After two “Sonic the Hedgehog” movies that involved Hollywood court ordering the blue blur to do the same mundane story as every popular property does by shipping him to Earth and spewing pop culture references as the basis of humor, it’s come to the point that Sonic fans, young and old, might develop Sonicholm Syndrome. If you can’t run faster than the mediocrity, accept it. Be that it may, one of the standout characters in “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” was Idris Elba‘s vocal take on the red warrior-obsessed barbarian Knuckles the Echidna. Having no knowledge of Earth’s customs, lending to no pop culture references from his furry mouth, his positioning as a parallel to Sonic, suffering from grief and loneliness of his family’s demise, made for a strong arc, at least relatively speaking. Since one can’t have too much Idris Elba, Knuckles gets his own show on Paramount, a road trip buddy comedy to Reno with Adam Pally‘s goofy human sheriff Wade Whipple to learn about the joys of Earth, bowling, and being Jewish. Yes, seriously.
Set a little while after “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” the show opens in a world safe from Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), meaning everyone can relaz. Knuckles, who doesn’t comprehend what R&R is, treats everything on Earth like a gladiator pit, looking for his next glorious battle to fight. Sonic (Ben Schwartz) tries to convince Knuckles to enjoy Earth and its joyous customs. However, Knuckles doesn’t consider the planet his home, admitting he only stays because he made a vow to Sonic and Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey). When his adoptive guardian, Maddie Wakowski (Tika Sumpter), grounds him for being so warrior-pilled, he’s visited by the spirit of his tribe chief, Pachachamac (Christopher Lloyd). He assigns Knuckles to find a mentee to train to become a warrior in the ways of the Echidna. Out of all options, Pachachamac points out deputy sheriff Wade Whipple (Adam Pally).
Whipple is preparing for a national bowling tournament in Reno in hopes to reconnect with his bowling prodigy deadbeat dad, “Pistol” Pete Whipple (Cary Elwes), who abandoned him at a young age but still looks up to him. Enthused over bowling being Wade’s tournament of champions, Knuckles joins him on his cross-country quest. Together Wade tries to teach Knuckles the ways of Earth’s joys while Knuckles trains him to become a warrior, meaning that Knuckles will soon learn how to deliver pop culture references too.
Meanwhile, a black-market buyer (Rory McCann) with nefarious intentions enlists two rogue GUN agents, Mason (Scott Mescudi) and Willoughby (Ellie Taylor), to hunt down Knuckles. The buyer seeks to exploit Knuckles’ electromagnetic power to fuel his robotic creations, a motivation reminiscent of Robotnik’s in the first movie.
Knuckles is the first Sonic movie if it were broken down into six parts, re-using many of the same buddy road trip beats, plot points, and structures. Much like the features, Knuckles is another “fish out of water” story where the titular Echidna slowly gravitates towards Earth’s customs and learns a thing or two about belonging, this time through the guise of a Judd Apatow protagonist archetype. The miniseries tonally aligns with the movies but on a sillier wavelength, lending to stylish ambitions.
Diverting from the blandness of the Sonic film’s plotting, the writing here emphasizes visual gags on a larger imaginative scale, and it often works due to the buddy duo’s witty personas. Something that sounds as tragic as Wade overcoming his childhood trauma of his dad abandoning him at a retail store is played for laughs, becoming a recurring joke that works due to the show’s outlandish nature. The series features a whole, hilarious rock-opera-centric episode with Pally wearing a Knuckles costume, singing, and dancing to an original glam rock tune featuring a certain silky-smooth singer and a major reference to “Sonic (06),” the worst Sonic game ever made.
To its benefit, the writers refine Knuckles’ character, diverting his muscle-head dim-witted traits into a confident and jovial guy with a heart of gold—an echidna himbo, if you will. And while I found the ever-so-funny Pally to be the weak point in the features, his silly demeanor, tied with Knuckle’s battle-ready persona, complements some decent comedy and their chemistry, which is even funnier and sweeter than anything between Sonic and straight-man James Marsden’s Tom Wakowski.
Beyond the writer’s embracement of weirdness, the inclusion of several funny character actors in supporting roles also elevates the comedy. Two in particular are his Whipple family members in mother Wendy (Stockard Channing) and sister Wanda (the uproarious Edi Patterson), who become more prominent in the series following an episode where Knuckles and Wade attend their Shabbat dinner. Wendy tries to investigate Knuckles’ Jewish lineage. It’s as bizarre as I’m describing it, yet there is nothing to be surprised about in the grand scheme of this silly Sonic cinematic universe.
Right on the cusp of the third Sonic installment coming this Christmas, the Knuckles spin-off is a well-rounded diversion to please fans of this gonzo movieverse. While its plotting is legit a clone of the first film adapted into the limited series format, it finally displays a personality missing from the mainline movies by veering into welcoming absurdism and whimsy into the franchise.
Whole series screened for review. Premieres on April 26th.
