"No Nunchuks" Article
 

Didn't see this posted anywhere. My apologies if someone has already linked it elsewhere.

It's an article about the censorship of nunchucks in the UK. It also contains a link to the "Hero Turtles" opening theme, which I don't think I'd ever seen before.

https://tedium.co/2019/08/20/teenage...ks-censorship/

It's usually better to start a new thread than bumping older threads.

For me, the Ninja version of the titles still looks a little weird, because I was used to the Hero version. This sort of thing used to happen a lot in the UK, for different reasons - for example, Top Cat was originally known as Boss Cat, to avoid unintentionally advertising a brand of cat food.

So, each time someone said "Top Cat" it was overdubbed with "Boss Cat" just to avoid confusion?

No, he would clearly be referred to as Top Cat, and close friends would consistently exercise their well-known right to call him T.C. :)

It kind of confused me till I found out why it was... TV listings would have it as Boss Cat, referring to a show I knew was called Top Cat. I don't remember if the onscreen titles were altered, as with the Turtles, but I'm fairly certain that, unlike the Turtles, the sung lyrics were allowed to play out as normal.

Edit: Have checked this out, and the UK broadcasts of Top Cat - 26 of the 30 episodes, omitting among other episodes one where a character repeatedly attempts suicide(?!) - had a brief Boss Cat title card inserted into the end of the standard titles, and this remained the case up to 1989.

Interesting article. Oddly enough, in Ireland, the show was initially called Ninja Turtles for a while before the name was changed to the Hero version, so I guess the Irish censors started following what the British ones were doing then. Still prefer the Hero intro.

Maybe they received the broadcast tapes after the BBC in a chain, and agreeing to use the UK version saved money.

Haha, I love it! Thanks for sharing that article!

The original cartoon was dubbed into Swedish twice, first by Mediadubb with the Hero Turtles for TV 3 Sweden that aired from London to avoid Swedish government monopoly (from 1991 to avoid the strict Swedish regulations about children's commercials). Then again by Sun Studio in 1991 for videotape.

https://www.dubbningshemsidan.se/credits/turtles/

That’s probably the reason alright.

Did the Sun Studio dub use the "Ninja" or "Hero" titles? Also I don't remember, did the Toy packaging here use "Hero" or "Ninja"?

Sun Studio always dubbed Ninja. I was always aware of the original title, the British titles, and the reasons behind. The Swedish TMNT Magazine ("Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles") also explained why.

I can't remember the toy packagings.

If i rember correct here In norway the first line/88 was ninja then most afther that was hero with some lines/figure here and there coued have ninja but that i guess was that some store did got wrong boxes that was orginal intended fore other countrys.

In the Netherlands the TV episodes, the dolls and the translated Archie comics all had the TMHT banner.
https://www.old-school-toys.nl/media...ior_press_.jpg
The first time I saw the uncut opening sequence was when we hired some VHS tapes and I was going "Hey this is different."

I never really noticed but now that you guys' mentioned it, indeed they cut the pan over the Turtles out so we don't get to see Michelangelo swinging his chucks.

Grand Comics Database
 

When it comes to comics, you can check out the Grand Comics Database

https://www.comics.org/searchNew/?q=Turtles

Thanks but I enjoy going into a comic book store and buying them so I can read them the old school way. There's just something about holding a book in your hands and turning the pages.

That website doesn't publish the comics, only facts and information about them.

Even with Mikey's weapons being turned into sausages for TMNT II the BBFC had to cut some of the scene out. Apparently it caused problems elsewhere as well:

"In the credits sequence in Reel 1, chainsticks are wielded (or seem to be) after a shot of sausages hanging from the butcher’s rail. Since there is real confusion between chainsticks and sausages this sequence needs to be carefully checked before cuts (if any) are listed. Ditto a sequence in Reel 2, where April tries out a pair of chainsticks; could they be sausages? If so, we would look pretty foolish (right Charlies, in fact) if we cut them!"

https://bbfc.co.uk/case-studies/teen...ll-secret-ooze

:lol: