1989: The Great TMNT Year(and will 2003 be the next 1989?)
 

It all keeps coming back to one thing for me when I think abou tmy love of the TMNT...that magical glorious endless concerto known as 1989. It's the year I discovered em, around the time they were on the cover of Nintendo Power. I had heard of em before, but this is when I really got into em. I got really into the cartoon, started checking out the reprinted black and white/tpb issues, getting the toys, and really digging that arcade game(IMHO one of the greatest TMNT things ever) I even remember Nintendo Power had a contest wher eyou could win a chance to be an extra in the movie. How epic that would have been to be a 11 year old in Shredder's arcade/dojo HQ hangout.

Then 1990 rolled around, and while at once bringing TMNT to out of hand mainstream Beatles/Power Rangers/Elvis/N*Sync proportions, really was the beginning of the end(for the spotlight at least) It just got watered down beyond belief. It's this reason I consider the first TMNT part of 1989, since it was filmed int he Fall of 1989...and also is the only one of the films to be of a darker edgier nature. Which was odd considering the cartoona nd Archie comic tone.

So...is 2003 the next 1989?(the last great TMNT year) Between the new cartoon, upcoming Dreamwave comic, and video games coming out...who knows? One thing, it would be a lock had that cgi film gone according to plan. *sigh* But for now, all we can do is hope.

Hope and pray man

The best year for TMNT must have been 85-86. Let's hope that 2003 will restore the glory.

You were around as a TMNT fan back then? Dang! I think 1989 was such an exicting year for TMNT fans as it was the apex of cool and mainstream, but not super watered down mainstrem like the next year would be. I mean in the mid 80's there was just the comic, and I think an RPG game. By 1989 as I listed there were so many things to rejoice.

No I wasn't, But You were taling about a good year, those were the best.

Re: 1989: The Great TMNT Year(and will 2003 be the next 1989
 

:D Does this mean I get to be six years old again? :P

I have a feeling this year may leave a stain that can never be romoved from the TMNT leagacy.

But at least I may get a new Casey Jones out of the revivle

But really if it were CN doing the show I'd have more faith (yes I know I sound like a broken record) the comics may go on forever, or in few months they may not be worth lining the cage of a bird, TMNTs glory time is gone. Kids today won't really appeacate them, least not how they seemed to be desrcibed so far, chances are only the older fans will keep them alive, which I'm fine with, maybe I'm wrong, but it seems kids only care about monsters and massive distruction, the TMNT of today don't seem to give either

honestly I see this revivael in the mass media as a flash in the pan

If by glory you mean a pokemon effect of the old show, you are probably right, that won't happen again. But this time we will get a well written action series instead of a badly writen comedy.

26 episodes have been confirmed, we should be happy we are getting even that much.

The old TMNT Cartoon was awesome. There is nothing wrong about it. Stop your bashing of it.

The new cartoon is going to rock. No question about it. So stop questioning it. Even Peter Laid thinks it's great. So it's gonna be great. Stop being so negative. Enjoy the TMNT revival. In less than a month, all you naysayers shall be DISPROVED!

Yeah, i absolutely love the artwork, and the plots aren't half bad, tho knowing the mirage comics it might get weird here and there but nothing too extreme *coff*redsky*coff*
It's gonna rock! :evilgrin: I'm happy we're even getting 26 eps, but a second season would be good too..

Nothing wrong? Well if you are saying that it is a a well written series, then you really don't know what it means. They practicly used same plot over and over again. Well the lack of continuity is part of the same problem.

Second, It lacked action. The TMNT not to mention the bad guys were practicly Klowns. Just joking around, The show hardly had any good fights.

And Im am sure that with in the Last months I have watched much more of the TMNT cartoon than you have. It is kid's cartoon, and kids doesn't really care how the writing was. Neither did I at young age.

So Im am not bashing the cartoon with out reason. Everything I said is true. It is diffrent thing if you still think it's the best thing in the universe, and say there is nothing wrong with it.

Clowns go with 'c' buddy, and i know it's a kid's series, so it seems unfair you're looking at some big plot development when it wasnt aimed at people your age, but kids.
'sides, kids digged the plot, or else it wouldn't have lasted 10 seasons, repetitive or not, to me it had enough twists and different characters to keep me interested.
As a kid i know i loved the toon, and now i might not enjoy it as much as back then, but it still holds a place in my heart anyways, it brings back lotsa memories..

Exactly thats what i've been trying to say. I love the show becaause i loved the show back then. and watch it now is like reliving childhood all over again.

There are well wrtitten cartoons too. Like BAtman TAS, and Justice League. And I don't hate the show, I think it still is a good kid's show. But it doesn't change the fact that Im not judging it from Kids point of view anymore.

But the new show has the potential to become something much more. A good action series with real plot. A plot that both kids and older people can enjoy.

It is hard to look back on somthing old like a cartoon and try to look at it with the same perspective you had when you were a kid. Thinking back with great memories is much different than going back and actually rewatching something as an older person. However I got the FHC TMNT vhs vol. 1 and LOVE that first episode to this day. Somehting epic about it. And that TMNT arcade game looks just and sound sjust as awesome to me now.

But yes, this new series, with 26 episode commitments already...looks to be a breath of fresh air and somethign special indeed.

Well of course, the first season is a classic. Great action, good plots, and the best animation show ever had(Made by japanese) after that the show switched from action to slapstick. That's when the downfall happened.

Why cant more people see this? In the first season, they had the best animation(of the series, I think because it was slightly more anime esque due to a Japanese company involved), the show was exiciting, they USED WEAPONS, etc. Then, like TMNT 2,3, TNM, etc season 2 and beyond just went down the toilet. *sigh*

That first episode of TMNT still is one of the coolest TMNT things Ive seen.

That is excatly how it goes. Well the last seasons got some action back, but it was nothing compared to first season.

The shows greatest weakness- plot, action, continuing story line

Ok bear with me and I'll try to explain. To old fans these are a plus but to kids (and lets face it they are the audiance regardless of what we want to believe). Most kids today only seem to find shows interesting if they involve pokemon like monsters or massive DBZ like distruction. The TMNT will not give them this. Add this to Plot, something very few netwqork kid shows have (lets face it they are pretty much the same show over and over again in most cartoons today). Action, this is out kind of action, not the energy/mon style fighting action. Finally continuing story line, most of the younger kids I watch from time to time, can't rember what happened in the show the day before, hell if their going to remeber what happened several weeks ago

and as for seeing all 26 eps, don't be so sure, they never finished Action Mans eps, and they had severl left, but Fox just didn't air the rest. And Even if they do Fox has a nasty tendanecy to only show the end of a series once (beast Machines, RiD, Nascar racers)

1) The red sky eps weren't "extreme"

2) You sayin' they didn't rock? I oughtta hang you :lol: :lol: :lol:

Well, they did rock untill dregg came in :sweatdro:
And by extreme i mean an extreme use of weirdness :P

IF it were on cartoon network, It would have a better chance of staying. But Fox doesn't own 4kids does it? They could sell the show to another channel if fox will cancell it. And if you compare the new TMNT show to other shows that are on Foxbox, It is clearly the best of them. And they are using a lot of money to advertaise it, So Im hopefull...

It's sad...kids these days have the shortest attention span. All those retarded ADD kiddy anime and MTV. I remember following the entire Transformers story arc on tv in the mid 80's.

Well It seems that the 26 episodes we get will be great. And If fox decides to cancell it, There is always the chance that someone else could buy it...

Transformers was great...i had no idea it was japanese animated (well i knew the movie was.)
Too bad the new stuff isnt up to the level of those ones IMHO (e.g: tf rid and armada are by far not as good as the original tf :oops: )

One other thing that was great in 1989 (but sadly not TMNT related): That's the year Nine Inch Nails officially debuted ;)

Yep, Pretty Hate Machine...by far my fave NIN album, and one of the best industrial albums period(next to Skinny Puppy's 'Too Dark Park', Front 242's 'Front by Front', and Front Line Assembly's 'Hard Wired' IMHO)

I happen to be listening to PHM right now :D (on "Ringfinger" as I'm making this post...)

Hoo, boy. Am I gonna have a field day over this one.

Truer words have never been written. Amen to that, brother. At least somebody around here has got it right.

The best animation in the history of the series was not during the first season. In my opinion, it was the worst animation. The animation during the majority of the seventh season, 1993, was the best.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I hate Japanese animation. Anything with an anime-style totally turns me off. Those cartoons just annoy the heck out of me because the animation is atrocious. The Turtles were, let's face it, very ugly looking during the first season of the show. The animation was, thank God, highly improved in the second season and all the seasons that followed. I, for one, am glad that the people behind the show did not keep animating the series in anime-style. It is the ugliest animation on the planet. I can't stand it.

The show did not go down the toilet, as you so eloquently put it, after the first season. The show "jumped the shark" when Dregg was brought into the picture. And that's all I need to say about that.

There is more to a "well-written series" than just continuity, my friend. Sure, continuity is nice. Sure, it is good and well to have things make sense. But, again, there is more to it than that. The writing that you speak of was some of the wittiest and sharpest for any cartoon in the history of cartoons. The stories were original, even though you claim they were recycled over and over.

You want to know something? I am a hardcore fan of the old cartoon series; they don't come much more devoted than me. And guess what else? I couldn't give two cents on whether or not there was "continuity" in the series. I watched the show - and still watch the show - because it entertains me. The same things that brought a smile to my face 15 years ago still bring me joy today. I'll take the goofiness and good-natured heart of the old cartoon series any day. Stick a fork in all that "ninja action" and "real weapons" and "real fighting." I don't care for it, and I never will.

Why is the measure of the worth of a cartoon nowadays based upon the fights it can produce? By God, if those fights aren't darn-near realistic, and if those weapons aren't whipped out, then this cartoon just ain't cuttin' the mustard. Well, Virginia, some of us don't care for that. Some of us don't need it. Some of us get along just fine without it.

I can go back and watch any episode from the first eight seasons of the series, and it will still bring a smile to my face. It will still make me laugh. I hum along with the background music, and I roll around on the ground in a laughing fit when Krang unloads on Shredder for something stupid he did yet again.

Nothing will ever - and I mean ever - recapture the spirit of the original series. It started out small, was developed and nurtured along, and bloomed bright and pretty for all of us to see.

Obviously, some of us appreciate it more than others. Ninja action, continuity, real fights, and weapons up the ying-yang . . . whatever.

I'm content just sitting back and watching what we were given unfold. I'm content with an invention of Donatello's blowing up in his face. I'm content to watch Michaelangelo present the audience with yet another one of his crazy pizza recipes. I'm content watching Shredder and Krang bicker at each other like an old married couple.

That's where the magic is, people. That's why it lasted for so long.

"Quite remarkable!" - Splinter, from "Donatello Makes Time"

:lol: :lol: :lol: I'm glad to see someone on this board shares my view on anime!

I totally agree with you 100%, the new series will never have the charm of the original. 8)

Well said, NTCF (except the part about anime :P).

To be honest, I'm getting sick of the constant cartoon bashing going on at these forums. Shredder and I made these forums so that people could discuss and share their opinions about TMNT, not nitpick the only TMNT universe that we are even interested in. Doesn't anyone think that bashing a children's cartoon from the 80s and comparing it to today's cartoons is kind of pointless? I'm not trying to tell anyone not to post their opinions, but you cartoon bashers have made your point, and there's no need to repeat it over and over every time someone mentions something positive about the old cartoon.

Few things: Just explain how to cartoon was well writen? It used same plot over and over again. Either Shredder looking for a powersource, or a mad scientist taking a revenge to the world. There are few well written episodes, but they are exception. If you like it, or if it makes you laugh, doesn't make it a well written series. (I admit that most of late 80's and early 90's series were like that)

And the action, well it seems you don't like the Original concept of the TMNT. The true TMNT are no Goofy pizza eaters, They are trained Ninjas who are alone in the world, and fight because they must. The First season of the cartoon Is considered best by the comic and most of the cartoon fans. It had some themes from the original concept, but sadly it was later replaced by slapstic humor. You hate the first season? Well somebody likes Next mutation. You can't argue about opnions.

Still It seems you can't be critical to the old show. No one who knows what well written means will say that the TMNT cartoon was well written. It means that it should have a good, non repatitive plot, good dialogue between characters, character development, and Yes continuity. The scripts in TMNT had also quite a few errors. Like when the Van wen't down from a bridge in REX-1 one ep. There were few episodes that had pretty good writing, all written by David Wise. But sadly those are rare.

And Finally, despite all of the faults the show had, none of those ment nothing to the kids. They didn't care if the fight scenes were badly animated, the show badly written, They loved it because it is Ninja turtles. There is something in the concept since 84 that has always made people like it. Every time the TMNT has been in TV, it has been popular. Even the NTM.

This is why I belive that Kids today will like the new show. And because of good writing and animation, so Will older people. If you won't like it because in it the TMNT doesn't eat pizza and run around the city yelling Turtle power! Be my guest, It is the Kids that matters.

I haven't said a thing that isn't true... There were well written series at the time TMNT was airing, like Batman TAS. It was Made 1991, and the show has won awards for it's writing.

EDIT: Im done with my "cartoon bashing", But if some one makes arguments about my post, I have the right to reply.

Okay, so TMNT wasn't the Hamlet of cartoons, so what? There was obviously something about it that made it as popular as it was/is. And I'll tell you this, I could do a fair amount of nitpicking about the old comic series, as well as any other universe. And if I do, I'll be the first to admit I've been spoiled by today's cutting edge comics with their bright colors and extreme stories, just as we've been spoiled by today's top cartoons when looking back at TMNT.

There's no one path to success. Whether it be the luck of good timing that ripped TMNT #1 off the comic book shelves all those years ago, or the catering to a hungry, demanding focus group, you can't deny it. Judge the cartoons on their own faults and merits against a blank screen, not another cartoon.

:P :lol: I don't know, some posters here have seemed to have made a career out of arguing about opinions.

Yeah all these arguments are starting to get kind of repetative...... :dead:

I liked the old cartoon, it was for little kids you know not people from 14 to their 30s!! The reason I like it now is partially because it is silly, and also there was some great action in the begining. But please don't bash the old cartoon so much its part of my childhood you know!!

Yeah Kali, you are absolutely right, the comic isn't perfect either. But neither is the cartoon, thats's the whole point of this argument. Well for me it is now over, It pointles to argue about them, or even compare them, as cartoon is for kids and comic for young adults.

Let's hope the new show is something for both.

The admin has spoken for me....good day, and thank you Krang. :)

I think he was talking to all of us...

I meant, he took the words right out of my mouth...