TMNT fans born in '86

[ledahead]

I was born in 1986 and I was pretty young to have experienced the original toon but I remember the turtles phenomena of the late 80s/early 90s (more early 90s in my case) and the ninja turtles left a huge impression on me. I loved everything about the early 90s from the NES to the toys to the cartoons. I don't even really remember watching specific episodes of the ninja turtles, I just remember how I felt during that time period. After the early 90s I didn't really like a lot of the cartoons that were on TV (w/ exception of a few Nick and Marvel toons) and never felt the same about any period of time in my childhood after that. To this day I still love the ninja turtles. I own all the seasons of the original toon on DVD, own the first three movies on blu ray and even watch the new Nickelodeon TMNT toon.

Thinking about it I find it strange. It is as if I should have been born 5 years earlier. I was wondering if any TMNT fans born in '86 had the same experience I did and if they preferred the early 90s to the rest of their childhood.

[CyberCubed]

I was born a year earlier. I watched TMNT at the age of 3. I saw all of Seasons 1-4 through reruns. Watched the show consistently through that till the end of Season 10. Saw the 3 movies and had the Archie comics, videogames and toys.

Its hard to believe but I was only like 11 years old when the original cartoon was canceled. It surprises me how much of the show I watched when I was like 3-10 years old.

[Luke795]

I was also born in 1986 and not many people can like a TV show and be 1 year old when season 1 airs like me.

[ledahead]

But didn't you catch seasons airing in the early 90s and reruns of seasons from the 80s. The original toon was on TV through at least '95 in the US.

[ledahead]

My bad Luke, I think I misinterpreted your post.

[TonySiegel]

86 turtle head checking in...

I remember the toon, watching the 1st movie on VHS, some cyborg type robotic turtles (toys and cartoons), remember alot of the toys, the 2nd movie, 3rd movie, etc.

It was a great time in my opinion... but I just got into the comics a few years ago...

1986 represent!

[MikeandRaph87]

I am a year younger, an '87 baby so I am as old as the cartoon. Its bittersweet. I feel like it would have been better if I were a few years older I could have been able to get into even more. I was introduced vy simply changing chanels and stopping on it after my dad taught me how to use the remote. I started going around saying "Bebop and Rocksteady" and the rest is history. Never left fandom and wish the cartoon could have lasted a little longer than 4th grade and being sooo young when it was at its peak. Yet it means it has been and will always be apart of my life. I was also a good age to get into all three 90's phenoms only I never left TMNT I did leave PR, and became a casual Pok'emon fan. Being born a little earlier I may not have been able to appreciate all three.

So am I less than a quarter of a year off from your eqation,pannoni? :trazz:

[pannoni1]

To me 1986ers are the last real year for TMNT fans to properly experience the phenomenon. I myself was born in early '85 and feel similar, though thanks to VHS tapes, there were certain episodes I enjoyed more than others and also noticed a few TMNT references on a few other shows and in the real world, yet I felt that I would have gotten more out of it had I'd been born in the earlier '80s, as you would still be young enough to really enjoy the series yet get into some deeper stuff like the comics and more specialized merchandise, along with having more toys to enjoy. The 1986ers were in first grade when the third movie came out which was the last time that the franchise was widely promoted, and their pre-K/Kindergarten years were enough to develop some appreciation for it. But by the time they reached third grade, TMNT had entered its Red Sky era and Power Rangers had taken over. My younger brother, born in 1988, never quite understood what the TMNT were except on a couple video games I had and he didn't play it as much. He was mostly watching classic Warner Bros. stuff and some Nickelodeon series at the time.

[CyberCubed]

Its really weird how young we all were when the TMNT phenomenon happened. I mean at the age of 4-5 years old the franchise was at the height of its popularity and we were too young to properly comprehend that.

Its really strange looking back how we all became such huge fans when we were children and couldn't even comprehend what the series truly was back then.

By the time I was in 6th grade the TMNT cartoon was canceled....wow.

[Klunk]

I was 6 in 1986. I am so proud and glad to have experienced all the TMNT craziness as it unfolded. I was the perfect age for it. So much fun.

[Stingray69]

I was born in 86 also I can remember seeing the movies in threaters. And having the toys etc. And also remember watching the reruns on tv. Ill always remember sitting in front on the tv in the living room watching the very first eps. I also can recall taking the toys to shcool for recess and giving them away as xmas present for the class exchange a few year. Those where the days.

[ToxicRevolution]

Well... I was born in '90 and as far as I could tell, it was stil huge at least until the cartoon ended in '96. (Granted, a six year-old's world is pretty small, so I can't comment on lasting Turtle-mania around the country, but my "social circle," at the very least, was still very into it.) I feel like it would have been nice to be born a few years earlier and catch the whole wave, but I can't really complain because there were constant re-runs of the older episodes while the series was still in production, and I had plenty of VHS tapes of episodes, and all the movies. Plus I was young enough for other mid-90s toons like Batman to be the coolest thing in the world to me (besides the Turtles).

The only thing I regret about my childhood Turtle fandom is that I told my mom to sell off my large toy collection when I was 12 - that was 2002 and a year later the second cartoon started airing and I majorly regretted getting rid of all my Turtle gear.

[The Boston Ninja Turtle]

i was supposed to be born in 86 but popped out 4 days early

[hankthetank]

I was born late in 1989 and I didn't have cable so I don't think I ever saw a new episode of Turtles but I think I saw some reruns of the first few seasons and I would constantly get TMNT videos from the video store and Library. However the video games were still fairly popular. I even remember me and my friend of the same age when we were playing TMNT saying he didn't know TMNT had a TV show. So for the majority of the episodes I was watching them for the first time in college with a beer in my hand.

[InsaneZane]

Born in 1986 boyeees!!!
I do however remember seeing episodes of TMNT on TV when I was little... (Specifically on USA and the same morning block as GI:Joe, Transformers etc.)
Grew up on TMNT games, cartoons, movies...
Role played with my 3 brothers ( there are 4 of us; 2 sets of twins... no lie and we each have our own Turtle)
Own every episode of every show(not including Next Mutation)
Own every movie and watched them a countless number of times
Collecting every issue of IDW; read a LOT of Mirage (not enough of Archie though :tsad: )
Owned tons of merchandise over the years (some saved, some lost over time)

... and will ALWAYS support TMNT!!!!

[hankthetank]

Born in 1986 boyeees!!!
I do however remember seeing episodes of TMNT on TV when I was little... (Specifically on USA and the same morning block as GI:Joe, Transformers etc.)
Grew up on TMNT games, cartoons, movies...
Role played with my 3 brothers ( there are 4 of us; 2 sets of twins... no lie and we each have our own Turtle)
Own every episode of every show(not including Next Mutation)
Own every movie and watched them a countless number of times
Collecting every issue of IDW; read a LOT of Mirage (not enough of Archie though :tsad: )
Owned tons of merchandise over the years (some saved, some lost over time)

... and will ALWAYS support TMNT!!!!

Which one were you and did you argue over who gets to be who

[FlogginMcMurryZombiePizza]

I was born in '84... so to me, it's neat to think that the comic launched that year. While I was born, so was the spark of a phenomenon. I was conscious about the cartoons and the games and I wanted everything. What I didn't know about were the comics because I didn't grow up around comic book shops. The books I did get were newsstand issues of Superman, Superboy and Batman.

So I got a few years on ya...
but in the regard that the '86 kids came around when the cartoon came out (this is also my sister's birth year), I came around for the comics.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

But didn't you catch seasons airing in the early 90s and reruns of seasons from the 80s. The original toon was on TV through at least '95 in the US.

Reruns aired over the USA Cartoon Express between 1993 and 1996.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles_(1987_TV_series)#Reru ns

[biganimefan]

I was born in '84 so I caught on to the series while the Turtlemania was going on. Although, I'm not sure exactly when I would have discovered them for myself if it hadn't been for a friend of mine back in '89. I was pretty hooked on the 80's Disney Cartoon series' at the time. Once I got hooked on it though I never really got out of it and have since loved the 2nd series and the new Nick series. This may sound bad to some of you but I also enjoyed Next Mutation at the time it was on(not sure how I'd feel about it these days though).

Like someone else has mentioned, I also caught on to the Power Ranger mania when it started. But I did kind of feel like a traitor for taping over some Turtle episodes with Power Rangers so I got out of Power Rangers for several years.

[turtle1237]

Born in 81, and I lived though it all as a kid.

Comics, Toys, the ten season tv show, and of couse the movie features live action.

Loved 2003 and the Nick cartoon, but Turtle mania would perhaps never be as high as it was in that time frame, 3 lived action MOVIES???? Thats something He-man, Transformers(1980's mind you, not counting now) Gadget, and other cartoons never got. The turtles were the biggest thing out there in that run. Granted I think it ended being number 1 once power rangers and Batman TAS got rolling, follow buy X-Men and others, so it didnt have the punch it did when it first show up. But from 87-to like 91 or so, it was the top show.

It may never happen again like that.

[Raphael232]

I was born in 87 and started watching it when I was about 5 years old. For some reason I cant not be a fan of the Turtles, its just in my blood now. Even after all those years that there were no turtles on tv I would still watch the early 90s movies with friend every once in a while. Seems like me inner turtle is hidden deep inside until they announce something new about the turtles like the 2k3 turtles(which I didnt like much) or the TMNT movie (which was pretty good) and now the Nick cartoon which I like and the new Movie that will come out.

[Prowler]

But didn't you catch seasons airing in the early 90s and reruns of seasons from the 80s. The original toon was on TV through at least '95 in the US.
In my country, the OT had several reruns between 1996 and 2004. I was born in 1990, so by the time I watched the OT, the Turtlemania phenomenon was over.

I've never been a fad person, anyway. I liked what I did. It sucked that there were no toys at the time, though. But once the 4kids toon came, toys were available everywhere, anyway.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

Have many of you guys that were born in 86 got to watch the first movie in theaters?

[MikeandRaph87]

I think '87 opposed to '86 as '87 is my birth year. It went off the air when I was 10 and TMNT went away completely during 5th-9th grade. The "ackward years" were when I needed my favorite fandom the most and that is when I thought it was gone for good. It did lead to my concentration in beating the generation one games and writing fan fiction of the '87 cartoon to fill the void. I quit watching Power Rangers at the same time TMNT left the air so Pok'e mania could come in to occupy me as my #2 of the time. I wonder how many of us were the right age to get caught up in all three 90s' phenoms. Those of us on the boardline of being able to appreciate Turtle Mania were the right age for all three I believe.

[InsaneZane]

Which one were you and did you argue over who gets to be who

I'm Leo..and w all traded a couple times when really young, but still stuck with our current turtles very early on.

[METALHEAD]

i was born in 1985. so i was bout 2-3 years old. i remember the ninjaturtles very well. seeing the toys at wamart for the first time. racks loads of them.

i like to think raph was the first toy i gotten. but according to mom, i got mikey. ehhh. she chose that one for me. cause my name is mikey. (real name miguel) eventually i got all four.
i had the first part and second of the first two episodes of the ninja turtles 'turtle tracks' played it til i wore out the tape. so, i was pretty much exposed to turtles at a young age. got story books, plush dolls, saw the 1990's movie in the theaters, yea. it was pretty bad ass childhood.

[atreyu2112]

I was born in 76... and I actually started with the original b&w comics just before the cartoon hit. Was totally into the cartoon, the NES game, the arcade game, the movies, the 2003 series, the Image movie, NECA & IDW and now the Nick cartoon.

Raph was my favorite to start, with Mike a close second. But now I just like them all.

I'm just stoked that now I'm in my mid/late 30's and it's still going strong as ever. My son is 9, and he loves to watch the new show with ME! :tcool:

[Dawnatello Turtle Chick]

I was born in 1986 and I was pretty young to have experienced the original toon but I remember the turtles phenomena of the late 80s/early 90s (more early 90s in my case) and the ninja turtles left a huge impression on me. I loved everything about the early 90s from the NES to the toys to the cartoons. I don't even really remember watching specific episodes of the ninja turtles, I just remember how I felt during that time period. After the early 90s I didn't really like a lot of the cartoons that were on TV (w/ exception of a few Nick and Marvel toons) and never felt the same about any period of time in my childhood after that. To this day I still love the ninja turtles. I own all the seasons of the original toon on DVD, own the first three movies on blu ray and even watch the new Nickelodeon TMNT toon.

I too remember what that time period (1987-1996) felt like, more than any one episode or specific memory- that is such a great way to put it. I was born in '84 and got a couple more years of watching under my belt, but the feeling is the same. I think that is why we (born from '80-'90) are so driven to collect the memorbilia of our childhood- and there are such awesome things to collect- TMNT being of course at the top of the list! :trazz: Way better stuff to pass on to our kids than bell bottoms and 8-tracks!

[Gokhan]

Aug 26 86 fan...my bday was yesterday

[FlogginMcMurryZombiePizza]

I too remember what that time period (1987-1996) felt like, more than any one episode or specific memory- that is such a great way to put it. I was born in '84 and got a couple more years of watching under my belt, but the feeling is the same. I think that is why we (born from '80-'90) are so driven to collect the memorbilia of our childhood- and there are such awesome things to collect- TMNT being of course at the top of the list! :trazz: Way better stuff to pass on to our kids than bell bottoms and 8-tracks!

I know the nostalgia is a reason why I want to get some of these toys back.
I want TMNT classic line again, the guys I had when I was a kid and played with and lost the belt and weapons for, somehow (HOW DO WE DO THAT?!!).
I would also love to collect some of the other toys from when I was a kid too, like Gargoyles (I still have a mostly-useless Hudson and a Lexington but I had WAY more), Inspector Gadget, COWboys, Biker Mice From Mars, Darkwing, etc.

I think there is more to it... I think it's a way for us to reconnect with who we were as a kid and relive that feeling or that moment again.
Or to realize who utterly crazy we were and how we had bad taste in TV shows ;P LOL Hey! SOME of this stuff from childhood doesn't hold up well! ;)

[billbot85]

I was born in 1985, so I felt that I was at a pretty good age to be swept up by TMNT, which was when I was about 4-5 years old. I started watching the OT in 1989-90, when the show and toyline were at their peak. I watched the show on TV, and had two VHS tapes from the Burger King Kid's Club promo, one of which had the trailer for 1990 movie (I think it was "Sky Turtles").

I had a lot of the action figures, Party Wagon, Turtle Blimp II, Pizza Thrower, Shell Top 4x4, role play gear, a sleeping bag, Turtles in Time for SNES, and all 4 of the 23 inch plushes from ACE. Never saw the the films in theaters, but I had the first one on VHS, and I rented II and III from the video store that my dad worked at.

I fell out of TMNT once Power Rangers had become the next big thing, and was a huge part of my life from '93-'96. Me and my best friend would pretend to be them when playing outside or play with the action figures he had (I always played as Billy, since my name is Bill and he was my favorite).

After that, I was caught up in the Pokemon craze of '98-'99, watched the series, and had Blue, Red, and Yellow for Gameboy. Never moved beyond Gen I until 2009, when I played Firered and Leafgreen, and then moved on to Gen 4.

By 2009, I pretty much got swept up in all 3 fandoms again, feeling extremely nostalgic for all of them. I guess my love for them never truly disappeared, instead it just lay dormant within me for all those years. That's why I ended up joining this forum, haha.

Being a kid and living through the entire decade of the 90's, I feel that I was able to fully embrace and appreciate all 3 fandoms, with some Nickalodeon, Animaniacs, Batman, and Super Mario Bros thrown in there as well. :D

[Norcross14]

I was born in 86... I was really into to the cartoons, my older cousins where obsessed with them... The very first movie i saw in a theatre was the tmnt movie in the 90s... I remember they played both of them back to back when the second one came out

[Leo656]

I'm older than all but two of you and now I have to go drink until I forget that I have a Birthday coming up this month. :ohwell:

[TMNTooze]

I was born in 81' and by far the Turtles were my favorite cartoon growing up. I remember watching and playing Turtles after school back in the day. Got in a few fights playing around too.

[ryukenden]

I was born in 81' and by far the Turtles were my favorite cartoon growing up. I remember watching and playing Turtles after school back in the day. Got in a few fights playing around too.

Same here. I too was born in '81 and got into the Turtles craze. Didn't have as many of the toys as I wanted. But great memories nonetheless.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

I was born in 1987 and I think I likely became a fan when I was 3. I don't quite remember when exactly I got into the turtles but I do know it was the original cartoon that introduced me to them.

The only movies I remember watching in theaters were the third movie and TMNT. I'm hoping the new movie will make up for missing the first two movies in theaters even though I watched them a lot at home.

[madyankees]

84 and I do agree that the TMNT craze will probably not hit the insane heights of the OT period again but you can't deny it's got awesome staying power

[Dawnatello Turtle Chick]

84 and I do agree that the TMNT craze will probably not hit the insane heights of the OT period again but you can't deny it's got awesome staying power

Agreed! There are very few other franchises out there that have had the long term success that the TMNT has had. Outside of DC and Marvel....

[Alex]

I was also born in '86 and I remember it like you do. The early 90's was the best period as a child. I loved everything about the turtles. My mother later on told me that she hated reading turtles comics to me every night but did it anyway to make me pleased ;) I couldnt sleep if she didn't do it, haha.

[Rambaldi47]

I was born in '84 and I was completely obsessed with everything TMNT. I had VHS tapes of the cartoon and I remember seeing the 1st movie in theaters. When Secret of the Ooze came out, I was obsessed with it (of course the 1st one has aged much better.) I had Ninja Turtle-themed birthday parties. I remember begging my parents to take me to KB Toys all the time to get the Playmates action figures. I'm glad I never got rid of them, because I have 2 nephews now who are really into the new Nickelodeon show and I get to introduce them to the 80s stuff, which they love.

[Leo656]

The mid-80's was the best period as a child.

Fixed it for ya. It's cool, man, it's not your fault you missed it. :)

My mother later on told me that she hated reading turtles comics to me every night but did it anyway to make me pleased ;) I couldnt sleep if she didn't do it, haha.

Man, my Dad used to love reading me comics when I was a kid. Any kind of books, really, but comics were the best because I could see what was going on, too. Mostly Superman and Batman, though. By the time TMNT was popular I was too old to be read to, anymore.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

To me 1986ers are the last real year for TMNT fans to properly experience the phenomenon. I myself was born in early '85 and feel similar, though thanks to VHS tapes, there were certain episodes I enjoyed more than others and also noticed a few TMNT references on a few other shows and in the real world, yet I felt that I would have gotten more out of it had I'd been born in the earlier '80s, as you would still be young enough to really enjoy the series yet get into some deeper stuff like the comics and more specialized merchandise, along with having more toys to enjoy. The 1986ers were in first grade when the third movie came out which was the last time that the franchise was widely promoted, and their pre-K/Kindergarten years were enough to develop some appreciation for it. But by the time they reached third grade, TMNT had entered its Red Sky era and Power Rangers had taken over. My younger brother, born in 1988, never quite understood what the TMNT were except on a couple video games I had and he didn't play it as much. He was mostly watching classic Warner Bros. stuff and some Nickelodeon series at the time.

With that said, you're probably right. I missed out on watching what is possibly my favorite movie of all time in Theaters. It must have been an amazing feeling that sadly we are never going to get that excitement again. I was hoping that this new movie would make up for this but sadly it doesn't look like it. Seeing CG turtles will probably not be the same as seeing them in costumes. Not saying 87ers (such as myself) or younger had it bad, it's just that we could have experienced more. :tsad: