The first 4 episodes of the Knuckles TV series feel like a fever dream – for better, and for worse

We all know Sonic the Hedgehog loves chilli dogs, right? That’s not some weird deep cut from the 90s multimedia Sonic takeover that I’ve just internalised, is it? It feels like canon to me: the blue blur loves to eat, and specifically, he loves chilli dogs. You can collect them in some of the more obscure games as collectibles, and the social media posts are full of them. It’s well established, both in universe and outside of it.

But did you know that Knuckles loves Doritos? Cool Ranch, specifically. Because he does. He even wants to visit said ‘cool ranch’ someday. You can tell this from the series, because there’s a lengthy, very well-lit and well-considered shot of the red echidna munching on a pack of them and extolling their virtues.

Later on, for some reason, there’s a vaseline-coated soft focus shot of him in a diner car park, having a heart-to-heart with best friend-cum-student, with a big ol’ packet of branded potato chips right there in the foreground with him.