Classic Episode Talkback Thread: Turtle Tracks - Page 6

cammy85 · 03-29-2013, 08:53 PM

I'm guessing he abandoned those operations once he realized his archenemy was alive and he had four new enemies trained in the Foot fighting style to deal with so he pooled all his resources into revenge and new mutants for the remainder of the season. Then Krang pretty much called the shots from then on.

This IS a great opener!! I've been trying to watch these with the fan commentaries but it's hard to pause both when I have to go do something so I haven't tried in awhile.

JohnnyAngel77 · 03-30-2013, 10:30 AM

I just started rewatching the OT. The first episode was really fun as a kid. And I like the nods the first movie gave to it in mimicking some of the scenes.

*DVD* · 03-30-2013, 01:29 PM

I am currently on disc 11 from the Van set.
I watched a few of the episodes last night, but have now totally given up on expecting the order to follow the episodes listed in the booklet.
So I press play all. Then get random episodes. The bluray player recalls where the disc last played from, so when reinserted will just pick up from there.
Splinter Vanishes, and Tempestra's Revenge were the highlights from last night.

During the day, I watched the final battle from 2K3s season 5 finale. That was excellent.

Pterobat · 04-02-2013, 10:10 PM

I realize everyone considers the first season / five-part pilot of the old cartoon to be the ideal for the series: more focused, serious, and earnest. I'm torn--I enjoy it, but I don't think it's as hardcore or as strong as it's made out to be. There are still errors and issues, and sometimes the goofiness of the old cartoon's later seasons became a benefit.

"Turtle Tracks" is one of those episodes that I can't remember if I actually watched, or just knew through exposure to stickers, trading cards, and colouring books.

There's a silly spirit to this episode, though: the weird outfits of the punks, the rope that's "Made in Japan", the bag lady with the machine gun. I suppose the difference is a matter of degree.

And at the same time, "Turtle Tracks" does slowy build up a setting and a plot, which seems positively Shakespearian in comparison to the worst of the later episodes. But by a larger standard, it's not that mind-blowingly great, just fun and good.

It's always interesting to me how April starts off as the protagonist and viewpoint character in the series. By starting this way, it creates an air of
mystery, and it's unconventional because the primary goal of most children's cartoons would be to introduce and focus on the main heroes.

Vernon is pretty ordinary here, with a different voice, acting more like a normal person. But he's still a coward concerned with money.

And April runs right into the wall.

I like the slighlty more abrasive sense of humour the Turtles have in this episode, the more pragmatic way they look at their situation, and the way they treat humans as alien. These are scenes in favour of the first season being better than the rest, but it's still not a simple division.

I realize this comes to an extent from the very idea of having Ninja still exist in the modern day, but the modern cartoon takes this notion a little too far, and treats modern Japan as if it were exactly like Feudal Japan, showing almost nothing modern except some possibly-modern buildings in the opening to Splinter's flashback

I'm not a Mirage purist, but at least the original comics had the characters wearing modern clothing outside of the dojo, and suggested the whole Ninja thing was an ancient secret rather than a regular part of life.

Still, it's not as heavy on the Unfortunate Implications as the way some of these Japanese extras are drawn.

I have no personal preference for what species Splinter began life as. Both origins have their pros and cons, and I was familiar with the rat origin as far
back as when the first movie came out.

It bothers me a bit that the real rats seen in the series don't look a thing like Splinter or any other mutated rats.

Yoshi looks adorable with the Turtles on his head.

Yeah, okay, the explanation of who mutated based on what makes no sense. It's also hilarious the way Yoshi's clothes morph directly to fit his new body,
including Magic Pants that retract into nothingness.

I think what bothers me more, though, is the depiction of the baby turtles growing right into their teenage forms. Not only does it also make no sense, but it kills the chance of telling stories of Splinter raising the little turtles, which are keystones of their father / son relationship.

I'm not saying you can't be a parent to a kid of any age, just that it's easier for the audience to become involved in parenting stories if you start with
younger kids and show them being raised by their parental figure. If the Turtles sprout up into teens right away, there's no chance to tell stories with

Splinter rasing them, and it's probably a major reason why some insist there is no parental overtones to the relationship between Splinter and the Turtles in the old cartoon.

Splinter biting the board in half is awesome, though.

Convenient: "All Night Men's Clothing".

Shredder hanging out in his lair as an evil overlord giving orders is a little boring, actually. He doesn't have much of a sense of class or gravitas, and
the only thing that makes him distinct is his goofy side. However, it is an issue that his criminal empire disappears from the series, because that's a bit
of lost storytelling / joke telling potential. I mean, "Ninja District", come on. That's comedy gold right there.

I'm very certain that's Tress MacNeille doing the voicework for the female extras.

Despite beginning as a protagonist, April is kidnapped and such and so on and so on. Oh well.

It's a cute intro to the series regardless of its faults, and a fun episode in its own right.

*oldmanwinters* · 04-02-2013, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pterobat

It's always interesting to me how April starts off as the protagonist and viewpoint character in the series. By starting this way, it creates an air of
mystery, and it's unconventional because the primary goal of most children's cartoons would be to introduce and focus on the main heroes.

I've always appreciated that about the first episode. It's seems so atypical not to introduce the protagonists of the series in the first minute.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pterobat

Despite beginning as a protagonist, April is kidnapped and such and so on and so on. Oh well.

Yeah, it's pretty much all down hill for poor April after she leaves the Ninja Pizza parlor to investigate the Foot Clan angle.

BlindFaith · 11-16-2014, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill

Great Episode, The Beginning of an Era. It also introduced us to a sort of "Ninja neighbourhood", with a Ninja Pizzeria, Ninja Dry clean, etc. All seemed to be own or ruled by Shredder. What happened with all them? We never saw them again.

It would be awesome to have follow the plot where The Shredder controls a part of the city with human ninjas, offering "securityti services" as well as his continuing his alliance with Krang.

I think the ninja neighborhood is just businesses set-up to hide his shady operations and maybe for money laundering and what not. All of the workers are just Shredder's thugs and he has cameras everywhere to spy on people who come and go. One of the Turtles also calls the neighborhood "suspicious" and April calls it "Strange"

I think why we don't see the neighborhood again is because it gets blown up/washed away when the Security Services building explodes because they are in the same vicinity. One of the Turtles also says, while all 4 of them and April are hanging on the rope, overlooking the explosion that "I think this crime wave is a wash out!"

I love this opening episode. Great back story of Hamato Yoshi and Oroku Saki and a really epic fight on the rooftop vs the Foot soldiers makes this a really memorable episode.

It also leaves open a lot of interesting unanswered questions that makes viewers want to find out what happens next. Who or what is the Technodrome? Who is the guy with the metal mask and what does he want? Who or what are those robots? Will April ever finish her news report?

*Hero* · 03-31-2016, 03:46 PM

Just introduced my kids to this series. They love it! Nice to see later generations enjoying this 30 years on.

I started with this episode (and the following 4) as a taster to introduce what TMNT was like "when I were a nipper". Turtle Tracks still succeeds 3 decades later as a captivating introduction.

*Wesley* · 04-01-2016, 10:09 AM

Great opening episode. I hadn't watched it in ages, but I rewatched it a few years ago and thought it was awesome. This episode along with the other four in season one hold up well and I actually enjoyed this season more as an adult, as a lot of the humour went over my head as a kid.

*ranger_scout* · 06-21-2018, 10:01 AM

This is my 1,500th post here, so I thought I should write it in a thread about a classic episode. When I rewatched this after buying the re-release of the full series, Splinter said that he made the turtles his wards after they mutated. I wonder if the people behind this series decided to make that choice after an extremely popular 1960's TV series, Batman, had the titular character make a teenager his ward instead of his son.

*Prowler* · 07-21-2018, 05:38 PM

For those who watch more action and superhero cartoons, how would you guys compare Turtle Tracks to other debut episodes of other action cartoons? Because Turtle Tracks sure was a great episode. I have a lot of nostalgia for the FW series, but when your first episode out of 194 episodes in total is arguably the best episode or at least top 5 in the series then it really shows you how the show has lost quality as it went on. Season 1 is one of the best seasons of the show and it was only 5 episodes long!

Turtle Tracks is an episode that will never get old. I'll always love this episode and will never forget the sense of excitement I felt the first time I watched this episode and then Enter: The Shredder. Really great introduction to the Turtles and the cartoon itself.

04-02-2013, 10:10 PM	#104
Pterobat Hench Mutant Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 380	I realize everyone considers the first season / five-part pilot of the old cartoon to be the ideal for the series: more focused, serious, and earnest. I'm torn--I enjoy it, but I don't think it's as hardcore or as strong as it's made out to be. There are still errors and issues, and sometimes the goofiness of the old cartoon's later seasons became a benefit. "Turtle Tracks" is one of those episodes that I can't remember if I actually watched, or just knew through exposure to stickers, trading cards, and colouring books. There's a silly spirit to this episode, though: the weird outfits of the punks, the rope that's "Made in Japan", the bag lady with the machine gun. I suppose the difference is a matter of degree. And at the same time, "Turtle Tracks" does slowy build up a setting and a plot, which seems positively Shakespearian in comparison to the worst of the later episodes. But by a larger standard, it's not that mind-blowingly great, just fun and good. It's always interesting to me how April starts off as the protagonist and viewpoint character in the series. By starting this way, it creates an air of mystery, and it's unconventional because the primary goal of most children's cartoons would be to introduce and focus on the main heroes. Vernon is pretty ordinary here, with a different voice, acting more like a normal person. But he's still a coward concerned with money. And April runs right into the wall. I like the slighlty more abrasive sense of humour the Turtles have in this episode, the more pragmatic way they look at their situation, and the way they treat humans as alien. These are scenes in favour of the first season being better than the rest, but it's still not a simple division. I realize this comes to an extent from the very idea of having Ninja still exist in the modern day, but the modern cartoon takes this notion a little too far, and treats modern Japan as if it were exactly like Feudal Japan, showing almost nothing modern except some possibly-modern buildings in the opening to Splinter's flashback I'm not a Mirage purist, but at least the original comics had the characters wearing modern clothing outside of the dojo, and suggested the whole Ninja thing was an ancient secret rather than a regular part of life. Still, it's not as heavy on the Unfortunate Implications as the way some of these Japanese extras are drawn. I have no personal preference for what species Splinter began life as. Both origins have their pros and cons, and I was familiar with the rat origin as far back as when the first movie came out. It bothers me a bit that the real rats seen in the series don't look a thing like Splinter or any other mutated rats. Yoshi looks adorable with the Turtles on his head. Yeah, okay, the explanation of who mutated based on what makes no sense. It's also hilarious the way Yoshi's clothes morph directly to fit his new body, including Magic Pants that retract into nothingness. I think what bothers me more, though, is the depiction of the baby turtles growing right into their teenage forms. Not only does it also make no sense, but it kills the chance of telling stories of Splinter raising the little turtles, which are keystones of their father / son relationship. I'm not saying you can't be a parent to a kid of any age, just that it's easier for the audience to become involved in parenting stories if you start with younger kids and show them being raised by their parental figure. If the Turtles sprout up into teens right away, there's no chance to tell stories with Splinter rasing them, and it's probably a major reason why some insist there is no parental overtones to the relationship between Splinter and the Turtles in the old cartoon. Splinter biting the board in half is awesome, though. Convenient: "All Night Men's Clothing". Shredder hanging out in his lair as an evil overlord giving orders is a little boring, actually. He doesn't have much of a sense of class or gravitas, and the only thing that makes him distinct is his goofy side. However, it is an issue that his criminal empire disappears from the series, because that's a bit of lost storytelling / joke telling potential. I mean, "Ninja District", come on. That's comedy gold right there. I'm very certain that's Tress MacNeille doing the voicework for the female extras. Despite beginning as a protagonist, April is kidnapped and such and so on and so on. Oh well. It's a cute intro to the series regardless of its faults, and a fun episode in its own right. __________________ "No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream"--Shirley Jackson http://pterobat.tumblr.com

03-31-2016, 03:46 PM	#107
Hero British Bloke Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Bristol, UK Posts: 2,295	Just introduced my kids to this series. They love it! Nice to see later generations enjoying this 30 years on. I started with this episode (and the following 4) as a taster to introduce what TMNT was like "when I were a nipper". Turtle Tracks still succeeds 3 decades later as a captivating introduction. __________________ Go Green Machine My Facebook -My Tumblr - My Art - Figured 0ut - My Awesome Instagram

04-01-2016, 10:09 AM	#108
Wesley Mad Scientist Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Republic of Ireland Posts: 1,589	Great opening episode. I hadn't watched it in ages, but I rewatched it a few years ago and thought it was awesome. This episode along with the other four in season one hold up well and I actually enjoyed this season more as an adult, as a lot of the humour went over my head as a kid. __________________ 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; 04-01-2016 at 10:23 AM.

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03-29-2013, 08:53 PM	#101
cammy85 Stone Warrior Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Minnedosa, MB Canada Posts: 703	I'm guessing he abandoned those operations once he realized his archenemy was alive and he had four new enemies trained in the Foot fighting style to deal with so he pooled all his resources into revenge and new mutants for the remainder of the season. Then Krang pretty much called the shots from then on. This IS a great opener!! I've been trying to watch these with the fan commentaries but it's hard to pause both when I have to go do something so I haven't tried in awhile.

03-30-2013, 10:30 AM	#102
JohnnyAngel77 Random Punk Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: OKC Posts: 30	I just started rewatching the OT. The first episode was really fun as a kid. And I like the nods the first movie gave to it in mimicking some of the scenes.

03-30-2013, 01:29 PM	#103
DVD Mad Scientist Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Shanghai Posts: 2,066	I am currently on disc 11 from the Van set. I watched a few of the episodes last night, but have now totally given up on expecting the order to follow the episodes listed in the booklet. So I press play all. Then get random episodes. The bluray player recalls where the disc last played from, so when reinserted will just pick up from there. Splinter Vanishes, and Tempestra's Revenge were the highlights from last night. During the day, I watched the final battle from 2K3s season 5 finale. That was excellent.

06-21-2018, 10:01 AM	#109
ranger_scout Foot Elite Join Date: May 2014 Location: Texas Posts: 3,054	This is my 1,500th post here, so I thought I should write it in a thread about a classic episode. When I rewatched this after buying the re-release of the full series, Splinter said that he made the turtles his wards after they mutated. I wonder if the people behind this series decided to make that choice after an extremely popular 1960's TV series, *Batman*, had the titular character make a teenager his ward instead of his son.

07-21-2018, 05:38 PM	#110
Prowler Emperor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Portugal Posts: 8,909	For those who watch more action and superhero cartoons, how would you guys compare Turtle Tracks to other debut episodes of other action cartoons? Because Turtle Tracks sure was a great episode. I have a lot of nostalgia for the FW series, but when your first episode out of 194 episodes in total is arguably the best episode or at least top 5 in the series then it really shows you how the show has lost quality as it went on. Season 1 is one of the best seasons of the show and it was only 5 episodes long! Turtle Tracks is an episode that will never get old. I'll always love this episode and will never forget the sense of excitement I felt the first time I watched this episode and then Enter: The Shredder. Really great introduction to the Turtles and the cartoon itself.