TMNT Season 3 Best Episode Tournament Round 3: Vision Quest vs. Dinosaur Seen Sewers!

*JTH* · 01-12-2016, 02:29 PM

ROUND 3

Well, it took two additional weeks to find out, but we finally got our final 8 episodes determined, and of course, by the time we got to eight, we got down to seven as the top seed advanced to the round of 4. Now it's time for the 4 vs. 5, two great episodes, but only one can advance to the elite of the elite. Who goes home, who moves on?

Round 3 Polls will last 7 days and will be public polls.

Note: Round 3 Matches will begin on Tuesdays. Going to keep it uniform, so always be tuned in this time each Tuesday.

To check out the complete up to date bracket, the link is here:
http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cf...Best%20Episode

Now with that said and done, it's time to take a look at the much anticipated "Tale of the Turtle Tape"!

Official Seed: #4
Where JTH seeded this episode: #3
Total Points Received: 110
Official IGN Review: 9.0/10
Current TV.com Rating: 9.0/10
Highest Rating Episode Received: #3 (5 Times)
How did it get here?: Defeated Buried Secrets in Round 2

Official Seed: #5
Where JTH seeded this episode: #9
Total Points Received: 108
Official IGN Review: 8.5/10
Current TV.com Rating: 9.9/10
Highest Rating Episode Received: #2 (2 Times)
How did it get here?: Defeated Attack of The Mage Shredder! in Round 2

- Winner faces #1 Annihilation: Earth in the Final Four

Which episode will win in your mind, vote away. Remember...HAVE FUN!!!

*GoldMutant* · 01-12-2016, 03:00 PM

(I'm digging the visual photo for Vision Quest.

)

My vote is going towards Dinosaurs Seen In Sewers but I might as well do what I did last time and go over the episodes. (and hopefully not in the same length as last time) Just like last time, I'm going to talk the underdog with Vision Quest first:

During a training session in the woods, Leo encounters a strange deer before his injury takes place yet again. Upon returning to the farmhouse, he tells his brothers that the only way to triumph when returning to New York is to become true ninja, leaving Casey and April behind for "ninjas only". What follows is the Turtles getting a visit from Splinter in spirit form (a direct reference to the live action 1990 movie) with Splinter vision telling the Turtles to conquer their weaknesses through the different elements of water/forrest, fire, mountain/earth, and air. Each Turtle then fights a spirit opponent from the Foot Clan (Leo vs Shredder, Raph against Xever, Mikey fighting Rahzar, and Donnie v Tiger Claw); despite initial conflicts, they each remember the advice given. Turtles easily win after the advice in some spectacular display, with most notable in visual flare going to Mikey and Raph respectively with some character for Don and Leo. With that, the episode concludes to Return to New York the following episode, ending the Northampton arc for now.

When looking back at the episode, I do feel Vision Quest is horribly rushed and becomes repetitious in addressing previous character flaws such as Leonardo's injury, Raph's anger, etc. In a way, the hype this episode got severely hurt itself with the fights coming off across as heavily rushed; this episode could've and should have tied together the previous plot points to get the team ready to overcome the odds when they go home. Furthermore, why wasn't the Kraang involved here, especially due to them being responsible for mutating the city, but instead a Foot Clan driven plot?

In addition, when considering the previous Northampton episodes it nearly feels they are trying to compact what should have been done beforehand into one story, just to end the Kraang plot. It's extremely poor and despite excellent visuals in the spiritual realm, the fights are merely retelling of stuff we know of these characters. It's been obvious since day one on their flaws, but personally the episode falls flat in this regard; I will admit Don and especially Leo got excellent treatment. However, even with the defeat of the minions and Spirit Shredder being a marvel, it doesn't feel satisfying in the slightest as they are dominated until suddenly the advice is remembered. In other words, I almost feel the Turtles were regressed in skill somewhat.

Like I said before though, the reference to the movie was a saving grace and a notable moment plus the satisfaction in victory of the Turtles. However, I do feel the episode should have tied together the plots and might have benefited from more time on the actual quest due to it being for a limited time. I've said this before too, but does anyone else feel each Turtle should have gotten a personal enemy outside the Foot Clan, like Slash vs Raph, LH against Mikey, Leo and Karai, and Donnie vs Timothy? Plus, then add in the team of fighting some Kraang and then extend the fights we know of? If it were for length, I say it's an excellent episode, but nowadays it sits at #7 on my favorites list this season.

As for our Triceraton episode, it's another simple summary. Slash and Rockwell hear of rumors of a dino man and get beat up, Raph goes to find the beast, befriends beast, Kraang are back, and cue the obligatory Invasion finale, but with Triceratons. Compared to Vision Quest, there's really nothing of particular note in overall story; the only exception is the introduction to the Nick incarnations of the Triceratons, beginning with Zog, the Triceraton gone crazy from lack of proper sources to survive and voiced by Lance Henriknsen.

Personally, the episode has fewer worries of flaws as it doesn't rush. The only severe issue I can think of is Zog's sudden turn; while a twist compared to previous incarnations to make him a villain, it feels too sudden. It might be me feeling depressed as the character may not reappear again given Zog's obvious fate, but damn if Lance didn't do a spectacular job as a guest actor. However, one minor issue I might need to point out is Raph's attitude towards Slash being..... a little sense caring in a way. I'm all for Raph finally getting spotlight action (even if late in the season), but it's something I'm a little against given the connection these two had. Give it a rewatch if you can and compare it to other episodes, especially Clash of the Mutanimals even with it's less than stellar reputation among Raphael fans. Also, why is Raph wearing his gear in this episode?

Other than these two issues, Dinosaurs Seen in Sewers! is personally the superior of the episodes given Henriknsen aboard, some excellent fights specifically the Statue of Liberty fight, and some foreshadowing. Even some references to Ghostbusters make this episode a solid plus and among my top 5 of the season; if I remade my list, consider this my #2, second to Casey vs the Underworld. Even though I feel these two episodes will lose to Annihilation Earth unfortunately no matter what (

), I'm going with Dinosaurs Seen in Sewers as I feel it has less issues present in the overall narrative it tries to tell.

View Poll Results: Better Episode
#4 Vision Quest	8	42.11%
#5 Dinosaur Seen in Sewers!	11	57.89%
Voters: 19. You may not vote on this poll

01-12-2016, 02:29 PM	#1
JTH "ME" Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 1,660	TMNT Season 3 Best Episode Tournament Round 3: Vision Quest vs. Dinosaur Seen Sewers! ROUND 3 Well, it took two additional weeks to find out, but we finally got our final 8 episodes determined, and of course, by the time we got to eight, we got down to seven as the top seed advanced to the round of 4. Now it's time for the 4 vs. 5, two great episodes, but only one can advance to the elite of the elite. Who goes home, who moves on? Round 3 Polls will last 7 days and will be public polls. *Note: Round 3 Matches will begin on Tuesdays. Going to keep it uniform, so always be tuned in this time each Tuesday.* To check out the complete up to date bracket, the link is here: http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cf...Best%20Episode Now with that said and done, it's time to take a look at the much anticipated "Tale of the Turtle Tape"! Official Seed: #4 Where JTH seeded this episode: #3 Total Points Received: 110 Official IGN Review: 9.0/10 Current TV.com Rating: 9.0/10 Highest Rating Episode Received: #3 (5 Times) How did it get here?: Defeated Buried Secrets in Round 2 Official Seed: #5 Where JTH seeded this episode: #9 Total Points Received: 108 Official IGN Review: 8.5/10 Current TV.com Rating: 9.9/10 Highest Rating Episode Received: #2 (2 Times) How did it get here?: Defeated Attack of The Mage Shredder! in Round 2 - Winner faces #1 Annihilation: Earth in the Final Four Which episode will win in your mind, vote away. Remember...HAVE FUN!!!

01-12-2016, 03:00 PM	#2
GoldMutant Control Your Narrative Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: New England Posts: 1,763	(I'm digging the visual photo for Vision Quest. ) My vote is going towards Dinosaurs Seen In Sewers but I might as well do what I did last time and go over the episodes. (and hopefully not in the same length as last time) Just like last time, I'm going to talk the underdog with Vision Quest first: During a training session in the woods, Leo encounters a strange deer before his injury takes place yet again. Upon returning to the farmhouse, he tells his brothers that the only way to triumph when returning to New York is to become true ninja, leaving Casey and April behind for "ninjas only". What follows is the Turtles getting a visit from Splinter in spirit form (a direct reference to the live action 1990 movie) with Splinter vision telling the Turtles to conquer their weaknesses through the different elements of water/forrest, fire, mountain/earth, and air. Each Turtle then fights a spirit opponent from the Foot Clan (Leo vs Shredder, Raph against Xever, Mikey fighting Rahzar, and Donnie v Tiger Claw); despite initial conflicts, they each remember the advice given. Turtles easily win after the advice in some spectacular display, with most notable in visual flare going to Mikey and Raph respectively with some character for Don and Leo. With that, the episode concludes to Return to New York the following episode, ending the Northampton arc for now. When looking back at the episode, I do feel Vision Quest is horribly rushed and becomes repetitious in addressing previous character flaws such as Leonardo's injury, Raph's anger, etc. In a way, the hype this episode got severely hurt itself with the fights coming off across as heavily rushed; this episode could've and should have tied together the previous plot points to get the team ready to overcome the odds when they go home. Furthermore, why wasn't the Kraang involved here, especially due to them being responsible for mutating the city, but instead a Foot Clan driven plot? In addition, when considering the previous Northampton episodes it nearly feels they are trying to compact what should have been done beforehand into one story, just to end the Kraang plot. It's extremely poor and despite excellent visuals in the spiritual realm, the fights are merely retelling of stuff we know of these characters. It's been obvious since day one on their flaws, but personally the episode falls flat in this regard; I will admit Don and especially Leo got excellent treatment. However, even with the defeat of the minions and Spirit Shredder being a marvel, it doesn't feel satisfying in the slightest as they are dominated until suddenly the advice is remembered. In other words, I almost feel the Turtles were regressed in skill somewhat. Like I said before though, the reference to the movie was a saving grace and a notable moment plus the satisfaction in victory of the Turtles. However, I do feel the episode should have tied together the plots and might have benefited from more time on the actual quest due to it being for a limited time. I've said this before too, but does anyone else feel each Turtle should have gotten a personal enemy outside the Foot Clan, like Slash vs Raph, LH against Mikey, Leo and Karai, and Donnie vs Timothy? Plus, then add in the team of fighting some Kraang and then extend the fights we know of? If it were for length, I say it's an excellent episode, but nowadays it sits at #7 on my favorites list this season. As for our Triceraton episode, it's another simple summary. Slash and Rockwell hear of rumors of a dino man and get beat up, Raph goes to find the beast, befriends beast, Kraang are back, and cue the obligatory Invasion finale, but with Triceratons. Compared to Vision Quest, there's really nothing of particular note in overall story; the only exception is the introduction to the Nick incarnations of the Triceratons, beginning with Zog, the Triceraton gone crazy from lack of proper sources to survive and voiced by Lance Henriknsen. Personally, the episode has fewer worries of flaws as it doesn't rush. The only severe issue I can think of is Zog's sudden turn; while a twist compared to previous incarnations to make him a villain, it feels too sudden. It might be me feeling depressed as the character may not reappear again given Zog's obvious fate, but damn if Lance didn't do a spectacular job as a guest actor. However, one minor issue I might need to point out is Raph's attitude towards Slash being..... a little sense caring in a way. I'm all for Raph finally getting spotlight action (even if late in the season), but it's something I'm a little against given the connection these two had. Give it a rewatch if you can and compare it to other episodes, especially Clash of the Mutanimals even with it's less than stellar reputation among Raphael fans. Also, why is Raph wearing his gear in this episode? Other than these two issues, Dinosaurs Seen in Sewers! is personally the superior of the episodes given Henriknsen aboard, some excellent fights specifically the Statue of Liberty fight, and some foreshadowing. Even some references to Ghostbusters make this episode a solid plus and among my top 5 of the season; if I remade my list, consider this my #2, second to Casey vs the Underworld. Even though I feel these two episodes will lose to Annihilation Earth unfortunately no matter what (), I'm going with Dinosaurs Seen in Sewers as I feel it has less issues present in the overall narrative it tries to tell.