How do you feel about the Turtles learning about humans from watching TV?

[plasticturtle]

It's not like they had a whole lot of other options for learning about the surface world before April came along. It was either TV or nothing.

[Scud]

Hey if it worked for the Junkion Transformers, then it could work for the turtles as well.

[FoxZerro]

Originally Posted by Scud

Hey if it worked for the Junkion Transformers, then it could work for the turtles as well.

For the win!

In fact I'd say in the long run learing about humans from television worked out better for the Turtles than the Junkions. I mean the Turtles entire dialogue isn't comprised of jingles and catchphrases. Plus the Turtles clearly watched the news, because they knew who April was, and the news back then was a fairly accurate glimpse into human behavior

[MikeandRaph87]

That is how Martian Manhunter of DC Comics learned about humanity and learned how to walk among us. This is predominantely shown in The New Frontier set in the late 50s'. He is shown changing form into Buggs Bunny,Groucho Marx, and others before he adapts his John Jones persona. It may be a narrow minded viewpoint but I have heard that it is a great way to learn a new language especially with captions avialable. It would seem if the turtles learn about topside from television that they would have seen a pizza commericial if not it being eating my a character in the last 16 years. It was a great clip in the new show,but its too far fetched of a reaction of not knowing what it is while it is not farfetched for it to be thier first taste.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

I think it's very realistic that they learned about humans from television since they weren't allowed to venture outside.

And I learned some French from watching the Canadian version of Sesame Street. I even was counting to twelve in French by the time I entered kindergarten.

I watched the 1998 FIFA World Cup, which was played in France. Since then, I know what 32 countries are named in French.

[Xav]

Originally Posted by Zulithe

Not sure how they will handle it in the new show but I imagine them down in the sewer with donnie having some kind of rigged internet connection while they all sit around and watch youtube

Or youporn.

[shezcrafti]

I've always liked the TV explanation. It helps to explain a lot, like why the Turtles have different accents (emulating their favorite on-screen characters?), why they're big on pop culture jokes and references, and perhaps even why they're as good-natured and friendly as they are despite having spent fifteen years in a dank sewer raised as ninjas. There's just as many good educational, family-oriented shows as there are the opposite kind.

I also like that TV better establishes the TMNT's relationship with April. They knew who she was before they physically met her, thus giving them more reason to trust her.

[gobo]

Hold on. When was it ever suggested in the OT that they recognized her from the news? They obsessively caught all her newscasts after meeting her, but AFAIK they only recognized her from the news in the live-action movies.

[shezcrafti]

Originally Posted by RIP, gobo

Hold on. When was it ever suggested in the OT that they recognized her from the news? They obsessively caught all her newscasts after meeting her, but AFAIK they only recognized her from the news in the live-action movies.

They called her by her name right after they saved her. How else would they know who she is?

[gobo]

Originally Posted by shezcrafti

They called her by her name right after they saved her. How else would they know who she is?

Good point! I never caught that.

[Type 97 Chi-ha]

I remember an old television-related comic strip which showed two teenage boys walking together, and one says to the other, "Everything I know about sex is from watching 'Benny Hill'."

[Jephael]

I try to keep in mind that TV was a lot more wholesome back in the early 1980s, the era in which the classic toon Ninja Turtles grew up. For all we know Leonardo might've been a fan of Growing Pains and Donatello could've liked Family Ties. I can see Raphael enjoying Three's Company, and it goes without saying Michaelangelo had to be a fan of Bugs Bunny as a kid!

[shezcrafti]

Originally Posted by Jephael

I try to keep in mind that TV was a bit more wholesome back in the early 1980s, the era in which the classic toon Ninja Turtles grew up. For all we know Leonardo might've been a fan of Growing Pains and Donatello could've liked Family Ties. I can see Raphael enjoying Three's Company, and it goes without saying Michaelangelo had to be a fan of cartoons as a kid.

Three's Company wasn't exactly what I'd call a wholesome show...it was pretty raunchy, actually, which is one of the reasons I loved it, of course.

I have Raph pegged as more of daytime talk viewer.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by Jephael

I try to keep in mind that TV was a lot more wholesome back in the early 1980s, the era in which the classic toon Ninja Turtles grew up. For all we know Leonardo might've been a fan of Growing Pains and Donatello could've liked Family Ties. I can see Raphael enjoying Three's Company, and it goes without saying Michaelangelo had to be a fan of Bugs Bunny as a kid!

Early 1980's? TMNT didn't become a cartoon until 1987. That's late in the decade.

[Jephael]

Yea but the way I see it the Turtles did spend a few years living in the sewers before the events of the series premiere. I figure they were atleast 7 or 8 when they got mutated (even though in the origin's flashback they looked like full grown teens), so I'd put the date of their mutation somewhere around the year 1982.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by Jephael

Yea but the way I see it the Turtles did spend a few years living in the sewers before the events of the series premiere. I figure they were atleast 7 or 8 when they got mutated (even though in the origin's flashback they looked like full grown teens), so I'd put the date of their mutation somewhere around the year 1982.

It's just a flashback, intented to show the mutagen's effect. They could have been even younger, like 1, 2 or 3 years old. Remember Archie showing them even younger than 7-8 in later flashback stories.

[Galactus]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

They called themselves teenagers though, it had to have been 15 years.

They may not have been kid forms but its not like episode 1 of the OT took place the day after they were mutated.

Their transformation to teenagers was instant though. That's the way it was in "Turtle Tracks". Their childhood was pre-mutation. I could be wrong but I don't think even "Back To The Egg" or "Adventures in Turtle Sitting" contradicted that.

[shezcrafti]

I don't buy it that the Turtles instantly went from regular turtles --> teenagers in the OT. I know that's what it looks like in the cartoon during Splinter's explanation to April, but it just doesn't make sense that he would have had adequate time to train them as ninjas if that were the case.

After Splinter's story, Raphael says, "we've spent half our lives crawling around on the bottom of a glass bowl and we 'aint goin' back." That leads me to believe they were mutated around age 7 or so.

[Toby Barrett]

They weren't really adequate ninjas. =p

[Galactus]

Originally Posted by shezcrafti

I don't buy it that the Turtles instantly went from regular turtles --> teenagers in the OT. I know that's what it looks like in the cartoon during Splinter's explanation to April, but it just doesn't make sense that he would have had adequate time to train them as ninjas if that were the case.

After Splinter's story, Raphael says, "we've spent half our lives crawling around on the bottom of a glass bowl and we 'aint goin' back." That leads me to believe they were mutated around age 7 or so.

I think you're attaching a notion of logic to a cartoon which isn't very logical. I don't think it was ever stated in any episode how long it took them to learn ninjitsu. It could have any legnth of time from a few months to a year or two.

I can buy that maybe what we saw in the "Turtle Tracks" may be some visualisation of what happened, certainly the visual of them in the crawling in the mutagen was later retconned in "Michaelangelo Meets Mondo Gecko" were the mutagen is green and they are in some random sewer tunnel (instead of the lair) with a lizard and the villain of that episode whos name escapes me. I suppose that episode is the closest we'll get to a hinting the turtles had childhoods since we saw Mondo as a kid. Pretty much every other time we saw mutagen it instantly transformed animals it touched into fully grown mutants. Look at Slash who was supposed to be a baby turtle and became an adult who could walk talk and fight instantly.

In the end I think like most cartoons it's continuity was made up as it went along. I think as far as most of the writers were concerned their change was instant. It's not like the Fred Wolf show is alone in that, the current IDW also makes the turtles instantly transform into teenagers. A change I don't particularly care for conidering that's supposed to be somewhat serious.