OT episodes with good characterization

[Rooish]

Hi guys, so I'm kind of a fan of dramatic/character-driven things hence being more of a comic book / 2003 Turtles fan. The OT episodes tend to bore me but I'm wondering if there are ones you can think of that would entertain through having some character development or emotional moments (inasmuch as the OT did that). Let me know!

[jenna]

I don't know if I would go as far as to say "good characterisation", but the episode "Take me to your Leader" is interesting in terms of the turtle characters. The premise is that Leonardo suffers a crisis in confidence regarding his leadership skills and leaves on a voyage of self-discovery, leaving the other three to establish a new leader.

It is nothing compared with the comics or 2k3. It's the OT, which means it has a ridiculous plot. It also deviates from the traditional view that Raphael would be keen to lead. It is just an interesting take on how each of the turtles deals with the pressure of responsibility and the expectation of the group. Spoiler alert.... It does not go well ;)

[oldmanwinters]

I don't know if I would go as far as to say "good characterisation", but the episode "Take me to your Leader" is interesting in terms of the turtle characters. The premise is that Leonardo suffers a crisis in confidence regarding his leadership skills and leaves on a voyage of self-discovery, leaving the other three to establish a new leader.

"Leonardo, Renaissance Turtle" is also quite good in that regard. We see that Leonardo is surprisingly unconfident in himself when forced to act apart from the other three turtles. April does an important job of encouraging him along the way to distinguish himself as a balanced individual as opposed to simply "the leader."

[The-Shredder]

If good characterization is what you're looking for, the Red Sky seasons (8-10) should be right up your alley. For example, "Cry H.A.V.O.C.!", "H.A.V.O.C. in the Streets!", and "Turtle Trek" really show how conflicted the Turtles can be in their goals. Nothing incredibly deep compared to the films and subsequent cartoons, but they're still entertaining and well put together episodes.

[Wesley]

I think the episodes "Wrath of the Rat King", "Turtle Trek", "Enter the Rat King", "Beware the Lotus", "Ninja Sword of Nowhere", "Night of the Dark Turtle", "The Legend of Koji", "Superhero for a Day" and "White Belt, Black Heart" are good examples.

[CyberCubed]

"Splinter Vanishes" and "What's Michaelangelo Good for?" are two fantastic episodes with good characterisation. Especially the latter is a great Mikey episode.

"Raphael versus the Volcano" where Raph thinks he only has 24 hours to live and does his best to help people in his last day is also fantastic,

[Lisardo]

I agree with most of the episodes already mentioned. Seems the 4th season there was a lot of fleshing out an individual turtle in each episode. I did enjoy that a lot.

[CyberCubed]

I agree with most of the episodes already mentioned. Seems the 4th season there was a lot of fleshing out an individual turtle in each episode. I did enjoy that a lot.

Agreed, Season 4 is actually really underrated. There are a lot of gems there if you go looking for them.

[pferreira]

I agree with a lot of what's been said. I think that one of the best written characters I can remember was the Rat King. I would also add to the list The Old Switcheroo. Having Shredder in the body of Splinter meant he could manipulate those who trusted him, it made for good writing.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

I'd like to submit a few of my favorites as well- The Gang's All Here. (I know a lot of people hate this one, but it's a great insight into Mikey's desire to fit in, and is one of the few eps to feature R&B away from Shredder, and with their old gang, too!) Also, Snakes Alive delves into Leos fears, Donatello's Duplicate deals with Donnie's ego and sense of overwork, and while some hate Donatello's Badd Day, it has some interesting moments about his pride and unwillingness to ask for help dealing with his mistakes.

[OrangeNinja1987]

I think the episode "The Maltese Hamster" is incredible. Probably my favorite out of the series (but I haven't yet started watching season 5, so that may change) and seriously underrated. It did really well showing how Donatello works alone, but I wouldn't say it's too much of a chacter-developing episode - pretty much an all-around entertaining one.
As for best character development, I recommend Take me to Your Leader. It's a great Leonardo episode - he and Donnie always seem to get the best, both in the OT and 2012.
Worst character developing episode ever has to Michelangelo Toys Around. It's so bad it hurts.

[CyberCubed]

For Shredder, "My Brother, The Bad Guy," "Shredder's Mom," "Shredder Triumphant," etc.

[Refractive Reflections]

I agree with most here that there are many episodes that show a more "3D" side to the characters rather than develop the characters in any particular direction, due to the episodic nature of the show, but there's still continuity to the show since the characters can recall their past adventures. It's still very entertaining because it makes the Turtles more well-rounded than compared to even some of the other TMNT shows.

For example in "Turtles on Trial", "Night of the Rogues", "Dirk Savage: Mutant Hunter", and Season 8 & 9 reveal the ambivalent relationship they have with humans.

OT Michelangelo's warm personality is shown in "Welcome Back Polarisoids" & "Michelangelo Toys Around" (in "thawing" bratty children), acting as an older brother in "Adventures In Turtle-Sitting", displaying his competence in "What's Michelangelo Good For?", and his longing to be a part of humanity "The Gang's All Here".

There are a lot of the individual Turtle episodes that expand the OT Turtles outside of their character tropes:

For Leonardo in "Take Me To Your Leader", "Snakes Alive!", "Leonardo the Renaissance Turtle", "Unidentified Flying Leonardo", "Leonardo Lightens Up", "Leonardo Versus Tempestra", "Beware the Lotus" and "Farewell Lotus Blossom"
For Donatello in "Night of the Dark Turtle", "Donatello's Degree", "The Maltese Hamster", "Beyond the Donatello Nebula", "Donatello's Badd Time", "Donatello's Duplicate", and "Donatello Trashes Slash".
For Raphael in "Raphael Meets His Match", "Raphael Drives 'Em Wild", "Raphael Versus The Volcano", "Raphael, Turtle of a Thousand Faces", and "Mr. Nice Guy".

The OT even expands on the characters of the villains as well. One prominent example is in "The Foot Soldiers Are Revolting" to reveal why Shredder still continues to keep Bebop and Rocksteady around despite their mistake-prone ways. The series gradually displays the strengthening alliance between Shredder and Krang when at first they were extremely distrustful with each other (the first Season, "Turtles on Trial", "Beware the Lotus", "The Four Musketurtles"), and were willing to betray each other in the early seasons, but by the later seasons they seemed to have formed a dependable alliance after so many attempts to destroy the Turtles (in "Get Shredder!", Shredder wanting Krang back even when he assumed the Turtles took Krang; teaming up against Dregg in the 10th season.)

Even Irma shows some development (whether it was intentional or not is uncertain) when in the 2nd to 4th seasons she's used as comic relief for her clumsiness and over-the-top infatuations in dating and romance; by the 6th season, she's taking more of pro-active position in fighting against the villains ("Super Irma", "Night of the Rogues", "Combat Land", "Shredder Triumphant!").

The show has a lot more to offer for its characters than some may think. It's just that this is obscured in the prevalent comedy, many mad scientists, and deliberately absurd and humorous plots found in the series.

[Wesley]

Some other good episodes are "Krangstein Lives!", "The Sword of Yurikiwa", "Shredder's Mom", and "Poor Little Rich Turtle".

Reflections, I agree that there was more to the characters than meets the eye. That was my main reason for liking this cartoon because I was able to relate to some of their experiences.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Agreed. I love some of the more "human" moments for the characters, where they get to show different aspects of their personalities. It's one of the reasons I STILL love that cartoon.

[pannoni1]

Many of the episodes with a Turtle in its title are good examples. Just take the Sewer Heroes VHS series for example, all with good episodes showcasing each side of the Turtles. But even non-Turtle episodes can deliever. Splinter No More shows how Splinter would live had he returned to his mutated form. Also, Invasion of the Krangezoids for Krang and Bebop & Rocksteady Conquer the Universe are also good examples. While the OT gets some flack for formula, it doesn't get the love in terms of mixing up characters like it deserves and is one of the reasons why its still worth a watch. Compare that to Transformers G1; its always about Autobots vs. Decipticons with an occassional Optimus Prime feature, but more about teamwork.

[Wesley]

Agreed. I love some of the more "human" moments for the characters, where they get to show different aspects of their personalities. It's one of the reasons I STILL love that cartoon.

I still like the show because of reasons like that, I just don't love it anymore. The cartoon has aged better than others such as Sonic SatAM, in which the characters (Dr. Robotnik, for example) are one-dimensional.

[Jephael]

I kinda like how in season 7 Raphael started becoming more like his movie counterpart, especially in Night of the Rogues.

[Wesley]

I liked that the Rat King was somewhat morally ambiguous in this cartoon as evidenced in episodes such as "Return of the Fly" and "Donatello's Duplicate". I thought it made him a more interesting character than his other incarnations.

Some good characterisation for Carter was in "The Showdown", for Dregg "Divide and Conquer" and for Usagi in "Usagi Come Home".

[BlueKatanas]

I just watched the season 2 episode "Splinter No More" and thought it had some nice moments. Some reflection on what splinter means to the turtles, and a reminder of how different his situation is from theirs.

[CyberCubed]

The original cartoon has a lot more depth than people give it credit for. If you look past the repetitive plots (which are fun anyway), the characterisation of the main cast and the villains is very well done.

[pferreira]

I agree with most here that there are many episodes that show a more "3D" side to the characters rather than develop the characters in any particular direction, due to the episodic nature of the show, but there's still continuity to the show since the characters can recall their past adventures. It's still very entertaining because it makes the Turtles more well-rounded than compared to even some of the other TMNT shows.

For example in "Turtles on Trial", "Night of the Rogues", "Dirk Savage: Mutant Hunter", and Season 8 & 9 reveal the ambivalent relationship they have with humans.

OT Michelangelo's warm personality is shown in "Welcome Back Polarisoids" & "Michelangelo Toys Around" (in "thawing" bratty children), acting as an older brother in "Adventures In Turtle-Sitting", displaying his competence in "What's Michelangelo Good For?", and his longing to be a part of humanity "The Gang's All Here".

There are a lot of the individual Turtle episodes that expand the OT Turtles outside of their character tropes:

For Leonardo in "Take Me To Your Leader", "Snakes Alive!", "Leonardo the Renaissance Turtle", "Unidentified Flying Leonardo", "Leonardo Lightens Up", "Leonardo Versus Tempestra", "Beware the Lotus" and "Farewell Lotus Blossom"
For Donatello in "Night of the Dark Turtle", "Donatello's Degree", "The Maltese Hamster", "Beyond the Donatello Nebula", "Donatello's Badd Time", "Donatello's Duplicate", and "Donatello Trashes Slash".
For Raphael in "Raphael Meets His Match", "Raphael Drives 'Em Wild", "Raphael Versus The Volcano", "Raphael, Turtle of a Thousand Faces", and "Mr. Nice Guy".

The OT even expands on the characters of the villains as well. One prominent example is in "The Foot Soldiers Are Revolting" to reveal why Shredder still continues to keep Bebop and Rocksteady around despite their mistake-prone ways. The series gradually displays the strengthening alliance between Shredder and Krang when at first they were extremely distrustful with each other (the first Season, "Turtles on Trial", "Beware the Lotus", "The Four Musketurtles"), and were willing to betray each other in the early seasons, but by the later seasons they seemed to have formed a dependable alliance after so many attempts to destroy the Turtles (in "Get Shredder!", Shredder wanting Krang back even when he assumed the Turtles took Krang; teaming up against Dregg in the 10th season.)

Even Irma shows some development (whether it was intentional or not is uncertain) when in the 2nd to 4th seasons she's used as comic relief for her clumsiness and over-the-top infatuations in dating and romance; by the 6th season, she's taking more of pro-active position in fighting against the villains ("Super Irma", "Night of the Rogues", "Combat Land", "Shredder Triumphant!").

The show has a lot more to offer for its characters than some may think. It's just that this is obscured in the prevalent comedy, many mad scientists, and deliberately absurd and humorous plots found in the series.That post summed up what I feel perfectly. Especially the last sentence. :)

[Wesley]

I kinda liked that the Turtles were willing to work together with their enemies when faced with a greater threat. They worked briefly with Bebop and Rocksteady in "The Foot Soldiers Are Revolting". They even tried to help Shredder and Baxter in "Case of the Killer Pizzas".

I thought Baxter was portrayed as a tragic villain, as his mental health deteriorated over the course of the series. Bebop and Rocksteady were shown to be smarter than they appeared to be in episodes such as "Shreeka's Revenge" and "Bebop and Rocksteady Conquer the Universe". April seemed to have a more proactive role in episodes like "The Gang's All Here", "Cry HAVOC" and "A Turtle in Time" rather than being the damsel in distress in most other episodes.