Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV Series)

From Iwe

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles logo
Genre Action/Adventure
Science fiction
Comedy-drama
Martial arts
Based on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
by Kevin Eastman
Peter Laird
Developed by David Wise
Voices of Cam Clarke
Barry Gordon
Rob Paulsen
Townsend Coleman
Peter Renaday
Renae Jacobs
James Avery
Pat Fraley
Jennifer Darling
Tony Jay
Theme music composer Chuck Lorre
Dennis C. Brown
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 10
No. of episodes 193 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Kevin Eastman
Peter Laird
Producer(s) Rudy Zamora (season 1)
Walt Kubiak
Andy Luckey (seasons 2–7)
Bill Wolf
Kara Vallow (seasons 8–10)
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s) Murakami-Wolf-Swenson(1987–92)
IDDH
(1987–92)
Fred Wolf Films Dublin
(1992–96)
Mirage Studios
Surge Licensing
Distributor Group W Productions
(1987–95)
Eyemark Entertainment
(1995–96)
Release
Original network Syndication (1988-1993)
CBS (1990-1997)
Picture format 480i SDTV
Audio format Stereo
Original release December 14, 1987 –
November 2, 1996
Chronology
Preceded by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)
Followed by Turtles Forever (2009)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (early known as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in some European countries due to controversy at the time) is an animated television series produced by the studio Murakami-Wolf-Swenson and the French company IDDH. The pilot was shown during the week of December 14, 1987 in syndication as a five-part miniseries and the show began its official run on October 1, 1988. Since then the show and franchise has become a world-wide phenomenon. The series featured the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created in comic book form by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The property was changed considerably from the darker-toned comic, to make it more suitable for children and the family. The initial motivation behind the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series was that, upon being approached to create a toy line, Playmates Toys was uneasy with the comic-book characters' small cult following. They requested that a television deal be acquired first, and after the initial five-episode series debuted, the California toy company released their first series of Ninja Turtles action figures in the summer of 1988. The two media would correspond in marketing style and popularity for many years to come.

David Wise and Patti Howeth wrote the screenplay for the first five-part miniseries. When the series continued in the second season, comic artist Jack Mendelsohn joined the show as the executive story editor. Wise went on to write over seventy episodes of the series, and was executive story editor for four later seasons as well. Wise left the series partway through the ninth season, and Jeffrey Scott took over as the story editor and chief writer for the rest of the show's run.

The show was in Saturday morning syndication from October 1, 1988 to September 9, 1989. After it became an instant hit, the show was expanded to five days a week and aired weekday afternoons in syndication in most markets, from September 25, 1989 to September 17, 1993. Starting on September 8, 1990 (with a different opening sequence), the show began its secondary run on CBS's Saturday morning lineup, beginning as a 60-minute block from 1990 to 1993, initially airing a couple of Saturday exclusive episodes back to back. There would also be a brief "Turtle Tips" segment in between the two episodes which served as PSA about the environment or other issues. There were a total of 20 "Turtle Tips" segments produced and aired. Beginning in 1994, the show began airing as a 30-minute block until the series ended. The series ran until November 2, 1996, when it aired its final episode.

The show helped launch the characters into mainstream popularity and became one of the most popular animated series in television history. Breakfast cereal, 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.

Contents

[edit] Storyline

[edit] Seasons 1–7

[edit] Seasons 8–10

[edit] Subsequent works

[edit] Soundtrack

[edit] Voice acting

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Characters|List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters]]

[edit] Turtles

  • Leonardo (voiced by Cam Clarke) – The blue-masked turtle, wields two razor-sharp katana. He is the leader and commander of the team who is the closest to Splinter and is also the most serious member of the team who values his leadership.
  • Donatello (voiced by Barry Gordon in most episodes, Greg Berg in some Season 3 episodes and one episode of the European side-season) – The purple-masked turtle, wields a really long and tall bō staff. He is the scientist of the team and is constantly tinkering with various inventions. Donatello's capabilities in science and technology have been key factors for the Turtles' success in their battles.
  • Raphael (voiced by Rob Paulsen in Season 1-9, Thom Pinto in some Season 3 episodes, Hal Rayle in the European side-season, and Michael Gough in Season 10) – The red-masked turtle, wields two sai. In a radical departure from the angry and brooding incarnations, he is the jokester of the team and often comes out with sarcastic and witty remarks. Raphael teases the other turtles, but can also brighten the mood up for the show and constantly breaks the fourth wall.
  • Michelangelo (voiced by Townsend Coleman) – The orange-masked turtle, wields the whirling nunchakus and later a grappling hook (and often whirling pizzas). He is the most relaxed and easygoing member of the team and is the source for many of the catch phrases of the series such as "Cowabunga!". Michelangelo often thinks of ways he and his brothers can have fun and is the party dude, he is also obsessed with pizza and will just about scope out any topping to put on his pizza.

[edit] Allies

  • Hamato Yoshi/Master Splinter (voiced by Peter Renaday in most appearances, Townsend Coleman in one Season 5 episode) – A strict and wizened sensei that was a former classmate of Oroku Saki until Oroku set him up for an offense towards his master which he did not commit and was kicked out. Since then, he lived in the sewers of Manhattan as a homeless man. Upon being exposed to the mutagen at the same time when four turtles were exposed, Hamato Yoshi transformed into a mutant rat (which he had come in contact with while in the sewers) who trained the Turtles in ninjutsu.
  • April O'Neil (voiced by Renae Jacobs) – A red-headed TV reporter from Channel 6 News (later a freelance reporter in Seasons 9 and 10), discovers the Turtles' home in the sewers and befriends the TMNT.
  • Irma Langinstein (voiced by Jennifer Darling) – Channel 6's secretary who debuts from season 2. She is a friend of April and she also befriends the TMNT. Following the destruction of the Channel 6 building in Season 8, Irma is gradually phased from the show.
  • Casey Jones (voiced by Pat Fraley) – A street-fighting vigilante who is friends with the Ninja Turtles. He fights using sports equipment and wears a hockey mask.
  • Zach the Fifth Turtle (voiced by Rob Paulsen) – A 14-year-old teenager who is the turtles biggest fan.
  • Caitlin (voiced by Maggie Roswell) – A female teenage friend of Zach.
  • Aunt Aggie (voiced by Joan Gerber) – April's detective aunt who helps the Turtles defeat their enemies. She also runs a popular crime TV show.
  • The Punk Frogs – The frog-like counterparts of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles who were created by Shredder and trained in the martial arts. They turned against Shredder and became allies of the Ninja Turtles.
    • Attila the Frog (voiced by Townsend Coleman) – A Punk Frog that is armed with a mace. He is named after Attila the Hun.
    • Genghis Frog (voiced by Jim Cummings) – A Punk Frog that is armed with an axe. He is named after Genghis Khan.
    • Napoleon Bonafrog (voiced by Pat Fraley) – A Punk Frog that is armed with a whip. He is named after Napoleon Bonaparte.
    • Rasputin the Mad Frog (voiced by Nicholas Omana) – A Punk Frog that is armed with a bow and arrow. He is named after Grigori Rasputin.
  • The Neutrinos – An alien race of teenagers from Dimension X whose only goal in life is to have fun.
  • Muckman and Joe Eyeball (voiced by Townsend Coleman impersonating Jackie Gleason and Rob Paulsen impersonating Art Carney respectively) – Garson Grunge and Joe Junkee are two garbage men who were mutated by a substance poured out of a window by Bebop and Rocksteady. Garson mutated into a man-shaped garbage creature while Joe mutated into a small green creature with eye-stalks. They mistakenly thought that the Turtles had caused them to mutate, but when the latter was found innocent, Muckman & Joe Eyeball helped them rescue Splinter from the Technodrome.
  • Usagi Yojimbo (voiced by Townsend Coleman) – A samurai rabbit and a master swordsman from an alternative universe's/reality's 16th century Edo Period Japan where animals are the dominant species on Earth, not humans. He appeared in two episodes. Usagi Yojimbo is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai starring the ronin hero rabbit, Miyamoto Usagi, which had several crossovers with the TMNT comics; apparently the TV show writers did not understand the distinction and misnamed the character after the comic book.
  • Kerma (voiced by Jan Rabson) – A Turtleoid from the planet Shell-Ri-La who arrives in Earth seeking the Turtles help in protecting his home planet.
  • Bugman (voiced by Dan Gilvezan) – A scientist named Brick Bradley got caught up in a mutant experiment and now can mutate into a large insect when angered. As Bugman, Brick had the eyes, antennae, wings, and extra arms of a fly and the tail of a scorpion. Michelangelo was a fan of Bugman and first encountered him in "Michelangelo Meets Bugman" where he helped him fight Electrozapper. In "Michelangelo Meets Bugman Again," Michelangelo and Bugman faced off against the Swatter.
  • Mona Lisa (voiced by Pat Musick) – A teenage girl who was turned into a mutant lizard. She is potentially Raphael's love interest and appears in "Raphael Meets His Match."
  • Buffy Shellhammer (voiced by Jennifer Darling) – The 15-year-old teenage director of Shellhammer Chemicals. She was kidnapped by Bebop & Rocksteady in order to get a formula for rocket fuel needed to free the Technodrome. Their plans were foiled by the Turtles.
  • Rex-1 (voiced by Jack Angel) – A robot police officer built to keep crimes out of the city.
  • Carter (voiced by Bumper Robinson) – Introduced in season nine, he comes to New York to study martial arts under Splinter. He is accidentally exposed to theboop is wanted to return to College and was prepared to leave after Donatello is able to stabilize his mutation, he learns from April that the Turtles were in trouble from Dregg, Krang, and Shredder. While assisting the Turtles and their past selves that were transported from the past by their friends from the future Landor and Merrick, Carter found that he could still mutate. After the battle in the episode "Turtles to the Second Power", Carter accepts Landor and Merrick's offer to travel with them to the future so he can be fully cured of his mutation.

[edit] Villains

[edit] Episodes

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

[edit] International broadcasting

[edit] Reruns

[edit] Reception

[edit] Home video releases

[edit] VHS

VHS name Ep No. Release Date Additional Information

[edit] Laserdisc

Laserdisc name Ep No. Release Date Additional Information

[edit] DVD

[edit] Region 1

DVD name Ep No. Release Date Additional Information

[edit] Region 2

The first volume of the 25th Anniversary Edition, containing all episodes from the first two seasons in a PAL format, was released for Region 2 DVDs by Lionsgate Home Entertainment in the UK and Ireland on 25 May 2009.

4 DVDs containing 3 episodes each based around Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelango were released on 19 May 2014.

DVD Name Ep # DVD # Release Date Additional Information

[edit] Region 4

The Series is being released in Australia by Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The first six DVD's are more or less duplicated from the Region 1 discs released in America, however unlike the American release Season 4 was broken down into several separate volumes (7 to 9). The discs are in Region 4, but they are in NTSC picture format, instead of PAL, reflecting the changes in television technology since the original airing of the series in 1990. The released episodes reflect the series initial Australian broadcast in its late afternoon timeslot. Later episodes from when the show was shifted to a morning timeslot (due to declining popularity), have yet to be released.

DVD name Ep No. DVD No. Release date Additional information

[edit] Magazine

[edit] See also

The popularity of the series means that it spawned countless imitators such as:

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Template:Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Template:Children's Programming on CBS in the 1990s

Retrieved from "http://editthis.info/iwe/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles_(1987_TV_Series)"
Personal tools