OT criticized too much for having stereotypical Turtles?

[Refractive Reflections]

I don't know how much some may assume the OT Turtles were stereotypically flat in terms of characterization, but some of the below episodes at least show there was some character depth to the OT Turtles.

I made a list of episodes (earlier in whole different TMNT forum) that displayed deeper character depictions of the OT Turtles. And that they are not as stereotypical or "flat" as some may assume. Of course, they are not near the 2K3 version in terms of storytelling and depth, but at least the OT had something...and that their characters went beyond their flashy intro.

Leonardo:
Take Me To Your Leader (Leonardo doubts his leadership abilities, the other Turtles attempt leading)
Leonardo Lightens Up (Leonardo's personality is changed, and the other Turtles realize that his normal serious attitude is actually needed)
Unidentified Flying Leonardo (Leonardo's concern for April or willing to enter a dangerous situation even if he has to battle/fight by himself; in addition his insecurity without his brothers to help him is shown)
Leonardo Cuts Loose (Shows that Leonardo's strategy/tactics are adaptable beyond the Turtles by working with Casey)
Leonardo the Renaissance Turtle (Leonardo is capable of the skills Don, Raph, and Mikey has when needed even when they are not there)
Snakes Alive! (Leonardo actually has a weakness despite being the leader)
Leonardo versus Tempestra (Reveals Leonardo's blind competitiveness that causes him to get into trouble)

Raphael:
Raphael Knocks 'Em Dead (Shows that even Raphael knows his own jokes aren't always hilarious)
Raphael Meets His Match (A female version of his sarcasm and wit that is encountered, and he actually is initially flustered in dealing with such a character)
Raphael Drives 'Em Wild (Provides another different view of Raphael if he was human and had taxi driving skills)
Raphael Versus The Volcano (Shows that Raphael can be serious/emotional when he is confronted with his own mortality)
Raphael, Turtle of A Thousand Faces (Shows Raphael's battle talent and intent to contribute beyond his sarcasm/humor)
Mr. Nice Guy (The episode provides the "what if" possibility if Raphael's crude humor was replaced with excessive niceness; or in other words, how valuable his personality is.)

Donatello:
Donatello's Degree (Explores Donatello's passion in science)
Donatello's Badd Time (Reveals Donatello's tendency of not wanting to burden his other brothers in dealing with another failed gadget of his)
Donatello's Duplicate (Reveals Donatello's implied/hidden pride with his lofty goals of science especially when his duplicate amplifies that personality trait.)
Planet of the Turtleoids: Part 1 & Part 2 (Reveals Donatello's cynicism of judgmental humans and how "Shellri-La" seems to satisfy his utopian vision...at least initially.)
Rock Around The Block (Donatello learns that an evil's undoing can be from his/her own evil traits and that sometimes doing nothing is actually advantageous rather than trying to come up with solution/gadget to solve the problem.)
Night Of The Dark Turtle (Exposes how Donatello can have rage and seething anger in just the right conditions.)

Michelangelo:
Pizza By The Shred (Displays how Michelangelo does have initiative in getting a job/money and is not the lazy "bum" some would think.)
Michelangelo's Birthday (Reveals his guilt for overvaluing his birthday and putting his Turtle brothers in harm's way.)
The Gang's All Here (Reveals the depth of Mikey's longing to join humanity.)
Poor Little Rich Turtle (Displays Mikey's sympathy for children despite them being spoiled/rude.)
What's Michelangelo Good For? (Reveals Mikey's mental competence and self-sufficiency in fighting/planning even without his brothers' help.)
The Starchild (Displays Mikey's sympathy for children who are destructive/misunderstood.)
Adventures In Turtle-Sitting (Reveals Mikey having protective and responsible "eldest brother" traits when his brothers are turned into 5 year old versions of themselves.)

All four of their personalities stand out:
Cry H.A.V.O.C.! (Raph & Don split with Leo & Mike about their views with mutants and humans)
Turtle Trek (Disagreement between whether to first help others or defeat evil)

[CyberCubed]

The Turtles personalities in every cartoon are based on their general stereotypes. There are some eps where they deviate from the norm but status quo is restored by the next episode.

[ryukenden]

Out of all the series thus far, here is a little rundown on the OT Turtles.

Leo - Quite the paragon but still had his flaws

Don - Perhaps the most cynical incarnation

Raph - I can understand him being more lighthearted but still crude and still has charm despite the other Raphs having short fuses.

Mike - Personally, this version is perhaps the most mature in all his small screen versions despite him being criticized as a goofoff. His maturity did show pretty well in the Red Sky seasons.

[Jephael]

I always love it when Donatello loses his temper or Michaelangelo has a bright idea. It's nice to see the Turtles interchange personality traits with each other instead of just being shoehorned into their typecast roles. Sometimes you have really look deep into the heart of the show to see it though and it often takes multiple viewings.

[CyberCubed]

This is the reason OT Donatello is my favorite incarnation. For once Don wasn't portrayed as a meek or geeky character.

OT Donatello had a huge temper, an ego, and he was the most cynical. He also excelled at fighting too. I think David Wise favored Donatello the most of all the turtles, because he also acts like the leader over Leonardno in a lot of episodes too.

[pannoni1]

I've never heard such an argument, given that stereotypical Turtles hate pizza (see Mirage). Actually one of the best parts about the middle seasons of the OT is exploring the various Turtles in depth through different situations. You could even extend this to stereotypical April: it wasn't all about being kidnapped or staying on the sidelines and just reporting. Many episodes had her helping the Turtles and even saved them a few times with even a brief moment with Casey Jones in the final H.A.V.O.C. episode. Sure, the OT was a bit more formulatic with the characters than other universes (it was designed for ages 3-11), but the writers did a good job mixing up some breaths of character development.

Leonardo occassionally had some fun moments such as playing chess with Splinter in "Case of the Killer Pizzas" and playing pool as an old turtle in Once Upon a Time Machine, more typical "Michelangelo" traits.

[Luigiperps]

I've never heard such an argument, given that stereotypical Turtles hate pizza (see Mirage).

See mirage, huh? See the real world!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XCgQe9QIHP8