Don totally pwned the old series

[Rooish]

I've been watching a lot of OT episodes, and it seems, as others have claimed, that Donatello really was the star of the show, which I had completely forgotten. I don't find him as easy to relate to as Mike or Raph, but it seems that he got the most screen time and had the most to say. He also has to come up with an idea or invention, or save the day, in basically every episode I've watched. It really seems that he's the leader, not Leo. I never got the impression that Don was the most popular Turtle (or anything but the least popular, really--not that I am saying this should be the case) but he was the star of the old show. What do you guys think?

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

I always figured Michelangelo was the star of the show. He was the most popular one and the one kids liked the most.

Plus he was the turtle chosen to represent the TMNT in that anti-drug cartoon, if that counts for anything.:)

[Coola Yagami]

I remember an ep where all hell broke loose and stuff and Raph said 'and this is where we turn to our resident genuis to come up with a last-minute solution." And the 3 turtles call out "DONATELLO!!!"

Then Don explained what he was gonna do using scientific terms and stuff.

The other 3 turtles- "IN ENGLISH!!"

[ToTheNines]

Lol yea, that was "My Brother the Bad Guy", that little scene really cracked me up.

[Rooish]

Yeah ... like I feel that Mike got the most "character development," but Don got the most lines and saved the day the most often. I guess they both sort of pwned the old toon. :)

[Roseangelo]

I remember all of Don's inventions always blew up or something... so much so that when my brother and I played Ninja Turtles if we needed to blow up something we'd just stick a portable portal generator next to it and ... BOOM! :lol:

[Time Mistress]

OT is definately my favorite version of Donny.

[twigs232]

Don and Mike would have been the biggest stars both in their own ways.

[a_big_apple]

I never got the impression that Don was the most popular Turtle (or anything but the least popular, really--not that I am saying this should be the case)

You know, I was just saying to someone the other day that whenever my TMNT obsession comes up with non-fans, the turtle they almost always remember from the OT is Donnie. It's always something like "Hey, Ninja Turtles, I used to watch that show, what was the purple guy's name?" And people who were fans enough to remember their names often like someone other than Don, but people who don't remember anything always seem to fixate on "the purple one." Maybe all the screen time he got in the OT has something to do with that!

[ToTheNines]

Yea, most kids didn't like Raph (because his jokes went over their heads) or Leo (because he was mad-lame and never stopped stating the obvious) back in the day. It was all about Don and Mikey.

[CyberCubed]

My favorite incarnation of Donatello is definitely the original cartoon.

There was just something about him, the voice, the maturity, the smarts, the confidence...it was all done extremely well. And man, Don knew how to fight in the old cartoon too! They always seemed to give him a chunk of the action scenes and he usually had good fights.

That's one of the things I wish they'd improve about 2k3 Donny, he seems too passive most of the time. I appreciate him as a character, but he's not as awesome as old toon Don was.

I also thought Archie Donatello was pretty damn awesome.

[DonatelloDomeHead31]

Donatello Rules...what can i say. give him credit for the Turtle Van and the Turtle Blimp.

[triplexxx]

Leo (because he never stopped stating the obvious) back in the day.He still does that quite a bit in the current toon too; not to imply anything against him, I love him as much as the others, but just out of curiosity, is that one of the main reasons some fans are annoyed by him, or is it just a minor reason?

[Ramboraph4life aka Matt]

Yeah it seems Donatello in the old toon is like Chuck Norris. Don't believe me?


Here's 10 Facts you Need to Know About Donatello in the Old Toon.

1. Donatello does not sleep, he waits.

2. Donatello has 2 speeds. Walk, and Kill.

3. Donatello drives an ice cream truck covered in human skulls.

4. When the Boogeyman goes to sleep at night, he checks his closet for Donatello.

5. Donatello doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

6. Donatello counted to infinity....twice.

7. When Donatello does a push-up, he isn't lifting himself up, he's pushing the Earth down.

8. Donatello gave Mona Lisa that smile.

9. Donatello can beat the Sun in a staring contest.

10. Donatello can win a game of Connect Four in only 3 moves.

So in other words, you can't mess with Old Toon Donatello. ;)

[Coola Yagami]

8. Donatello gave Mona Lisa that smile.




Does Raphael know about that????

[Slap-Happy]

Donatello can win a game of Connect Four in only 3 moves.
:lol::lol::lol:

[Rooish]

that's amazing

[syd]

's probablely why raph and leo got the spotlight in NT aaaand movie.

BTW does anyone think that donnie kno more the way of leader than leo?=s
there gotta be one time or two when the two bigger brothers contest for that palce,errr,i think.coz they both have the calm brains,and brains,u kno,even donnie's more intelligent,but u'll say,there's a lot more important elements than brain to a leader,yea but...that's kinda difficult to say,whether he or leo kno better.maybe donnie just lacked of...well,passion or something?

[Scandia]

I do think all 4 Turtles did try out for being the leader. And in some random episodes, another Turtle besides Leo is leading in that specific battle/quest/challenge. But I think Michelangelo got eliminated first because he is so unfocused, then Donatello because he is so quiet and laid back and may not have dealt well in leading Raphael, and finally Raphael because he had such a short fuse and was so impatient that he could not be the leader in longer term situations. Sure, Raph is bossy, but it takes much more than just being bossy in order to be the leader. Hence Leonardo was the best suited to be the leader of the Turtles in general. But we all know who is the true boss- Splinter, that is.

[syd]

that's true,actually,i don't think anyone can deal well with raph XDDD,esp. leo!LOL
but leo really gets the insight and he KNOWS raph,hehe,he can take advantage of that,manepulating his mind...XDDDD,that's evil,that's that's why to some extent raph settles down to follow his lead,XDDD,but u kno wut,i got the feeling that the raph's been lurking and waiting,and,u kno if i were raph,i'd tell myself:"oh keep kissing urself leo,one day u'll fall in my palm!"XDDD

[triplexxx]

I do think all 4 Turtles did try out for being the leader. And in some random episodes, another Turtle besides Leo is leading in that specific battle/quest/challenge. But I think Michelangelo got eliminated first because he is so unfocused, then Donatello because he is so quiet and laid back and may not have dealt well in leading Raphael, and finally Raphael because he had such a short fuse and was so impatient that he could not be the leader in longer term situations. Sure, Raph is bossy, but it takes much more than just being bossy in order to be the leader. Hence Leonardo was the best suited to be the leader of the Turtles in general. But we all know who is the true boss- Splinter, that is.Forgot, which episodes were those? NT or OT?
but u kno wut,i got the feeling that the raph's been lurking and waiting,and,u kno if i were raph,i'd tell myself:"oh keep kissing urself leo,one day u'll fall in my palm!"XDDD
Well, in the movie, he sure got his wish, didn't he?

[Scandia]

I am deducing that from the NT's episode "Tales of Leo" where they had the flashback of vying to be the leader. Obviously two Turtles had already been eliminated and it was down to two. But the details come from my imagination. Leo must have shown somehow that he was the best fit to be the leader. Splinter did not choose him randomly.

[triplexxx]

Well, actually I think only Raphael was trying to lead, Donatello was just testing his gadgets and Michaelangleo was just pulling a prank.

[syd]

Forgot, which episodes were those? NT or OT?

Well, in the movie, he sure got his wish, didn't he?

ohhhhh snap!XDDDDDDD
he actually lost himself in that movie,see,"i finally understand why Splinter chose him not me.","why im the one feel sooo angry all the time any way?","how can he dream that we'd still love to listen to his lectures as before after he'd gone so many years,so many YEEEARS!YEEEEARS!"
yet he gave up this chance.stupid!i can't imagine that you finally easy yourself in his reign,not like you!baby!not at all!XD

[Scandia]

Only Raphael is shown leading, sure. But to me, that means that all 4 Turtles tried out for being the leader, but that Michelangelo and Donatello had already been eliminated.

[MoreCowbell5263]

I know being a Don fan makes me a little bias towards the brains of the bunch, but for some reason, I just see Don being more competition for leader to Raph, I don't know, that's just me. I think OT Don would definitely make a better leader than OT Raph. NT I don't know, Don's logic and stuff would be good for coming up with strategies and stuff, but I don't think Don is as good as say Leo when thinking on his feet. He may be better than Raph or as good, but I'm not sure.

I don't know, I think I'd rather be lead by a brainy and passive guy like Don than a short-fused hothead like Raph. I've already made my points in other threads, though, so I'll just say that yeah, it did seem like Don was more of a leader in the old toon than Leo at times. But I think Leo still seemed to be more the leader in more cases than not. I think he definitely proved he was the better fighter than all of them. I would've liked to see NT Raph in the OT though, I like Raph more when he's a lot more of an individual than the other three instead of blending in like he does in the OT.

[triplexxx]

But I think Leo still seemed to be more the leader in more cases than not. I think he definitely proved he was the better fighter than all of them. I would've liked to see NT Raph in the OT though, I like Raph more when he's a lot more of an individual than the other three instead of blending in like he does in the OT.Leonardo leader most of the time in the OT? Yes. Best overall fighter? Not really, they were all pretty equal in terms of fighting. And OT Raphael is still kinda unique from the others as is displayed in individual moments he has, like in "Blast from the Past" & "Raphael vs. the Volcano".

[MoreCowbell5263]

I'm not saying he's exactly the same as the others, I just like that the NT and Movie Raph are more individualistic (if that's a word). They have more noticeable differences in personality that make them even more unique than OT Raph compared to the other Turtles.

Well I was judging Leo's fighting abilities from the OT based on the idea that he's the only one I remember seeing fighting Shredder one-on-one, other than Don when he was the Dark Turtle with his gadgets. You're probably right about Leo's fighting abilities, the show did make them seem like equal fighters.

I do stand by my statement that Leo still seemed to be the leader even though Don was quite pivotal on the show. Leo has proven that he takes his training more seriously than the others do, which is a leader-like trait, like in Leonardo Cuts Loose. I wouldn't say Don was the leader in the OT or the main character; however, I think the OT, being a TV show aimed at young kids to teach morals and whatnot, was trying to teach kids that being smart is more important than being willing to fight, which is my theory as to why Don was such a pivotal Turtle on the show and always saving the day with his gadgets or technical know-how.

[Cascadia]

In Take me to Your Leader, Leo leaves the team because he was unsure about his leadership abilities. In his absence, the other three tried their hand on leading the team. The other three could not perform as well as Leo.

[triplexxx]

I'm not denying any of the above, but in the OT, all the turtles were seen giving Shredder at least a couple of beat-ons. And maybe he does take training most seriously, but they all take it seriously enough to all become professional ninjas at a very early age, and all of them are. And that Leonardo Cuts Loose isn't really a good example since the others still thought training was needed, they just felt they needed to direct more of it towards muscle-build, that's part of training.

[Rooish]

I know being a Don fan makes me a little bias towards the brains of the bunch, but for some reason, I just see Don being more competition for leader to Raph, I don't know, that's just me. I think OT Don would definitely make a better leader than OT Raph. NT I don't know, Don's logic and stuff would be good for coming up with strategies and stuff, but I don't think Don is as good as say Leo when thinking on his feet. He may be better than Raph or as good, but I'm not sure.

I don't know, I think I'd rather be lead by a brainy and passive guy like Don than a short-fused hothead like Raph. I've already made my points in other threads, though, so I'll just say that yeah, it did seem like Don was more of a leader in the old toon than Leo at times.

I would have to say I agree with you completely.

[Sage Ninja]

I rather like Old toons represation of Donatello. He was out spoken and and edgier than any version i've seen him in, and i liked the fact that he was more millitant and grey and this version instead of a pacifist. The fact that he had the edge of not taking crap was cool in him. And i didn't find him whinny at all, despite his geeky voice, you could tell Doantello was not some one to screw with. His depth was that he latent dark side, which was cool. Old toon Doantello owns!

in other mediums he is genreally the most un-skilled of the turtles. I tottally thought that he was second to Leonardo in fighting skills in the classic toon.

He is just as active in contributating in battle as Leonardo is, and even bested all the turtles once in a sparring session (even Leonardo) in one episode. What I liked about old toon Doantello is that he can he doesn't quite so bothered by the whole honar bit like Leonardo is. I thought that was cool, he seemed to have a very "the ends justifies the means" kind of attitude. I think it was in the episode Bye Bye Fly, but Donatello tortures a human like computer to get information out of it. Yeah I know that it was just a computer but it could feel pain, and he did it any way.

[triplexxx]

Well, he still thinks honor is right just as much as the others do...the "ends justifies the means" principle is correspondant with honor at times. By the way, which episode was that where he bested everyone in a training session?