It seems like history may be repeating itself in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and not for a good reason. Based on the Sega franchise, the brand-new video game-to-TV adaptation of Knuckles just dropped all six episodes (which you can stream with a Paramount+ subscription), and fans are already complaining about the amount of screen time the CGI character actually gets.
The miniseries takes place between the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the third Sonic film that is set to hit theaters later this year as part of Paramount’s 2024 movie schedule. Idris Elba reprised his role as the hot-headed red echidna, and this time he takes the lead as Knuckles tries to adapt to life on Earth. He ends up taking on an “apprentice” in the hopes of training the deputy sheriff in the way of the “Echnida warrior.”
Despite a promising premise, fans are not happy with the execution. In fact, many were quick to take to X (formally Twitter) this morning to share their outrage over the lack of Knuckles in the show. Like @AwestruckVox who shared a clip from the finale episode along with the following comment:
This show also probably should've just been 2D if they could barely afford to show Knuckles. Look at how much they AVOID showing him in this snippet, during a big fight in the finale.
After watching the clip for myself, it’s definitely weird that the focus was on the aggressor instead of the lead character of the show! Even when Knuckles did make an appearance in the clip, it was short-lived.
Now, one might give the show the benefit of the doubt by saying maybe it was too much money to animate a full fight sequence in the final episode of the series. Unlikely, but it could be said. Unfortunately, that argument fails to account for the lack of the titular character in the entirety of the series. As one X user pointed out, there is one episode where it felt like the red echidna only had a single minute of screen time.
KNUCKLES WAS IN EPISODE 4 FOR LIKE A SINGLE MINUTE ONLY 💀💀💀💀 pic.twitter.com/rjyAxrs1MRApril 26, 2024
A minute of screen time in a 23-minute show for the lead character has to be some kind of record. Perhaps, naming the show off the CGI creature wasn’t the best idea if he was going to be absent for a huge chunk of time. As this fan pointed out:
I saw #KnucklesSeries.That was definitely a Wade show featuring #KnucklestheEchidna from the #SonictheHedgehog series. I have mixed feelings about this show. Some things are really good (#Knuckles), but there are also things that were poorly made (sometimes humor, villains). pic.twitter.com/OyMYovLDflApril 26, 2024
While it’s easy to focus on the negative comments that seem to be flooding social media, there are some fans who are showering the show with praise. One of the biggest wins for it seems to be getting to see beloved Sonic characters interacting with each other:
I’m definitely normal about this pic.twitter.com/WvTudfHH6hApril 26, 2024
Fan reactions like those seem to be more in line with the positive critic reviews Knuckles received during early access. However, they just represent the extremes on the opposite side of the spectrum. It seems that most fans fall somewhere in the middle, viewing the miniseries as an average installment in the expanding Sonic the Hedgehog universe.
If your actually going to try to argue and say that the knuckles show is the worst Sonic thing to exist then your actually joyless There is no way this, basic at worst tv show is worse then the games that almost DESTROYED the franchise. pic.twitter.com/Fp9yCUBswVApril 26, 2024
It seems like the only thing the Sega franchise is incredibly successful at these days, is getting fans all riled up with their opinions. I mean, who can forget when clips of the 2020 movie were released and fans were so upset over Sonic’s design that the studio had to spend even more money redesigning him?
Regardless of what everyone is saying online, if you’re a fan of the Sonic the Hedgehog universe, Knuckles is definitely a show you should check out.
