Children growing up with the 2003–2009 animated TV-series

*Original TMNT Cartoon Fan* · 04-19-2017, 07:37 AM

Most fans here probably grew up with the 1987–1996 animated TV-series. But did anyone grow up with the 2003–2009 series instead? Or maybe you had children watching it when the episodes were new.

If so, can you please share some memories of fandom (like when watching the series, which toys and videogames you had, and opinions of older versions (back then, not what you think today). Would be great to see the TMNT fandom from that perspective also.

Within a couple of years, we'll probably have a similair thread for the 2012 one.

*ToTheNines* · 04-19-2017, 08:20 AM

I was 11 when Things Change first aired, so that kinda counts. But I was already a fan from the old movies, Euro Vacation/Red Sky seasons, the videogames and toys.

I know Snake was a 4kids baby.

*FredWolfLeonardo* · 04-19-2017, 08:26 AM

I was 5 when the first 4Kids episode aired.

I wasn't a hardcore fan but I still enjoyed the 2k3 series, the 2007 movie, the 2007 video games and various people on YouTube such as AVGN and Irate Gamer when they talked about tmnt games.

Strange this is, I didn't know the OT existed back then, nor the original movie trilogy, nor that tmnt started off as a comic. I became a hardcore fan during high school when I began watching the Nick series on tv, and it was a great feeling having so many versions to look at as a new fan.

I was so invested when I became a hardcore fan that I used to come up with tmnt stories of my own or have my existing versions of stories to make them more "badass". For e.g. I made up a version of OT season 1 where Krang's Utrom Body was like 2k3 Shredders and after they fail to defeat the turtles, they both use mutagen to fuse themselves into an ultra Shredder who was a mixture of human, tentacles and robot.

*CyberCubed* · 04-19-2017, 11:36 AM

I was 16-17 already by the time the 2k3 series started. But now that that was over a decade ago for me, it almost feels like part of my childhood even if it wasn't.

I consider anything I watched before I was 21 to be part of my "childhood years."

*Wesley* · 04-19-2017, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I was 16-17 already by the time the 2k3 series started. But now that that was over a decade ago for me, it almost feels like part of my childhood even if it wasn't.

I consider anything I watched before I was 21 to be part of my "childhood years."

Same here. I was born in 1986, so the stuff I grew up with was sandwiched in between the 90s and 00s.

*CyberCubed* · 04-19-2017, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wesley

Same here. I was born in 1986, so the stuff I grew up with was sandwiched in between the 90s and 00s.

My cut-off date for old cartoons is around 2006 or so. That's when Justice League and Teen Titans ended, and TMNT 2k3 was halfway over.

*snake* · 04-19-2017, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

I was 11 when Things Change first aired, so that kinda counts. But I was already a fan from the old movies, Euro Vacation/Red Sky seasons, the videogames and toys.

I know Snake was a 4kids baby.

Damn right. I watched the show sporadically when it aired but my first real introduction and love for TMNT came with the OT toyline.

Cyndaquilfan123 · 04-19-2017, 10:16 PM

I was 4 when 2K3 came out, so I was a little young for TMNT at the time, (I still haven't seen 2K3 past the first episode) so my first real exposure was the Nick toon.

*Turo602* · 04-20-2017, 08:45 PM

I was 7 when it first aired. I remember I first found out about it during a promo on TV and I was so excited that I was going to have my own Ninja Turtles show to enjoy. My brothers grew up with the 87 version and they still had games, toys, and VHS tapes around, which is how I became a fan. I was always jealous of how much they got spoiled with TMNT stuff during their childhood, from my parents to even aunts and uncles I barely even know today. Unfortunately, I never caught the premiere because my parents decided to take us to Mexico, which happened again when Fast Forward premiered and I was definitely butthurt about it. However, Christmas 2003 was very memorable to me. Nothing but Ninja Turtles that year. I got toys, the battle shell, a sewer lego set, the GBA game, and a T-shirt that came with the game. I still got the toys and the game but I've since lost all the legos.

*Prowler* · 04-21-2017, 04:02 PM

I was born in 1990 but rew up with the FW series since reruns aired in my country in the late 90s/early 2000s. I was like 6-7 years old when I first saw Turtle Tracks and watched the whole series around 2003-2004.

But yeah, by the time I watched the first ever FW series episode it was already over, so I guess I'm more of a 2k3 series kid. Naturally my first toys were of the 2k3 series. I remember 2004 Christmas well. A pack of Don, Shredder and Leo and another one of Raph, Mikey and a Foot Ninja.

*Original TMNT Cartoon Fan* · 04-22-2017, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prowler

I was born in 1990 but rew up with the FW series since reruns aired in my country in the late 90s/early 2000s. I was like 6-7 years old when I first saw Turtle Tracks and watched the whole series around 2003-2004.

But yeah, by the time I watched the first ever FW series episode it was already over, so I guess I'm more of a 2k3 series kid. Naturally my first toys were of the 2k3 series. I remember 2004 Christmas well. A pack of Don, Shredder and Leo and another one of Raph, Mikey and a Foot Ninja.

But when did you first watch the 2003–2009 series?

*Prowler* · 04-22-2017, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

But when did you first watch the 2003–2009 series?

Around 2003 or 2004. Can't exactly recall.

*Drose18* · 04-22-2017, 09:13 AM

I was 4 in 2003 and I remember sitting in my parents room early on a saturday morning flipping through the channels and the first episode I ever saw was premiering. My brother had just been born a couple weeks earlier so my parents were busy with him and I got the TV to myself. The episode "The Way Of Invisibility" was on. I remember loving it so much. Later that weekend my aunt took my cousin and I to Toysrus to get a birthday present for someone and my aunt told me I can get any toy I want. I found myself a "Fightin Gear Raphael" and got to take it home. Ever since Raph has been my favorite turtle.

*Zany Orange Dude* · 04-24-2017, 08:42 PM

I was 8 years old when it aired. I saw pieces of the show, but did not start watching it until I was around 10 when it came on after Sonic X (that was the show I was obsessed with at the time). For whatever reason, I tuned in for almost all of the Fast Forward arc though.

*Ninturtle* · 04-24-2017, 08:51 PM

I grew up with the show too, I remember watching "Lone Raph and Cub" every day when I got home from school on channel 22. I also remember playing TMNT 2 with my my dad and watching one of the mouser episodes in a cartridge for my Gameboy Advanced. I also had the sewer lair a tons of figures, I really miss those days.

*Original TMNT Cartoon Fan* · 05-26-2017, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ninturtle

I grew up with the show too, I remember watching "Lone Raph and Cub" every day when I got home from school on channel 22. I also remember playing TMNT 2 with my my dad and watching one of the mouser episodes in a cartridge for my Gameboy Advanced. I also had the sewer lair a tons of figures, I really miss those days.

You mean this one?

http://www.tmnttoys.com/03others/lair/index.html

The-Shredder · 05-29-2017, 07:25 PM

I believe around mid-2003, I first discovered the 1987 series on a foreign satellite T.V. channel and I watched it obsessively. Later in the summer, I saw the 2003 action figures on display at Target, which led to my discovery of that show, and the FoxBox website (which I adored). At the time, there was a preview online for "Notes from the Underground Part 3" which got me pumped! I mean, it was so cool hearing the Turtles voices for the first time! Eventually in August, I caught reruns of "The Shredder Strikes" two-parter, personally a fitting introduction to the series. I definitely loved it more than the 1987 one due to being more action packed and serious, but I still liked the 1987 series for what it was, and I still watched it when it was on that satellite channel. The funny thing was that I thought Bebop, Rocksteady and Krang would be in the 2003 show before I saw it, but I soon realized that this was something completely new and different.

Soon, I had the figures for the Turtles, Splinter, Shredder, April, Casey, Hun, a Foot Soldier, Toddler Turtles, Feudal Shredder, the Fast Forward Turtles, Fast Forward Splinter, Sh'Okanabo, the Battle Shell, posters, school folders, Valentine's Day cards, Mighty Beanz, the 1990 movie on DVD, the 1987 Season 1 DVD, the 2003 video game on PC, etc. I believe I remember seeing a Giant Raphael on either the front or back cover of the 2003 Target holiday toy catalog, as well as a page showcasing the figures and lair, so at least the show was somewhat popular. Ninjaturtles.com was my number one website to go to, along with other fansites (The Technodrome, Mikey's TMNT, etc.), and I genuinely felt like a TMNT expert LOL.

I even emailed "Donatello" when Fast Forward was on, and emailed Dan Berger a bunch of questions on Leo's scar, a Season 4 video game, the Lost Season, cancellation of the series, and Season 7. Here is one email that I now find amusing because I was just a kid at the time.

Spoiler:

However, my peers were into the more popular franchises at the time, like Justice League, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Jackie Chan Adventures, so aside from my brother, I had very few people around me to share my TMNT passion with. I was embarrassed about talking about TMNT because it was seen as a joke to some people. Maybe they were somehow aware of its 80s past and the stigma remained? However, in the 4th grade at recess, I noticed one of my friends had an Usagi Yojimbo comic, and it made me immediately strike up a conversation with him about TMNT, and I was really happy.

Later on, I noticed more appreciation for the 1987 series once YouTube gained popularity in 2006 from personalities like the Angry Video Game Nerd and Smosh (the first YouTube video I saw was a 2003 TMNT AMV for Linkin Park's "Numb" LOL).

I watched new episodes pretty much every Saturday morning, until late 2006 when I somewhat lost interest due to the direction the series was going in with the monsters and whatnot. It was around this time that I really got into Star Wars, Batman, Spider-Man, and Bionicle, and I missed out on the 2007 movie when it first came out, as well as the second half of Fast Forward. However, when Back to the Sewer started in 2008, along with the 25th anniversary hype, I slowly got right back in. I also noticed more 1987 TMNT merchandise began to pop up, which made me feel a little weird since all of a sudden people started caring about TMNT again. I was a little suspicious of some of my peers in high school wearing retro TMNT shirts, since I wasn't sure if they were legit fans.

Even though my T.V. reception was bad, I still got to watch the Turtles Forever premiere. I got a Back to the Sewer remote controlled ATV with Leo, more of the movies on DVD, a 2012 Raphael figure when they first started showing up, finally got the Battle Nexus and Mutant Nightmare video games, and I even ordered an autographed Fugitoid from Peter Laird!

Even though I am not really a big fan of the 2012 series, I have seen every episode, even if it takes me months to catch up on it, and it seems to have improved a lot with Seasons 4 and 5. I am definitely getting that Usagi figure when it comes out! I sometimes have difficulty forgiving myself for missing out on all the DVDs, some of the figures of the secondary characters and variants, and other merchandise of the 2003 series, but maybe someday the franchise will fall into the hands of people at Nickelodeon who are just as passionate about the series as we are, and they will release that stuff for us. I could use a 2003 TMNT t-shirt.

*snake* · 04-24-2017, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zany Orange Dude

I was 8 years old when it aired. I saw pieces of the show, but did not start watching it until I was around 10 when it came on after Sonic X (that was the show I was obsessed with at the time). For whatever reason, I tuned in for almost all of the Fast Forward arc though.

Holy sh*t. I did not expect to see a recent post from you.

Danetello · 05-22-2017, 04:58 PM

I was nearing 18 when the first episode aired, and I'll admit, at that age my eternal love for the TMNT had been put to the wayside while I figured my life out. It would have been fun to follow the series along in its original run and be part of the complete unknowns ahead.

~~ABrown~~ · 06-06-2017, 06:17 PM

I was 21 years old when the 4Kids series began. So I think pretty much all of the episodes that aired in the Spring of 2003 were after a night out at the bar.

Though my stepson was 2-8 years old during the 4Kids series run. I should ask him what he remembers. He did love rewatching the series with me when Nick Toons reran the entire show.

04-19-2017, 07:37 AM	#1
Original TMNT Cartoon Fan Overlord Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Sweden Posts: 10,155	Children growing up with the 2003–2009 animated TV-series Most fans here probably grew up with the 1987–1996 animated TV-series. But did anyone grow up with the 2003–2009 series instead? Or maybe you had children watching it when the episodes were new. If so, can you please share some memories of fandom (like when watching the series, which toys and videogames you had, and opinions of older versions (back then, not what you think today). Would be great to see the TMNT fandom from that perspective also. Within a couple of years, we'll probably have a similair thread for the 2012 one. Last edited by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan; 04-19-2017 at 09:40 AM.

04-19-2017, 08:26 AM	#3
FredWolfLeonardo Big Blue Boy Scout Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: New Bark Town Posts: 4,474	I was 5 when the first 4Kids episode aired. I wasn't a hardcore fan but I still enjoyed the 2k3 series, the 2007 movie, the 2007 video games and various people on YouTube such as AVGN and Irate Gamer when they talked about tmnt games. Strange this is, I didn't know the OT existed back then, nor the original movie trilogy, nor that tmnt started off as a comic. I became a hardcore fan during high school when I began watching the Nick series on tv, and it was a great feeling having so many versions to look at as a new fan. I was so invested when I became a hardcore fan that I used to come up with tmnt stories of my own or have my existing versions of stories to make them more "badass". For e.g. I made up a version of OT season 1 where Krang's Utrom Body was like 2k3 Shredders and after they fail to defeat the turtles, they both use mutagen to fuse themselves into an ultra Shredder who was a mixture of human, tentacles and robot. Last edited by FredWolfLeonardo; 04-19-2017 at 08:36 AM.

04-20-2017, 08:45 PM	#9
Turo602 The King of Kings Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Chicago Illinois Posts: 2,931	I was 7 when it first aired. I remember I first found out about it during a promo on TV and I was so excited that I was going to have my own Ninja Turtles show to enjoy. My brothers grew up with the 87 version and they still had games, toys, and VHS tapes around, which is how I became a fan. I was always jealous of how much they got spoiled with TMNT stuff during their childhood, from my parents to even aunts and uncles I barely even know today. Unfortunately, I never caught the premiere because my parents decided to take us to Mexico, which happened again when Fast Forward premiered and I was definitely butthurt about it. However, Christmas 2003 was very memorable to me. Nothing but Ninja Turtles that year. I got toys, the battle shell, a sewer lego set, the GBA game, and a T-shirt that came with the game. I still got the toys and the game but I've since lost all the legos. __________________

04-24-2017, 08:42 PM	#14
Zany Orange Dude The Little Nerdy Teacher Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: At my desk reading comics and writing lesson plans Posts: 2,292	I was 8 years old when it aired. I saw pieces of the show, but did not start watching it until I was around 10 when it came on after Sonic X (that was the show I was obsessed with at the time). For whatever reason, I tuned in for almost all of the Fast Forward arc though. __________________ Last edited by Zany Orange Dude; 04-24-2017 at 09:03 PM.

05-29-2017, 07:25 PM	#17
The-Shredder Hench Mutant Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 448	TL;DR: Watched every Saturday, got the toys, not very popular among peers I believe around mid-2003, I first discovered the 1987 series on a foreign satellite T.V. channel and I watched it obsessively. Later in the summer, I saw the 2003 action figures on display at Target, which led to my discovery of that show, and the FoxBox website (which I adored). At the time, there was a preview online for "Notes from the Underground Part 3" which got me pumped! I mean, it was so cool hearing the Turtles voices for the first time! Eventually in August, I caught reruns of "The Shredder Strikes" two-parter, personally a fitting introduction to the series. I definitely loved it more than the 1987 one due to being more action packed and serious, but I still liked the 1987 series for what it was, and I still watched it when it was on that satellite channel. The funny thing was that I thought Bebop, Rocksteady and Krang would be in the 2003 show before I saw it, but I soon realized that this was something completely new and different. Soon, I had the figures for the Turtles, Splinter, Shredder, April, Casey, Hun, a Foot Soldier, Toddler Turtles, Feudal Shredder, the Fast Forward Turtles, Fast Forward Splinter, Sh'Okanabo, the Battle Shell, posters, school folders, Valentine's Day cards, Mighty Beanz, the 1990 movie on DVD, the 1987 Season 1 DVD, the 2003 video game on PC, etc. I believe I remember seeing a Giant Raphael on either the front or back cover of the 2003 Target holiday toy catalog, as well as a page showcasing the figures and lair, so at least the show was somewhat popular. Ninjaturtles.com was my number one website to go to, along with other fansites (The Technodrome, Mikey's TMNT, etc.), and I genuinely felt like a TMNT expert LOL. I even emailed "Donatello" when Fast Forward was on, and emailed Dan Berger a bunch of questions on Leo's scar, a Season 4 video game, the Lost Season, cancellation of the series, and Season 7. Here is one email that I now find amusing because I was just a kid at the time. Spoiler: 9/25/06 > I was wondering if the show will get cancelled because Fast Forward. The show would already have been canceled had we not changed its direction. The ratings and merchandise sales were flat, so to keep all of partners on board, we had to change the direction of the show. Thanks for writing! Cheers! Dan Berger Mirage Studios' Official Web Dude http://www.ninjaturtles.com However, my peers were into the more popular franchises at the time, like Justice League, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Jackie Chan Adventures, so aside from my brother, I had very few people around me to share my TMNT passion with. I was embarrassed about talking about TMNT because it was seen as a joke to some people. Maybe they were somehow aware of its 80s past and the stigma remained? However, in the 4th grade at recess, I noticed one of my friends had an Usagi Yojimbo comic, and it made me immediately strike up a conversation with him about TMNT, and I was really happy. Later on, I noticed more appreciation for the 1987 series once YouTube gained popularity in 2006 from personalities like the Angry Video Game Nerd and Smosh (the first YouTube video I saw was a 2003 TMNT AMV for Linkin Park's "Numb" LOL). I watched new episodes pretty much every Saturday morning, until late 2006 when I somewhat lost interest due to the direction the series was going in with the monsters and whatnot. It was around this time that I really got into Star Wars, Batman, Spider-Man, and Bionicle, and I missed out on the 2007 movie when it first came out, as well as the second half of Fast Forward. However, when Back to the Sewer started in 2008, along with the 25th anniversary hype, I slowly got right back in. I also noticed more 1987 TMNT merchandise began to pop up, which made me feel a little weird since all of a sudden people started caring about TMNT again. I was a little suspicious of some of my peers in high school wearing retro TMNT shirts, since I wasn't sure if they were legit fans. Even though my T.V. reception was bad, I still got to watch the Turtles Forever premiere. I got a Back to the Sewer remote controlled ATV with Leo, more of the movies on DVD, a 2012 Raphael figure when they first started showing up, finally got the Battle Nexus and Mutant Nightmare video games, and I even ordered an autographed Fugitoid from Peter Laird! Even though I am not really a big fan of the 2012 series, I have seen every episode, even if it takes me months to catch up on it, and it seems to have improved a lot with Seasons 4 and 5. I am definitely getting that Usagi figure when it comes out! I sometimes have difficulty forgiving myself for missing out on all the DVDs, some of the figures of the secondary characters and variants, and other merchandise of the 2003 series, but maybe someday the franchise will fall into the hands of people at Nickelodeon who are just as passionate about the series as we are, and they will release that stuff for us. I could use a 2003 TMNT t-shirt.

04-19-2017, 08:20 AM	#2
ToTheNines [sic] Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 15,098	I was 11 when Things Change first aired, so that kinda counts. But I was already a fan from the old movies, Euro Vacation/Red Sky seasons, the videogames and toys. I know Snake was a 4kids baby.

04-19-2017, 11:36 AM	#4
CyberCubed Overlord Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 41,036	I was 16-17 already by the time the 2k3 series started. But now that that was over a decade ago for me, it almost feels like part of my childhood even if it wasn't. I consider anything I watched before I was 21 to be part of my "childhood years."

04-19-2017, 10:16 PM	#8
Cyndaquilfan123 Foot Soldier Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 174	I was 4 when 2K3 came out, so I was a little young for TMNT at the time, (I still haven't seen 2K3 past the first episode) so my first real exposure was the Nick toon.

04-21-2017, 04:02 PM	#10
Prowler Emperor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Portugal Posts: 8,909	I was born in 1990 but rew up with the FW series since reruns aired in my country in the late 90s/early 2000s. I was like 6-7 years old when I first saw Turtle Tracks and watched the whole series around 2003-2004. But yeah, by the time I watched the first ever FW series episode it was already over, so I guess I'm more of a 2k3 series kid. Naturally my first toys were of the 2k3 series. I remember 2004 Christmas well. A pack of Don, Shredder and Leo and another one of Raph, Mikey and a Foot Ninja.

04-22-2017, 09:13 AM	#13
Drose18 The Catalina Wine Mixer Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 1,767	I was 4 in 2003 and I remember sitting in my parents room early on a saturday morning flipping through the channels and the first episode I ever saw was premiering. My brother had just been born a couple weeks earlier so my parents were busy with him and I got the TV to myself. The episode "The Way Of Invisibility" was on. I remember loving it so much. Later that weekend my aunt took my cousin and I to Toysrus to get a birthday present for someone and my aunt told me I can get any toy I want. I found myself a "Fightin Gear Raphael" and got to take it home. Ever since Raph has been my favorite turtle.

04-24-2017, 08:51 PM	#15
Ninturtle Mad Scientist Join Date: May 2014 Location: Earth Posts: 1,534	I grew up with the show too, I remember watching "Lone Raph and Cub" every day when I got home from school on channel 22. I also remember playing TMNT 2 with my my dad and watching one of the mouser episodes in a cartridge for my Gameboy Advanced. I also had the sewer lair a tons of figures, I really miss those days.

05-22-2017, 04:58 PM	#19
Danetello Stone Warrior Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Florida Posts: 571	I was nearing 18 when the first episode aired, and I'll admit, at that age my eternal love for the TMNT had been put to the wayside while I figured my life out. It would have been fun to follow the series along in its original run and be part of the complete unknowns ahead. __________________ Dan. Check out all of my TMNT reviews here!

06-06-2017, 06:17 PM	#20
~~ABrown~~ Banned Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 1,831	I was 21 years old when the 4Kids series began. So I think pretty much all of the episodes that aired in the Spring of 2003 were after a night out at the bar. Though my stepson was 2-8 years old during the 4Kids series run. I should ask him what he remembers. He did love rewatching the series with me when Nick Toons reran the entire show.