KNUCKLES plays like a combination of Hulu’s little-seen FUTURE MAN and the SONIC movies. It’s a road movie with ridiculous set pieces that’s in search of a better story.
For all of its starts and stops, the series drives off okay before it goes off the map with a horrible two-episode detour (Worst. Shabbat. Dinner. Ever.), and finds its way back once the always engaging Cary Elwes comes in a blazing. With that, there’s enough power packed in the punch of KNUCKLES to make this slight series worth your time.
Here’s my episodic breakdown:
E1 – The Warrior 😊
Solid setup that goes a little bit too family-friendly at times.
E2 – Don’t Ever Say I Wasn’t There For You 😊
Firework action and a hilarious dream sequence make audiences start to care about Wade Whipple’s quest.
E3 – The Shabbat Dinner 🤮
The only redeeming part is watching Stockard Channing pronounce Knuckles with a Jewish accent, “Knuchles.”
E4 – The Flames of Disaster 🤮
A musical episode that fails due to Julian Barratt’s inability to sing and the main song not being memorable.
E5 – Reno, Baby 😊
Cyrano de Bergerac with Knuckles oddly pairs nicer than it sounds.
E6 – What Happens in Reno, Stays in Reno 🤩
The season finale finds its purpose with a worthy big bad and several dramatic bowling moments. Also, Paul Scheer is hilarious, as usual.
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You don’t “gotta go fast” to watch KNUCKLES, but you should pick up a couple of rings and check out the latest video game series, which is much better than it deserves to be.
It’s available to stream on Paramount+.
