So what did we take away from this series?

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I wonder if we'll see Fishface ever show up in a future cartoon though.

I see no need for it.

[snake]

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

I see no need for it.

There's no need for any character to show up between incarnations if you think about it.

[MrTMNT2012]

What we took away is that the first Season of this show will forever be the greatest thing that Ninja Turtles as a franchise will be associated with.

Pure. Legitimate. Competent. Storytelling!

Been missing it since 2012... :'(

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by MrTMNT2012

What we took away is that the first Season of this show will forever be the greatest thing that Ninja Turtles as a franchise will be associated with.

Pure. Legitimate. Competent. Storytelling!

Been missing it since 2012... :'(

???

The entire show is exactly the same.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by MrTMNT2012

Been missing it since 2012... :'(

Season 1 spanned all the way into August 2013.

[ToTheNines]

Originally Posted by MrTMNT2012

What we took away is that the first Season of this show will forever be the greatest thing that Ninja Turtles as a franchise will be associated with.

Pure. Legitimate. Competent. Storytelling!

Been missing it since 2012... :'(

Really would have loved to see what this show could have become if just Sternin, Ventamilia, and Byerly had stayed on.

[GoldMutant]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

???

The entire show is exactly the same.

Not really....

To summarize, the major differences from season 1 and onwards that I can see:

-Sharper humor (there are some good jokes though, but subjective on comedy)
-More subtle writing
-Concise storytelling (It all comes together smoother, I mean. Season 2 focuses more on the Kraang than Foot barring Karai. Season 3 moves too slow from Northampton and has a weird climax. Season 4 acts as two different seasons. Season 5 at least has separate arcs.)
-Greater world building/backstory (Xever, the Splinter-Shredder-Karai triangle, Rat King, even building the first Shredder fight. Of course, the triangle is done more in future seasons, hell it's greater in 2. Most mutant origins though after only tie into the raining mutagen; while fine, the variety isn't too great.)

These are some of the things I've noticed. Animation and fights are definitely stronger going forward (The Gauntlet and Showdown are still among the best, however.) There's also more variety in location.

Essentially, it's personal preference.

[snake]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

Really would have loved to see what this show could have become if just Sternin, Ventamilia, and Byerly had stayed on.

Yeah. There's no way S1 was just a fluke. It's one of the best pieces of TMNT material IMO.

[GoldMutant]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

Really would have loved to see what this show could have become if just Sternin, Ventamilia, and Byerly had stayed on.

Originally Posted by snake

Yeah. There's no way S1 was just a fluke. It's one of the best pieces of TMNT material IMO.

You know, it does make me think "what-if?" on this whole thing.

I think the story elements in 2 (as well as the others, to a lesser extent) were good. Something tells me we would've seen Mutagen Man used for retromutagen, Tiger Claw and the Foot at war within, basically some stories with alterations.

I may be wrong, though.

[ABrown]

Originally Posted by MrTMNT2012

What we took away is that the first Season of this show will forever be the greatest thing that Ninja Turtles as a franchise will be associated with.

Actually, I've found the second half of season four, as well as the first third of season five, to be this show at its peak. Ever since they got back from outer space (man that was an unbearable story arc), I've been more entertained by this series than I have at any point during the first 3.5 seasons.

[drgon78]

Really, I found season 1 to be the weakest one with each season getting more fun and interesting as it went.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by GoldMutant

These are some of the things I've noticed. Animation and fights are definitely stronger going forward (The Gauntlet and Showdown are still among the best, however.) There's also more variety in location.

Essentially, it's personal preference.

As said though, not much is different. Season 1 had very weak mutant of the week episodes:

- Spiderbitez first episode is really lame looking back on it now. If it happened during any other season it would just be a mutant of the week episode.

- Cockroach Terminator's ep was just mutant of the week

- The episode with "Justin" where they infiltrating the Kraang base, which they'd do several more times after

- The wasps episode, even though I liked that one was just another filler.


Then there were other eps not that good, like Pulverizer's first episode (even if it was important, the ep itself was dull), or the ep the Turtles were using their go karts to stop Dogpound with water balloons.

I really don't get why people think Season 1 didn't have the same eps that the others did. Only difference is because we were seeing all this stuff for the first time.

[Ninturtle]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

As said though, not much is different. Season 1 had very weak mutant of the week episodes:

- Spiderbitez first episode is really lame looking back on it now. If it happened during any other season it would just be a mutant of the week episode.

- Cockroach Terminator's ep was just mutant of the week

- The episode with "Justin" where they infiltrating the Kraang base, which they'd do several more times after

- The wasps episode, even though I liked that one was just another filler.


Then there were other eps not that good, like Pulverizer's first episode (even if it was important, the ep itself was dull), or the ep the Turtles were using their go karts to stop Dogpound with water balloons.

I really don't get why people think Season 1 didn't have the same eps that the others did. Only difference is because we were seeing all this stuff for the first time.

Season one is the only season that I felt was consistently funny, even if all of the premises maybe filler I still think it's the best written season.. You can tell that there was a writer shift in season 2, the rest of the series has more juvenile humor.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Ninturtle

Season one is the only season that I felt was consistently funny, even if all of the premises maybe filler I still think it's the best written season.. You can tell that there was a writer shift in season 2, the rest of the series has more juvenile humor.

I don't think the humor changed so much as we got used to it. In Season 1 the Nick Turtles' personalities were new and fresh. Now after multiple seasons we know their "tropes" and their "personality quirks" that the things they say don't stand out anymore.

Is Michelangelo really much funnier in Season 1 then later on, or is it because we're used to it? Flip the things Mikey said in Season 1 with any later season, there's barely any difference.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

I'd argue that he was less "loud" but yeah he was always grating.

[Ninturtle]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I don't think the humor changed so much as we got used to it. In Season 1 the Nick Turtles' personalities were new and fresh. Now after multiple seasons we know their "tropes" and their "personality quirks" that the things they say don't stand out anymore.

Is Michelangelo really much funnier in Season 1 then later on, or is it because we're used to it? Flip the things Mikey said in Season 1 with any later season, there's barely any difference.

Nah, the writing is just way funnier in season 1, there's an instant drop as soon as many of the season one writers left.

[ssjup81]

Originally Posted by Ninturtle

Nah, the writing is just way funnier in season 1, there's an instant drop as soon as many of the season one writers left.

This is more opinion based than fact based because humor is highly subjective.

That aside, I prefer Mikey beyond season 1. I found his not caring that he was stupid with the attention span of a gnat who could get distracted by a piece of chewed gum bothersome than the later seasons where I really like him.

[Aaronardo]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I don't think the humor changed so much as we got used to it. In Season 1 the Nick Turtles' personalities were new and fresh. Now after multiple seasons we know their "tropes" and their "personality quirks" that the things they say don't stand out anymore.

Go back and rewatch Season 1. It's just as funny now as it was back then. I don't understand how we "got used" to the show's style of humor when the entire writing staff had a complete change after the first season. Seasons 2 and onward had a much different, more "random" style. With as sharply written as the first season was, we wouldn't have "gotten used" to it either. It stayed fresh throughout and I highly doubt it would have let up at least until Season 4.

The Turtles don't even have their personalities anymore. They've been reduced to one-dimensional caricatures of their former selves and it's sad. Like I said, watching Season 1 today, these episodes that I've seen tens of times already, the Turtles are just oozing with personality. There was a run for a while, I'm talking A Foot Too Big till Owari, where Raph would constantly get his butt kicked and never kick butt back. He just became the guy who complains about everything. Just like how Leo just became... the leader. And Donnie just became... the smart one. They didn't have any more golden, shining moments of personality. They didn't have multiple traits or even any opinions. They were just there. They clocked in, clocked out, and passed out on their beds later that night.

I mean, just look at Splinter. He was once characterized as an old wise rat with a brutal past he has learned a lot from, who loves his family and can be overprotective at times but can also be very strict and even give lessons in humorous yet painful manners. With very few exceptions (his appearances in Mutagen Man Unleashed and The Noxious Avenger), Splinter just became the old guy with wisdom that makes him the most powerful thing ever. Need healing? Splinter's got a scroll for that! Need more spice to a fight scene? Kill him off for the thirteenth time! He isn't multi-layered anymore. He became no longer as interesting as he once was. That's a problem with the show since the first season with all of the characters. Even new ones from there on out.

The humor being better in the first season is subjective, but you just can't argue with the writing being sharper in the first season. Xever's short and to-the-point explanation of his past in Baxter's Gambit will always be more effective than "I'm gonna go back to a life of crime so bye guys."

[CyberCubed]

I think what you're talking about is the same thing that happens in every TMNT series. It happened in the 2k3 series too, with Michelangelo getting more obnoxious and Raph becoming always grouchy around Season 2+.

The Turtles can't really develop past their archetypes, because that's their personalities. The 4kids series had the same thing happen to the Turtles even before the last two seasons, I'm talking around Seasons 2-4.

[Aaronardo]

Fair enough, but I'm more referring to what season 1 did with the characters in terms of dialogue and character-driven storytelling contrasted with how little season 2 onward did with the same. Season 1 showed a very clear understanding of the characters, especially the Turtles, which allowed for wittier dialogue and stories that are derived from the way they act. I think that's what really put season 1 above the rest for me.

And I'm not asking for further development of these characters, I'd just like to see some smart writing involving what we've already established. Donnie's a bit of a geek? Make a good joke from that. This is something season 1 did all the time effectively making people who are already familiar with the character laugh along and helping people who aren't understand that character more.