Things the FW series doesn't get enough credit for?

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Making a Donatello that can actually kick ass: FW Donatello is arguably the best iteration of the character.

Gonna have to disagree on this one. Mirage Donatello was just as strong as any of his brothers, and as strong (and in some cases stronger) than many other versions of the character

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Making a Donatello that can actually kick ass: FW Donatello is arguably the best iteration of the character. He's not only a nerd but also has a temper and can fight.

Donatello didn't kick much ass in combat. He would just be big in his mouth, only to have his bo stick broken within the very next moment, while Leonardo and Raphael had to handle the situation.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Whatswiththeheadbands?

Gonna have to disagree on this one. Mirage Donatello was just as strong as any of his brothers, and as strong (and in some cases stronger) than many other versions of the character

Well I was mostly thinking of the Dons I've seen on TV iterations. 2k3 Don was alright but not that great of a fighter. Nick Don, from the little I've seen of him was basically him crushing on April in an awkward manner. And Corey Feldman's Donatello was annoying as hell.

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

Donatello didn't kick much ass in combat. He would just be big in his mouth, only to have his bo stick broken within the very next moment, while Leonardo and Raphael had to handle the situation.

I mean, none of the FW Turtles kicked much ass in most episodes. They beat their enemies by throwing pizzas in their faces or something like that.

Donatello has a fun short fight with Shredder in the first Howie episode, btw.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by Prowler

They beat their enemies by throwing pizzas in their faces or something like that.

Donatello has a fun short fight with Shredder in the first Howie episode, btw.

That was great because otherwise, seasons 4–5 suffered the most from censors (when the TMNT peaked in popularity).

[pferreira]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Lots of people are perfectly fine putting their kids' toys in a box once they get to a certain point, looking back on them fondly but not still engaging with them on the same level as they did when they were children, and they don't feel that they, as adults, still have to display the same reverence for something they liked when they were eight that they did back then.

I'm finding the show is a lot better than I remember actually. But I'm happy to defend it as it's highly underrated creatively. I would definitely seethe show as B-tier quality which ain't bad considering most 80s cartoons were C-tier. I just hate people using the FW series as a toy commercial when animated series today are toy commercials. The last two TMNT series were toy commercials. The FW series was no different however it wasn';t nowhere near as bad as Transformers, something people like neatoman cannot comprehend because they weren't born and do not have the historical knowledge and context.

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

Donatello didn't kick much ass in combat. He would just be big in his mouth, only to have his bo stick broken within the very next moment, while Leonardo and Raphael had to handle the situation.

The genius of Barry Gordon's interpretation was he brought a geeky snobbish frustration and overconfidence as well as sarcasm to the role. His Donnie is the most memorable by default because he stood out more. In comparison 2003 and PD Donnie are wooden geek stereotypes.

[Leo656]

Well, I agree that all cartoons are to some degree toy commercials. I personally have never had any problem with that. I love toys, so yeah, sell me f*cking toys, cartoon shows. I ain't mad at ya.

I just find it rather silly when people try way too hard looking for depth in this or any show that isn't there by design. Anyone watching FW TMNT for the first time as an adult sees it exactly for what it is, while people who grew up with it subscribe all sorts of undue reverence and imaginary "depth" towards and upon it, whether it's earned or not. Is it a terrible, worthless show? No. But is it as good as most people remember? Not by half.

I mean, we've all done it. I grew up revering Thundercats, and I still love it to a certain degree, but man, Lion-O is a f*cking wimp and the plot of almost every single episode is him getting in over his head and crying for help until everyone else shows up and saves him. His catchphrase should have been "Thundercats, HELP!" instead of "Thundercats, HO!", because he was a goddamn bitch. I still like the show, and as a kid it was one of my very favorites, but I also can acknowledge when things haven't aged well, or weren't all that great in the first place.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Well, I agree that all cartoons are to some degree toy commercials. I personally have never had any problem with that. I love toys, so yeah, sell me f*cking toys, cartoon shows. I ain't mad at ya.

I just find it rather silly when people try way too hard looking for depth in this or any show that isn't there by design. Anyone watching FW TMNT for the first time as an adult sees it exactly for what it is, while people who grew up with it subscribe all sorts of undue reverence and imaginary "depth" towards and upon it, whether it's earned or not. Is it a terrible, worthless show? No. But is it as good as most people remember? Not by half.

I mean, we've all done it. I grew up revering Thundercats, and I still love it to a certain degree, but man, Lion-O is a f*cking wimp and the plot of almost every single episode is him getting in over his head and crying for help until everyone else shows up and saves him. His catchphrase should have been "Thundercats, HELP!" instead of "Thundercats, HO!", because he was a goddamn bitch. I still like the show, and as a kid it was one of my very favorites, but I also can acknowledge when things haven't aged well, or weren't all that great in the first place.

If you ask for depth, don't watch or read children's cartoons and comics (which after all is what everything TMNT-related is except Mirage-Image).

[Wesley]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Well, I agree that all cartoons are to some degree toy commercials. I personally have never had any problem with that. I love toys, so yeah, sell me f*cking toys, cartoon shows. I ain't mad at ya.

I just find it rather silly when people try way too hard looking for depth in this or any show that isn't there by design. Anyone watching FW TMNT for the first time as an adult sees it exactly for what it is, while people who grew up with it subscribe all sorts of undue reverence and imaginary "depth" towards and upon it, whether it's earned or not. Is it a terrible, worthless show? No. But is it as good as most people remember? Not by half.

I mean, we've all done it. I grew up revering Thundercats, and I still love it to a certain degree, but man, Lion-O is a f*cking wimp and the plot of almost every single episode is him getting in over his head and crying for help until everyone else shows up and saves him. His catchphrase should have been "Thundercats, HELP!" instead of "Thundercats, HO!", because he was a goddamn bitch. I still like the show, and as a kid it was one of my very favorites, but I also can acknowledge when things haven't aged well, or weren't all that great in the first place.

Agreed. I never watched Thundercats, but the Fred Wolf toon was one of my favourite shows growing up. Was the best show on the Den (Irish children’s tv strand) imo. I still like it, but I can acknowledge too that a lot of it hasn’t aged well, even though some of the humour went over my head as a kid.

I never watched Saved by the Bell when I was younger. I only watched it for the first time as an adult a few years ago and didn’t think much of it, so I might have had an similar experience with the TMNT 1987 if I never watched it as a kid.

[Xav]

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

Making The Shredder into a reoccurring threat opposed to first threat.

Shredder had already returned in the Mirage comics by the time the FW series aired.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by Prowler

The FW series made him into one of the core villains of the TMNT property.

It also created the concept that Baxter Stockman must always be mutated, mutilated or stuck somewhere.

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by Xav

Shredder had already returned in the Mirage comics by the time the FW series aired.

April 1987 while the series premiered in December. I do wonder though if using Shredder in the five part series is what encouraged his return in #10 as it would have been in development.

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

It also created the concept that Baxter Stockman must always be mutated, mutilated or stuck somewhere.

Baxter Stockman MIGHT have broke free of it with IDW, as the Batman crossovers don't count.

[Voltron]

I'd give credit for expanding the mythos and cementing the Turtles as a cultural mainstay. It was the FW series that launched the TMNT into the limelight. A large chunk of what we get today is because the original cartoon became so popular.

I think the fact that the we're discussing this on a website called The Technodrome with an image from the FW series on the logo is testament to the impact this show had.

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The toys were awesome, too. I remember getting the Turtle Blimp and the Party Wagon for Christmas. Those things were AWESOME. The action figures looked fantastic as well. I still have fond memories of them to this day.

I don't really buy toys anymore, but the closest I've ever come is a tie between the FW reissues, the NECA movie figures, and those awesome one's straight out of the comics.

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It also bonds people. I remember playing Ninja Turtles every day for years with my friends. We would argue over who got to be which turtle. We would have to use our imaginations to create the weapons out of sticks and other doodads. I still imagine doing karate moves when I think no one's looking.

I think the FW series, for as corny as it is, deserves a LOT of credit for giving us something to talk about.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

April 1987 while the series premiered in December. I do wonder though if using Shredder in the five part series is what encouraged his return in #10 as it would have been in development.


Baxter Stockman MIGHT have broke free of it with IDW, as the Batman crossovers don't count.

I hope so. Reusing a Human and deadly Baxter Stockman with cool deadly plots is so much better than all Mad Scientist of the Week episodes (like Filo Sopho and Lloyd Cycloid).

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

I hope so. Reusing a Human and deadly Baxter Stockman with cool deadly plots is so much better than all Mad Scientist of the Week episodes (like Filo Sopho and Lloyd Cycloid).

We did not need all the different mad scientist and mob heads. It would have benefited by reusing the same ones building up threats. For example Big Louie could have overtaken Don Turteli's turf because his methods were outdated and seen the two of them as rival mobs like a Godfather type and a guy living up to a family's criminal legacy and needing to update his methods or else be swallowed.

Mad scientist? Not much to speak of. Sofo appeared twice, the others once? Mad scientist were more of a seasons 4 to 6 thing. I can understand the need for a reoccurring one, but outside of Baxter not one truly sticks out especially as a threat. That being said I can understand demutating Baxter. The 2012 cartoon did,but he never appeared again after that. I feel like it would reform him,but you never know.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

We did not need all the different mad scientist and mob heads.

I think we need at least:

Two extraterrestrial species (so they can fight space war with rayguns and spacecraft equipped with laser cannons and missiles against each other)

Two mob heads (so they can fight gangster conflicts against each other)

Two ninja clans from Japan (so they can be rivals)

Two mad scientists (so they can compete). Why not Baxter Stockman and his brother Barney?

Two New York City street gangs (so they can fight gang turf conflicts against each other)

[Wesley]

Originally Posted by Voltron

I'd give credit for expanding the mythos and cementing the Turtles as a cultural mainstay. It was the FW series that launched the TMNT into the limelight. A large chunk of what we get today is because the original cartoon became so popular.

I think the fact that the we're discussing this on a website called The Technodrome with an image from the FW series on the logo is testament to the impact this show had.

_________________________________

The toys were awesome, too. I remember getting the Turtle Blimp and the Party Wagon for Christmas. Those things were AWESOME. The action figures looked fantastic as well. I still have fond memories of them to this day.

I don't really buy toys anymore, but the closest I've ever come is a tie between the FW reissues, the NECA movie figures, and those awesome one's straight out of the comics.

_________________________________

It also bonds people. I remember playing Ninja Turtles every day for years with my friends. We would argue over who got to be which turtle. We would have to use our imaginations to create the weapons out of sticks and other doodads. I still imagine doing karate moves when I think no one's looking.

I think the FW series, for as corny as it is, deserves a LOT of credit for giving us something to talk about.

I agree with mostly everything Voltron said. If it wasn’t for the FW series, most of us probably would never have become big TMNT fans in the first place. Easy to forget with so many different versions of TMNT nowadays.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Wesley

I agree with mostly everything Voltron said. If it wasn’t for the FW series, most of us probably would never have become big TMNT fans in the first place. Easy to forget with so many different versions of TMNT nowadays.

Yeah. If it wasn't for that series, TMNT would be known to only a very small percentage of the world population.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Yeah. If it wasn't for that series, TMNT would be known to only a very small percentage of the world population.

It's true TMNT needed a more children- and family friendly cartoon and comic to become bigger. But could also have been another studio than Fred Wolf Studios, and another comic publushing company than Archie Comics

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

I think we need at least:

Two mob heads (so they can fight gangster conflicts against each other)

Two ninja clans from Japan (so they can be rivals)

Two mad scientists (so they can compete). Why not Baxter Stockman and his brother Barney?

Two New York City street gangs (so they can fight gang turf conflicts against each other)

That is what I envisioned above with Big Louie above and perhaps Don Turteli. I don't know about the rule of two for the other groups though. One street gang featured is enough. Mad scientist? Baxter is all you need.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Multi-coloured bandanas. I don't know if it deserves any credit for that, it's just something we take for granted.

Splinter starting his life as Hamato Yoshi.