TMNT Season 3 Best Episode Tournament: SEMI-FINAL Match #1

[JTH]

SEMI-FINALS

We started at 26, we're now down to 4. In the upcoming weeks, we will find out the two episodes that will determine which is Season 3's best episode. Let's find out the first episode to qualify which in irony were the season's final two episodes.

Semi-Final Round Polls will last 7 days and will be public polls.

Note: Round 3 Matches will begin on Tuesdays. Going to keep it uniform, so always be tuned in this time each Tuesday.

To check out the complete up to date bracket, the link is here:
http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cf...Best%20Episode

Now with that said and done, it's time to take a look at the much anticipated "Tale of the Turtle Tape"!

Official Seed: #1
Where JTH seeded this episode: #2
Total Points Received: 187
Official IGN Review: 9.7/10
Current TV.com Rating: 9.4/10
Highest Rating Episode Received: #1 (Everyone but me)
How did it get here?: Defeated Clash of the Mutanimals in Round 2, Defeated The Pig & The Rhino in Round 3

Official Seed: #5
Where JTH seeded this episode: #9
Total Points Received: 108
Official IGN Review: 8.5/10
Current TV.com Rating: 9.9/10
Highest Rating Episode Received: #2 (2 Times)
How did it get here?: Defeated Attack of The Mega Shredder! in Round 2, Defeated Vision Quest in Round 3

- Winner faces winner of #2 Tale of the Yokai/#3 Return to New York in the Final


Which episode will win in your mind, vote away. Remember...HAVE FUN!!!

[Splinter the boss]

Dinosaurs seen in sewers: we get to see our first triceraton and a Raph episode. Raph's partnership with Zog was amazing until betrayal, they kick butt well. And there was a great suspense at the end.

Annihilation Earth: we got to see more triceratons, Splinter/Shredder team up against triceratons, Shredder killed Splinter, the technodrome got destroyed, Prime is not seen since, the earth gets swallowed, Honeycutt showed up, not to mention we got to see Bishop.

Yep, Annihilation Earth for the win.

[GoldMutant]

Looks like I know how this is going to go, it's Annihilation: Earth facing Tale of the Yokai in less than two weeks now. Well, rather overdue immensely due to personal issues (that, and I honestly don't have a lot to say about the match compared to last match).

Anyways, this may seem like an odd comparison, but does anyone feel these three episodes serve as a parallel to The Avengers and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. By that I mean, The Avengers is a solid flick to climax Phase 1, but here's a good question: if the movies before it didn't succeed, would we still like the film at all? Personally, that's the case with the Triceraton arc; Annihilation: Earth was a solid episode as was Dinosaurs Seen in Sewers, but no way it could have succeeded without the latter barring that minimal recap. Remove the recap and particular episodes of season 3, and it's very out of place and sudden. Unless familiar with the franchise, newcomers may be confused on the overall narrative; if a follower of the show, it's still repetitive with invasion angles.

With that said, I think of Dinosaurs Seen in Sewers! being like the 2008 Iron-Man where it has to set up the story, as did Operation Break Out and Into Dimension X! Obviously, The Invasion from season 2 would succeed on its own merit easily, but would the other finales like this succeed? After all, the first Iron-Man was still a great watch with source material and a narrative different from previous superhero movies.

Might be me feeling lazy (I've stopped posting for a bit, personal life), but I'll repeat from before what my thoughts were from the quarterfinals. First is Dinosaurs Seen in Sewers and second of all is Annihilation: Earth.:

Originally Posted by GoldMutant

As for our Triceraton episode, it's another simple summary. Slash and Rockwell hear of rumors of a dino man and get beat up, Raph goes to find the beast, befriends beast, Kraang are back, and cue the obligatory Invasion finale, but with Triceratons. Compared to Vision Quest, there's really nothing of particular note in overall story; the only exception is the introduction to the Nick incarnations of the Triceratons, beginning with Zog, the Triceraton gone crazy from lack of proper sources to survive and voiced by Lance Henriknsen.

Personally, the episode has fewer worries of flaws as it doesn't rush. The only severe issue I can think of is Zog's sudden turn; while a twist compared to previous incarnations to make him a villain, it feels too sudden. It might be me feeling depressed as the character may not reappear again given Zog's obvious fate, but damn if Lance didn't do a spectacular job as a guest actor. However, one minor issue I might need to point out is Raph's attitude towards Slash being..... a little sense caring in a way. I'm all for Raph finally getting spotlight action (even if late in the season), but it's something I'm a little against given the connection these two had. Give it a rewatch if you can and compare it to other episodes, especially Clash of the Mutanimals even with it's less than stellar reputation among Raphael fans. Also, why is Raph wearing his gear in this episode?

Other than these two issues, Dinosaurs Seen in Sewers! is personally the superior of the episodes given Henriknsen aboard, some excellent fights specifically the Statue of Liberty fight, and some foreshadowing. Even some references to Ghostbusters make this episode a solid plus and among my top 5 of the season; if I remade my list, consider this my #2, second to Casey vs the Underworld. Even though I feel these two episodes will lose to Annihilation Earth unfortunately no matter what (), I'm going with Dinosaurs Seen in Sewers as I feel it has less issues present in the overall narrative it tries to tell.

Originally Posted by GoldMutant

And now for the episode everyone knows is the best episode of the season, the season finale Annihilation: Earth, an episode serving as continuation of Raphael being foolish with the Triceraton Zog last time. Due to what Zog did in Dinosaurs Seen in Sewers!, the Triceratons are altered of the Kraang's return; as revenge for their homeworld's destruction it only makes sense to destroy Earth. Bringing in the remaining Mighty Mutanimals, primarily Leatherhead to stop the Technodrome yet again (), the Triceratons annihilate the damn thing alongside Sub-Prime (who survives again oddly) and Kraang Prime. Following this, the Turtles must battle the Triceraton Empire (led by Mozar, voiced by Trekian Micheal Dorn) after Mikey accidentally is kidnapped and prevent the destruction of the planet.

Along the way, Mondo Gecko and Muckman return to the fray and we're introduced to a new version of Bishop (I'll get to him in a moment) plus an uneasy alliance with the Foot. Unfortunately, the Triceratons are able to fight back on Earth against the heroes, even taking down the Mutanimals. Following an acid trip with the Turtles' attempt at saving Mikey and Leo being badass, the alliance fails. As evident in Vicky's signature, the alliance stems from Shredder's treachery by literally stabbing Splinter in the back; after a beautifully timed moment of Splinter's demise, everyone dies. Well, except for our main quartet as well as Casey and April, who are saved by Fugitoid; whether everything is restored remains to be seen.

So, a great amount of content is present in this episode and I can see why it's the favorite episode of the season, refusing to hold back anything. After all of season 3 was primarily either hit or miss, the finale blows everything out of the water with the atmosphere and drama. However, with the hype of the episode died out now, I honestly feel while an amazing episode, it does feel extremely overrated. In essence, it feels like a carbon copy of The Invasion, the season 2 finale with the Triceratons as the focal point, being extremely predictable. Essentially, I don't feel it's the best episode anymore of the season as a majority of ideas aren't fully developed; nowhere near as bad as Battle for New York personally, but missed opportunities either way.

I did mention Bishop earlier, but time to bring him up; the popular tragic villain of the 2003 series is reduced to a Norman bot wearing sunglasses who is an Utrom in this version (cool chess reference though. ). The only purpose Bishop served this episode was not only for another new Utrom/Kraang to be introduced in a finale, but to set up the episode and plays barely a role outside detailing the origins of the Triceratons vs. Kraang. It's a sincere disappointment to waste such a fan favorite character to just context telling for the audience; also doesn't help Nolan North also voices Bishop like every Kraang here. I will acknowledge it does give the audience more to invest into watching, but the character I personally feel should have done more.

Next up is the Technodrome invasion; the premise of the previous season finales is completely repetitious by this point after it was defeated in season 1 and caused destruction in season 2. Although it can be argued that it was set up for the Triceratons to demonstrate their dominance, I honestly feel it went by too fast and the Kraang's return is ultimately a waste of time. I do wonder what would have happened had they attacked humans more, but a personal gripe nonetheless despite the sky fight's fun factor.

Lastly, I brought this up before but I honestly didn't like the handling of Splinter's death. The alliance felt extremely rushed; even Mondo and Muckman's inclusions weren't specified either, exactly like the formation of the Mighty Mutanimals midseason. Given we don't have any opportunities to see how this alliance, it feels extremely forced despite being Shredder's character and motivation. Despite the significance of a main character killed on screen, it feels like shock value to say "Guys, we're going to do this." As a result, the whole event I don't feel attached to at all as the whole world blows up is followed up by Casey's idiotic line at the end. While done to make this the hardest of all the season finales the Turtles suffer in, Splinter doing nearly nothing this season undermines his death somewhat. If more time was dedicated to the alliance, then the death I'd see as well done even with the time ticking down to 0.

Outside my issues, it was well done as a finale. The fights were fantastic, the filler rewarded watchers of the season, there's drama and even a crazy Mikey moment that we all can giggle at. Beyond these aspects, I do feel it's around the middle for the hour specials due to being a carbon copy with identical actions, except more destructive and the Triceratons dominating the screen.

Although the episode is a powerful end to the season, I ultimately feel being a carbon copy of previous finales, it's not too special. Annihilation: Earth does remain a well done episode, but the concepts were not entirely well accomplished either for shock value or elements of disappointment in handling. I'm well aware the episode will win against Pig and the Rhino, but I did want to evaluate it either way compared to before where I passed it off on my first watch.

Pretty sure everyone may tire of me ranting, but my tastes do differ with the series like everyone else. Even though the match is practically done, I do think Dinosaurs Seen in Sewers! is a superior episode over it's relative. When we get to the next match, expect a stronger narrative from yours truly.