A "Turtles Forever"-Related Timeline Theory
 

I got into a discussion with a friend over on another forum, initially discussing Misty and Brock's return in Pokemon, and the conversation turned to Turtles Forever and the decision to ignore all the changes made in the red sky seasons.

My friend proposed that everything in Turtles Forever had taken place before season eight, but I argued the timeline did'nt quite match up to that, not to mention at the end of Turtles Forever, the Technodrome retained all the changes Ch'rell had made to it.

So I then proposed that instead of trying to fit it into a timeline, the Technodrome sequences in the flashbacks took place during "Shredder Triumphant" and them being transported to the 23K universe was in fact something that changed history, so the red sky seasons now never occured.

I'm sure there's a hole in this somewhere, but let's discuss that.

I personally don't believe that Turtles Forever is canon to the Original Toon, especially after the Nick crossovers but If I did, I'd place it after season 10.

Id believe that in-universe, everything went back to normal since Lord Dregg was gone and the dangers were no longer very serious, hence the return of the blue sky. Shredder and Krang rebuilt the technodrome and went back to their usual routine, April made amends with her boss after their fall out in season 8, resulting in her being re-hired by Channel Six and even Carter has a small cameo if that means anything.

I don't believe the Red Sky seasons never happened as some fans speculate and see no reason to see them as seperate universes in the sense that shows like Sonic Satam and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog aren't the same.

Do you believe the Nickelodeon crossovers are canon to the original series?

Yes, I do. I even think that the Dimension X in both shows is the same.

I've counted this as a possibility from day one. With the technodrome rolling through the city streets during daytime, it's the only episode to branch off from. And considering that Turtles Forever interrupts the Mirage turtles during issue #1 and alters that universe, it makes sense that the FW timeline would basically have the same thing happen to it.

... Hm....

Good thinking. The moment of divergence seems to be, going with the theory, is that it's just before Shredder tricks the Turtles into Dimension X in the story.

I have a theory based on logic and in episode dialogue. I would put Turtles Forever right after The Big Rip Off because of the Technodrome location. Then the next episode Splinter says they got the Technodrome moving again in The Big Break-in and it sounds like it's been a long time so we can assume Krang took off the upgrades after that bad interaction with Ch'rell. That's literally the only placement where it's in New York and available for a crossover. That also means Trans-Dimensional Turtles has to happen way before in Season 2 because of lack of interaction with the Mirage Turtles. And it could happen anytime after Krang sends Bebop and Rocksteady to Earth to help The Shredder as long as the Technodrome is in Dimension X and he's by himself but it has to be when he's annoyed with the turtles already.

But it wasn't until after the Big Trilogy, the turtles became not exactly heroes, but semi-heroes. (even if "Turtles Forever" took the turtles walking in public too far)

I consider it canon and say Turtles Forever took place during one of the most memorable OT seasons, which of course was Season 3. As I said, when they do stuff like this it's always nostalgia based and done what is during the most recognizable seasons of each show.

I imagine the Nick crossovers take place during Season 4.

I wonder if the writers know the series by heart as much as many of us here do...

Agreed. TF is definitely NOT canon to the original cartoon.

And the Nick crossovers are even less canon to the original cartoon, if that's even possible.

My personal hypothesis: the crossovers were canon until the events of the crossovers, which created a divergent reality.

The Fred Wolf cartoon didn't really have a canon to begin with. There are two unrelated versions of Atlantis, the Baxter Stockman episodes after he becomes a fly don't quite align, the vacation through europe is difficult to figure out the order of, the exact location of the Technodrome keeps changing depending on what studio animated the episode, etc. It seems kind of silly to figure out the placement of new projects that aren't meant to be taken seriously at all, especially when the show really wasn't meant to be taken seriously either.

Honestly, you could say the Fred Wolf universe is the result of Savanti Romero creating a timeline that he frequently plays around with, just to make a mockery of his enemies, and that would make more sense than any serious theory.

This is the only sound statement in this thread.

In Doctor Who there's at least three:D

AND they acknowledged it in-show.

Yeah, this. I like to think of the crossovers as 'canon', I suppose, but given how topsy turvy the old 'toon is, it's not worth overthinking. I don't worry about placement or contradictions/inconsistencies, I just enjoy them & carry on. :trazz:

Also, that's a hilarious headcanon to have. I could definitely see him being that petty. :tlol:

Isn't Doctor Who's inconsistancies explained as the timeline being in constant flux? Like how Earth can be invaded by aliens all the time yet it's never documented because it's the result of time travel?

I think the people who think the FW show doesnt have a canon because of two atlantis episodes (theyre not irreconcilable by the way) are the ones taking it too seriously.

Actually I take that back a bit, its not the lack of belief in a show having a canon, its the complete disregarding of an entire show possibly having a canon because it does not work like the real world. If thats not taking something too seriously for petty reasons, I don't know what is.

Even shows like Tom and Jerry where Nibbles is always put on Jerry's doorstep every few episodes are capable of having a canon, its just a different world with different rules.

Yeah, to say it doesn't have a canon is ridiculous. It has a canon, it just isn't taken very seriously or crafted too thoughtfully.

You wouldn't say The Simpson's doesn't have a canon, even though no one has aged through 5 presidential administrations.