Do you feel the 2k3 series is under-appreciated?

[Wildcat]

I can not say it’s under appreciated when it lasted a long time, got 2 spin offs, a TV movie and full merchandise line. Which I would see kids getting. It was as successful as it could have been for a revival.

[CyberCubed]

It still blows my mind the 2k3 series outlasted the Nick cartoon. I honestly expected it the other way around, when the Nick cartoon first started I thought it was going to outlast 2k3 and come close to the original cartoons episode or season count.

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

It still blows my mind the 2k3 series outlasted the Nick cartoon. I honestly expected it the other way around, when the Nick cartoon first started I thought it was going to outlast 2k3 and come close to the original cartoons episode or season count.

Did you have any reason for thinking it would?

[CyberCubed]

The Nick show was highly successful and it was promoted on a mainstream channel like Nickelodeon. Given they're starting another new TMNT cartoon immediately after the first Nick show ended, it seemed like they wanted TMNT on the air for a long time.

I thought instead of doing a quick reboot they would just continue making new seasons of the current show for a few more years. If you stop to think about it doing a quick rebranding with whatever they 2018 show turns out to be wouldn't be much different than if the Nick show went on another few seasons.

I'm willing to bet when the 2018 show starts the ratings after maybe the first few episodes won't be much different than the Nick cartoon got. Some people will probably check out the first few episodes out of curiosity to see how the show is or how different it is from past series, and then just the fans will stick with it as usual.

[sdp]

The 4Kids show lasted as long because of various reasons which included it being Laird's pet project, 4kids first (only?) original series, being in the b-tier network so most shows there weren't of huge quality to bump it, the toys figures selling well and the movie reviving interest in the series, Kids WB being bought out by 4Kids and now needing two channels worth of programming block.

I'm not trying to argue it wasn't a success but for the amount of content it got, it was more than more successful shows but it being under the radar of the mainstream and just being at the right place at the right time definitely helped it.

The Nick show began under performing and they quickly decided to replaced it, only because they really put their money behind the brand did it get 5 seasons, if not it would've ended before if say it was a licensed show and not a in house production

[CyberCubed]

I think any Nick show not named Spongebob also generally doesn't last more than about 5 seasons anyway.

Considering their last big action shows like Avatar and Legend of Korra only have around 60 or so episodes each, TMNT got double that at 124 episodes.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by neatoman

Did you have any reason for thinking it would?

Because Viacom/Nick are larger than Foxbox/4Kids and the 2k12 show had a lot better marketing and was more well-known than the 2k3 series ever was. By the time the 2k3 series was over it seemed like TMNT was gonna go into dormant state again like it did after next mutation, but when 2k12 ended... there is already a new show coming in 2018. Also it got two live action movies while 2k3 only got a CGI movie no one really remembers.

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Because Viacom/Nick are larger than Foxbox/4Kids and the 2k12 show had a lot better marketing and was more well-known than the 2k3 series ever was.

Not sure that's actually true, I know there are plenty of people who just dropped the Nick show midway through season 2 and weren't even aware it went on.

[CyberCubed]

They probably just watched the eps online. At the time the 2k3 series was airing online streaming wasn't much a thing, youtube didn't even come out till 2005 and by that point the 2k3 series was airing Fast Forward already.

[sdp]

Nick show might've lasted less than 2k3 and most of it's impact was only in the first few seasons but that was still more impact than 2k3 had over its entire run. You don't see many people getting nostalgic for 2k3 even though it's basically 15 years old but you will for the Nick show even if it's from a bunch of tumblr fans.


I mean, I wish it were different, because then we could have some 2k3 inspired merchandise or figures but I just don't think there's enough of a market there sadly.

[CyberCubed]

What 2k3 did do is make Mirage-only characters mainstream for the first time. Nowadays it's easy to forget this was the cartoon debut of Karai, the first proper showcasing of the Triceratons, Fugitoid, Renet and Savanti romero all got their cartoon debuts.

We got a more accurate version of Usagi Yojimbo, the debut of the Utroms and not just Krang, the first black Baxter Stockman in cartoons as he should be, the debut of the Shredder clones, human Foot Soldiers for an entire series, Splinter in his Mirage origin, etc.

The 2k3 series made a lot of Mirage-only concepts mainstream. Likewise new characters like Bishop and Hun became TMNT staples, as they're also in the current IDW comics.

[Sumac]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

What 2k3 did do is make Mirage-only characters mainstream for the first time. Nowadays it's easy to forget this was the cartoon debut of Karai, the first proper showcasing of the Triceratons, Fugitoid, Renet and Savanti romero all got their cartoon debuts.

We got a more accurate version of Usagi Yojimbo, the debut of the Utroms and not just Krang, the first black Baxter Stockman in cartoons as he should be, the debut of the Shredder clones, human Foot Soldiers for an entire series, Splinter in his Mirage origin, etc.

The 2k3 series made a lot of Mirage-only concepts mainstream. Likewise new characters like Bishop and Hun became TMNT staples, as they're also in the current IDW comics.

And just like the original comic books, it was largely forgotten and ignored in favor of more lighthearted version.

As someone who considers 2k3 series to be the best incarnation of TMNT (as far as TV series go) it's really sad. But, well, maybe one day we will have a resurgence of its popularity. Or not.

[CyberCubed]

It's not really forgotten, the 2k3 series is all up on youtube with millions of viewers per episode. Funny how Nick doesn't take those eps down even though its copyright infringement.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by sdp

Nick show might've lasted less than 2k3 and most of it's impact was only in the first few seasons but that was still more impact than 2k3 had over its entire run. You don't see many people getting nostalgic for 2k3 even though it's basically 15 years old but you will for the Nick show even if it's from a bunch of tumblr fans.


I mean, I wish it were different, because then we could have some 2k3 inspired merchandise or figures but I just don't think there's enough of a market there sadly.

Yeah the Nick series felt like it was trying to reignite Turtlemania from 1988-1992. While 2k3 was trying to be as different from the FW series as possible. It was Laird's pet project and I don't think he expected it to come close to the FW series in its prime in terms of popularity. 2k3 was just another cartoon at the time it aired.

Dunno if this is a good analogy, but the 2k3 series was the Nintendo GameCube. The GC was sorta like Nintendo's wet dream or something. Something they made mostly for Nintendo gamers and such. It wasn't trying to topple the PS2 in sales. While the Nick series was the Wii. Notice how the Wii also sold like hot cakes in the first couple of years and then lots of people regretted or let it collecting dust? Similar to the Nick series being very popular in the first two seasons and then dropping in popularity.

[shuriken]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Dunno if this is a good analogy, but the 2k3 series was the Nintendo GameCube. The GC was sorta like Nintendo's wet dream or something. Something they made mostly for Nintendo gamers and such. It wasn't trying to topple the PS2 in sales. While the Nick series was the Wii. Notice how the Wii also sold like hot cakes in the first couple of years and then lots of people regretted or let it collecting dust? Similar to the Nick series being very popular in the first two seasons and then dropping in popularity.

I mean I was always busy Sunday so I would watch the TMNT 2012 show on Xfinity on DEmand. Of course they stopped doing that after season 3, so I didn't catch ANY of season 4 or 5 which is a damn shame. gonna have to get me the season sets when I can.

[newfan]

I've started exploring both old toons, I've only watched a few eps of this series so far but it was easy to get in to. Might watch a few more later today.

[Zachatello00]

This series remains my favorite of the three. It’s hard to replicate the success of the original, though NICK has done a good job getting closer to it than the 2k3 series did.

I appreciate though, that Laird and the team stuck closely to their original vision rather than just making it a re-issue of the original, largely humorous cartoon. They remained committed to telling the turtle’s stories, and I appreciate that.

Personally, I see this as the “Batman: The Animated Series” version of TMNT.

[Bravotello]

Hell yeah it is underrated! God I miss this show so much but it seems like no one really remembers it anymore! There's only like 5 people on Tumblr who even still talk about or post about it last I checked.

Sometimes I wonder if it's on purpose though? I'm unsure of the validity but I've heard Nick goes out of its way not to acknowledge its existence in any way. I hope it's not true because that would be terrible of them tbh and such a waste. This was a great show!

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Bravotello

Sometimes I wonder if it's on purpose though? I'm unsure of the validity but I've heard Nick goes out of its way not to acknowledge its existence in any way. I hope it's not true because that would be terrible of them tbh and such a waste. This was a great show!

I don't know where you got that from, the show has been uploaded on itunes, 2k3 characters have returned in various series, etc. There's just not any new merch based on it or proper DVD releases.

[Powder]

Those who liked it remember it, but it wasn't a big deal for casuals. Didn't have nearly the same public image as its predecessor. Quite the contrary re: Nick's acknowledgement of the series, they post screen caps of it on IG & FB often enough.