User:SonicIn2022/Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series, 1991)

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This page is about the original television series. For the computer-generated animated 2013 series, see Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures.
SonicIn2022/Sonic the Hedgehog
GenreAdventure, comedy
Based onSonic the Hedgehog
by Yuji Naka
Developed byJeffrey Scott
Written byJeffrey Scott
Directed by
Voices of
ComposerHoyt Curtin
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes44 (42 episodes, 2 specials) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
EditorGil Iverson
Running time30 minutes
Production companyHanna-Barbera Productions
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseJune 23, 1991 (1991-06-23) –
December 31, 1997 (1997-12-31)

Sonic the Hedgehog is a 30-minute Saturday morning American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and based on the Namco video game franchise of the same title. It premiered on ABC and ran for 44 episodes over two seasons from June 23, 1991 to December 31, 1997.[1] It was the first cartoon based on a video game.

It was the highest-rated Saturday morning cartoon show in the US during late 1982.[2] Upon its debut, it was watched by an audience of over 20 million children in the US, in addition to adults.[3]

Plot[edit]

The show follows of the Freedom Fighters, Sonic the Hedgehog, his wife Amy Rose, their child Baby Sonic, their dog Snoopy and their best friend Miles "Tails" Prower. The Freedom Fighters on Mobius, a place in which the geography and architecture seem to revolve primarily around sphere-like shapes.[4] Most episodes of the series center around the ongoing battle between the Freedom Fighters and their only known enemies, the Badniks: Motobug, Metal Sonic, Chopper, Buzz Bomber and Coconuts. They work for Dr. Robotnik, whose sole mission is to locate and control the source of chili dogs, which serve as the primary food and power source for the planet, and also is the deus ex machina in virtually every episode. The second season later introduces Knuckles the Echidna and the ultimate life-form Shadow the Hedgehog.

Influence[edit]

The show's initial success inspired ABC's rival CBS to create Saturday Supercade, which featured other video game characters from the golden age of video arcade games.

Some of the next Sega games were based on or influenced from the cartoon. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic Adventure are major examples. Also, the Tec Toy release of the original Sonic the Hedgehog video game for the Sega 32X features box art based on the cartoon.

Controversy[edit]

As the first season aired, scenes of Pac-Man "chomping" the Ghost Monsters and being "chomped" himself were considered too "violent".[citation needed] These scenes were toned down in subsequent episodes to provide less direct scenes of the characters "chomping" one another.[citation needed]

Voice cast[edit]

Main[edit]

Additionals[edit]

Episodes[edit]

Season 1 (1982)[edit]

Season 2 (1983)[edit]

Specials[edit]

Pac-Man Halloween Special[edit]

The Halloween special consisted of two segments from the show, "Pacula" and "Trick or Chomp". The special aired in primetime on ABC on October 30, 1982.[5] It has been replayed on channels like Cartoon Network and Boomerang during Halloween in recent years.[6]

Christmas Comes to Pac-Land[edit]

In this Christmas special, Pac-Man and his family help Santa Claus (voiced by Peter Cullen) after he crash lands in Pac-Land (after the reindeer were startled by the floating eyes of the Ghost Monsters after Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Pac-Baby chomped them). Mezmeron was the only character from the cartoon that is not in the special (although his lair, which is covered in snow, appears). It is shown every December on the Boomerang Christmas Party.[7][8]

Broadcast history[edit]

Pac-Man aired on ABC Saturday Morning in the following formats:[9]

Since the original run, reruns have turned up on the USA Cartoon Express on USA in the 1980s, Cartoon Network from 1995 to 1999, and Boomerang from 2000 to 2014. The Christmas-themed episode currently airs each year as part of The Boomerang Christmas Party, an annual marathon of classic Christmas cartoons, but otherwise is not included in the channel's rotation. The series is also available for purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace. In the United Kingdom it was first Broadcast on TVAM as a part of the Roland Rat show.

Home media[edit]

In 1982, Worldvision Home Video Inc. (under Rainbow Products Ltd.) distributed a Pac-Man and Family VHS in Australia (catalogue number RCV 9019) and featured the episodes, Pacula, Trick or Chomp, Super Ghosts, The Pac-Man in the Moon, Invasion of the Pac-Pups, Journey to the Center of Pacland and the special Christmas Comes to Pacland. In 2012, Warner Archive released both seasons of Pac-Man on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. The first season was released on January 31, 2012, followed by the release of the second season on September 11, 2012.[10][11]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 332. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  2. ^ Ressner, Jeffrey (20 November 1982). "Stan Jarocki: Expanded Player Base Is The Key To The Future". Cash Box. Cash Box Pub. Co. pp. 52–56 (56).
  3. ^ "Look out, Saturday morning TV! Here comes... Pac-Man-imation!". Electronic Fun with Computers & Games. Vol. 1, no. 4. February 1983. pp. 44–6.
  4. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 441–442. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  5. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 307. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Pac-Man Halloween Special, The @ Toonarific cartoons". Toonarific.com. Toonarific.com. 1998. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  7. ^ "The Story Behind Pac-Man, a Super Popular Video Game of the '80s".
  8. ^ "Geeks' most beloved holiday classics".
  9. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 600–602. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  10. ^ "Pac-Man - Warner Archive Announces 'The Complete 1st Season' on DVD!". Archived from the original on 2012-01-25.
  11. ^ "Pac-Man - Warner Archive is Now Selling the Second and Final Season...Santa Included!". Archived from the original on 2014-10-24.

External links[edit]

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