Sonic Underground (DVD)

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The following episodes are contained in the first volume of "Sonic Underground":

1. Beginnings (Origins, Part 1)
2. Getting to Know You (Origins, Part 2)
3. Harmony or Something (Origins, Part 3)
4. To Catch a Queen
5. Mobodoon
6. The Price of Freedom
7. Underground Masquerade
8. Tangled Webs
9. The Deepest Fear
10. Who Do You Think You Are?
11. Last Resort
12. Come Out Wherever You Are
13. Winner Fakes All
14. A Hedgehog´s Home is Her Castle
15. Artifact
16. Bug!
17. Sonic Tonic
18. Friend of Foe
19. Head Games
20. When in Rome

Video:

"Sonic Underground" is presented in sharp looking 4:3 video. The animated cells of the show exhibit strong coloring and better than acceptable levels of detail. Blue is the most important color of anything "Sonic" and the trademark hue is correct in coloring. I was overly impressed with the brightness of the colors and do not feel this near decade old animated episodes look dated at all. Detail was strong enough. These episodes certainly cannot compete with today´s computer generated shows, but for cell animation, I felt that "Sonic Underground" was visually entertaining and in some ways I felt reminded of the old "Scooby Doo" cartoons I grew up watching on Saturday mornings. The prints used were also very clean and there are no flaws at all with the source materials.

Sound:

The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack of "Sonic Underground" was loud. It felt about five to ten decibels higher than normal. The mix was front heavy and the rock and roll numbers of the Underground came across loud and clear. Imaging was across all three channels, with vocals using all three front channels. With the infusion of pop music into the episodes, "Sonic Underground" was a busy sounding affair. Jaleel White and the other voice talent´s vocals came through crisp and clear. The rear surrounds were hardly noticeable. The .1 LFE subwoofer was also underutilized, but the bass emanating from the front channels was pretty decent as far as cartoons go. Cartoons in general are not the most impressive sounding titles and while I would have preferred a slightly more enveloping affair, I could not complain with how the title sounded. It was quite energetic and "Built for Speed" was a fun sounding song.

Extras:

The three discs containing episodes of "Sonic Underground" contains a small number of supplements. Upon booting, the first DVD contains some Previews (2:44) that cannot be skipped. Eight Music Videos (10:18) on the first disc contain the segments from each of the episodes featuring the song from each particular episode. They may be played collectively or individually. I don´t feel the singing vocals particularly fit the speaking vocals for each character. The disc one videos are "Someday," "Working Together in Harmony," "We´re All in This Together," "Have You Got the 4-1-1?," "I Found My Home," "The Things You Really Need," "Just Like Down on the Bayou," and "Teach the Children." The second DVD contains eight more Music Videos (8:50). Disc two titles are "Face Your Fear," "We Need to be Free," "Listen to Your Heart," "Society Girl," "Built For Speed," "Let´s Do It To It," "You Can´t Own Everything" and "Never Give Up the Fight."

The third disc of "Sonic Underground" contained the majority of the special features, but only four episodes. The four Music Videos (4:34) were "I Wish I Could Go Faster," "Things Are Not Always What They Seem," "Take a Chance," and "When There´s A Will, There´s A Way." Developing the Underground (7:19) found executive producer Robby London discuss his involvement in the series. London helped create the series and also scribed the title song. This interesting little vignette talked about the decision to take a more musical direction and break away from the typical mold of "Sonic." Songs from the Underground (8:52) finds Mr. London returning to talk more about the music of the show. This second featurette was a more detailed continuation of the first. Storyboard to Screen: Opening Titles (1:02) was a very short look at the show´s opening titles in storyboard form. I like these little artistic extras. It would have been cool to see an entire episode this way. Original Concept Art (8:24) showed different short vignettes showing art for the characters and others some vehicles of the show. Finally, The Art of Mobius (:58) was another short collection of art from the show.

A fourth disc is provided with the box set as well. The Bonus CD contains ´Sonic Underground´s Greatest Hits." The songs contained are the "Sonic Underground Main Title," "Let´s Do it To It," "I Wish I Could Go Faster," "Where There´s A Will, There´s A Way," "Mummy Wrap," "The Mobius Stomp," "We´re the Sonic Underground" and "Lady Liberty." These songs were quite short and took hardly any of the CD´s storage space. It would have been a far nicer supplement if every song was included (such as "Built for Speed").

Closing Comments:

"Sonic Underground" was fun enough and there were a few episodes I enjoyed greatly. However, it was a complete different storyline than anything previously "Sonic" on television and didn´t follow the familiar Sonic canon. The show was intended to be a musical experience that was hipper than previous efforts and help usher in the Dreamcast console. The show lasted roughly forty episodes and twenty of them are provided on this first DVD set. Running at about eight hours in length, this is a nice little set. The bonus materials are not overly impressive if you consider the fact that the music videos are episode portions of the music. The CD is short. The vignettes and artwork features were nice. If you are looking to collect these "Sonic Underground" episodes, then this is a very nice little set. "Sonic Underground" is not as good as the first two series and this box contained only one episode with a familiar character other than Sonic or Eggman. The imagery and sound were good. There are definitely better ways to pass a Saturday morning, but I can also think of far worse ways than to sit through these twenty musical episodes of "Sonic Underground."

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