What the best way to be a fan of the series. *Your opinions, please*

[Turtledude2k3]

Hello.

How do you consider people to be a fan of the show? Do they need to watch the shows only? Buy the dvds of the old and new tmnt?

I grew up playing the TMNT games on the nes and snes, I watched many episodes of the TMNT when it was on, I have the first season of the original tmnt, I watched every episode of the new series on foxbox.

My question is how do i know I am fan of the series? I mean I call myself turtledude 2k3, I believe I am not a fan at all.

I do know my friend owns like 10 issues of the tmnt comics the black and white ones the very first ones..

[Karpo_007]

How do you know you are a fan? You watch the show and like it. I don't think it takes more than that. Of course if you want and have the cash, you can support the people who make it by buying the merchandise.

[THE-X-FLO]

I consider myself as a TMNT fan even though I never buy anything related to the TMNT (the last thing I bought was maybe a figurine 10 years ago).

But it's something I think about almost every day, I think about the old and new show, I know many catch phrases.. You don't need to spend money to prove yourself you're a true fan.

[marleynaki]

I GROW UP WITH TMNT...in 1987..
and now i watch the new..

also i am collector of the figures... the new and old ( more the news figures)
and if i can also the dvds...but i cant... :-?

[XERO]

I tend to take my 5th Turtle persona as far as possible, so that shows people how committed I am.

However, people usually get the category mixed up.

It doesn't take how many toys, videogames, movies, or pictures you have, or how many quotes you can recite, or how green you paint your face, or if you got all the weapons, or if you even study Ninjitsu (If you do that just for the TMNT, then you should get a second opinion! :P )

Being a fan is how you look at it, you know, quality over quantity. I guess that as long as you like the TMNT, then you are a fan. How far you push your boundaries is up to you. :)

[Spitfire]

My question is how do i know I am fan of the series? I mean I call myself turtledude 2k3, I believe I am not a fan at all.

If your not a fan then you wouldnt be here, unless you hated TMNT and wanted to make fun of it's fans. But if you did that you wouldnt be here to make this topic.
Your a fan if you like the TMNT. You dont need to own anything, read the comics, or watch the show. You just need to like them. A devoted fan however would do the things I listed above

[Jester]

A fan just likes the franchise....
A good fan contemplates characters and their motives. They look deep into a character and search out why they do what they do. They wonder if Splinter uses the cane due to age, or from his nexus injury @ the hands of Draco. They can see the depth of Karai's character; respect her, but not necessarily like her. They wonder what a certain situation would do to a character. Would Raph sacrifice himself for his family? Why would Leo leave Splinter to die? Would he fight till the end, or obey his master’s wishes to save his brothers?
So what makes a fan....it varies...what makes a good fan is digging deep and making the characters real people and exploring their foibles...:P

[MrPliggins]

I don't buy any of the new merchandise besides the mirage comics, but I do watch all the shows. Back in the original TMNT cartoon's day, I collected anything and everything. Now I don't, but I believe I'm still a fan.

[Snowkat]

I guess your a fan if ya watch the show and like the characters. Personally I think there are different levels of being a fan. You have the newcomer fan, the common fan, the irregular fan, and the obsessed fan, I made a list of more before but I can't remember them all.

[Jester]

There is a little thing i like to call Moderation...that's what makes a good fan. A good fan can delve deep and study the characters and make them seem more real, but in the end they realize that they are imaginary creatures developed by 2 men in New Hampshire. U can get to know the characters with out having to "know" them in the biblical sence...:P

[KROW]

I'm more of the common fan. I watch the show, read the books, and I rarely buy the toys. I don't get too involved with detail on exact points of their history or ability or inner thoughts, but simply see what I see and get entertained. That's all it boils down to for me.

I really cannot grasp (and I do believe I've said this before) the idea on how someone can get so obsessed, so into a franchise, be it the Ninja Turtles or something else, that they model their entire lives by it, swear by the ideals from it, and spread that word to their children, if any. To me that's going a bit overboard. There has to be a line somewhere.

Also, and this is just my opinion so take it as you will (grain of salt or shrug of shoulder), I cannot understand the fascination some people have with the characters in a more intimate capacity. To be fair, it cuts both ways. There are the men who lust after April, or Karai, or even Irma, and fantasize to an extreme and obscene amount. To me, that's a bit disturbing. Picturing them in certain ways and all that is okay for minute or two, but once it ensnares your life, there's a problem.

There's also the women who take the turtles as if they're human simply because they have human qualities. I really can't fathom this, either. I can understand liking and admiring certain ones for their attitude/personality, but taking it as far as daydreaming and fantasizing about them in the ways that the men do about the women characters? That, to me, just seems to lean a little south of sanity. I really don't get it, and certainly don't get how it could lead to such explicit lengths in some women.

I'm not saying this is a horrible or sinful thing, nor am I saying this to ruffle feathers. This is simply my look on the subject.

[Duke]

I agree w/ you krow.

[jestergoblin]

I was going to make some comment that being a real fan means getting angry about every little change and being unable to accept them on any grounds. The ones who feel Laird owes them something because they were there at the beginning. Or who complain about every toy Playmates makes. And hate the new comic. And the new show. And the old show. And all the comics that came after issue #11 of the first series.

Or the real fans are the ones who can accept what we've gotten and enjoy it. Sure, the old show may be corny by today's standards but I still appreciate what it did for me and my childhood. Or we read the comics, find them interesting and understand that characters don't always stay the same or grow exactly as we predicted.

If you can enjoy TMNT for what it is, a great fictional epic, then you are a true fan.

[Jester]

here Here Gobby...:P I catch myself complaining about at least the playmates toys...maybe i sould be happy that they make um...:P

[zkarlette]

and that the old toon DVDs came out :D

[Jester]

Oh I am sis....i just finished watching it a couple days ago...really brought back some memories...:P

[Anarky]

I call myself a TMNT-fan, I don't care what franchise. I do not wear the TMNT-shirts, I don't own anything but a couple of episodes and one comic book, I am not in love with Raph or Don, neither do I feel the need to give them nicknames. I just happen to like the whole thing. There's no favourite character, there's no character I wish to be dead, there's no vilian I really hate or anything. I just watch the show and enjoy it. I don't go "Oh, hell, they've just hit Mikey on the nose" or "My god, Donny, I feel your pain." They are products of someone's imagination after all. I just seem to enjoy the thing that has become of them.

The old toon was a piece of my youth, there's no way I could've missed even one episode of the TMNT. I used to have a Donatello figurine, but it's now at my dad's and I don't feel like going after it.

The new toon is just something I have to watch because I happen to like the TMNT since I was a little boy.

But I can say, the TMNT are just great, I like them how they are and where the whole TMNT-idea is going.

[Leatherhead1984]

I just watch the new show and buy the comics.

[XERO]

I admit it. I haven't seen every episode of the old Cartoon. I don't have all the toys. I lost my TMNT GameCube game. :cry: I don't have any of the DVDs. I never got to tape the 3rd season of the new Cartoon. I've never went to the concerts. I've never seen the anime. I can't draw them that good. I don't have a single comic, nor have I read a single...comic. Does that not make me a fan? :|

I even question my 5th Turtle persona, sometimes. Is it really nessecary? I know that most people hate to have the idea stuffed down their throats. Well, I guess somebody has to do it. I mean, out of all the 5th Turtle ideas out there, I'm pretty much the only person who brought mine mainstream, because I like to do it. I do it because it's fun. I do it because I choose to. Because I am a fan.

Simply put, I love the TMNT and everything they represent.

But I live without the TMNT? Yes. Infact, if they never existed, my life would've turned out different. Truthfully.

Then again, TMNT probably saved my life plenty of times and I didn't even know it.

Example: One of your friends wants to give you ride in his/her new car, but you turned it down to watch a new episode or whatever is TMNT related. He/She becomes pissed at you and even questions your so called 'maturity', and drives off. Later, his/her parents call you and tell you there's been an accident...See where I'm going with this? But don't worry, he's/she's ok.

You could even switch that around, and say that the TMNT was the cause of the accident, which I hope never happens to anyone here.

What I'm saying is, being a fan, you're still vulnerable. But being a fan also is benefical.

I am a TMNT fan, but they do not own my life. However, they do affect it.

And that is ok with me. :)

[BigApple3AM]

Moaning about toys is actually a good thing. You shouldn't just accept everyting Playmates puts out, you should let them know how you feel. As a consumer you're the one who decides if you want to buy it or not, if you don't like something you should voice your opinion instead of being like everyone else... spineless. I completely disagree with Jestergoblin. Just becuase you don't like a certain part of the turtles vast lifespan doesn't mean you aren't a "true" fan. If you think about it, what is a "true" fan, is there such a thing? Especially on something that isn't reality? I think you have to decide inside yourself if you're a fan. You don't need to watch the show, don't need to read the comics or buy the toys, but if you like TMNT on the inside, great. Don't let anyone else tell you what a "true" fan is, you need to decide for yourself.

[TheShowstoppa]

Dictionary.com defines a fan as "an ardent follower and admirer." But where does the term fan begin and end?

I do not feel you need to have hundreds of items of merch. That, in all areas just makes you plain obsessed. (See VH1's Obsessed ep with the chick who has all that Ninja Turtle stuff... that's just a little overboard!) Some people cannot afford the merch.

You don't need to read the comic either. So many newer and younger people are being introduced to TMNT everyday or weekly just by turning on their TV. They, in turn will become fans.

You also don't need to have watched the 87 toon before the 01 toon, nor do you have to have watched the movies before either and vice-versa.

What makes you a fan is just your own personal interest. Nothing more, nothing less. If you feel that you can watch the TMNT without going ape-sh*t on merch and movies, you're a fan. If you feel the need to buy an array assortment of figures and clothes because you like it, then you're a fan. You make the term what it is, and that is that.

I am what I like to call a die-hard-fan. I buy merch, watch the show, and buy the DVDs. This doesn't make me a bigger fan that the 8 yo down the road, it just means I'm a more unique type of fan in that I've been doing what I do for 15 years.

[lilonardo]

I can give a few tips

Collect every episode
Collect every turtles videogame
listen to the theme song in every available language

[NightwatchersOnlygirl]

Just follow the new series on TV and see some the old school series as well :lol:

[OA]

I do not feel you need to have hundreds of items of merch. That, in all areas just makes you plain obsessed. (See VH1's Obsessed ep with the chick who has all that Ninja Turtle stuff... that's just a little overboard!) Some people cannot afford the merch.

I would have to disagree with that. As a fan who has a pretty large collection of tmnt items i do not feel that becuase i buy these things I am obsessed. I am thankful to be in a position where i have some extra money to spend on them. I choose to spend my money on things i enjoy: movies, music, maybe a football game...and i buy tmnt things. I do not obsess over them, dream about them, want to be them, etc...but i do enjoy owning these items, going after them in stores and on eBay...for me its just fun...and it make for great conversation when people come over and flip out when they see what i got! :)

For me personally, i see a fan of the tmnt as someone who enjoys them in ANY capacity. Wether that be just watching the shows, or readin the comics, or picking up the toys, etc....i don't think you have to do any of these things to an extreme (i.e. in depth character analysis) to be a "true fan"...i honestly feel that if you have to question wether or not you're a fan, then you are not....it's something you just KNOW..this goes for TMNT fandom and everything else (i.e. football fan, Lord of the Rings, etc.)...