The original The Sonic Show was the brainchild of Jamie “Jay” Egge Mann. Premiering on November 24th, 2006, it started as a video podcast available on iTunes. In quick order, it found a home on Sonic Cage Dome, where the entire “first season” premiered. In 2008, it moved to the Sonic Stadium, and after “season two,” Jamie started uploading shorter, more frequent content on YouTube. With English charm and irreverent wit, the channel grew, attracting not only viewers but other contributors. It certainly made sense why, once Sonic Stadium launched the annual Summer of Sonic convention in England, that Jamie became instrumental in chronicling their exploits, making documentaries and hosting live streams of the festivities. There is a reason he became the official Europe’s Biggest Sonic Super Fan after all.
Returning to its podcasting roots, a spin-off of The Sonic Show, The Opinion Zone, began on June 3rd, 2013. The audio program did what it said on the tin - offered opinions. Most of the time it involved Sonic, but not always - the first episode avoided Sonic almost entirely. Regulars of The Sonic Show took part (Tanner, Fuad, Tom), along with some new faces (Jordan aka SonicpoX aka Uncle Poxxy), and of course, Sonic news guru Donnie.
It was the first iteration of The Opinion Zone that I guested in. Not so unexpectedly, it was an episode about Ken Penders. Nearly a year later, I returned, once again as a guest, then came back again. And again. And again. The Opinion Zone was going through a period of transition, and the regulars were having a hard time aligning their schedules for a weekly show. Almost overnight, the regular cast changed. Jamie and Jordan were joined by The Sega Scourge and Nicole “SPD64,” with me taking on a semi-permanent guest role.
By the time I joined as a regular, the show was being recorded live on RadioSega. Episode 50 is lost to time, heard only by those fortunate enough to be tuned in to the broadcast. The format did allow for a personal favorite (and lowest listened to episode) of the show - a “call in” show where we could interact with the audience over the Internet telephone!
This iteration of The Opinion Zone aired weekly for about a year before going on hiatus. When it returned, three more came out before it went on hiatus again. Since then, the show has come out sparingly. In early 2020, Jamie stepped away from The Sonic Show. Jamie’s last appearance on his YouTube channel was, appropriately, an interview done by his successor, Jaden. Jamie did not disappear completely, instead resurrecting Sonic Cage Dome, the website that gave him his first big break. It all came full circle. The one carryover he took with him from The Sonic Show? The Opinion Zone.
The time we recorded The Opinion Zone on a regular basis was during a particularly hard period in my life, and it was nice to have something to look forward to every week - getting together with friends and doing some rambling about Sonic the Hedgehog. I am thankful for Jamie letting me force myself onto a show that I was an avid listener to beforehand, and look forward to whatever form it may take in the future.
For more information on the early days of The Sonic Show, be sure to check out The Sonic Show’s Book of Almost Everything, released for the show’s ninth anniversary. And for more audio shenanigans, there is The Complete Mess Collection, a CD compilation put together for the eighth anniversary.
