"The Switch" from 1993 to 1994

[Ninja Turtles Cartoon Fan]

Does anyone out there have any information on why the cartoon series switched to a darker tone in 1994, as compared to the lighter fare of years past?

Were rating slipping, and the producers felt a shakeup would help things? Were people getting bored with the same format? Personally, I never liked the harder-edged turtles; I never read the comic book, and all I grew up on was the goofy good-natured cartoon series.

Maybe this is why I am a little worried about the new up-coming cartoon.

"Ka-bloo-hoo-hoo-hoo-wee?!" - Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, and Raphael, from "Planet of the Turtles"

[Nturtle]

They wanted it to be more batmanish in a way, with darker overtones, this is also why they got rid of Shredder and gang, it was a last attept to keep the show alive, since they had run out of ideas

Also I don't want to be impolite or anything, but please don't make so many threads, it is kind of confusing :)

[Nickokapo]

oh yeah...dude...why so many threads, you could've make one thread and then asked all your questions there...but anyways, i too grew up with the cartoon, that's why im a tmnt cartoon fan too :D but i must admit the darker tmnt wasnt that bad...like the comics and first movie...but the latest tmnt seasons...i didnt liked em... :sick:

[Nturtle]

1987 still had better action though

[Nickokapo]

Definitely!Season 1 was serious enough while mantaining the same style of art they used in most seasons...well actually, season 1's art was kinda different but you know what i mean =O)
Season 1 should be on dvd...i don't know about the whole series...but season 1 does :P

[Nturtle]

Paul and I are on tmnt-fils
the first two eps have the most diffrent art

[Nickokapo]

Oh cool, i'll try to go to tmnt-fils again, i've been there with the name of FIL but then you got disconnected and i left :dead:
The animation in the first eps was...different.I like one of the parts when someone is driving the van, i think it is mikey, his face is so weirdly drawn :goofygri:

[HorseTechie]

Mhh... and I'M a comic book fan. :evil:

*wonders why she's on a Cartoon based fourm* :P I also think they wanted to make the cartoon a litle more like the movie too. I remeber seeing a lot of movie references in the credits. I thought they were okay.. even though I can't remember any of em. The only thing that bugged me about those eps, was aaaall that green around their eyes.

[Nturtle]

:lol: yeah thier eyes were freaky!!! the third theme song was so awful though BLEH!!! :dead:

[Nickokapo]

Oh yeah...i can't stand the theme song...it was HORRIBLEH (with emphasis on bleh) :evil:

[Ninja Turtles Cartoon Fan]

My friends and I compare the episodes from 1994-1996 with ones from earlier years, and we're pretty much all in agreement that the green around the eyes is weird. It makes them look much more mean than what they actually are.

At least all the other characters looked the same, though. Shredder, Krang, Bebop, Rocksteady - they didn't look any different.

I liked how April looked in 1994, though. I thought she looked better in her updated duds, rather than that yellow jumpsuit all the time.

"I never bluff!" - Shredder, from "Get Shredder!"

[Nickokapo]

April did looked good in the latest seasons (yay, one of the characters actually looked good ;P ) but my favorite april will be season 1 april, i always thought she looked anime-ish...gosh...the 3rd theme song was annoying...they should've kept the one they used in the first 2 intros...i know they were trying to change the mood of the toon but they could've done that or get at least a better song :P
oh well :ohwell:

[Nturtle]

the first 2 eps had a lot of anime animation in them

[Ninja Turtles Cartoon Fan]

The third theme song made sense during 1994, when Shredder was still a part of the show. But in 1995 and 1996, what was the point?

Shredder was no longer a part of the show. They had that stupid Dregg guy in there. So why have a theme song pertaining to Shredder when he's no longer a part of the show.

It just seems that, at this point, people stopped caring about making a quality TV show. How anyone could have let something like this stand doesn't make sense to me.

If you have a new super villain, take out the old super villain's theme song.

"Hhmph! The glamourous life of a TV reporter. What a lot of bull!" - Vernon, from "Mutagen Monster"

[Nickokapo]

I never really payed attention at the theme song enough, since it was really annoying, but i know what you mean... :oops:
I've readed even laird got bored of the cartoon at that point...oh well, after 8 years of making turtles episodes its not easy to come up with that kind of stuff i guess :P

[Karpo_007]

I have read that it had most people watching it int he last seasons...
I could be wrong tough...

[Nickokapo]

Most people prefer the changed turtles, and dregg instead of shredder?meh...fine, but if i had to choose i'd pick the older seasons instead...the latest seasons weren't that bad tho, they mutated into some cool strong turtles, that part of the show i liked it...

[Karpo_007]

well... Best season is the first... after that next really good episodes are the 3 from the end of season 3...

[Nickokapo]

Season 3 was the longest season, it had lotsa' great eps... :D

[HorseTechie]

Uggh... yeah. Thank's to you guys I got that gnad song in my head now! It was annoying how they would hesitate after each word in TMNT. Teenage.... Mutant... Ninja... Turtles.... Bleh! :dead:

And the green around their eyes... I thought it looked like their masks got all stretched out from tying them on tight so much. :P But the rest of their body, with the more defined muscles n stuff. I liked that.