TMNT Talkback: Episode 5.07: "Membership Drive" (Lost Season Spoilers)

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Episode 5.07: Membership Drive
Original Air Date: March 24, 2007
Written by Christopher Yost

Previously on TMNT:
After several important victories, the unthinkable happens: the Shredder's five elemental Heralds attack the Lap of the Gods killing not only the turtles fellow accolytes, but the Tribunal itself! Now the turtles, Splinter, and The Ancient One are back in New York, but what lays in store for them?
This week on TMNT: After noticing how well try-outs worked for the Legion of Superheroes , the Justice Force decide to go into a membership drive of their own. Will they find their Brainiac 5, or will they have to settle for a Plaid Lad*? And what happens when an old enemy of the turtles decides to crash the Justice Plaza? Plus! The long-awaited return of Zippy Lad!

*Yes, he's real.
 
I don't get 4Kids. They're randomly airing a lost season episode that has LOTS of spoilers for episodes they haven't aired yet. It's like what Sony did with Astro Boy.
 
nano's grown up i'm glad he's finnelly found a stable home as the justice force visoin I hope they get back to the reguler serses soon
 
Lost Season >>> Fast Forward.

That was good episode. Baxter now a hologram, Bishop still evil as always, the turtles have new weapons and Nano is now one of the good guy.Btw I missed the first five minutes did they have a new opening? Also are going to air more episodes of the Lost Season or was this one time only thing?
 
4kids went out of their promoting ff as a new SERIES hence i don't think it'll be a one-season gimmick. chances are there will be a seconf season off ff and if the turtles are still relevant then they may return the gang to the present for an 8th season

onto the episode: pure awesomeness
we got a leo and mikey pairing, the justice force, bishop and stockman, and the return and evolution of nano, and the "debut" of the new turtle titan costume...all w/o too many spoilers (new weapons, amulets, new powers, new Shredder. my only beef was the near absence of my fave turtle, raphael
 
fast foward feels too much like gimmeck and it's not as popeler as the old foremat plus their showing present version episodes agein which is a good sign their returning to plotline they left us in last year
 
Ok, I've been looking around and can't find this anywhere. Can someone tell me the complete roster to the Justice Force, including maybe there first appearances on the show?

Awesome episode. I'm glad the Turtles finally decided to bring the Justice Force in on something. I always wanted to see a Justice Force-Foot Clan showdown. Haven't read the spoilers yet, but hopefully one happens at some point in the lost season.
 
Besides the explanation for Mikey's new costume and Nano joining the JF, we also see the jetski vehicle for the first time, which later wound up in Cody's TMNT museum.

The taxi is such an odd vehicle though - I mean it looks like it came out of the old toy line, but Donny picking that of all vehicles to soup up feels kind of arbitrary.

This episode was filled with obvious comic book homages and references, but the one that got me most was the ending, which was straight out of JLU (Dark Heart) and also a bit of "Shredder is Splintered" from the original series.

Overall a fun time.
 
The original Justice Force debuted in episode 2.22: Return of the Justice Force. Its members were Stainless Steve Steel, Joey Lastic, Battling Bernice (who we've never seen except in comic-book flashbacks), Dr. Dome, Metalhead (the only member to actively serve in both incarnations of the Justice Force), and Zippy Lad (who we saw in this episode).

The current Justice Force debuted in episode 3.02: Space Invaders pt. II. Its members are:
  • Silver Sentry (introduced in episode 1.12, The Unconvincing Turtle Titan)
  • Ananda (Daugher of Battling Bernice and Dr. Dome; introduced in episode 2.22)
  • Metalhead
  • Chrysalis (introduced with the new Justice Force; telekinetic from India)
  • Tsunami (introduced with the new Justice Force; hydrokinetic from Japan)
  • Nobody (introduced in episode 3.11, Nobody's Fool)
  • Raptarr (introduced in episode 4.07, A Wing and a Prayer)
  • Nano (introduced in episode 1.05, Nano)
  • Turtle Titan (introduced in episode 1.12)
Anyway, a fun episode, with a nice, unexpected bonus: three minutes which were missing from the version of the episode I saw, which answered one of my nagging concerns about the plot. I'm still unsure how Nano could mature between episodes if he was deactivated and powerless, but it's fanwankable enough, I think.

Random thoughts:

I have to say I really like the idea for the Turtle Taxi. It seems weird to me that Donatello would consciously style his vehicles to look turtle like, so things like the new Battle Shell and the taxi tickle my fanboy fancy.

Speaking of fanboy fancy, this episode officially made me love TMNT-verse superheroics. They're just fun, in a way most comics haven't been in years.
God help me, I sort of want a Justice Force spin-off.

While I can see the obvious similarities to JLU's Dark Heart, the ending reminded me more of Gargoyles' Walkabout, which also dealt with seeing a nanomachine culture from the inside. I have to say, thought, I liked what little I saw from this version more.
 
Yes the Justice Force episodes go back to the lighter day's of comics without the overly campy feel that other "Old days of comics" episodes like the LJ episode "Legends." The heroes are always fun to watch.

This episode also shows those people that complain about every little thing in Fast Forward that it does still follow continuty. Here Mikey introduces the suit the two Turtle Titan's where in Fast Forward.
 
If I have a minor gripe with this episode, it's that Nobody and Raptarr get a very boring induction into the league, with a stock line from Silver Sentry. Nobody at least gets off a Batman reference with his "i'll be there if you need me," but Raptarr comes off like Fabio with wings. Would've been more interesting for them to join in the fight against Nano and have all 3 inducted together at the end.

On the flipside...this is one of the few times I appreciate 4Kids pulling all their actors from such a small pool. It means when large guest star casts like this show up, you're never without a voice due to budgetary constraints.

How old is Metalhead, you think? Is he just a really physically fit senior citizen or did he not age as fast as the others?
 
I think he might actually be an alien. I mean, he's a proportionate dwarf, has metal hair which he can mentally control (and which he can re-attach if cut out, if the comic book applies), doesn't age, (apparently), and can survive in vaccuum--you'd have to win the genetic lottery like, a million times over in order to pull that combination off. In any case, I can't begin to guess as to how old he is. Maybe Bishop knew him back in the day.

On another note, it was in this episode that made me think that the writers are taking a bit too many cues from the action figures, what with the surprising appearance of the Silver Sentry's shield and staff. They were always nonsensical items, so I'm sort of dismayed to see them here. How do they work?

It's actually rather impressive. I was doing a count of every semi-prominent speaking part in the series (I was bored), and counted more than 131 characters, and that's counting groups like the Foot Elementals as one. All that from an acting pool that's what includes like, forty people at most.
 
Metalhead might be the JF's version of Wolverine

makes ya wonder if a Justice Force spinoff series would work?
probably not but it's worth noting. heck, if kwb can spinoff ZETA, anything is possible. JF would need some serious help in the villain dept. though: Dr. Malignus, Mephos, and Ruffington...definitely need more rogues.
 
To be fair, I found the previous two episodes with Nano to not be all that delightful, and this one kinda went down the same road. Still, it was interesting to see Silver Sentry and the rest of the Justice Force in action.

I guess a lot could also be said for 4Kids picking an episode from the Lost Season that is pretty much stand-alone from the rest of it. The closest we get is Leonardo particularly calling Shredder the 'Demon Shredder'... a most puzzling cry indeed. Hopefully, we will see the Lost Season in full in some shape or form soon.

"Membership Drive": 3/5.
 
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