Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series)
From Sonic Retro
Sonic the Hedgehog (also known as SatAM, because it originally aired in the United States on a Saturday morning slot) is an American animated television series created by DiC Entertainment. Promoted before it's debut in at least one gaming magazine, the series aired from September 18, 1993 to December 3, 1994 on ABC. While the series is loosely related to the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series, its style contrasts sharply with Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, a syndicated series that premiered in the same month.
Sonic the Hedgehog ran for two seasons. A third season was in the early planning stages until ABC canceled the show because of low ratings (believed to result from competition with FOX Kids' Power Rangers). After this series was canceled, reruns of the show appeared on USA Network's USA Action Extreme Team.
The series was also telecast in Canada on the CTV Network, airing between September 18, 1993, and September 2, 1995. The possible reason for CTV airing the series during the summer of 1995, which ABC never did, was to simply run the rest of the 1994-1995 broadcast year out. The show has not been aired in Canada since its cancellation. The program was partly recently broadcast on the UK television channels Pop and ITV2. It initially had a complete run on Channel 4 on Sunday mornings.
Despite its cancellation and limited recent airings, the show enjoys a small but loyal Internet fanbase. Professional animator Matthew Sullivan posted at the Fans United for SatAM boards that he has been trying to throw a pitch to revive this series. The pitch hasn't been made yet, but a lot of discussion has been made about it.
The show was also the partial basis for a comic book series called Sonic the Hedgehog, which continues even a decade after the cartoon's cancellation and still features many of the cartoon's own characters.
Contents
Voice Cast
Role | Voice Actor |
---|---|
Sonic the Hedgehog | Jaleel White |
Princess Sally Acorn/NICOLE | Kath Soucie |
Antoine Depardieu | Rob Paulsen |
Bunnie Rabbot | Christine Cavanaugh |
Uncle Chuck | William Windom |
Dr. Robotnik/Additional Voices/SWATbots | Jim Cummings |
Snively | Charlie Adler |
Dulcy the Dragon | Cree Summer |
Tails | Bradley Pierce |
Rotor | Mark Ballou (Season 1)/Cam Brainard (Season 2) |
Young Princess Sally | Dana Hill |
Young Sonic | Tahj Mowry |
Lupe | Shari Belafonte |
Naugus | Michael Bell |
Rosie the Nanny/Ro-Becca | April Winchell |
King Acorn | Tim Curry |
Ari Ram | Dorian Harewood |
Releases
Shortly after the shows original run, three VHS cassettes—Super Sonic, Sonic Racer and Hooked on Sonics- were released with two episodes each from season one by DiC. In 2002, Super Sonic and Sonic Racer were re-released on VHS, along with the newer DVD.
A 5-episode DVD was released of SatAM back in 2002, called Sonic The Hedgehog-Super Sonic, but the disc was pulled due to licensing issues with Buena Vista Home Video. However, on March 27, 2007, the entire 26-episode SatAM series was released by Shout! Factory for the United States entitled Sonic The Hedgehog: The Complete Series.The Box set has the following front cover, designed by former Archie Sonic Comic writer Ken Penders and has fan art throughout the packaging and discs. The set also features interviews, storyboards and concept art, and deleted/extended scenes not shown in the original airing.
On September 5, 2007, the UK version of the SatAM boxset was released by Delta Music. Though it features a different cover, its contents are identical to that of the US version. In addition, a DVD containing nine episodes from the first series—Sonic The Hedgehog: Sonic Boom And Other Episodes–was released for Region 2 audiences on September 10, 2007.
Early Cartoon
Main article: Early Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon |
Before the first episode of Sonic the Hedgehog was ever broadcast, promotional materials showing a different version of the cartoon were released. These materials featured different characters and indicated a drastically different story plot.
Video Releases
DVD
- Complete Series: Contains All Episodes of the series, Ben Hurst interview, Jaleel White interview, Concept art, Deleted or extended scenes.
- Freedom Fighters Unite: Contains four episodes: Sonic Conversion, Dulcy, The Void, and Spyhog.
- Sonic Goes Green: Contains four episodes: Heads or Tails, Sonic's Nightmare, Sub-Sonic, and Sonic Past Cool.
- Super Sonic: Contains four episodes: Sonic Boom, Sonic and Sally, Super Sonic, and Sonic Racer.
- The Fight for Freedom: Contains four episodes: Ultra Sonic, Hooked On Sonics, Warp Sonic, and Sonic and the Secret Scrolls.
- Sonic Forever: Episodes unknown.
VHS
- Hooked on Sonics: Contains two episodes: Hooked on Sonics and Warped Sonic.
- Sonic Racer (1994): Contains two episodes: Sonic Racer and Sonic Boom.
- Super Sonic (1994): Contains two episodes: Super Sonic and Sonic and Sally.
- Sonic Racer (2002): Contains two episodes: Sonic Racer and Harmonic Sonic.
- Super Sonic (2002): Contains two episodes: Super Sonic and Sonic and Sally.
BoxArt
DVD
- Boxsetback.jpg
Back of the US box
- Boxsetcaseback.jpg
Back of seasons 1 & 2
- Boxsetcasefront.jpg
Front of seasons 1 & 2
VHS
External links
- Sonic the Hedgehog at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- http://www.saturdaymorningsonic.com - Saturday Morning Sonic - a newer SatAM Fan Site, run by PorpoiseMuffins.