluteus.

As they’re now in a completely new “town”, all of the characters from the film were replaced by a new supporting cast: Maria Amino (Tasia Valenza) was a Hispanic white blood cell cop, a skilled fighter, and Drix’s love interest; Chief Gluteus (Jim Cummings), the gruff police chief for The City of Hector; Mayor Paul Spryman (Alanna Ubach), the immature teenaged mayor of The City of Hector; Ellen Patella (Vivica A. Fox), an attorney who helped cells find homes in The City of Hector and Ozzy’s new love interest; The Mole (Jeffrey Tambor), a klutzy and paranoid former secret agent that knew just about everything going on in Hector, making him a valuable informant; and Dander (Frank Welker), a dog germ from Hector’s dog that became Drix’s pet. Human characters included Christine Kolchuck (Kimberly Brooks), the girl Hector liked; Travis Lum (Rob Paulsen), Hector’s best friend; Ricky Sales (Paulsen), the school bully; and Hector’s mother (Ubach), father (Joe Lala) and sister (Ubach). Unlike the film, all of the human scenes were also animated.

Smirch the acne germ attempts to take advantage of Drix.

Of course, with a new city comes new threats. Nick O’Teen (Curry), the nicotine that came from a cigarette Hector smoked accompanied by his minions Tar (Welker), Butane (Bennett), and Carbon Monoxide (Tara Strong); Protozilla (Welker), an allergen with a weak and powerful monster form; Ernst Strepfinger (a combination of strep throat and James Bond villains Auric Goldfinger and Ernst Blofeld, voiced by Brad Garrett & Cummings), a criminal mastermind; Sal Monella (Henry Winkler), a gangster germ who wanted to dump toxic waste into Hector’s stomach; Sylvian Fisher (Brian Posehn), a brain cell who plotted to become mayor by giving Hector a growth spurt; Stickety Lipid (Paulsen), a bad cholesterol beatnik that wanted to clog Hector’s arteries; Smirch (Danny Bonaduce), an acne germ determined to give Hector a zit; General Malaise (Charlie Adler), a bacterium who used sugar to grow his army; Professor Nightmare (Keith Silverstein), a nightmare originating from a movie Hector saw; Shane (Danny Cooksey), a hormone and leader of a testosterone gang that once took over Hector’s brain; Cryo (Susan Silo), a virus that wanted to give Hector hypothermia; Pb (Bennett), lead from a lead-painted shed that infected Hector with his Lead Head Gang; Billy Bob Bile (Welker), owner of a hotel in Hector’s appendix that almost caused it to burst; Rhoda Virus (Justine Bateman), an intestinal virus intent on giving Hector gastroenteritis; Mother Louse, a louse that tried to lay eggs in Hector’s hair; and Mother Worm (Welker), a Trichinella spiralis worm that came from a barely cooked sausage. One adventure took Ozzy and Drix into Christine where they met their counterparts Cilia Tyson (Dawnn Lewis) and Drixeen (Miriam Flynn), whom they helped take on pneumonia-causing The Pneumoniac (Pat Fraley).

Ozzy & Drix debuted on The WB on September 14, 2002 as part of the Kids’ WB programming block. The series was co-produced by the Farrelly brothers through their company Conundrum Entertainment, however the crude humor and violence found in the film was significantly toned down to meet broadcast TV standards. It was edutainment that often disguised its messages behind the fast-paced action established by the film and simple terminology and imagery to describe the workings of the human body. While none of the actors reprised their roles, Kathy Najimy, who was considered for the role of the teacher, ended up voicing the president of the subconscious network for the show.

Strepfinger, a persistent germ.

The series was written by Burnett, Len Uhley, Gene Grillo, Joe Piscatella, Craig A. Williams, Micah Wright, Marc Gutman (who assisted producer Zak Penn on the film), Doug Langdale, Evan Gore, Heather Lombard, Ray DeLaurentis, John P. McCann, Steven Darancette, John Behnke, Paul Dini, Rob Humphrey and John Loy. Animation duties were handled by Dong Woo Animation, although some episodes used clips from the film (mostly scenery bits that didn’t feature any characters). Randall Crissman composed the series’ music, as well as the theme with Ed Driscoll. The theme was performed by Kenneth Gray.

The DVD cover.

Ozzy & Drix did significantly better than Osmosis Jones, performing well enough to justify a second season. Following the episodes that aired in October of 2003, the series went on hiatus until February, then again until June where it began to air the remainder of its episodes on the weekday version of Kids’ WB. Not much in the way of merchandise was released for the show, despite the award-winning style guide developed by The Illusion Factory for merchandisers. However, Midway did publish a video game for the Game Boy Advance that brought several of the show’s villains together in a sinister plot. The game was reviewed poorly for its repetitiveness and bad controls. In 2017, Warner Archive released the complete series to DVD.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:

“Home with Hector” (9/14/02) – Ozzy and Drix end up in the city of Hector along with Scarlet Fever, whom they must stop from making Hector ill.
 
“Reflex” (9/21/02) – Ozzy has to figure out how to save Hector from a fight with Rick after accidentally causing Hector to kick him.
 
“Strep-Finger” (9/28/02) – Ozzy is jealous of super agent Penicillin G., who was injected into Hector to find the powerful germ Strepfinger.
 
“A Lousy Haircut” (10/5/02) – Ozzy and Drix attempt to save Hector’s scalp from lice.
 
“Oh My Dog” (10/12/02) – Drix’s new pet is mistaken for the allergen threatening the city while Mrs. Cruz believes it’s Hector’s dog causing his allergy.
 
“Street Up” (10/19/02) – Drix inadvertently helps an acne germ create a giant zit on Hector’s face on school picture day.
 
“Gas of Doom” (11/9/02) – Ozzy, Drix and Maria head into the intestines to alleviate Hector’s building gas problem.
 
“Where There’s Smoke” (11/16/02) – Ozzy and Maria have to prevent Nick O’Teen from turning Hector into a smoker.
 
“The Globfather” (11/30/02) – Sal Monella kidnaps the mayor during his plot to poison Hector.
 
“Ozzy Jr.” (12/7/02) – Stepfinger infects Ozzy with a parasite that Maria and Drix must find a way to stop.
 
“Growth” (2/1/03) – Sylvian Fisher plans to make the mayor look bad by giving Hector a growth spurt in order to win the upcoming election against him.
 
“Sugar Shock” (2/8/03) – When Hector is taken off of a sugar rush, the bacteria that formed during it decides to raid his sugar reserves.
 
“The Dream Factory” (3/1/03) – Ozzy and Drix have to enter Hector’s nightmares in order to stop the bad dreams keeping the entire city awake.
 
Season 2:
“An Out of Body Experience Part 1” (8/23/03) – Ozzy ends up inside of Christine when she gives Hector CPR and is arrested as a virus.
 
“An Out of Body Experience Part 2” (8/30/03) – Ozzy has to get back to Hector before he gender morphs and prevent Christine from catching pneumonia in the process.
 
“Lights Out!” (9/6/03) – Hector’s concussion causes everyone to forget Ozzy and Drix, necessitating them heading to the brain to reboot his memories.
 
“The Conqueror Worm” (9/13/03) – Hector ends up getting worms after eating barely-cooked sausage.
 
“Puberty Alert” (9/20/03) – Puberty allows a testosterone gang to imprison the mayor and take over Hector’s mind, causing him to get into trouble,
 
“Tricky Ricardo” (9/27/03) – After learning about the rift between Maria and her brother, Drix tries to fix it but is unaware that her brother is working for Strepfinger.
 
“Aunti Histamine” (10/4/03) – Drix’s aunt arrives when Hector uses nasal spray, and with her comes a sudden drop in Hector’s water levels.
 
“A Growing Cell” (10/11/03) – Hector’s junk food binge gives Stickety Lipid an opportunity to try and clog up his arteries.
 
“A Cold Day in Hector” (2/25/04) – A Day of snowboarding causes Hector to contract Cryo and lead to hypothermia.
 
“Supplements (a.k.a. Triumph of the Supplements)” (6/14/04) – The mayor forces Hector to eat some cereal so that a team of supplements can come and deal with a gang of lead Hector accidentally breathed in.
 
“Double Dose” (6/21/04) – Mitosis causes Ozzy to split into evil duplicates looking to steal Hector’s iodine.
 
“Nature Calls” (6/28/04) – Billy Bob Bile creates a detour to lure bacteria to his hotel, which causes Hector’s appendix to almost burst.
 
“Cavities (a.k.a. Journey to the Center of the Tooth)” (7/5/04) – Excessive sugar and poor brushing leads General Malaise to give Hector a cavity.

PHILECE SAMPLER DEAD AT 67

 

You can read the full story here.

She starred as Mimi Tachikawa, Koromon, Cody Hida, Anna, Palmon, Alice McCoy, Yoshie Matsuki, Jeri Katou, Riley Ohtori, Floramon, Shinya Kanbara, and Koichi and Koji’s mother in Digimon: Digital Monsters; Silvia in Viewtiful Joe; and Sabine Cheng and Ms. Mendeleiev in Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir for which she also provided additional voices. She also guest-starred as Francine in an episode of All Grown Up!.

STEVE SHERMAN DEAD AT 72

 

You can read the full story here.

After a tenure as Jack Kirby’s assistant and an editor at DC Comics, he went on to work for Filmation and Sid & Marty Krofft Productions before forming his own puppet studio with Gregory Williams. They provided the O.G. Readmore puppet for ABC Weekend Specials, several of the puppets for Pee-wee’s Playhouse, and the penguin puppets for Beakman’s World, one of which he operated.

SONIC BOOM

 

SONIC BOOM

(Cartoon Network, Boomerang, November 8, 2014-November 18, 2017, US

Canal J, November 14, 2014-March 9, 2018, FR)

 

Sega of America, Inc., OuiDo! Productions/Technicolor Animation Productions, Lagardére Thématiques, Jeunesse TV, Canal J, Gulli

 
 
MAIN CAST:
Roger Craig Smith – Sonic the Hedgehog, Morpho, Dave the Intern, various
Alexandre Gillet (French) – Sonic the Hedgehog
Colleen O’Shaughnessey – Miles “Tails” Prower, Zooey, various
Marie-Eugénie Maréchal (French) – Miles “Tails” Prower, Zooey
Travis Willingham – Knuckles the Echidna, Hypnobot, various
Sébastien Desjours (French) – Knuckles the Echidna
Cindy Robinson – Amy Rose, various
Naïké Mellerin-Fauveau (French) – Amy Rose
Nika Futterman – Sticks the Badger, Diane Aardvark, Staci
Claire Morin (French) – Sticks the Badger
Mike Pollock – Doctor Eggman, Mayor E. Pluribus Fink, Fastidious Beaver, Bolts, Lord Eggman
Marc Bretonniére (French) – Doctor Eggman
Kirk Thornton – Orbot, Shadow the Hedgehog, T.W. Barker, Chameleon, Froglodyte Drill Sergeant, various
Benjamin Pascal (French) – Orbot, Mayor E. Pluribus Fink, Chef Woody, Foreman Fred, Hayward
Wally Wingert – Cubot, Dixon, Willy Walrus, Froglodyte High Priest, Og, Nominatus, D-Fekt (season 2), various
Tony Marot (French) – Cubot
 
 

For the history of Sonic the Hedgehog, check out the post here.

           
            By the close of the first decade of the 21^st century, Sega had come to find that Sonic the Hedgehog’s appeal in the western markets seemed to be fading. After a number of lukewarm releases beginning with 2006’s Sonic the Hedgehog reboot, they saw that sales were declining with each successive title. Sega decided to take some drastic action and create a new spin-off franchise geared expressly towards the west that would run concurrently with the “modern” Sonic games in Japan as an official alternate universe.

BRB's proposed update to Sonic, making him look more like a real hedgehog.

            And who better to cater to western audiences than westerners themselves? Sega gave the project to Big Red Button Entertainment (BRB) in 2009, the studio started by Naughty Dog’s Bob Rafaei and Luxoflux’s Jeff Lander, based on Rafaei’s experience at starting successful franchises from scratch. This would be the first time a western developer would be put in charge of developing a mainline Sonic game. Sega told BRB to radically change the Sonic formula and to get away from the speed aspect, since focus groups had led them to believe that western audiences found Sonic to be too fast.

The new Sonic game would feature co-op and skill-based platforming with a focus on exploration and discovery and very little in the way of speed, restricted mostly to vehicle levels. To lean into the fact that this was a whole new universe, BRB opted to delve deeper into the origins of Sonic and his traditional foe, Dr. Eggman, and crafted a whole lore around them and their environs. BRB spent a year working out their proposal for Sega’s approval, including gameplay mechanics and level and character designs, under the name Project Apollo to keep the fact that they were working on a Sonic game a secret. Official names up for consideration were Sonic Origins based on the story, and Sonic Synergy based on the focus on co-op play which entire sections of levels would be based around.

Sonic Boom's environments featured many statues depicting a story that would never be told.

            Unfortunately, Sonic Team, headed up at the time by Takashi Iizuka, had a number of problems with what they were presented. They felt it deviated too much from what the franchise was (despite that being the goal) and gave them a number of changes to bring it more in line with what they considered a Sonic game to be. Further, Sonic Team had their own intentions of tackling Sonic’s origins and didn’t want a western developer to beat them to it (even though this was supposed to be an alternate universe take to begin with). So, a good portion of the narrative was jettisoned despite traces of it remaining in the level design and backgrounds. The biggest and most project-shattering change, however, came with the news that as part of an exclusivity deal Sega’s signed with Nintendo, BRB’s Sonic game would now become a Wii U exclusive. Up until that point, the game was being developed with CryEngine 3 which was completely incompatible with the Wii U’s hardware.

The Sonic Synergy logo.

            With an unmovable deadline of 2014, BRB had to seriously scale back on the game’s features. 4-player co-op and online support were tossed, taking entire bits of levels with them. Characters and a collectible system were completely removed. The story itself was even heavily trimmed, taking out narrative elements and lines of dialogue. They even had to call on CryTek to help them adapt CryEngine 3 to the Wii U, ultimately resulting in their creating a special version of the engine not used by any other game. Parts of the game were co-developed by studio IllFonic.

            The game, ultimately titled Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, was released in North America on November 11, 2014 with a wider release expanding to other territories in the following weeks. The game saw Sonic (Roger Craig Smith), Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), Knuckles (Travis Willingham) and Amy Rose (Cindy Robinson) pursuing Eggman (Mike Pollock) to a tomb adorned with Sonic and Tails’ visages. Inside, they encountered a powerful new foe in the form of the titular Lyric the Last Ancient (Patrick Seitz), who recognized Sonic from thousands of years ago. Lyric plotted to use Chaos Crystals to create a metallic world populated by robots, and Sonic and his friends sought to stop him. Tails developed new Enerbeams that they could all use to hang from rails, remove enemy shields, and various puzzle-solving mechanics. Each character also had their own unique abilities and attacks.

Concept art for the young Eggman when the game was meant to focus on their origin.

            The resulting game ultimately proved a disaster, scoring negatively with both critics and fans. Many found the level designs repetitive, the puzzles and combat dull and tedious, the camera system broken, the controls unresponsive, and bugs and glitches galore (including one that allowed Knuckles to basically leap over entire parts of levels). Not to mention long-time fans had a problem with the new character designs when they were first revealed. A Nintendo 3DS game, Shattered Crystal, was developed by Sanzaru Games and released at the same time as Rise of Lyric with identical game design. It fared a bit better in reviews, but was still widely panned. Both games were announced by Sega as being the worst-selling games in the franchise.

The original teaser image for Sonic Boom.

            So, what does this have to do with Saturday mornings, the reason we’re all here? Well, part of Sega’s plan to reinvigorate their western audience was to not only hit them on home consoles, but on television as well. They entered into a deal with French animation studio OuiDo! Productions (later Technicolor Animation Productions after they were acquired by Technicolor SA in 2015) to produce an animated series for western TV along with Sega of America. They decided to enhance the brand synergy by making BRB incorporate elements of the show into their game, such as the name, while the show also took some inspiration from them.

The cast of Sonic Boom: Sticks, Knuckles, Sonic, Amy and Tails.

            Sonic Boom was developed by Evan Baily, Donna Friedman and Sandrine Nguyen, with Baily and Bill Freiberger (who also voiced several characters) serving as showrunners. The series was set on Seaside Island, primarily Hedgehog Village (formerly Unnamed Village), where Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy lived along with a variety of other animal characters (the production usually let the animators decide what kind of animal each would be unless they needed someone to be something specific). Sonic and his friends, known as Team Sonic, were often tasked with stopping Dr. Eggman’s elaborate schemes at conquering the island (and turn it into a theme park) which in turn would allow him to conquer the entire world. All of the game’s voice cast reprised their roles for the series, with voice director Jack Fletcher also working on the show.

Concept art for Hedgehog Village.

            Besides the setting, another change from previous Sonic media was the characters’ appearances and, in some cases, their personalities. 15-year-old Sonic remained a good-hearted hero with supersonic speed who often was oblivious to the feelings of others and extremely impatient. For the first time, his arms were covered in blue fur and he was given a scarf (playing into the action-adventure trope), as well as additional spikes (to help differentiate him from the Japanese Sonic, since both looked so similar). 8-year-old Tails continued to be Sonic’s sidekick and served as the team’s mechanic, pilot and inventor. He was given a pair of goggles and a tool belt, as well as a tendency to be blunter and more skeptical at times. 12-year-old Amy Rose was the peppiest member of the team who served as their organizer and archaeologist, as well as the mature voice of reason. Unlike other versions of Amy, this one was shier about her attraction to Sonic and was given an outfit to make her seem more like the adventuring type proficient in hammer-based combat. 16-year-old Knuckles received the most drastic makeover of all the characters, being made significantly taller than the others and bulkier to emphasize his role as the team muscle and removed his ability to glide as they couldn’t fit it into their stories. He was also made dimwitted and gullible to the point that he often exasperated his friends. His trademark boxing gloves were changed to regular ones in order to allow his hands to be as expressive as the storytellers needed them to be. The sports tape Sonic and Knuckles sported were inspired by fighters and American football players to make them seem more grounded and less vain, which to the producers meant more heroic.

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone's out to get you.

            Newly created for the franchise was Sticks the Badger (Nika Futterman), Amy’s best friend who replaced her as a playable character in Shattered Crystal. Sticks was a free-spirit who came from the jungle. Although she’s a skilled fighter proficient in boomerangs and homemade weaponry, it’s often overshadowed by her extremely paranoid nature and wild habits. Despite coming off as a little mad, that unique worldview often pushed her towards genius in finding solutions that none of the others could even begin to consider. Freiberger created her as a sort of surrogate for himself. She was meant to bring in a healthy dose of cynicism to contrast with the unwavering heroism of the others, as well as add more humor and surprises.

Eggman plotting with Cubot and Orbot.

            Eggman lived in an island fortress off the coast of Seaside Island, where he possessed unlimited resources to come up with new robots and devices meant to darken the heroes’ day. Eggman was often buffoonish and his schemes more zany than threatening, and at times seemed to almost be on friendly terms with Team Sonic. Eggman’s primary henchbots were Orbot (Kirk Thornton), who was wise and often spoke bluntly, and Cubot (Wally Wingert), who was dimwitted and often misunderstood the meaning of statements characters made. His main army were the Badniks; foot soldiers who resembled various animals. In keeping with their perception on vanity and heroism, Eggman was made extremely vain and was often seen caring about his appearance and that of his robots. Other previously established foes included Metal Sonic, Eggman’s robotic duplicate of Sonic, and Shadow the Hedgehog (Thornton), who was depicted as being even more aggressive and vengeful that other versions with a desire to beat Sonic at all costs.

Eggman with one of the Weasel Bandits, Willy, Dave, Chameleon, and T.W. Barker and his stunt bears.

            New foes included Charlie (Thornton), a desert rat archaeologist whom Knuckles got fired, turning him evil; The Lightning Bolt Society, a secret society consisting of small-minded small-time crooks like the teenaged Dave the Intern (Smith), egotistical spy Chameleon (who was actually a wolf, voiced by Thornton), triplets The Weasel Bandits, and Willy Walrus (Wingert); the Froglodytes, a horde of evil frogs that lived in caves beneath the island; Hypnobot (Willingham), a robot created by Tails that could control other robots and gained sentience; sentient computer virus Nominatus (Wingert) who was foe to both Eggman and Sonic; and T.W. Barker (Thornton), a dog who served as the ringmaster for a circus where all the performers were slaves and commanded a pair of stunt bears.

            Sonic Boom was teased in October of 2013 with an image of the main characters’ silhouettes against a wall. Sega released the first trailer for it on February 6, 2014. It finally debuted on Cartoon Network on November 8, 2014, and made its French debut on Canal J the following week. It was the fifth Sonic series and the first to be completely rendered in CGI. Each episode was 11-minutes in length, and often paired up with another to round out a complete half hour of air time (typically a rerun once it aired for a while). Each episode took about 18 months to produce. Writers would write their scripts independently, then get together to do a punch-up session and iron things out. Voice recording typically happened over a year before an episode ever aired, with four-hour recording sessions scheduled once every two weeks. The entire production was overseen by Sonic Team; only the second time after Sonic X. Two intros were used: the full version aired in France, while a shortened version was used in the United States due to the countries’ different delivery requirements.

Eggman chilling with Sonic and Tails.

The series was written by Joly, Mark Banker, Doug Lieblich, Dave Polsky, Eric Trueheart, Mitch Watson, Alan Denton, Greg Hahn, Jean-Christophe Derrien, Romain Van Liemt, Adam Beechen, Tom Pugsley, Dan Milano, Reid Harrison, Thomas Barichella, Joelle Sellner, Natalys Raut-Sieuzac (who was also a director), Freddie Gutierrez, Sam Freiberger, Charles-Henri Moarbes, Benoit Grenier, Phaea Crede, Justin Shatraw, Ian Flynn, Paul Shriver, Marine Lachenaud, Cedric Lachenaud, Marie Beardmore, Anne Baraou, Kevin Burke, Chris “Doc” Wyatt, Peter Saisselin, Evan Stanley, Jake James, Françoise Gralewski and Ken Pontac, with Denton and Hahn serving as story editors (credited as “creative consultants” in the first season). Robinson contributed a script in addition to her voice roles. Stories generally dealt highly in comedy with fourth-wall breaks and pop culture nods, particularly in many of the episodes’ titles. Most episodes were standalone stories, however references to past episodes did occur. The series music was composed by Michael Richard Plowman, with a score provided by OuiDo! Publishing and TESF Publishing. Animation duties were handled by Infinite Studios and Bali Animasi Solusi Ekakarsa Studio.

Shadow victorious over Sonic.

The show was renewed for a second season, as revealed by Sega at the Sonic 25^th Anniversary party in at San Diego Comic-Con 2016.  The series was given a graphical upgrade: textures were added to the various animal furs and clothing, Eggman gained some definition on his skin, and the animation moved a lot smoother. Plans were in place to bring in more characters from the games, such as private detective Vector the Crocodile (Keith Silverstein), along with new and returning characters. The season debuted on October 29, 2016 on Cartoon Network but then moved over to sister channel Boomerang for the remainder as an attempt to bring more viewers to the network. The French version would begin the following April, now sporting the truncated American opening.

Eggman attacks with his inventions.

Upon Sonic Boom’s conclusion in 2017, there went a long period of silence where fans were speculating whether the show would continue on for another season. It wouldn’t be until 2020 that Freiberger would confirm on his Twitter account that Boom, along with Sega’s entire alternate universe plan, was dead. Over the course of 104 episodes, Sonic Boom managed to secure a loyal and dedicated fanbase, as well as net itself four award nominations; winning “Best Animation” from the Chico Independent Film Festival. It was translated into multiple languages and broadcast around the world in various countries.

Two more games were made in the Boom franchise. The first was Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom, a mobile endless runner platforming game from Hardlight Studio that served as a sequel to Sonic Dash. Along with the main Boom cast, Shadow and Vector were added as playable characters and each character possessed a special ability to help with scoring. The second was Fire & Ice; was another Nintendo 3DS game developed by Sanzaru. Unlike the previous two games which served as prequels to the show, this one was set during the second season. Learning from their mistakes, the levels were made shorter and the option for players to either speed through or explore was given to accommodate different playing styles. Amy returned as a playable character alongside Sticks, and a new fire and ice power element was added. It also introduced the new character D-Fekt (originally RagnaBot, voiced by Wingert), a malfunctioning Eggman robot that ended up joining Team Sonic, that would find his way into the show. The game was released on September 27, 2016 to coincide with Sonic’s 25^th anniversary, and while the reception still wasn’t stellar it was a noted improvement over the previous entries.

The first issue of the Archie comic.

Archie Comics, then the current rights holder to publish Sonic-based comics, began publication of a tie-in comic series in 2014. The series was primarily written by regular Sonic writer Flynn, who would also pen a season two script, along with Aleah Baker. He would be joined by both Freibergers to help integrate the book better with the show. Art was provided by Stanley, Ryan Jampole, Jennifer Hernandez, Steven Butler, Dan Schoening, Tracy Yardley, Edwin Huang, Tyson Hesse and Diana Skelly. Despite good sales, Archie cancelled the book after 11 issues, feeling that the stories would be served better outside of a monthly book. No further new stories appeared, but various issues were reprinted in the pages of Sonic Super Digest and Sonic Super Special Magazine before their own cancellations. In France, a series of 6 children’s books were published by Hachette Jeunesse between 2015 and 2016. Tomy handled the toy end of the franchise, releasing action figures in single, double and multi-figure packs along with playsets, and plush toys in standard, talking, large-headed and clip-on forms. The toys were first displayed at New York Toy Fair in February 2014, and a Sonic figure was offered as a GameStop and EB Games exclusive as a pre-order bonus for the Wii U and 3DS.

Gift set version of Season 1 volume 1.

The first Boom DVD came as a free gift in the launch version of Fire & Ice. It contained the episodes “Chili Dog Day Afternoon”, “It Wasn’t Me, It Was the One-Armed Hedgehog” and “It Takes a Village to Defeat a Hedgehog”. Other DVD releases followed in 2016, as Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released the first season across 4 volumes in the United Kingdom. In 2019, NCircle Entertainment began releasing the series regularly on DVD in North America. The first two were the episode compilations Here Comes the Boom! and Go Team Sonic!, containing 8 and 9 episodes, respectively, with the 8-episode Robot Uprising! following in September of 2020. That October, they released the first 26 episodes in both a regular edition and a limited edition gift set including Tomy’s Sonic and Eggman action figures. The remaining 26 followed in February, with that limited edition version featuring Knuckles and Tails figures. The complete first season was released onto a single Blu-ray set in 2021, the same day as the first 26 episodes of season two came onto DVD. The limited edition version this time around featured a Sonic backpack clip rather than a figure. The first season was made available to stream in the United States on Hulu in 2016 (combining two episodes into one, making it seem like only 26 are available), with the second coming in 2017. Internationally, the show could be found on Netflix. Episodes from the first season were also made available to purchase for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

 
EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“The Sidekick” (11/8/14 US, 11/14/14 FR) – Sonic looks for a new sidekick after Tails gets hurt.
 
“Can an Evil Genius Crash on Your Couch for a Few Days?” (11/8/14 US, 11/14/14 FR) – Eggman moves in with Sonic while his fortress is under repair.
 
“Translate This” (11/15/14 US, 11/19/14 FR) – Tails’ translation device causes problems when it reads his friends’ thoughts aloud.
 
“Buster” (11/15/14 US, 11/19/14 FR) – In trying to be nicer to animals, Sticks befriends a slime-belching robot dog.
 
“My Fair Sticksy” (11/19/14 FR, 11/22/14 US) – Amy teaches Sticks how to be a lady so she can attend an awards ceremony.
 
“Fortress of Squalitude” (11/22/14) – Eggman asks Amy to help redecorate his lair for its appearance in a magazine.
 
“Double Doomsday” (11/29/14 US, 12/10/14 FR) – Eggman decides to take on an intern whose ambitions prove very dangerous.
 
“Eggheads” (12/6/14 US, 12/10/14 FR) – Eggman bakes cookies that turn Sonic’s friends into his henchmen.
 
“Guilt Tripping” (12/17/14 FR, 1/17/15 US) – The Gogobas guilt Sonic and Tails into staying at their village after they saved them.
 
“Dude, Where’s My Eggman?” (12/17/14 FR, 1/24/15 US) – Orbot and Cubot wake up with no memory of the previous day and have to find Eggman.
 
“Cowbot” (12/24/14 FR, 1/31/15 US) – Sonic has to protect Eggman from a robot Tails reprogrammed to take revenge on its creator.
 
“Circus of Plunders” (12/24/14 FR, 2/7/15 US) – When Tails temporarily leaves after an invention jeopardizes a mission, Sonic and his friends volunteer to perform at T.W. Barker’s circus.
 
“Unlucky Knuckles” (1/14/15 FR, 2/14/15 US) – Knuckles looks for a cure to his run of bad luck.
 
“The Meteor” (1/21/15 FR, 2/21/15 US) – A meteor causes Sonic and Eggman to switch brains.
 
“Aim Low” (1/14/15 FR, 2/28/15 US) – Eggman hires Soar the Eagle as his life coach to improve himself after his latest defeat by Sonic.
 
“How to Succeed in Evil Without Really Trying” (1/21/15 FR, 3/7/15 US) – When Tails’ friends get angry at his latest machine’s blunder, he unknowingly joins an evil organization.
 
“Don’t Judge Me” (2/11/15 FR, 3/14/15 US) – Eggman fakes a broken neck after a battle so that he can sue Sonic in court.
 
“Dr. Eggman’s Tomato Sauce” (2/11/15 FR, 3/21/15 US) – Team Sonic suspects there’s something fishy about Eggman’s tomato sauce that turned him into a celebrity chef.
 
“Sole Power” (2/18/15 FR, 3/28/15 US) – Sonic goes to Eggman for help when his speed causes a deafening tone that affects everyone.
 
“Hedgehog Day” (2/18/15 FR, 4/4/15 US) – Eggman turns to Sonic for help when his new invention gets him trapped in a time loop.
 
“Sleeping Giant” (3/11/15 FR, 4/18/15 US) – Team Sonic needs to find a way to put a rock giant back to sleep after accidentally waking it up.
 
“The Curse of Buddy Buddy Temple” (3/11/15 FR, 4/18/15 US) – Eggman and Sonic are forced to cooperate to escape a temple.
 
“Let’s Play Musical Friends” (4/1/15 FR, 4/25/15 US) – Orbot and Cubot have to go into the cyber-world to expel a sentient virus from Eggman’s systems.
 
“Late Fees” (4/1/15 FR, 5/2/15 US) – Returning Amy’s library book on time turns out to be a herculean task for Sonic.
 
“Into the Wilderness” (4/1/15 FR, 5/9/15 US) – Sticks’ attempt to teach Amy survival skills leads Sonic and Knuckles to challenge them to a race through the jungle.
 
“Eggman Unplugged” (4/8/15 FR, 5/16/15 US) – Eggman swears off technology for good just when Team Sonic needs it to beat the Lightning Bolt Society.
 
“Chez Amy” (4/8/15 FR, 7/13/15 US) – Tired of the poor service at Meh Burger, Amy decides to open her own restaurant with help from Eggman.
 
“Blue with Envy” (4/8/15 FR, 7/14/15 US) – Sonic becomes suspicious of a visiting shrew that immediately becomes popular in the village.
 
“Curse of the Cross Eyed Moose” (4/22/15 FR, 7/15/15 US) – Sticks believes a cross-eyed moose cursed them all, so they quest for a mystical marmoset to remove it.
 
“Chili Dog Day Afternoon” (4/22/15 FR, 7/16/15 US) – Knuckles goes on a grand adventure for a particular pepper to help him win the annual chili dog cook-off.
 
“Closed Door Policy” (5/6/15 FR, 7/17/15 US) – Amy forces Sticks to hold a garage sale to get rid of some of her junk, accidentally freeing a horde of Froglodytes as a result.
 
“Mayor Knuckles” (5/6/15 FR, 7/20/15 US) – While Mayor Fink is away, Knuckles assumes his duties to disastrous results.
 
“Eggman the Auteur” (5/20/15 FR, 7/21/15 US) – Eggman manages to get Sonic to portray himself in his movie about their rivalry.
 
“Just a Guy” (5/20/15 FR, 7/23/15 US) – Amy attempts to help Sonic become more sensitive towards others.
 
“Two Good to Be True” (6/3/15 FR, 7/23 15 US) – Team Sonic must help an alternate Knuckles return to his home dimension where he’s the leader of the team.
 
“Beyond the Valley of the Cubots” (7/24/15 US, 8/29/15 FR) – Cubot decides to protect prototypes of himself from Eggman with Sonic and Tails’ help.
 
“Next Top Villain” (8/1/15 US, 8/29/15 FR) – Dave the Intern traps Eggman and takes over his armies to prove himself a supervillain.
 
“New Year’s Retribution” (6/3/15 FR, 8/8/15 US) – Eggman slows down Sonic so he has a chance to defeat him before the new year.
 
“Battle of the Boy Bands” (8/15/15 US, 8/29/15 FR) – The boys of Team Sonic start up a boy band to pull Amy and Sticks out of their obsession over pop star Justin Beaver.
 
“Tails’ Crush” (8/22/15 US, 8/29/15 FR) – Tails’ friends give him lousy advice in dealing with his crush on a fox named Zooey.
 
“Bro-Down Showdown” (8/29/15 US, 8/30/15 FR) – Sonic and Knuckles enter a game show to win Amy a new couch, but end up on opposing teams.
 
“Late Night Wars” (8/30/15 FR, 9/5/15 US) – Knuckles takes over Comedy Chimp’s late-night show when he becomes popular.
 
“Fire in a Crowded Workshop” (8/30/15 FR, 9/12/15 US) – Sonic, Knuckles and Amy tell their own versions of how they set Tails’ workshop on fire.
 
“It Wasn’t Me, it was the One-Armed Hedgehog” (8/30/15 FR, 9/19/15 US) – Knuckles helps Sonic try to clear his name related to thefts around the village.
 
“Robot Battle Royale” (8/31/15 FR, 9/26/15 US) – Knuckles enter a robot fight to prove he can invent stuff just as well as Tails.
 
“No Robots Allowed” (8/30/15 FR, 10/3/15 US) – Eggman has to convince the homeowner’s association there are no robots in his lair or be evicted.
 
“Fuzzy Puppy Buddies” (8/31/15 FR, 10/10/15 US) – Amy and Eggman secretly bond over their favorite game.
 
“Designated Heroes” (9/6/15 FR, 10/17/15 US) – Eggman tricks Team Sonic to face him one-on-one and to defeat themselves.
 
“Role Models” (9/5/15 FR, 10/24/15 US) – An image specialist tells Team Sonic they need to change to be better examples for the villages’ children.
 
“Cabin Fever” (8/31/15 FR, 10/31/15 US) – Team Sonic takes refuge from a storm at Amy’s house and her play about them drives them apart.
 
“Counter Productive” (9/30/15 FR, 11/7/15 US) – Knuckles attempts to help Charlie the Rat to make up for a past mistake, but ends up making things worse instead.
 
“It Takes a Village to Defeat a Hedgehog” (9/20/15 FR, 11/14/15 US0 – Eggman unites all of the island’s villains in a bid to defeat Sonic together.

 

Season 2:
“Tommy Thunder: Method Actor” (10/29/16 US, 4/8/17 FR) – Sonic lets a movie star shadow him and ends up regretting it when his ego begins making him take credit for the team’s victories.
 
“Spacemageddonocalypse” (11/19/16 US, 4/8/17 FR) – Team Sonic must save the planet from an asteroid.
 
“Nutwork” (11/26/16 US, 4/15/17 FR) – Sticks starts a pirate radio station in order to fill the truth she feels the regular media lacks.
 
“Alone Again, Unnaturally” (12/3/16 US, 4/22/17 FR) – Tails’ speed amplifier causes Sonic to become trapped in another plane of existence.
 
“The Biggest Fan” (12/10/16 US, 4/29/17 FR) – Sonic makes the mistake of making his self-proclaimed #1 fan his personal assistant.
 
“Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Worse-er” (12/17/16 US, 5/6/17 FR) – Sonic challenges Tails to come up with a trap that can actually catch him.
 
“I Can Sea Sonic’s Fear from Here” (12/24/16 US, 5/13/17 FR) – Sonic must overcome his fear of the water to face Eggman.
 
“In the Midnight Hour” (12/31/16 US, 5/20/17 FR) – The others don’t believe Sticks about a mysterious figure trying to hypnotize the village at night.
 
“Multi-Tails” (1/7/17 US, 5/27/17 FR) – To amplify his brain productivity, Tails splits himself into five beings.
 
“Strike!” (1/14/17 US, 6/3/17 FR) – Orbot and Cubot lead the other robots in a strike against Eggman.
 
“The Evil Dr. Orbot” (1/21/17 US, 6/10/17 FR) – Failing to get his evil license has Eggman put Orbot in control as a puppet, but Orbot soon becomes mad with power.
 
“Knuck Knuck! Who’s Here?” (1/21/17 US, 6/17/17 FR) – Knuckles gets amnesia during a battle, and when he learns he’s the last of his kind sets out to find a foster family.
 
“Mech Suits Me” (2/4/17 US, 6/24/17 FR) – Sonic finds an ancient mech suit that makes him more powerful and increasingly dependent on it.
 
“FiendBot” (2/11/17 US, 7/1/17 FR) – Eggman programs his new robot with everything it needs to know to defeat Sonic, but instead it wants to become his friend.
 
“Og Man Out: (2/18/17 US, 7/8/17 FR) – Team Sonic is suspicious of Og’s arrival, which seems justified when a Froglodyte army is soon behind him.
 
“Knine-to-Five Knuckles” (2/25/17 US, 7/15/17 FR) – Knuckles decides to get a job so he can buy a house for the lamp he won.
 
“Blackout” (3/4/17 US, 7/22/17 FR) – Team Sonic has to get through trap puzzles set by the ancients to get a new power source for the village.
 
“Unnamed Episode” (3/11/17 US, 7/29/17 FR) – The village residents find out it used to be named after Sticks’ evil ancestor, and their decision to rename lets Eggman take over.
 
“Robot Employees” (3/18/17 US, 8/5/17 FR) – Eggman creates automated robot workers for Meh Burger, driving Dave to join the Lightning Bolt Society.
 
“Give Bees a Chance” (3/25/17 US, 8/12/17 FR) – Amy takes care of one of Eggman’s beebots and adopts it.
 
“Mombot” (4/1/17 US, 8/19/17 FR) – Eggman creates a mothering robot for himself, which ends up just criticizing and embarrassing him in front of Sonic.
 
“Muckfoot” (4/8/17 US, 8/26/17 FR) – Tails wants to prove that a mythical creature is real.
 
“Nominatus Rising” (4/15/17 US, 9/2/17 FR) – The sentient virus returns and this time tries to take over the world from outside the computer.
 
“Eggman’s Brother” (4/22/17 US, 9/9/17 FR) – Eggman’s long-lost brother comes to the village and joins forces with Team Sonic.
 
“Do Not Disturb” (4/29/17 US, 9/16/17 FR) – Government regulations keep Sonic from evicting an endangered creature from his shack.
 
“Robots from the Sky Part 1” (5/6/17 US, 9/23/17 FR) – Mighton and Bolts come from the robot sky city Roboken and believe Team Sonic to be evil for attacking robots.
 
“Robots from the Sky Part 2” (5/13/17 US, 9/23/17 FR) – When robots across the world turn evil, Sonic and Tails head to Roboken for help.
 
“Robots from the Sky Part 3” (5/20/17 US, 9/23/17 FR) – Tails learns he may have inadvertently caused the Roboken to be taken over by evil robots.
 
“Robots from the Sky Part 4” (5/27/17 US, 9/23/17 FR) – Hypnobot joins forces with Eggman to conquer the world.
 
“Flea-ing from Trouble” (6/3/17 US, 9/30/17 FR) – Eggman attacks with extremely tiny robots.
 
“Lightning Bowler Society” (6/10/17 US, 10/7/17 FR) – A bowling match could see the Lightning Bolt Society steal all of Team Sonic’s fans.
 
“Planes, Trains and Dude-Mobiles” (6/17/17 US, 10/14/17 FR) – The boys’ band has been booked for their first road gig and set out in their new van.
 
“Sticks and Amy’s Excellent Staycation” (6/24/17 US, 10/21/17 FR) – Belinda plans to attack the village since the boys are away on their gig.
 
“Inn Sanity” (7/1/17 US, 10/28/17 FR) – Eggman turns his lair into a luxury resort to raise money for his tax bill.
 
“Mister Eggman” (7/8/17 US, 11/3/17 FR) – When it comes out Eggman isn’t actually a doctor, he goes back to school to finish his PhD.
 
“The Haunted Lair” (7/15/17 US, 11/10/17 FR) – Believing it to be haunted, Eggman sells his lair to T.W. Barker.
 
“Return of the Buddy Buddy Temple of Doom” (7/22/17 US, 11/17/17 FR) – Eggman recruits the Froglodytes to make the Gogobas mine for a crystal to power his giant mech suit.
 
“Eggman’s Anti Gravity Ray” (7/29/17 US, 11/24/17 FR) – Eggman creates a ray to turn his lair away from the morning wind and ends up causing chaos in the village instead.
 
“Victory” (8/5/17 US, 12/1/17 FR) – Sonic challenges Eggman to a soccer game to save the rec center.
 
“Three Men and My Baby!” (8/12/17 US, 12/8/17 FR) – Sonic, Tails and Knuckles accidentally injure Lady Walrus and offer to take care of her baby.
 
“Where Have All the Sonics Gone?” (8/19/17 US, 12/15/17 FR) – Morpho sends Sonic to a universe where he never existed.
 
“If You Build It They Will Race” (8/26/17 US, 12/22/17 FR) – Team Sonic becomes very competitive with each other when they enter an auto race with cars they’ve designed.
 
“Chain Letter” (9/2/17 US, 12/29/17 FR) – Sonic quickly regrets accepting Eggman’s friend request on social media.
 
“Vector Detector” (9/9/17 US, 1/5/18 FR) – Vector is hired to find Amy’s missing hammer.
 
“Three Minutes or Less” (9/30/17 US, 1/26/18 FR) – Eggman tries to interfere with Sonic’s 3-minute delivery promise.
 
“Lair on Lockdown” (10/7/17 US, 2/2/18 FR) – Team Sonic gets trapped in Eggman’s lair with him after accidentally triggering a lockdown.
 
“You and I Bee-come One” (10/14/17 US, 2/9/18 FR) – Tails’ new teleporter accidentally merges him with a beebot.
 
“Don’t Make Me Angry” (10/21/17 US, 2/16/18 FR) – An experiment causes Eggman to become an adorable creature whenever he gets angry.
 
“Eggman Family Vacation’ (10/28/17 US, 2/23/18 FR) – Mighton and Bolts call on Team Sonic to help stop the evil schemes of the Eggman brothers in Roboken.
 
“Return to Beyond the Valley of the Cubots” (11/4/17 US, 3/2/18 FR) – D-Fekt joins up with the Cubots to take down Eggman.
 
“Eggman: The Video Game Part 1” (11/11/17 US, 3/9/18 FR) – Eggman recruits Shadow to help bring more evil into his video game.
 
“Eggman: The Video Game Part 2” (11/18/17 US, 3/9/18 FR) – When he realizes he’s been duped, Shadow decides to get revenge first on Eggman and then the entire universe.