NT:The Next Mutation is actually pretty good (Review and "What if" season 2)

[sdp]

I basically edited this thread into a two (http://miscrave.com/articles/ninja-turtles-the-next-mutation/) part (http://miscrave.com/articles/nt-tnm/)post on Miscrave and also season 2 (http://miscrave.com/articles/ninja-turtles-next-mutation-season-2/) for better archival purposes and revised grammar.



So I recently saw Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, the most hated thing in all the fandom only to be used to be joked about.

As a kid I never got to see TNM however I always wanted to see it. I loved the idea of the turtles being older and thought the idea of a female turtle was awesome, not to mention the Dragonlord looked awesome. My only exposure to the show was the PR team-up, but still I didn't think the show would be that bad, and is it? no its not its actually pretty decent, yeah it has its silly moments but also has some cool moments and tons of untapped potential. Thats the short version, I decided to divide my post in three parts since it was too long for one post. First overall review of the show, then the episode reviews and third what I'd want for a second season of TNM.

Some random thoughts:
April actually makes 3 cameos giving the news on TV. It seems that Laird wanted to disassociate from the OT since this show since you never see them eating pizza besides maybe once and they never say Cowabunga, Mikey tries but they stop him. Both things that also didn't happen in the 2k3 show The ending song features the turtles giving a concert probably a homage to the Coming out of their Shells tour. At one point Mikey has cereal with soda haha. The catchphrase is Certified Turtlefeid, which is awful but grows on you for some weird reason. Venus doesn't appear that much. I also like the opening and ending songs.

Turtles personalities are about the same from the movie, in fact the show is done as a continuations to the live action movies, no contradictions like some people say. Splinter seems off scale, I don't know why that is if you notice he seems to be in scale with the other turtles media, I think its the fact that the Live Action movies always portrayed Splinter as much smaller. The turtles personalities are the same as their movie counterparts which is good.

Venus - When the show came out and I saw the figures I thought the idea of a female and fifth turtle was awesome. I still thought that until I watched it, and I still like it, it adds something fresh to the franchise. The TMNT fad had ended so I see why people see her as something bad from the franchise and even blaming her for the fad dying. Some probably just follow Lairds words to not like her. Or most of you were just too old when the show came out, you guys weren't the target audience anymore, it was for a younger generation of Turtle fans like me. Ironically enough she is the one with the most personality and because of that the most interesting out of all the turtles. Also unlike other series when they introduce a character (like Venus) and try to shove them down your throat. However this is not done with her and she isn't forgotten either, she gets as much screen time as the rest and she isn't useless either. She also doesn't use her Shinobi magic either, which was a bit of a missed potential but a lot better than the Deus Ex Machina if they had abused it. She doesn't have a trademark weapon. The action figure makes it seem like its the fan but it isn't. She does seem to use two balls which their purpose I never understood, in one episode they serve as bubblegum...Though I do like the bandana idea. I like how her bandana is long and looks like a braided ponytail. I have mixed feelings about her color, the light blue looks great. However blue is already Leo's color, and only other color I can think of is pink and that would look too stereotypical of girl=pink plus not sure how it would look. Maybe white would have worked.
Her being a love interest never really happens, its implied a little bit with Leo and Venus in her first episode but just that nothing more its never actually said and its never done again. Though there is one scene in her first episode were all the turtles have creepy "Imma rape u" faces on them while looking at Venus.

I really like the suits actually, they aren't bad and allow for movement. Sure they aren't "realistic" like the first movie ones but they look good. I also liked the changes to the turtles, they had updated getups and I even liked that they had tweaked/updated weapons. Donny had a metal/tech bo, raph could join his sais to make a staff, Leo had a dual scissors like katana, Mikeys tonfa (it makes the change easier). Raph had an extra long Sai that could put on a bo and have a Sai bo staff. Of course I prefer the original weapons but this show as more to bring a fresh air to the franchise which it indeed needed it. In fact I wish they had used the new weapons more often, they weren't showcased too much at least the "special features" of the weapons.

Seeing live action raph on a motorcycle is pretty cool as well as the live action turtles on a jeep. Its something we've seen animated but never in live action. And while I can see the stock footage of them is annoying to some I actually found it amusing. Then again with all the japanese shows I've watched I'm cool with stock footage. Though they do change up the stock footage a bit actually that was neat especially when raphs bike fell apart, that was probably a blooper they decided to keep.

One thing the show is not very consistent is if the villains know the location of the turtles at times its like they don't know but at others they do.

I liked that it was just called "Ninja Turtles", since thats what I called them, I didn't like the whole Teenage Mutant as a kid too much which ironically I now prefer. It also showed how the turtles weren't teenagers anymore.

This show would have been perfect for me if I had been able to see it when it came out; I would have loved it. Actually maybe if it had come out a year before it came out since that was around the time I loved Dragon Ball/Z. The show is not perfect however it is far from being the abomination that people make it out to be, not to mention its pretty decent and has its moments.


The show also included a team up of the two shows that made my childhood:
http://neighbr.net/images/ninjaturtles_powerrangers.jpg

[sdp]

Episode reviews/overviews:

East Meets West (5 parter) - You know change the script a little bit and give it a higher budget and this could have been TMNT IV the movie. Yeah it wouldn't necessarily been a classic like the first but I would have liked it as a kid and it would have been among the same quality of the two sequels since it doesn't stray too far from the two sequels in tone.
You have Shredder as the villain, they slowly introduce Venus and defeat the shredder. Then the new villain comes who is also introduced pretty well they are defeated at first then they defeat him. The final battle would have to be a bit more epic since its a bit anti-climatic here (but with reason since he'd be the villain in the series). Pretty good way to start.

Staff of Bu-Ki - In this The Dragonlord after being defeated blames it on the Shinobi, so he wants to get rid of her before she becomes more powerful and to get revenge of the Shinobi clan. He steals a weapon that can turn her power against her. Its a decent plot, nothing too special really happens that is either good or bad.

Silver & Gold - An alright episode that introduces an awesome villain. Silver the Ape Gangster is very cool. Its a basic plot nothing special but like mentioned an alright episode that introduces a pretty neat character.

Meet Dr. Quease - This episode is kinda cool, Donatello wants to meeet his favorite scientist Dr. Quease who is then kidnapped by the Dragonlord. Donatello goes to save him only to find out he was more than happy to work with him. Dr. Quease is a bit like Baxter Stockman, he didn't mind turning on his rescuer for the sake of science. Only thing I didn't like about the episode is the turtles defeated the Dragonlord in a silly way, which is consistent with the two TMNT movie sequels and the OT but in this show they actually hadn't done it and this kinda makes him into a less threatening villain. But Dr. Quease was a good new character introduced.

All in the family - This episode introduces Bone Steel who could have been a pretty good character, he poaches extinct animals. He even ends up being a threat to the turtles while fighting, however they gave him this crazy/easily confused personality which ruins the good things, what was worse is that after he is defeated by the turtles in a good way, he appears again only to be defeated by "getting confused" by the turtles....ugh, other than that the character is still kinda good even with his horrible personality.

Trusting Dr. Quease - This episode had a great idea but it was poorly implemented. I liked how Donatello wanted to give him the benefit of a doubt for being a fellow Scientist. Theres a lot of stuff they don't explain very well though. I also hated how they trap the dragonlord in a silly way. This is the second time they do this so now and it just cheapens the villain.

Windfall - A second episode with Silver who I really like, the plot is a bit silly but I loved the Dick Tracy get ups and I like how Silver only deals with the turtles when it interferes with his business.

Turtles Night Out - This episode had a few things I liked like Mikey's pirate radio show, the rave, the clockwork orange inspired gang. It also had bonesteel which he wasn't great but wasn't bad either.

Mutant Reflections - Dr. Quease makes clones of the turtles. Pretty basic episode, its very cliche to have a hero vs evil version of the heroes but I'm a sucker for them so I enjoyed it. Dragonlord appears very briefly like the past Dr. Quease episode, but just to give an order. This episode made me wonder if his lab is located with the dragonlord or if its in a totally different place.

Truce Or Consequence - It was nice to see Mikeys pirate radio station again. This is also the first Dragonlord episode in a while, since his past appearances were minor roles in Dr. Quease episodes. Nothing special, just an alright episode.

Sewer Crash - Another Silver episode in which he hypnotizes donatello and gets him to do crimes for him. This one was actually pretty funny, got me laughing a few times.

Going Ape - This episode was very entertaining. Raphael trying to avoid Bonesteel goes inside a house where an ape from a zoo that had escaped is living. The Dragonlord also sent his dragons to go after one of the turtles that was alone who was Raph and therefore everyone is in the house. Its a silly episode mostly but all the chaos is quite entertaining as well as the unusual alliances that are formed since basically all of them are enemies against each other. Also we got to see more of the Dragons besides just the Dragonlords goons.

Enemy of My Enemy - The return of Shredder. This episode is is pretty awesome. Even with the cheesy parts are easily put aside with just having Shredder. We see him recovering his mind from the "reawakening" he got in the first 5 episodes. He knows he IS the Shredder though he's fallen so low. Splinter after saving his life tries to get him in a new path. Which doesn't work since Saki is regaining more his Shredder persona. He ends up fighting Splinter and leaves. Meanwhile the Dragonlord wants a pendant that Oroku Saki stole from Yoshi to defeat the turtles. The Dragons attack him and we see Saki defeating a bunch of dragons before finally being taken down. Then the turtles show up and help Saki, however the dragons are winning until Saki comes to fight against the dragons and they are defeated. Splinter recovers his masters pendant only to have Saki take it. The last shot we see Saki finally back to his former glory.


King Wick - The concept is that Wick through alchemy becomes a Super Dragon and defeats the Dragonlord and proclaims to be the new king. Seems like a lame plot but it was very good. They actually portray Wick as a real threat. It was cool to see The Rank defy him since they wanted to serve only the Dragonlord, they do when he first proclaims himself and later as well. Leo is dealing with being a leader. At the end he loses his powers after Leo reverses them and the Dragonlord gets his throne back.


The Good Dragon - This episode is about a good Dragon, it is portrayed very well as you don't know if he is truly good but he is. It was awesome seeing him defeat other dragons and eventually he realizes he needs to go back to the mirror world but that he'll return with other good dragons. A good episode, the Dragon is a cool character and would have liked to see him again. Too bad they didn't even give him a name....
Same thing with the Dragon that leads The Rank. You can tell him apart from the other dragons on episodes because of the purple hood but they never say his name. That would have added more to both characters.

The Guest - This episode features Andre the blind man from the first episode. I liked him and kinda wish he had been a recurring character. Oh well the plot is basic he's been evicted and moves to the turtles lair. He accidentally takes Dr. Quease's special staff when they bump into each other and he gets The Rank to go retrieve it. This episode is better than how it sounds.

Like Brothers - This is a clip show, however unlike most clipshows this one is kind of interesting. It deals with the rivalry of Leo/Raph and all the clips are from them not getting a long etc. The episode also features plenty of new footage mostly of them fighting (actual fighting). This episode seems to take place after Unchain My Heart since one of the flashbacks is from Unchain My Heart, they probably didn't want to have two flashback episodes back to back though.

Unchain My Heart - (4 parter) Vam mi was an interesting villain they introduced. I really liked how Bonesteel was actually somewhat of a threat during these episodes, he was written pretty much how I wanted him to be written in his first episode. Too bad Vam mi was killed and in a pretty horrific way too, but I'm sure they would have brought her back since at the end her two minions decided to stay in NY. A nice four parter though more episodic than East meets West and overall a nice arc for Venus.

Who Needs her - Another clip show however this one deals with only Venus, some choices were good while others could have used better scenes from East meets West and Unchain my heart. Its only a clip show for about half the episode since it features about half the episode of original footage. Splinter in pajamas was funny and the Dragonlord saying turtle soup was awesome. This episode actually works as a finale to the series since it's like a tribute to Venus before she disappears forever. :(

Only one episode left, the PR episode but its in the next post since this post reached text limit.

[sdp]

Shell shocked (Power Rangers in Space crossover episode) - This episode is pretty terrible. In fact it was the only thing I knew about TNM pretty much before I watched the series. So I expected the turtles to be more like this which was awful. All the turtles act WAY out of character and even for Mikey way too silly. Its also features many weird things that even make you question its continuity, like why did Venus know Astronema?, How were the turtles able to fend off against a lazer attack? How did they teletransport in the beginning? The turtles also have different voices and how are the turtles able to fight a PR monster easily? Some good things include that these are the best fight scenes in all of TNM, probably has to do with the fact that the PR fight coordinators had more experience than the ones on TNM. This is the only time they actually say Cowabunga and both the heroes and villains make references to meeting again.
I am also not a fan of this crossover in the sense that both the TMNT and PR universes are too different for a crossover, it only hurts each others universe. With that said, I still love this episode for the whole fact that Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers were my childhood. The fact that both of the biggest things in my childhood actually crossed over is awesome, and seeing the turtles and the PR sharing a screen is pretty cool. As awful as this episode is the whole fact that they are together is enough fanservice for it to bring a smile to my face.

=========
Season 2:
The show only had one season, though its listed in some places as two for some reason. Apparently the only reason it was cancelled was because of licensing/money issues not ratings and April/Casey Jones would have appeared on a second season, also apparently they tried to continue the show animated after this. Who knows regardless had a second season happened, the show had tons of potential and like other Saban's shows they got better over time, this is what I would have wanted or think of their chances of showing up:

Season 1 characters:

Dragonlord: Have him be more of a threat, in some episodes he was portrayed too goofy, which all it did was hurt his character when he was being serious. Also since Shredder is back he'd no longer bet he #1 bad guy or maybe he'd still be until the third season. Since he doesn't like Shredder have an episode were they fight as well as the rank and the foot not getting along. By the end of the season have the turtles actually defeat the Dragonlord. He could still show up in the third season but as a recurring villain not the main bad guy.

Shredder: He was awesome in the first season but after the premier we don't see him until his return. I thought we'd see a little bit of him through out S1 until he finally made his comeback. Since there is a gap missing from "Shredder" being dead and Oroku Saki not understanding whats going on and then when he shows up again "Shredder" is alive again just with no motivation, its as if we were supposed to see him slowly recovering between both his appearances with short segments on other episodes. Anyways he comes back near the end of season 1 and we don't see him again. By season 2 he'd have the foot rebuilt, maybe even being the main villain. But even if he wasn't he'd have a major role.

Vammi: Even though she is killed in the first season her minions escaped so she would have probably come back. She should come back in another 4 parter or maybe even only two parter. She was an interesting villain, or maybe just have her come back in one episode and regain her heart and just remain a recurring villain like the others.

Bonesteel: Great character with missed potential, he was written too goofily at time that it was hard to take seriously. However Unchain my Heart portrayed him perfectly, he was still goofy/crazy but in a threatening way and was an actual threat, even capturing Vammi. Thats how I'd like him to be in the second season.

Silver: I really liked him, while he was a gangster he wasn't a serious gangster and didn't care for the turtles unless his plans conflicted with the turtles. Just have his goons not be as goofy as they were.

The Rank leader: I want him on season 2. He is never given a name but he had some good dialog. I would like him to be "unmasked" so we can see his face. I understand The Rank were given masks so they didn't have to create Dragon faces for all of them but he is the leader, you can make a dragon mask for him. Also give him a name.

The Good Dragon: He leaves to the mirror world to fight the evil dragons and find other good dragons. He was an awesome character and would love to have him in the second season, he'd come out of the mirror whether he did it alone or maybe with some other good dragons it wouldn't matter. Like The Rank leader, I also want him to come out unmasked and actually have a name.

Dr. Quease: I like him but he was featured a little too much on the first season and would like him to show up less on the second season but in, maybe even break off from being Dragonlords goon, since only on two episodes was the Dragonlord actually involved in his experiments anyway.

Andre the blind man: I thought he was going to be a recurring character that you just saw Splinter playing Chess with every other episode. But that didn't happen, so I'd like him to show up more often playing chess with Splinter maybe giving him some advice. He can even have another one episode that actually deals with him, and have him realize/make them know that he knows they are not human.

Splinter: Maybe give him a major role on a episode and just let him be Splinter more than they did.

Leo: All turtles were featured pretty well evenly except for Venus. After Venus it was easily Leo who got the least. Have him be more of a leader but overall he was portrayed nicely.

Raph: He was featured a lot but he was done very well, I'd like them to continue his rivalry with Leo, his angst and whatnot, even improving on it. Also have him use his Sais bo staff in more than one episode..

Mikey: Like Raph Mikey was featured a lot even more than Raph, so I wish they'd take away some of his screen time and have an episode were he is more serious.

Donatello: He wasn't too underused, he got plenty of episodes though not as many as Mikey or raph., he was portrayed pretty well, maybe have him making more inventions this time though.

Venus: Actually have her in more episodes! She didn't appear that often and was only important in both multi-part episodes, one episode and the flashback episode.

Power Rangers team up: The team up made references to meeting again, since the first team up was a PR episode it'd make sense the second one the turtles would return the favor by having them on their show. Now I'm not sure which version of the PR they'd meet. If you are not familiar with them, the PR change teams every year and while TNM did air a few months first and would therefore start airing its second season when PR In Space was finishing theirs. It'd make more sense for the Lost Galaxy rangers to appear since its the new show and would be airing along with TNM season 2. Though it was indeed the Space rangers and villains that made references of a future team up. But it'd also be cooler and maybe would make sense for the LG rangers to meet the turtles instead.


Characters I'd like to see:

April: Apparently April was going to appear on Season 2 and that would have been cool. Like I mentioned she made a few cameos as a news reporter in season 1.

Casey Jones: Like April he was also going to be in S2, it would have been great to see him.

Baxter Stockman: Baxter could have been done easily on NM since he is just a scientist. Though I'm not sure if he'd be incorporated since Dr. Quease already filled the mad scientist role and is pretty similar to him, except he is a bit more crazy and technically not a bad guy he just works for science. Though I would have indeed like him showing up, have a connection with April and even have him team up with Dr. Quease in one episode. Just change his personality to be a bit different from Quease, more serious and actually evil.

Karai: It'd be neat if Karai made it in the show, its possible and she'd been pretty cool.

"evil" turtle: Like I mentioned I'm a sucker for "evil" or "robot" versions of characters. Saban already had a "evil" turtle suit from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, in fact it looks a lot like Tokka(the turtle mutant). Just kitbash it from that suit. Or have a robot turtle or better have both!

Mutants/Monster of the day: Like I mentioned above, Saban had tons of costumes from Power Rangers, and Saban was no stranger to kitbashing suits for their shows. PR had plenty of Monsters that could have been mutants and what not for this show.

Ratking: He could be easily portrayed since he is just a human, no requirement for a suit. And he could haver been pretty interesting.

Other characters chances for appearing:

Triceratons: Could have happened, especially if it was only one Triceraton. If they were to make more than that then they'd probably be the major villain of the season since they wouldn't waste money on just a quick triceraton invasion.

Krang: Probably not, more of a chance for Utroms to appear. It was clear that they were trying to move away from the old show.

Utroms: Yeah I could have seen it happen, it'd also be a way to re-tell the origin of the turtles for this show.

Beebop/Rocksteady: Like I mentioned with Krang it probably wouldn't have happened.

Pretty much most OT characters or anything that would require a lot of money to build wouldn't have happened.

Overall I think the show would have improved with Season 2 and would have like to see more of the characters from TNM. The only thing we knew for sure is Shredder was back. Oh well I guess we'll never know what could have happened now.

[Leo656]

There were things I thought could have been good, I just thought the execuation was poor. I was a HS Freshman by then so, no, not the target audience. Would have much preferred a more serious live-action show done in the vein of the first movie, but then that's me and everybody else.

I don't think Venus killed the franchise as much as general malaise did, but I don't think it's an idea they necessarily had to do. Points for trying, I guess.

[Cipher]

The show's problems weren't in its premises, but in their execution. Like you said, a lot of the plots had potential as long as you "ignored the cheesey parts." Had the show not consisted of 75% slapstick fights and wacky sound-effects, it could've been a very tolerable, if somewhat different version of the Turtles. If nothing else, it does retain some novelty for being a live-action Turtle series.

[Master Splinter]

I was at an age of my life where I was more into girls, drinking, and partying when this show came out. Now I don't regret everything I did then but sometimes I wish I would have stayed home and caught an episode or two instead of going out doing the stupid stuff I was doing... I have in the past few years been able to catch a couple of the episodes online here and there... I gotta say, yeah it wasn't as good as the 2k3 show now or the OT back in the day but it wasn't horrible...

I seen someone mention in a different post that Saban or whoever is responsible for Power Rangers probably canceled because they had to spend so much in licensing instead of keeping the profit like they could on PR... Makes sense but I really have no idea...

-mm

[ToTheNines]

The show's problems weren't in its premises, but in their execution. Like you said, a lot of the plots had potential as long as you "ignored the cheesey parts." Had the show not consisted of 75% slapstick fights and wacky sound-effects, it could've been a very tolerable, if somewhat different version of the Turtles. If nothing else, it does retain some novelty for being a live-action Turtle series.

This.

Plus the abuse of stock footage. Litearlly EVERY SINGLE EPISODE has the same vehicle sequence.

[Krutch]

At last, someone I completely agree with. NT:TNM was pretty enjoyable and had some fresh takes on the franchise.

I think Venus is hated far more than she deserves. Yes, she made the turtles look like fools by stringing them upside down. Yes, she made the Shredder cry. But after those two little blunders, she really wasnt too bad of a character. I liked how she had a different martial arts style than the others.

Bone Steel is an awesome concept for a character and you're completely right. He just needed a personality make over and he would be a very intimidating villain. Silver I remember liking too, but I don't really remember his personality all that well.

Anyways, I could go on but I'd really just be repeating what was already said. I doubt it, but I'm still holding out for a DVD release in North America:roll:

[oldmanwinters]

April actually makes 3 cameos giving the news on TV.


Huh, interesting, I was unaware of this. In what episodes does she appear? Does anyone have screencaps of her cameos?

[oldmanwinters]

Apparently there is an edited version on Youtube that omits Venus whenever possible. Kinda funny concept.:lol:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Na7rTaqdV5A&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Na7rTaqdV5A&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=merso10&view=videos

In what episodes does April appear? Does anyone have screencaps of her cameos?
Any help? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

[shuriken]

Wow. that was pretty bad. I did enjoy it when it first came out but that little clip was pretty bad. And that was WITHOUT Venus.

[ToTheNines]

Huh, interesting, I was unaware of this. In what episodes does she appear? Does anyone have screencaps of her cameos?

I don't know if that's true.. Then again, I've only seen the edited UK version.

[Weapon X]

I remember having some concept art for season two characters by Michael Dooney, well season 2 action figures to be exact. One was Casey and then there was a "Federal Agent" guy.

[Jester]

BISHOP!!! I'm just saying...:P

[Weapon X]

Not far from it. LOOK!

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a98/BatManBlade/fed.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a98/BatManBlade/csy.jpg

[Jester]

I always loved Dooney's Casey proto drawing.

[Weapon X]

Whenever I see it I think of Jim Lee's "Wildcats". Is that too obscure a reference?

[oldmanwinters]

I always loved Dooney's Casey proto drawing.

I always loved Dooney's drawings of ANYTHING!!!:)

[Jester]

Touche'

And no X I remember watching the WildCats series.

[Weapon X]

To be back on topic more, If they released NTTNM on DVD in the US I would buy them, even though I hated it when I was little. I just kinda want to see them again.

[Jester]

Ditto. It's Turtles, no matter how bad. I mean I have Turtle Tunes and We Wish You a Turtle Christmas.

[Weapon X]

'Touche to you.

I had Turtles Christmas. I always watched it in the basement. Maybe I was embarrassed. :lol:

[XERO]

Never saw Turtles Christmas. I must consider myself blessed. :P

[Nelson]

Apparently there is an edited version on Youtube that omits Venus whenever possible. Kinda funny concept.:lol:


LOL, I made that video. I was also making one for East Meets West, but as you can see, the resulting product sucks too so I lost my motivation.

It's interesting to note that leaving Venus out, and cutting as much wacky stuff as possible without leaving the show without a plot, a five episode arc ends un being just one half hour episode.

A better experiment would be to make an entirely new audio track, so we can get rid of those annoying sound effects, the bad jokes and the cheesy music. Even with Venus included it could work.

[oldmanwinters]

LOL, I made that video. I was also making one for East Meets West, but as you can see, the resulting product sucks too so I lost my motivation.

It's interesting to note that leaving Venus out, and cutting as much wacky stuff as possible without leaving the show without a plot, a five episode arc ends un being just one half hour episode.

A better experiment would be to make an entirely new audio track, so we can get rid of those annoying sound effects, the bad jokes and the cheesy music. Even with Venus included it could work.

And competent voice acting! Michelangelo's voice has to be the worst non-Venus character in the series. Nice job on the non-Venus experiment, by the way. A full redub might actually make the series bearable to watch. Maybe...

[Nelson]

Thanks, man. And a competent redub with some video editing would make the show work, given that the dialogue is modified (and with that, the plots.)

But what a monster of a task it would be.

EDIT: and I completely agree on Michelangelo's voice. It sounds like a woman at times. His dopey eyes and eternally open mouth do not help either.

[Cipher]

A better experiment would be to make an entirely new audio track, so we can get rid of those annoying sound effects, the bad jokes and the cheesy music. Even with Venus included it could work.Taking out the sound-effects alone would improve the show astronomically. It's hard to focus on anything when it feels like you're watching Bill Nye in the middle of a fight. It's like everytime I watch it I have to shout, "No, Next Mutation, kicks do not sound like car honks! And hand waves don't even make noise!"

[sdp]

The show's problems weren't in its premises, but in their execution. Like you said, a lot of the plots had potential as long as you "ignored the cheesey parts." Had the show not consisted of 75% slapstick fights and wacky sound-effects, it could've been a very tolerable, if somewhat different version of the Turtles. If nothing else, it does retain some novelty for being a live-action Turtle series.

Yeah execution is where the problems of the show were, however I thats not what I meant to say. IMO even with all the cheesy parts the show is very decent and entertaining, far from what everyone makes it out to be. Without the cheesy parts however this show would have been amazing.

And while I may sound too positive in the review its mostly because there is so much hate for the show and I wanted to show people. Its by no means a great show but a decent one that couldn't be great because of a few flaws.

Huh, interesting, I was unaware of this. In what episodes does she appear? Does anyone have screencaps of her cameos?

I don't remember, they are just quick cameos though like I mentioned.

Apparently there is an edited version on Youtube that omits Venus whenever possible. Kinda funny concept.:lol:

Funny concept, it was also done to Episode 1 without Jar Jar. But like I mentioned ironically enough Venus is one of the most interesting characters. Also they really gutted those episodes and thats because the Vammi's origin and whole purpose of being there is tied directly to Venus, without her it makes no sense.


I remember having some concept art for season two characters by Michael Dooney, well season 2 action figures to be exact. One was Casey and then there was a "Federal Agent" guy.

Thats awesome! The reason I didn't include Agent Bishop or other 2k3 characters on my wish list for season 2 was because they hadn't been created yet, but yeah Bishop would have fit the show perfectly.

Funny how this show had plenty of stuff that made it to the 2k3 universe, ike this Federal Agent, the turtles not saying Cowabunga, the turtles not eating pizza all the time. I think Laird obviously had to do with all those restrictions since its the same ones from the 2k3 show.

[oldmanwinters]

I don't remember, they are just quick cameos though like I mentioned.


Do you remember if an actress playing April actually showed up on screen or if it was just a sound clip or some other kind of reference?

[sdp]

All her cameos are giving off news in the TV, she is never called April but thats why they are cameos and not an actual appearance. She is obviously meant to be April though since in her cameos they always focused on the TV, she was giving the news which were not related to the actual episode. I think she wears a yellow jacket/trench coat in one of them too. Also in her cameos the whole gang is watching the news, I remember even in one episode one of the turtles getting mad for interrupting them. Also why have the same news lady that resembles April show up more than once, especially since the news had nothing to do with the actual plot of the episode.

[Scoshan]

Everybody's brought up alot of really good points.:D

I'm actually working on a story based on the idea of a season two...accept it has a few people's OCs in it, including a couple of mine. Just for fun more than anything.

[Andrew NDB]

April actually makes 3 cameos giving the news on TV. It seems that Laird wanted to disassociate from the OT

From what I understand Laird had next to nothing to do with NT:TNM. It was mostly Kevin Eastman's baby.

[Andrew NDB]

LOL, I made that video. I was also making one for East Meets West, but as you can see, the resulting product sucks too so I lost my motivation.

It's interesting to note that leaving Venus out, and cutting as much wacky stuff as possible without leaving the show without a plot, a five episode arc ends un being just one half hour episode.

A better experiment would be to make an entirely new audio track, so we can get rid of those annoying sound effects, the bad jokes and the cheesy music. Even with Venus included it could work.

It's funny, I was actually considering doing a fan reedit of NT:TNM to try and boil a bunch of episodes into one halfway decent feature length movie. Unfortunately the only thing to work off of is the European DVDs, and those cut a lot of things that I'd have liked to play with.

[Dejablue]

Oh man. I tried to watch every episode available on Youtube not too long ago. I think I made it to the episode with the hunter stealing an endangered turtle before I finally got too bored to go on. I liked the idea of the bad guy named Silver though. Sorta made me think of Gorilla Grodd.

[Cowabunga Carl]

I know that this is an old thread and it went away a while ago. but it is something I never really gave a chance. Having started to rewatch the 2k3 show I started thinking about this one. I should really give it a chance. So I was out and about at a comic show and found a copy. It was cheap so I picked it up. I'm going to start watching it once I'm done with the 2k3 show.

[Andrew NDB]

As a kid I never got to see TNM however I always wanted to see it. I loved the idea of the turtles being older

I loved the idea too. Still waiting.

[Guitar_Raph]

The only thing that surprised me was that there's no episode that had them playing as a band. Though they did for FoxKids promos and the closing credits, seeing them rock was cool!

Here's a Season 2 what if episode idea...

On his pirate radio show, Mikey played his guitar & sang. Someone steals his song & Mikey meets up with that band.