Was 1997-2001 the darkest time for the TMNT franchise?
 

Its 1997. The original cartoon had finally ended the year before, Next Mutation was starting, and the comics had just shifted from Mirage to Image. The toyline was waning on shelves although Playmates continued to support Next Mutation.

Next Mutation bombs, and then Image is canceled by 1999. For all intents and purposes it seemed like TMNT was truly dead for the first time ever, as the attempts to revive it after the original era had failed.

TMNT wouldn't get a second life till 2002/2003 when the Mirage Volume 4 and 4kids era started.

I would say yes it was pretty dark during that period if you dont count the comics in 1984....dun dun, lol

But seriously I remembe when the comics came out in 2001 I was so happy. Also used to browse the internet for any thing tmnt in 1999/2000

For me, this dead period seemed not to exist. Despite the fact the franchise fizzled out a bit, I still saw the toys EVERYWHERE. New merch came about somewhat regularly, whether it was kids clothes or tees that were then deemed retro at Hot Topic. Reruns were on. I had all the VHS tapes, friends who still loved the series, games to play, etc. & the website kept us entertained too. The character letters, fan contests, little updates here & there. Plus they'd give us news of new series' (which all failed to come to fruition until 4kids came out).

Back then we also didn't think TMNT would ever come back with another cartoon. I remember trying to watch all the old cartoon episodes online....back then it took like 6 hours to download a single 22 minute episode..lol.

The 2007-2010 time was pretty bleak too, with the failure of Fast Forward and Movie 4, and the cancellation of the original comic for the final time.

I remember during those years I sometimes wanted to watch the cartoons or engage in some kind of nostalgia, but there really weren't too many ways to. Then they started to put the Mirage issues on the official website. That was really my first taste of TMNT in a long time.

I remember someone made a TMNT trading card game though around 2000. I remember printing out the cards but I lost them. Too bad, because the site is long gone.

Oh my god, that's a terrifying story! I'm really glad that never happened....

But we did get an awesome finale to TMNT 2K3 with Turtles Forever! That was a good thing.

yes... that was the time period in which TMNT had almost become forgotten by the mainstream public. A sad time for TMNT fans.

I remember waiting for the return in 2k3 like it was the most important thing in the world :tlol: People did believe that TMNT was a dead fad for kids, but My brothers and I always knew we could make a comeback!

This whole time period could be summed up as "SMDH", but a new generation came sooner because of this. Who knows, maybe it would have never been bought by Nickelodeon if they were more successful.

It was pretty epic, but I hate it how they show the OT turtles as totally dorks.

Yeah, I suppose they did dumb down the OT turtles to an extreme. Still, the concept was perfect, and I really enjoyed the whole awareness of the turtle multi-verse. It was a cool farewell to the 2k3 turtles.

I still only knew of the 1987 and Arhcie Comics in those years. Sometimes, I watched some videotapes of the show, or read some comics. TMNT for me back then was just a childhood nostalgy memory.

Aw, I miss that website :cry:

Is 1997- 2001 the era of the Next Mutation, because if so, then yes. That show nearly killed it for me. I remember being so excited when I heard it was on, and then BAM, it was like the worst of SOTO and TMNT 3 in a cheap looking tv show. Although, I gotta say, I like the concept of a live action series alot. I might even give TNM another shot in the near future.

Was it the darkest time for the franchise? Yeah, probably. Though I still kept interested in TMNT. I remember in the late 90's renting a whole bunch of TMNT vhs's from the video store near me. They had ton, like around 20 or so. Also, I bought pretty much all of the reissues of the original toys that came out in the late 90's.

well, it didnt last till 2001, but if you try it again be warned. I tried and couldnt make it past the first few eps. Mikey is the absolute worst in that show. its unbearable. It pains me to know that kids who are fans of the new show are being subjected to that crap thanks to netflix and the dvd release.

I think so. That was a period of changing. The crisis.

Dont forget it airs on sat mornings on the hub. Theres some good eps and some bad but really for the time and some of the other shows that where on I dont think its to bad.

I have always thought that 1997-2001 was a very dark period for TMNT. I was born in 86 so I was just a little kid when the ninja turtles cartoon in its original pre red sky form ended. After 1993 I just sort of forgot about TMNT and all of a sudden I had some severe TMNT nostalgia around 1999 and I was desparate to watch the original series but it wasn't on TV, I had no VHS tapes and in '99 it was nearly impossible to find episodes of the original series online. It wasn't until 2000 that I found a website with some episodes of the original show but even then the episodes on the site were not from seasons 3 and 4 (the most popular seasons) and it wasn't the same as watching the cartoon on TV. I remember some websites selling vhs recordings of the original show from their original airings but couldn't afford it and the quality of the recordings was supposedly very poor. During this period, it really boggled my mind how a show that took American popular culture by storm only a few years prior had seemed to become non existent. Then the 2003 show was created and it was like a miracle. I didn't really like the show that much but was just happy that the turtles were back in the American conscious again. Then the original series started being released on DVD and that was really like a Godsend. Now I have every season of the original series on DVD except season 3 (buying the new season 3 set in July) and it is really a dream come true. Just knowing that I can have every episode of the original TMNT series in quality that is pretty much just as good as when it first aired for the rest of my life is an amazing feeling. Hopefully the new Michael Bay movie will be good and the turtles will be around for a long time.

Why didn't you like the 2003 show much?

No. It was a much needed break. Hundreds of toys. 3 movies. Comic books. A show that ran for what, 10 seasons? A horrible live action show. A music tour??? The franchise was becoming so watered down that if they didn't take a break, we'd all probably still be sick of it right now. I think it was a great time to put it on the shelf for a while. It paved the way for all the good stuff to come.