Why were the Red Sky seasons so short???

[Brothaman]

Ok I was looking at all the episode guide at tvtome.com. all the way from Season 8 to 10... the eps are so short. There had to be about 8 episodes a season where in the older episodes... there were like 20 to even 30 just about.

[Karpo_007]

I don't know. Well it is certain that the used much more time in amking those, The animation quality is in totally diffrent class. Think of it this way: The first season had only 5.

[Nickokapo]

My guess is because they worked more on the animation quality and also because the power rangers had more rating....it could be a totally different reason tho.
But the tmnt cartoon's like that, some seasons have very few episodes (like season 1) and another ones have a crapload of eps (like season 3)

[Ninja Turtles Cartoon Fan]

The reason I think the Red Sky episodes were so few in number is because there was only one writer for each season. David Wise wrote all the episodes for Seasons 8 and 9, and Jeffrey Scott wrote all the episodes for Season 10.

It wasn't like other seasons where there were multiple writers all contributing stories. Just look at Seasons 3 and 4, for example. There were many writers during those seasons; hence, that is why there were so many episodes.

"Sensei, I hope you're right."
"I hope I am, too, my son."

Michaelangelo and Splinter, from "What's Michaelangelo Good For?"

[Deathknight]

Season 8 should've been longer but season 9 and 10 were painful to watch sometimes. I hate Dregg, always have, always will.

[Nickokapo]

I didn't know that :D seems like a good reason to me.
And on second thought the ratings probably only stopped the cartoon from having any new seasons, not new episodes, so now i doubt it affected the lenght of the red sky seasons.

[Karpo_007]

Yeah the writher thing could be a part reason. But atleast there is a real story with continyity.

[ChibiKasai]

Correct me if I'm wrong (which I most likely am), but weren't the other seasons made for/shown in syndication 5 days a week, where as the Red Sky eps were only on Saturday mornings?
That could be a good reason why there are so fewer episodes.

[Karpo_007]

I don'y know how they were aired in the Us, but that makes sense.

[Ninja Turtles Cartoon Fan]

Correct me if I'm wrong (which I most likely am), but weren't the other seasons made for/shown in syndication 5 days a week, where as the Red Sky eps were only on Saturday mornings?
That could be a good reason why there are so fewer episodes.

I believe the first three seasons were continually shown in syndication on FOX and USA. After a while, the CBS episodes that aired weekly were eventually aired daily on the USA network, while new episodes were still being broadcast on CBS.

There could be many reasons why there were fewer episodes. Another theory that I've tossed around is that by the time the Red Sky episodes were airing, the Ninja Turtles were losing steam with viewers. The introduction of the Red Sky episodes brought back a little interest in Season 8, but then when Dregg and Company were brought in for Seasons 9 and 10, only the hardest of hardcore viewers continued to tune in every week.

"You foolish little beings have no concept of my power!" - Dregg, from "Divine and Conquer"

[Reznorite420]

Think of it this way: The first season had only 5.Yes, but the first season didn't really start out as a "season" per se. It was supposed to end after that little 5-part miniseries. It only happend originally so that Playmates could sell the toys.

[Karpo_007]

Yeah, but it is the the best season of them all. 8 comes close, but nothing can beat the first one...

[Reznorite420]

Personally, I think they're tied. The first season had that mood to it that only true TMNT fans (people like us) could understand. Season 8 had the right level of action and almost the same mood, but I liked it more on the basis that it was re-vamped and, to be honest, conformed more to the style of cartoons in that time period. That was a year where I watched cartoons like you wouldn't believe.

[Karpo_007]

Yeah I too think that the 8th season is great. I have heard bad things about 9 and 10, but I can't belive it could be that bad...

[Reznorite420]

Yeah I too think that the 8th season is great. I have heard bad things about 9 and 10, but I can't belive it could be that bad...Believe it...they just don't seem like TMNT to me. Kinda boring IMO, but it won't hurt to see them for yourself at least once and make your own opinion.

[Karpo_007]

Yeah. Well once I have experience about them il probably post it.

[Psycrow]

Since I was an avid watcher of the TMNT for its whole continuity, the sole reason that the Red Sky episodes were so short was because of the dying fanbase the TMNT had. They had hit the end of the road by then, and the cartoon/writers kept trying new things that no one bought into.

[Karpo_007]

The sjow changed for the better, there was good plot and animation, But of course this just by judging few first eps of the 8th season. Well they are Written by David Wise, and so are all the best episodes of the series.

[Ninja Turtles Cartoon Fan]

I read somewhere that the reason the Ninja Turtles cartoon show was scaled back to a half-hour instead of an hour on Saturday mornings was because Season 8 was too dark for Saturday morning TV.

CBS bigheads thought that little kids might be scared by the grimmer-looking Turtles and, thus, switch to another station altogether.

"How could you let that creep get the drop on you?" - Raphael, from "The Unknown Ninja"

[the_minimizer]

I saw a picture of the technodrome that was contributed by someone and it had the red sky on it. But the technodrome was brutally banged up, the eye was gone and it looked terrible. But it didn't even look like a ninja turtles cartoon. The dark branches in the picture and the red sky made it look eerie, like something more of a sci-fi/horror cartoon.

What the writers should've done was to have Shredder go solo for a while and do things without Krang. Like the two would go their own seperate ways.

[Karpo_007]

Actually the Show looked more Ninja Turtles than never before. What it Didn't look like was the Teenage Mutant Slapstick Turtles from seasons before.

[the_minimizer]

Okay, but they didn't have to destroy the technodrome. Jeez.

[Karpo_007]

Well there had to be a little drama... :lol:

[the_minimizer]

I'd say the channel 6 building getting destroyed was pretty dramatic. If they really wanted to boost ratings, they should've just had a few deaths.

[Karpo_007]

Well death isn't usually accebtable in cartoons.... Besides it was part of the plot. It made Burne Thompson hate the turtles...

[Ninja Turtles Cartoon Fan]

I don't think I would have kept watching if there had been actual deaths in the old cartoon. I don't think that would have done anything as far as credibility. It might spike the ratings upwards for an episode or two, but done purely out of shock value, it makes no sense.

But I will admit, Shredder blowing up the Channel 6 building was pretty cool. Even though, on the other hand, it pretty much killed off a part of April O'Neil's character. And none of her former pals - Irma, Vernon, Burne Thompson - were ever heard from again after the season in which the Channel 6 building was blown up.

"I . . . never . . . bluff!" - Shredder, from "Get Shredder!"

[Karpo_007]

Well basicly the whole show changed. Less Slapstick, more action. And action has always be a big part In TMNT universe.

[Nickokapo]

I wondered today when i was chatting in irc then mentioned shredder had blowed up channel six in one ep...did burne, vernon and/or irma died when channel six blew up? :| Because we never see them again.

[Ninja Turtles Cartoon Fan]

No. April, Irma, Vernon, Burne Thompson, and whoever else was in the building, were saved by Splinter at the last minute.

April continued to show favor in the writer's eyes, but after the destruction of Channel 6, Irma and Vernon and Burne Thompson were dropped from the show after Season 8.

Why? I don't know. Personally, I think it was a dumb decision. The people April worked with in Seasons 9 and 10 had zero personality. They were totally uninteresting.

Blowing up Channel 6 was indeed cool, but in the long run, it was *ahem* a stupid idea.

"This will burst your balloon, turtles!" - Rocksteady, from "Rhino-Man"

[Nickokapo]

Oh...good, i thought they died :teek:
I agree, getting rid of those 3 was a bad idea, but then again, so was getting rid of shredder and krang...i guess they wanted to make the red sky episodes as different as possible, so they got new villains, and new people for april to work with aswell.
Bleh :dead:

[Brothaman]

What happened to Bebop & Rocksteady??? In Season 10.... Shredder & Krang appeared in that episode from Dregg... but Bebop & Rocksteady were never heard again since Season 8.I liked Season 8 the best because it had almost everyone from the past on there.I would have loved to see more old characters return in the Red Sky eps like Baxter Stockman & more!!

[Nickokapo]

I dunno :-? I guess only shredder and krang came back for season 10, bebop and rocksteady probably stayed at dimension x.