Why do Ninja Turtle cartoons outlast all other superhero/comic book shows in run?

S

smllo

New member
What is it that makes Ninja Turtle cartoons last so long in comparison to other super hero and/or comic book shows?

Most of the DC shows don't last beyond 52 or 65 episodes, (B:TAS being the exception), and then you look at Marvel shows which is pretty much the same. Poor Spectacular Spiderman also only lasted 26 eps due to the changing at the time.

Meanwhile the original TMNT series lasts 193 episodes, while the 4kids TMNT series lasts 155 episodes and a DTV movie.

Why are TMNT cartoons so successfull in terms of episode count? The new Nick TMNT cartoon also better have a similar run in order to stand out compared to previous incarnations. Every TMNT cartoon has over 150 episodes, which is quite a feat.
 
I think it's mainly because the comics that the Marvel and DC shows are based on are always changing, introducing new characters, trying to revamp old ones. By the time the shows really get a solid foothold the networks start to feel that the they're becoming dated.

The turtles by contrast have remained relatively the same. oh there have been superficial changes over the years. But over all the core of the turtles has persisted.. Four turtles and a rat being exposed to a strange substance from a sciene lab, becoming sentient and battling evil, while dealing with the usual hang ups that come with a family.

The fact that the Turtles don't have to go back and completely reinvent themselves to keep up with the times gives them a longevity that other superhero cartoons just don't have.
 
I think it's because the Turtle's are a pop culture phenomenon. Sure you can say the same about Superman and Batman but Turtle's became a part of pop culture through the cartoon rather than the comics. So the networks decided to keep making these really popular shows, with incredibly lucrative merchandise lines, because they could keep making money.

Despite these superhero shows being really good they weren't/aren't as popular as Turtles was back in the day. If they were getting as high ratings and as many toy/merchandise sales then I'm sure they would've gotten to 200 episodes.
 
The TMNT franchise is a rare bird, there has been many revivals of 80's franchises and TMNT is the only one to ever come back and have any kind of longevity while remaining somewhat popular and keep a solid fandom, not even He-Man could claim to have done that. I guess there is just something about the turtles that draw people in, maybe it's the range in personalities or something but it seems like people just want to know and love these legendary characters, but like with everything the franchise seems to be cooling off now and it will be up to a new series from Nick to get these heroes back into the swing of things, but personally I would wait a few years before doing it.
 
The one thing that does amaze me about how long the 2 TMNT cartoons is that the comics they're based off on, have the smallest rogue gallery of villains I've ever seen and heard of. Then there's the fact that most of the villains in both of the cartoon adaptations were created just for the sake of the show, which surprises me even more. I find it to be a great achievement that both series lasted that long.

As for the appeal, I always thought that Turtles dressed up as Ninja and using weapons were pretty cool concept. That and I think the Turtles may have gotten away with doing more stuff, considering the fact that they're turtles, and not human, and everything they fought was either a mutant or a robot.
 
The rogues gallery for the TMNT in the comics is abysmal. Shredder is killed off in the very first issue, Rat King also dies in his debut, Baxter only appears for a few short times. Karai turns to good rather quickly, Leatherhead was always their friend, and the rest if just random Foot Soldier or Triceraton fights.

The cartoon rogue galleries are much better, for they gave us:

Krang
Bebop
Rocksteady
General Traag
Slash
Rahzar and Tokka
Metalhead
Baxter as a mutated fly

The 2k3 series gave us:

Hun
Bishop
Ch'rell Shredder
Demon Shredder
Cyber Shredder
Khan

And did wonders with Karai and Baxter.
 
>. Cause shell they're cool!

Still wonder how they got away with using that admittedly-got-tired-fast "'shell'-as-a-stand-in-for-'hell'" bit in the TMNT series from a few years ago that I saw (the theme song saying "it's a shell of a town!", a print ad for an episode I saw asking "what the shell is going on?", etc.)... would think some parent would complain about their kid running around telling others to "go to shell" or "shell no" or something, claiming "I'm not *really* swearing Mom, honest!" in defense. ;-)

-B.
 
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