Was the FW cartoon the least flawed of the three shows?

[OrangeNinja1987]

Originally Posted by neatoman

I'm pretty sure that if anything, the Fred Wolf cartoon would be the most flawed out of the three. It's infamous for animation errors and recycled scripts, obviously the people who made it didn't at all care about what they put out as long as Playmates were happy their toyline got attention.

I don't think that the show was flawed due to a lack of effort. Some of the seasons, such as 3 and 4, had huge amounts of episodes and not everyone could be well-written. I still find about 50%-70% of the episodes watchable (depending on the season, mostly in seasons 3 and 4 where the brunt of the show is) and even really funny and enjoyable.
In fact, even while it had a huge amount of episodes and not a lot of time could be devoted to each one, there are some gems post-season 1. I especially like The Cufflink Caper, the Maltese Hamster, Leonardo vs. Tempestra, Shredderville, Take Me to Your Leader, and Camera Bugged (although the latter is pretty silly and typical of the OT). These episodes, especially Shredderville, Cufflink Caper, and the Maltese Hamster, show some good writing and humor, and definitely some effort.

Anyway, on the topic of which series is most flawed, I'd say it would still be the OT. Animation errors, extreme goofiness, etc. Still it's so much fun to watch, accepting it for what it is.
All of the series are flawed. 2k3 has some good stories, voice acting (for the main cast), and action, while it has Utrom Shredder and, IMO, less stylishly appealing animation (it's always seemed bland to me). 2k12 is my favorite series, with great stories as well, creativity, ever-improving animation, great voice acting, one of the best Shredders ever, and great new characters and ideas, but it also has some bad/mediocre fillers and too many mutants and not enough story focus. Seriously, the 2012 show is like a kid on a sugar rush: fast, attention-grabbing, and extremely unfocused. I mean that in the highest respect for it.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Yes, the Fred Wolf cartoon was the most flawed. But by a strange twist of fate, it was also the most successful and launched an entire media franchise that has endured to this day.

Irony abounds, my fellow fans... irony abounds.

[Unworthy tinker]

This thread makes me realize how much the song Centuries fits this series, more specifically, the line "Just one mistake is all it will take, we'll go down in history, remember me for centuries". Not calling the show itself a mistake, but it is the most flawed and y'know, animation errors.

Anyway, on a more serious note, yeah, it definitely is the most flawed (IMO), but hey, if it wasn't around then I think the franchise wouldn't have moved of from the original comics, and it wouldn't be what it is today.

[ProactiveMan]

Originally Posted by GoldMutant

Umm, the series with laughable bad humor, episodes written for the idea of selling a new toy of the week, and many production value problems? That show is heavily flawed even for the standards of the time, it clearly ran out of steam until the seventh season and the Red Sky portions. It feels the weakest of the three series of cartoons at least to me.

Why is selling toys a flaw though? Especially when those toys are so rad

[biganimefan]

I really don't consider FW the least flawed of the three. That probably goes to 2K3. Nick is great, but as much as I enjoy/love the show there are quite a few things that irritate me about it. One of which is problems with character growth. FW had that problem too(even more so I'd say) and really hasn't aged well.

[GoldMutant]

Originally Posted by ProactiveMan

Why is selling toys a flaw though? Especially when those toys are so rad

Episodes being written around the toys is something I'm not a huge fan of. I just wish they had larger roles. Not as big as the Punk Frogs or Mondo Gecko, but at least extra appearances.

Guess it's more of a personal gripe, but every series does gotta sell dat merchandise. Probably just a personal issue, minor at most.

[ABrown]

I would say that the original cartoon was the most "flawed" of the three cartoons. However, I wouldn't say that it was the least entertaining. That title goes to the Nick series.

[Ninturtle]

Originally Posted by ABrown

I would say that the original cartoon was the most "flawed" of the three cartoons. However, I wouldn't say that it was the least entertaining. That title goes to the Nick series.

How is the Nick show less entertaining than the OT? It has a lot more multi episode plots , cooler and more threatening villians , better action , and has better animation.

[ABrown]

Originally Posted by Ninturtle

How is the Nick show less entertaining than the OT? It has a lot more multi episode plots , cooler and more threatening villians , better action , and has better animation.

It's just my opinion. I'm sure that there's people who consider the Nick series more entertaining.

[Spike Spiegel]

I think there are a lot of similarities between FW TMNT and the 1960's Batman show. Both had stellar first seasons that put their respective franchises on the map, and both series had a steady decline in quality thereafter.

However, post-season 1, it's hard to argue the "flaws" as much due to what the show seems to have been meant to be. Seasons 2-7 are very consistent in terms of their goofiness. As for the Red Sky stuff, that iteration of the franchise came when it was getting too long in the tooth, despite the darker tone.

[Ninturtle]

Originally Posted by ABrown

It's just my opinion. I'm sure that there's people who consider the Nick series more entertaining.

Yeah it's cool , we all have different opinions and I respect yours.

[pferreira]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

The original cartoon barely ever advertised the toyline though, and when it did it was like for one brief episode.

The original cartoon barely ever had mutant of the week episodes, and when it did it was a rarity.

Sometimes the writers even ignored the toyline. Look what happened to Ace Duck. Or the writers make a joke of the trash bin launcher toy in the cartoon. So no this show definitely wasn't Transformers and that's a good thing.

[jenna]

No. FW had its share of flaws. I've yet to see a turtles incarnation without flaws. Even the first film had a fair few. It just depends what angle you are looking at a show from. If you are looking for beautiful animation, story arcs and gripping characters then the OT is pretty flawed.

Caveat = OT is brilliant for other reasons.

[Candy Kappa]

Less flawed? Lol no.

[Wesley]

No. The FW cartoon was the most flawed I think, though I've only watched a few episodes of the 2012 series. The Pokemon anime reminds me of the 1987 series, because a) Both shows started out good, but got repetitive after a while. b) They each had funny villains. c) They were both retooled in their later years. d) The humour in both shows is similar.

[ZariusTwo]

Originally Posted by Ninturtle

How is the Nick show less entertaining than the OT? It has a lot more multi episode plots , cooler and more threatening villians , better action , and has better animation.

[Candy Kappa]

Just by its very nature the Nick show have better animation, as they don't have to skimp on in-between drawings since the program already does that for you.

[Ninturtle]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

There's way less animation errors and they're hard to notice. There's also some really cool visuals like the turtles white eyes showing wgile they hide in shadows. So yes I'm serious.

[ssjup81]

Originally Posted by Ninturtle

There's way less animation errors and they're hard to notice. There's also some really cool visuals like the turtles white eyes showing wgile they hide in shadows. So yes I'm serious.

I think the laugh is mostly towards the fact that you mentioned the animation is better. How is that a flaw anyway? That's like saying, the 1980s Jetsons reboot was less flawed than its 1962 counterpart because of the 80s version having better animation. Of course the animation will be better. There's a 20+-year gap.

[Ninturtle]

Originally Posted by ssjup81

I think the laugh is mostly towards the fact that you mentioned the animation is better. How is that a flaw anyway? That's like saying, the 1980s Jetsons reboot was less flawed than its 1962 counterpart because of the 80s version having better animation. Of course the animation will be better. There's a 20+-year gap.

I never said that it was a flaw I just said the animation is an advantage the Nick show has over the OT. I wasn't just listing flaws I was saying why I think the Nick show is superior to the OT.