Were the Turtles still trained for 15 years in the original cartoon?

[CyberCubed]

In the OT's origin story, we see the Turtles instantly mutate to their adult sizes because they were "becoming more human." However throughout the series the Turtles make mention that they are teenagers.

Were the Turtles still trained for 15 years before the events of the first episode, "Turtle Tracks?"

I always assumed the Turtles still lived underground with Splinter for 15 years even though they were never, "kids" in the show. It would also go with my assumption that Shredder and Hamato Yoshi were about 35 years old in that series...and the flashback to Japan took place when they were 20.

[LotusBlossom]

Not to overstate the obvious ...

But I've noticed quite a few rather glaring inconsistencies in the OT. Probably best not to think too hard about it, lest one's head explode.

However, having said that, the Turtles' behavior patterns/personalities have never really seemed all that "teenage" to me, anyways. Maybe they've just been lying about their ages, so that if/when they are arrested/charged criminally, they can't be tried as adults.

[CyberCubed]

In "Polly wanna pizza" of Season 6, Raphael and Michaelangelo get into an argument.

Leonardo says, "Stop it, you're acting like a bunch of teenagers!"

Raphael replies sarcastically, "I dunno, could that be because we ARE teenagers?"


So there is indication they lived for 15 years.

[pannoni1]

Since Splinter always wanted to train people to prepare for the foot, I feel it's likely that the Turtles began training on the day they mutated into turtles.

[Jephael]

In the first episode Raphael mentions that they spent half their lives living in a glass bowl, so that would mean they were 6 or 7 when they got mutated, which means they only spent 6 or 7 years training.

[Herald7]

Originally Posted by LotusBlossom

[B]However, having said that, the Turtles' behavior patterns/personalities have never really seemed all that "teenage" to me, anyways.

Well what does a teenager act like? Just asking.

[Galactus]

Originally Posted by LotusBlossom

Not to overstate the obvious ...

But I've noticed quite a few rather glaring inconsistencies in the OT. Probably best not to think too hard about it, lest one's head explode.

The only sane option when following the OT.

[ssjup81]

Originally Posted by Herald7

Well what does a teenager act like? Just asking.

Like Mikey.

[themaxonline]

My thought had always been that the flashback to when they were mutated was simply exaggerated for timing purposes and that they were trained for years before the timing of the first episode.

[LotusBlossom]

Originally Posted by Herald7

Well what does a teenager act like? Just asking.

I've always felt "X-men: Evolution" did a really good job in that regard, actually ... though I suspect I may be in the (slight) minority on that.

Sadly.

[Stingray69]

Originally Posted by themaxonline

My thought had always been that the flashback to when they were mutated was simply exaggerated for timing purposes and that they were trained for years before the timing of the first episode.

Yea same here, I always thought that to.

[Kendamu]

I always felt that they had been around for awhile, but nowhere near fifteen years.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Goongasnootch

I always felt that they had been around for awhile, but nowhere near fifteen years.

Doesn't the Konami TMNT II videogame have the Turtles aged around 15 years old?

[Kendamu]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Doesn't the Konami TMNT II videogame have the Turtles aged around 15 years old?

I had the notion that the Turtles, pre-mutation, were "ordinary turtles" (as stated in the fifth episode of the first season of the OT) as opposed to "baby turtles." That means they could be around fifteen without having been trained for fifteen years.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Galactus

The only sane option when following the OT.

The other one is tuning it out.

[Jester]

That's our Andrew!
*cues wacky theme music*

[ABrown]

Originally Posted by LotusBlossom

But I've noticed quite a few rather glaring inconsistencies in the OT. Probably best not to think too hard about it, lest one's head explode.

Agreed, but it's still fun to discuss though.

However, having said that, the Turtles' behavior patterns/personalities have never really seemed all that "teenage" to me

They didn't seem like teenagers to you? Just out of curiousity, around what age group did them seem like to you?

Originally Posted by Jephael

In the first episode Raphael mentions that they spent half their lives living in a glass bowl, so that would mean they were 6 or 7 when they got mutated, which means they only spent 6 or 7 years training.

I agree. I doubt that a turtle knows that it's been alive for about seven years, so Yoshi/Splinter probably told them that they seemed like they were about the size of turtles who were around seven years old.

Originally Posted by themaxonline

My thought had always been that the flashback to when they were mutated was simply exaggerated for timing purposes and that they were trained for years before the timing of the first episode.

I disagree. I took that flashback literally that they were pretty much instantly mutanted into full grown humanoids. If they were suggesting that the turtles took months (or even years) to fully grow, they easily could've said so. And given how frequently the show broke the forth wall, they could've easily said something about how they were cutting the flashback short in the interest of time.

[LotusBlossom]

Originally Posted by ABrown

They didn't seem like teenagers to you? Just out of curiousity, around what age group did them seem like to you?

Hard to say, exactly. They've just always felt more like "classic archetypes" (Leo the Square, Don the Nerd, Raph the Smartass, Mike the Stoner) than being/doing anything particularly "age-specific". Like, for example, the Ghostbusters weren't teenagers (obviously), but basically had a very similar dynamic (just replace "the Stoner" with "the Overeater").

On a semi-related note, what was up with Mondo Gecko's voice? It didn't fit him at all. I mean, he was supposed to be the same age as the Turtles, yet had the pipes of a middle-aged, four-pack-a-day smoker.

[Cryomancer]

Are there not at least two episodes where one or more turtles is de-aged into a younger version of themselves, instantly, in both mind and body? And then is magically fixed with no ill effect later in said episodes? I guess that would emply they had to be young mutants of a small size before, unless whatever device made them young somehow came up with it's own idea of what a young mutant turtle would be like, I guess. Age is weird in the OT, just like everything else.

[gobo]

Originally Posted by Cryomancer

Are there not at least two episodes where one or more turtles is de-aged into a younger version of themselves, instantly, in both mind and body?

'BACK TO THE EGG" & "ADVENTURES IN TURTLE-SITTING", Leo being the only one to regress both times. However, these devices were obviously just growth-reversal, not time-reversal. They'd speak backwards if it was the latter.