Official Ep Discussion: S3 Ep1: "Within the Woods"

[IndigoErth]

At least Raph still has the prospects of good future episodes. Imagine if his voice was drastically changed on top of it, and that ain't coming back. And this is after not caring for Knoxville being substituted in the movie! I'm 35-years-old and fictional Turtle person voices is gonna give me gray hair... what has my life become.

[Ramboraph4life aka Matt]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

At least Raph still has the prospects of good future episodes. Imagine if his voice was drastically changed on top of it, and that ain't coming back. And this is after not caring for Knoxville being substituted in the movie! I'm 35-years-old and fictional Turtle person voices is gonna give me gray hair... what has my life become.

I would love for Raph's voice to change. Sean Astin's voice is the only voice that bothers me on the show. And I don't see the 'prospects for good future episodes' that you mention.

If they do one in the future, they'll turn it into Yet Again 'he's angry, he screwed up, he needs to fix the mistakes the he/himself made happen' and once again make him look either like an idiot, a wimp, useless, or as a massive screw-up.

[Mellie]

Chi-chi-chi.. ha ha ha..

I didn't really like "Raph is a plant but now he's not, the end!", but everything else was great. I'm already used to Leo's new voice.

They really love messing with Raph huh. He was a Krang, a bird, he swallowed a squirrel, he's terrified of bugs and now he was a flower. Am I missing any?

[OrokuYoshiFilms]

Seriously, how many things are you going to turn Raph into?!? Kinda tired of that. I'm also kind of insulted they just kind of hit the ending with a magic wand or something and now everything's fine. Feel like this should've been a two-parter. I will say this: Love, love, loved the original movie nods, and it seems like the animation gets better and better with this show...

Cracked up at Mikey's "...are you loco?" or something like that...

[Ramboraph4life aka Matt]

Originally Posted by Mellie

They really love messing with Raph huh. He was a Krang, a bird, he swallowed a squirrel, he's terrified of bugs and now he was a flower. Am I missing any?

Kinda but in different ways...He screwed up and created Slash, broke/hurt Leo's arm, almost got Mikey killed when he was 'the leader', was the first to get bit/poisoned by Fishface...

[Warhorse]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

At least Raph still has the prospects of good future episodes. Imagine if his voice was drastically changed on top of it, and that ain't coming back. And this is after not caring for Knoxville being substituted in the movie! I'm 35-years-old and fictional Turtle person voices is gonna give me gray hair... what has my life become.

I'm starting to wonder if Sean Astin is the reason why Raph eps are few and far in between, and even when he is in the episode, he hasn't been saying much. Maybe Sean just isn't available. He's got that one show he's been working on The Strain or something like that, and he's obviously one of the most famous people voicing on the show, if not the most famous one, and with that comes some baggage. Either way, I am feeling Ramboraph's pain. 2k3 may have been super Leo and friends, but at least Raph was still a badass and vital part of the team. I just don't understand how the writing for Raphael has gotten so bad. Season one, for the most of it, he was great. The finale was to be desired, and some of season 2 beginning, but then, Slash And Destroy and The Good, The Bad and Casey Jones came on, and it looked like it was going to start straightening up. But then, so many fillers or eps concentrating purely on Leo and Donnie. At least Mikey is actually growing and maturing. Raph, he hasn't been doing much lately. The Neutralized episode was probably the last one I thought was pretty great for Raph. That's still far and few in between. I'm hanging in there, hoping the Raph episode that is supposed to come that goes into how he got the cracks on his plastron and shell is actually a great one, but lately, it's been the Apritello stuff that keeps me coming back. If they cut that out, and don't bother with showing some Raph badass moments, not being a screw up, I could see myself slowly waning from the show.

[Leofan26]

Pretty good episode, I didn't mind Seth's VA yet, right now he's doing a good job for the way Leo is right now.

While on the subject, yah WTF Was that? They really want to give Raph fans the middle finger here and I'm not even really one and I'm starting to see it

[snake]

Originally Posted by ssjup81

So still no online version yet?

Nope. I really want to rewatch it, too.

[IndigoErth]

The Raph stuff then might be a good topic for people to bring up at the NYCC, rather than asking about things they won't want to reveal, like Irma. Maybe instead ask about or voice concerns about the direction/use of characters like Raph.

[Ramboraph4life aka Matt]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

The Raph stuff then might be a good topic for people to bring up at the NYCC, rather than asking about things they won't want to reveal, like Irma. Maybe instead ask about or voice concerns about the direction/use of characters like Raph.

It'd be very nice if someone did. But I don't think anyone will. Why? Because it seems like a lot of folks either don't care about it, or they think we're 'crazy and absolutely dead wrong' for thinking that.

[snake]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

The Raph stuff then might be a good topic for people to bring up at the NYCC, rather than asking about things they won't want to reveal, like Irma. Maybe instead ask about or voice concerns about the direction/use of characters like Raph.

I'll def ask. How should I word them?

[Warhorse]

Originally Posted by snake

I'll def ask. How should I word them?

Um, Raph is part of the TMNT, and we were just wondering, where are you going with his character, because lately, from a fan's POV, there hasn't been much for us to root for. You got some great stuff for the Raph fans to be pumped about in the near future?

[Ramboraph4life aka Matt]

Originally Posted by Warhorse

Um, Raph is part of the TMNT, and we were just wondering, where are you going with his character, because lately, from a fan's POV, there hasn't been much for us to root for. You got some great stuff for the Raph fans to be pumped about in the near future?

That or maybe word it kind of like this:

"It seems that, as of late, the Raphael character has been very much pushed into the background. He almost seems non-essential or non-important to the team let alone the storylines, to the point that lately he's just been relegated to things such as 'being turned into a flower' or such.

There seems to be no arcs for the character unlike Leonardo or Donatello, no recent episodes to show him in a strong manner (like what you did for Mikey in the 'Michelangelo surviving on his own in Dimension X' episode), and it seems like the Raphael character not only has no direction, but also no purpose or importance. Even in action sequences as of late, he's been mostly absent and hasn't really Done anything worthwhile.

Is there a certain reason for that? Are there any certain arcs, or directions, or any important uses of the character that we will see for Raphael in the upcoming season or seasons? I ask only because some Raphael fans have been a bit disappointed with the usage & direction of his character as of late."

Or something to that effect.

[Super Goku]

This is still my favorite show airing with new episodes and it is definitely in my top 10 best series ever category in my mind, lol, but Raph could have had a better part in this episode than just being a flower. I would have had him show up and attack Creep and say something like "Just because he's wearing my mask means he's me?"

[Ashwolf]

partly from the season 3 promo image and from this ep, each of them will have a ep where their limits are tested and they ended up being really hurt cause of it(leos was in the finale, raphs was this ep) and the vision quests start afterward

[BabyTurtles]

this episode for me was.....okay?

I thought the creep was pretty alright, though I'm getting a bit tired of all these new mutants and wished they used more humans....or something?

yea Donnie was kinda annoying. Raph was captured and gone for hours and all Donnie thinks about is Casey getting to close to April.....also "my sweet Chinchilla?" I'm trying to decided who was the real creep this episode. (plz no more love triangle stuff anytime soon)

I was cool with Seth Green though I'm used to Leo's voice being higher...and do miss Jason....but I think Seth is gonna be fine.

overly goofy Mikey is back... already?

[kolaida]

Just saw the episode and I liked the horror vibes. Uh, Raph being a plant puppy thing was a little weird. I guess they figured we'd expect it with Mikey, Donnie has to heal whoever mutates, and Leo is supposed to feel inspired to fight? I mean they really could have used Casey instead, I think. Or no one, I mean the Creep could have been doing that flower stuff.

But I did like the episode overall. Leo's voice is definitely a lot deeper, lol! That's going to take me a few episodes, but I do like it. My favorite part was when Donnie asked Mikey what happens when two teenagers go off alone in the woods and Mikey saw the squirrels. "They get eaten by squirrels!!" LOL!!!

[Raph's Girl]

Ok so in the beginning April said that she grew up on that farm. The chickens could have perhaps survived that year they were away? I dunno...it was weird for them to have chickens with no explinations but at least they have some sort of food source.

So Raph becoming a flower kinda reminded me of the myth of Echo and Narsissus...except he didn't fall in love with his reflection... He was transformed by uh...a monster made from Leo's barf. Uck!

Also, what state are they in exactly?? NY or Mass? I saw mountains near the farm!

[Warhorse]

Originally Posted by Leofan26

Pretty good episode, I didn't mind Seth's VA yet, right now he's doing a good job for the way Leo is right now.

While on the subject, yah WTF Was that? They really want to give Raph fans the middle finger here and I'm not even really one and I'm starting to see it

Glad to see it's not just us. I don't want any of the Turtles being treated in a bad light. I love them all. I don't understand why the writers would have this kind of venom for a major character in the show. It's so heartbreaking. What did us Raph fans or the character himself do to deserve this kind of treatment?

[Ramboraph4life aka Matt]

Originally Posted by BabyTurtles

overly goofy Mikey is back... already?

At least he got an episode where he 'survived by himself in Dimension X' which showed his strength. Which is good since I do like Mikey as well. And he actually helped out in the finale (like when calming Raph down). At least Mikey is a useful part of the team, unlike Raph either 'doing nothing' or 'got captured, turned into a plant, once again a liability to the team/useless' endeavor which he is normally saddled with...

Warhorse, I don't think it's venom for the character (although it looks like that). I honestly think the writers just don't realize it, don't think they're doing anything bad to Raph, and I'd bet if you did ask them they'd think you were crazy for thinking that Raph was 'being treated badly' or such. With all anger/kidding aside, I truly do feel they are just totally Ignorant about the whole thing.