So... Roboticization

The thing that worked against the technology is that it seemed like it was awfully easy for any robotized individual to gain their free will back. All the FFs needed was to divert Robotnik's FM signal or whatever mechanical mind control component he was using to sever the "enslavement", which was quite obvious from the many times the FFs were able to turn Uncle Chuck back.

Looking back on the show, I watched it not too long ago and it's weird to watch it with the advanced education that I now have. It's hard to watch the show without seeing a lot of 1990s sociopolitical stereotypes. The show seemed to steal an awful lot from the film Once Upon A Forest, as the Firlings are dead-on analogues of many of the Freedom Fighters, which explains why I loved both the series and the movie so much when I was younger. It seems like they were trying to throw Sonic into some weird Don Bluth-Meets-Captain Planet-Star Wars-and-Inspector Gadget blender universe and it somehow just didn't fit.

As for Ben Hurst, I think he seemed to carry that same megalomaniac gene that Ken Penders had with the comic. The mediums were basically springboards for their egos and they act as if the fans of the show/comic are fans of them (I remember Ken's old message board *shudder*).

 

Surprisingly, I'm told that stealing from other sources wasn't an uncommon custom for Saturday morning cartoons. Most of them were made to advertise existing toys and such. The characters from these properties were never strong enough to carry themselves on their own because they weren't designed for a cartoon show in the first place. SatAM is proof of a property being completely overwhelmed by other sources that didn't belong to begin with it, and the result was something almost absolutely alienated from its foundation. The concept of buying a license from a toy company, then throwing in a bunch of other crap with it to make an animated series sounds like a shot in the foot anyway, but oddly enough, studios made their money this way (although not for too long).

I'm not sure if they're exclusively 1990s sociopolitical stereotypes, because I think they're still quite common in animation today, which is sad.

 

My partner gave me the DVDs for my birthday last year I believe. I had only watched part of the first season last year. Last week I've been catching up and now I'm up to Dulci. When I was younger, I never understood the purpose of this series but would force myself to watch it whenever I had the chance. I was a true fan of AoSTH back in the day and thought SatAM was too serious (and too confusing) for my tastes. This was due partially to the "developing storyline" and my random saturday activities like soccer/etc. on Saturday mornings which would make me miss episodes here and there. AoSTH had no such storyline track since each episode was self-contained. Also back then I was a huge Tails fan and was pissed that I rarely ever saw him fly in SatAM. It was interesting seeing Snively in power for a whole 2 seconds. I would have liked to see him fighting against his Uncle Julian as an FF. Now that I'm older, I can appreciate the growth of the SatAM storyline (no matter now weak it appears to be) and I know I'm going to feel just as depressed as most that are in love with SatAM when I reach the final episode of the series. I still love my AoSTH though. I was always put off by the seriousness and darkness of SatAM because I too was looking for the "different levels" or changes in scenery. Both series now have a place in my heart and Ben Hurst might as well put his mysterious "Plan C" into action before he dies! Throw it on the Cartoon Network, that's where everything else goes for a 2nd chance these days (with the exception of Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon). Put in on Adult Swim, make it dark, make it serious, make it deep, make it what ABC could never broadcast as a cartoon. I would love to see a Season 3 "Movie" just to end this once and for all. I too thought I was looking at Knuckles' eyes when I saw the last few minutes of the last episode........that's why it's never a good idea to make a cliffhanger episode when you are clueless about the status of next year's contract....with the exception of Sliders. That was just a FUCK YOU to the Sci-fi channel for cancelling a successful and popular series.

 

Best advice I can give you when you get to the last episode is to stop the DVD after the final battle and ignore the last few minutes. It might make you feel better about it being the final episode.