Does anyone actually still like the old TMNT show?

T

Tiara S

New member
Although I love the new show, more so in fact than the old one, I can't help but be disppointed at the dismissal towards the old show. Yeah, it's obviously dated in parts, but whenever I've had my fill of modern-era Turtles, I find myself going back to the old show time and time again. I don't feel the compunction to throw it aside like a broken old toy, like some others too.

So, anyone wanna show their support for old-school TMNT?
 
It's fun. I have quite a few of the DVDs, the show was fun at first but as the seasons went on and the show became more of a parody of itself I became less and less entertained. You can only break the fourth wall so many times before it loses it's charm.
 
The old toon is still a very fun, entertaining series. It has a number of really good and memorable episodes, as well as a lot of funny episodes too.

Sure, a lot of these episodes are cheesy, but the best part is the show didn't take itself too seriously. The writers break the 4th wall jokes in every few episodes, the plots are silly but they fit that universe, and the TMNT just have a good time in general.

I have the first 5 seasons on DVD and am getting the 6th season when its released this April. Its still a very good entertaining series that no TMNT fan should miss out on.
 
Before this will degenerate into a which one is better debate (and it will, it will) lemme just say this. Why should one series be the be all end all? Did they make every single Batman project like the 1966 Adam West series because it's the most popular? Did they decide to make Spiderman just a sentai hero after the Japanese series? Is every version of Superman going to look like Christopher Reeves? No. nor should they.

Even in TMNT's comic adaptions, the TMNT were open to different adaptions. The Examples are as Different as day and night.

So it's okay to like both. Both series had their ups and downs. The old toon had great episodes, and stuff like The Mutagen Monster and the random Alien technology of season 3. The new series had great episodes as well, but had Fast Forward.

Other than the old toon, the turtles seem to have been represented the same way as the movies in most other mediums. The Live action series and the current cartoon especially. That's what makes the old series unique. The old series made light of the aspect that they were, really just giant talking turtles named after old artists, doing Ninja moves without really being Ninja-ish. And that's why that series worked that way. Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady will be missed, but not outside of that version. The movies (at least the first and current film) as well as the current cartoon takes a more Teen Titan-esque approach. They're a group of Heroes, they have a heavy burden, but they can still have fun when they have to. And that works for them as well. It was closer to the original source material, but not really as close as you'd think.

I actually dislike how people wanted the new series to be like the old one. Why? We'd get an inferior clone of that, or at least a bland retread. Superhero cartoons have to have different regenerations, as I stated Earlier. That's why Spiderman, batman, and Superman are evergreen. Looks like the Turtles could go the same way.

At this point though, I want to see omething completely different. An adult TMNT series based souly off the comic books. Manga to anime style, things are just added in to fill out a half hour.
 
I agree. While I wouldn't mind seeing some old mutants "re-imagined" in the new series, I'm glad its fairly different.

Neither cartoon is meant to "replace" the other, they give you two very different takes on the TMNT universe. One is more light-hearted and comedy oriented, and the other is more faithful to the Mirage comic and more action/story-driven.

I can watch old toon episodes on my DVDs right after new eps and enjoy them just the same. The original TMNT cartoon is just a classic, I don't think anyone can argue that, yet the new TMNT cartoon, IMO, is almost right up there with B:TAS and Gargoyles in terms of quality.
 
I enjoy both equally for the reasons stated here. While I don't believe in everyone being clouded by nostalgia, I'm thinking that's why you might feel down on the show.

See, you remember it fondly from your childhood, but haven't seen it for a long time. Thus you built up quite a bit of expectations. Thus when you've seen it again, you felt disillusioned like your memories were a let down. If I'm wrong I do apologize for any inaccuracy.

See, when I see an old favorite, I don't try to measure it up to some of the better cartoons we've seen. When I started watching Captain N again, I wasn't expecting it to be Justice League Unlimited quality, or when I watched some episodes of The Real Ghostbusters, I wasn't expecting it to surpass Gargoyles. Thus I can enjoy them for the simple fun programs they are.
 
Personally - I've always loved both. You can't compare the two properly because they're really both apples and oranges that try to be two entirely different beasts.

It's like...

Compare the comics version of Mickey Mouse to his animated counterpart. They share a lot of similarities, but the stories that are told with the same character in both mediums are radically different and often go in wildly different direactions. That's how the TMNT '87 and '03 series work IMO. Similar but incredibly different - and there's nothing wrong with liking both for what they are.
 
I mean there are many Batman fans who have came to enjoy The batman dispite loving batman TAS, I know I'm one of them. It's like DrTooth said for comic book characters and cartoons there is not one definite version, thats why Marvel has Ultimate and What if, DC has All star and Elseworld, to give alternative takes on their famous characters different from the main version.

Thats what we have here with the Turtles, it's another well done version. It's not like the comics, it's not like the old show, it's itself. The Turtles had three different comic universes (Merage, Image and Archy) and now two cartoon universes and they can all live together.

I like the old toon and the new one. I also like the old Transformers and transformers animated, the Old Heman and Heman 2002, and Batman TAS and the Batman.
 
I love both cartoons, The Next Mutation and all 4 movies along with the various comic book interpretations.

There are a lot of episodes in the classic series, that I don't enjoy seeing; but there are a lot that I still love especially from the 1st 3 seasons.

I've really enjoy a majority of the current series (yes even Fast Forward), especially season 3&4.

Like a couple of other people have said the TMNT have joined Batman, Spider-Man and others in the ranks of characters that have varied interpretations, which gives everyone something to enjoy.
 
You shouldn't take the internet as the true indicator of who prefers which Ninja Turtles series; in the general public, I think the old one is still far more popular.

As for me, well, I think the first 5 episodes of the original series are pretty close to the ideal TMNT experience. After that, it's probably more hit-and-miss with the cheesy nature of the show (and the reduced animation budget).
 
I'm with Dr. Tooth. I mean, i dont try to pretend that a show i watched growing up is superior or equal to cartoons that are on now (save for 80s g.i. joe which IMO is superior to all other takes on joe), but enjoy it as light-hearted fun. Yes, the current ninja turtles series are better storytelling wise, and closer to the comic, however, the 80s/90s series has lots to enjoy too (though i will admit they messed up on certain characters , especially slash who was obsessed with some plastic tree IIRC)
 
It's hard to watch the original series now. The pilot still holds up but most of the later shows dont. I loved the original growing up. I was obsessed with it. But watching it again now....meh.

That said, I gave the new show a chance and just couldn't get into it either. So go fig.
 
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