Sega’s film saga comes to the small screen in a series dedicated to the powerful red hedgehog. A nice family program, in the spirit of the first two films.
Sonic And Tails make a quick appearance in the first episode. But Knuckles, that’s not their story. Paramount + releases today the first spin-off series of the SonicVerse, in which we find the red hedgehog with fists of fire, who goes on an adventure with Wade Whipple. Who is that ? Secondary character in the feature films, a bit of a loser on the edges, Wade is one of the deputies of the Green Hills sheriff, Tom Wachowski.
No James Marsden nor of Jim Carrey to carry the human cast, it is Adam Pally which is at the center of everything, with Knuckles And Idris Elba (who does the voice in VO). This series is indeed a spin-off. But it’s also a sequel. A kind of Sonic 2.5which picks up just after the events of Sonic 2, after the warrior Echidna saved his world. He is bored on Earth and sees Wade Whipple as an apprentice to educate. This is good: Wade needs support to go and participate in a bowling competition in Nevada, where he hopes to find his father who abandoned him.
Yes, a bowling competition. This is the ambition of Knuckles, a small, fairly anecdotal family series, which has the merit of having been produced with a nice budget. The production is as careful as the films Sonic previous ones and the fights full of special effects do not lack juice. But it is clear that all this is very hollow and still based on the same issues: a mad scientist (ex-colleague of Robotnik) wants to steal the powers of Knuckles…We’ve seen this before, right?
Knuckles lacks a bit of ideas (only episode 4 really dares something) and doesn’t really have much to tell. The show is swallowed up in 2h30 (there are only 6 episodes), like a slightly tasteless pop of popcorn. It’s not bad, it’s not really good either, but it has the merit of being able to be shared with the whole family. In this, the series fully assumes its consensual enterprise. It will appeal to young Paramount + subscribers and especially to those who had a laugh at the cinema by going to see the two opuses at the cinema. Director Jeff Fowler (who directs the first episode here) was able to perfectly transcribe on the small screen the friendly and good-natured spirit of his films, juggling between sweet feelings, great spectacle and winks to video game fans. Just enough to feed the wave Sonic which will continue next December in theaters, with Sonic 3.
Knuckles, season 1 in 6 episodes, to watch on Paramount + since April 26, 2024.
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