32 replies to this topic

[The Man]

Sorry about that but this is the 'real' one this time hopefully. Since this episode appears to be well-known I'll post directly from part of my synopsis.

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The show opens with a view of red numbers changing constantly to eventually quit to find a view of dark, rainy Robotropolis. Spy orbs fly throughout the city until we meet up with a hover unit that makes its way inside a reddish hangar.

Sonic, Antoine, and an old Cat scurry through the vents. They come to a vent leading into the factory opening it. A hover unit stops right in front of them. Its door opens revealing Sally.

Sonic and Sally decide to download Robotnik's plans from the Stealth bots while Antoine and Cat remain on guard in the vent.

Sonic becomes impatient with Sally as she downloads the programs. Eventually, one file says 'BEAN' referring to what her father called her. It says it originated from the Dark Swamp as Antoine relaxes against the vent, falls through to the floor to be seen by a work bot, and it blows their cover.

Sonic is unhappy Antoine blew their cover as Antoine runs through the vent with Cat who hoisted him up with his own Tail. Sonic creates a diversion to allow time for Sally to escape the Stealth bot.

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Yes, Cat's appearance is simply a plot device.

"Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Ensign Remirez beam down to a planet. Whose not beaming back?"

Only Tristan comes close to knowing why the King was in a swamp? Well, he's lived a long time alone with a power angry wizard, lost his family and kingdom, ect.,. I think being up the swamp for this guy is a bit of an understatement.

Also, this should be the last review without a reference. If I get requests I can upload it here.(I have to get more than one.) :sonic:

[Tristan Palmgren]

"Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Ensign Remirez beam down to a planet. Whose not beaming back?"

To be fair, I think this was the first episode broadcast for a reason. No one had a good idea who was in the main cast (aside from Sonic and Sally) and Cat seemed like he could've been a regular.

...Well, we might have fallen for that, anyway, if Cat had had a personality. He was just the Old Guy.

[chalcara]

Dunno, I knew the second Cat came into view that he was a sacrifice character, even when I saw the ep for the first time.


Reason? His character design wasn't half as thought out as the one of he others, he stood out. He had a limited speaking role. And no proper name...

Yeah, if you want someome to blindside by a death, make sure the chara's as fleshed out as the others on screen.

[furrykef]

Yes, Cat's appearance is simply a plot device.

"Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Ensign Remirez beam down to a planet. Whose not beaming back?"

The trouble with it, though, was that they tried to make it more meaningful than that. When Sonic wins at the end, he says, "That was for Cat" -- i.e., it was personal. It doesn't really ring true when his character hasn't been fleshed out at all.

[Massagraf]

Pretty good episode, but I don't get why anyone (except for Kurt Cobain) would call his daughter bean. There's Sally being hot, Antoine being an idiot, Robotnik having some pretty cool lines, this tunnel that reminded me of Willy Wonka and there was this bridge that fell down but mysteriously reappeared in a cutscene.

The empty cell at the end seemed pretty dark for a kid show...

[Vlad Yvhv]

Maybe she farted a lot as a little kid? Or maybe she liked to eat beans? Or it could just be one of those weird parent nicknames for their kid...

[furrykef]

You just made me imagine Sally farting. Thanks.

[The Man]

Someone google if Acorn is a bean or a seed or whatever before it's grown? Bean and acorn - makes sense for a nick-name.

Does the SatAM Bible explain all this?

Because the FF's snuck into the Stealth Hangar easily it means Robotnik had bad intelligence before the coup. He didn't inquire about possible secret locations where resistence might form and such.

But what do you do about that even today?

Quick edit-I have an idea. If Vlad likes seeing Sally fart so much we can upload a video of that.

[wildfire]

I agree that with this being the first episode aired there would really be no way for the viewer to know that Cat wasn't going to come out of this alive (aside from what everyone just mentioned). I remember thinking in BttP that the two FFs that Sally sent in to cut Robotnik's power were never coming back just because I had never seen them before. But that's neither here nor there, just something related.

As far as Sally being nicknamed "bean" it could have simply been a father's loving name for his daughter. Something that only the two of them shared, and a way to identify a special bond with each other. But here's something that dosen't add up. In Ironlock Prison, Sonic and Co. find a tattered bit of The King's cloak (Sally remembers the design). But we find out later that The King's been in The Void for that past 10 years, so how'd that get there?

I think the line (That was for Cat) is more about showing that Sonic cares for all the Freedom Fighters than anything else. If he had just did his thing and not memorialized Cat in any way he would have been a slightly different character to me. His reminding Robotnik why he fights is kind of like doing the fallen justice, ya see?

All in all, a good episode to jump off from, despite my nitpicks here and there. And it's infinitely better than the pilot.

[The Man]

Does that mean you think Heads or Tails should be the worst episode? And hit Tristan up on FK. It's a fanfic showing how the clothing ended up in the prison.

[furrykef]

It's a fanfic showing how the clothing ended up in the prison.

This is pretty much the definition of the phrase "continuity porn".

[wildfire]

The pilot episode wasn't the worst. But it was vastly different from the SatAM that I know and love, and I much perfer the later Sally to the Pink one (although I did have an idea for a Pretty in Pink game card). I had an idea earlier today about a fanfic involving Cat. Maybe I could do it some time.

[Cheezmatt]

Cat was pretty cool! And Cluck makes some awesome cackling noises you don't hear anywhere else in the series.

[Tristan Palmgren]

It's a fanfic showing how the clothing ended up in the prison.

This is pretty much the definition of the phrase "continuity porn".

My high-school-age self pleads guilty as charged

Actually, so does my present self, but I'm less motivated to write fanfic to fix things.

[randomizer]

Doesn't Cat get mentioned once in another episode?

[BigWigRah]

hehehe, I always was bothered by this episode considering the massive continuity error with Sally's father being in the void, but I still watch this episode a fair bit.

I'm surprised no one has said anything about the opening sequence to this episode, because it's fantastic. I really liked how you get a snapshot (figuratively and literally) of the world that the FF's are up against, building suspense as the robot approaches the vent. The main reason I always come back to this episode is the atmosphere, as it's one of the darkest in the series. Granted, my favorite episodes are the ones that balance the light and dark themes present in SatAM, but this one really comes off on the heavier side.

[The Man]

Doesn't Cat get mentioned once in another episode?

We mentioned later in the show. But I don't think this Cat has nine lives.

[wildfire]

Yeah, I don't think Cat'll be making his way back into the show. After "That was for Cat." he's never mentioned again. I wonder how his family feels about that.

[Cheezmatt]

Doesn't Cat get mentioned once in another episode?

Nope.

[DMoney]

There was a fanfic out there that explained how King Acorn was able to get out the void only for a few moments to access that computer in Ironlock Prison, before getting sucked back in. While struggling, he ripped his robe on one of the doors, the same piece that Sally found later. I dont remember who wrote the fanfic, but I remember reading it a couple years ago. Another theory that someone talked about on FUS was that Robotnik kept the King in this prison while he was destroying Mobotropolis and taking prisoners, before he sent him to the Void.

This is an interesting episode because it builds a lot of things that could have been used later on in the series. But like we have always known, there is no continuity in the 1st season. Not only for the explanation of how Sally's father got to that computer in Ironlock.... but here's another interesting thing... Sally went to the computer in Ironlock and downloaded a file called 'Subter' (obviously short for 'Subterrainian') onto NICOLE. This is how they found their way back to that hanger in Robotropolis. Yet in another episode, Sub-Sonic, the FFs get lost in an underground river, and Sally checks her computer for any sub-terrainian file, and the computer did not have one. What happened to 'Subter'?? Maybe this episode was made before Sonic Boom, but I doubt it. Just my 2c