Whenever I see a post asking about “worst cliffhangers” or “childhood series you’re still trying to recover from,” I immediately think of Sonic the Hedgehog. In the 90s, the Blue Blur had a couple of cartoon series, and one that’s stuck with me is, well, Sonic the Hedgehog (the Saturday morning one that aired on ABC). Known as Sonic SatAM, the story added some surprisingly heavy context in regard to what Sonic and his friends were up against when facing Dr. Robotnik. Unfortunately, the whole thing ended on a giant cliffhanger, never to get a third season.
Until now, thanks to some amazing Sonic fans.
Sonic Sea3on presents our TRAILER, with cover by CRUSH40. @Crush40Johnny #sonic #SonicTheHedgehog
— Team Sea3on (@TeamSea3on) April 26, 2022
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What was Sonic SatAM?
I’ve already talked about how this was THE definitive Sonic the Hedgehog animated series for me. Sonic and a group of Freedom Fighters came together to stop the truly sinister Dr. Robotnik from turning every creature into a robot. It’s basically what the doctor’s doing in the games, only we get a rather bleak perspective of what that looks like. A good portion of the planet has fallen to Robotnik, who is absolutely frightening thanks to Jim Cumming’s portrayal of him. Sonic’s own uncle, for example, is a robot who’s been enslaved by Robotnik, and Princess Sally’s father, King Acorn, has been banished. It’s pretty grim, but the Freedom Fighters hold on to the hope of being able to defeat Robotnik and bring peace to the land.
And they do! Or rather, they think they do. They manage to stop Robotnik’s Doomsday Machine, but from the rubble emerges Snively (Robotnik’s nephew and subordinate) who ends the entire series on a foreboding note. He tells the Freedom Fighters they shouldn’t be celebrating just yet because with Robotnik gone, he’s ready to take control – and he’s not alone.
Who’s involved in the continuation?
Sonic fans have proven capable of great things when it comes to telling his story. Sonic Mania, for example, is still one of the best Sonic games to ever be released. I get the same feeling of excitement when I watch this trailer from Team Sea3on. Not only does it capture the art style, but it captures the feeling of the show, from Princess Sally’s frustration after thinking that they’d won, to Sonic shredding away on an electric guitar.
“I remember waiting. And waiting. And waiting,” Megan Riekki of Team Sea3on tells IGN. “And it just never came back, and I didn’t know why. And thankfully I had the comics to take my mind off that, but now going back and watching it as I’ve gotten older, I wanted to know what happened to the show.” I feel the same way. I remember playing the games and hoping Princess Sally would make an appearance. I remember when, like, Dragon Ball Z continued on Cartoon Network and wondering if Sonic SatAM would get an opportunity like that.
“I remember way back — it was like a million years ago, I’m so old now — I remember the show that I saw wasn’t always played in order, so I didn’t get the episodes in sequence,” Keith Rowsell of Team Sea3on tells IGN. “But I do remember the finale appearing and seeing the eyes at the end, and hoping with all my might that it was Metal Sonic, and [that] I’d be so excited to see Metal Sonic come out. But I just remember it never coming back, and being disappointed that I never got to see that.” The final image of the series is those red eyes Rowsell mentions. I also thought it was Metal Sonic, but it wasn’t. IGN reveals who those eyes belonged to.
As fans discovered later, those eyes actually belonged to Naugus, a sorcerer that had appeared earlier in the series. But fans never got to see his arc due to the show being canceled. Who was he? What did he want? And how would the Freedom Fighters beat him? Fans have never gotten the answers to these questions.
It’s been 84 years. Okay, not 84, but the last episode aired in December 1994. That’s 28 years!
Team Sea3on actually has some Sonic industry vets helping out on the project. According to MSN, the executive producer of Sonic SatAM’s second season, Ron Myrick, is a part of the project. Also? Longtime Sonic fans probably recognized who’s singing that updated version of the opening theme – yep, that’s “Crush 40” rocking out to the fastest thing alive.
Roswell also reveals that there’s around 50 people that have lent their talents to the project, including everything from voice work to animation. Team Sea3on does make it pretty clear that Sonic SatAM’s revival is currently very early in production, but hopes to attract enough attention to partner with an established animation studio and hopefully get the project put on some kind of streaming service.
Can we have that? Please?
What will the story focus on?
IGN reveals that the story will pick up just HOURS after the finale of the series, which means the Freedom Fighters truly don’t have a lot of time to celebrate. The team will also be honoring the plans of the late Ben Hurst, who worked as a writer on the original series (he’s the one who gave us that chilling finale). Hurst, according to IGN, had plans for a third season of the series, but sadly passed away in 2010.
Along with Hurst’s plans, the team will be sticking to the plot laid out by a webcomic that dates back to 2010. The comic is still available online. “The first episode will pick up just hours after the end of the season 2 finale, and the full season will ultimately tell the long-awaited story of the battle between the Freedom Fighters and Naugus after the fall of Dr. Robotnik.”
God speed, Team Sea3on. I can’t wait to see how this all pans out.
(Featured image: Team Sea3on)
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