Best method of owning this series?
 

After seeing some episodes of this on Pluto TV, and having missed out on the 2003 show's complete DVD release when it was all available back in the day, I'm curious about acquiring the newer show before too much time passes. I know there are multiple DVD releases.

Are there season sets in addition to the single 4-5 episode discs? Or is the digital HD format better?

The digital way is the only way to see the show in HD (as far as I?m aware). The Amazon streaming prices (or at least the UK ones) are better prices than iTunes

I know for 2012 you can only buy whole seasons for 1,2 and 3 over here with the later seasons in chapters still. Last I had a conversation with someone in the US I think it was a similar situation but I might have that wrong or that may not still be the case.

I plan to buy 4 and 5 on Amazon as I don't think I will get whole seasons on DVD for those at this point.

I didn’t even realise there were any more DVD’s released in the UK after “Retreat”. It felt like interest quickly wained after season two over here.

I actually bought all of season 3 separately as it was being released and then noticed a complete season release afterwards, so with 4 I waited for the complete season release... and I am still waiting :) There are chapters from 4 and 5 on DVD but I am not sure if all eps are covered, I just assumed so, maybe not.

I have Seasons 1 and 2 complete. The rest are volumized discs. Personally speaking, I would rebuy the entire show on Blu-ray, if they ever get around to releasing it. But, at least I have it.

Well I do have seasons 1-4 on DVD. Season 4 is divided up into two volumes for some reason but that's not really a problem. The real problem is that I can't find any of season 5. The shop I bought them at don't have season 5 and I can't find it on Swedish sites either. Maybe it's on Amazon.UK or some other foreign site but I really don't feel like signing up for for a foreign site just to buy one boxset.

The sad thing is that It might be a better option to make my own bootleg boxset for season 5...

Nick really hates TMNT doesn’t it? Wonder what the release schedule will look like for Rise in regard to Season sets

I don't know if Nick "hates" TMNT, I just don't think it turned out as profitable as they wanted it to. The 2012 show was on for five years but got mostly mediocre ratings and probably only went on for that long because they ordered five seasons a little too quickly. Rise appears to be a total flop and I suspect it diverges even more from the original concept than the FW cartoon because it's a giant experiment. The 2014 movie barely made a profit and was harshly criticised. Out of the Shadows was a straight up flop, both financially and critically. There were probably so many different directions for the video games because none of them stuck. And the merch might not be selling nearly enough.

Don't be too surprised if the franchise is sold yet again.

I wonder what the value of the franchise is compared to when they Nick bought it. Wasn?t there rumours of D.C. Comics purchasing it a while back?

I don't know. Is the franchise less popular now than how it was when Viacom bought it?

Popularity is difficult to measure. Viacom did at the very least think it was popular enough to make toys, TV shows, video games and movies out of. And indeed, more movies and TV shows have been made under Viacom than when Laird owned the franchise himself. But it's also worth noting that the Laird solo era was also a time of Laird wanting to make sure the franchise resembled his actual creation. Viacom don't really care that much about the creative direction of the franchise, as long as it has marketable characters and is relatively safe to let kids near it, so the abundance of new material could simply be explained by them being less picky.

A lot of what Viacom has done with the franchise seems to have been throwing various directions at the wall to see what sticks. More or less implying they don't really know for sure what they want out of other than something they can make merch out of. In the eleven years of owning the franchise, what they done or allowed licensees to do include:

1. A comic book series that more or less allow the creators to do whatever, mostly picking characters present in the original comic, the first two cartoons, the first kiddie comic and marketing them for an older audience than the cartoons.
2. A cartoon basically just taking old character names and designs but does whatever with them.
3. A cartoon that is essentially nothing like the older material on purpose.
4. A loose, more action heavy remake of the first movie.
5. A sequel to that movie that is basically a loose adaptation of FW season 1.
6. Several shorts that are similar to but clearly intended to differ from their first cartoon.
7. Several shorts that are a chibified version of the FW cartoon
8. A video game that is clearly modeled after their first cartoon but made to look more "adult".
9. A video game modelled after the ongoing comic.
10. Crossovers with DC comics.
11. Another movie in development with a comedy writer attached.
12. A live-action series (allegedly in development).
13. A propsed but scrapped movie in which all the mutants were actually aliens.

I guess that as soon as they find a winning formula they'll stick to it until it fails.

DVD has declined for some years now, so expect other series also recieving the same treatment.