Does anyone here still enjoy the 80s series?

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

Bullfighting exists also in Portugal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullfighting

I'm aware of that. But there's no such thing as bulls running on my city's streets or "bullfighting festival" or wtv that was all about. Don't try to educate me on this matter. Over half of this country doesn't give two damns about bullfighting.

[pferreira]

Next to The Real Ghostbusters the Fred Wolf cartoon is my favourite cartoon of all time. I loved the mix of sci-fi and action comedy. It really engaged me as a child. There's a tendency to think the people behind the scenes like Fred Wolf and David Wise didn't care about the show but I don't really get that impression. I do think they cared it's just animated shows were produced differently back then. I mean hardly any of the writers who worked on the FW met each other to discuss plots which is the opposite of now. When the animation was of the same level as Return of the Shredder or Season 7 then the show was great but even most of the poorly made episodes are watchable.

While I'm not in the minority of liking the cartoon I have to admit I'm probably in the minority who feels the FW cartoon generally it's as good or as valid as the other animated shows, not lesser overall. And you know what? That's fine by me.

[BH Daimaouji]

I do, love the light hearted version of the original, and i have many episodes on 3 DVD boxes with german and english

Still waiting for TMNT to air on TVP ABC, don't care if it has new lector

[Danetello]

I watch the odd episode off and on, but I tend to avoid the "filler" eps, which I consider pretty much junk. I know that's harsh, but I like to watch the ones that feature characters that span several series, fan favourites and eps that help the core storyline. So yes, I love the OT, but in my own fashion these days.

[wayneepoo]

As someone who grew up watching the 80s series, I can look at it now and definitely see how poorly animated it was at times (inconsistently so at that), how they'd mess up matching the voices with the correct turtle, and some of the plots were very silly, and of course the action sequences were quite tame.

Yet, even with acknowledging all of those flaws, I still enjoy watching it. It might just be nostalgia, but I think there was also some good dialogue and good stories, and that I can enjoy some episodes without having to put on the rose-colored glasses.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by TurtleGuy

I ask because it seems that every time a thread involving the 80s series opens, there's always those guys who come in and say how much it sucked and that people need to take of their nostalgia goggles and see the show for the trash it truly is. I know there's a difference in opinions and a forum would be boring if everyone just agreed with everything but they keep doing this.

Every. Single. Time.

I guess I'm OK being that guy. But I'm not sure what alternative you seek... a dedicated Fred Wolf forum where everyone has exactly the same taste and thoughts, all the time? Sounds pretty... dystopic.

[wpugh2424]

I am actually watching season 5 now

[pannoni1]

I honestly feel that the nostalgia for the '80s show has run its course. It was cool when we first discovered the memories online and reading the posts in the early-mid 2000s show how pleasurable most responses were. However, we've had Turtles Forever, numerous classics releases, the Bay film(s) heavily influenced by the original series, the re-releases of the Archie Adventures which was also heavily influenced by FW, numerous voice cast/writers/Eastman reunions, and now of course the obligatory Nick episode with the actual voice cast returning that most wanted after TF. Sure, for those who didn't see every episode nor got every joke should still take a look, but I feel that the peak of interest for the nostalgia will slowly but surely fade based upon the law of diminishing returns. Think of back when you were kids and your parents loved to listen to the "oldies" station with music from the 1950s-70s? Nowadays, "classics" means '80s-'90s and the older stuff, while there are some gems like you'll find in some of the OT episodes, most of the other stuff hasn't aged to well and no longer shocks and wows you like it once did. The future of TMNT is through imaginative new stories and merchandise that IDW, Nick, and hopefully Bay will improve upon. Now of course this means I have nothing against the show and still love it for what it was, but we all get older too along with the show. Indigo/Johto League Pokemon is now in a similar state of nostalgic lure that the OT was a decade ago, meaning that its cool to reminisce about it since it hasn't been overdone to death just yet, but that too will grow stale as the main audience becomes so busy with life/family and the younger generation grows up on different things.

[Wesley]

Originally Posted by pannoni1

I honestly feel that the nostalgia for the '80s show has run its course. It was cool when we first discovered the memories online and reading the posts in the early-mid 2000s show how pleasurable most responses were. However, we've had Turtles Forever, numerous classics releases, the Bay film(s) heavily influenced by the original series, the re-releases of the Archie Adventures which was also heavily influenced by FW, numerous voice cast/writers/Eastman reunions, and now of course the obligatory Nick episode with the actual voice cast returning that most wanted after TF. Sure, for those who didn't see every episode nor got every joke should still take a look, but I feel that the peak of interest for the nostalgia will slowly but surely fade based upon the law of diminishing returns. Think of back when you were kids and your parents loved to listen to the "oldies" station with music from the 1950s-70s? Nowadays, "classics" means '80s-'90s and the older stuff, while there are some gems like you'll find in some of the OT episodes, most of the other stuff hasn't aged to well and no longer shocks and wows you like it once did. The future of TMNT is through imaginative new stories and merchandise that IDW, Nick, and hopefully Bay will improve upon. Now of course this means I have nothing against the show and still love it for what it was, but we all get older too along with the show. Indigo/Johto League Pokemon is now in a similar state of nostalgic lure that the OT was a decade ago, meaning that its cool to reminisce about it since it hasn't been overdone to death just yet, but that too will grow stale as the main audience becomes so busy with life/family and the younger generation grows up on different things.

I agree. The thing is, though, I don't really have nostalgia for the 1987 cartoon, as I was able to watch it on rte two in the 00s, since it was rerun a lot at that time. I have just a small amount of episodes on DVD, but I think that's sufficient enough, as I have no interest in rewatching the entire series and it gets repetitive at times. The best episodes were in the shorter seasons anyway that are easier to binge watch through.

[CyberCubed]

There are good episodes scattered all throughout the show though. The show was never consistent. I rewatch the entire series every 2-3 years in the span of about 4 months.

[dragonside]

watching season 7 on tv when i was a kid was pretty good.

watching the vhs tapes of this series, you know i couldn't appreciate when i was about 10 years old.

then when the dvds started coming out from Lionsgate, i started to really appreciate the humor and fun that came with each episode. Except for the Europe Vacation which was a pretty weak season. It was a lot of fun.

i watched the series completely about 3 times since i started really getting into it. and you know what its charm is still there.

TMNT was based heavily on popular culture, so I liked living in that era. That era was fun. Now everyone has a lot of stress, and even the new series is trying hard to be a success, be relevant. So returning to simpler times is a nice break. It's like visiting an old friend, and laughing again.

[Bry]

Some of it! A lot of it is... nnnnot great. It's very inconsistent, and the writing and production values got way spottier as the show went on. I still appreciate certain chunks of it, the first season in particular, and there's some decent self-aware camp material in the stronger episodes. Overall, a great deal of it doesn't hold up well, but the better stuff is still quite enjoyable. A mixed bag.

I think it's pretty damn uneven as a series, though, and my nostalgia for it has definitely waned over the years. It's still enjoyable, but it's far from the "best" version of the property, and I'm kind of tired of it being considered the be-all-and-end-all of TMNT lore by those calling the shots.

[Wesley]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

There are good episodes scattered all throughout the show though. The show was never consistent. I rewatch the entire series every 2-3 years in the span of about 4 months.

There were good episodes in each season, but I thought the shorter seasons like two and seven were more consistent. I'd say nearly half of the episodes in the series are still fun to watch, though.

[Garfield]

YES I still very much love the original cartoon.

here is something that I wrote on this forum a while back getting into more detail. because I don't feel like writing something very similar all over again.

Originally Posted by Garfield

I like it mostly for the same reasons but I understand why much more now than I was when I kid. There are some standards that I have that the 87 cartoon doesn't live up to, but it doesn't matter that much and i'll explain why.

What I like then and what I like now are the charming colourful, quirky, lovable and funny characters. The only difference now is that I understand what makes them this way because I understand those concepts beyond face value. Its gone from. "I Like Raphael because he makes me laugh" to. "I like Raphael's sarcasm...his out look on the situation through witty humor and how his humorous quips and expressions represent an outward look about how ridiculous the story of there lives are."

I understand how Mike is the heart of the team, How Splinter is a caring father figure, and how Don is just the most charming guy ever.(okay maybe Don isn't REALLY charming, but I think he is.

There are some things that I didn't realize than that I do now. Like I never realized how campy the show was. I didn't understand the satire and the parody. And that's just because, when you're a very small child, things like camp, parody and satire don't stand out to you. I didn't realize the show didn't take it self seriously because I sure did.

There are things like the inconsistent writing, plot holes and continuity errors as well as animation and voice over mistakes that I'm aware of that lower the quality to some degree, But it doesn't really matter that much to me because I just don't take it that seriously and I got into Ninja Turtles at a time in my life when things like that meant little or nothing to, and honestly for this cartoon it still doesn't because the nostalgia is so strong with this one that I just don't care about those flaws.

Now when speaking of 87 Ninja Turtles objectively, I will take all of those flaws into consideration, and when talking objectively I tell people that its full of lots of flaws, but when in a subjective context it becomes less about the structure and technicality of the product and more about the warm and happy memories and how it makes me feel.

[Jephael]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

I'm not sure what alternative you seek... a dedicated Fred Wolf forum where everyone has exactly the same taste and thoughts, all the time? Sounds pretty... dystopic.

The same thing could be said about how a forum dedicated to the original comics or the 4Kids animated series would be. How about we find some middle ground and show respect for all the different incarnations of the Ninja Turtles instead of putting certain ones on a pedestal, while considering others to be garbage? The world doesn't have to be as black and white as some people make it out to be.

[TonySiegel]

the cartoon intro is classic that is undeniable...

[Shark_Blade]

Mainly Season 1 thanks to the dvd release (turtle van version).

[Sage Ninja]

I for one still enjoy the classic series. It has my favorite interpretations of the turtles characters. I am saddened that there were so many missed opportunities to make it better than it was but over when I'm totally honest with my self, the classic turtles is still the version I enjoy the most out of all of them.

[shuriken]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

There are good episodes scattered all throughout the show though. The show was never consistent. I rewatch the entire series every 2-3 years in the span of about 4 months.

That's dedication. I think the only series I've watched in its entirety (once) is the 2k3 series. I think the inconsistency in the OT really throws me off if I were to try and re-watch it.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by shuriken

That's dedication. I think the only series I've watched in its entirety (once) is the 2k3 series. I think the inconsistency in the OT really throws me off if I were to try and re-watch it.

It was once a yearly tradition of mine to re-watch the FW series every Summer. Did it so between 2003 and 2008. I was a big fan of the show when I was younger.