Things you'd change about the storyline of the original cartoon

[themaxonline]

What are some things you weren't fond of in the original cartoon that you'd change?
I think this is a really broad topic and my oppologies if it's been done before. I'm going through some of the older topics. I hope you guys don't mind if I bump up topics with my replies. If so, tell me and I'll leave them to be read only.

Anyway, I know the show was based a lot around Dimension X but it seemed to me in the beginning it was made to be slightly difficult for there to be any interaction between earth and Dimension X except pretty much when Krang did it with the portal in the technodrome. I think Donatello's dimensional portal certainly worked well in the show but other instances it just seemed too easy. For example, in The Gybryx, a portal just randomly occurred... twice. The second one probably happened because of the Neutrinos but the first one? It seemed too easy. And I just watched 'Plan Six From Outer Space' and somehow Bebop and Rocksteady were able to go back to earth thru a portal (and later back to Dimension X) without any real explanation for how it happened, especially with the Technodrome completely out of commission.

Another thing I didn't like in relation to that was the appearance of a bunch of alien characters, especially in Season 3 you have that alien in Invasion of the Turtle Snatchers and the other one in Camera Bugged.
Everyone made a big deal with the turtles being seen and occasionally, Mr. Thompson or April would make a big deal about "visitors from outer space" but then you'd have random weird aliens coming along but after they left, everything went back to normal. It's as if the people never got used to the idea of aliens visiting on a regular basis. I felt, especially later in the series, that the show became too reliant on the use of aliens as opposed to sticking with whatever Dimension X had and just plain old mutants.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

*Things I didn't like
*Foot robots. (Too easy for the TMNT to destroy. It would have been tougher to fight more humans and try to stop them, because the TMNT never wanted to kill living organisms).
*Too many mutants.
*Too many aliens during season 3 (I only liked the Antarians in the "Invasion of the Turtle Snatchers" episode).
*Too many episodes mainly set in New York City. (I would have like too se them travel more around the USA and other parts of the Earth. They at least visited the Niagara Falls and Europe).

[ZariusTwo]

Would'nt have changed a lick, that's like taking the Simpsons and...oh wait, the actual writers and producers already did f*ck it up...

[DrSpengler]

I suppose my one major complaint is that they stopped using Toei animation on a regular basis after season 1. If I could change only one thing, it would be that they kept Toei though the whole series.

[triplexxx]

*Foot robots. (Too easy for the TMNT to destroy. It would have been tougher to fight more humans and try to stop them, because the TMNT never wanted to kill living organisms).
I'm sure the TMNT don't enjoy killing humans. But the TMNT are warriors, sometimes they have no choice but to kill, I'm sure they killed several humans (offscreen anyway) in the new show, and without a huge overdose of regret since they did it in self-defense. And if they had ever had to do so in the old show, they wouldn't have felt too terrible about it.
*Too many episodes mainly set in New York City. (I would have like too se them travel more around the USA and other parts of the Earth. They at least visited the Niagara Falls and Europe).
I wouldn't say the new show had much more geographically diverse episodes than the old show did. Not to mention, their European vacation lasted a good many episodes; most geographically diverse plots in the new show lasted one or two episodes at the most. And don't forget in "Legend of Koji" when they went back to feudal Japan.

[Deathknight]

#1 The fact that the story had almost no continuity what so ever.
#2 Fewer mad scientist episodes, more Shredder and Krang
#3 No Dregg

[DrSpengler]

#1 The fact that the story had almost no continuity what so ever.
There was quite a bit of continuity in the first 2 seasons and still something of a story arc in season 3. Season 4 is about the point it gave up on continuity.

#2 Fewer mad scientist episodes, more Shredder and Krang

Dude, they were in, like, 90% of the episodes!

#3 No Dregg

I actually enjoyed the Dregg seasons because I was sick to death of Shredder, but that's me.

[Krang]

I'm going through some of the older topics. I hope you guys don't mind if I bump up topics with my replies. If so, tell me and I'll leave them to be read only.
As long as the replies contribute to the topic and the threads are still relevant, I don't mind it when people bump up old threads. Both apply to the threads you bumped, so no problem.

Dude, they were in, like, 90% of the episodes!
They were only in about half of the CBS episodes, since the first few seasons of those usually followed the formula where the first episode would involve Shredder and Krang, and the second would involve some random mad scientist or alien.

[Spitfire]

I actually enjoyed the Dregg seasons because I was sick to death of Shredder, but that's me.

And me, people are afraid of change. Why TMNT fans confuse me because TMNT is all about change.

[AquaParade]

I suppose my one major complaint is that they stopped using Toei animation on a regular basis after season 1. If I could change only one thing, it would be that they kept Toei though the whole series.

Dr. Spengler, do you have any idea which episodes were done by toei animation besides the first season? That first season just looked so good to me, I loved the style and everything, any other episodes that hold up to it, animation wise?

[Time Mistress]

Hmm, the syndicated eps were great, but after the first 65, I would have had the show mirror the Archie comics more. Mike would have kept his chucks (natch!). Raph would have become more agressive. Wouldn't need to go Mirage or even new toon with him, but I would have made his at least as rebelious and arguementative as his Archie self. I would have liked to see some of the Archie storylines adapted - Stump Wrestling, the Mutanimals, April's training, Ninjara, the Future Turtles. And Casey would have become more regular too. I might have cured Splinter in the final ep as well, shows should always fulfill their original premise. The old show was great, but after the syndicated eps, it did start to get kinda repetitive and I'm honestly not too fond of Red Sky. Doesn't mean that these aren't a bunch of gems in the later seasons, there are! But I think the Archieverse was close to the old toon universe and I think they could have meshed well in the later seasons.

[DrSpengler]

Dr. Spengler, do you have any idea which episodes were done by toei animation besides the first season? That first season just looked so good to me, I loved the style and everything, any other episodes that hold up to it, animation wise?

Off the top of my head, "Turtles on Trial", "Zack the 5th Turtle" and "Ninja Sword of Nowhere" from season 3. I believe there were a few more, but I can't recall them at the moment.

"Zack" and "Ninja Sword" look a bit cleaner and have a better frame rate than the other episodes of season 3, but aren't amazingly visually stunning. They just don't look as cheap. "Trial", on the other hand, looks fantastic and has the best animation sicne season 1.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

The TMNT never visited modern (1980s/1990s) Japan in the 1987 TMNT cartoon.

[Deathknight]

There was quite a bit of continuity in the first 2 seasons and still something of a story arc in season 3. Season 4 is about the point it gave up on continuity.

Season 3 was when they really gave up for the most part. Sometimes you saw the technodrome simpy underground and others it was in that famous position right above the lava as well as many other small things (Turtle van getting blown up in Attack of Big Macc FE.) I really wish they had continued some sort of continuity.

[Vegita-San]

Since it was a kids show, the Technodrome wasn't able to be a real threat/war machine like it was designed. Which is why the 'Big' three parter will always remain a personal favorite.


I would LOVE to see Lions Gate do some new form of turtle series a few years after the 4kids one is gone. Do some DTV movies where we can get some more backstory developed that the original series didn't allow.

The history of how KRang got the idea and materials to build the technodrome. How Shredder became the way he became (Although some of that was touched on when his mother was brought in). How Shredder and Krang teamed up for the first time and how Krang was ousted..

Explore the Turtles a bit more. Give Don a solo adventure in Japan where he'd be in techno geek heaven. Have Leo train with a bunch of ninjas in ancient times. Have Michelangelo explore the nightlife of NY city... Have Raphael travel abroad like he wanted to do in the European episodes.

And why did they always want to conquer NY? Start somewhere else....Denmark, maybe, and move out from there. Some place the turtles would have a tougher time getting too :). If Peter Laird would allow them to do a more serious overtone on the original series, I'd be in highschool memory heavan :).

Edit - I, also didn't mind the Dregg episodes after his second season. The first one he appeared in, with the bad/cheap animation and tired storylines was REALLY tough to watch....but I have a feeling Mr.Wise may have made it that way unintentionally because the character was forced on him..

[ThisSchemeCannotFail]

Season 1 should have been the benchmark for seasons 2 and 3. Shredder actually held credibility as a villain, Krang was sinister and the turtles had a toughness and resolute nature about them. But seasons 2 (and definitely) 3 had a sense of fun about them. From season 4, it started to look tired.

I am not convinced they needed to make so many cartoons, quite so quickly, for the 1989 and 90 seasons.

[Sage Ninja]

The history of how Krang got the idea and materials to build the technodrome. How Shredder became the way he became (Although some of that was touched on when his mother was brought in). How Shredder and Krang teamed up for the first time and how Krang was ousted..

I completely agree with this one. I would have loved some more back story on Krang and his dictatorship in Demision X and how and why he was exiled and his body was taken away. That could have been particularly creepy if done right. And I would have loved to see more revealed about Shredder and Splinter's past and how they interacted as teacher and student and see unfold their deep hatred and rivarly for each other.

Season 1 should have been the benchmark for seasons 2 and 3. Shredder actually held credibility as a villain, Krang was sinister and the turtles had a toughness and resolute nature about them.

that is why I like season seven, since it is a through back to the spirit of season one. That is why season seven was my favorite season of the old toon.

But if I was to make a list of all the things I would have liked to have seen incorporated into the old toon (that I haven't already covered up above) it would have been this:

*The turtles to have developed a bit more over time and grow and to throw in a bit of tension and agressiveness to them.

*Shredder and Krang to conspire against each other a little more...maybe eventually break off with each other and become independent threats to the turtles.

*some more urban based story lines that take place with in the city.

*some story lines that are more on the gritty or creepy side.

*more involvment with the foot clan.

* more battles that involve other ninjas other than the foot clan.

* Bebop and Rocksteady conspiring against Shredder for their own ends.

* For other villians (Rat King, Baxter Stockman, and Leather Head) to become more involved and sinsiter.

But for this to keep with the quirky spirit of the series and not go too over board with it.

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

-Shredder would have been a little more threatening. I know it was a silly toon, but Shredder shouldn't have whined ever.

-April would have been wearing that yellow jumpsuit throughout the Red Sky episodes too. Bad 80's fashion is like that incarnation of April's trademark. Maybe she should have mixed it up with other bad 80's fashions.:)

[Sage Ninja]

-Shredder would have been a little more threatening. I know it was a silly toon, but Shredder shouldn't have whined ever.

-April would have been wearing that yellow jumpsuit throughout the Red Sky episodes too. Bad 80's fashion is like that incarnation of April's trademark. Maybe she should have mixed it up with other bad 80's fashions.:)

yeah less whinning from Shredder and more badassness from him

And I completely want April to lose the jump suit, along with the eightes fluffed hair style. I would have liked to see April grow it long.

Also what I would have liked to see is the turtles start to become a little more rebellious toward Splinter. I think that would have been intersting to see Splinter haveing to reign the turtles in. Maybe even have Leonardo act for once.