Zach and the Neutrinos
 

Lots of people disliked/hated these characters back in the day. How did you feel about them back in the day and how do you feel about them now? Have your feelings changed at all?

I didn't like the Neutrinos at all when I was a kid. Their first episode was alright but I really didn't like seeing them return in their 2nd episode. I was just turned off by the whole Michelangelo and Kala thing. I was like 5-6 years old at the time I watched that episode and the last thing I wanted in my cartoons was romance. Nowadays, I don't care much about the Neutrinos but their voices are still a tad annoying and I wish they had never been introduced in show. Come to think of it, they debuted very early. You'd think they'd become regular returners but fortunately they only returned 3 or 4 times again.

As for Zach, I absolutely despised him on his debut episode. First of all, I see this episode which title is "The Fifth Turtle" and I'm like "W-WHAT?!"... then turns out it's a stupid teenage fanboy. I dunno, maybe it was jealously because he got to hang out with my heroes, but really Zach was annoying. Tbh, the episodes in which he was on were all pretty solid. In Bebop and Rocksteady Conquer the Universe and in Night of the Rogues he was pretty useful. As for nowadays, I'm apathetic towards him.

What about you?

I'm indifferent about the Neutrinos, mainly because I liked nearly all the eps they were in. It was also nice to see who Krang and the Rock Soldiers were actually at war with in Dimension X.

Funnily enough the Neutrinos are only in 5 episodes of the original cartoon overall. For some reason it feels like they appeared a lot more, but they didn't. They appear in Season 1, they get a Season 2 episode, they have the Grybyx ep in Season 3, they get "A Dimension X story" in Season 4, and then one last ep in Season 7 where they're brainwashed by Krang.

Yeah, considering they debuted on episode 4(this show had about 194-196 episodes, so that's quite an EARLY debut) and were used to tell us more about Dimension X and Krang's past, you'd think the writers had more ambitious plans for them.

And I don't think it feels like they were in more episodes than they actually were. A Dimension X Story is a pretty solid episode but didnt' care much for the Grybyx one, and I barely remember that season 7 episode where they get brainwashed by Krang, which is odd because I tend to remember every season 7 episode but that one,

And how do you feel about Zach?

The Season 7 ep is pretty great and I love the Season 4 ep they're in too. The Season 2 ep and the Grybyx ep are weaker, but they aren't horrible episodes. I actually prefer they weren't in too many episodes because otherwise they could have gotten bothersome, but they were spaced out just right.

Zach again I don't really care one way or another. Some of the eps he was in I liked, but it was for the plot of the ep itself, not because he was in it.

My least favourite Neutrino episode was the Grybyx one.

Well, yeah, despite finding them annoying, the Neutrinos and Zach didn't exactly get bad episodes. The writers seemed to like them and if the FW series had been a show with arcs and such I bet the Neutrinos would have shown up in more episodes.

The most regular returning character in the show was The Rat King. That guy must have gotten about 13 episodes, no?

Yes. It's kind of funny that when you actually count up the amount of episodes all the other villains or side characters appeared, it's only a handful of episodes. If the show only lasted about 80-100 episodes it wouldn't seem odd, but for a show that literally went on 193 episodes, it's pretty funny.

Zach is completely unbearable and even the turtles know it.

The Neutrinos are kind of mixed. I kind of like the idea of elfy pacifist aliens that are Jetsons beatniks. And the King and Queen one-upped their IDW counterparts by escaping Krang, but that required incompetence on the part of the rock soldiers.

But their babies having magic powers...ugh!

I didn't mind the Neutrinos at all when I was a kid. I actually quite liked them and found the episodes that they were in enjoyable. Didn't like Zach at all at first in "The Fifth Turtle", but he became tolerable in the later eps he was in, in which he was less annoying and more helpful. I feel the same way about the characters now as an adult as I did when I was younger.

I always felt the Neutrinos potential was underplayed. They were supposed to come from a race at war with Krang. Yet they dropped the ball with Zenter and Gizzala being fun loving as the Neutrino trio is. I liked the trio and wanted to see more of them. Not so much the king and queen because I felt their portrayal took away what the Neutrinos as a race or civilization were supposed to be like. IDW did much of what I always wanted to see with the Neutrinos race. Now, if General Blanque was folded into them like Fugitoid was even better. Que sera sera. I look forward to seeing more of them.

Zach, the so called fifth turtle is on my black list with Carter,Dregg, Image, and Next Mutation. He is just a high pinched whinny kid wanting to fit in. I assume he like Carter were brought in to relate to us as viewers. They were youthful humans getting to hangout with the TMNT in their lair. Its hard incorporating humans into the TMNT's social circle and I feel the flat and annoying approaches taken with my two least favorite TMNT 1987 characters are proof of that. Aside from April O'Neil and Casey Jones there are no other constants across the multi-media that have successfully carried over as a part of the TMNT's social circle. I think Irma can work. Others? Its hard to do. I think IDW having five at the same time is a record. Aside from the reoccurring two there is Angel, Woody, and Harold. There is also Lindsay by extension with the Mutanimals.

Well keep in mind that in the last 3 seasons, only Rat King of the side characters appeared again. The rest never showed up again. And the show changed its tone from season 8 on... still that leaves 5 appearances in 169 episodes. for the Neutrinos. Dunno in how many Zach appeared. Like 6-7?

The thing is, most people remember those characters since most only watched the first 3-4 seasons. I find it particularly a bit mindblowing how the Punk Frogs are still so well remembered.

Why are Dregg and Image on your blacklist? I notice you can't seem to handle change, or things that are different in status quo. For someone who is apparently a history teacher in real life, you should know things change.

And Jennika.

The reason why the Neutrinos felt much more present was because they were mentioned alot throughout the series and the Rock soldiers/Dimension X appeared quite alot, giving us the illusion of their presence.

I liked the Neutrinos due to their backstory, I enjoyed their episodes and wouldn't have minded them appearing more frequently. Oddly enough, Zach appears more than the Neutrinos themselves in the following episodes:

1. The Fifth Turtle
2. The Great Boldini
3. The Missing Map
4. Shredderville
5. Bebop and Rocksteady conquer the Universe.
6. Zach and the Alien Invaders
7. Night of the Rogues

I enjoyed his episodes and think most of them were good but found Zach himself just alright.

That's the same for any show that goes on a long time. People remember the first few seasons the best, so whatever character appear most frequently in the early seasons are always remembered. That's probably the only reason the Neutrinos and Punk Frogs are always remembered over other characters.

We all have things we like and things we don't. Dregg comes off as force fed bland Shredder/Krang hybrid. Image? Its nothing the way I like to see or read TMNT at all. It has nothing for me so I prefer to ignore it. I know there is a version you don't like at all of something you really like overall. As far as change, I have certain set likes. Hold true to the core and evolve from there. Keep the TMNT 1987 core in there and I am all for it. Its a part of what makes the first three films and IDW so enduring to me. Are either of those the same old? No. Are they at the root what I enjoy? Yes.

By extension as she is a ranking Foot,yes. Its hard to call her an ally/friend at this point. Time will tell and yes I do hope she will be one of the TMNT's social circle.

Dregg's nothing like them though. He is an insectoid warlord who originally tried to pretend to make peace with humans and sabotage the Turtles reputation, then in Season 10 he grew more and more insane and wanted to kill the Turtles at all costs. I'm willing to bet if Shredder/Krang weren't replaced you wouldn't have a problem.

The 2k3 series isn't like 1987 TMNT, and you seem to enjoy that.

From what I can remember, these are the number of episodes with the side characters appearing in the OT:

Lord Dregg = 16
Carter = 13
Baxter Stockman = 13 (14 if you count Barneys appearance)
General Traag = 12
The Rat King = 10
Zach = 7
Punk Frogs = 6
Neutrinos = 6
Casey Jones = 5
Leatherhead = 4
Kerma = 4
Groundchuck and Dirtbag = 3
Chrome Dome = 3
HAVOC mutants = 3 episodes
Slash = 3
Metalhead = 2
Mondo Gecko = 2
The Polarosoid = 2
Lotus Blossom = 2
Landor and Merrick = 2
Bebop and Rocksteadys gang = 2 (six if you count the silent gang members from season 1)
Usagi = 2
Hokum Hare = 2
REX 1 = 2
Tempestra = 2
Aunt Agatha = 2
Metalhead = 2
Wingnut and Screwloose = 1
Mona Lisa = 1
Scumbug = 1
Antrax = 1
Graanitor = 1
Razhar and Tokka = 1
The Triceratons = 1

Yeah the Neutrinos having a king was kind of lame. Always imagined them being a bunch of rebellious "degenerates". Or at least they should have had a leader around their age.

I honestly never had an issue with Carter. He fit the Red Sky seasons fine. And Dregg was a pretty solid villain and had a great VA.

Chrome Dome also got two appearances, as did Metalhead even if his second was just used as a vacuume cleaner. :lol:

This is not even counting all the Playmates toy mutants that never appeared at all.

The Punk Frogs were in six episodes? Really? And Leatherhead only in four? Man for such an important character of the franchise Casey appeared in very few FW episodes.

Tragg might have appeared in several but he didn't exactly star in most of them. He was mostly just there.

The one thing I will give the old show is that despite many of the side characters appearing so less, most of them completely stole the show and left quite an impression the few times they appeared. Casey Jones was awesome and had quite a presence. Even Nick Casey, who appeared in 70+ episodes doesn't have the same presence as FW Casey who only appeared in 5 but absolutely killed it everytime.