Nickelodeon: "they want to focus on the '80s toon Turtles"

[Dejablue]

Originally Posted by sdp

I'm sure this doesn't come to a surprise to any of us, but is anyone feeling a bit mixed on it?

When Laird was in control I was bummed by the fact that a new show that resembled the OT more would never happen again. But now I feel the opposite, I'm bummed that nothing resembling the NT will ever happen again.

Anyways a mix of the OT and the NT would be the perfect show for me, I hope thats what they go for. And even if its nothing like the NT and mostly like the OT I'll love it.

Yeah this is how I feel. I should be jumping for joy but actually I have come to a draw about which series I love more.

So I'm blindly hoping for Turtles Forever: The Series!
Hayul yeah! That's too many characters to keep up with!
And having 8 turtles who share the same names would be kinda confusing....*le sigh* I just made myself sad...

[ryukenden]

I don't mind if the new show is a combination of the OT and the NT. I did like the fact that Splinter was Hamato Yoshi rather than just being a very smart rat. As long as the Shredder is a threat, that is fine by me as well. I definitely would like Bebop and Rocksteady to be menacing like they were in the first season rather than being dumb henchmen.

I do have a solid idea, why not have Bebop and Rocksteady be members of the Purple Dragons before their mutation? I don't mind if they make Krang a renegade utrom like Ch'rell was. Definitely a human Shredder. As for the Turtles themselves, I'd rather see them exactly as they were in the NT but let Mikey be more like he was in OT.

[Godzilla]

Having the new show as a amalgam of the OT, and the 2k3 show is about as good of a mixture one could really hope for following the news of Nick wanting to focus on something like the 1980's cartoon. Hopefully, that's the kind of show we will get.

[odupianist]

I think Murph got rid of his blog, but he posted a pitch idea that came across the table before BttS came out. I still stand by the thought that that is what they will end up doing something close to. Anyone have that post archived or anything?

[Chris]

I don't have the post but I think I know the one you mean.

Playmates pitched an "Ultimate" Ninja Turtles which used a lot of characters from the old toon and Archie and Splinter was mutated from Hamato Yoshi again instead of an oridinary rat.

Obviously Playmates were hoping the old toon/Archie character would lead to an increase in sales.

The Splinter was Hamato Yoshi angle would never have worked 6 seasons into the show, but most fans were onboard with the OT/Archie elements being brought in.

That's if I remember right.

Either way it was far better than the baby Turtles ideas that were floating around at the time.

[Dejablue]

If thats true then I guess those Mutanimals fans may have something to be happy about.

But I'm curious about what you guys think. Maybe I'm not the only one trying way too prematurely to formulate what Nickelodeon plans to do with the Turtles. But if its true that they plan to go more 80's/Archie then what kind of stories or plots do you think Nick capable of generating?

[CrazySquirrel]

A mix of the 03 turtles and archie would make me so happy. The archie comics were a great mix of good story telling and being still kid friendly. I would love to see Mondo Ray and the Null storyline in season 2 or 3.. And Shredder krang baxter bebop rocksteady etc. I believe in nick but 03 was so good nick has a lot to live up to. I don't see nick going so goofy that we are all upset at nick... They have always had a good current feel to their series.

[Dejablue]

I'm hoping they give the Turtles some character development. Ahem. Well more specifically Mikey and Donatello.

EDIT: And to be honest I'm getting a wee bit tired of Shredder coming back again and again and again and again...

Well I'd be ok with it if he wasn't established as the paramount threat every single freakin time.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Dejablue

EDIT: And to be honest I'm getting a wee bit tired of Shredder coming back again and again and again and again...

Shredder is too marketable to be gone for long for the cartoons and movies. Hence why he keeps coming back.

[odupianist]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Shredder is too marketable to be gone for long for the cartoons and movies. Hence why he keeps coming back.

Agreed. Due to the 80's toon, he's become the main villain in the public eye. For those of us who have read the Mirage comic, we know that's obviously not the case.

[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by odupianist

Agreed. Due to the 80's toon, he's become the main villain in the public eye. For those of us who have read the Mirage comic, we know that's obviously not the case.

Shredder's has been viewed as THE chief TMNT villain for a good long while now. He's basically to TMNT, was the Joker is to Batman. Or what Dr. Doom is to the Fantastic Four. Shredder is the guy people want, or at the very least, fully expect to see facing off against the Turtles when it comes to media outside of the Mirage comics. The '87 series really kickstarted this notion, and the 2k3 animated series took great advantage of the Shredder as a villain as well.

As far as public perception goes, the only villain that comes close is Krang. And that's due to the overwhelming public perception the '87 toon has on the TMNT franchise. If Nick plans on being more like the '87 series than let's say the 2k3 series, then I sincerely doubt that perception is going to lessen anytime soon.

[Dejablue]

*Facepalm* Well lets hope the writers are competent enough to come up with good secondary villains at least.

[Cipher]

The Fred Wolf cartoon actually did have a great cast of secondary villains. Maybe the best TMNT's ever had.

Unfortunately, they rarely made an appearance.

[holy_guacamole]

I don't care. The cartoons live on on DVD. There will always be Turtle cartoons, movies and other media.

It's the loss of the comics that saddens me. They're pulling the plug on both Tales and TMNT volume four this May.

[Dejablue]

Originally Posted by Cipher Classic

The Fred Wolf cartoon actually did have a great cast of secondary villains. Maybe the best TMNT's ever had.

Unfortunately, they rarely made an appearance.

Yeah it's like they forgot about them most of the time. And poor Baxter.

[holy_guacamole]

Originally Posted by odupianist

Agreed. Due to the 80's toon, he's become the main villain in the public eye. For those of us who have read the Mirage comic, we know that's obviously not the case.

Yeah, but he's such a great villain. So's Karai. I like it best when the Ninja Turtles are doing ninja stuff. Fighting Shredder, Karai and the Triceretons were cool. But, then, the comics had weird villains like Savanti Romero (I may be alone in not liking him, Renet, the time scepter and any issue they appeared in), the gangsters who stole Casey's favorite golden cow, and that washed up group of super heroes Mike and Casey come across in Northampton.

Some of the villains in the comics were as goofy as the '87 cartoon.

Plus, Shredder has a connection with the Turtles past and that automatically makes him a great choice for a villain. He killed Splinter's master and, because of that, Splinter specifically trained the Turtles to avenge Yoshi's death. It's simple, it's evil, it's dark, it's ninja--I like it.

I know it's cliched, but, to me, Shredder is the main villain.

[Dejablue]

You know what I don't get. Why the 80's toon seemed to just randomly decide that Mikey's chucks were evil and pulled them. But every other incarnation of the turtles sans Next Mutation let him keep them. I wonder if that'll happen again here? What kind of wacky and seemingly random censorship panel says chucks are good here but aren't here. Was it just the time frame? Did nun chucks become legal in 2003?

[holy_guacamole]

Originally Posted by Dejablue

You know what I don't get. Why the 80's toon seemed to just randomly decide that Mikey's chucks were evil and pulled them. But every other incarnation of the turtles sans Next Mutation let him keep them. I wonder if that'll happen again here? What kind of wacky and seemingly random censorship panel says chucks are good here but aren't here. Was it just the time frame? Did nun chucks become legal in 2003?

I do believe they were outlawed in Europe in the 80's and 90's--if not directly outlawed, then considered unsavory. But they were banished from television. Many European TV stations, when broadcasting Turtle episodes, cut out Mikey any time he used his 'chucks. The UK was notorious for this. So, the producers of the cartoon decided that, rather than have Michelangelo edited out of all fight scenes, the nunchucks would go all together and be replaced by a grappling hook.

The movies were like, "Screw that, this is Hollywood," and put nunchuck wielding Mikey in the movies. Again, in the UK, these scenes were cut from the film.

By the time 2003 rolled around, the "evil nunchuck ban" in Europe had been lifted.

What I don't get is why Leonardo could run around with razor sharp swords and Bebop and Rocksteady could shoot at everyone with blasters, but nunchucks were considered bad.

[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by holy_guacamole

I do believe they were outlawed in Europe in the 80's and 90's--if not directly outlawed, then considered unsavory. But they were banished from television. Many European TV stations, when broadcasting Turtle episodes, cut out Mikey any time he used his 'chucks. The UK was notorious for this. So, the producers of the cartoon decided that, rather than have Michelangelo edited out of all fight scenes, the nunchucks would go all together and be replaced by a grappling hook.

Ah, yes.

Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles.

[holy_guacamole]

Originally Posted by TMNTShredder

Ah, yes.

Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles.

That is the lamest title I've ever heard.