|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
Sonic Sez
Back in the early 90s, there were two different Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon series. The one shown on Saturday mornings was fairly dark and serious. And then there was the other one... The weekday afternoon show was the only one I ever watched as a kid. It was your basic kids' cartoon fare - wacky hijinks, bumbling henchmen, and snappy kid-friendly one-liners (not to mention lots of chili dogs). I don't remember a whole lot about the show itself, but the one thing that really stuck in my mind were the PSA announcements at the end of every episode called "Sonic Sez". Usually Sonic would explain the dangers of a particular behavior (such as smoking or drinking) to his naive friend Tails, while one of the ineffective bad guys demonstrated the activity (and sometimes its consequences). It was a 30-second slot tacked on to the end of the show after the final commercials, and right before the credits rolled. Many of these were unremarkable because a lot of shows and PSA commercials were doing the same kind of messages - drugs are bad, smoking is bad, drinking is bad, etc. In addition to the substance abuse warnings, Sonic also warned Tails (and the bad guy bots) of the dangers of being ripped off, the importance of saving money, and the evils of graffiti. He also had some rather unusual segments about fighting boredom and being patient with slow people. There was even a sexual harassment segment that's a little uncomfortable to hear Sonic talk about. But there is one Sonic Sez in particular that always stuck with me because it was just so bizarre. And until the advent of Youtube, this single segment was all I remembered of the entire series.
The segment opens up with Sonic and Tails inside what looks like a big hamster ball, spinning around wildly. It looked like one of those motorcycle stunts you'd see at the amusement park, or like some really fun theme park ride. And considering that Sonic is supposed to be a hedgehog anyway (roughly the size of a guinea pig), it's a logical conclusion for the blue rodent to be inside a big hamster ball. At that point, Sonic then asks the audience, "Does this look like fun to you?" To which my sister and I yelled an enthusiastic "YES!" Way to completely kill your own message, Sonic.
At this point you're probably expecting Sonic to begin explaining how drugs can mess up your body and make you feel all crazy. That would be the logical direction for a public service announcement to take, right? But that's not the direction that this clip went in. Instead, Sonic explains that kids shouldn't ride inside clothes dryers. Seriously. Clothes dryers. Apparently this was a big enough problem that Sonic felt the need to explain that clothes dryers were dangerous to ride inside. I will be honest when I say that I never once considered climbing into a clothes dryer for a spin. Perhaps Sonic was catering to the crayon-eating demographic. It's even more ironic when you consider that Sonic games involved running really, really fast through upside-down loops and twisty tunnels. You know, things that look suspiciously similar to that giant hamster ball that Sonic himself was decrying as "not fun".
Most of the clips are readily available on YouTube - be sure to check them out to see 90s cartoon cheesiness at its best. Sonic Says!
BACK to Gaming Collectibles |
