Why two Sonic cartoons in 1993?

[TheGunheart]

Oh, dang. I keep thinking Sonic CD came out earlier, thanks to the Tails easter egg.

 

[Wesyeed]

I bought the DVD for nostalgia. I was pretty astounded at how awful the dialogue was. I didn't remember it being that bad as a kid.. Sonic says the words "yo" "cool" or "mondo" in almost every sentence.

I found transcripts of episodes online, which is where I got those dialogue snippets.

SatAM has better animation than AoStH yes, but nothing was dark about it. At all. It was a typical kids cartoon with cheesy dialogue.

I'm stunned that you would think this. For a kids cartoon in featured themes of mass extinction, betrayal by old allies, torturous robotic transformations that were incurable, not even to mention the dramatic back and forth SEXUAL tension between sally and the speedy blue hero. I'm sitting on my bed in shock here...

And I agree that SatAM's intro was far better. I loved the intro. Too bad the rest of the show is generic furry garbage made by guys with hard-ons for Star Wars. (Swatbots were knockoffs of Stormtroopers, there was a wizard who talked just like Yoda. Snively was a lot like Darth Vader's second-in-command guy who I don't know the name of, and Nicole was like R2-D2.)

I'll give you this... reluctantly. The looney toony sonic was way more original if limited by a simple tom and jerry story structure.

SatAM is just embarrassing to watch. Yes, AoStH had some pretty terrible animation, but it did have some humor to it, and unlike SatAM, never took itself too seriously, which makes it somewhat watchable.

the show took a character who's just the flash meets mario and created an entire mythos that to this day stands unmatched by any other sonic show. there was drama, there was continuity, there was a brilliant theme song... Sonic was steve urkel! it was awesome.

Because being a bumbling idiot is how the character was intended. Yes, Robotnik has an evil side too, but SatAM showed him as being ONLY evil. His voice was way too dark and he lacked any of his humor.

this I can agree with. He's really a by the numbers super villain. The other Robotnik was insane, but in a good way.

Not to get off-topic, but I liked Robotnik's Sonic Adventure incarnation best, because it managed to blend both his comical and evil side. He was a bumbling narcissistic moron who would throw temper tantrums, but also had his moments of darkness, like blowing up an entire island (That people were probably ON during the explosion!) sent Sonic falling to his doom from space, and pointed a gun to Amy's head.

Indeed his characterization as the more flamboyant? version was more interesting than the bad to the bone corporate ceo villain.

 

[Mikintosh]

I actually was only aware of the syndicated show at the time; I caught that during the weekdays but on Saturday mornings I was watching Power Rangers on Fox (I didn't start catching ABC until One Saturday Morning started), and I guess I didn't ever change the channel to see they were making a second Sonic show; I only heard of it a couple of years ago.

Y'know, I kinda liked the slapstick syndicated series; it wasn't extremely brainy but it was good ol' fashioned Tom & Jerry-esque fun, with a little bit of "Garfield & Friends"-like humor mixed in. I've only seen a little bit of the Saturday morning show, but I think it was admirable in its attempts to add new characters and situations to the mix (I think some of that stuff should be in the games, frankly). I've been meaning to get the DVDs for awhile but I keep forgetting.

 

[Gonzales]

I always hated AoSTH, because Sonic and Tails were so annoying. I literally always rooted for Robotnik in every episode because I wanted those two to get what was coming to them.

Like I said in a previous thread, the best Sonic animated adaptation is and always will be the Sonic anime OVA.

 

[byron lomax]

I always thought the opening scenes of Sonic CD looked a lot better than the actual Sonic cartoons beng produced at the time. Not just in the animation itself - it actually looked a lot more genuinely "Sonic".

I actually quite enjoyed AoStH back in the day, though I realised it was pretty rubbish even at that age. It could be really funny at times, for example that bizarre episode with the space bounty hunter who marries Robotnik.

 

[Savoury Sauce]

I was a huge Sonic fan as a kid, and up until these shows were released, I'd only been exposed to the video games (naturally) and goofy comic stories heavily influenced by them. That's generally my perfect Sonic. So when these cartoons aired on TV, my kid-self actually felt somewhat betrayed, since they both strayed so far from what I thought Sonic was all about. Where were the psychadelic zone environments, the funny robots, the characters? I just couldn't get far enough past that blockade to enjoy either.

I've tried watching both shows later in life, feeling bad for not really giving either that big of a chance, and being a lot more open minded and all. While I'm more or less able to tolerate AoSTH and it's more lighthearted fare, and dare I say actually be entertained by it, I still find it incredibly difficult to appreciate the SatAM series. I'm not really sure if it's just that 'in name only' angle that prevents me from liking it, or if the series decidedly 'darker' story and characters in general that don't float my boat.

 

[Philmister978]

I was a huge Sonic fan as a kid, and up until these shows were released, I'd only been exposed to the video games (naturally) and goofy comic stories heavily influenced by them. That's generally my perfect Sonic. So when these cartoons aired on TV, my kid-self actually felt somewhat betrayed, since they both strayed so far from what I thought Sonic was all about. Where were the psychadelic zone environments, the funny robots, the characters? I just couldn't get far enough past that blockade to enjoy either.

I've tried watching both shows later in life, feeling bad for not really giving either that big of a chance, and being a lot more open minded and all. While I'm more or less able to tolerate AoSTH and it's more lighthearted fare, and dare I say actually be entertained by it, I still find it incredibly difficult to appreciate the SatAM series. I'm not really sure if it's just that 'in name only' angle that prevents me from liking it, or if the series decidedly 'darker' story and characters in general that don't float my boat.

Yeah, I'm not that big of a fan of SatAM Sonic as I am of Syndication Sonic.

I Mean sure the series has (slightly) better animation and that it was darker then its sibling. But in all seriousness, I prefer the hit and miss animation of AOSTH. It adds a distinct flavor to it that makes it even funnier then it originally was. Plus, if I can get my fill of mature content, I can always see South Park, Family Guy, Beast Wars and other series.

That's my two cents in the matter.

 

[W.C.Reaf]

As a kid I always liked SatAM Sonic better than the Adventures version (even though I watched and enjoyed both).

I do however think the best Sonic adaptation was the UK comic series "Sonic the Comic", which more 'mature' than both those shows and truer to the games (not by much but it did try harder to include stuff from the games like Super Sonic, the Special Zone, Knuckles, the Chaos Emeralds, Chaotix). Plus the head writer actually wrote the official back story for the Echidna's (Knuckles’ people), although with all of Sega's current stuff I don't doubt they've invalided it by now.

Still kids stuff, but more inline with Sonic games and better written than any other Sonic adaption I've seen.

Animation wise the Sonic OVAs are probably the best Sonic cartoons out there. Which is sad 'cause it's not exactly brilliant or anything.

 

[sdp]

SatAM gets remembered with a huge case of nostalgia goggles. As a kid I remember hating AoSTH which was the one that aired all the time and SatAM which I rarely watched I loved it. Watching as an adult/teenager I can say I enjoyed AoSTH more, its wacky but can be kinda fun not to mention takes stuff from the games. SatAM was a huge disappointment, people on the internet hype it up too much, its just as kiddy as AoSTH just not as slapsticky, though it still has plenty of it. Its not a bad kids cartoon and it is darker than AoSTH but by much.

 

[SF4Ever]

Back in the `70s, weren't Superfriends and The Adventures of Batman airing at the same time?

Yes they were, but the differences in both programs was this: The Superfriends, produced by Hanna-Barbera, was the lead-off program on ABC's Saturday morning lineup, back in 1977, whereas The New Adventures of Batman, produced by Filmation, aired on CBS, later in the morning as part of The Batman/Tarzan Hour. If you need more information, go to the library and check out Billboard' The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television by Wesley Hyatt.

 

[Old Guy]

SatAM gets remembered with a huge case of nostalgia goggles. As a kid I remember hating AoSTH which was the one that aired all the time and SatAM which I rarely watched I loved it. Watching as an adult/teenager I can say I enjoyed AoSTH more, its wacky but can be kinda fun not to mention takes stuff from the games. SatAM was a huge disappointment, people on the internet hype it up too much, its just as kiddy as AoSTH just not as slapsticky, though it still has plenty of it. Its not a bad kids cartoon and it is darker than AoSTH but by much.

I could have told you that 16 years ago. I never did understand the hype for SatAM. My only guess is that people enjoyed the animation better as well as the storyline. AoSTH is very simplistic and silly by comparison.

 

[cnfan91]

I liked both shows but I liked and still like Sonic SatAM better because it's more edgier and has an awesome intro. I remember watching Sonic SatAM on USA Network's Action Extreme Team Saturday morning block back in the 90's and I remember Sailor Moon was also on the block before it aired on Toonami.

 

[Old Guy]

I remember Sailor Moon was also on the block before it aired on Toonami.

Sailor Moon, and Dragonball, premiered on syndication in the mid `90s.

 

[AdamYJ]

People remember the SatAM show fondly because it tried to be a little more serious. Prior to this, cartoons based on video games didn't try to be anything but silly. Capt. N was silly, the Mario cartoons were silly, the Zelda cartoon came closest to being serious, but was still mostly silly, etc.

 

[Old Guy]

People remember the SatAM show fondly because it tried to be a little more serious. Prior to this, cartoons based on video games didn't try to be anything but silly.

I guess you have a point, but I don't know if kids at the time were thinking of it that way.

 

[SetTheControls]

I watched both shows during their first run. So did all my friends. I was 12. And trust me, SatAM was the show I was crazy about. I think we all had a love-hate relationship with AoSTH. We all said we liked the ABC show better, sometimes said we hated AoSTH, and wished AoSTH could be SatAM ... but yet, none of us could stop watching AoSTH.

But, still, I wouldn't go so far as to call AoSTH "babyish" by comparison. Yes, SatAM was, in theory, the "serious", "dark" show, but it doesn't hold up too well for me when I revisit it. Now, it seems like ... well, a kids' show. And not much less of a kids' show than AoSTH. If SatAM is the serious, dark show, then AoSTH is the absurdist, trippy show. (Yes, trippy. I'm gonna go with that.)

Also, I don't think it's accurate to say that SatAM had the better animation. SatAM was drawn more realistically (especially the backgrounds). That's a design, not animation, factor. Character poses were reserved on SatAM, more exagerated on AoSTH. But the animation itself wasn't particularly better on either show. Somewhat awkward, stilted, fairly limited animation that was pretty much the norm for what DIC produced for TV during that era. Both shows had their best, most fluid, most dynamic animation during their respective title sequences.

 

[Old Guy]

none of us could stop watching AoSTH

It was on syndication. If you were in the mood for Sonic that was pretty much all you had till Saturday. Even after both shows ended their run, AoSTH was pretty much all you had.

 

[AdamYJ]

I guess you have a point, but I don't know if kids at the time were thinking of it that way.

It depends on how old the kid was. I was 11 at the time and noticed the difference, even if it wasn't a conscious realization. People know when something just seems "different" than what they're used to.

 

[Old Guy]

What I meant was that I don't know if kids cared if the adaptation was serious or not. Sonic, like Mario, was very colorful...and hip. So, a slapstick show like AoSTH didn't seem like an insult to the character.

 

[AdamYJ]

What I meant was that I don't know if kids cared if the adaptation was serious or not. Sonic, like Mario, was very colorful...and hip. So, a slapstick show like AoSTH didn't seem like an insult to the character.

I didn't mean that serious was better than silly. I think both shows worked.

I just think that kids noticed that there was something "different" about the SatAM one in that sense. I mean, it wasn't necessarily great but it did seem different, and sometimes different is all you need.