Let’s put it out there quickly, “Sonic The Hedgehog” films—about the young anthropomorphic creatures that run at lightning speeds and become heroes of Earth—are no cinematic marvels or blockbuster essentials, and they’re arguably not super memorable either. But for what they are—light, charming escapes for kids that aren’t a chore to sit through for adults thanks to their breezy pace and charismatic actors — they’re fine little diversions (Jim Carrey and Ben Schwartz being effective in their roles as quippy villains and heroes). And so, the ‘Sonic’ spin-off series “Knuckles” is a similarly mostly pleasing, if disposable, little effort. However, it’s often memorable for what it tries to disguise and hide: the eponymous character himself.
So, perhaps more fascinating than anything else in the series is how “Knuckles” clearly captures the current conundrum of franchise television. “Knuckles” dives right in headfirst, feeling as if it’s like TV’s first cinematic TV spectacle: vibrant, kinetic, full of action, and well-directed sequences. “Knuckles” actually feels like a logical extension of the movie on the small screen, but that eventually must change.
Centered on the Echidna warrior character Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba and first introduced as a villain in ‘Sonic 2’), the series feels impressively movie-worthy in its first two episodes—one of them directed by ‘Sonic’ franchise filmmaker Jeff Fowler—escapist, amusing, and replete with some relatively thrilling, early set pieces. “Knuckles” is so expansive, well-shot, and good-looking at first one might think Paramount went all in. However, the series then quickly downshifts, seemingly having already maxed out its budget, and sidelines its anthropomorphic echidna hero in favor of the less-expensive-to-render human character Wade Wipple (Adam Paley).
It’s a persuasive ruse: hitting the audience loud and hard in its opening episodes with plenty of familiar cameos, memorable pop songs, and comparatively exhilarating moments and letting that sensation linger over less dynamic episodes. So, “Knuckles” features all the trimmings at first, appearances by Sonic (Schwartz), Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), and Maddie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter); James Marsden’s character’s wife from the original films. The minor little story essentially centers on the impulsive and rash Knuckles getting grounded by Maddie for various destructive bad behaviors. Sitting in his punishment, he is visited by a Force Ghost of sorts (no, really), Pachacamac (Christopher Lloyd), an older, wiser Echidna thought to be long perished. And well, he is dead, but like an Obi-Wan Kenobi character, he materializes to tell Knuckles he needs to find an apprentice and pass on the tradition of training warriors (no one said these plots were going to be intricate, ok?).
Although he’s benched, Knuckles is inspired, and soon, he centers on the hapless local police officer Wade Wipple (Palley), the dimwitted deputy sheriff of Green Hills. With an incessant amount of bowling involved—Wipple’s chief hobby tied into the misplaced nostalgia for his childhood— they soon set off on an adventure where Knuckles will train Wipple in the ways of the warrior, finding his bravery, plucking up his nerve and facing his greatest fears of inadequacy and rejection.
So, “Knuckles,” while ostensibly about its eponymous hero, because of its budget constraints, really becomes the human story of Wade and his growth as a nitwit into, well, something maybe not entirely more courageous, but less inept. It turns out Wipple has a family, but his origin story centers on a father who abandoned him when he was a child, a burden that still haunts him to this day.
Meanwhile, antagonists are trying to capture Knuckles. Two of them are rogue members of G.U.N. (The Guardian Units of Nations Headquarters)— the global task force created to protect Earth from alien threats after the events of ‘Sonic 1.’ So corrupt and wicked, Agent Mason (Kid Cudi), Agent Willoughby (Ellie Taylor), are actually working for, “The Buyer” (“Game Of Thrones” star Rory McCann). This former Dr. Robotnick lackey has reappropriated some of his tech and struck out on his own with the same aim to wipe out these alien anthropomorphs (these character provide some of the early intrigue and tension).
So the first two episodes, with all the ‘Sonic’ guest stars and the maverick G.U.N. agents attacking Wade and Knuckles, are compelling, but the series—seemingly because it can no longer afford the VFX of keeping Knuckles around, quickly becomes something more of a family sitcom, banishing the main hero to a timeout for long swaths of time instead (and the way the plot is devised and certain shots are framed, are comical on their own in the way they do their best to hide Elba’s echidna character literally and figuratively).
Along his adventures, Wade seeks refuge back at home with his mom, Wendy (Stockard Channing), and his tightly wound sister, Wanda (Edi Patterson), an FBI agent. Episodes three through five largely exile Knuckles—though a Shabbat dinner with the award-winning Channing alongside the animated Knuckles is one of the more absurdly unexpected moments of TV you might ever see. There’s lots of bowling, naturally— via one of Wade’s principal human rivals, Jack Sinclair (Julian Barratt), a former ninepins team ally with a deeper secret— and, of course, the daddy issues that the woebegone protagonist will face in the end (in yes, yet another big bowling showdown; Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel briefly appear as two bowling color-commentators and Cary Elwes plays another major bowling major adversary in the concluding eps).
It all culminates in one big final climax, Knuckles vs. The Buyer and his Robotnik tech and Wipples summoning the courage to get in there and help save the day. It’s predictable but also oddly and noticeably shaped in that the second half of the series is essentially all about Wade, his family problems, and overcoming and defeating his daddy issues while circling back to the original plot notion of The Buyer wanting to eradicate the title character.
“Knuckles” is a curious little effort because it noticeably sags in the middle when it shelves Knuckles. But Paley is also disarmingly winning, a goof you want to root for despite all the story cliches around him. If anything, “Knuckles” demonstrates that the current problems of franchise television —not enough movie-sized budget worthy of a franchise show—haven’t been licked and seemingly won’t be fixed anytime soon. It’s an issue that’s been seen in series like “She-Hulk” and “Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters” too (though arguably, the latter was so compelling, it didn’t matter Titans were benched)
Still, with a little creative ingenuity, however obvious in the dubious intent to save money, maybe the show also exhibits how a quick little pivot in genre can also save the day in the end. Results will vary on “Knuckles”: hardcore fans of the franchise could be easily put off by how much Knuckles isn’t in the show. Others, maybe more casual viewers with little investment, might enjoy it for the harmless, low-stakes series it is. [C+]
“Knuckles” premieres April 26 on Paramount+.