Why can't TMNT cartoons last as long as Power Rangers?

[Refractive Reflections]

Hey guys,

I was looking at a list of long lasting kids' shows and I noticed that Power Rangers has lasted for already 19 YEARS!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Power_Rangers_episodes

With both TMNT and Power Rangers basically having the same themes (teen superheros, sci-fi enemies, action/fighting, a group of 4-5 heroes with a variety of personalities, hiding their identities somewhat from the public, etc.), why couldn't TMNT last that long? Of course the TMNT cartoon would be have to rebooted/revised through the years as we have seen in the OT in the "Red Sky Episodes", and the 2003 cartoon with "Fast Forward" and "Back To the Sewers". The rebooting/revisions happened in Power Rangers, but the thing is that it PERSISTED continuously without taking a year off! (See the Wikipedia link above)

(There's a debate/discussion of sorts as to why the OT ended exactly at Season 10 if you are interested: http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=39800 )
So the big question is why doesn't TMNT seem to have that same perpetual lasting ability as Power Rangers if they both have very similar themes?

[CyberCubed]

Power Rangers changes its cast almost every series. It's practically a new show every series.

Same reason Pokemon has gone in 16 years.

They are Japanese franchises not American ones. And the fact that TMNT are the longest running action cartoons in history says enough. Most superhero shows don't go beyond 65 episodes.

[ZariusTwo]

They are Japanese franchises not American ones..

Half-true in PR's case.

While many Power Rangers suits, monsters, occasional plots, and mecha are based on the Japanease Sentai source material, it has, across several seasons, had unique U.S-only storytelling and even Rangers and weapons (Titanium Ranger and the various Battlizors)

[Candy Kappa]

PR got an advantage that it comes from Sentai, which are a popular franchise, and half the work for PR is already done with character designs, fight scenes and so on.

[Irishmile]

I think them now being owned by an actual cartoon network means we will see them alot more from now on.... No more negotiating, or waiting for the right pairing... We know what network it will be on... If Nick wants to do a series they will just do it.. Nobody to ask no permission needed... Plus since they have to make their investment back they will be motivated to make them... Though I suspect sales on toys has helped with that already.

[Jephael]

The Ninja Turtles work similar to how most comic book super heroes like Batman and Spider-Man do. Every decade or so they have a new animated incarnation and a movie tie-in.

[CyberCubed]

Isn't the OT the longest running action cartoon in American history?

As far as I know the only cartoons with more episodes than it are comedy cartoons like Simpsons, Spongebob, etc.

DC and Marvel don't even allow most of their shows to go beyond 65 episodes...

[Jester]

Isn't the OT the longest running action cartoon in American history?

As far as I know the only cartoons with more episodes than it are comedy cartoons like Simpsons, Spongebob, etc.

DC and Marvel don't even allow most of their shows to go beyond 65 episodes...
Depends....do you count the whole DCAU, which is made up of several series but is all one big continuity?

[Irishmile]

You know the sad thing is TMNT has in my oppinion ALWAYS had pretty good acting/Voice acting.... Power Rangers... NOT SO MUCH... But I may be biased because I can not stand PR.

[ZariusTwo]

You know the sad thing is TMNT has in my oppinion ALWAYS had pretty good acting/Voice acting.... Power Rangers... NOT SO MUCH... But I may be biased because I can not stand PR.

As much of a PR fan as I am, I can cite several examples of good acting/voice acting. Robert Axelrod, who was memorable and effective as Lord Zedd, and there's the people who voiced Zordon, Alpha, Rito, King Mondo, Dark Spectre etc.

That said, the show DOES have it's share of stinkers in the acting roles. The current series is definatly no exception, with some of the worst acting I've ever seen on this show.

[chrisdude]

It's important to note that The Power Rangers not only changes it's cast, it changes it's theme. Really, it resets over and over, maintaining the same age demographic, instead of trying to grow with it, like it OT tried to do. The latter is much harder to do.

Shows like The Simpsons and Southpark don't target such a narrow age group. Plus they're extremely formulaic, and play off the never-ending fodder of pop culture.

[Refractive Reflections]

You know the sad thing is TMNT has in my oppinion ALWAYS had pretty good acting/Voice acting.... Power Rangers... NOT SO MUCH... But I may be biased because I can not stand PR.

You're not the only one.

Whenever I do get up early on Saturday mornings and flip through the channels, I always have noticed the Power Rangers on the CW at 8:30AM (but they show reruns of the "Lost Galaxy" series season 7 of 1999). It surprises me that there's still a high demand for it without any break (as the Wikipedia link has shown), but I guess as "chrisdude" has said...since they literally change the theme all the time, kids wouldn't be any wiser.

A shame that the OT seemed to be caught in the middle. The OT tried to grow with its audience and have some minimal continuity, but it was restricted by the media/parental groups to distance itself from violence (i.e. taking away Mikey's nunchucks, leading to a more humorous tone in season 4) that made their older demographic abandon it while the newer kid audience gravitated toward Power Rangers and Batman instead because it was supplying that needed action/violence that TMNT used to have in its earlier seasons.
It seemed like it was too little, too late by the time the "Red Sky" episodes arrived to properly compete with this darker tone.

[CyberCubed]

Had Power Rangers never happened in the U.S, its quite possible the TMNT fad would have gone on a little longer.

As I always say, by 1998 TMNT would have been completely destroyed by Pokemon anyway...so I suppose it doesn't matter.

[gobo]

The fewer comparisons there are between TMNT & Power Rangers, the happier I am.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Isn't the OT the longest running action cartoon in American history?

As far as I know the only cartoons with more episodes than it are comedy cartoons like Simpsons, Spongebob, etc.

DC and Marvel don't even allow most of their shows to go beyond 65 episodes...

It was the longest American cartoon ever when ending in November 1996. Simpsons took over in November 1996.

[pannoni1]

The fewer comparisons there are between TMNT & Power Rangers, the happier I am.

I hate to say this, but when I purchased my Nick figures the TMNT were right next to the PR Samurai figures, plus PR Samurai comes on after new Nick Turtles episodes, not to mention the recent Next Mutation release has a Power Rangers copyright notice on it. The comparisons are INCREASING yet the popularity of TMNT is increasing for a change. This is not the '90s.

Since live action series on average that last multiple years have more episodes than animation, its not surprising that you will have more episodes for Power Rangers. When you total the run of all three cartoons plus Next Mutation, that comes out to 16 1/2 years so far, just two years less than the total Power Rangers output, plus Power Rangers never had a well-known Comics line plus it only had two movies, the second worse than the third Turtles movie. All Power Rangers had to do was film original scenes from the established Sentai footage, while TMNT had to start from scratch.

[TMNT-Leonardo]

Hey guys,

I was looking at a list of long lasting kids' shows and I noticed that Power Rangers has lasted for already 19 YEARS!

So, it's original Japanese series Super Sentai is on it's 36 year run :lol:. Tecnhically, it's had a longer run then TMNT because of that.