Was 1997-2001 the darkest time for the TMNT franchise?

[ledahead]

Looking back, I would agree that the franchise needed a break during those years. It was just that during that time, TMNT had been out of my life for a long time and I wanted to experience the TMNT phenomenon again but couldn't because I was not able to watch the original series and was not part of popular American culture anymore. Maybe someone who grew up watching the OT from the beginning would have a different perspective but this is what it was like for someone born in the mid 80s. I didn't like the 2003 cartoon because it just didn't have the charm of the original series. One reason I still like ninja turtles is because of the nostalgia I feel for the OT and I suppose that because to me the OT represents the true teenage mutant ninja turtles, no other TMNT toon will live up to it. I do sort of like the new Nickelodeon TMNT toon as I feel it more closely resembles the OT than the more recent TMNT toons. I think the Nickelodeon cartoon has cool animation, pretty awesome fight scenes and it seems to have decent writing. Although, I don't really like how Michelangelo acts on the show. The writers really seem to be forcing the humor with Michelangelo and it just doesn't work. Also, it is really stupid humor.

[pferreira]

I think that the success of the 4Kids cartoon finally convinced critics and casual viewers that Turtles was more than just the nostalgia of the 80s cartoon, that the franchise like Superman could be brought back or rebooted again and again. The success of the 4Kids series was probably reason enough for Warner Bros to do the 2007 movie.

[Krum]

I lost interest in the show around 1994. Season 8 was the last season I watched. Through the last half of the 90's, I managed to track down some vhs tapes of episodes from seasons 1-4. I really enjoyed seeing those episodes again. I also had a lot of the archie comics, which I dug out and enjoyed reading again. From 2000 until the new series started in 2003, I occasionally went on ninjaturtles.com for a little nostalgia.

[ctt4lfecw]

This is a good idea for a topic. Yes, for me Turtles was a nostalgic memory during this time. From about 1994-2001, I went from Power Rangers to Pokemon and wrestling(still am for wrestling and Pokemon video games) I always had a soft spot for it, but without a good tv show or movie to back up the franchise, it was never going to come back. I was happy to hear it was coming back in 2003 and I thought Peter did a great job carrying that series. For me however, it was when they released OT on dvd that I started collecting in 2004 that got me back into Turtles. I never missed a dvd since then.

Also thanks to YouTube in 2006 I found out how to beat my original ULTRA TMNT for NES. Then I found out about the Mirage comics coming back in Ultimate Collection hardcovers and now Im trying to scoop up as many comics as I can including the Archie's. And am absolutely addicted to IDW ongoing.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Thanks to the Internet, I re-discovered the TMNT.