How seriously should the 1987 tmnt cartoon be taken, if at all?

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

Also, killing an extraterrestrial is considered more OK than killing an Earth Human. In Splinter No More they tricked the extraterrestrial monster into killing itself. And in Divide and Conquer, the turtles probably indirectly killed Dregg by throwing him from Earth through the portal.

True, those are all good examples.

Also, Leonardo stabbing the plant monster in "It Came from Beneath the Sewers".

Its these kind of examples which make me kind of dissapointed that we didn't get more of the 1987 turtles being violent in the Wanted Bebop and Rocksteady special from the Nickelodeon crossover.

I mean yes, that crossover got their personalities down perfectly, and the portrayal of the turtles not using their weapons was accurate to certain parts of the show (the most slapstickiest of seasons 3 and 4), but it was a missed pportunity to push some boundaries.

I mean, we get this buildup that the 1987 turtles are being trained to use their weapons again, and all that buildup just leads to them slicing up Foot Soldiers which was already a common staple from the show.

How awesome would it be if say, the 1987 turtles got a few cuts and stabs on the Nickelodeon Bebop and Rocksteady as a payoff for the training?

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

How awesome would it be if say, the 1987 turtles got a few cuts and stabs on the Nickelodeon Bebop and Rocksteady as a payoff for the training?

Fred Wolf Raphael could at least have kicked Nickelodeon Rocksteady in his head, knocking him unconsciousn. Remember Nickelodeon Rocksteady is a fearsome war volunteer, who fought in the civil war in Yugoslavia during the 1990's, and the wars in Iraq and Democratic Republic of Congo before he joined the Foot Clan in 2013.

That would also pay tribute to Future Raphael punching Adolf Hitler in the Archie Comics.

[Coola Yagami]

That's the main thing the crossovers get wrong. Despite the silly was of the show, the turtles and the characters in it take things seriously and there are usually stakes involved. The crossovers usually make it sound like the 80s crew never take anything seriously despite them basically stopping shredder from taking over the world every other day.

[shredder orokusaki]

COMPARED to rise it is 1000 times better. I was the main villian and was a big threat to the world and turtles!

[Turtle Soup]

I take the first 5 episodes (season 1) fairly seriously.

[Cyndaquilfan123]

To me it's just like comparing Batman 66 and any other Batman incarnation. You watch one when you are feeling in that kinda mood, and one of the others any other time.

[CyberCubed]

The fate of the world was at stake in almost every episode, so very seriously.

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by Cyndaquilfan123

To me it's just like comparing Batman 66 and any other Batman incarnation. You watch one when you are feeling in that kinda mood, and one of the others any other time.

I'd compare it more to Super Friends personally. FW TMNT's influence on the brand is kinda like how people casually referred to the JLA as Super Friends or assumed Aquaman was lame for decades, simply because they were more familiar with the cartoon than the comics. And sure, Super Friends does have some influence to this day, like how its original characters keeps popping up or the LoD HQ. But the actual show is so lame and boring, it hardly ever influences the modern incarnations beyond superficial details because nobody in charge of making them can stand watching that crap.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Originally Posted by neatoman

I'd compare it more to Super Friends personally. FW TMNT's influence on the brand is kinda like how people casually referred to the JLA as Super Friends or assumed Aquaman was lame for decades, simply because they were more familiar with the cartoon than the comics. And sure, Super Friends does have some influence to this day, like how its original characters keeps popping up or the LoD HQ. But the actual show is so lame and boring, it hardly ever influences the modern incarnations beyond superficial details because nobody in charge of making them can stand watching that crap.

You know,
All this talk about the Super Friends show makes me intensely curious (I've never seen it before).

I might check it out and who's knows, maybe I'll absolutely fall in love with it like I did with the 1987 turtles cartoon?

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

You know,
All this talk about the Super Friends show makes me intensely curious (I've never seen it before).

I might check it out and who's knows, maybe I'll absolutely fall in love with it like I did with the 1987 turtles cartoon?

No, Superfriends is very bad. All the characters are one-dimensional, Superman and Batman have the same personality, and there's no action since a character wasn't allowed to throw a punch. The very last seasons of it which aired in the late 80's are the only decent ones.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

No, Superfriends is very bad. All the characters are one-dimensional, Superman and Batman have the same personality, and there's no action since a character wasn't allowed to throw a punch. The very last seasons of it which aired in the late 80's are the only decent ones.

A quick look at Wikipedia shows that Super friends was 109 episodes long, but the first 3 seasons have 44 minutes long episodes which sounds a bit much.

I might just watch the first couple of season 4 episodes (since its only 22 minutes long each).

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

You know,
All this talk about the Super Friends show makes me intensely curious (I've never seen it before).

I might check it out and who's knows, maybe I'll absolutely fall in love with it like I did with the 1987 turtles cartoon?

I think you already know it, but there is also a Justice League cartoon from the early 2000's (if you're interested). It originally aired over Cartoon Network.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justic...ue_(TV_series)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League_Unlimited

[PApagreg]

About as seriously as the Rise show.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

You know,
All this talk about the Super Friends show makes me intensely curious (I've never seen it before).

I might check it out and who's knows, maybe I'll absolutely fall in love with it like I did with the 1987 turtles cartoon?

It's entertaining enough - I loved it when I was really, really young. Like many cartoons that we have fond memories of, they can be hard to get through now. I'd be curious if you could embrace them now.....

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

I think you already know it, but there is also a Justice League cartoon from the early 2000's (if you're interested). It originally aired over Cartoon Network.

Now that show was terrific. A buddy of mine lent me his series DVD sets about ten years ago and that's when I first sat through the Timmverse JLA. It was really entertaining - it drew a great balance of dramatic superhero action and entertaining "upbeat" or "comedy" moments without ever going too far.

[pferreira]

My response is below:

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Is the show goofy, sure, but it's done in the way that's genuine... like they're typically taking it seriously the larger majority of the time, even if some aspects of a situation are comedic while not usually doing it to be comedic. If that makes any sense. Hard to explain. Like a more natural type of comedy vs the rather forced comedy of a lot of cartoons today.

What you're talking about is being self-referential without being blantly obvious about if as every TV show and movie does today. TV and movies today are mostly written in extremes. Either something is deadly overly serious or if the writers know they need a comedic moment they try too hard to make something overly comedic. There is no balance or middle ground so it (at least for me) always fails.

Originally Posted by LeotheLateBloomer

As serious as the 1966 Batman TV series.

Isn't it ironic that back in the 80s TMNT was criticised for being too violent when today the FW series is the equivalent of the 60's Batman series.

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

That's the main thing the crossovers get wrong. Despite the silly was of the show, the turtles and the characters in it take things seriously and there are usually stakes involved. The crossovers usually make it sound like the 80s crew never take anything seriously despite them basically stopping shredder from taking over the world every other day.

You're talking about verisimilitude: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verisimilitude

It doesn't matter how far fetched or ridiculous something is as long as it makes the viewer relates to the characters and situations. The viewer can then forgive silly plots. It's like the first four Superman movies and how they end up being more watchable and likeable compared to the more recent ones. We don't laugh at the TMNT, we laugh WITH them. It's not about age but being able to understand properly formed characters you can relate to. This way of writing unfortunately is completely lacking in media today. All those people who say you can't appreciate drama in the series after growing up are up their own backside.

[Wesley]

Depends on the episode, but most of the series in general isn’t supposed to be taken seriously imo. The show is best watched as a comedy. I take season 1, 2, 6, 7 and red sky slightly seriously, though (kinda in the same way I watch Buffy season 1).

[pferreira]

Originally Posted by Wesley

Depends on the episode, but most of the series in general isn’t supposed to be taken seriously imo. The show is best watched as a comedy. I take season 1, 2, 6, 7 and red sky slightly seriously, though (kinda in the same way I watch Buffy season 1).

Yikes if you think this series is just a comedy that would sum up most 80's cartoons then.

[Wesley]

Originally Posted by pferreira

Yikes if you think this series is just a comedy that would sum up most 80's cartoons then.

Well, it is what it is.

[neatoman]

I don't even know what to qualify this show as if it's not a comedy. The characters break the fourth wall all the time, they constantly spew snark and a lot (if not most) of the plots are intentionally farcical. It seems to me like most of the lines uttered are either jokes or exposition.

[Leo656]

Action/Adventure/Comedy, I guess?

I mean, the protagonists literally dispatched the bad guys by whipping pizza at them on more than one occasion, and many if not most of the climactic fight scenes were accompanied by numerous piss-taking zingers that would make any Marvel movie blush. They once KO'ed Bebop and Rocksteady by making them smell their own feet, for crissakes.

There are lots of action and adventure elements for certain, but I agree that the show was predominantly comedic in nature. Whereas, say, Biker Mice From Mars, which I'd never seen at all until recently, would be more like an action/adventure show with occasional comedic elements, while TMNT would be a comedic show with action/adventure elements. If that makes any sense. Like you said, huge chunks of the dialog were either a pun, a zinger, or expository information. Not all, but very much of it.

And for those who might not "get it", none of this is an "attack", merely an observation/statement of fact. This shouldn't need to be explicitly stated, but apparently it does.