Where Do You Place The Christmas Aliens In Season Three?
 

So in my rewatch of the 4kids series, im coming up to the end of season two. With the third season, im gonna have to decide where to place The Christmas Aliens episode. It was produced to be the first episode of season three. But it was moved to the middle of the season to air closer to Christmas. Ironically, I think it actually fits in a little better in the middle of the season, with the invasion picking up right where season two left off. That being the case, what should I do? Watch the episode as the season premiere, or move it to the middle of the season where it aired?

It goes exactly where its listed, in the middle.

Someone here once said that the biggest indication that the episode is "supposed" to take place at the very beginning of the season is that Leatherhead isn't at their Christmas party.

Christmas Aliens should be watched as first episode of season 3.

I made this timeline years ago, if you're interested in this kind of stuff: http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=34184

That's one reason. Plus the PD have regular guns. After the invasion, there was a lot of alien tech being used by the gangs. Also production code.

I originally watched it in the order it aired, but on later re-watches of the show I put it as the first of S3. It works fine either way though.

Technically, "where its listed" would be the the first episode of the season. In the middle of the season was where it first aired.

I was thinking, another cartoon that had pretty much this exact same problem was The New Batman Adventures. "Sins of the Father" made much more sense as the first episode than "Holiday Knights" did.

Are there any indications of autumn in some episodes during season 3? If so, they should be placed before.

None in season 3, but by mid season 4 you have Halloween, then a few episodes, then the winter time jump where Leo went away for training. So it makes sense to keep Christmas Aliens away from that.

Season 4 also have some autumn scenes at Northampton, Massachusetts (which of course is the international famous autumn of New England).

Yeah, season 4 definitely starts in Fall.

Plus with The Golden Puck being late in season 2 and having snowy weather, it makes sense that everything after that is November/December leading into Christmas Aliens to start season 3.

Season 1
 

Season 1 also had Northampton, Massachusetts winter in the "Monster Hunter" episode.

Season Premiere. Leatherhead's not there, so it makes much more sense to be at the beginning of the season. If it's later, then it makes the turtles look like jerkasses for not inviting their friend for their Christmas party.

Or Leatherhead joined the Jehovah's Witnesses, they don't celebrate anything like Christmas, Easter and birthdays. :)

Just stumbled across this old thread. Pretty much all of us had this exact same conversation 4 years ago lol.

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=44129

Boy, things sure have gotten slow here at the 4Kids section... :lol:

Whoops. Ha, I even took place in that discussion. Sorry guys.

It's a shame that's the case. I do whatever I can to try to keep it active. Unfortunately, most people here seem more interested in discussing the Nick series.

Give it three or four months, it's going to make a brief explosion once the Mad Max arc starts floating around the internet, then it's going to slow down over the months and when Rise hits it will draw all the attention.

I've never bothered to think much about it. So it can go anywhere, as far as I'm concerned... well obviously not after the first episode of season 1 since most of the characters invited to the Lair had not debuted yet, but you get what I mean. I see it as a standalone episode, basically.

I'm not sure. He had a lot of discussions about the 1987-1996 series here (more in-universe than today), even when the 2003-2009 series was still airing.

Dr. Spengler just made another point in his latest review: http://www.adventuresinpoortaste.com...part-1-review/

You don't want to have The Christmas Aliens too close to the second Usagi crossover, because the Ultimate Daimyo had been sick for a long ass time in that, but was alive and well for Christmas dinner.

He's also right that, thematically, it definitely feels like an epilogue to season 2.