"What the Shell"

[Oroku Saki]

Have you ever been annoyed by the amount of times the turtles say this phrase in the 2K3 series?

[The Terror of Death]

No. Shell is alot better than them saying "heck".

[VaughnMichael]

Have you ever been annoyed by the amount of times the turtles say this phrase in the 2K3 series?
Yes every F#^king time they say it!
It started with the new toon then moved on to the comics and now the movie it's as bad as it's ninja time in my opinion.

[jeff the cheff]

For some reason, I love it

[bullet]

same here. it's their thing, ya know.

[Roseangelo]

I can handle "What the shell?" just fine. What bugs the crap out of me is when they just yell, "Shell!" by itself, in place of sh*t. I much prefer the old replacement of "hippo spit," that showed up in the Archie comics and maybe even some Mirage books, too.

[愛]

Saying "shell" instead of "hell" is just pathetic and lame. It's not witty anymore. We live in a more harsh world now. Knock it off.

[bullet]

anymore? ion think it was ever meant to be witty...more like cutesy. but it's not like our world was ever unharsh, ahha.

I can handle "What the shell?" just fine. What bugs the crap out of me is when they just yell, "Shell!" by itself, in place of sh*t.

i always thought it was just in place of something like, oh hell. i mean, shell of a town or wutever, i'm fine with that. i'm not so much annoyed by it used in place of hell as i am by the way its used in place of too many other things. like pain in the shell, shell for brains, shell, shell shell shell...shell. it's like wading through a cornfield.

[Ava Collier]

It annoyed me at first. The first time I saw a 2k3 episode, they were saying it a LOT. It made me twitch, and want to break stuff...

...and yet now I say it all the time. :ohwell:

[Warhorse]

I agree with angelelo when they say the "oh shell", is a bit ridiculous. But in most uses, doesn't bother me. I actually LMAO in Times Trevail, when the time mistress fell onto Raph, and she said something like that wan't a very soft landing, and Raph shouted "Well, excuse the shell out of me!":lol:

[Tinuvielsdreams]

I dunno but I don't think anything could be worse then "It's Ninja Time"
They could mix of the sayings up a bit. I like when Raph say something like "Crud"

[The Shelf]

I don't mind it when they say it, but when they say it so many times that I feel like counting, that's taking it too far. Sometimes it seems like they're saying it just because they can. Once or twice an episode is plenty.

[VaughnMichael]

I can handle "What the shell?" just fine. What bugs the crap out of me is when they just yell, "Shell!" by itself, in place of sh*t. I much prefer the old replacement of "hippo spit," that showed up in the Archie comics and maybe even some Mirage books, too.
Yeah I don't know though I just finally got the tales of April mirage issue and she keeps saying Spit! Spit! when the big bear is after her...I really doubt some one would be saying spit if a huge moma bear was chasing them.:roll: :lol:

[Roseangelo]

Yeah I don't know though I just finally got the tales of April mirage issue and she keeps saying Spit! Spit! when the big bear is after her...I really doubt some one would be saying spit if a huge moma bear was chasing them.:roll: :lol:

Since that book was from the ol' Archie team, mebbe "spit" is just an old habit that's hard to break. ;)

[Mr. Stay Puft]

Favorite "Oh shell!" moment:

When In "Across the Universe" when the bikes are about to go over Raph's head and Raph just yells out "OH SHELL!" but he holds out the "Shhhhh" part.

[Cascadia]

what the shell or oh shell is fine with me. I am getting tired of Its Ninja time.

[VaughnMichael]

Since that book was from the ol' Archie team, mebbe "spit" is just an old habit that's hard to break. ;)
hahah maybe but it just came off as weird what with her say damn and other curse words in the book.
what the shell or oh shell is fine with me. I am getting tired of Its Ninja time.
Well you dont really gotta worry about it now since it's what used once an episode if at all now.

[Coola Yagami]

'What do ya think? Is it ninja time.. or is it ninja time?'

[VaughnMichael]

'What do ya think? Is it ninja time.. or is it ninja time?'
I don't get it?

[Spitfire]

I'd rather hear that and "It's Ninja Time" then to ever hear them say "Let's turtleize them!" again ever ever ever.

[VaughnMichael]

I'd rather hear that and "It's Ninja Time" then to ever hear them say "Let's turtleize them!" again ever ever ever.
Let's just face it every version of every turtles ever had atleast had corny or bad diolog.

[gobo]

Have you ever been annoyed by the amount of times the turtles say this phrase in the 2K3 series?
Absolutely. I rolled my eyes at it everytime in the first season (for the same reason I think "It's ninja time!" is lame), but I got over it (learned to ignore it). ^_^

[KROW]

I think of this and I'm reminded of the scene in the first movie where Mike and Don are fighting the Foot and Mikey's going through a list of "shell" phrases and hearing Don's critique of each one.

When I think of that scene, "What the shell" doesn't seem as bothersome to me.

[Coola Yagami]

I don't get it?

Raph said that to Casey in his story in 'the Journal' episode of Flash Forward. God, it sounded so cheesy, when Raph was trying to make it sound cool or badass.

[VaughnMichael]

Raph said that to Casey in his story in 'the Journal' episode of Flash Forward. God, it sounded so cheesy, when Raph was trying to make it sound cool or badass.
oh I guess I'll have to re-watch that episode of Fast Forward then. I some how missed that.:D

[Coola Yagami]

oh I guess I'll have to re-watch that episode of Fast Forward then. I some how missed that.:D

oops, heh typo.

[KROW]

oops, heh typo.

Yes, Flash Forward was the scrapped episode from the old show where Casey Jones makes another appearance to raise hell. However, in a bizarre twist, he's wearing only his mask and a trenchcoat and runs around scaring the bejesus out of April by continuously opening said outerwear, only to be cut short by Usagi Yojimbo who tosses a potted lotus leaf at his unmentionables. Casey falls, rendered unconscious from the surprise attack, leaving him at the mercy of his friends. It was later found out that upon the removal of his mask that he was really Vernon all along, who gained muscle mass by ingesting small amounts of Mutagen at night in an obvious reference to Jekyll and Hyde. The episode ended with Vernon running through the city naked with only his bare bum showing, cursing the turtles as he's followed by a stray dog, much to the guffaw of the turtles and their allies.

[Jo Dawn]

Hahaha, nice.

[zkarlette]

I guess Ninja time seems to be more bothersome:ohwell:

[bullet]

i'm personally not bugged much by ninja time. as mentioned, though, let's turtlelize'em gets blah.

[Revan]

I find it silly that the boys always use turtle jargon. Human beings don't make up phrases that emphasize our species. Personally I get a chuckle out of their corny lines. Must be the kid in me.

[Chase]

ugh! i can't stand 'what the shell.'

ninja time makes me laugh, though.

i think i'm going to start saying its ninja time. just to see what kind of responses i get. :evilgrin:

[Masked Ninja]

I don't mind "shell" as an expletive too much. The precedent was set in the first movie anyway. It only really gets annoying if they use it more than a couple times per episode. And it makes more sense to use that in normal converstation (perhaps Splinter objected against real swears when they were young) but "It's Ninja Time!" is just a stupid catchphrase that Mikey would say and any good 2k3 Raph would hit him for it instead of using it himself. :tdead:

^ As per the above question, I heard Leo, from (I believe) "The Shredder Strikes pt 1".

[MAESTAS]

I like it, sometimes I even say "what the shell"

[Ra]

I must admit, it was annoying to begin with, but it really catches onto you. I've found myself using "shell" in my every day language last year. Even my friends were doing it, since it was so catchy :lol: Also, they aren't doing it as much any more, which is good. It gets extremely annoying after a while of every second sentence saying the word "shell".

Also, you have to take into consideration the fact that we have these "Soccer Moms" (as I like to call them) who will throw a fit whenever something as close to the word "hell" or "damn" is said on kid's TV shows. "Shell" is the closest thing to "****" or "hell" as we are going to get because of those over protective parents. So, either accept it or just move on with your life. It's not like that saying "shell" instead of "hell" is going to destroy the world, ya know?

Besides, I'd rather "shell" than "IT'S NINJA TIME!!". It's short and sweet, and it gets the point across. ...that quote from that show called Fast Forward is the worst quote in TMNT history, in my opinion. Besides, my friend is now saying "IT'S NINJA TIME!!" at the top of her lungs whenever she wants to see me throw a spasm in public. All because I saw a promo for "Fast Forward" at her place and threw a 30 second long fit after I heard that horrid cry... *shudders*

[Leonardo Mystic]

^ As per the above question, I heard Leo, from (I believe) "The Shredder Strikes pt 1".

Leo indeed did say it in that episode, and he held the "shhh" to the point where he almost slipped and said "Oh, sh*t" instead of "Oh, shell" when Shredder appeared on the rooftop of that first battle with him.

[Courk]

I can see "What the shell" being annoying, but so far I'm OK with it. I just consider it the closest they can get to "hell." It does seem a bit contrived, but I'm willing to look past the fraction of a second it takes to say it.

"Pain in the shell" seems more natural for them to say. I can almsot see it being an inside joke from when they were little. Maybe one of them got in trouble for saying "ass" and they started using shell instead -- I imagine Mikey coming up with it (and Raph being the one who got in trouble).

[Ninjinister]

Leo indeed did say it in that episode, and he held the "shhh" to the point where he almost slipped and said "Oh, sh*t" instead of "Oh, shell" when Shredder appeared on the rooftop of that first battle with him.

(Pokes) Hey old friend.

That is indeed what I was going to reference as my answer to Oroku Saki's question.

[Warhorse]

Why don't they just once in a while have the Turtles say an expletive, it's just covered up by the honking of a horn or something?

[Courk]

I can imagine that being annoying, though.

I don't think there's a perfect way around it. They could avoid swear words entirely, but I don't think that's very realistic, either.

[Sunshine]

Yeah I don't mind the "shell" lines. In fact I've grown quite fond of them and yeah I admit I say it myself a bit. ^_^'

But "It's ninja time" and as someone mentioned before "Let's turtleize'em" both always bugged the shell out of me. :D

[Ra]

Why don't they just once in a while have the Turtles say an expletive, it's just covered up by the honking of a horn or something?
Like that one episode of the Rugrats when Angelica hears a "naughty word"? I can see that working... :lol:

[Tortuga Joe]

Have you ever been annoyed by the amount of times the turtles say this phrase in the 2K3 series?

I actually don't mind so much the Turtles' placement of "shell" in their sayings. To be honest, I didn't like it too much at first but it started to grow on me. Occasionally it can be pretty funny, however, there are times when it's used way too much, as everyone has pretty much stated. I watched the entire Lost Season with a few friends and it was getting to the point where were counting the Turtles' use of "shell" to be 3, 4, or 5 times an episode. I suppose, however, it's much better than the amount of times, "It's Ninja Time!" has been used. On another note, I think it's hilarious when Raph calls somebody a whack-bag. Classic.

[TerranigmaFreak]

Did you guys know that this "shell" thing came from the pilot CGI show? Watch it and you'll notice Leo say "what the shell" when the "mouser" thing pop up.

[Masked Ninja]

It did show up, but the first use I ever saw was in the 1990 movie:

It was a shell of a good hit!

[wyze2099]

I think one or two instances of "shell" as an expletive per episode is enough. Still, it doesn't bother me too much, since I have fond memories of Marvel's 2099 comics, in which the word "shock" was used as an expletive (presumably because the public use of profanity became illegal, but people found ways around it because they still had a need to swear). Also, I'm a Farscape fan, where alien words like "frell" are used as swear words.

My only issue with "shell" is that it seems to be thrown in there to make the series feel edgy (as if the 2K3 series really needed the help). Peter Laid has stated on many occasions that the Turtles only use "shell" in times of extremity, such as when they're surprised by something, but the more it's used, the less effective it is.

Though I agree with the idea that the Turtles might've started using it after Splinter objected to the human expletives they'd picked up. Though I would guess that they'd still avoid saying that around Splinter, who'd understand the code.

Might be funny if April or Casey picked up the use of "shell" just for hanging around the boys for so long. Casey'd be like, "aw, now you've got ME doin' it!"

As for "it's ninja time", while the consensus seems to be that the phrase was started in "Fast Forward", I actually found it in the first episode of "The Next Mutation" the other day on Youtube. It was one of the many lame catchphrases the Turtles spouted in a desperate attempt to appeal to kids.

[TerranigmaFreak]

It did show up, but the first use I ever saw was in the 1990 movie:

It was a shell of a good hit!

True, but for me, that line didn't feel out of place like all the rest. The guy was hit by a shell after all. From the CGI pilot all the way to FF, shell was always used just as their way to "cursing" or saying "hell" without any real shells involved if you know what I mean.

[trevEk08]

i think its okay to an extent.. but it gets really annoying when they all start saying it. I definitely prefer the old school 'cowabunga'.

[trevEk08]

im a noob at all this posting stuff here... and i accidentely posted the same message twice and i dont know how to delete it.. so im just gonna leave it like this lol..

[Herr_Shredder]

Saying "shell" instead of "hell" is just pathetic and lame. It's not witty anymore. We live in a more harsh world now. Knock it off.

tell that to the parents who have nothing else but over protect their children!
And the networks and the FCC

But it does get a bit annoying,

[Child_Of_Whitestorm]

They could mix of the sayings up a bit. I like when Raph say something like "Crud"

Every time I hear that word I get flashbacks of Swat Kats.:ohwell:

[Herr_Shredder]

Every time I hear that word I get flashbacks of Swat Kats.:ohwell:

alas that was a good show and the better of the many TMNT knockoffs!

[Zachatello00]

I think it's perfect, and saying it helps to identify me as a turtle fan.

If I slam on the brakes, I find myself saying it unintentionally.

[Child_Of_Whitestorm]

alas that was a good show and the better of the many TMNT knockoffs!

Yes. I'll admit I have a bit of an obsession with both shows. Oddly both of my favorite characters from each show were voiced by the same person...I only found this out recently though...Now I wonder if that might have been part of the reason Razor was my favorite Swat Kat....

[Swany]

It doesn't actually bother me, thing is it's been said so often its lost its comedic effect.

Although becuase its been used so much its funny when they say something different. (I crack up everytime Raph says "Freakin'" for some reason its hilarious to me)

"Cowabunga" doesent bother me either (ever since my dad decided to adopt it in his everyday speech at least once a day. heh, my lil bro says "Cowngabunga", its funier when he does it)

However I part of me dies a little each time I hear "Ninja time". No more "ninja time" not now, not ever.

[Scandia]

Fine with me. Fits the show- and better than actually using the original profanity.

"has gotten into trouble for saying the 3 mild curse words of d/s/h"

[kerfootw]

It kind of did at first, more ways than one but I soon got used to it.

[jenna]

Sorry if someone has already said this - I can't be a*sed to read the whole thread - but I just pretend that whenever they say "shell" that they are actually saying "f*ck" and it makes the policitcal-correctness rebel in me smile with triumph! I hate that sh*t. So really I love it when they say "shell", at least it gives them an expression they can use as though it were a profanity.

[PipingPringle]

Sorry if someone has already said this - I can't be a*sed to read the whole thread - but I just pretend that whenever they say "shell" that they are actually saying "f*ck" and it makes the policitcal-correctness rebel in me smile with triumph! I hate that sh*t. So really I love it when they say "shell", at least it gives them an expression they can use as though it were a profanity.

I completely agree, I mean, so long as they can't actually use profanity at very least they can say shell. Other weaker profanities like when Hun says 'Crud' bugs me lots more.

[Jon]

I completely agree, I mean, so long as they can't actually use profanity at very least they can say shell. Other weaker profanities like when Hun says 'Crud' bugs me lots more.


I dunno... I didn't really take Hun's "Crud" as a profanity-cover. I thought of it more as his way of saying "Oh no", or something to that effect.

[PipingPringle]

I dunno... I didn't really take Hun's "Crud" as a profanity-cover. I thought of it more as his way of saying "Oh no", or something to that effect.

I can see what you mean, but it still really bugged me n_n;;

[Sage Ninja]

to be honest I don't mind "what the shell" to much. As long as its used a proper way that isn't to corney. Like "What the shell" is fine as well as "well excuse the shell out of me" and what not since it comfertably fits in where the expletive "hell" would be in a non awkward way.

But I roll my eyes at uses like "ooh, it hurts like shell!" and the such. Since to me it just sounds gay. It hurts like shell is pretty lame and when I heard Doantello use it in Adventures in Turtlesitting when he was transforming, it nearly spoiled the intensity of the moment for me because it came off as so stupid.

[ajistheman]

i'm agreeing with jenna, because at places it sounds like they could be using the "f" or "sh" words. Especially when they say, "Ah, Shell". Either one work a lot better than hell. Also, I probably substitute those two words since my friends and I say them a lot more often than we say hell:P