Sinking ratings, is nostalgia not working?

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Konchadunga

There aren't enough jokes, there isn't enough suspense, there isn't much character development; it all just is.

Some of the jokes are still very funny. I at least crack a smile over some lines or scenarios in every episode. Obviously the humor is aimed at kids, so a 25-30+ year old adult isn't going to burst out laughing.

I think the problem might be that they've thrusted the series into a whole new scenario faster than they have time to develop it. While this series' villains were never deep, with the Triceratons it seems like they've reached an all-new generic low for villains; it manages to turn the race against time to save Earth from destruction into something I don't care about, because the villains looking to destroy it don't leave any impression on me; it's impossible to suspend disbelief.

This is odd. I find the Triceratons, Dregg and Armaggon to all be great new villains in their Nick incarnations. They basically have one-shot villains and recurring ones like on Earth.

The scenarios they go through in space just come and go too rapidly to make an impression, too. Maybe a Lovecraft-inspired ocean world would be interesting if they fleshed it out; as it is, it's just one of many nods to science fiction mainstays they're doing here. Same with an alien town that looks like Tatooine, a basic scenario that looks like Star Trek, an actor from Doctor Who etc. In this case, no; I don't think catering to nostalgia works, because you can't just survive on references to things people like. Diving into why they like them is more important.

The Turtles travel through space and into generic alien worlds in every series. Mirage, Fred Wolf, 2k3, Archie, etc. did this all the time. How is this any different?