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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The turtles. Left to right: Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello.
Format	Animated series, Action, Adventure, Science fiction, Comedy
Starring	Cam Clarke Barry Gordon Rob Paulsen Townsend Coleman James Avery Renae Jacobs Pat Fraley Peter Renaday Jim Cummings Michael Gough
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	10
No. of episodes	193 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	22:15 (First-run syndication) 23:30 (CBS)
Broadcast
Original channel	syndicated (1987-1990) CBS (1990-1996)
Original run	December 14, 1987 – November 2, 1996
Chronology
Followed by	Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (known as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in the United Kingdom & the Republic Ireland after the second season, and some other European countries) is an American animated television series produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, Inc. It premiered December 14, 1987, first as a five-part mini-series. The series features the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created in comic book form by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. But the property was changed considerably from the darker-toned comic in order to make it more suitable for young ages.

The show was in Saturday morning syndication from October 1, 1988 to September 23, 1989. After it became an instant hit, the show was expanded to five days a week and aired Monday-Friday afternoons in syndication in most markets, from September 25, 1989 to September 17, 1993. On September 8, 1990, the series began its secondary run on CBS's Saturday morning lineup, beginning as a 60-minute block from 1990 to 1994 and then as a 30 minute block until the series ended on November 2, 1996.

The show helped launch the characters into mainstream popularity and became one of the most popular animated series in television history.^{citation needed} Breakfast cereals, plush toys, and all manner of products featuring the characters appeared on the market during the late 1980s and early 1990s. A successful Archie Comics comic book based on the animated show instead of the original black-and-white comics was published throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Action figures were top-sellers around the world. In 1990, the cartoon series was being shown daily on more than 125 television stations, and the comic books sold 125,000 copies a month.

Storyline

The origin story in the 1987 TV series differs greatly from that of the original Mirage Studios comics, presumably to make it more appropriate for a family audience. In this version, Splinter was formerly a human being, an honorable ninja master named Hamato Yoshi. Yoshi was banished from the Foot Clan in Japan after being deceived by the seditious Oroku Saki, who pinned Hamato Yoshi's dogi to the wall with a knife, preventing him from kneeling before their sensei, which was seen as an insult. When Yoshi removed the knife, the sensei was again insulted, believing Yoshi was drawing the blade in opposition to him. Exiled from the ninja clan, Hamato Yoshi moved to New York City, where he was forced to live in the sewers.

While living in the sewers with the rats as his friends, Yoshi one day found four turtles, recently bought from a pet store by an unnamed boy who accidentally dropped them in the sewer. Yoshi returned one day from his explorations around New York to find the turtles covered with a strange glowing ooze. The substance caused the turtles - most recently exposed to Yoshi - to become humanoid, while Yoshi - most recently exposed to sewer rats - became a humanoid rat, and started going by the pseudonym "Splinter". This, and the following Archie TMNT Adventures Comics, is the only origin story in the TMNT franchise where the Turtles come to Yoshi before being exposed to mutagen. Also, Yoshi and becomes a rat, whereas in most other versions, he is Yoshi's pet rat that becomes humanoid. This is also the only version in which the Turtles become fully grown immediately after exposure to the mutagen, where Splinter raises them from infancy in other versions.

Yoshi adopts the four turtles as his sons and trains them in the art of ninjitsu. He names them after his favorite Italian renaissance artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi (Donatello), Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael), and Michelangelo Buonarroti. In most versions, the Turtles tend to go by nicknames Leo, Donnie, Raph and Mikey, but in this version they are always addressed by their full name: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo. Each Ninja Turtle wears a mask over his eyes with a distinctive color, and is trained in the art of a distinct weapon.

Meanwhile, Oroku Saki has left Japan and tracked Yoshi to New York City, where he intends to destroy him once and for all. He has become associated with Krang, a disembodied alien brain who has been banished from his home, Dimension X, where he was a great warlord. Saki has taken on a new persona, donning a suit covered with razor spikes, complimented by a long cape, and a metal mask over his mouth. He has also taken on the pseudonym "The Shredder".

It becomes clear in the first season that the mutagen that transformed the Turtles and Splinter into their new forms was dumped into the sewer by Shredder in an effort to destroy Yoshi. Shredder thought it was a deadly poison. The Turtles vow to take revenge on the Shredder for dishonoring their master, as well as turning him into a rat. The Turtles want to force him to turn Splinter back into a human again. This quickly not as fast as tmnt, evolves into stopping Shredder's ongoing criminal career. The Turtles quickly take on the role of vigilante crime-fighters operating outside of the jurisdiction of law enforcement against any criminals, much like Casey Jones in the third season. For the first couple of seasons, it seems as if the Turtles are constantly preoccupied with hiding their existence. This seems to be slowly relaxed and, by the last few seasons, most citizens seemed to be well aware of them.

Shredder, Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady (two street thugs morphed into animal form by exposure to the Shredder's mutagen) and a small army of robotic Foot Soldiers try to destroy the Turtles and take over the World. Much of their quest for world domination hinges on bringing the Technodrome (Krang's mobile fortress, and his and The Shredder's base of operation) to the surface as it was either stuck in the earth's core, Dimension X, the arctic or Arctic Ocean.

In the last two seasons of the show, the Turtles finally banish The Shredder and Krang to Dimension X. They destroy the engines and the "trans-dimensional portal" of the Technodrome preventing them from ever returning to Earth. The show, which had already lasted well past the average lifespan of most Saturday morning cartoon series, then went through dramatic changes. The animation became darker and closer to the original comic book style, the color of the sky in each episode changed from the traditional blue to a continuous and ominous dark red sky (which was commonplace with newer action-oriented children's programming at that time), and the theme song was changed.

A new villain, Lord Dregg, an evil alien warlord, also appears as their new chief nemesis. Lord Dregg begins a propaganda campaign against the Turtles, turning the general population against them and in favor of him and his forces. In the last episode of the series, the Turtles trap Dregg in Dimension X.

Impact

While the story diverged heavily from the original conception of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and has never been considered canon with the universe of the original Mirage comics, the 1987 TV series is probably the most notable and popular incarnation, and drove the franchise to the phenomenal status it would achieve in pop culture. The series was in production for nine years, and was still quite popular when it went out of production. It was responsible for introducing many of the catch phrases associated with the Turtles, such as "Cowabunga!", "Turtles fight with honor!" and "Turtle Power!", into the lexicon. The animated series was such a prominent part of the Ninja Turtles that many people consider it the definitive version.

Soundtrack

This version is also renowned for its critically acclaimed soundtrack. Through most of the series, the episodes featured a background music which reflected the mood of the situation (e.g. danger, action, exploration, confusion, mystery, winning), as well as ID music for settings such as the Technodrome, the sewers, Channel 6, etc. which contributes to the show's dynamic uniqueness. The soundtrack was composed by Dennis Challen Brown (credited as "D.C. Brown" and later as "Dennis C. Brown") and Chuck Lorre. Lorre penned the famous theme song and became a successful television producer.

Characters

Main article: List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series) characters

These are the core characters of the series and appear in nearly every episode for the first eight seasons. After season eight only the Turtles, April, and Splinter were retained as main characters, although Shredder and Krang would return for a few episodes in season ten.

• Leonardo (voiced by Cam Clarke), the blue-masked turtle, wields two katanas. He is the leader of the team and is the closest to Splinter.
• Donatello, (voiced by Barry Gordon), the purple-masked turtle, wields a Bo staff (often used to disarm adversaries). He is the scientist of the team and is constantly tinkering with various inventions.
• Raphael (voiced by Rob Paulsen), the red-masked turtle, wields two sai (which makes him a match for any swordsman). He is the joker of the team and often comes out with sarcastic remarks.
• Michelangelo (voiced by Townsend Coleman), the orange-masked turtle, wields the whirling Nunchakus (and often whirling pizzas). He is the most relaxed member of the team and is the source for many of the catch phrases of the series such as "Cowabunga!"
• Splinter (voiced by Peter Renaday), a strict and wizened sensei, is the mutant rat who trained the Turtles in ninjitsu.
• April O'Neil (voiced by Renae Jacobs), a redheaded TV reporter, discovers the Turtles' home in the sewers and befriends the TMNT.

Shredder as seen in the opening credits.

• Shredder (voiced by James Avery), the arch-villain of the Turtles, is usually the main villain in other media, but in this TV series Shredder always, against his will, has to take orders from Krang.
• Bebop and Rocksteady: A mutant warthog and a rhinoceros, respectively, they are Shredder's clumsy, oafish henchmen. They often provided the show's comic relief. Bebop was voiced by Barry Gordon, and Rocksteady was by Cam Clarke.

Vehicles and gadgetry

Like many cartoon superheroes, the Turtles have a wide array of turtle-themed vehicles and gadgets.

Vehicles

• Turtle Van (also known as the Party Wagon): A van that originally belonged to Baxter Stockman before he was arrested. Donatello rigged up the van with other equipment from Stockman's lab, including various monitoring devices and missile systems. The Turtle Van, despite having bright yellow and green colors and being very conspicuous, is the Turtles' main form of transportation. April used a van in the third issue of the original Mirage comic. The Battle Shell in the 2003 series is similar to the Turtle Van. It is apparently based on an early Dodge forward-control van, due to its split windshield and engine under the front seats).

• Turtle Blimp: A blimp created by Donatello in the season one finale is one of the Turtles' modes of transportation. The blimp had the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles logo displayed prominently on the side. The glider can detach from the blimp to allow the Turtles better accessibility where a large blimp would be impractical. This vehicle gets destroyed in the red-sky series.

• Cheap Skates: Donatello made four skateboards in season two with propellers on the rear.

• Turtle Bike: A motorcycle with a sidecar, normally ridden by Leonardo, first seen in season three.

• Sewer Tubes

• Sewerski

• The Plunger gun: was a weapon that shot guess what? Plungers.

• Pizza thrower: another self explanitory weapon

Gadgets

• Turtle Comm: Turtle Communicators (frequently shortened to Turtle Comms) are small and designed to look like turtle shells, and were created by Donatello. The Turtles, Splinter, and April each have one and can instantly communicate with each other. The Turtles' and Splinter's communicators stretch open where April's is built with a flip top to resemble a makeup compact. Zach, a fan of the Turtles, gets a Turtle Comm in the episode The Fifth Turtle. Even the Punk Frogs have a Turtle Comm. Krang, Shredder, and the henchmutants each have a Comlink, a similar device for communication. A similar device called the Shell Cell is used in the 2003 TV series, which also bears a strong resemblance to the Turtle Comm.

• Retro catapult: Introduced in Season 3.

• Portable portal generator: Also introduced in Season 3.

Censorship

The logo in the censored UK opening sequence, which was also used in a few other countries.

In the UK, TMNT was released under the name Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (TMHT). This was due to the controversy surrounding ninjas and related weapons such as nunchuks at the time. The intro sequence was heavily edited because of this, replacing the word ninja with hero or fighting, using a digitally faded logo instead of the animated blob, and removing any scenes in which Michealangelo wields his nunchuks, replacing them with random clips from the show.

The TMHT version was aired in other European countries, including Germany, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Norway and Finland, in local dubs (the Finnish version was in English with subtitles, while Polish was in English with a lector). In Spain, the name of the cartoon was translated to Las Tortugas Ninja (with the word ninja in the title), but the TMHT version was still used for dubbing. Other European countries (including Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Italy, and Russia) dubbed the original TMNT version.

In Ireland, the series was initially known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the intro sequence was unedited when it debuted with the airing of the second season. After the first two episodes were broadcast, the name was changed to Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles and the intro was edited.

When shown on the BBC, phrases like "Let's kick some shell!" and "Bummer!" were removed from the episodes. The series Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation also referred to the Hero Turtles, possibly using the term hero to separate the TV series from the live action movies. The 2003 TV series, however, remained intact when shown in the UK and Ireland. This led the UK and Ireland to have a disambiguation between the two animated series, using Hero Turtles to separate the 1987 TV series from the other incarnations of the franchise.

Status of the TMNT 1987 TV series

There are currently no TV reruns of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, at least not in North America. An episode has not been shown on the U.S. television since it ended its original run on November 2, 1996. Repeats had also aired on USA Network's USA Cartoon Express from October 31, 1993 to September 15, 1996. Lionsgate Home Entertainment and Fred Wolf Films own the rights to the show, and they have been responsible for the DVD releases. Mirage Studios does not own the rights of the 1987 TV series, so Artisan and Fred Wolf are under no obligation to inform them of future releases.¹ Many episodes were released on many VHS tapes from 1988 to 1996 by Family Home Entertainment. Some reruns were shown for UK audiences on CBBC weekday mornings. In the Republic of Ireland, the series ended its original run on August 8, 1998, but the show is still regularly rerun on RTÉ Two.²Current syndication rights reside with CBS Television Distribution.

Voice cast

DVD releases

Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released the series on DVD in Region 1, currently up to seasons 1-6. Initially it was released in volumes, with each volume containing 9-13 episodes in production order, with the exception of the first volume, which included bonus episodes from the last season. After six volumes, it has been announced that the series will now be released in season sets, starting with season 4. However despite this fact the later sets are not complete seasons. The episodes "Once Upon a Time Machine", and "Planet of the Turtleoids" Part 1 and Part 2 continue to not be a part of any season set to date. The episodes continue to be released out of their original air date and story order. Hopefully future releases will correct these errors.

Despite rumors of not being included on any releases, "The Turtles and The Hare" actually appears as the 40th episode on the season 4 set. Meanwhile "Plan 6 from Outer Space" appears on both volume 6 and season 4, so far this is the only redundancy.

As of the season 6 DVDs, there are only 50 remaining episodes yet to be released.

For a more thorough list of which episodes are on each DVD, see the list of episodes.

Magazine

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Magazine is a children's magazine published quarterly by Welsh Publishing Group, Inc during the height of TMNT popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was officially licensed by Eastman and Laird and available by subscription.

The $1.95, 32-page magazine featured articles about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and a variety of other subjects, including an article on the last page of each issue spotlighting a real life turtle species. Mirage Studios staff artists such as Dan Berger and Jim Lawson provided a majority of the covers and spot illustrations. A pullout poster was available in every issue and was painted by Mirage Studios artist Michael Dooney.

References

External links

• TMNT Forum
• Official Episode Guide
• The Technodrome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Website - Information about the 1987 animated series
• Original Theme Song Lyrics
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) at TV.com
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) at the Internet Movie Database
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) at the Big Cartoon DataBase