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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ninja Turtles: Extreme Makeover Edition, June 27, 2009
Well, where to begin?
When the seventh season of the show had debuted the year before, everyone involved had delicately altered what had been a winning formula. The episodes became ever-so-slightly darker than in years past, but not so much that it would turn away loyal viewers. In hindsight, it would appear that season seven of the show was a trial run of sorts - to see whether or not fans would accept edgier fare.
With nothing to hold the creative team back, and with only a surprisingly few amount of episodes to fill a season (just eight!), everyone involved went for broke and completely revamped the eighth season of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
Well, where to begin? Just about everything that made the show what it was, all the hallmarks that defined it for seven seasons, were replaced.
The iconic theme song was shed in favor of a darker, edgier track that interspersed clips of the new show with clips from, of all things, the first live-action movie in the franchise. For the next three seasons, the series went with this music track/clip show, even when the main villains, Shredder and Krang, had been replaced by other baddies. So, really, the new track was only truly appropriate for the eighth season, when Shredder and Krang were still the numero uno bad guys on the show. Once they were replaced after the eighth season, the new track became wildly out of place.
The goofy, fun-loving reptiles who ate pizza for three square meals a day were replaced by straight-laced action heroes who bore little resemblance to those who came before them. Even Michaelangelo, the biggest party animal of them all, was now sadly restrained. Fortunately, Splinter was not altered at all, which was a welcome bit of relief.
The smorgasbord of side-characters that had sprung up over the years? You know, Mondo Gecko and Mona Lisa and Usagi Yojimbo and the like? Gone. Members of the Channel 6 news team remained, although, strangely, after the season opener, Irma disappeared completely. Bebop and Rocksteady, everyone's favorite bumbling duo, oddly cleaned up their act and became more competent. Sadly, even this was not enough to save them, as their screen time was increasingly diminished over the course of the season.
And we can't forget about that infamous "red sky" that permeated every episode of the show for the last three seasons. Some fans are still scratching their heads over that one.
So...where does that leave us? Well, where to begin?
With only eight episodes to work with, the creative team cut the fat and really ran with shows that were high on action, high on plot, and that dealt with season-long story arcs, something that hadn't been done since the show's second year. The stories themselves also became a lot less predictable. Accustomed to seeing our heroes always save the day, just watch what unfolds in the very first episode of the eighth season, "Get Shredder!" Suffice it to say, the awesome foursome can no longer claim they have a perfect record.
Whether one likes the new format really has to do with individual tastes. Looking back, there were pros and cons to both formats of the show - there were good and bad things about the first seven seasons, and the same goes for the last three seasons. However, if you've picked up every other DVD release that has preceded this one, I would still recommend purchasing this DVD as well.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A sad downfall..., December 7, 2009
The ninja turtles is my favorite cartoon ever. Seasons 1,2,3,6, and 7 have dozens of classic episodes I have watched countless times. There are also a handful of good or great episodes in seasons 4 and 5. What was great about this show was its heart, its character development, and its never ending ways of keeping the stories and characters fresh even though you knew the turtles would always win in the end. The voice cast was fantastic, and I was greatly saddened when James Avery (Shredder) left. Seasons 8,9, and 10 veered so far from the turtle formula that I just cannot get into them. They don't have character building, or the endless supply of jokes and poking fun. The sky is always dark, the turtles or the bad guys are always super angry and violent. I couldn't believe what happened to my favorite show. Shredder and Krang, once larger than life, became tiny characters that the turtles or others would just whip against a light pole and tie up on the ground. BeBop and Rocksteady lost all sense of comic relief. I tested these shows out on my 7/11 year old nieces (who are over 25 years younger than I am). They feel the exact same way as I do. They have watched all of seasons 1-7 (twice) and love them. They wouldn't even finish season 8. Where is the pizza? Why isn't anyone funny? Why doesn't Shredder and Krang have any strength anymore? They asked me. It is too bad that violence and darkness became the norm for cartoons in the mid 90's, as it put an end to the greatest cartoon ever. If it were me, I would bring the cast of the Ninja turtles 1987-1996 back, offer them multi-million dollar contracts and start making shows like they did in the late 80's. As my nieces prove, they would sell out. Make some cartoon movies (not that live-action rubber puppet suit stuff)and some merchandise schemes and you would get your investment back in no time. Turtle POWER! Long live seasons 1-7 of the Ninja Turtles.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
The red sky, no pizza and lots of destruction mark this short season, January 23, 2010
From this season on, everything you know about your favorite TV show will be changed. Taking the show in a new direction after 7 seasons of wacky, fun loving, silly, party time, type fun. This isn't the same Turtles you grew up with, but at the same time it is.
This whole season is only 8 episodes and was part of the CBS Saturday morning line up in 1994. It was an attempt to make things darker, more mature and cater to an older male audience that had grown past the kinder gentler turtles and maybe were looking for something a bit more extreme.
Some of the things to take note of are: The nice clear blue sky's are gone for dark and dreary red colored ones. Buildings will be destroyed in almost every episode. Almost every moment is a battle or fight that the Turtles are involved in. The overall look of the characters has changed like April O'Neil now wearing a jacket over her usual yellow jump suit and the turtles masks allowing more of the turtles eyes to be seen through them. Even Shredder is more evil taking great pride in destroying buildings and just being more of the bad guy the Turtles should have. They also won't be doing any "Pizza Time" during any of these episodes either. In fact I don't think they eat at all during any episode.
But in all these changes, the show is still really just the same show, just more extreme. The good guys always win. The same supporting cast is found within with cameos from some favorites of previous seasons. Like Casey Jones, Rat King, Irma, Vernon, Bern, and of course Master Splinter. And it's non stop fighting back and forth just with more explosions and destruction mixed in. There is even some moments when they break the 4th wall as per the old episodes and talking to the viewers at home. But that has been toned down a lot and will be few and far in between.
The problem with the season is that it was all written by the same person. So there are a lot of common themes through a lot of the episodes here. Fighting electric or energy based creatures that suddenly show up. A machine that can make mutants out of people suddenly and the various mutants that are now just more of the same after a few moments. Krang and Shredder wanting to do something in relation to Dimension X in every episode they do appear in. And the writer really seemed to be into destroying random buildings as stated earlier. Even the Channel 6 building gets leveled here. An episode with robot cyborgs seems to have said cyborgs just leveling rows of the city as if it were nothing. Also every episode seemed to have some "science lab" building some great device that enemies couldn't wait to exploit. So lets just say the fresh and new approach on the series became 8 very similar based episodes that are different in that it was cool to see the Turtles and their foes (both new and old) in these type of situations, when push comes to shove its really all the same stuff due to the one track minded writer handling this season.
Overall though its still a fun entry into the Turtles saga. Lets face it, after 7 seasons, things were getting a bit stale. You can only fight weird creatures, foil Shredders crazy ideas and eat pizza and make jokes for so long before it grows tired. This was a good attempt to keep the show running for another few seasons and there is nothing wrong with it in that aspect. It's a good watch and good price as well for the 8 episodes you get. The episodes will definitely be darker and cater to an older audience but it isn't anything we really haven't seen before. They have fought many mutants in the past and foiled many of Krang and Shredder's plans in before, they do more of the same here. And honestly, it's actually a lot of fun.
New opening credits, new attitude but same ol Turtles mixed in. I say check it out. No it won't be the same as when the show started, but after 7 seasons things do tend to change no matter what show you are watching. And the cosmetic and minor changes are really just that. It's still the same ol Turtles that we are watching here and since I hardly watched the CBS episodes, this was a lost treasure to me to find out what happened next with my one time favorite heroes.
Check these out, you won't be sorry you did. Just put the past behind you and get ready to move forward. If you like explosions, mutant creatures and science labs, have I got the season for you...
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