Did you watch the 4kids series when it was new and airing for the first time?

[CyberCubed]

Back in late 2002/early 2003 I was so excited that TMNT was coming back to TV. Back then I would have never believed we'd ever get a new TMNT cartoon again. I thought for sure the Turtles were dead aside from the comics.

I watched the first episode when it debuted in February 2003, and since then saw every single episode in its debut when it was "new" each Saturday monring. I didn't watch the reruns when they were on TV, but I made sure to watch every episode that was new.

I actually didn't rewatch the series at all till it was ending, and then did a massive rewatch. To date I've actually only seen each episode twice, one in its original run and one in my rewatch. I should do a third watch someday...

Did you watch every episode as it was airing for the first time, or did you miss most of the series in its original run and not watch it till much later on?

[Revan]

I watched most every episode the first time around. There were a few here and there I missed when I was busy on the weekend but I would say I caught about 75% during the first airing.

It wasn't until a few years into the show that I came snooping around the drome looking for some good discussion.

The series is still fun to watch several years later.

[Ashangelo]

I'm pretty positive I watched every episode the first time around. On the occasion that I wasn't home to watch it I made sure that my mom recorded it for me.

[CyberCubed]

Heh, I remember how the Christmas episode actually aired ON Christmas for once as its debut.

I wonder how they worked that out? Good thing Dec. 25th came on a Saturday that year.

[Powder]

I watched it new every Saturday morning up to a certain point... I don't recall where exactly I stopped but it was just before Fast Forward.
That & BTTS I caught up on later.

[Jester]

I watched it new every Saturday morning up to a certain point... I don't recall where exactly I stopped but it was just before Fast Forward.
That & BTTS I caught up on later.
I tried, but I tended to work on Saturday morning...I think I DLed them.

Actually...GOBO!! DID I DOWNLOAD THE 4KIDS SERIES!?

[Powder]

Well lucky for me I was 12 when the show started.

[Jester]

Well lucky for me I was 12 when the show started.
Thanks for making me feel old, Powder...I was a freshman...in college!

[CyberCubed]

I wasn't a kid when the 2k3 series started in 2003, but I wasn't that old either.

[Andrew NDB]

No. Started watching years later and made it to "Return to New York" (if I could illustrate those quote marks around it more sarcastically, I would) and had to tap out.

[Jester]

No. Started watching years later and made it to "Return to New York" (if I could illustrate those quote marks around it more sarcastically, I would) and had to tap out.
I know that was rough for you...you deserve a medal.

[gobo]

I rarely missed a premiere. For the first time in ages, I wouldn't give a second thought to admitting my appreciation for TMNT. ^_^
GOBO!! DID I DOWNLOAD THE 4KIDS SERIES!?
Yep. Instead of relying on a crappy VCR, you'd download the suckers off IRC after you got home from the store.

[Jester]

Yep. Instead of relying on a crappy VCR, you'd download the suckers off IRC after you got home from the store.

Most of the time it was because I screwed up trying to record with my crappy VCR. Heck, sometimes I tried to share my taped episodes...I think.

[Buslady]

yeah it was the best damn thing on tv at the time. The best boob tube representation until after ninja tribunal series ended.
then they got all silly looking with sharp angles and that silly future stuff. meh...

[ChetTurtle]

I don't remember but I would say I probably saw 80% of it at the time, although I was a kid and I wasn't into tmnt before that so I didn't try.

[ToTheNines]

I was just 11 when "Things Change" aired :) I was the perfect age and the show blew my mind.

I caught almost each episode on it's original airdate all the way to early season 3... that six episode invasion arc really wore me thin and from then on I would catch an episode when I felt like it. I thought "Exodus" was amazing, but sadly it was the season finale.

I actually watched almost all of the season 4 episodes upon their first airing, which is suprising because I was obsessed with baseball and girls back then.I remember being really pumped about the build up to the Ninja Tribunal episodes... boy was I in for some disappointment.

Hated FF as first, but once the CGI movie started picking up steam I was in turtle mode and started watching it religiously.

Saw every BttS episode unless I skipped it on purpose (Incredible Shrinking Serling, SuperQuest, SuperPower Struggle).

[lowbacca]

I have to admit I gave no chance for the 2k3 series when it first aired. I was so sure that it's just a weak remake and has nothing to do with the original creators. (I had no internet back then:))

No need to say i REALLY, REALLY regret that now.

[Eiko]

I didn't even know it started just had my first born at the time. Turned the TV on one day and behold Turtles was on. :)

[Candy Kappa]

I watched a few of the Norwegian dubs when they aired, but mainly I watched the show on youtube in it's original English dub

[Guitar_Raph]

I didn't get into the 2K3 series until Fast Forward * Back to the Sewers. But I did catch episodes where it featuresd Raph driving a motorcycle & Turtle Titan Mikey.

[plasticturtle]

Unfortutely no. I rarely watched TV back then. I caught an episode here and there and liked what I saw. I wish I had taken time to watch the whole thing.
I won't make the same mistake with the upcoming series. I plan to make it a point to watch.

[AT-Man]

I couldn't watch it from tv so I got the episodes by other means. I started watching when the first season was going and tried to get the new episodes as fast as possible. They also started to show it in Finnish on tv, but I don't like Finnish dubbing, unless it's the OT episodes. Finnish OT Shredder's voice is even better than English.

[ABrown]

The only episode that I missed when it aired for the first time was the very first episode. But fortunately they were airing two episodes a week at the time. So I caught it the very next week.

[CyberCubed]

Heh, I remember when the Ninja Tribunal episodes aired in the UK or somewhere else before the U.S. did, and people were actually getting worried those eps would never debut in the U.S.

As if 4kids would really spend their time and money animating those episodes and never show them here.

[gobo]

As if 4kids would really spend their time and money animating those episodes and never show them here.
They didn't. Remember? It was 100% Laird-funded.

[TheCanadiandrome]

i watched some of the series when it first debuted, but then lost interest for some reason, til Turtles Forever. then i watched some episodes til it was yanked from the airwaves

[Wildgoose]

only a few episodes...The time they were airing it was kinda difficult for me to see it..I had to study for scool ect...So I tried to make breaks of find any kind of stupid excuses just to turn on the TV..it didnt actually work...:lol:

[Keldor1578]

I watch the 4kids cartoon when it debuted on tv, Still is one better saturday morning cartoon.

[FearlessLeader]

I watched every episode as it first aired. Used to have big chats with people during the episodes on MSN and we would talk about the episode while we watched it, it was fun! :tsmile:

[Redeemer]

I watched every episode as it first aired. Used to have big chats with people during the episodes on MSN and we would talk about the episode while we watched it, it was fun! :tsmile:

Sounds awesome!!!

Yeah I watched most of the 4kids eps as they aired, but I miss a few in season 4 but saw them due to reruns

[PizzaPower]

i saw the first 11 episodes on tv before the re-run of things change then my cable went bye bye and yeaa. but around the end of season 2 i started up again.

[Turo602]

I remember I had to go to Mexico with my parents so I had to miss a couple of episodes when I was anticipating to watch it. When I got back, I was flipping through the channels on a Saturday morning and saw April on the tv and didn't know what it was so I turned the tv off until my mom caught more of it and told me. Since then I watched it religiously. I had to miss some episodes of the first seasons due to religion though.:tlol:Freakin Saturday school.

I also remember waking up to catch the season 4 finale but I was really sleepy and trying to keep my eyes open during it. Oh, and I had a nose bleed. Weird episode with stick people, other humans, and four Shredders. I wake up from knocking out at various moments of the episode and don't even know if it was a real episode or not.:teek:

So many adventures during my time watching the TMNT.:tcool:

[MrPliggins]

I was merely 24 when the show started. I was never able to catch it when it aired, but I sometimes time-taped it to my VCR.

[CyberCubed]

Its actually staggering to think the 4kids series debuted over 8 years ago now. I still remember when it was airing for the first time as if it was only 2-3 years ago.

Its almost odd to consider this an "old" show now.

[adz]

Its actually staggering to think the 4kids series debuted over 8 years ago now.

:o Man you're right it is weird to think. Time flies when your havin fun! :D

I remember reading that the U.S had just aired the new series and was devastated that Australia wouldn't be getting it for a few more months. Funnily enough a friend of mine owned a comic shop at the time and when I went in to pick up my weekly stash he added a disc to the pile and said "An extra treat for ya dude" Got home and low and behold! it was the first 5 eps!

[Warhorse]

No, I wasn't even aware of it until I started thinking about the ninja turtles, searched for forums on them and found this place, and it was the Technodrome patrons that alerted me of the cartoon. I first started with watching youtube tribute videos of the cartoon, then eventually got into the show, online. But I lost interest during the Fast Forward arc. And, I never did watch the show when it aired on TV. I hardly ever do watch TV. I just wait for the DVD or for it to come on Hulu, then I'll catch it.

[Jephael]

I loved the series from start to finish! I'll admit there were a couple episodes here and there I didn't like, especially the two Garbageman stories, but all in all it was enjoyable!

[sdp]

I was in my teens when it started so at the time I didn't really care about cartoons anymore and I'm not sure how aware I was of the new show, I think a little because I was still into videogames and it got one, I still thought it looked cool but I had other stuff in my mind to go out of my way and watch it. Eventually I started getting back into cartoons in 2004 mostly because of Teen Titans and when I started watching cartoons again, I caught some of Season 1 on Cartoon Network before they stopped and then I watched almost all of Season 4 as it premiered as well as the Fast Forward preview. I watched the first half of FF on DVD before the second aired and after that I decided to go ahead and wait until I was able to watch it all on DVD when they finally got the releases right but it never finished so I decided to do it anyway just a few months ago.

Watching a show as it airs vs watching it after its over both have their pros and cons. For the first you don't get stuff spoiled, there's more discussion and room for speculation after each episode but you also have to wait for each upcoming episode and the show may take years to finish. If its over already you get to enjoy it continuously and shows with strong continuity especially benefit since the lack of breaks between episodes means you won't forget some of the smaller details.

[Warhorse]

I was in my teens when it started so at the time I didn't really care about cartoons anymore and I'm not sure how aware I was of the new show, I think a little because I was still into videogames and it got one, I still thought it looked cool but I had other stuff in my mind to go out of my way and watch it. Eventually I started getting back into cartoons in 2004 mostly because of Teen Titans and when I started watching cartoons again, I caught some of Season 1 on Cartoon Network before they stopped and then I watched almost all of Season 4 as it premiered as well as the Fast Forward preview. I watched the first half of FF on DVD before the second aired and after that I decided to go ahead and wait until I was able to watch it all on DVD when they finally got the releases right but it never finished so I decided to do it anyway just a few months ago.

Watching a show as it airs vs watching it after its over both have their pros and cons. For the first you don't get stuff spoiled, there's more discussion and room for speculation after each episode but you also have to wait for each upcoming episode and the show may take years to finish. If its over already you get to enjoy it continuously and shows with strong continuity especially benefit since the lack of breaks between episodes means you won't forget some of the smaller details.

That's funny, I never get the feeling of being spoiled when watching a TV show. Even when I do know what's going to happen, if something shocking does happen, it's still shocking to me. To this day, I still get goosebumps when I watch As Same As It Never Was. Hell, not TMNT related, but NCIS, finale of season two, when one of the primary agents takes a bullet to the head, it still gets me everytime I watch it.

[Leonardo Mystic]

I did not know there was a new Ninja Turtles cartoon until about April of 2004. I was sitting in a pizza restaurant that had a buffet and one of the TVs they have mounted on the walls was tuned to Cartoon Network. I happened to look up and there on the screen was Leonardo standing with what looked like a blue monster (later finding out that monster would be Quarry).

At first, I couldn't believe it and then I was like "Ugh, again?" See, I didn't exactly part on the best terms with Ninja Turtles years prior. The Red Sky season with the Turtles becoming monsters and Carter and finally the horror of the third live action movie had me writing Turtles completely off. I wanted nothing to do with them anymore.

Anyway, I thought nothing more about it until I came across a favorite Ninja Turtles thread on GaiaOnline. So I thought "what the heck, I'll post who was my favorite back in the day". Somehow, as I read other responses and how decidated the OP was to the thread, I got caught up in the spirit. By the time when I read someone mention that the cartoon was airing on CN, I was more receptive and I decided "okay, I think I want try this thing out now."

My first episode was "Darkness on the Edge of Town". The funny thing was I left it on mute for the whole episode and just read the captions. I think I wanted to see first if I liked it well enough to subject myself to the voices. Probably because I was used to the VAs from the old cartoon.

Fortunately, I did like what I saw and so I decided to try the next episode the next day, "The Way of Invisibility", with sound. I was blown away. All the Turtles voices were great I thought, but I instantly took a shine to Leo's. He was the one I worried most over what he would sound like.

I watched all what Cartoon Network had at that time and when they started repeating again, I began recording them on my VCR. Later, I found out the new episodes were airing on Fox and since I worked every Saturday, I would set up the VCR to record it. The rest is history. I've watched all the seasons and the Tribunal and Fast Forward and BTTS, although the latter two I didn't enjoy so much. It just wasn't the same anymore.

[DrSpengler]

I'm afraid I waited for the DVDs on everything. I tape it every Saturday morning when it first began, but I think I only made it as far as the Nano episode before I quit bothering.

After that I just began collecting the DVDs, which is probably why I haven't seem most of "Back to the Sewers" since it isn't on DVD in the US. From what I saw, though, I don't think I missed much.

[tone-master21]

I saw every episode on DVD first, except for Back to the Sewers I saw it when it aired.

[PizzaPower]

i still remember when "things change" aired :)

[rufus]

Was unaware of the 4kids Series until later after collecting the first two dvds that were put out. At first i thought they were just a new tmnt series that was Direct to DVD.:lol:

[oldmanwinters]

After that I just began collecting the DVDs, which is probably why I haven't seem most of "Back to the Sewers" since it isn't on DVD in the US. From what I saw, though, I don't think I missed much.

Idunknow, Spengs, but there are some BttS episodes you might really enjoy.

Engagement Ring and Identity Crisis were two of my favorites! Also, Karate Schooled and Hacking Stockman had their high points.

[sdp]

BTTS isn't that bad, I liked it more than Fast Forward, there's a few stinkers but it has some strong episodes that are definitely worth seeing.

[Oniri]

I remembered being SO HAPPY that they were coming back and stayed up from "stupid-o-clock" with excitement till the premiere was aired. I didn't follow it religiously ,but that was mostly due to accidently sleeping in. I was disappointed in myself many times, at least into they got to Fast forward. I threw in the towel then.

[shuriken]

I missed the first episode due to a camping trip I took. The first one I saw was the Mouser episode with Baxter. I loved it. I honestly became hooked as the series progressed. So much better than TNM. It was also superior than the OT in a few ways, most notably the animation and lip synching, although the OT will forever be what introduced me to the boys in the first place.

[Drako-Cat]

Watched it ever since the beginning! I still remember when it was airing on FoxBox, I collected a lot of the action figures, have all of the games, ahh...I miss those times! ^^

[lethrhd]

of course, i remember discussing every episode on here during the first season.

[Brandatello]

i was 12 when it started and i remember getting up every saturday and blasting the tv in my sisters room cause i didnt have one in mine and i could not sit still i loved it but as i got older i always missed it cause i started staying up late at like 16 so i missed ff and btts.. dont get me wrong ive watched tmnt ever since i was like 3 so ive been in love with tmnt all my life and when the new show came out i was more excited than i was ever for christmas.

[Iroh]

I didn't because I was deep into other things like Naruto and Bleach. I just started watching the series on last week. I like it. I'm on season three now.