The freakin' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are freakin' back, baby! Oh, glorious day. The object of early-90s pop-culture phenoma returned on Feb. 8 to retell its origins and kickstart a new saga. And while it may never reach the popularity it once had, Ninja Turtles looks like it has a good chance of regaining at least some of its past glory.
You may have missed the hype for it (if you're a bastard and ignored my own constant raving on the Buzz-Wire), but apparently the Turtles did not slip under the radar of most people. I was shopping at Target a few weeks ago and while casually strolling the toy aisle looking for pro wrestling figures, I was surprised to see a huge section of Turtles figures based on the new series. I nearly wet myself in excitement as I blissfully looked through the toys, but for some ungodly reason, I didn't buy any of them.
Two or three days later, I returned to the toy aisle to purchase the four Turtles and was shocked to see everything was gone. I'm talking bare-empty section here with only the tiny stickers on the hooks hinting at what was once adorning the shelf. I thought, how could this be? There's no way kids today remember the original Ninja Turtles series. Sure, it ended in the mid-90s, but that was long after it peaked. Could the empty shelves have been a fluke? After checking another Target across town and a Toys R Us, I was met with the same result: empty rows where Turtles figures once hung. If this is a sign of things to come, then the new Ninja Turtles series on Fox Box is going to kick major ass and bring the "awesome foursome" back into the limelight. Either that, or nostalgic fools like me bought them all up. (How could I not? The figures are slightly larger versions of the old ones.)
The new show had a lot to live up to in my eyes. After all, not only does it compete with the original series, but it also competes with my rosy retrospection of growing up watching that original series. Did the first episode disappoint? Hell, no. In fact, it kicked ass. The Ninja Turtles will soon own us all, my friends. So either go with it or get the heck out of the way.
The new series is a retelling of the origins. So most of the stuff in it will be different from the original cartoon, which in turn was different from the origins found in the comic books (the comics came first). I thought the first episode would be dedicated to explaining who Master Splinter is and how the Ninja Turtles mutated, but we didn't get that. In the old series, Splinter was Hamato Yoshi, Oroku Saki's (aka Shredder's) arch nemesis. But in the comic and in the live-action movie, Splinter was Hamato Yoshi's pet rat. It gets complicated, doesn't it? So which is the "real" origin of the entire franchise? There isn't an official one, and while diehards may say the comic book is the true story since it came first, others would argue that the original series is the true story because it reached a greater number of people.
The Fox Box series started out with the Ninja Turtles training in their underground lair when they were attacked by those pesky Mouser robots. The Mousers trashed the Turtles' pad so they were forced to find new digs—which they did at the end of the episode. In between all of this, the Turtles dealt with New York's roughest and toughest street gang, the Purple Dragons—apparently working for Shredder—and they tangoed with the Foot soldiers for the first time. All the while, the new Turtles theme was playing in the background. I didn't like it at first because, hey, like I said, I have fond memories of the old series along with the original theme which I can recite to this day. But the new theme grew on me and it works well. Kids will dig it.
So how do the Turtles look? If you've been following the stories here at Animated Buzz, you know they look different from the former series. The artwork is a little edgier and follows the comic book more closely than it does the old series. You can't see the Turtles' eyes, for example. It's just white space (think Wolverine). And they're also a bit stockier now. It might not sound like much, but in some ways, this makes them appear more distant and less likeable.
The main characters in this new series look to be the Turtles, Splinter, April, Casey Jones, Shredder and Baxter Stockman, just like in the comic book (and the movie, for that matter, except for Stockman). In other words, if you're familiar with the live-action movie, you'll find more similarities with that than the old series. In a later episode, Raphael blows his top and when he goes to cool off, he meets Casey Jones for the first time. Baxter Stockman is black in the new series, just like in the old comics. (Who knows why they so drastically altered his appearance for the original series?) And don't expect Bebop and Rocksteady on Fox Box. Not that anyone should miss them. They were badasses who the Turtles simply couldn't handle in the first season, but they became side gags from there on out.
Everything clicks here. The fighting scenes are better than the old series (which you have to expect since the other one is ... old) and the atmosphere of the entire show is darker. Hopefully, it will stay this way. I remember the first episodes of the old series had better artwork, but they "cartooned" everything down for the second season. I don't want to see Raphael turning to the audience (us) and making wisecracks in this new series. And while Michaelangelo may be a tad too boneheaded in his overly-surfer persona, and Raphael's voice may sound too much like he's an evil boss, that could be due to my preconceived notions.
If you missed the series premiere, make sure to catch the encore on Feb. 15 before the second episode. Unlike the first series, each of the 36 episodes produced here follow one clear and branching storyline that continues every week. So if you miss them now, you'll be kicking yourself in the ass later. And you don't want to to that, especially if you bruise easily.
P.S. I did finally find the action figures. It was at the third Target I tried. And I believe the only reason that store had them stocked was because a Toys R Us is about a block from it and that's where people tend to go for toys. Or so logic would dictate.
EXTRAS:
-Best lines (both by Michaelangelo):
"Ninjas in New York City? ... It's just not right."
(When talking about the Foot soldiers who the the Turtles just battled.)
"This room here, mine. And where you're standing ... also mine."
(When choosing rooms in the Turtles' new hideout.)
- Another live-action Ninja Turtles? Apparently, it's going to happen for Hallmark TV. Keep it on the Buzz-Wire for further information.
- Download the new TMNT theme song here.
- Want to hear all the voices? Click here.
- Read storyline information on the entire first season here. (I personally didn't read past the second episode synopsis because it will spoil some of the plotline!)
- See how the Turtles look!
