Underrated Fred Wolf series' episodes - Page 3

~~AquaParade~~ · 03-26-2018, 10:36 AM

Because "underrated" is such a hard thing to pin down, I'll take a slight liberty and mention the first season of Fred Wolf, relative to the rest of the series. One could argue, in comparison, season 1 is underrated.

To me, there is a discernible difference in quality between Season 1 and the rest of the series. A slightly edgier tone, smoother animation, and a strong, serialized plotline from beginning to end.
The classic intro to the cartoon seems to represent the tone of the first season and pair with it more fittingly than the more goofy, colorful, and slapstick episodes we got later on.

Don't let me exaggerate though. I wouldn't say the differences between Season one and the rest of the show are exactly "night and day". And I'm definitely not trying to argue that one portion of the show was intended for mature audiences, while the rest was "Just a children's cartoon. The goofy jokes and irreverence were there from the start.

For my personal tastes, I'd probably still go back and watch this series from time to time, had it continued in it's initial direction. Not that there is anything wrong, necessarily, with the path they took.

*MikeandRaph87* · 03-26-2018, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AquaParade

Because "underrated" is such a hard thing to pin down, I'll take a slight liberty and mention the first season of Fred Wolf, relative to the rest of the series. One could argue, in comparison, season 1 is underrated.

To me, there is a discernible difference in quality between Season 1 and the rest of the series. A slightly edgier tone, smoother animation, and a strong, serialized plotline from beginning to end.
The classic intro to the cartoon seems to represent the tone of the first season and pair with it more fittingly than the more goofy, colorful, and slapstick episodes we got later on.

Don't let me exaggerate though. I wouldn't say the differences between Season one and the rest of the show are exactly "night and day". And I'm definitely not trying to argue that one portion of the show was intended for mature audiences, while the rest was "Just a children's cartoon. The goofy jokes and irreverence were there from the start.

For my personal tastes, I'd probably still go back and watch this series from time to time, had it continued in it's initial direction. Not that there is anything wrong, necessarily, with the path they took.

of those first five I would argue A Thing About Rats, episode 3 is underrated. Raphael threatens Baxter's life and Shredder attempts to have the foot soldiers kill the poor scientist. Michelangelo is the star as he volunteers himself to infiltrate the abandoned house, meets Krang, and will become the Turtle Van.The comedy of the Turtles first visit to April's apartment is as odd as Michelangelo's first surface trip in the 2012 because they watch a lot of television. It is a shame the mousers never showed up again especially being a secondary minion to bust in the video games.

*FredWolfLeonardo* · 03-26-2018, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkFell

What about the episodes that Usagi Yojimbo appeared in? Are those underrated or nah?

How about The Old Switcheroo episode?

Those are among the better liked episodes so I wouldn't exactly call them underrated relative to the whole series, but on their own, they do get criticized for Usagi's portrayal and the body swap trope for example, so I can see why people think they aren't appreciated enough.

I thought the season 4 finale "Unidentified Flying Leonardo" was underrated. The setup was extremely goofy and there was no Shredder and Krang, but its nice to see the turtles out of their element every once in a while. I remember enjoying the episode alot on my first marathon for some reason and watched it again before moving onto season 5.

*CyberCubed* · 03-26-2018, 02:11 PM

The ep where Raph switches bodies with a random taxi driver is oddly hilarious.

*Prowler* · 03-26-2018, 02:45 PM

That episode with the wax figure guy was also pretty good. The Turtles had a lot of trouble beating him. Problem is, that episode had rather lousy animation. Safe goes for the Rondo episode. Lots of season 4 episodes has poor animation.

The first Howie episode is decent. It has a cool fight between Donatello and Shredder. That's the main reason I've watched that episode more than once.

*DarkFell* · 03-26-2018, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AquaParade

Because "underrated" is such a hard thing to pin down, I'll take a slight liberty and mention the first season of Fred Wolf, relative to the rest of the series. One could argue, in comparison, season 1 is underrated.

To me, there is a discernible difference in quality between Season 1 and the rest of the series. A slightly edgier tone, smoother animation, and a strong, serialized plotline from beginning to end.
The classic intro to the cartoon seems to represent the tone of the first season and pair with it more fittingly than the more goofy, colorful, and slapstick episodes we got later on.

Don't let me exaggerate though. I wouldn't say the differences between Season one and the rest of the show are exactly "night and day". And I'm definitely not trying to argue that one portion of the show was intended for mature audiences, while the rest was "Just a children's cartoon. The goofy jokes and irreverence were there from the start.

I can agree with this. As much as I grew to like the later seasons of the OT, part of me still would have liked to see the elements within the First Season, transition onward towards the rest of the series. Maybe we would have seen the Turtles mature in attitude, but they still could have been just as enjoyable.

~~ABrown~~ · 03-27-2018, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

I also thought Red Sky is very underrated in that so many people want nothing to do with those episodes, declaring that they're not a part of the 80s show.

I agree that the Red Sky era as a whole is completely underrated. I consider it to be when the show was at its best, but most people prefer the style from seasons 1-7.

*Coola Yagami* · 03-27-2018, 02:41 PM

That one episode where they were trying to steal power for the Technodrome.

*Original TMNT Cartoon Fan* · 03-27-2018, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

That one episode where they were trying to steal power for the Technodrome.

One? That happened in at least 20 episodes, if not more.

*FredWolfLeonardo* · 03-27-2018, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

One? That happened in at least 20 episodes, if not more.

That's the joke

I always saw the Lotus Blossom episodes as underrated because alot of people don't like the character. The first episode was comedic gold in my opinion due to the stuff between Shredder and Krang, while the second had some decent character development for Lotus and improved her relationship with Leonardo from being just a love interest to a good friend.

*Wesley* · 03-27-2018, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

I always saw the Lotus Blossom episodes as underrated because alot of people don't like the character. The first episode was comedic gold in my opinion due to the stuff between Shredder and Krang, while the second had some decent character development for Lotus and improved her relationship with Leonardo from being just a love interest to a good friend.

I thought the Lotus Blossom episodes were great as well. Lotus was an interesting character, imo, one of the few morally ambigious characters in the show, at least in her first ep anyway. Didn’t think her eps were underrated, though.

*Original TMNT Cartoon Fan* · 03-27-2018, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wesley

I thought the Lotus Blossom episodes were great as well. Lotus was an interesting character, imo, one of the few morally ambigious characters in the show, at least in her first ep anyway. Didn’t think her eps were underrated, though.

Her first episode is good, but how the heck did Krang spending most time inside the Technodrome, first became aware of Lotus Blossom and first contacted her.

*FredWolfLeonardo* · 03-27-2018, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

Her first episode is good, but how the heck did Krang spending most time inside the Technodrome, first became aware of Lotus Blossom and first contacted her.

Shredder probably told him of the stories he heard of the female ninja in Japan just like Splinter, and then Krang used that to track her down.

*Wesley* · 03-28-2018, 08:51 AM

Pirate Radio comes to mind as underrated too. Great comedy episode. Hilarious to see Shredder as a DJ.

*pferreira* · 03-29-2018, 03:34 PM

Peking Turtle seems to get short drift but I thought it was a pretty good one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkFell

How about The Old Switcheroo episode?

I think that's a pretty excellent episode and proves to naysayers (yes Neatoman, muhahaha!) that the show could be written great. If that's an underrated episode compared to a ridiculous episode like Cowabunga Shredhead being seen as a classic then I'm not sure if the fans know what makes a good episode to be honest.

*Wesley* · 03-30-2018, 11:33 AM

Agree with Peking Turtle. It was a fun episode, imo. It was at least nice to see April and Vernon starting to get on well with each other for a change, even though it was only in the second half of the episode.

*CyberCubed* · 03-30-2018, 02:45 PM

A lot of those early Season 4 eps get a bad rep because they're animated poorly, but the actual stories in them are pretty decent. Nothing special as they're all just sci-fi parodies mostly and slapstick, but a lot are fun to watch.

*pferreira* · 03-30-2018, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

A lot of those early Season 4 eps get a bad rep because they're animated poorly, but the actual stories in them are pretty decent. Nothing special as they're all just sci-fi parodies mostly and slapstick, but a lot are fun to watch.

Agreed and a couple like the one I just mentioned is pretty worthy of attention even if as you say the animation for that episode wasn't very good.

03-27-2018, 02:41 PM	#48
Coola Yagami Overlord Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 14,004	That one episode where they were trying to steal power for the Technodrome. __________________ "I was down with TMNT once, but then they changed what TMNT was. Now what I was down with is no longer TMNT and what TMNT now is seems weird and scary. And it'll happen to YOU." Check out my blog for Comic Reviews and other things. https://markepicblogofrandomness.blogspot.com/ I also started The AEW Crew, the All Elite Wrestling Fan Club! https://www.facebook.com/groups/637508120044168/

03-28-2018, 08:51 AM	#54
Wesley Mad Scientist Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Republic of Ireland Posts: 1,589	Pirate Radio comes to mind as underrated too. Great comedy episode. Hilarious to see Shredder as a DJ. __________________ Donatello: The tracker! It might work. Donatello goes to the back of the Turtle Van Raphael: Shrewd move, Donatello. If we ignore the problem, it might go away by itself. (from The Mean Machines)

03-30-2018, 11:33 AM	#56
Wesley Mad Scientist Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Republic of Ireland Posts: 1,589	Agree with Peking Turtle. It was a fun episode, imo. It was at least nice to see April and Vernon starting to get on well with each other for a change, even though it was only in the second half of the episode. __________________ Donatello: The tracker! It might work. Donatello goes to the back of the Turtle Van Raphael: Shrewd move, Donatello. If we ignore the problem, it might go away by itself. (from The Mean Machines) Last edited by Wesley; 03-30-2018 at 04:12 PM.

03-26-2018, 10:36 AM	#41
~~AquaParade~~ Banned Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 8,450	Because "underrated" is such a hard thing to pin down, I'll take a slight liberty and mention the first season of Fred Wolf, relative to the rest of the series. One could argue, in comparison, season 1 is underrated. To me, there is a discernible difference in quality between Season 1 and the rest of the series. A slightly edgier tone, smoother animation, and a strong, serialized plotline from beginning to end. The classic intro to the cartoon seems to represent the tone of the first season and pair with it more fittingly than the more goofy, colorful, and slapstick episodes we got later on. Don't let me exaggerate though. I wouldn't say the differences between Season one and the rest of the show are exactly "night and day". And I'm definitely not trying to argue that one portion of the show was intended for mature audiences, while the rest was "Just a children's cartoon. The goofy jokes and irreverence were there from the start. For my personal tastes, I'd probably still go back and watch this series from time to time, had it continued in it's initial direction. Not that there is anything wrong, necessarily, with the path they took.

03-26-2018, 02:11 PM	#44
CyberCubed Overlord Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 41,031	The ep where Raph switches bodies with a random taxi driver is oddly hilarious.

03-26-2018, 02:45 PM	#45
Prowler Emperor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Portugal Posts: 8,909	That episode with the wax figure guy was also pretty good. The Turtles had a lot of trouble beating him. Problem is, that episode had rather lousy animation. Safe goes for the Rondo episode. Lots of season 4 episodes has poor animation. The first Howie episode is decent. It has a cool fight between Donatello and Shredder. That's the main reason I've watched that episode more than once.

03-30-2018, 02:45 PM	#57
CyberCubed Overlord Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 41,031	A lot of those early Season 4 eps get a bad rep because they're animated poorly, but the actual stories in them are pretty decent. Nothing special as they're all just sci-fi parodies mostly and slapstick, but a lot are fun to watch.