Pros and cons of the original series

[Leofan26]

That's right, the show that started it all :lol:

Lets name a few things that we liked and didn't just for the heck of it.

Liked

-How Mikey was done, didn't seem stupid but was funny and some what of a good fighter. Maybe I need to re watch the series again but looked that way to me, I hate to be a broken record but I don't like how the newer series portray him :(

Raph / Donnie / Mikey's got a good amount of screen time.

-Donnie was cool.

Cons

-Animation, maybe I'm just used to the animation of the newer shows but it's my least favorite animated wise.

-Raph seems weird here compared to the others, I'm sure some like this version more, again my opinion. He just see just seemed a bit Mikey like and looks off in this animation.

-Due to the popularity of Don / Raph / Mikey back in those days Leo got pushed into the a ground in the later seasons and he was my favorite :(

Your thoughts?

[Andrew NDB]

My thoughts are that, while it did have the caveat as serving as the gateway drug into TMNT for a lot of us and opened up TMNT to the world, it was also simultaneously a deal with the Devil that projects and keeps in place a perpetual glass ceiling from it preventing TMNT from ever being able to be taken seriously in the mass media (made worse now with no Kevin or Peter in any position to veto all the ghastly, largely OT-inspired stuff that's been creeping in).

Those are my main thoughts. But there is plenty of minutia.

[ABrown]

Pros:
-The original five part mini-series (that for some reason is considered a whole season)
-The "red sky" seasons
-Tony Jay as Lord Dregg

Cons:
-Too many mad scientist episodes

[TigerClaw]

The Pros? I can say was many of the mutants that appeared on the show. The Cons? Is the continuity, Many characters appeared never to be heard from again. Mondo Gecko appeared in only two episodes, Mona Lisa only one.

[Danetello]

Oh my gosh, where do I begin?!
Being a kid and watching them, they had everything. They were true heroes to me.
As an adult, I can appreciate their worth in different ways.
The animation though sometimes flawed is actually neat. Some of the backgrounds are really well drawn, and they even used to draw in the reflections (at the beginning at least) on Shredder's metal.
They are still my heroes, too.
I can now also appreciate their comedy a lot more. Their asides and quips make me laugh now that I get them.
I think that the series was a relatively good role model for children too. They touched on things such as environmental issues and even racism to some degree.

The only cons I really have is something which you might have noticed in some recent threads drives me nuts... continuity!
I never understand how some things can be so drastically wrong or different between episodes. I mean, surely you'd think SOMEONE noticed?!
Sometimes the way in which Donatello or Krang come up with the most ridiculous inventions in any given circumstance, is a little annoying too. I KNOW it's a sci-fi cartoon, but some things really went too far LOL!

[TigerClaw]

Oh my gosh, where do I begin?!
Being a kid and watching them, they had everything. They were true heroes to me.
As an adult, I can appreciate their worth in different ways.
The animation though sometimes flawed is actually neat. Some of the backgrounds are really well drawn, and they even used to draw in the reflections (at the beginning at least) on Shredder's metal.
They are still my heroes, too.
I can now also appreciate their comedy a lot more. Their asides and quips make me laugh now that I get them.
I think that the series was a relatively good role model for children too. They touched on things such as environmental issues and even racism to some degree.

The only cons I really have is something which you might have noticed in some recent threads drives me nuts... continuity!
I never understand how some things can be so drastically wrong or different between episodes. I mean, surely you'd think SOMEONE noticed?!
Sometimes the way in which Donatello or Krang come up with the most ridiculous inventions in any given circumstance, is a little annoying too. I KNOW it's a sci-fi cartoon, but some things really went too far LOL!
Yeah, Mona Lisa only appeared in one episode and it looked as if Raphael was getting a girlfriend, Whatever happen to her? They even made an action figure.

http://www.toyarchive.com/STAForSale/NEW2001+/TMNT/MOC/MonaLisaMOSC1a.jpg

[Danetello]

Ha, how funny! I haven't yet watched that episode in my current re-watch run, and don't recall it as a child.
I don't remember the action figure either, but it's neat to see!

EDIT: I just checked my episode list, and I'm just a few away from watching it! :D

[CyberCubed]

My only real gripe is the show never used most of its characters to their full potential. So many characters, even major ones like Traag and Leatherhead deserved to appear a lot more.

I also wanted to see Shredder reunite with the human Japanese Foot Clan at some point which sadly never happened.

[Danetello]

My only real gripe is the show never used most of its characters to their full potential. So many characters, even major ones like Traag and Leatherhead deserved to appear a lot more.

I also wanted to see Shredder reunite with the human Japanese Foot Clan at some point which sadly never happened.

I completely agree. I'd love to have seen more of a fluid story arc with Traag heading an invasion. Dare I say, an all out war/invasion season? I know it's not everyones thing, but to see the Technodrome and Krang's forces utilised to the max would have been awesome.

I have often thought about what happened to the Foot. I mean, Shredder is meant to be their leader; bad guy or not.
Having a Japanese setting story arc, complete with the REAL Foot, and not droids, would have been cool!

[DonatelloNinja82]

I completely agree. I'd love to have seen more of a fluid story arc with Traag heading an invasion. Dare I say, an all out war/invasion season? I know it's not everyones thing, but to see the Technodrome and Krang's forces utilised to the max would have been awesome.

I have often thought about what happened to the Foot. I mean, Shredder is meant to be their leader; bad guy or not.
Having a Japanese setting story arc, complete with the REAL Foot, and not droids, would have been cool!

I have often wondered that myself...how did Shredder get in with Krang? What was it like when he was in Japan leading the Foot? How did he find out Yoshi was in New York? So many things that would have made excellent episodes.

[Danetello]

how did Shredder get in with Krang?

I'd love to know this too. It's probably the biggest mystery of all TMNT history, and one that is unlikely to ever be answered, sadly. :tsad:

[FlogginMcMurryZombiePizza]

Quick list

Pros
- It started the Turtle craze
- One of the most original and fun ideas, and it's still going
- Shredder is entertaining
- Light "fortune cookie" messages from Splinter that kids could actually learn from.
- The show was amazing as a kid. It's a fun guilty-pleasure as an adult.
- Lots of fun, creative things going on.
- As an adult: nostalgia
- As an adult: getting jokes and one-liners I didn't catch younger.

Cons
- The show served to sell toys (which we all bought anyway).
- Many ideas became either recycled in later seasons or were uninteresting.
- On that note: many gimmicky episodes as well.
- No continuity in episodes or stories (as a result from the above mentioned)
- VAs of certain characters (namely Don/Raph) with horrible replacements.
- Annoying characters being overused, with annoying voices. Often ends up as villains.

This is running off my Season 3 viewing and recounting from the past.

[TigerClaw]

Here's another Con, There was an action figure for a character called Ace Duck. Ace Duck had a very very brief appearance in the form of a Show that the Turtles were watching on TV. That's the only time Ace Duck showed up.

Action Figure

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R38CBao36-A/UA6-_zuunjI/AAAAAAAABbg/4gcVxiv15uk/s400/Ace89.jpg

From the Show

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070624055926/tmnt/images/d/db/Ace_duck_cartoon.jpg

[Danetello]

Here's another Con, There was an action figure for a character called Ace Duck. Ace Duck had a very very brief appearance in the form of a Show that the Turtles were watching on TV. That's the only time Ace Duck showed up.

From the Show

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070624055926/tmnt/images/d/db/Ace_duck_cartoon.jpg

Ace Duck always reminds me of either Launchpad McQuack or Darkwing Duck from the Disney Afternoon shows. Or, a combination of both, I guess!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7290/8901291067_0317fddcbc_c.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5454/8986919495_a31c202f57_c.jpg

[CyberCubed]

I hated Ace Duck for that exact reason. He never looked like a TMNT character to me but like one of those Disney duck characters. Glad they never wasted an episode on him.

[Leo656]

Ace Duck was the greatest wrestler Stump Asteroid has ever seen. You take that back, sir.

I liked almost everything about the OT except for a few things, like how the quality took a hit for a while about midway through (around the European Vacation episodes), and how sometimes it drifted too far from being funny and clever into campy and cheesy.

Most of the problems I have with it, like the fight scenes that have too much slapstick, are related to censorship issues that were common at the time, so I can't blame the show entirely for that. That, and the humor, were a product of its time, so I can forgive a lot of it. Some of it just hasn't aged well.

[CyberCubed]

Most of the problems I have with it, like the fight scenes that have too much slapstick, are related to censorship issues that were common at the time, so I can't blame the show entirely for that. That, and the humor, were a product of its time, so I can forgive a lot of it. Some of it just hasn't aged well.

I agree with this. Given how hard the censors were on Saturday morning cartoons at the time, I'm surprised they got away with as much as they did.

Also remember most of the show came out in the pre-B:TAS days, so after B:TAS raised the bar the show became more action oriented in Seasons 6-7 during 1992/1993...before the red sky revamp in 1994-1996.

[Tazi]

keeps in place a perpetual glass ceiling from it preventing TMNT from ever being able to be taken seriously in the mass media
Well, it's true, yet it has smaller way to go compared to Batman...
http://www.comicsbulletin.com/main/sites/default/files/features/images/101027/office.jpg

(Yes, that was a cheap example, but true.)


Anything can happen, Nick might end up having a small adult-swim like block, and might produce a TMNT cartoon for that, like it was happened with GI Joe.

Currently the best would be, if they could try to do classic/good stories in animated movies, like DC and Marvel does. A City at War movie based on Mirage would be epic, and that would totally don't interfere with running the standard nick cgi series at the same time.
But I'm afraid it's a dream scenario...

[pingclang]

Currently the best would be, if they could try to do classic/good stories in animated movies, like DC and Marvel does. A City at War movie based on Mirage would be epic, and that would totally don't interfere with running the standard nick cgi series at the same time.
But I'm afraid it's a dream scenario...

Others have mentioned a straight to DVD, Marvel/DC-esque City at War cartoon. Man that would be awesome.

[Tazi]

Ah, so it's not just me with that idea... Let's hope that one day, someone will also have this idea, who also have the money and the rights to do it! ;)

[West]

Here's another Con, There was an action figure for a character called Ace Duck. Ace Duck had a very very brief appearance in the form of a Show that the Turtles were watching on TV. That's the only time Ace Duck showed up.

Ace Duck was awesome! Michelango felt the same way about him as we do about the turtles. lol. I wish he would have had at least one character centric episode.

[pannoni1]

Pros:
Relatively canonic series for its time
Lots of great comedic action and pop culture references
Consists of some great background music along with one of the greatest TV show themes of all time
Many of the secondary characters are fun to watch and many had their own figure
Lots of interesting gadgets/weapons, especially by Krang and Donatello
Splinter is a nice mix of wisdom and can fight when he can
Brought the TMNT brand into the mainstream and consists of the most elements that remain popular today, from the Technodrome, Pizza, and certain characters (Krang, Rocksteady/Bebop).


Cons:
Especially in the middle seasons, the show at times feels a bit more like a parody
Slapsticky, gimmicky weapons as opposed to Ninja weapons are frequently used
Some of the Channel 6 crew is annoying, even if funny and are pointless to most of the plots
Inconsistent animation (in particular MW Dublin and some A-1-animated episodes, complete with numerous errors
Consists of the laid back European Vacation arc, along with the Dregg episodes (except for the Shredder crossovers) that alienates the premise of the series
Some episodes had inferior voice actor replacements

[pingclang]

Ah, so it's not just me with that idea... Let's hope that one day, someone will also have this idea, who also have the money and the rights to do it! ;)

Lionsgate did the Ultimates dvds. Not sure how their portion of the rights works but maybe?

[TigerClaw]

One of the Pros for this series was it had creatures that were kind of inspired by the Xenomorph from the Alien movies.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MBhdFwYublw/TsBqsHv4bEI/AAAAAAAAAHw/uHwx5B-HMU4/s320/TMNT_Xenomorph.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OujarcabyFw/TsBqmCSiSOI/AAAAAAAAAHk/DpvyeZpJz24/s320/TMNT_Xenomorphs.png

[Powder]

There's a difference between pros, and thinks you like. Stop Cybercubing.

[CyberCubed]

Ah, the voice actor replacements was my real gripe with the series. Its just a real shame they weren't patient enough to record the voices if the actors couldn't make it to work that day.

[Prowler]

Pros


Brought TMNT into mainstream, thus introducing most of us to the franchise
Successfully adapting a violent comic into a kid friendly cartoon. I mean, if you read the original comics before, could you ever imagine it as a kid's cartoon
Great voice acting
Quality humor that appealed to both kids and adults
Great theme song and background music
Good rogues gallery overall with Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady being the best and most memorable original villains of the show
Lasting 10 seasons of almost 200 episodes and yet remaining a solid shwo for most of its run
Best incarnation of Donatello
An interesting take on Raphael, making him a sarcastic and witty character as opposed to an angry and hotheaded one

Cons

Inconsistent animation quality
Animation errors such as a turtle speaking with another's voice happening in every other episode
The Turtles stopped using their weapons for the most part after season 3. Fortunately they started using them again in season 7.
Too much slapstick in fights
Replacing Michelangelo's nunchucks with a stupid grappling hook
Bad replacing voice actors, especially for Krang and Raphael
How it became more of a comedy than an action show in seasons 4 to 6
A bit of plot recycling sometimes
Replacing Shredder with Dregg

I also wasn't a fan of characters such as the Neutrinos, Zach and all the random mad scientists. Plus, I wish we had known more about Krang's past and how he paired up with Shredder. The Turtles becoming accepted by society after season 3 didn't set well with me either.

[Shark_Blade]

Here's another Con, There was an action figure for a character called Ace Duck. Ace Duck had a very very brief appearance in the form of a Show that the Turtles were watching on TV. That's the only time Ace Duck showed up.

Action Figure

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R38CBao36-A/UA6-_zuunjI/AAAAAAAABbg/4gcVxiv15uk/s400/Ace89.jpg

From the Show

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070624055926/tmnt/images/d/db/Ace_duck_cartoon.jpg
I just saw a fan art of said character on tumblr.

http://i.imgur.com/VSUAduW.png

And yes I plan to take away your virgin eyes too cause I'm not going alone.. X_x [/scarred4life]

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Pros


Brought TMNT into mainstream, thus introducing most of us to the franchise
Successfully adapting a violent comic into a kid friendly cartoon. I mean, if you read the original comics before, could you ever imagine it as a kid's cartoon
Great voice acting
Quality humor that appealed to both kids and adults
Great theme song and background music
Good rogues gallery overall with Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady being the best and most memorable original villains of the show
Lasting 10 seasons of almost 200 episodes and yet remaining a solid shwo for most of its run
Best incarnation of Donatello
An interesting take on Raphael, making him a sarcastic and witty character as opposed to an angry and hotheaded one

Cons

Inconsistent animation quality
Animation errors such as a turtle speaking with another's voice happening in every other episode
The Turtles stopped using their weapons for the most part after season 3. Fortunately they started using them again in season 7.
Too much slapstick in fights
Replacing Michelangelo's nunchucks with a stupid grappling hook
Bad replacing voice actors, especially for Krang and Raphael
How it became more of a comedy than an action show in seasons 4 to 6
A bit of plot recycling sometimes
Replacing Shredder with Dregg

I also wasn't a fan of characters such as the Neutrinos, Zach and all the random mad scientists. Plus, I wish we had known more about Krang's past and how he paired up with Shredder. The Turtles becoming accepted by society after season 3 didn't set well with me either.

They were still not thankfully like number one heroes, getting apartments and good jobs my the mayor, some people just seemed to act more friendly. Still had to hide in sewers and shadows. They became more gradually accepted.

Actually, most TMNT versions have the TMNT becoming gradually accepted (especially in future scenes. It's the "Ugly Duckling" in modern version).

[Prowler]

They were still not thankfully like number one heroes, getting apartments and good jobs my the mayor, some people just seemed to act more friendly. Still had to hide in sewers and shadows. They became more gradually accepted.

Actually, most TMNT versions have the TMNT becoming gradually accepted (especially in future scenes. It's the "Ugly Duckling" in modern version).
There were no other heroes in NYC. Not to mention April covered TMNT stories all the time and always made them look good. She even said they were the city's favorite superheroes in that Gadgetman(I think that was his name) episode.

Oh well, it was only in seasons 4-7 where they were accepted by society. In seasons 1-3 they're kinda outcasts and in seasons 8-10 they're hated.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Quick list

Pros
- It started the Turtle craze
- One of the most original and fun ideas, and it's still going
- Shredder is entertaining
- Light "fortune cookie" messages from Splinter that kids could actually learn from.
- The show was amazing as a kid. It's a fun guilty-pleasure as an adult.
- Lots of fun, creative things going on.
- As an adult: nostalgia
- As an adult: getting jokes and one-liners I didn't catch younger.

Cons
- The show served to sell toys (which we all bought anyway).
- Many ideas became either recycled in later seasons or were uninteresting.
- On that note: many gimmicky episodes as well.
- No continuity in episodes or stories (as a result from the above mentioned)
- VAs of certain characters (namely Don/Raph) with horrible replacements.
- Annoying characters being overused, with annoying voices. Often ends up as villains.

This is running off my Season 3 viewing and recounting from the past.

Technodrome needing fuel, whch led to power plant break-ins became overused already during seaon 3 (after season 2 ending with "Return of the Technodrome").

[Prowler]

Ah, the voice actor replacements was my real gripe with the series. Its just a real shame they weren't patient enough to record the voices if the actors couldn't make it to work that day.
Raph's voice in The Ninja Sword of Nowhere scarred me for life.

[Justin]

It's a good show and the only decline for it is that it is a 80's show in 2013's world.