Sonic the Hedgehog | 1993-94, 28 episodes

What’s it all about?
It’s the 33rd Century. Sonic and a band of outlaws called the Freedom Fighters (which from time to time include Tails, Knuckles and Amy Rose) are hiding out in the secret Knothole Village on planet Mobius after Dr Robotnik invades and conquers the city of Mobotropolis. Which, using all of his wit and evil genius, he renames Robotropolis. Sonic and the FF rebels frequently visit Robotropolis to steal mechanical bobbins or destroy the main robotising generator.

The show was distinctly - oooh - darker and dealt with more serious themes than the fast-moving mammal's other cartoon, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, which aired in the same year. Storylines included abandonment - Tails heads off into the forest alone after no one would play with him; amnesia - Sonic loses his memory after getting hit by a powerful ray; and, still a burning issue, pollution - Dr. Robotnik plans to feed chemicals into the clouds to spread acid rain over the entire planet.

Does it do the game justice?
Well, Sonic is fast. Which is like the game, right? But, all in all, that’s where the comparisons end, and for good reason. This cartoon was never meant to resemble the game, that was left up to Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Because of this the writers were granted a lot more freedom to explore the themes they wanted and develop the characters in a way that would otherwise have been impossible. A third season of the cartoon was planned, which, the writers say, would have developed the relationship between Sonic and Tails into something closer to the one in the games. Unfortunately it was canned due to poor viewing figures. Probably something to do with the arrival of those bastard Power Rangers. Bastards.

Would we watch it today?
Yup. Less saccharine and lacking the same kind of cartoon buffoonery paraded by Adventures. It has good plot, good characters (Dr Robotnik at his most evilest ever) and a certain intangible charm that has helped it endure the test of time.

Of course, it does help that, unlike the Mario cartoons, it was only cancelled in 1994 and was able to implement new animation techniques to further improve the visual quality. Regardless, it was and still is, a great series.

What can we learn from the series?
We can learn from the title sequence (several times) that Sonic is without doubt the fastest thing aliiiiiiive.

Watch part one of ‘Heads or Tails’ below...