Sonic Boom TV Show Megathread

Problem is, he'd have to step down from being author over at Archie, and there's no sign of that for the immediate future.

 

Would he? I mean the gig seems temporary its not like SEGA hires their writers full on for any and every game, its just when the next Sonic game is nearing the writing process they bring them in, so I think its just commission work.

I'm sure their would be no issues if he kept his job at Archie while doing commission work for SEGA.

 

I more meant that he has a ton of work to do with the two Sonic books, although I did kind of forget that the Mega Man book is going on hiatus, which definitely lowers his workload.

But yeah, get Ian Flynn for story and Tracy Yardley for dialogue.

 

Might as well throw in Ian's wife, Aleah Baker for good measure. Her stuff is amazing.

 

He started a Twitter hashtag a while back trying to get something going for writing a Sonic game. #flynn4sonic. So his interest is definitely there. If Sega were to come calling, he'd jump. And I would weep tears of joy. The only reason they've stayed with Ken Pontac and Warren Graff this long has got to be laziness; seriously, why have they committed to them for three full main-series games at this point? It's certainly not the quality of the plots, and I can't imagine they would have difficulty finding anyone with better credentials at a comparative payscale. Is it just because their writing generally requires little to no animation or integration into the gameplay?

Back on topic to Sonic Boom: the self-awareness is working right now because people love the fact the franchise is poking fun at itself, but I'm wondering how long it can maintain itself like that. Self-awareness can wear thin pretty quickly when it gets to be a crutch as opposed to a literary device to add some spice. I guess it doesn't really matter, even at its worse, meta humor can't be worse than the low-points the franchise has hit before.

 

It's certainly better than taking itself too seriously, but you can only be tongue in cheek for so long before people start to wonder if you actually know how tongues are supposed to work.

 

I think it works best in short, sudden, unexpected bursts. Like Knuckles' "I thought your middle name was 'The.'" line.

 

See, my problem with Boom in general is that you could do the exact same things with the regular Sonic crew and do it funnier. Because with regular Sonic, you're working with the entire history of the games and already pretty fleshed out personalities to make jokes with. The Boom characters are essentially new characters, and they haven't been given time to be built up. Jokes like the one you mentioned, Cyberguy, are only funny because of Sonic in general. I mean, it's always a popular internet parody topic to put Sonic and co in normal situations (for some reason). And that's essentially what Boom is, but with versions of the Sonic characters with no backstory or real personality because the show is too lazy to establish anything or anyone. It is Sonic, but stripped of all the history, and with crappy character designs. And the show making jokes about it's pointlessness doesn't make it okay. :v:

This goes for the games, too. You could do a crappy PS2 platformer with the regular Sonic characters and world, and probably do it better. And the 3DS game (and probably the next one too) are also just crappy 2D platformers with somewhat speedy gameplay. (So why even bother making them in the first place? Did SC break even?) And Dash 2 is just Sonic Dash with Boom designs and rails AND BOOM VERSIONS OF WISPS. WTF.

This is why I just want Boom to end. Maybe that's harsh, but do you really think anyone working on it is that emotionally invested? And you can do a stupid funny show with the regular Sonic characters, really. Maybe if Sega wasn't as strict about what they do with Boom then maybe I could see a point, but they really seem to have a tight leash on everyone working on it anyway. Synergy could have been a good Sonic reboot, but it's long dead. And, really, it's a shame. But I just think Boom needs to die, and the people working on Boom should be given something to do with regular Sonic. And it's not like I'm the first person to say this stuff, it's just that a whole lot of people seem to really like Boom, but why? What does it have to offer that regular Sonic doesn't? Asking honestly here.

 

I gotta disagree with you on pretty much all accounts. The fact that Boom is off doing its own thing helps give it the free reign it needs to be as goofy and fun as it is. Standard Knuckles being a complete idiot would rub most people the wrong way, but Boom Knuckles being a moron is surprisingly endearing and funny. Eggman being all buddy buddy with the cast while still trying to destroy them just wouldn't work in the standard Sonic universe. Heck, there are things that Sega could learn from Boom's writing, like how they toned down Amy's rabid crush on Sonic without completely stripping her of personality.

 

Please tell me about the times they fleshed out the personalities of Sonic characters in the games? Cause any time they make any effort to actually do that (and those times are very few) they just ignore it ever happened in the next game. Boom is the first time outside of Archie that the characters have had fleshed out personalities. The writers wouldn't have much to work making a comedic show with the regular characters outside of references kids wouldn't get.

 

Touché, I guess. Yes, the game Sonic characters themselves are a mess, which only serves to highlight Boom's pointlessness. Knuckles being a quirky dumbass for example, isn't exactly much different from Knuckles just sort of being there for no reason. We totally needed a new continuity for that. I don't know where you're getting the fleshed out personalities from the Boom characters, though. Boom isn't funny or interesting because of the characters, it's funny because of the jokes, and the jokes and the characters themselves are very general. Heck, the way it is there's no reason to use Sonic in the first place. If in my imaginary scenario where they did a character comedy with game Sonic, then it could be used to flesh out them out.

And don't tell me that using new characters or a new continuity is to help the kids not be confused or something like that. The classic games are two or three US dollars away from their hands, and almost every game in the series is available digitally and I assume if you or your family can afford super-basic cable (or whatever it is where you live) then you can afford video games. That would be like making Star Wars: Clone Wars a whole new continuity to 'not confuse new fans', or making every Marvel movie take place in a different universe. References to other things in the 'canon' of a franchise only serve to promote it as a whole. Also, aren't most Boom fans already familiar with the games or other Sonic continuity anyway?

Look, I'm not saying I'm totally right or there are no holes in my argument or something. If people like Boom, there must be something to it. In truth though, making a sitcom out of Sonic the Hedgehog probably isn't that good of an idea. AoStH was mostly based on visual gags and wackiness. Not that it was good, but that probably makes more sense for a Sonic cartoon than a sitcom.

 

I'm wondering where you've been getting "sitcom" from when it comes to Sonic Boom. Sitcoms are known for being slow-paced, focusing on the mundane, and reflecting real life but with exaggerated comedic and occasionally tragedic elements. Sonic Boom's got a bit of that, but it's moreso just... a kids' action comedy. If it's a sitcom for having/parodying real-life elements, then so is Kim Possible. Not trying to be semantic, but the comparison just isn't there, and there are other, better things to complain about in regards to Sonic Boom as a concept.

 

Look back and see if the jokes would work with the normal personalities. With Sonic not seeing himself as incredibly important or being annoyed at a lot of stuff, or Amy having any more personality than a girl stereotype. The jokes work cause of their new personalities.

And Star Wars doesn't need to establish a new continuity or world cause everybody knows about Star Wars. And none of the Marvel kids shows follow the continuity of the movies either, though in that case pretty much everyone already knows about those already as well. When it comes to Sonic however, it'd only work if it was 20 years ago when the series was incredibly popular. Almost nobody is going to play the games now to get invested in a new show. Aside from that, Sonic doesn't have much of a continuity to begin with.

 

Heh. It'll take getting used to the new Knuckles look.

Not directly related to its concept, but its lack of a physical release. Let me buy a permanent copy of Sonic Boom with real money and I'd be more interested in giving it a chance.

 

Well, with the example of Kim Possible, there's generally an ongoing narrative in that show as well as character development. Every Sonic Boom episode is self contained, with no character or story developments. Sonic Boom is way more like Phineas and Ferb then Kim Possible. As an aside, Boom makes a lot of jokes about mundane life, it often parodies the usual superhero/villain relationship as some sort of job and the villagers are all pretty cynical. Also, I'm not necessarily complaining about Boom's sitcom-ish-ness. It's more a complaint coming from the fact that PR people tend to advertise it as some sort of action adventure deal, and that it may or may not overtake the rest of the series.

Well what are their normal personalities? :v: What you said, about the game personalities not being fleshed out, I agree with. So, Sonic being like Boom-Sonic wouldn't really be that out of left field. Heck, Boom-Sonic is not much different from Madworld Writers-Sonic, he's just slightly less cynical. And Amy was just 'girl' in Lost World also because of the Madworld writers.

Also, maybe the reason why Sonic isn't as big or popular as he used to be is because of things like Boom and the Madworld writers fundamentally shaking things up to the point where in every single game and iteration, Sonic is almost unrecognizable. The kids Marvel cartoons aren't totally different from their source material, it's presumed that everything's the same or similar, and then goes from there. Except for Super Hero Squad, which was a parody universe. THAT is a good example of what Boom probably should be. It has enough to stand and be funny on its own, but it also has references and jokes about Marvel in general, and the characters aren't that different. This encourages kids (potential new fans) to look the characters up on the internet and become fans of the comics and movies. And not only that, but old fans can get a kick out of the referential jokes too. Boom arbitrarily differentiates itself from regular Sonic for no good reason, and that's sort of my point.

 

Just now got around to watching the season finale, and I have a couple points, both regarding Shadow.

1. Eggman's fanboying over Shadow. As obvious as this may seem, I can't help but feel that Eggman idolizing Shadow is meant to be a piss-take at the fans who constantly asked for Shadow to show up in the show. Again, probably a statement worthy of the Nicholas Cage face, but eh.

2. Shadow's voice. This has been the first time I've ever heard Kirk Thornton voice him in an extended capacity since Shadow's been absent from the games for a while, and his voice is just...odd. It's all gruff and growly, when I'm used to David Humphrey and Jason Griffith giving him a soft, clipped tone and only getting growly when he raises his voice.

 

Uh, am I just being an idiot or do all the links in the OP not work anymore?

 

Nope. It's not just you.