Well as you all know I am obsessed with TMNT. I even have a tat of the turtles. Yep, I am that crazy over these mutants. With TMNT wrapping up its first season August 8th, I thought I would reflect on my affection for this cartoon. Also, I will be typing this entire review with two fingers and a thumb in honor of them. Maybe my review will be bias but talking to several people under the age of 10, I know this cartoon is good. I thought I would run down the general basis of the show and then give you guys some episodes that are must watches.
The turtles had two main villains during this first season; the Kraang and Shredder. We open the cartoon with the turtles celebrating their birthday and every year Splinter tells them of how they came to life. Splinter bought the turtles at the pet shop and followed a strange man down the street. This strange man was selling ooze. Splinter gets spotted by the dudes and tries to fight off the men. They all end up falling into the ooze and mutated into what they are today.
After the party, the gang begs Splinter for a chance to go above surface. He finally lets the Turtles and that is where this story begins. We get introduced to tons of characters. One of my favorites is Karai, Shedder’s daughter. She is complex and with how the finale ended will have a huge part in the ongoing series.
The show is a little gross, which for me, hits on the adults watching this show. You really can’t have mutated turtles and it not be gross in some ways. I like how Nick doesn’t shy away from showing us the disgusting parts. Like when a giant salamander sucks down one of the Kraang’s brains. Totally rad.
Must watch episodes:
“Never Say Xever” I like this episode for the simple fact that there are pizza dumplings. It makes me crave this delicious treat and wonder if any restaurant serves these.
“TCRI” This episode is probably my favorite. It was sad though. Leatherhead, who was given the ooze due to experiments by the Kraang, helps the Turtles to break into the Kraang’s headquarters. The episode revolves around opening Dimension X. It is so unfortunate how this story ends but just shows how this cartoon hits every nerve in your body. Mikey is really the star of this episode and is most likely everyone’s fav character. Plus Mikey is the one who befriends Leatherhead against all odds. He really is so sweet in this series. “Like a ninja do.” (which will make more sense after you watch this episode)
"Cockroach Terminator" We get to see a different side of Raphael in this episode; a frightened ninja whose biggest fear is cockroaches. It is so hilarious to see Raph so scared and Mikey making fun of him instead of the other way around. I love their relationship in this series. It is definitely a family dynamic. Plus the Cockroach is nasty. It even grossed me out…but of course that only means it was totally bodacious at the same time.
“Baxter’s Gambit” I always love when the villains and heroes must team up to fight an even bigger threat. The turtles must team up with Fishface and Dogpound in order to be released from Baxter Stockman’s House of Fun Death Trap. The visuals in this episode are so awesome. It could have been a set for a Saw movie. I also think it is a funny episode because the Turtles, Fishface, and Dogpound never give Baxter any credit for anything. They call him a different name every single time they refer to him. This episode is so entertaining visually but also shows the didactic relationship between heroes and villains. It is cool to see how they can work together.
“Showdown Part 1 &2” Clearly the last two episodes of these seasons have to be good in order to keep the audience coming back and these episodes were dynamite! The Turtles must stop the Kraang once and for all in opening the portal to Dimension X. They must save the world and April gets kidnapped, her father is being brainwashed, and Karai is here to whoop some butt. If that isn’t enough for you Splinter and Shedder showdown: enough said.
I could go on but I think the whole series is brilliant and with the second and third seasons in line I hope the perfection continues. Next season already has some pretty big surprises lined up; including Casey Jones coming into the show, Raph’s baby turtle turning into the giant Slash being voiced by Corey Feldman ,the original voices of the 80s TMNT show will make voice appearances, and I am assuming so many more mutated beings. The only downfall is I don’t quite understand why the show waited so long in-between episodes. And when I mean long I mean months. I guess kids these days just don’t care about consistent episodes.
The show just has such different elements of fighting crime and a funny dialogue. It is everything the Turtle fans could have hoped for. The animation is sweet and each character has their own habits that you will get used to. Not to mention the theme song is particularly awesome and somewhat based off the theme song from the first Turtles TV show. So go watch the damn show and hold on tight to your sai.
Score: 5/5
Channel: Nickelodeon
Broadcast Day: Saturday
Season 2 Begins in September