When the 1987 TMNT Series Died

The 1987 TMNT cartoon series was cancelled over 20 years ago, which lasted 10 seasons with a total of 193 episodes, and I dove back into them to find out where things went wrong that led to the show's death. And [SPOILER ALERT!] I found there is more than one episode that could be argued as the day when the series took a nose dive. So I'll offer up two possible episodes that may seem like the most popular choices, until landing on the episode when I believe the 1987 TMNT series died. Enjoy!
Time Stamps:
00:00 - Series Backstory
00:45 - S2E1 "Return of the Shredder"
02:27 - S8E1 "Get Shredder"
03:40 - When the Series Really Died
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7 Tubular Behind the Scenes Facts about the Original TMNT Movie (1990) - • 7 Tubular Behind the S...
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©️ Attribution:
Fred Wolf Films
#funfactfilms

[@FunFactFilms]

What other TV shows or movies would you like to see for a "When...died" episode?

[@sabix2005]

the TMNT died in 2020 rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles was awful

[@Novusod]

Good topics for series that died: He-Man Thundercats Voltron

[@mikesharon2177]

He-Man GI Joe Thundercats!!!

[@v.ulrich5699]

Transformers, please

[@enacku]

Ghostbusters and the lesbian take over.

[@kuglefang]

I'm a 33 Year old filipino man and I remember this series being primarily the reason I was able to speak and understand English when I was around 3-5 years old

[@kingdomofweird]

Cowabunga dude

[@J.S.3259]

My Dutch-speaking, Surinamese mother learned English via SESAME STREET

[@vincenthammons6705]

did you say dude a lot?

[@michaelrmcornejo]

same. TMNT introduced my cousins and I to pizza as kids from Manila.

[@michaelrmcornejo]

@@vincenthammons6705 i cal my girlfriend, my nephews, my nieces "dude"... still.

[@kenshinhimura9387]

The first Turtles movie is a masterpiece.

[@humb1s3rvant]

"Cricket? Nobody understands cricket! You gotta know what a crumpet is to understand cricket!" 😁 classic

[@thenerddirector]

"I lost a sai!"

[@aBamaMelmsie]

@@thenerddirector then it is gone

[@aBamaMelmsie]

@@humb1s3rvant I'll teach you, see that, six runs

[@NeoKokoro20]

It's honestly one of my all-time favorite movies.

[@fernansanchez6331]

"Michelangelo never mentioned pizza once throughout the eighth season" You monsters!!

[@Qaosbringer]

The Season 1 of TMNT was really breathtaking. OK, there is still many "Safety for Kids" type of changes like "blades don't cut and guns shoot laser" but the atmosphere and the artstyle was really amazing. I wish they did continue that style. I believe 1990 movie combined TMNT comics and the first season perfectly. That's why that movie has a special place in my heart.

[@CS-ui4qj]

agree. in my childhood memories that season 1 artwork is only thing i remember. none of the rest of the seasons stuck in my head. thank god. even as a kid i was sick of everything being so bright and cartoony. And US wonders why almost every kid ditched american cartoons and jumped on japanese animation..

[@ExistentHope]

@@CS-ui4qj in 1987 Japan had Dragonball going on they had the good stuff

[@LeadersOfAFreeMind]

First season of the turtles show and first live action movie were perfection.

[@Lestibournes]

@@CS-ui4qj but according to this video the original season was animated by a Japanese studio...

[@CS-ui4qj]

@@Lestibournes oh yeah? so that further proves my point. "Theres a reason american kids jumped on Japanese cartoons".. go derp yourself. lol

[@ledflaplin2001]

The series died for me when the 3rd movie came around. I also lost somewhat interest when they gave Michelangelo a grappling hook instead of his Nunchucks. So lame.

[@Rschr101]

Despite what this video says, this is the answer.

[@rlam905]

Yeah even when I was a kid I realized when Michelangelo lost his nunchucks that the cartoon was giving in to parents groups and the writers were just phoning it in. I gave it a few episodes and then I completely stopped watching.

[@jakekaufman8302]

I second that. After shredder died the series became more pointless and went south.

[@Longlostpuss]

OMG dude, you hit the nail on the head with that stupid grappling hook.

[@vladpiranha]

That's exactly what I was going to say.

[@volbound1700]

When Shredder and Krang went away, that killed the series. They were the core villains. To be fair to the writers, they had done about all they could with those villains. Less Episodes and higher quality would have been addressed a lot of issues but the series was just running out of ideas and probably needed to die anyways.

[@zorgapb4691]

When Bebob and Rocksteady went away, i knew somehow that same will happen to Krang and Shredder

[@freakyfornash]

@@zorgapb4691 Bebop and Rocksteady were never again seen after Season 8. At least Shredder and Krang came back for a four episode cameo in the 10th and final season though.

[@zorgapb4691]

@@freakyfornash I know, but the writers never explained what happened to them. Imagine having an iconic characters since the beginning and after eight season you just forget about them like nothing happened. They were never even mentioned again after the episode "Turtle Trek". I've heard a couple of fan thoughts about this and found these three that could make sense: Either they died somehow in Dimension X Either they are still alive somewhere in Dimension X Either Shredder and Krang finally got fed up with their constant failures and decided just to leave them in Dimension X for good.

[@freakyfornash]

@@zorgapb4691 Well they DID sort of come back in Turtles Forever, if that somehow counts though! ;)

[@MrBlockice22]

Matter of fact, what season when the Technodrome ended? Love that thing to LOL

[@evangelus3289]

I remember when I stopped watching. I got tires of the villains never really being a threat. Left to their own devices, the way the villains were so neutered, they would probably fail on their own

[@cetialphav3214]

By Season 3 I was done with the crappy villains. Their incompetence ceased to amuse me. It was just lazy writing.

[@salvatronprime9882]

It's a kid's show, the appeal was never about animation quality or even story quality. The appeal was all in the characters and their voices and personalities. When the characters changed, the show was dead.

[@entertainer_ev2747]

Yeah I kinda second that. The main problem with Red Sky seasons was not really cuz of the darker tone (ig), but it was extremely boring and didn't have the writing it needed to take that next step

[@shairaptor1865]

Kids appreciate good animation and good story quality! As kid I even appreciated good music! So don't underestimate kids!

[@salvatronprime9882]

@@shairaptor1865 I liked the story and especially the music, but I thought the games did a far better job in that aspect. And of course I loved the original comic run. But I never knew any kids who took the cartoon seriously in any way, it was always just wacky antics.

[@boodro2122]

Word...

[@igortube]

@@shairaptor1865 Yep kids love the cool intro animations like from Thundercats too. They appreciate the rule of cool.

[@AllieRX]

4:47-4:58 To be fair, this was the case with just about every cartoon in the 80s and 90s. Transformers, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs are some examples that went through this issue as well.

[@EvilMariobot]

Tiny Toons had probably the most jarring inconsistencies in animation and artstyle.

[@ephraimpinckney2925]

Don't forget X-Men😭😵‍💫

[@spaceghostcqc2137]

@@EvilMariobot The episodes where TMS was working on the animation were incredible though. Same with the Animaniacs and Gargoyles episodes.

[@WimpyKelv12]

This still happens nowadays in 2022, look at Miraculous Ladybug, that has a lot of different animation studios working on different episodes.

[@josephclegg3562]

Don't forget Smurfs and Alvin and the Chipmunks.

[@MrBlockice22]

Hey I was born in 1980, The BEST times ever!! TMNT will NEVER die in my heart for sure!!

[@S3NTINEL2001]

Born 1980 as well, we had it all awesome music, movies, cartoons and video games & etc... I agree best times ever!

[@lionfelidae7698]

I don't think our younger selves were that analytical. This video is pointless

[@MrBlockice22]

@@lionfelidae7698 Yeah I read the title and watched it and I considered this click baiting LOL I guess they was serious when they uploaded this vid.

[@bpoole99251]

Agreed. As kids we were totally oblivious of what this guy is talking about. All we cared was watching the new episode and getting the playset we saw in said episode. Life was good.

[@grimmiller1222]

This is still better than what nickelodeon is still shiting out

[@doubleitp]

RIP Uncle Phil (Also voice of Shredder)

[@honeybdream]

Oh wow!

[@simplyapleb9027]

I have fond memories of the TMNT cartoon series in my youth, perhaps, not realizing at the time how badly done actually was. Though went the 1990 movie debuted, it radically altered my perception of how an action movie, and the franchise itself, should be

[@imperfectxennial3008]

Kind of like the movies, the first one was dark and closer to the source material.

[@FunFactFilms]

I thought that was an interesting parallel as well

[@IWillResurface]

The original comics that started in 1984

[@johnhaynes4194]

@@FunFactFilms please do a video of supernatural

[@BuySmartChannel2700]

It was the movies that made me stop watching the tv show especially the first one.

[@ashleyp3662]

That first movie is one of my fav movies and im not big on superhero crime fighter type stuff

[@Ukrainian-woman-of-your-dreams]

Cartoons were definitely awesome and worth watching between the late 1980's and mid-1990's.

[@-Joyfull]

Agree! That was my childhood. Back in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996 I forced myself to wake up at 7AM every Saturday so that I won't miss any of the cartoons that I liked.

[@AmariMarvelous]

I concur 💯

[@josephclegg3562]

The mid to late 90s, cartoons started fading out.

[@AltairEgo1]

@@josephclegg3562 agreed. Though I must admit, I did enjoy watching Ed Edd 'n Eddy, Courage, and Dexter. Guilty pleasures of mine

[@pchtommy1268]

Dont forget 2000s and early 2010s aswell

[@tsjoencinema]

I remember watching the first season of TMNT and loved it. When I watched season 2, it didn't even feel like the same TMNT. The action was just better in the first season and tone was darker, something I preferred.

[@josephclegg3562]

I really don't count season 1 as a season. It was just a 5 episode season that introduced the turtles and how she met April.

[@mr.voidout4739]

That's insane... going back to this as a discerning adult and I see now why some episodes just seemed... cooler than others.

[@gibbs615]

I was born in 1984 and the original TMNT cartoon series has NEVER DIED for me! In my book it's STILL the best!

[@robchris82x]

So True!!

[@SlayerRunefrost]

Dive more into the original lore and vision of what TMNT was ment to be and you'll change your tune. And I'm not just talking about the ultra violence of the original comic books. There were so many things left out. The rivalry between Leo and Raph, the over protective big brother relationship that Raph had with Mikey, the overall neutering of Raph's character, Casey's lack of importance to the team (in almost all other media, he's basically the 5th Turtle), Donnie's simping for April, and the dramatic change in lore concerning Krang.

[@gibbs615]

@@SlayerRunefrost I know how the original comic book version was but I still say THIS was the best.

[@papaadot9369]

2012

[@Melodyofthesea78]

@@gibbs615 I like the 2000 version more though.

[@FEARisCOLD]

I loved the designs in season 1, with the beak like noses. The animation and style was awesome.

[@krystiancharos889]

So does Lord Byakko.

[@kenrickeason]

I wish they took their time and did every season like that..

[@FEARisCOLD]

@@kenrickeason Yes. I would love to see them reboot the original series and bring it back in that original style.

[@tmntlorefan7518]

Agreed

[@32dr40]

THE COOL LINE ON THEIR NOSE/SNOUT NEVER RETURNED LOL =)

[@Jaytona100]

This Is Still one of the best cartoons series of all time.

[@josephclegg3562]

Seasons 1-7 were the best. Lost interest in season 8.

[@rolandofgilead43]

@@josephclegg3562 season 8-10 weren't bad now they aren't among my favorite of all time but i still enjoy Dregg and than loved the storyline in season 8 or 9 when the guys mutations kept changing and Donny had to get an antidote to keep them normal and he kept getting it wrong for the longest time. that is one of my favorite story arcs the show ever had

[@Mzll476]

I remember TMNT hit big pretty fast. It quickly over took Ghostbusters and He-Man. But I agree the shows quality sank in season 2 & 3. A few years later Batman came out and they tried to go darker but it was too late. Power Rangers had already take over. Captain Planet and the Spider-Man animated series came out around that same time. Then the Power Rangers morphed into Pokemon years later. By then TMNT was old news. They’ve tried to revive it a few times in the last two decades but it won’t experience the same popularity boom it did originally.

[@youtubeistryingtocensorme]

It doesn’t have to. The Ninja Turtles are still iconic and will live on forever. And you can thank the 80s cartoon for that.

[@rickiebradshaw3695]

The 2012 CGI animated show was really really excellent on Nickelodeon. I thought they did a good job with incor porated mature in a kids show and still kept it family oriented. To 2003 on Fox kids was okay. That one as well as the rise of the teenage mutant Ninja turtles were two of the worst shows in my opinion. Rise made the turtles like teen Titans go. 87 and 2012 were the best turtle shows.period.

[@Amelia-zl6zg]

@@youtubeistryingtocensorme Facts

[@RawPower867]

Turtlemania didn't fall off until about 1992/3, so it's weird that you invoked an episode from 1989 as the turning point. In retrospect, TMNT suffered from overexposure, wildly fluctuating quality since season 1, and being phased out by new shows like Power Rangers and Batman: The Animated Series. The third TMNT movie being as bad as it was didn't help either.

[@volbound1700]

Agreed. In the long run, we may want to ask why it lasted so long instead of why it went away. It survived longer than most cartoons.

[@sleepinggorilla]

It found new life in the movies, but the show was dead by 1989.

[@Bladez10]

Hmm, that make sense. 93 was when turtlemania was at it's peak. Aside from comics, only peep you heard from the turtles during the 90's was the live action series that most fans pretend never happened. Had the turtle renaissance when the 03 series started, not entirely sure if that has ended with last series ended and chatter of a new movie in 23'.

[@Rschr101]

It was the 3rd movie that killed the series.

[@pferreira1983]

These are better points to make about the show. I think it would be an interesting exercise for some animation artists to go back and reanimated some of the more dodgy animated episodes for HD.

[@williamwatts6463]

This show was my favorite in the earliest part of my childhood.

[@AltairEgo1]

I was born in '87, so just around the time Turtles started. I watched it briefly in the early to mid '90s. It and the movies were my first exposure to the genre. The show obviously took a lot liberties with the established lore, and had to turn down some of the graphic violence from the comics, but the animation and voice acting were stupendous. The show will always have a special place in my heart. Shout out to the devs of Shredder's Revenge. You guys really respected the source material. The game looks so much like the show. I also like how they used the og VAs for Turtles and Krang.

[@josephclegg3562]

TMNT debuted in 1987 like Ducktales. They were just a couple of newer cartoons that premiered in that year.

[@AltairEgo1]

Yeah, I watched Ducktales too. Never played the game though. Played my first TMNT game on the NES, TMNT 2 was a fun beat 'em up.

[@freakyfornash]

Season 1 was so perfect in every way! Bummer it couldn't keep going like that afterwards, but the second and third seasons were mostly good too. Season 4 was when the animation, and overall storyline became noticeably goofier, to the point where the show made you feel as if you were truly beginning to outgrow it by then. Taking away Michelangelo's nunchucks, and replacing them with a mere grappling hook during Season 3 was also really lame. Another big problem with the Red Sky episodes (besides the main villains leaving after the first season of them) was that one of the main voice actors in Rob Paulsen unfortunately left around then too.

[@josephclegg3562]

James Avery, who voiced Shredder, throughout seasons 1-7, left in season 8, and Shredder didn't sound the same anymore. Also, Bebop and Rocksteady suddenly disappeared in season 8 with no explanation.

[@freakyfornash]

@@josephclegg3562 As did Krang, but at least he came back with Shredder in Season 10. That being even if James Avery did not voice Shredder once again with that being said though.

[@joed2444]

If I remember correctly, Rob did come back for Season 9. But Michael Gough had an interesting take on Raphael, I thought.

[@augmentedhat16]

I watched this every afternoon when home from school. I’d call up my good mate every afternoon after watching and we’d discuss what we both saw.

[@bluv7443]

Yeah, me too until high school then it was all about driver's ed

[@carlodurant87]

Where I was at it was on in the morning before school

[@augmentedhat16]

I loved the show so much that I had 2 vhs video tapes full of the cartoon taped off the tv. At one time over a weekend, that’s all I watched for the whole time, over and over again.

[@Romans8-9]

You guys were lucky then. We had TMNT in the mornings before school and we had to leave to catch the bus while it was still on. I only specifically remember having Captain Planet in the afternoons lol.

[@patrickjesson]

When the series “died” wasn’t when the show declined in quality, but when it dramatically lost it’s viewers. An episode in 1989, in the middle of turtlemania, is quite premature to declare that’s when it died.

[@patrickjesson]

@Ruby Williams That’s kind of what I’m saying, or at least it didn’t in an episode as early as in 1989. This video is just stating his personal preferences about the show as the ultimate conclusion, which I find kind of misleading. Cinemassacre did a much better video on the original TMNT series.

[@Benjamillion]

I thought turtlemania died when the third live action movie left a sour taste in almost everyone's mouth.

[@osaji922]

@@Benjamillion May have because by the mid 90s kids were more into Power Rangers and after that they were trying to make Power Ranger knockoff shows.

[@patrickjesson]

@@Benjamillion That sounds about when it died down, yeah.

[@bentonrp]

@@patrickjesson I agree with you. This guy's wrong. He says "The end of season 3 isn't when the show died, but perhaps it should have." What good would that do? It still had a strong audience and a lot more successful seasons. Also, I can't understand why a decline in quality animation and edgy atmosphere would be a good place to end it anyway. It worked despite those losses because it kept its entertainment value up with its witty humor and interesting, humane interactions. Season 4, 5, 6, and 7 have some of the most successful comedy and entertainment in it. Season 8 is still where it declined. Why? Because they gave all of that up, and with it, anything of intelligence to hold on to. 👍

[@pentelegomenon1175]

I remember as a kid watching the show, there was a hard dividing line between when the show interested me and when it didn't, I kept watching for a while afterwards hoping it would get better but eventually lost patience. So I went back and looked at episode lists, trying to find the point when the "bad" episodes started... it was literally the first episode of season 4.

[@SlayerRunefrost]

You make some good points but I think the beginning of the end was after the first movie came out. Us original fans were getting older and the movie's more mature tone appealed to us and it prompted a lot of us to dive deeper into the original lore and the creators' original vision of the franchise. I've said it many times, the older I get and the more I learn of the original vision of the TMNT, the more problems I have with the 87 cartoon. This coupled with the TMNT getting very strong competition in the form of Might Morphin Power Rangers spelled the beginning of the end for our heros in a half shell.

[@SkylineR33mt]

Even as a kid I could see the Power Rangers suxked

[@josephclegg3562]

I remember the movie when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles met the Power Rangers. A female turtle named Venus De Milo was created specifically for that movie. She appeared in that movie and wasn't ever seen or mentioned again.

[@SlayerRunefrost]

@@josephclegg3562 The Next Mutation. It wasn't a movie it was a live action TV show that only lasted a season and a half because it was terrible. TMNT co-creator Peter Liard will not acknowledge the existence past or present of a TMNT character named Venus De Milo.

[@rolandofgilead43]

@@SlayerRunefrost i still love the 80's cartoon the best and is my favorite cartoon of all time and do i wish they had kept that darker tone absolutely i wish they had kept it but either way i still love the show

[@Gsmooth84]

It's funny how TMNT (1987 series) tried to be more edgy than Batman: The Animated Series with the Red Sky seasons but didn't quite hit the intended mark. But when Batman: TAS was rebranded into "The New Batman Adventures", It was far too edgy, and I liked every minute of it and it had a red sky all the time too. Don't get me wrong, I liked the Red Sky seasons of TMNT, but TNBA did it right.

[@conorcharlton2703]

The original comics were far more edgy than most other comics at the time, even though they were often satirical. The 2000s TMNT was the right level of edge, I felt. I haven't seen either the Nickolodeon CGI animation or the later one. Feel in my 30s, I tend to prefer F is for Family, Big Mouth, Seasons 2-10 of Simpsons rather than action stuff.

[@joseluki]

The original TMNT comic was closer to Frank Miller Batman or Daredevil than to a kids show.

[@Gsmooth84]

@@conorcharlton2703 I'm referring to the 1987 series not the comics that came out back in 1984. I should have made that clear in my last post and I apologize.

[@Gsmooth84]

@@joseluki I'm referring to the 1987 series not the comics that came out back in 1984. I should have made that clear in my last post and I apologize.

[@vincenthammons6705]

I loved batman beyond it was really edgy was sad to see that die

[@puzzud]

I was a big TMNT fan. But there is a huge chunk of the later seasons I have never watched. I recall new episodes aired on Saturday mornings, *not* during the after school lineup. They switched TMNT to an absurd late Saturday morning time slot. I also recall as a kid that I was turned off by the difference in voice actors (I can't watch the newer series with the original voice actor playing the wrong turtle). I never noticed the detail degradation between season 1 and 2. That was neat to see now. I do recall the switch to episodic stories--the most fondly remembered episodes come from 2 and 3 because of it I think.

[@ArtofLunatik]

Yeah i remember that when the later seasons would air on Saturday mornings on cbs i think .

[@Longlostpuss]

I noticed the change in quality from Season 1 to Season 2, that's why I was always drawn back to the pilot as my favourite. Had a totally different look and feel, it was unmistakeable to be honest, especially being an eagle eyed kid. Season 2 still had some good episodes though here and there, I liked the one where April was turned into a mutant cat.

[@jevachimillian3737]

Yeah the meat & potatoes of Saturday morning cartoons was 8-10 or 10:30. They threw TMNT on at like 11:30, and that was with the awful, “let’s mutagen them more and throw in this rando”. I couldn’t do the math. Little exposure gave us turtles who stayed in one form,. Next exposure gave us tire bustin hulk turtles who changed back after they beat everybody.

[@urbanyeti3631]

I'd watch from 8-10 ish. After that it was morning news or something or sports illustrated show. So I would go play.

[@jordangibbish7701]

I was a 90's kid, and this was STILL my first favorite cartoon as a child. Legendary to this day 🐢

[@thomaslumpkin4162]

"The Simpson" has more than 900 episodes & counting & has already lost steam after episode 200 (before or after).

[@mrmacross]

I think they're only at 700-something, but point taken. I remember the 138th episode special, and feel like that was near the end of my regular watching of the show.

[@OneWingdAnge1]

About 703 episodes and soon to be a second film too.

[@OneWingdAnge1]

The Simpsons may of ran out of steam but Disney owns them now so they got near infinite money behind them.

[@stevenslouber4947]

The Simpsons lost steam after Matt sold all the rights to Fox except for his animation style rights and started focusing on Disenchanted which by the way is a great show.

[@darkwoods1954]

It's a shame the series didn't stay the same quality as season 1. As a kid I quickly got bored of the show as it was so repetitive and goofy. I much preferred the movie and comics. the 2003 series is vastly superior.

[@ArtofLunatik]

Even though i was raised on the original , i did like the 2003 look of the tmnt way more than the 80s version.

[@Jadefox32]

@@ArtofLunatik When I think of the original I often think of the 1st season.

[@egateqa1351]

I prefer the 2012 Series but I can respect your opinion on the 2003 Series.

[@canann7356]

I love the 2012 version ...

[@robd1329]

@@ArtofLunatik same here. I grew up with the 80s...but the 2003 show was superior

[@darkwolf9253]

I wouldn't call myself the biggest fan of that show, it was more my little brother's show. That said, shows like that run their course naturally. 10 seasons is a long time. That show ran a lot long than the Batman Animated series, and that's saying something.

[@douglasjarnagan3835]

Yep. Same for me. Transformers was my thing, and TNMT was in my little brother's time. Fact is, these types of cartoons have a window of a couple of years before their fans outgrow it.

[@bugenthusiast8892]

@@douglasjarnagan3835 unless you're a hardcore fan

[@nirvanaCNG]

That’s becuz the writers for Batman knew when to call it quits. They had no more material to work with and they rather have the fans remember the quality of Batman the animated series than quantity of more episodes that would mainly just be seen as money grabbing boring episodes like most shows do and the TMNT show does fall in that category.

[@MrVariant]

your timing is impeccable lol 0:18 downward spiral as they fall down, and 1:30 quality drop as shredder falls. Didn't know about Toei. 2:38 dramatic redesign with red sky based off batman tas opening lol

[@J.S.3259]

I still like the “Incredible Shrinking Turtles” multi-part saga, as silly as it might be

[@smeldridgeman77]

Is that the episode with "the minimizer" weapon? And the joke at the end of the series that the technodrome was shrunk "and probably rolled all the way back where it came.from"?

[@user-xc1di3rt9p]

@@smeldridgeman77 No, name of that episode is 'The Big Blow out'.

[@Launchpad05]

For me, my interest in the show began to decline as season 3 progressed. Sure, the '87 'Turtles' was a silly show in hindsight, but things started to get even sillier, by season 3 when the characters REALLY started breaking the fourth wall more often. The first two seasons had a good balance of action, suspense, and just enough comedy sprinkled here, and there for some much needed levity. I also agree that season 1 was probably the most action packed, and consistent with it's narrative due to Toei's fluid animation, and the writing of David Wise, and Patti Howeth. Once season 2 came out, the animation quality started to go down hill, and would go in all different directions as the show progressed. Resulting in animation errors, and lines spoken by the wrong actors. (Michelangelo speaking with Raph's voice for example.) I won't deny how huge the original show was as a cultural phenomenon, but looking back on it, the first season was probably the strongest in terms of setting things up. Had the rest of the series maintained the look, tone, and feel of that first season, I probably would've liked it more.

[@MikeEPerez]

You're right that season 3 packed a lot of new material into its nearly 50 episodes, but I think there were still quite a few interesting characters introduced in later seasons. You also have to consider that today we judge animated series on how well they develop a continuous storyline or character arcs. This wasn't so common in the 80s and 90s, and kids didn't really expect that back then. I think the biggest failing the producers made was not knowing when to bow out gracefully. They could've wrapped up the series with a nice 5-episode mini season (like season 1). But again, that was not something that was common in 1996.

[@nickperkins8477]

Exactly correct. The expectation of story arcs is mostly a generational thing.

[@RawPower867]

The series should have ended with the 7th season, in my opinion. Everybody knew by then that Turtlemania was over. But the greedy suits weren't having it. They weren't going to let their beautiful cash cow die that easily. So they tried to "revamp" it with an edgy season 8 and, when that didn't pan out, they outright replaced the main villains with a generic alien warlord voiced by Tony Jay. That didn't work either, and the 1987 TMNT series died a sad, lonely, humiliating death in 1996 with the final episodes preempted in most areas in favor of local spelling bees. I don't think I've ever seen a franchise mishandled as badly as TMNT was in the mid-90s.

[@osaji922]

@@RawPower867 I remember by the time they started doing the red sky episodes, instead of watching that on CBS my brothers and sisters would change it to USA Cartoon Express to watch the reruns of the previous seasons. I'd argue it's still being mishandled cinematically speaking. We'll see what they have planned for the franchise going forward but to this day, in my opinion, the 1990 film hasn't been topped. That was 31 years ago.

[@pferreira1983]

I was and still am pretty happy with the episodic storytelling of the original show compared to other iterations.

[@caucasoidape8838]

@@RawPower867 and then the Next Mutation happened, just to beat a dead horse even more lol

[@Kinnakeeter]

For me, it ended when Shredder and Krang got sent to Dimension X and all the Turtles had left to fight was aliens. No Shredder or Krang? No TMNT in my opinion

[@MarvelandDC379]

I don’t mind new villains for the Turtles to fight. I just don’t like Shredder and Krang being completely replaced by the new baddies. It’s like if Joker were completely removed and Batman has new villains to fight.

[@ScreamsGeo]

@@MarvelandDC379 I didn't like all the other villains and side characters from the earlier seasons just disappeared, most without any explanation.

[@beauwalker9820]

"Irma was universally disliked by fans." Um, somebody hasn't seen the fanart.

[@beauwalker9820]

@Stamuel L Procson alot of "nerd" girls are quite pretty IRL.

[@beauwalker9820]

@@bahadrsarslmaz8138 I remember that episode, but I don't remember those action figures. I remember they had a cat girl April though, like in "The Catwoman of Channel 6."

[@Ted_Bell]

@@bahadrsarslmaz8138 You are a source nerd. Irma was garbage in mainstream.

[@MrColuber]

April is still the boss in that regard...

[@bugenthusiast8892]

@@bahadrsarslmaz8138 I wouldnt say "appreciated" it's too strong of a word if you get what I mean.

[@MrSmellyPotato23]

In my opinion, the first season was the best. There were some great episodes sprinkled throughout all of the seasons. I didn't like the "Red sky" episodes when I was a kid. Michelangelo Meets Bug Man was a good one. I also enjoyed The Incredible Shrinking Turtles ark. And I can't forget, Burns Blues was just hilarious.

[@ultrascouter203]

as a person who dropped the show mid season 2 i agree LOL

[@benrush7090]

The first episode was the best when the Turtles broke into the technodrome.

[@windows98alpha35]

I'm a 90's baby. I discovered TMNT 87' because of a Pizza Hut special. My parents ordered a specific pizza (forgot what size or the specific order for the Pizza. This was 1999 and I was 5 at the time.) and a VHS tape of TMNT 87' came with it. Easily the best day of my childhood life.

[@HailSocialite]

Can I just say thank you for making this video direct and to-the-point? So many other video essays are 10 minutes long and have so much fluff in them to get them to that length. I know it’s based on the algorithm/ads, but as a viewer it’s not fun to have to cut through the fluff. I feel like with this shorter, direct video I’ll actually remember MORE info than I would from a 10 min video essay.

[@FunFactFilms]

I try my best to be extremely concise with what I have to say. Glad to hear it’s working.

[@vidguy2004]

TMNT 1987 didn't die... It's stays in my heart as the greatest TMNT cartoon there was and will ever be. It's a cool show.

[@RiseofTaitoShirei]

Until 2003. Most fans especially younger ones think that's the best one. 87 was good too. 2012 one sucked. I do like Rise of the TMNT though.

[@lifeisberserk9566]

@@RiseofTaitoShirei 2012 show did not suck

[@josephclegg3562]

When they tried to make TMNT much like the movie, l lost interest.

[@lford05]

I agree, none of the seasons after the 1st 1987 season could compare to it. I definately noticed that as a child, although I still loved TMNT, I didn't like the show as much moving foward. I still liked the toys, videos games, and movies.

[@aaronf8136]

Nice video! Other channels would have stretched this into a 12 minute long video, this was to the point still offering interesting information on the troubled production of the show and changing tone.

[@FunFactFilms]

Thanks Aaron. I'm glad that my dedication to efficient storytelling hit the mark for you with this video.

[@phillip_reynolds]

As a longtime TMNT fan, I really appreciate this video. It sheds light on a lot of things I noticed as a kid.

[@goldcanyon340.]

You have a great attention to detail! I never noticed these things before.

[@JohnSmith-zw8vp]

You could split the 1987 TMNT series into three main parts: Seasons 1-3 were the Syndication or Fox era (in most cases they ran on your local Fox affiliate at the time), 4-7 was the CBS era and 8-10 was of course the Red Sky era.

[@krystiancharos889]

Wanna know how I split MLP FIM into parts? Seasons 1-3 when Twilight was a Unicorn and student to Princess Celestia, and graduating to alicornhood. Seasons 4-7 involves Princess of Friendship, her castle and cutie map. After the 2017 movie, Season 8 with the School of Friendship and the student 6.

[@osamaroum]

My top tmnt shows : - 1987 - 2003 - The rest in 3D 😑.

[@absencementale9092]

i don't even know why i bothered watching this video, about imaginary turtles dying.

[@akoddusdipu7906]

I love 💕 tmnt 80s sriesy and tmnt 2012 series

[@debo2189]

The 2012 TMNT by nickelodeon is PERFECTION.... I enjoyed all TMNT shows, the 1987 has the nostalgia effect but as this video mentioned, greed destroyed it, you can see poor quality all around. The 2003 series was a massive upgrade (and the video game based on that series is one of my al-time favorite games). However, the 2012 series is the best of the best!

[@akoddusdipu7906]

@@debo2189 TMNT 2012 show is best TMNT 1987 show is better and TMNT 2003 is good or TMNT 2007 was a best movie than turtles forever and TMNT vs Batman

[@BlurroBlue]

Tmnt 2012 is goated

[@Aflay1]

3:07 "Michaelangelo never mentioned pizza once" **Spits drink**

[@mrniceguy_814]

Excellent in-depth analysis. Bravo.

[@LetsTalkGames321]

Now this is my kinda content- great watch!

[@FunFactFilms]

When the Transformers G1 Series Died - kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaalY6uBf9OUq9k

[@britneyspearsvillarosa]

Toei animation also created along with Akira toriyama created the Great dragon Ball series dragon Ball and dragon Ball z

[@Dancestar1981]

I remember the originals I was born in 1981

[@spaceghostcqc2137]

TMNT 1987 mini series, the first movie, and the original arcade game was such a trifecta.

[@CookiePrince52]

Nice video. When it comes to the 1987 TMNT series, seasons 1, 7, and 8 are my favorites. Season 1 had the best blend of action and humor. By the time season 3 came out, the series started to get too goofy, in my opinion. Luckily, the action started to pick up again, when season 7 came around. If Nickelodeon were to ever create a remake of the 1987 series, I hope they'll keep the tone similar to what was featured in seasons 1 and 7.

[@-Joyfull]

I prefer the first 3 seasons only. That was enough content already, IMO.

[@ExistentHope]

TMNT 1987 was a great cartoon series in fact even the red sky episodes were a lot more interesting since the Turtles grown and matured and darker theme. I can't say for sure that it really ever died the series was cancelled in 1996 I think because when CBS was supposed to air more educational television. TMNT 1987 was a solid series.

[@lexkanyima2195]

They could have continue for a year.

[@jasonb9081]

That first season was the best!

[@josephsarto689]

Donatello breaks the fourth wall in the very first episode when he looks at the camera and says “I love saying lines like that’” Sounds like they were prioritizing comedy from The becoming

[@SlipperySoap]

Great video, keep it up, your doing great!

[@rianza5277]

TMNT is a pretty cool franchise. 2012 is my all time favorite, followed by 2003, and the rest. Most versions are good :)

[@adamwiggins9865]

I helped many turtles across the road and I’ve come to realize… no human size turtles could sneak up on anything no matter how quiet… they smell sooo bad

[@madskillsgamer128]

Hey great video, I agree with you on every point. Subscribed!

[@forageandforge]

WOW REALLY WELL DONE, a lot of info i didnt know

[@hettyscetty9785]

Kinda sad that I missed all the turtlemania. But glad that I can look at turtles now without the nostalgia factor playing a part of my enjoyment and just enjoy this franchise for what it is.

[@SoftwareAgentsTV]

I like season 8 a lot, a few warts aside. Season 9 is a bit iffy but I greatly enjoyed season 10. Seasons 9 and 10 are almost like a 16 episode arc that needs to be followed in order. I would take those over some of the crummier episodes of seasons 4 and 5, any day.

[@mrmanakin9684]

I'm the other way round. I freaking hated 8-10. The story was cliche, the designs were tame and the lack of characters from the previous season was just stupid.

[@elliotttafel578]

9-10 was my only chance to see the Turtles unstable mutation with the unknown reason why I missed a few and resaw Shredder and Krang return when Dregg brought them back from Dimension X

[@great159]

The show REALLY started to die at season 4 which aired fall of 1990 with the first TMNT movie releasing that spring. The backlash from that movie made it into the show AND next movie (No nunchucks, lighter tone, ect.) Shredder went from a competent villain (season 1, 2, 3, movie 1) to a cornball (season 4-9 and movie 2)💯🤓

[@FlyingDuckMan360]

In one episode of a short-lived DiC Entertainment cartoon called Wish Kid Starring Macaulay Culkin, Culkin asked the show's audience if they were as tired of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) as he was. Apparently, the audience wasn't, as TMNT was in its fifth season at the time, and obviously that show's drop in quality wasn't an audience-alienating one. TMNT lasted five more seasons, and Wish Kid only lasted one. Not helping Wish Kid's case was that it was on NBC, the lowest-rated Saturday Morning Cartoon block at the time, which was abandoned in September of 1992.

[@mysterwhymedia]

An interesting argument, for sure. I vividly recall my epic disappointment as a kid with the radical shift the show made in the red sky era. There were some decent episodes following “The Big Blow Out” here and there, but most of the time, if an episode didn’t have Shredder and Krang in it, it was - as Michelangelo wluld say - totally bogus, compadre.

[@jamesbounds]

I'm not a fan of the last two seasons but the rest of the original series is good.

[@gebhardts1638]

Yup. I was 5 years old when Turtles came out in 87. Turtles was my number 1 favorite toy/cartoon growing up. Now I been having a blast collecting TMNT figures

[@ballahmusamansuray5312]

Michaelangelo and Leonardo changed bandana colors, but when I commented on it no one believed me. FINALLY some one else saw it!!!!👏🏼👏🏼

[@Benjamillion]

I honestly wasn't a fan of the "red sky" episodes. The "super mutations" were shoved in a bit too much and it got annoying for me.

[@zoriibliss7519]

The Turtles Mutated into Turtles? That was Pointless.

[@SamtheBravesFan]

That was the turning point for me as well. I know I watched some of them, but it's a blur on what I did watch. I guess I liked the news crew and it was a whiplash to kid me to have them dropped. Heck, I even tolerated Zack then.

[@Benjamillion]

@@SamtheBravesFan I actually still recall when the Next Mutation would come on my friends and I just turned it off and took the opportunity to go outside or do something else. We sat through maybe one episode and mocked the crap out of it.

[@mitchfletcher2386]

@Retro Man ....I actually liked the final 3 seasons.

[@Rschr101]

Power Rangers and the 3rd Turtle Movie being a piece of garbage are what killed the Turtles. The 80s series is a classic and never lost momentum until those outside forces dwindled the turtles overall popularity.

[@JustinMacri007]

Power Rangers are awsome it has real life messages and stuff

[@myleswayne301]

Power Rangers wouldn't have lasted long if it was garbage.

[@suprmekai5]

@@myleswayne301 he didn’t say power rangers was garbage he meant that power rangers was one of the reasons turtles went into decline

[@jmartin1774]

Wow I always felt like 'the Big Blowout' was a satisfying last episode. I remember my dad renting that vhs tape for me when I was about 8 and thinking 'this must be the end of the series (not knowing anything about seasons or when any episodes were made). Some 15 years later when the dvds came out I realized that wasn't the end but as you said probably should have been.

[@MrKnoxguy101]

Yeah.. born in 80. I remember them well. I remember going to the arcade and playing the TMMT arcade game. It was 4 player and if you had plenty of quarters, you and three friends could wear it out. It was actually a pretty fun game.

[@Cyberbrickmaster1986]

Despite the oversaturation of selling out at the time, the TMNT franchise has managed to stay alive through multiple revisions, with some of them being faithful to the source material. And while the video games have not been the same since the early years, that's probably about to change thanks to the reveal of a return to form retro beat em up, coming some time in the future.

[@Skellotronix]

Go check out TMNT Rescuepalooza.

[@silverslider562]

As a kid my fave character was Michelangelo. I remember being upset when the series switched to him using a grappling hook more often than his iconic nunchucks. Their weapons were also part of their characterization and he was known for nunchucks so why change that? Very lame.

[@RyuGabriev]

It had to do with parents concerned that kids could hurt themselves making their own versions of nunchaku and using them, not realizing how damaging a good hit to the head or neck would be, especially on a kid. Definitely agree the witch was lame, tho.

[@brandonfrancey5592]

It had to do with UK censor laws. The nunchuck was a banned weapon in a kids cartoon so they had to edit the episodes to remove them. From that point on it was easier to have Mikey not use them so they didn't have to remove them for UK audiences so they gave him a different weapon to use.

[@silverslider562]

@@brandonfrancey5592 V cool man, never knew that and it does explain it but the child in me is still upset it happened lol

[@amandaoutlaw1349]

Awwww man! This is one of my favorite childhood cartoons. I was 7 when it came out. So many memories!

[@blakeburress]

I had the pilot episode, Heroes in a Halfshell on VHS, and it's still one of the best intros to the characters ever. Amazing animation, music, and voice acting, combined with the entirely night-time setting was so great.

[@arturkarpinski164]

I wouldn't change being an 80's kid for anything!!!!

[@FEARisCOLD]

I stopped watching when they went to Saturday morning only. Before that I watched it everyday.

[@SteffLoui88]

Loved the turtles, met the original voices for them back in May and they were absolutely incredible, lovely gentlemen. An all time life long dream to meet them. Ever since I was a little girl, I was Turtles mad. Absolutely fantastic childhood show. Doesn't matter how dated it is, how many bloopers or errors there are, it's still a wonderful piece of nostalgia.

[@paullangland6877]

I was born in 1988, a year after the premiere of the cartoon. I recall I stopped watching around 2nd grade which was when the last 2 seasons were still on. I signed off when Shredder was no longer the main villain and they decided to bring in Lord Dregg, whom I didn't like at all as a villain. I didn't realize until later that Shredder and Krang did come back but by then, I had already stopped watching and moved on to new cartoons primarily in the anime and 1 Saturday Morning blocks on Fox Kids and ABC lineups. We also got cable which opened up other channels like Nick and Cartoon Network where I watched even more action packed cartoons.

[@AK47MR408miniPIT]

Best cartoons shows while I was growing up in the 80 -90 best years ✌😎

[@Ardante11]

Went downhill when some lady wrote to congress in the early 90s that cartoons should send a message and kids should be out and about on Saturday mornings....thus ending Saturday morning cartoons and increasing teen pregnancy rates.

[@garciamike3000]

Uncle Phil was the voice of shredder

[@electric0618]

As in Fresh Prince of Bel Air!?

[@blazerocker1734]

@@electric0618 Yup. James Avery. That series had been over for ten years when I finally found out. I was incredibly surprised. Mr. Avery had more acting range than I ever gave him credit for.

[@SamtheBravesFan]

While true, Jim Cummings would have done a good job too if he did it regularly.

[@pferreira1983]

@@SamtheBravesFan He was the best replacement.

[@NitroNEXT]

@@blazerocker1734 I used to think he was the voice of Optimus Primal. They sounded so similar.

[@michaelt.rodriguez4688]

You make a good case for your opinion. As for your two alternative concepts. I never saw the saw (or heard) about the start of Season 2 being a possible point when the series died or started to die. I'd almost say that Season 2 and 3 were the peak of the series and arguably defined (for better or worse) what the '87 series was. The Red Sky seasons are popular choices among fans, but I'm in the same boat as you. I feel like it came after the fall as an effort to keep things going. Unfortunately, it struggled with two challenges. The first challenge was that the kids from the peak of Turtlemania had outgrown the show. Heck, some of them were in high school and even college by Season 10. The second challenge was that the show had a bit of an identity crisis at that point. The art and story styles had long been established and accepted by that point and it felt like the Red Sky seasons tried merging the concept of the 87 series with what would someday become the 2003 series. The problem was that designs often seemed to be in conflict, and it was simply too difficult to re-imagine what were essentially new turtle characters in that universe. It would've been better off being a separate series set several years in the future --- somewhat like Batman Beyond. As for the end of season 3, I think you can make a good case for that point in time. I'd say a good chunk of my favorite episodes were in that first batch of 65. But I also think that a season 3 cutoff ends up excluding Slash, Mondo Gecko, Lotus Blossom, Mona Lisa, Mutagen Man and other characters. It's a tough call. I can see your point, and agree with much of it. But I'm going to say the real moment came a little later. For me, I think the 1987 series, and end the peak of the turtle craze happened around late-1991. The second movie came out, you had the Vanilla Ice Crossover, turtles in concert and I'd dare say that was kind of the last hurrah for the 87 animated series in many ways. I think over the course of that fifth season, and heading into 1992, your original fans started turning 10 and up and some entered middle school, the toys were starting to fish for new ideas, there's a big of over-exposure that bled over from the 1991 movie blitz, and the show hit that 5 year pop culture mark where preferences simply move on, etc. I also think starting in 1992 you saw a shift in animation. Batman TAS changed the game and influenced countless cartoons to follow. X-Men was hitting the scene. A lot of those 80s cartoon staples had ended - Real Ghostbusters, Muppet Babies, etc. Disney Afternoon was entering its peak with a stacked weekday lineup. Warner Bros. would soon roll out it's afternoon lineups. A year later, by 1993 Power Rangers was set to become the next craze for the kids who were born around the same time the 87 series debuted. A lot of that feels like it was born in that fall 1991/early 1992 timeframe. In my opinion, the real point of no return was the end of Season 5. After that was when things were just different, for a multitude of reasons. I feel like you can really feel that difference for season six when it aired in 1992. Like other pop culture entities, shows and music, 1992 was kind of when things moved away from having a distinct 80s vibe and really started to feel like something different and unique to the 1990s. I think the turtles were part of that as well.

[@ohthatguy.140]

I was just rewatching this show and it bothered me how many mistakes there are. Thanks for the explanation.

[@haileyshannon7548]

Did you know TMNT was the longest running animated series on US television, than a few months the Simpsons took that honor from them and that show's been on life support for 20+ years!

[@caucasoidape8838]

somebody pull the plug already!

[@phillipwattsjr.4714]

2:16--"Irma"..."universally disliked by fans"... I kinda doubt that, but whatever...

[@Tru_Gamer]

yea i loved TMNT when i was a kid so i downloaded them all to watch em...and after a few seasons it really started to suck and I couldn't figure out why :( your video really cleared that up....thanks, very informative!

[@mikevogler5455]

I was 7, or 8yo, when this series began in 1987. I never knew most of this, and never could understand back then either, why the shows quality went to crap around season 3, or 4, but could tell even then, as a young child. Thanks for the video! 🙂

[@Inaworldoflove]

It died for me when the fad was over, probably around 1991. I moved on to other things. I had no idea this show lasted this long. I don’t believe we got anything past season three in Australia.

[@BishopWalters12]

It was killed in 1993 by the live action 3rd movie.

[@Cuzjudd]

Didn't we? I'm trying to remember back but it's a long way

[@benironside1264]

Mom “are you watching cartoons again” This guy “no I’m writing an ESSAY!”

[@Unaliq]

Jesus... 10 seasons with 193 episodes?! I thought there were only 3-5 seasons... I had no idea there was 193 episodes and the last time I saw the show, it was about a robocop and said the robocop went against other copies of himself.

[@MOSMASTERING]

Getting home from school to watch TMHT (Hero in the UK - not Ninja! All due to a very dumb reason..) was the highlight of my day...!! I was fairly obsessed. One time I had to stay after school for a club meeting and so I left my mother specific and detailed instructions on how to record to VHS. I wrote a page of notes, thad the tape in the machine so all she had to do was literally press PLAY+REC at the same time. All to record Turtles to VHS so I didn't miss it. I made a HUGE thing of it... When I got home. She had forgotten... I cried for an hour.

[@MisterSinister47]

The way Netflix is doing anime now. They can bring back that season 1 feel again.

[@Skellotronix]

With a bunch of "woke" agenda thrown in, the turtles wouldn't be the main characters in their own show, a "strong female of color" would be the creator of the Foot clan, etc

[@armybebe6622]

@@Skellotronix having main characters that aren’t white is not “being woke” non- white people existing is not woke culture.

[@nickperkins8477]

I loved it for years. I probably watched it regularly for seven of its ten years.

[@kwakata]

For me, the main reason why the series died was lack of ninjutsu plots after season 2. The main plot of TMNT was ninjutsu and people wanted to watch ninja fight scenes. After season 2 there were only a few fights with foot clans. That completely changed the series atmosphere. Even Michelangelo stopped using nunchaku, which was annoying.