After the events of Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Knuckles The Echidna stars in his own limited series, trying to adapt to life on Earth and training deputy Wade Whipple in the ways of the Echidna Warrior.

Okay, I’m going to come right out and say it, I enjoyed this mini-series.

Idris Elba reprises his voice role as Knuckles, the last of the Echidna Warriors, now living on Earth with his new friends Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles “Tails” Prower, the two tailed fox (Ben Schwartz and Colleen O’Shaugnessey, respectively). He is having a bit of trouble adapting to his new life. After attacking construction crews hired to repair the home (see Sonic The Hedgehog 2), creating an iron throne made out scrap metal including the muffler from the car of foster mom, Maddie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter), and turning the living room into a gladiator fighting pit, Maddie grounds Knuckles. Not long after this, he defies his punishment when the spirit of the great Echidna chief, Chief Pachacamac (voiced by Christopher Lloyd), sends Knuckles to train deputy Wade Whipple (Adam Pally) in the ways of the warrior, to prepare him for the upcoming tournament of champions in Reno, Nevada (okay, it’s only a bowling tournament, but still).

As this is set in the Sonic Cinematic Universe, there is fighting and serious opposition with two renegade G.U.N agents, Willoughby (Ellie Taylor) and Mason (Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi), who are hired by a person known only as The Buyer (Rory McCann), a former employee of Dr. Robotnik, who seeks to steal all of Knuckles powers for his ne’er-do-well schemes. Wade also has his own issues, as he’s been kicked off his bowling team by bounty hunter Jack Sinclair (Julian Barratt) and replaced by eight year old, Susie Barnes (Alice Tregonning). Bowling’s a vicious sport, obviously. The duo also find themselves on the run as Wade winds up with a bounty on his head.

Other characters that we eventually meet include Wade’s mother, Wendy (Stockard Channing), the loving Jewish mother, his sister, Wanda (Edie Patterson), who reminds you (several times) that she’s with the FBI, and eventually his father, legendary bowler “Pistol” Pete Whipple (Cary Elwes), who left his family years ago, leaving Wade alone at a T.J. Maxx, and who Wade has to face in the bowling tournament. Will Wade win the Tournament Of Champions against his father? Will The Buyer defeat Knuckles and steal his powers? This is a non-spoilery review, you’ll need to watch the series to find out.

What stands out about this series is the chemistry between Knuckles and Wade, which is even more impressive when you consider that Idris Elba wasn’t present on the set (as far as we can tell), but the characters manage to help each other shine. The fight scenes are pretty good, especially one involving Knuckles and Wendy Whipple against a home invader, as a version of “Hava Nagila” is played. The series gets some silly moments with each episode, but the sillier it gets, the better, Chief Pachacamac showing Wade the origin of Knuckles in the style of a cheap rock opera starring Jack Sinclair, being one.

Some of the CGI effects are a bit lacking. The series does focus more on Wade and his story, Was expecting more from Willoughby and Mason, Mescudi showed off his comedic timing in this, shame he didn’t have more to do, and I was hoping for more of a confrontation between Knuckles and The Buyer, but in the end, it was a story about friendship and finding one’s true place in the world.

It’s a great family series. A bit silly, but also, sweet and moving. The kids will love it, especially the big kids.

On a scale of One to Warrior, I give this series, 8 Wendy Whipples….or a B+

All six episodes of “Knuckles” is streaming on Paramount+

A couple of added video bonuses for you to enjoy, the cast on working with Knuckles

And Idris Elba hears the cast do their best Knuckles impressions

A Public Service Announcement From Gary DaBaum

As someone who has over thirty years experience in the bowling industry, I have to point a few things out, as bowling is a sub plot in this series.

The scene where Agents Mason and Willoughby step out of the ring and into the middle of the lane. If you are at a bowling center…..DON’T DO THAT! The lanes are slippery and you can slip and fall. Over the years, I have seen people slip and fall and seriously injure themselves. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, STAND BEHIND THE FOUL LINE.

*ahem*

There’s a scene where Agent Mason gets knocked back to where the pins stand (the pin deck). Obviously, the pinsetter wasn’t on, because it wasn’t triggered to sweep and set pins. Since I already said to stay behind the foul line, you already know not to go there, but….

If the machine is triggered, and you are down there, you can get hurt….or….worse. If you’re fast, you can probably pull yourself out real quick. If it’s something like a Brunswick A-2 pinsetter, you have to be really quick. If it’s something like a Brunswick GSX pinsetter, if the sweep (what sweeps the pins) doesn’t fully lower, the machine will errors out and shut off, so you can crawl out. However, if the sweep drops on you, I know for a fact, it hurts.

And yes, I have heard stories of people losing their limbs, and even worse for being careless on the pinsetter.

Stay behind the foul line and enjoy the game. Leave the dangerous stuff to the trained professionals. What you see on television, is all for show. Just watch the show and enjoy, don’t try anything dangerous…..unless you have an Echidna warrior by your side.

The More You Know

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