Should I go back and re-watch the original series or...
 

...give the 4kids version a second chance? I went back and tried to re-watch the OG series on dvd and it was cheesetastic (nostalgia was still there). Does the 2k3 to 2009 series do the turtles justice? I've only seen a couple of those episodes and turtles forever was awesome!

Peace!

[By the way the first movie is my definitive turtle experience and the new comics are growing with me heavily.]

Watch both. They're both very good.

They're both different but very entertaining takes of the TMNT franchise.

I hear you dude... My memories of the OG series has long since faded, got to get around to watching both series just needed some more opinions from the field.

Go ahead and watch some episodes of the classic series with some TMNT Fan Commentaries! You never know... it might make it more interesting for you. :tsmile:

The 87 TMNT series is so much more fun, upbeat, and unlike the source material and 2003 cartoon, doesnt take it's ridiculous premise too serious

The 2003 series is a little darker and edgier (yawn) and adapts several of the comic storylines (double yawn), but overall has it's own original backstory and concentrates on being it's own beast rather than be a slave to the gospel of the comics, which I appreciate. Towards the end of it's run it tries (and fails) to be as light and cheesy as the old show.

I was really into the OG series, I'm pretty sure it'll still have its moments (still love the technodrome theme music). The 4kids series though; tried to give it a chance when it debuted, but i said to myself that I was to old for that stuff back then.

I guess the OG villains and allies from the OG series are why I'm leaning towards re-watching that version of TMNT (the rat king, beebop, rocksteady, etc.)

[I'm probably just looking for some "deep" significance in any TMNT incarnation, it is what it is though]

Honestly, I'm having the best time right now reading the new comics. There's a bit of the old, a bit of the new, and it's all pretty exciting.

If you haven't seen 2k3, though, the third and fourth seasons are my favorite. You should definitely give the show a shot.

watch'em all

I think the prevailing appeal to all incarnations is their lust for existence; the desire to fill out their respective universes and the potential to take the narrative anywhere and everywhere. Watch long enough, and you'll encounter film noir detective stories, aliens and alien planets, time travel, mad science, sorcery, and a load of other literary tropes incorporated into the narrative. The shows each have those things, so anyone watching frequently will eventually come across an episode they like.

That said, the overall tone is definitely different. To give you a rough idea of the degree of difference, the Turtles are roughly the same except for Raphael, who is closer to his violent comic counterpart, probably since there's less censorship now, and Splinter is almost identical to the OT version, but everyone else is pretty different. April isn't a newswoman, Casey is still angry and violent but that's not his only trait, and Shredder is much more dangerous.

In general, the original show is a comedy, while the new show is an adventure series. The big advantage of the old toon is you can drop in at any time and watch it and enjoy it, because it's slang and recurring pizza obsession make it more instantly memorable, and in the case of some awful episodes you can skip them and pretend they never happened. The 2003 show has (for the most part) a lot more depth. It's really one long story, so you get out of it what you put into it. That makes it potentially better, but to appreciate it you need to watch it on a binge; like on YouTube or DVD, or you're going to find the plot confusing--and once in a while, you'll probably have to sit through an episode you hate to understand it.

You should do want you want to do instead of letting others choose for ya. ;)

Just needed a general consensus of opinions before investing the time into either series. Was planning on re-watching both series regardless... got to find something to do in-between the comic release dates :tlol:

[what does OT mean? original toon?]

Usually stands for Old Toon

Whats OG?

Ninja Turtles?? O_o That's for babies, dude.

Turtles Forever was the ultimate balance of cheese pizza with cotton candy toppings.

[OG = OriGinal or OG = Original Gangster]

Season 1-3
 

You should at least watch season 1-2 of the 1987 cartoon when the action is cooler, and the awesome "Big Trilogy" of season 3.

Maybe "Old Toon" as well, but that isn't so accurate anymore now that the 2003 cartoon is old, too.

Another thing about the 2003 show--resist the urge to stop watching just because some of your old favorite characters don't appear. It seems this maybe the biggest complaint about the 2003 show, and it's true that it can feel empty without them at first. If you just endure, though, it starts to attain it's own supporting cast that's equally appealing. Perhaps my favorite new character is Renet, whom I'd basically describe as having Irma's personality along with Time Travel powers--as fun as it sounds!

don't worry about all of that dude you do what you do

They're both worth watching though I will say 2K3 has more going for it overall then the OT. It has continuity for one which most of the OT lacks. It has more good episodes. Though the OT has more episodes it's only 37 more and even then it still has less good ones.

Not taking itself seriously doesn't really mean it works any better then 2K3. Many episodes have ridiculous plots that over use the main villains. For a series with a colorful toyline they really dropped the ball when it came to using it. Every time they needed a villain they opted to create some generic mad scientist or equally uninteresting character instead of using the truckload of baddies they already had between the comics and the toys.

I guess if I had to break it down most of the OT is forgettable. A lot of the middle episodes fail to stick out and without an on going story it's easy to forget about many of them. 2K3 has the advantage there. While most of the comic adaptations fall short due to the content being paired down for a kids series it's still a good watch overall. The OT is too but it relies much more on nostalgia then 2K3 does.

A lot of people will complain that 2K3 isn't as funny as the OT but honestly the OT rarely made me laugh, even as a kid. The most chuckles it gets out of me now are from the hilarious use of words like bodacious. 2K3 isn't a laugh riot either but I never came to the series for that.

Comparing the two overall is a bit hard because they're completely different series and I notice a lot of fans, even the ones who watch both, usually like one much more then the other. I'm in the middle with it. I don't watch either all the time. For me the OT is more of a background noise sort of show as 2K3 I will actually sit down and watch.

The 2 OAVs are a fun watch too

We Wish You A Turtle Christmas is for REAL men. Badge of honor, that one...

I think the 2k3 is far superior to the OT, because of the overall darker tone, continuity, everything everyone else said. Not that the OT is bad, I like it, but I only like it because it makes me laugh and reminds me of my youth.

It really just depends on what you prefer. While the 80s show is classic, it's also classic cheese and I can't really ''sit down'' and watch it.

If you are a fan of the comic books I say go 2k3. Better stories, continuity, and the art style and animation is great. Also, I love the fight scenes. It's up to you.

Next Mutation, Next Mutation... Then We Wish You A Turtle Christmas

Truthfully I actually enjoyed the 2K3 series more than the OT. I jst liked it better. I think I like it more jst bc it has a central plot

When I rewatch the OT I find it's even better than I remember (and I loved it at the time). There's so many layers there that I wasn't aware of as a child. Humor is much more difficult to write and act for than either action or drama.

I did try watching the 2k3 version when it came out. I don't know, I just wasn't motivated to make it a habit. It just felt like every other action cartoon series. That said, I'd be willing to give it a chance again.

Exactly. There is a point where you can take this premise way too seriously and I think the 2k3 cartoon definitely crossed that point, lol. And I don't mean that in a disrespectful way for the franchise. Some brooding every once and awhile is fine. But constantly being brooding and dark does not equal being deep!

The 1st turtles movie was the perfect balance of humor and dark. Period.

Turtles Forever, well...great idea but I can't get passed how they so incorrectly portrayed the OT turtles. And consequently the 2k3 turtles ended up looking like scolding parents. Um, fun? The writing was just too broad.

What I don't agree with is when people say that the original cartoon is just as good as the 2003 version. I don't think that the more recent cartoon was a better cartoon because it was darker and not as cheesy. I think that it's better than the original because I consider it to have been a superior product. I think that the newer cartoon had better animation, music, and better stories. Do I happen to prefer that it was also darker and had a more serious tone than the original cartoon? Yes. But I consider myself able to be objective and look past that when determining which was the better cartoon.

The 4kids series has better consistent writing but he original cartoon is just plain fun. I have a blast with it and you can introduce it to your kids.

Well for me better animation or music doesn't equal better cartoon necessarily. It comes down to the writing. And while the 2k3 series had a consistent plot that also doesn't automatically mean superior product. Many of the most successful and well written TV shows in history lacked consistent plots.

The OT is a lot of fun. But that doesn't mean it can't be taken seriously. Comedy is not all about being bright and happy. A lot of the humor in the OT came from the characters having a very snarky and cynical attitude towards society which we can all identify with and speaks a lot more volumes than a cartoon going out of its way to be "dark."

Oh I agree. A lot of these people haven't actually sat down and watched the original cartoon in years, so they don't truly remember what the show is actually like.

However the 4kids series was indeed very good. And not just for TMNT, it was one of the better made cartoons in the 2000's in general.

Exactly. And even when they do see it, it's easy to dismiss it as childish at first glance, without noticing that there's so much more to it. :)

Yeah I mean I never felt like it was bad; I just didn't fall in love with it the way I have with other shows. But like I said I'd be willing to give it another chance. More ninja turtles is always a good thing...unless it's Ninja Turtles 3, lol. :lol:

The other thing is the 4kids series mostly has to be watched in order to really appreciate it, since its so continuity heavy.

The original toon was designed where you can jump in at any time, watch any random episode, and you won't be lost. Sure, there's the introduction episodes for all the major characters and recurring characters, as well as the location of the Technodrome every season, but other than that you can jump in at any time.

Although after the Season 10 DVD comes out, I plan on doing a complete rewatch in chronological order for the old series.

Watch both.

There are times 2K3 made me cringe (Hun's "we have a plan to replace the US President and the UK Prime Minister with mechanical bodies" for example), I feel April's character completely unused when Casey became the Turtles' Go To human and the Shredder is just... blah. But it does have very solid arcs. Worth looking in to.

The fun thing about the OT is that they took all the ridiculousness of the plot and run with it. A crazy AI takes over the Channel 6 building, Don tells them not to destroy other people's property and Raph tells him to shut it? Fun times.

I'm kinda sad for a bit with the OT Turtles' characterization in Turtles Forever. OT!Leo would have looked up at the 2K3 guys, and the others would be more aware that 2K3 Raph treats them like a joke and will comment on it. Oh well...

Good point, thanks. :)

That sounds like fun actually, lol.

Lol, very true, I love how they were basically satirizing the absurdity of your standard action plot line.

Well put. Watch both. :)

My only gripes with the OT were the underused characters. Casey Jones should have appeared a lot more, Leatherhead deserved more episodes, I would have liked to see Baxter show up at least twice a season.

If only they did the character appearances more properly.

Yeah OT Baxter was hilarious in how pathetic he was, lol.

Casey Jones should really have had more episodes. Shame stupid parent groups ruined his chances of appearing with thier uproar over him.

The OT was perfect. Odds are I'll only watch the 2k3 series when my younger cousin comes by and forces me to.

Indeed. :)

Hehe, that reminds me of when I watched the new He-Man with my younger cousin and he was asking me questions about the original cartoon, lol.

The OT had continuity

And "darker tone" doesnt always mean "good". Frankly, I think the 2003 series taking itself seriously is what makes it inferior. The old 'toon knew how ridiculous the premise was and had fun with it.

Erm...they DIDNT portray the 80s Turtles incorrectly. I agree with you however that the writing did not help the 2003 Turtles to be accepted by fans loyal to the old show, and, far worse, they proved to be really incompetant in a film that was supposed to be their finale.

The plot was about fifty different things per week. Honestly, the only time the plot was centralized was in the first and fifth seasons. Gargoyles and The 90s Spider-Man series has more focus than the 2003 series.