View Full Version : The use of modern technology to appeal to today's kids in the show
CyberCubed
10-21-2012, 08:36 AM
Has anyone else noticed this? In episode 3 we see an iphone, then in the next ep we see a Facebook-like site, then we an ipod used in the main plot.
An iphone/smartphone, Facebook, and ipods are all things that didn't exist when TMNT debuted in the 80's. This is all modern technology that kids watching the Nick show obviously use.
Instead of Mikey carrying his big boom box like in, "Shredder Radio," he's instead carrying an ipod. At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if the Turtles somehow get April to bring them an HD TV and some blu-rays instead of having a VCR player like the old show.
FearlessLeader
10-21-2012, 08:41 AM
This is just common sense. You are going to want the heroes using items kids today look at, know and relate to. It honestly would not surprise if some of the under 10 crowd doesn't know what a VHS is.
CyberCubed
10-21-2012, 08:43 AM
This is just common sense. You are going to want the heroes using items kids today look at, know and relate to. It honestly would not surprise if some of the under 10 crowd doesn't know what a VHS is.
Agreed but it feels strange. I'm used to seeing the Turtles say they're going out to the video rental store to rent some VHS tapes. Now the video rental stores don't exist!
I wouldn't be surprised if an episode shows the Turtles swinging around Wii-remotes at some point.
sykosis
10-21-2012, 08:57 AM
Agreed but it feels strange. I'm used to seeing the Turtles say they're going out to the video rental store to rent some VHS tapes. Now the video rental stores don't exist!
I wouldn't be surprised if an episode shows the Turtles swinging around Wii-remotes at some point.
And you shouldn't be surprised either. You have to assume this takes place in current day NYC, it would be extremely dated to have anything from the 80's and 90's cartoon reflected in this one, also in our time that was current technology, and even some futuristic technology. Who else had facetime like the turtle comm's had back then?
Jephael
10-21-2012, 08:59 AM
It's pretty typical for a show about teenaged crime fighters to use the latest in modern gadgets. I remember when Smallville first came out and I found it weird seeing Clark Kent talking to his pals on a cell phone.
pannoni1
10-21-2012, 05:26 PM
TMNT has almost always used contemporary cultural and technological trends. We could say the same thing about using computers instead of typewriters from the 1987 series' persepective (which were still used in several episodes in the OT as some were still around then even though the PC was king by then). The final season of the OT had the Internet. Michelangelo never used 8-track tapes, and the episode with the vinyl records was used as a gag to the past. I find it best though for such crimefighting shows to use mostly contemporary technology, with a few futuristic gadgets for fictional value and a few gags/throwbacks to the past (One OT episode had the Turtles playing Pong). 4kids even used the Internet, though social media wasn't yet mainstream (though it sort of was by the time we hit Fast Forward and Back to the Sewers, even if in a more primitive way). Kids just need to understand what's contemporary in today's world, or risk being behind the times.
cryan
10-21-2012, 05:59 PM
The turtle coms were cool in the OT was well.The were called shell Cells in the 4kids series.I wouldn't be surprised to see a tablet computer in the new series as well.
This is just common sense.
Spoken for truth. -thumb's up-
Ninjinister
10-21-2012, 07:46 PM
I'm pretty sure it's more of a "this s**t exists so we might as well use it."
chrisdude
10-21-2012, 08:24 PM
Smartphones, social networks and digital music players are ubiquitous parts of American life. They aren't new, or especially cool. None of those things struck me as purposeful attempt to be hip.
It'd be weird if four teenagers didn't use social networks, or use MP3 players. It'd be weird if a man saw four mutant turtles and didn't record it on his phone.
CyberCubed
10-21-2012, 08:27 PM
I remember when the 4kids series was airing people found it strange that they called their communicators, "Shell Cells" because they didn't like the idea of the Turtles having cell phones.
TMNT is a very 80's property, the idea of them using modern technology (outside of crazy sci-fi stuff), always seemed odd. Its like with The Simpsons, they're a family from the 80's but time has passed and they're been using stuff from the 2000's, etc.
TurtleTitan97
10-21-2012, 08:44 PM
This is just common sense. You are going to want the heroes using items kids today look at, know and relate to. It honestly would not surprise if some of the under 10 crowd doesn't know what a VHS is.
^This. The show is a new and updated version of TMNT, so of course it's going to be using modern technology on the show. It would be pretty werid if the turtles were using outdated technology from the 80's/90's on the show.
Candy Kappa
10-22-2012, 12:38 AM
TMNT set in 2012 using modern technology?
NO WAY!
Jester
10-22-2012, 12:46 AM
Someone's really not a fan of a lot of our recent threads... :D
Candy Kappa
10-22-2012, 12:53 AM
maybe a little
zkarlette
10-22-2012, 01:17 AM
For kids nowadays those are all pretty common things so it totally makes sense.
BubblyShell22
10-22-2012, 07:12 AM
I remember when the 4kids series was airing people found it strange that they called their communicators, "Shell Cells" because they didn't like the idea of the Turtles having cell phones.
TMNT is a very 80's property, the idea of them using modern technology (outside of crazy sci-fi stuff), always seemed odd. Its like with The Simpsons, they're a family from the 80's but time has passed and they're been using stuff from the 2000's, etc.
What the hell do you mean by that? TMNT is not just an 80's property, and they shouldn't just be using stuff from that era. We live in a different century now. If you want to go to the past, go buy a time machine and stay there. Maybe we'd be better off if you did because then we wouldn't have to look at the ridiculous B.S. you post all over the place. I swear, you are the biggest idiot I have ever met.
CyberCubed
10-22-2012, 08:39 AM
What the hell do you mean by that? TMNT is not just an 80's property, and they shouldn't just be using stuff from that era. We live in a different century now. If you want to go to the past, go buy a time machine and stay there. Maybe we'd be better off if you did because then we wouldn't have to look at the ridiculous B.S. you post all over the place. I swear, you are the biggest idiot I have ever met.
Are you braindead? Or did this topic completely fly over your head? I said I was noticing how modern technology was being used in 3 episodes in a row as the main plot point, not simply that they were just there.
Cowabunga Carl
10-22-2012, 09:32 AM
Got to go with Bublbly on this one dude. You make some really stupid threads that serve no point. So they Turtles are using modern tech, kind of to be expected. This is a show for the current generation. You want 80's stuff watch FW. This show is not going to be a copy of previous incarnations and shouldn't be.
Jephael
10-22-2012, 11:32 AM
If you want to go to the past, go buy a time machine and stay there. Maybe we'd be better off if you did because then we wouldn't have to look at the ridiculous B.S. you post all over the place. I swear, you are the biggest idiot I have ever met.
Could you imagine CyberCubed traveling back in time? God knows what damage he'd do!!!
http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/nohead.gif
shinefra
10-22-2012, 11:33 AM
I remember how the Turtles used the internet in the red sky episodes like it was the best thing in the world, just to remind you that they where modern dudes.
BubblyShell22
10-22-2012, 03:39 PM
Are you braindead? Or did this topic completely fly over your head? I said I was noticing how modern technology was being used in 3 episodes in a row as the main plot point, not simply that they were just there.
That wasn't the issue, dude. The issue was that you said that TMNT is strictly an 80's property meaning that anything they do now doesn't count and that you think it's odd that they're using modern technology. That's what confused me, okay?
Could you imagine CyberCubed traveling back in time? God knows what damage he'd do!!!
http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/nohead.gif
Yes, I agree, Jeph. I'm sure he'd really screw things up.
Coola Yagami
10-22-2012, 08:27 PM
Let's not be so hard on Cybercubed. This thread does have some sense to it. I think he's talking about how the episodes seem to kinda revolve around the new technology. I can kinda forgive the one about the i-phone cause it would take an episode to have them try to get back video some random dude shot of them... but then we have Mikey meeting friends using the internet and a facebook wannabe... and then the last episode was basically all because Don made an i-pod. It does seem a little in-your-face, and not subtle like say... April casually listening to her i-phone in the background or whatever.
I know the old show did have the technology of the time.. but the turtles would just return a video they rented before going into the main plot... there were no episodes about Shredder and Krang making a VCR episode and having the whole thing revolve around the state-of-the-art better-than-beta VCR.
These are minor example and easy to dismiss... but if the next episode happens to be all about 'April gets the Turtles a new HD TV' then I'd say they are blatantly advertising the new tech to kids who should already know about it.
I kind of like it when they come up with technology a bit more advanced/different than the current trends - I think it dates better and looks cooler. Eg. Old nokia phones would look a little silly now, but the shell cell (as over the top as it is) is still a great design.
Jester
10-22-2012, 08:57 PM
I know the old show did have the technology of the time.. but the turtles would just return a video they rented before going into the main plot... there were no episodes about Shredder and Krang making a VCR episode and having the whole thing revolve around the state-of-the-art better-than-beta VCR.
True to a point. Remember Frip the Polarisoid's camera and the fight for the tape that ensued?
Coola Yagami
10-22-2012, 10:48 PM
True to a point. Remember Frip the Polarisoid's camera and the fight for the tape that ensued?
Sorta... but since April herself uses a videocamera every episode, Frip having one doesn't really stand out.
Jephael
10-23-2012, 07:23 AM
Yea but hers didn't pull objects into it.
Coola Yagami
10-23-2012, 10:41 AM
Yea but hers didn't pull objects into it.
true... but still... it's hard to glorify a videocamera when April used one every episode. The new show kinda/sorta felt like 'hey look!!! an i-pod!! let's make an entire episode about it!! see, we're modern!!!'
Of course from another point of view... the Turtles are new to to the world soooo it would make sense that they would be impressed by an i-pod similar to how the Red Sky eps made the internet a big deal.
I guess my point is, as long they don't follow the trend and make each episode about the Turtles discovering HD tv, a touchscreen i-phone, some version of the X-Box Kinetic, etc etc etc, it should be fine.
shinefra
10-23-2012, 12:07 PM
I don't know about you guys but every time Mikey said "The Stockman pod I was about to lol"
1984TMNT
10-23-2012, 03:39 PM
Agreed but it feels strange. I'm used to seeing the Turtles say they're going out to the video rental store to rent some VHS tapes. Now the video rental stores don't exist!
I wouldn't be surprised if an episode shows the Turtles swinging around Wii-remotes at some point.
No offense, but this seems like a bit of a ridiculous thread.....why WOULDN'T this show depict the TMNT using modern technology? It's supposed to take place now, not in the 80's. I really don't see any sort of valid debate or reason to discuss further....?
1984TMNT
10-23-2012, 03:52 PM
Are you braindead? Or did this topic completely fly over your head? I said I was noticing how modern technology was being used in 3 episodes in a row as the main plot point, not simply that they were just there.
Really? I don't really read it that way when looking at your OP. It certainly seems as if your main point is how you wish modern tech wasn't in this version of TMNT because those things didn't exist in the OT. Take a look at your OP again:
Has anyone else noticed this? In episode 3 we see an iphone, then in the next ep we see a Facebook-like site, then we an ipod used in the main plot.
An iphone/smartphone, Facebook, and ipods are all things that didn't exist when TMNT debuted in the 80's. This is all modern technology that kids watching the Nick show obviously use.
Instead of Mikey carrying his big boom box like in, "Shredder Radio," he's instead carrying an ipod. At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if the Turtles somehow get April to bring them an HD TV and some blu-rays instead of having a VCR player like the old show.
As I stated before, this seems a bit ridiculous.
Zulithe
10-23-2012, 03:59 PM
Kids are using tech more than ever, it would be strange if they completely ignored all these details about the world we live in. It helps them feel more real and relatable, too. The turtles, being both teenagers as well as more-or-less outcasts who have no choice but to live in the sewer and outside of the surface world (and thus, fascinated by it) would of course be very curious about all this stuff and want to use it, wouldn't you?
zodiac brave
10-23-2012, 10:24 PM
so, if the episode had "revolved" around a discman, or even a walkman, instead of an mp3 player (which mikey used in the 2k3 series, as they were just as current at that time as they are now), we wouldnt have threads right now that would complain about how "unrealistic" it is that they didn't use an mp3 player instead? :P
so, if the episode had "revolved" around a discman, or even a walkman, instead of an mp3 player (which mikey used in the 2k3 series, as they were just as current at that time as they are now), we wouldnt have threads right now that would complain about how "unrealistic" it is that they didn't use an mp3 player instead? :P
We would almost certainly have a thread praising that the new series was sticking with retro tech because it's more natural :trolleye:
zodiac brave
10-24-2012, 03:40 PM
We would almost certainly have a thread praising that the new series was sticking with retro tech because it's more natural :trolleye:
indubitabley. :tlol:
Original TMNT Cartoon Fan
10-25-2012, 06:52 AM
Because the new show is set in the 2010's, not the late 1980's-early 1990's.
chrisdude
10-25-2012, 05:17 PM
It just occurred to me that I have no idea how old the people on this forum are :teek:
Coola Yagami
10-27-2012, 10:57 AM
so, if the episode had "revolved" around a discman, or even a walkman, instead of an mp3 player (which mikey used in the 2k3 series, as they were just as current at that time as they are now), we wouldnt have threads right now that would complain about how "unrealistic" it is that they didn't use an mp3 player instead? :P
Somewhere along the way, Cybercubed missed the original point of his message here. But yeah, Mikey did use an mp3 player in the 2K3 series, but just casually and whatnot. The entire episode wasn't about a killer MP3 player flying around shooting lasers and whatnot.
zodiac brave
10-27-2012, 11:27 AM
Somewhere along the way, Cybercubed missed the original point of his message here. But yeah, Mikey did use an mp3 player in the 2K3 series, but just casually and whatnot. The entire episode wasn't about a killer MP3 player flying around shooting lasers and whatnot.
well, neither was this episode. the t-pod started as an mp3 player, but essentially, the story was about alien tech that can evolve and weaponize that falls into the wrong hands. does it really matter that it started out as an MP3 player? it could have just as easily been anything else (a phone, a handheld video game system, a tablet...). its context in the episode was simply as a catalyst for the suped-up stockman-pod armor. by the time it became a threat, it wasn't an mp3 player anymore. it was just a plot device.
meh. either way, there'd be people complaining whether it was new or old technology, cuz this is the internet. not that i think cybercubed was complaining. as he stated more than once, he was simply stating that he noticed there was modern stuff and that to him it felt strange.
k_lala
10-27-2012, 02:54 PM
I dont see how its strange at all. Agreed some, actually everyone is just getting old.
GameMachineJames
10-28-2012, 11:00 PM
Seems to me that anything "Modern" depicted so far is something Donnie built from alien tech. Spiderguy having a smartphone wasn't Blatantly advertising. It was just what he had on him instead of a camera. People DO still use cameras that aren't phones.
Also, a discrete MP3 player is more of a curio now. Most people will have an iphone or a droid or somesuch with mp3 capabilities, and thus no need for a separate mp3 player. I personally still use my ipod video because it's still not broken.
Finally, the Turtles are VERY MUCH using only Salvaged technology here. They've got two arcade machines in the lair... Arcade cabinets aren't exactly "Modern technology", especially the ones depicted. Not to mention Donnie controls Mealhead using what appears to be an NES pad. And Donnie's laptop has all sorts of modifications, looking big-and-bulky. Which is the exact opposite of the trend for slimming laptops down.
In conclusion, they're not overusing modern tech. At least not anymore than they are using 80's/90's tech.
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