Could The OT Be Brought Back?
 

What do you think?

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What if a team of competent animators were brought on board to make new episodes of the OT? Visual style akin to Turtles Forever- everything the same as it once was, just a bit more fluid and clean. Original voice cast. Continuity-wise they could just be random adventures that took place during certain seasons, or in between them, etc. A new character here and there, toys who never made it could finally appear, missed opportunities now fulfilled, there would definitely be a lot of possibilities.

Would you support this, assuming it were true to the original and seemingly none too different?

Aside from the obvious (that being Nick wanting to focus on their new version of the TMNT), what's to stop it from happening?

Would you prefer it to be a one-off animated film special, or a couple of seasons?

OR- if you could choose between this or a reboot of the OT, with a new animation style, which would you go for?

Discuss! :tgrin:

Personally, I'd be all for it. While the OT had a great sendoff and ten amazing seasons under it's belt, I feel that it's formula would lend itself well to an extension. Much of it was just fun and filler. I think given the turtles' present mania, paired with an audience of not only kids but nostalgic adults, it would be a great success.

Maybe a movie set in the universe I could see, but new seasons....not so much.

It can work, but Nick wouldn't want it competing with the new show. But direct to dvd seasons would be great. I think we have a better chance at getting old seasons with cleaned up animation.

That has been my dream since 1997 at the tender age of 10. To fill that wish I wrote fan-fiction scripts taking place after "Divide And Conquer" playing off the fact Splinter stated they were now taught all he knew but does that mean they know every move as good as him and have the skill to superpass him and take on further threats of Shredder and others? No. So,yeah there is an opening with the ability to keep it going a bit fresh.Will we see it? I think marketing with generic images of the '88-93 look and releases of old will continue but a full-blown revivial/continuation? Its a shared pipe dream I am afraid. As a cartoon of the Turtles Forever model albeit '94-96 style storytelling happening alongside the Nick cartoon? Maybe but unlikely. If the cartoon cancels and Nick sees potential for a revival? Perhaps. Its the most likely chance.

Hmmm, I suppose I shouldn't make another thread that's so similar but this had me thinking- What if instead of an animated series, the same idea was carried over to a comic done by IDW? Not the archie books, but rather OT episodes drawn as a fun book- akin to the current "Animated Adventures" comic.

Meh, if its comics I'd rather it not be. They won't capture the spirit of the original too at all.

It is possible to see an animated movie in the OT universe. I'd only want to see it done if David Wise was writing it though, otherwise we'd have writers not really knowing the series too well like with what happened with Turtles Forever.

How do you figure? Most of what made the FW series great was the humor which came from the writing. If you got a good writer, it could work as a nice little comic for the fans.

The thing is a lot of people don't really, "get" the original toon universe. Look at Turtles Forever, which had people unfamiliar with the source material.

David Wise or Michael Reaves understood the universe best, without them you'd just feel like someone was doing an imitation of it.

How much of that do you really think Wise retained?

Ah, this is interesting.

Biker Mice from Mars (one of the mice voiced by Rob Paulsen :tlove:. He's the one with the shade) OT starts and ends around 1993 to 1996. And then it was brought back again (!) in 2006.

I've seen bits from the new version and it pretty much captures the look and feel of the original. Would be nice if TMNT have that treatment as well.

http://i.imgur.com/z8pCjE9.jpg
Classic/OT Biker Mars

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Biker Mars 2k6

I imagine he would set himself up with the DVDs of the original toon and do a marathon rewatch for a month to remember the material.

He probably doesn't remember that much about it now, outside of the core concepts.

That doesn't even matter. Nick owns the franchise now...it could be done after the current show.

Anyway this would be cool but not adventures set in between already existing episodes. It should take place where it left off. Haven't seen the second half of the OT in years and years (only have up to season 4) so I don't remember how it ended but taking place in between is pointless.

I actually would like to see it take place after the series, so a "Season 11" so to speak. But with the old animation style from Seasons 1-7.

I'd also probably have some Archie storylines adapted into episodes with a few twists.

The more I think of it the more I think a comic book style Season 11 would be awesome (What?it worked for Buffy and Smallville.) I don't think Wise is needed, just a talented writer with a firm grasp of the source material.

If its in comic form I fear it would go off on its own and become more like the Archie series did, rather than a true "OT revival."

If that's the case you might as well be asking for Archie to be revived instead of the OT.

It would be cool to see something done for the 30th Anniversary. Something that encompasses everything. Turtles Forever was a great idea. It's just a little unfortunate that they already did it, before the current blockbuster series.

Hopefully the Nick crew has been downplaying this crossover ep, and we'll get some classic OT fun. And, if not, hey, it ran 10 seasons. A good run, by any measure.

I think for the 30th anniversary we'll be lucky if clips of the OT will be shown for whatever they do.
The simpsons has refined itself over the years, but it has always remained one continuous entity.
I could only ever see some committed fans putting together shows for their own joy.
I'm sure if someone practised talking like a character from the show they could nail it and so a fan made show could be done. We have fan made comics, games etc why not a show??? They could do for the turtles what fifty shades of grey did for twilight. By that I mean create a piece of fan made material that takes off and keeps things alive for the fans, but of course not stray off like that whole thing did. So who's gonna voice Mikey???

Yeah let fans make Fifty Shades of Green.

I'd rather see a SouthPark version of the TMNT.
Who knows, bringing back the OT might work.
Like seth macfarlane has 3 shows which are sort of the same there could be 3 turtles shows all running at once. Don't know that anything like that has ever been done and probably for good reason. Still as a fan it would be fun. Creating new stories for the OT would certainly be fun as there would be so many things to further explore. So yes I would support it, and by support I mean I would watch it. TMNTs are that good that you could have them do almost anything and I'd be interested, even the fifty shades of green.

The OT was what I loved most.
It was a great toon, and I still love watching it. The other night there I was watching a random disc from the van set. I got an email at 10 past midnight from one if my students asking if I could stop watching TMNT for a few minutes to read his essay! Ah, they know me so well.
Anyways, the Turtles Forever I thought, did a very good job, but.. A whole new episode or 5 ( come on, it was those first 5 that sold the whole deal) would be awesome. Do we need Mr Wise? Probably not, as the new writers obviously 'get' the OT. There are dome great lines in the new show that either ridicule or embrace the old days.
Yeah, I'm up for a fresh batch of classic Turtles on TV.. It's working for Playmates.

would love to see them back, Maybe a slightly more organized approach, and a tiny bit less goofy, more along the lines of the first 2 seasons.

That was what I thought IDW was going to do originally when it was announced in early 2011. The way it was worded I was convinced it was going to a comic conitnuation like Buffy The Vampire slayer,Dark Shadows,Smallville, and a growing number. So I admit to being a bit skeptical with what we got the first few issues for that reason. We got something great anyway but the comic continuation would be even better. I would be happy for it to continue in that form as the very fact of it continuing at all would be a blessing. After IDW's comic wraps up whenever that may be I do think it is possible IF it is still fashionable to revive popular shows in comic form when that time comes.

Of course having an OT revival would be very exciting :D, but I don't know if the tone we grew up on would be carried into this series. :ohwell:

With me, I always felt the "Divide and Conquer" series finale was too abrupt of an ending. Kind of like an unsatisfying, 1-2 page epilogue to a great novel. Plus, there were many storylines the OT had not explored fully and I hope it could follow its continuity and ditch the episodic plots... In fact, it would need to in order to survive in this new cartoon landscape.

In today's cartoon landscape a lot of the humor is more loud, random, and more ill-mannered (flatulence, burping, gross out humor) rather than the witty sarcasm the 80s and 90s humor had (not only in the OT, but in cartoons like Garfield and Tiny Toons). In addition, since this OT revival wouldn't be under the heavy parental criticism of excessive violence as it had experienced in the late 80s and early 90s, it could really expand the action sequences. ...Both for the good and bad. On the good side, we could see more weapon fighting rather than the slapstick food fighting humor of its middle seasons. On the somewhat bad side, the violence could be a slippery slope in adding darker themes to the OT that could make this new tone too unfamiliar to us.

What made the OT shine was having the right voice actors, writing, and other staff that transcended the cartoon and the franchise into an iconic status, and usually trying to replicate that same iconic essence can be extremely difficult.

I'm not going to be a pessimist about it because the OT is what first lured me into the Turtles, but even if the stars aligned just right for a full-fledged executive Nickelodeon business order for a Season 11 or animated film-special, I'm not going to hold my breath since replicating the OT's tone/execution is a monumental feat. Therefore, I don't know if our hopes or expectations would be fully satisfied to make us revisit the effervescent excitement we had for the OT then as kids, and some of us still do now as adults.

I guess one analogy I could use to help explain my position, would be like today's music producers in trying to replicate a past, popular genre of music like... disco, 70s soul music, or 80s glam metal for example. :lol: Even though music producers have a vast, hindsight knowledge of the genre (what worked and what didn't), somehow the few attempted disco, 70s soul, or 80s glam metal songs they make and release today, just doesn't fully capture that sonic vivacious excitement of the genre back in day (putting aside the nostalgia factor).

With the new series, I think it would be kind of overkill to have a second TMNT series going. I grew up on the original cartoon and hope that it always finds an audience, but as far as being a regular ongoing series it had its time.

However, a mini-series or animated movie would be cool. Occasionally bring the original toon out of retirement so to speak. A five part story like the first season might be cool.

I doubt the OT will have a full revival, but I think a sort of mini-series could work if they could pull it off. Or maybe even a comic book would be cool to see.

Well there are 2 TMNT comic series running atm, why not a third?
And then why not a second cartoon? Did Batman ever have 2 cartoon versions playing at the same time that weren't reruns?
It's almost been 30 years and change is inevitable. Batman changed and I can't see him going back to the detective comics look etc. There's no doubt it would be fun but whether it's comics or cartoons I think everything gets it's run and then moves on eventually. They even sell the toys still in stores of the OT, but I can't see that starting a revival, just a reminder of the legacy that is TMNT that's all.
Perhaps an animated comic is the way to go with reviving the OT. I mean it's never been done and what a great place to start with the OT.

This. I would love to see just a straight to dvd movie of the old guys and maybe give the same treatment to a Mirage TMNT as well. Just something to give fresh ideas on Turtles a chance, not just in comics or the new series.

Kinda thought they did that already with IDW and the new cartoon....

Are you trying to be clever? Neither one of those is exactly like the OT. Its using some old characters and concepts and doing totally different things with them.

We're talking about the OT being revived exactly as it was.

...yeaaaah... not gonna happen in today's day and age unless they totally amp up the action. As funny as the old show was, an action hero show with lots of comedy and little to no action just won't fly. It needs cool fight scenes, the turtles actually acting like ninjas, awesome new and old characters, and still keep the comedic aspect.... oh wait...

I think this would be a great idea, Buffy-verse is going strong in the comics and Adam West Batman's comic seems to be doing well.

I'd rather buy a comic of the FW Turtles then the very lackluster color classics

Who said there would be no fight scenes? It would obviously be more like Season 1 or 7 if it were revived now.

I think a comic book continuation of the OT would be the way to go. It wouldn't necessarily have to be a "season 11" ala what Smallville and Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics have done. It could also be anthology stories filling in the blanks between existing episodes of the cartoon. Anybody who did the comic would have to have a great knowledge of the show, however. That's actually what I aspired to do with my own fan comic series... of which I've only completed one issue, I'm sorry to say.

But if IDW were to do it, I think it would be Archie rather than the OT. They're already expressed some interest in it.

Season 1 was ok, but season 7? No. While the slapstick was seriously toned down, the turtles still resorted to using ropes, pulling curtains down on people, and all Raph ever did was throw his Sai. Every. Single. Time. And again, if you want the OT back with awesome fight scenes... there is this show they air every Saturday morning....

LOL, there was still plenty of fighting.

If you wanna call it that... sure. Nothing on the level of the movies or 2K3, or hell, their own arcade game.

Honestly, I loved OT as a kid, but I'd rather have the continuation of 4kids as a cartoon, archie as a comic book, and a direct to dvd movie based on Mirage.
Sadly none of this will happen. Tho at least a comic miniseries based on OT would be reasonable in the future. Hell, even Batman has an ongoing comic based on the Adam West series.
They could also do multiverse crossovers in IDW turtles.

I would watch it...but I don't know how it would turn out. Cartoons are very different these days, and I don't think the OT would work out too good in this day in age. Personally I think I've had enough of the OT turtles for now, with the show ended, Turtles Forever, and references galore in the new show.

Haha, no. Stop it. It was good for the time and I enjoy it when rewatching it on DVD.