Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Genre	Action/Adventure Science fiction Comedy-drama Martial arts
Based on	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Kevin Eastman Peter Laird
Developed by	David Wise Patti Howeth
Directed by	Yoshikatsu Kasai (season 1) Bill Wolf (seasons 2–7) Tony Love (seasons 8–10)
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	Mark Freedman
Producers	Rudy Zamora (season 1) Walt Kubiak Andy Luckey (seasons 2–7) Bill Wolf Kara Vallow (seasons 8–10)
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	Murakami-Wolf-Swenson(1987–92) IDDH (1987–92) Fred Wolf Films Dublin (1992–96) Mirage Studios Surge Licensing
Original release
Network	Syndication (1988-1993) CBS (1990-1997)
Release	December 14, 1987 – November 2, 1996
Release	Channel Nickelodeon
Release	Channel Nickelodeon
Release	Channel Nickelodeon
Release	Channel Nickelodeon
Release	Channel Nickelodeon
Release	Channel Nickelodeon
Release	Channel Nickelodeon
Related
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.

Storyline

Seasons 1–7

The origins story in the television series differs greatly from that of the original Mirage Studios comics. In this version, Splinter was formerly human, an honorable ninja master named Hamato Yoshi (ハマト・ヨシ) who had studied art history as a hobby. Yoshi was banished from the Foot Clan in Japan after being deceived by the seditious Oroku Saki, who pinned Hamato Yoshi's dogi to the wall with a knife, preventing him from kneeling before their sensei, which was seen as an insult. When Yoshi removed the knife, the sensei was again insulted, believing that Yoshi was drawing the blade in an attempt to kill the sensei. Exiled from the ninja clan, the disgraced Yoshi moved to the United States, specifically New York City. Being penniless, Yoshi was forced to live in the sewers. Back in Japan, Saki has been given command of the Foot Clan, which he corrupts by teaching his students how to commit robberies and other crimes.

While living in the sewers, with the rats as his friends, Yoshi one day found four turtles, recently bought from a pet store by an unnamed boy who accidentally dropped them in the sewer. Yoshi returned one day from his explorations around New York to find the turtles covered with a strange glowing ooze. The substance caused the turtles, most recently exposed to Yoshi, to become humanoid, while Yoshi, most recently exposed to sewer rats, became a humanoid rat, and given the name "Splinter" by the turtles. This, and the following Archie TMNT Adventures comics, is the only origin story in the TMNT franchise in which the Turtles come to Yoshi before being exposed to the mutagen. The television series also differs in that Yoshi himself becomes a rat, whereas in most other versions, Splinter is Yoshi's pet rat and becomes humanoid after being exposed to mutagen. This is also the only version in which the Turtles become fully grown immediately after exposure to the mutagen, whereas Splinter raises them from infancy in other versions. Yoshi adopts the four turtles as his sons and trains them in the art of ninjitsu. He names them after his favorite Italian renaissance artists: Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi (Donatello), Leonardo da Vinci (Leonardo), Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (Michelangelo) och Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Raphael). In most versions, the Turtles tend to go by nicknames Don/Donnie, Leo, Mikey and Raph, but in this version they are always addressed by their full names. Each Ninja Turtle wears a mask over his eyes with a distinctive color (blue for Leonardo, purple for Donatello, red for Raphael, and orange for Michelangelo), and is trained in the art of a distinct weapon, with Leonardo wielding katanas, Donatello wielding a bo staff, Raphael wielding sais, and Michelangelo wielding nunchuks (although the nunchuks are later replaced with a grappling hook).

Meanwhile, Oroku Saki has left Japan and tracked Yoshi to New York City, where he intends to destroy him once and for all. He begins working with Krang, a disembodied alien brain who had been banished from his home, Dimension X, where he was a great warlord. Saki has taken on a new persona, donning a suit covered with razor spikes, complemented by a long cape, and a metal mask over his mouth. He has also taken on the pseudonym "The Shredder".

It becomes clear early on in the series that the mutagen that transformed the Turtles and Splinter into their new forms was dumped into the sewers by Shredder in an effort to murder Yoshi, believing it to be a deadly poison as opposed to a transformative agent. The Turtles then set out to find whoever is responsible for Splinter's transformation, and force them to restore Splinter back to human form. When learning that Shredder was behind it, they vow to put an end to Shredder's ongoing criminal career with the aid of Channel 6 news reporter April O'Neil. However, this is also dangerous as it could result in the Turtles reverting back to their original forms and losing their humanoid abilities. The Turtles begin to take on the role of semi-vigilante crimefighters, operating outside of the jurisdiction of law enforcement against any criminals, much like Casey Jones. For the first couple of seasons, it seems as if the Turtles are constantly preoccupied with hiding their existence. This seems to be slowly relaxed and, by the last few seasons, most citizens seem to be well aware of them, recognizing them as semi-heroes. They also frequently have to deal with citizens misunderstanding them, thanks to the efforts of Burne Thompson, April's employer, and Vernon Fenwick, a Channel 6 cameraman, who distrust the Turtles and frequently blame them for the trouble that Shredder and Krang cause. Eventually, the Turtles manage to gain the trust of the broader populace, whom they have saved from Shredder and other villains on numerous occasions. Even at Channel 6, the Turtles befriend secretary Irma from the second season onwards.

Shredder, Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady (two street thugs mutated into a humanoid warthog and rhinoceros respectively, after they are exposed to Shredder's mutagen), and their Foot robots try to destroy the Turtles and take over the world. Much of their quest for world domination hinges on repowering the Technodrome (Krang's mobile fortress, and their base of operation) and bringing it to the Earth's surface, as it was either stuck in Dimension X (season 2 and 4), the Earth's core (season 3), the Arctic (season 5), or on the sea bottom of the Arctic Ocean (season 6-7). Some episodes features other, usually minor, villains as antagonists.

Seasons 8–10

In the last three seasons, the show, which had already lasted well past the average lifespan of most Saturday-morning cartoon series, went through dramatic changes. The stories within these seasons are typically known among viewers as the "Red Sky" episodes. The animation became darker, the color of the sky in each episode was changed to a continuous and ominous dark-red sky (which was commonplace with newer action-oriented children's programming at the time), the theme song was changed, the introduction sequence added in clips from the first live-action film, and the show took on a darker, more action-oriented atmosphere. The series' main antagonists (Shredder, Krang, Bebop, and Rocksteady), who had hitherto been depicted as dangerous but comically inept villains, were now portrayed as more of a menacing, unified threat. Both Shredder and Krang had lost much of their earlier resentment towards each other, with Shredder in particular evolving into a more vengeful, bloodthirsty version of his earlier self. Bebop and Rocksteady also gained a certain degree of intelligence and joked around much less. The Turtles, likewise, underwent a few changes. Although their personalities remained mostly the same, their demeanor evolved into a more serious and determined one than in prior seasons. In contrast to earlier episodes where the Turtles would spend most of their time relaxing or partying, and only counter a threat when it arises, the Turtles now devoted most of their time and energy to tracking down Shredder, Krang, and/or Lord Dregg, and putting them away for good. At the end of the eighth season, the Turtles finally banish Shredder, Krang, Bebop, and Rocksteady to Dimension X by destroying the engines and the "trans-dimensional portal" of the Technodrome (although the Turtles were able to use the portal at least twice afterwards; the reasons for this are unexplained), preventing them from returning to Earth. Although Shredder and Krang later return for a few episodes in season 10, they are eventually sent back to Dimension X, never to be seen again. A new villain called Lord Dregg, an evil alien warlord, appeared as the new chief nemesis for the final two seasons. Lord Dregg begins a propaganda campaign against the Turtles, turning the general population against them and in favor of him and his forces. The Turtles also suffered from subsequent mutations that would temporarily transform them into hulks with diminished intelligence. During season 9, the TMNT gained a new ally in the form of Carter, a black male who had been exposed to mutagen and contracted an incurable mutation disease before leaving to look for a cure in the future. Dregg is eventually outed as a villain, but the Turtles are never hailed as heroes within the city. In the final episode of the series, the Turtles banish Dregg to Dimension X.

Subsequent works

In 2009, the Turtles, Shredder, Krang, and various other characters from the 1987 series returned for the 25th anniversary crossover movie Turtles Forever, in which they meet up with their counterparts from a series produced in 2003. Due to financial reasons, none of the original voice actors were able to reprise their roles, and replacement actors were used instead. In relation to this particular series, the plot suggests the film is most likely set sometime before Shredder and Krang are banished to Dimension X, during the time the Technodrome is stuck near the Earth's core.

In April 2013, Ciro Nieli, the executive producer of the 2012 Turtles series, confirmed in an interview that the 1987 Turtles would cameo in a one-hour special in Season 2. Cam Clarke, Townsend Coleman, Barry Gordon and Rob Paulsen (who voiced Donatello in the 2012 series) reprise their roles as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael, respectively, in the closing of the episode "Wormquake!".

Soundtrack

Through most of the series, the episodes featured a recurring background music which reflected the mood of the situation, as well as ID music for settings such as the Technodrome, the New York City sewers, Channel 6, etc.. The soundtrack was composed by Dennis Challen Brown (credited as "D.C. Brown" and later as "Dennis C. Brown") and Chuck Lorre. Lorre recorded the theme song (and did the spoken parts) and became a successful television producer. The performer of the song was James Mandell (aka Miles Doppler). To date the soundtrack has never been released for retail.

The Channel 6 News theme music also appeared in the Turtles in Time video game.

Voice acting

Casting for the show took place in Los Angeles. During recording of the voice acting, all the main cast recorded together. According to Renae Jacobs, voice-actress of the reporter April O'Neil, working together "was great for camaraderie and relationships. We played off each other...there was a lot of ad libbing."

Also according to Jacobs, the actors frequently undermined the efforts of the show's creators to make the show grittier and more serious, instead embracing silliness and jokes for both children and adults.

"[The Turtle voice actors] were kind of like The Marx Brothers, The Stooges, Laurel & Hardy, Burns and Allen and all of those wonderful, fabulous old radio personalities and early movie personalities all rolled up into one. Those guys put the heart and soul into those turtles and came up with those personalities."

— Renae Jacobs, Interview

Characters

Main article: List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters

Turtles

• Leonardo (voiced by Cam Clarke) – The blue-masked turtle who wields two razor-sharp katana. He is the leader and commander of the Turtles and is the closest to Splinter. He is also the most serious, level-headed member of the team, who values his leadership.
• Donatello (voiced by Barry Gordon in most episodes, Greg Berg in six Season 3 episodes and one episode of the European side-season) – The purple-masked turtle who wields a really long and tall bō staff. He is the scientist and intellectual of the team who is constantly tinkering with various inventions. Donatello's capabilities in science and technology have been key factors for the Turtles' successes in their battles with Shredder and other villains.
• Raphael (voiced by Rob Paulsen in Season 1-9, Thom Pinto in two Season 3 episodes, Hal Rayle in the European side-season, and Michael Gough in Season 10) – The red-masked turtle who wields two sai. In stark contrast to the usual angry and brooding depictions prevalent in other media, he is the jokester of the team and often comes out with sarcastic and witty remarks. Raphael likes to tease the other turtles, but can also brighten the mood up for the show, constantly breaking the fourth wall.
• Michelangelo (voiced by Townsend Coleman) – The orange-masked turtle who wields the whirling nunchakus, which is later changed to a grappling hook. 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!". He often thinks of ways he and his brothers can have fun and is the "party dude." More so than any other Turtle, he is obsessed with pizza and enjoys experimenting with various toppings, even when the other Turtles find it gross. He is also considered to be the least intelligent member of the team, especially by Raphael.

Allies

• Hamato Yoshi/Master Splinter (voiced by Peter Renaday in most appearances, Townsend Coleman in two Season 5 episodes) – A strict and wizened sensei who was a former classmate of Oroku Saki, until the latter set him up for an offense towards his master which he did not commit and was exiled. Since then, he has lived in the sewers of Manhattan as a homeless man, with the rats and his four pet turtles as his only friends. Upon being exposed to the same mutagen that changed the turtles into their present anthropomorphic forms, Hamato Yoshi transformed into a humanoid mutant rat (as he had most recently been exposed to rats) and 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. She is frequently kidnapped by Shredder and other villains, usually as bait to lure the Turtles out of hiding.
• Irma Langinstein (voiced by Jennifer Darling) – Channel 6's secretary who debuts in season 2. She is a friend of April and later also befriends the TMNT. Following the destruction of the Channel 6 building in Season 8, Irma was gradually written out of 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 martial arts in the hopes that they would be a match for the Turtles. However, they eventually 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.
  • Zenter and Grizzla (voiced by Rob Paulsen and Jennifer Darling respectively) – The leaders of the Neutrinos.
  • Dask (voiced by Thom Pinto)
  • Kala (voiced by Tress MacNeille)
  • Zak (voiced by Pat Fraley)
• 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 were found innocent, Muckman & Joe Eyeball helped them rescue Splinter from the Technodrome.
• Usagi Yojimbo (voiced by Townsend Coleman) – A samurai rabbit and master swordsman from an alternative universe'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 on 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 the Turtles' Mutagen which causes him to spontaneously mutate between his human and mutant forms. Carter was able to help the turtles throughout Seasons Nine and Ten against Dregg. During Season Ten, although Carter 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.

Villains

The Shredder, as seen in the series' opening theme sequence, and some Foot soldiers.

• Oroku Saki/Shredder (voiced by James Avery in Season 1 to the first half of Season 7, Dorian Harewood in four Season 3 episodes, Jim Cummings in one Season 5 episode and most of the European side-season, Townsend Coleman for the second half of Season 7, William E. Martin from Season 8-10) – The arch nemesis of the Turtles. He is usually the main villain in other media, but in this series Shredder always, against his will, has to take orders from Krang. In his earlier life, he was Oroku Saki, a teammate of Hamato Yoshi/Splinter until he set him up for an offense towards the sensei and had him exiled. Shortly afterwards, he transforms the once noble Foot Clan into an army of crime under his command.
• Krang (voiced by Pat Fraley in most episodes, Townsend Coleman in two Season 3 episodes) – An extremely intelligent, disembodied brain from Dimension X who commands the Technodrome. Like Shredder, he aspires to destroy the Turtles and conquer the Earth. He funds and helps plan most of Shredder's schemes.
• Rocksteady (voiced by Cam Clarke) – Rocksteady is one of Shredder's incompetent, oafish henchmen. Originally a Caucasian male member of an unnamed street gang, Rocksteady was exposed to the mutagen after coming into contact with a black rhinoceros that was stolen from the zoo, transforming him into a humanoid rhino. Like Bebop, he is extremely unintelligent and serves as a comic relief for most of the series.
• Bebop (voiced by Barry Gordon in most episodes, Greg Berg in six Season 3 episodes and one episode of the European side-season) – Bebop is an African-American male with a mohawk, sunglasses, and a nose ring who, along with Rocksteady, is one of Shredder's henchmen. Prior to meeting Shredder, he belonged to the same street gang as Rocksteady. As part of Shredder and Krang's experiment, he was transformed into a humanoid warthog after being exposed to the mutagen and a warthog that was stolen from the zoo.
• Baxter Stockman (voiced by Pat Fraley) – Baxter Stockman is a blond Caucasian inventor (as opposed to the dark-haired African-American he was portrayed as in the Mirage comics) who tried to bill his rat-catching Mousers to the Ajax Pest Control company. They did not like his suggestion, saying it would put them out of business (the Mouser was too effective and there would soon be no more rats to kill) and threw him out of the building. Embittered, he readily agrees to join forces with Shredder, who orders him to replicate his Mousers and hunt down Splinter. After the Ninja Turtles defeated the Mousers, Baxter Stockman was arrested and thrown in an asylum. Shredder later broke him out, and Baxter Stockman became Shredder's lackey, helping him to get the "Three Fragments of the Eye of Sarnath" (an alien artifact that would grant the owner virtually limitless power). Shredder later traded Baxter Stockman to Krang for the return of Bebop and Rocksteady. When Krang found no use for Baxter and decided to kill him, a fly that had been on Baxter soon merged with him, turning him into a humanoid fly. He has occasionally plotted revenge against the Ninja Turtles and Shredder. Baxter Stockman had a twin brother named Barney who was also a mad scientist and threw fits whenever the Turtles mistook him for Baxter.
• Foot Soldiers – A group of robotic ninjas that serve as Shredder's loyal soldiers.
  • Alpha One (voiced by Jim Cummings) – A Foot Soldier who had his intelligence increased by Krang and Shredder.
• Rock Soldiers – The Rock Soldiers are an army of sentient rock humanoids from Dimension X. As mentioned in "Michelangelo's Birthday," the Rock Soldiers were created when Krang used mutagen on some rocks. The Rock Soldiers are incredibly strong, but they are not very bright.
  • General Traag (voiced by Peter Renaday) – Traag is a Rock Soldier general that is loyal to Krang.
  • Granitor (voiced by Pat Fraley impersonating Peter Lorre) – Granitor is a high-ranking gray Rock Soldier that is loyal to Krang and works under General Traag.
• Rat King (voiced by Townsend Coleman) – Rat King is a homeless man living in a dilapidated portion of the New York City sewer system, near the Turtles and Splinter. In episodes featuring him, the Rat King would often enact some sort of plot to establish his own rat-controlled government and bring human rule to an end, believing that rats (which he counted himself as) were superior to all other species, whom he described as "inferior non-rodents". In "Night of the Rogues," Rat King was among the villains that helped Shredder attack the Turtles.
• Leatherhead (voiced by Jim Cummings in most appearances, Peter Renaday in "Night of the Rogues") – Leatherhead is a large alligator who had mutated into humanoid form when he swam through a Mutagen-polluted part of the swamp. He hunted the Turtles' allies the Punk Frogs, and then went to New York to hunt the Turtles themselves. In "Night of the Rogues," Leatherhead was among the villains that helped Shredder attack the Turtles.
• Slash (voiced by Pat Fraley) – Slash was an ordinary turtle that was mutated by Bebop and Rocksteady. In "Night of the Rogues", Slash was among the villains that helped Shredder attack the Turtles.
• Metalhead – A robot turtle that was created by Shredder. He has numerous voice's that sound like any of the turtles and has a laser gun installed in his chest. He can also fight by extending his arms and legs. Sometimes, he'd malfunction and attack Shredder and his goons other than just the turtles.
• Pinky McFingers (voiced by Peter Renaday in most appearances, Cam Clarke in "Donatello's Duplicate") – Pinky McFingers is a high ranking mafia boss with a gang at his disposal. McFingers once sponsors Baxter Stockman's twin brother Barney Stockman to create a "gag-a-magnifier" device that increases the comedy power of jokes. They planned to hook up the funniest comedian to it and transmit the joke waves all over the city, making everyone hysterically helpless. This enabled McFingers and his two goons would go out and rob the city. He and his men kidnapped comedians until they kidnapped Raphael. They tied Raphael up in a sack and took him to their hideout where strapped down, McFingers tells him of his brilliant plan. Being the funniest comedian, Raphael is forced to start telling his jokes. However the rest of the turtles rescue him and the other comedians and turn the devise against Stockman and the McFingers gang, all of whom end up arrested.
• Big Louie (voiced by Peter Renaday) – Big Louie is a high ranking gangster with a gang at his disposal, who sometimes works with the Shredder.
• Don Turtelli (voiced by Peter Renaday) – Don Turtelli is the head of the crime syndicate. He is the grandson of Tony "The Tickler" Turtelli. Turtelli went down in infamy for his torture methods, which he inherited from his grandfather. He specializes in the interrogation of people he captures through tickle torturing the soles of his victims' feet with a feather to make them talk.
• Dr. Polidorius (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer) – A mad scientist who created the mutant humanoid fish Ray.
  • Ray (voiced by Pat Fraley) – A humanoid fish created by Dr. Polidorius to serve him and assist with his plans to destroy the city.
• Wingnut and Screwloose (voiced by Rob Paulsen and Townsend Coleman respectively) – An alien bat and an alien mosquito who brainwashed kids at a military school to help them invade the earth.
• Groundchuck (voiced by Robert Ridgely) – A mutant red bull in cyborg armor that was accidentally created by Bebop and Rocksteady.
• Dirtbag (voiced by Pat Fraley) – A mutant mole that was accidentally created by Bebop and Rocksteady.
• Chrome Dome (voiced by Peter Renaday) – A huge robot built by Shredder to supervise the Foot Soldiers into building the Technodrome Mark II. The Turtles defeated him by disabling the chip on his back. In "Night of the Rogues," Chrome Dome was reactivated where he is among the villains that helped Shredder and Krang attack the Turtles. He is defeated when Casey Jones crushes him with a hydraulic press.
• Tempestra (voiced by Gaille Heidemann) – Tempestra is a powerful weather-controlling sorceress who came from a video game that she got out of during a thunderstorm. In "Night of the Rogues," Tempestra was among the villains that helped Shredder and Krang attack the Turtles.
• Scumbug (voiced by Barry Gordon) – A mutant cockroach who was among the villains that helped Shredder and Krang attack the Turtles. He was one of the few villains from the Archie Comics series "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures" to appear in the cartoon where the comics revealed that was mutated from an exterminator that came in contact with a cockroach in the Technodrome.
• Antrax (voiced by Pat Fraley) – An alien ant who works as Krang's executioner. In "Night of the Rogues," Antrax is among the villains that helped Shredder and Krang attack the Turtles.
• Professor Filo Sopho (voiced by Rob Paulsen) – The head of Sopho University who first attempted to speed up the Earth's rotation in "Donatello's Degree." In "Too Hot to Handle," Professor Sopho tried to move it closer to the sun creating uninhabitable conditions for humans.
• Shreeka (voiced by Joan Gerber) – Krang's former partner in crime who returns in "Shreeka's Revenge" to reclaim the "power ring" that Krang stole from her.
• Professor Cycloid (voiced by Hamilton Camp) – A crazed professor who stole Donatello's "time stopper" machine in an effort to take over the world.
• The Swatter/Jerry Spiegel (voiced by Townsend Coleman) – A comic book artist who attempted to steal the Turtles' secrets and publish them to the world only to run afoul of them and Bugman.
• H.A.V.O.C. – Short for Highly Advanced Variety Of Creatures, H.A.V.O.C. is a gang of mutants. The Turtles meet H.A.V.O.C. in the process of thwarting a robbery, meeting mutants and H.A.V.O.C. members Raptor, Amok, and Overdrive, and then later, the H.A.V.O.C. leader, Titanus. The Turtles find out that while H.A.V.O.C. has offered the Turtles a safe haven from those who think they are the villains, H.A.V.O.C. is actually creating mutants instead of protecting them and actually tries to turn the entire city into mutants. The Turtles spend a few episodes of season 8 battling H.A.V.O.C. After they get rid of the boss, none of the other mutants appear again.
  • Titanus (voiced by Rodger Bumpass and Ron Feinberg) – A large mutant from the future who is the leader of H.A.V.O.C. In his final appearance, he ends up trapped in the time of dinosaurs, and vows to have revenge against the Turtles if it's the last thing he ever does.
  • Amok – A mutant goat.
  • Highbeam (voiced by Rob Paulsen) – A mutant firefly.
  • Magma – A lava mutant. He and Seizure were used by Titanus to make mutants.
  • Overdrive (voiced by Cam Clarke) – A mutant cheetah.
  • Ram Mystic - An unnamed ram mutant with mystical powers.
  • Raptor (voiced by Pat Fraley) – A mutant bird.
  • Seizure (voiced by Ron Feinberg) – A mutant centipede. He and Magma were used by Titanus to make mutants.
  • Synapse – A convict that desired revenge against the Turtles since they defeated him in "Get Shredder." In H.A.V.O.C. in the Streets, Titanus breaks him out of jail and turns him into an electric mutant. Synapse keeps the Turtles busy for a while until Donatello forces him through a ham radio, leaving him trapped on the radio airwaves forever.
• Lord Dregg (voiced by Tony Jay) – An alien warlord who antagonizes the Turtles in Season 9 and Season 10 after Shredder and Krang are banished to Dimension X. By the end of the series, Lord Dregg ends up banished to Dimension X following the final battle. At the time, Dregg had begun losing grip on sanity as destroying the Turtles was his main focus, over conquering the earth.
  • HiTech (voiced by Rob Paulsen in Season 9, Cam Clarke in Season 10) – An insect-like alien in high tech armor who is Lord Dregg's second-in-command. When Mung proves more efficient as second-in-command, Lord Dregg blasts HiTech off in a pod to "orbit the galaxy".
  • Mung (voiced by Cam Clarke) – A hunchbacked beetle-like henchman of Lord Dregg who replaced HiTech in the final season. He is a technical and mechanical genius where he surpasses HiTech.
  • TechnoGang – A gang of insect-like foot soldiers that serve Lord Dregg.
  • Batmen – A group of ugly winged humanoid that serve as the alternate foot soldiers for Lord Dregg.

Other characters

• Channel 6 News Staff – The workers of Channel 6 News that often have involvements with the Ninja Turtles. Following the destruction of the Channel 6 News building during Season 8, these characters slowly faded out of the show.
  • Burne Thompson (voiced by Pat Fraley in most episodes, Townsend Coleman in three episodes of Season 3) – April and Irma's boss at Channel 6 News. Like J. Jonah Jameson, he believed the Turtles were a menace and encouraged April to expose them. He often favored Vernon more.
  • Vernon Fenwick (voiced by Peter Renaday) – April's cameraman and rival news reporter.

Episodes

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

International broadcasting

File:TMNTCensoredTitle.jpg

The logo in the edited UK opening sequence, which was also used in a few other countries. Image taken from the season 2 episode "The Incredible Shrinking Turtles".

In the United Kingdom, TMNT was released under the name Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (TMHT). This was due to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the controversy surrounding ninjas and related weapons such as nunchaku at the time. The intro sequence was heavily edited because of this, replacing the word ninja with hero or fighting, using a digitally faded logo instead of the animated blob, and removing any scenes in which Michelangelo wields his nunchaku, replacing them with random clips from the show with the weapon the grapple tortoiseshell.

The TMHT version was aired in other European countries, including Ireland (except series 1, which had the original title), Belgium, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, in local dubs (the Finnish version was in English with subtitles, while Polish was in English with a voice-over translation). In Denmark, the English censored version was aired on the national broadcaster TV2. It had subtitles as well, however, only seasons 2 and 3 were aired in this fashion. Season 1 was aired as one spliced feature, instead of the original five part miniseries. The movie was titled The Epic Begins, and included heavy edits from each of the five episodes, and was also released to VHS in the USA in 1988.

After the 2 seasons had aired on Danish TV, the show was cancelled; however, it later returned with local dubs of episodes from season 5, and Denmark was also one of the first countries to get to see the episodes in which the turtles travel to Europe. These were also aired with subtitles.

The original series aired in early 2011 during the early morning hours on TV2 in Denmark. All 193 episodes have been re-dubbed, and this time they aired in their original US unedited form.

In Spain, the name of the cartoon was translated to Las Tortugas Ninja (with the word ninja in the title), but at first the TMHT version was still used for dubbing, although the original TMNT version was also alternatively aired. Other European countries (including Bulgaria, France, Italy, Russia, Serbia and Turkey) dubbed the original TMNT version.

In Ireland, the series was initially known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the intro sequence was unedited when it debuted with the airing of the second season. After the first two episodes were broadcast, the name was changed to Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles and the intro was edited, except for season one. In 2007–2008, episodes were aired in their original US unedited form.

When shown on the BBC, phrases like "Let's kick some shell!" and "Bummer!" were removed from the episodes (the latter may relate to a British slang term for anal sex). The series Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation was also referred to as Hero Turtles, possibly using the term hero to separate the television series from the live action movies. The 2003 television series, however, remained intact when shown in the UK and Ireland. This led the UK and Ireland to have a disambiguation between the two animated series, using Hero Turtles to separate the 1987 television series from the other incarnations of the franchise. In 2009, a DVD of the first two seasons was released under the Ninja Turtles branding, thus bringing this version of the franchise into line with the later versions.

The first season of the show premiered in Australia as a two-part (90 minutes each) prime-time miniseries on the Seven Network, in 1989, before shifting to a 4:30 pm timeslot for Season 2. Later, after ratings fell, it was moved to a morning timeslot on Agro's Cartoon Connection. The show was mostly uncensored, airing under its original name with occasional edits, including the editing of Season 1 into the two-part 90-minute primetime broadcasts. However some "Hero Turtles" branded merchandise was commonly available in the country due to being imported cheaply from the UK.

Reruns

On April 6, 2012 reruns of the series broadcast weekly on Teletoon Retro in Canada until the channel was shutdown on September 1, 2015. There are no other TV reruns of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series currently airing in North America. Although the last episode broadcast on CBS on November 2, 1996, reruns continued to air until August 16, 1997. The series previously reran in North America in Quebec on Super Écran, who rebroadcast the entire series from 2006 to 2008, and on the USA Network's USA Cartoon Express from September 13, 1993 to September 15, 1996. Lionsgate Home Entertainment and Fred Wolf Films own the rights to the show, and they have been responsible for the DVD releases. Neither Mirage Studios nor Viacom, the current owner of the franchise, own the rights to the 1987 television series, so Lionsgate and Fred Wolf are not under any obligation to inform them of future releases. Some reruns were shown for UK audiences on BBC weekday mornings (although they were mostly all from seasons two and three). In the Republic of Ireland, the series ended its original run on August 9, 1998, but the show was regularly rerun on RTÉ Two until 2008. In Yugoslavia the series was broadcast on RTS from 1991 - 1994 and on RTV Pink from 1998 - 2002. In Denmark the show is aired every weekday at 6.00 am on TV 2. In Australia, the rights to the show are now owned by Network Ten, and the show occasionally airs on their digital channel Eleven in the early morning.

Reception

IGN named TMNT as the 55th best show in the Top 100 Best Animated TV Shows. While the story diverged heavily from the original conception of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with the universe of the original Mirage comics, the 1987 television series is largely the most notable and popular incarnation and drove the franchise to the phenomenal status it would achieve in pop culture. Co-creator, Peter Laird, has publicly shared his distaste with the show on numerous occasions but has also acknowledged that it was extremely successful with and beloved by its audience and, while he would've preferred a different approach to the material, it might not have been as popular as what was produced. Retroactively, the cross-over film Turtles Forever established a common multiverse continuity between all Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles variations that existed at the time of the 25th anniversary of the original Mirage comicbooks, primarily focusing on this series, and those of the 2003 animated series. Therefore, while not part of the original canon of the Mirage Turtles, the series can be considered part of the wider official turtles canon.

At the time, the series was criticised for its commercialism and violent content.

Home video releases

Originally, the series was released to VHS tapes and laserdisc between 1988 and 1996 by Family Home Entertainment while airing back in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Starting in April 2004, DVD releases began.

VHS

VHS name	Ep No.	Release Date	Additional Information
Heroes in a Half Shell	2	1988
The Epic Begins	season 1 highlights	1988
Hot Rodding Teenagers	2	1988
The Shredder is Splintered	2	1988
Case of the Killer Pizzas	2	1990
Invasion of the Punk Frogs	1	1988
The Incredible Shrinking Turtles	4	1988
Cowabunga, Shredhead	2	1988?
Super Bebop and Mighty Rocksteady	2	1990
Sky Turtles	1	1990	Burger King Promotional Video
The Great Boldini	1	1990	Burger King Promotional Video
Invasion of the Turtle Snatchers	1	1990	Burger King Promotional Video
April Foolish	1	1990	Burger King Promotional Video
Pizza by the Shred	2	1989
Turtles at the Earth's Core	2	1990
Attack of the Big Macc	2	1989
Leonardo Lightens Up	2	1991	part of the "Sewer Heroes" series
Raphael Meets His Match	2	1990	part of the "Sewer Heroes" series
Donatello's Degree	2	1990	part of the "Sewer Heroes" series
Michaelangelo Meets Bugman	2	1990	part of the "Sewer Heroes" series
The Turtles' Awesome Easter	2	1991
Turtles VS Turtle Terminator	2	1989	part of the "Sewer Heroes 2: The Bad Guys" series
Turtles VS the Fly	2	1988?	part of the "Sewer Heroes 2: The Bad Guys" series
Turtles VS Leatherhead	2	1989	part of the "Sewer Heroes 2: The Bad Guys" series
Turtles VS Rhinoman	2	1989?	part of the "Sewer Heroes 2: The Bad Guys" series
Turtles of the Jungle	2	1991	part of the "Hollywood Dudes" series
Rebel Without a Fin	2	1991	part of the "Hollywood Dudes" series
Four Turtles and a Baby	2	1991	part of the "Hollywood Dudes" series
Planet of the Turtles	2	1993	part of the "Hollywood Dudes" series
The Big Rip Off	2	1993	part of the "Bodaciously Big Adventures" series
The Big Blow Out	2	1993	part of the "Bodaciously Big Adventures" series
The Big Zipp Attack	2	1993	part of the "Bodaciously Big Adventures" series
The Big Cuff Link Caper	2	1993	part of the "Bodaciously Big Adventures" series
Convicts from Dimension X	2	1995	part of the "Bodaciously Big Adventures" series
The Starchild	2	1995	part of the "Bodaciously Big Adventures" series
The Legend of Koji	2	1995	part of the "Bodaciously Big Adventures" series
Shredder Triumphant	2	1995	part of the "Bodaciously Big Adventures" series
Funny, They Shrunk Michaelangelo	2	1990	Hi-C Fruit Drinks promotional video
Beyond the Donatello Nebula	2	1994	part of the Out Of this World!" series
Unidentified Flying Leonardo	2	1994	part of the Out Of this World!" series
Planet of the Turtleoids	2	1993	part of the Out Of this World!" series
Return of the Turtleoid	2	1993	part of the Out Of this World!" series
Return of the Turtleoid	1	1993	released with TV Teddy
The Four Musketurtles	1	1990
The Four Musketurtles	1	1993	released with TV Teddy
Get Shredder!	1	1996
Cry H.A.V.O.C.	1	1994
Cyber Turtles	1	1996

Laserdisc

Laserdisc name	Ep No.	Release Date	Additional Information
Heroes in a Half Shell	4	?
Cowabunga, Shredhead	4	?
Attack of Big Macc	4	1989
Leonardo Lightens Up	4	1989
The Epic Begins	season 1 highlights	?
Turtles at the Earth's Core	2	1989

DVD

Region 1

Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released the entire series to DVD in Region 1. Initially it was released in volumes, with each volume containing 9–13 episodes in production order, with the exception of the first volume, which included bonus episodes from the last season. After six volumes, it was announced that the series would now be released in season sets, starting with season 4. However, the episodes "Once Upon a Time Machine" and the 1991 prime-time special "Planet of the Turtleoids" were omitted from the Season 5 set, but are included in the Season 10 set as bonus episodes. The DVDs do not include the Turtle Tips PSAs.

On November 13, 2012, Lionsgate released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Complete Classic Series on DVD in Region 1. The 23-disc set features all 193 episodes of the series as well as bonus features. It also contains special collectors edition packaging.

On July 23, 2013, Lionsgate re-released all 47 episodes of season 3 together in a 4-disc box set.

DVD name	Ep No.	Release Date	Additional Information
Season 1 to 2	9	April 20, 2004	Contains all 5 episodes of season 1 and 4 bonus episodes from season 10
Season 3 to 4	12	December 6, 2005	Contains episodes 1–12 from season 3
Season 5 to 6	40	March 13, 2007	Contains all 13 syndicated episodes from Season 4 (including the first episode, which already appears on Season 3, Volume 4), all 26 CBS episodes from Season 4, and one of the final two syndicated episodes of which aired in Season 5, but were left from Season 4. "Under The Shell" with The Shredder: interview with voice actor James Avery. "Under The Shell" with Krang and Slash: interview with voice actor Pat Fraley. Fresh from the Oven: A Recipe for a Cowabunga Cheese Pizza, Fit for a Ninja Turtle.
Season 7 to 8	27	May 12, 2009	Contains all 14 episodes from Season 7 and the "Vacation in Europe" mini-series. A Shellabration with Points of Articulation, a look back at the most turtletastic toys! A Shellabration of the Turtles Creation, new interviews with TMNT creators. A Shellabration of Fan-Nomenon Sensation: Devoted and Die-Hard TMNT Fans Speak! A Shellabration of the TV Sensation, new interviews with the cartoon's creative team. Re-released on November 3, 2009 as a complete season set minus the figurines.
Season 9 to 10	8	August 16, 2011	Contains all 8 episodes from Season 9.
Complete Series	193	November 13, 2012	Packaged inside an exclusive, plastic molded collectible "party van" with DVDs of all 10 seasons (including all the same on-disc bonus content found in the previous individual releases).
Cowabunga Classics	11	July 29, 2014	Contains 10 fan-favorite episodes from Seasons 1-7 that were selected from a TV.com poll, including both parts of ""Planet of the Turtleoids". The Turtles: A Ninjatastic Look Back. Exclusive Artist Interviews. A Shellabration of Fan-Nomenon Sensation.

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
Season 1–2	22	3	May 25, 2009	Contains all episodes from seasons 1 and 2, plus 4 bonus episodes from season 10.
Best of Leonardo	3	1	May 19, 2014	Contains the episodes Hot-Rodding Teenagers from Dimension X, Unidenfied Leonardo, and Leonardo Cuts Loose.

The series has also been released by German distributor KSM GmbH.

DVD Name	Ep #	DVD #	Release Date	Additional Information
DVD Collection	24	5	May 17, 2007 (Disk 1 & 2) July 26, 2007 (DVD Collection) August 17, 2007 (Disk 3 to 5)	Contains all episodes from season 8, 9, and 10. First released in 5 Single DVDs entitled "Disks". Later released as a DVD Collection containing this 5 Disks. Both, the Single Release and the Collection only includes the German Audio Track.
Box 1	25	5	March 12, 2009	Contains all episodes from seasons 1 and 2, plus first 7 episodes from Season 3. Contains the German Hero Turtles TV Version and the Uncut US Version as well.
Box 2		5	May 3, 2010	Contains 25 more episodes from Season 3. Contains the German Hero Turtles TV Version and the Uncut US Version as well. The 25 included episodes are announced to be in chronological order.
Box 3	30	6	July 12, 2010	Contains the remaining 15 episodes from Season 3, the first two episodes from Season 4 and the complete "European Vacation" Side-Season. Contains the German Hero Turtles TV Version and the Uncut US Version as well. The 30 included episodes are announced to be in chronological order.
Box 4		6	October 17, 2011	Contains 30 more episodes from Season 4. Contains the German Hero Turtles TV Version and the Uncut US Version as well. The 30 included episodes are announced to be in chronological order.
Box 5		6	December 5, 2011	Contains the remaining Episodes from Season 4 as well as all episode from Season 5 and the first of Season 6. Contains the German Hero Turtles TV Version and the Uncut US Version as well. The 30 included episodes are announced to be in chronological order.
Box 6	29	6	February 12, 2012	Contains the remaining Episodes from Season 6 as well as all of Season 7. Contains the German Hero Turtles TV Version and the Uncut US Version as well. The 29 included episodes are announced to be in chronological order.

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
Volume 1	9	1	2009	Includes the complete first Season and four episodes from Season 10.
Volume 2	13	1	2009	Includes the entire second Season.
Volume 3	12	1	2009	Includes episodes 1–12 of Season 3.
Volume 4	12	1	2009	Includes episodes 13–24 of Season 3.
Volume 5	12	1	2009	Includes episodes 25–37 of Season 3.
Volume 6	12	1	2009	Includes episodes 38–47 of Season 3 and episode 1 of Season 4.
Volume 7	13	1	2009	Includes episodes 2–14 of Season 4.
Volume 8	13	1	2009	Includes episodes 15–27 of Season 4.
Volume 9	13	1	2009	Includes episodes 28–39 of Season 4 and episode 1 of Season 5.

Magazine

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Magazine was a children's magazine published quarterly by Welsh Publishing Group, Inc during the height of TMNT popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was officially licensed by Eastman and Laird and available by subscription.

The $1.95, 32-page magazine featured articles about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and a variety of other subjects, including an article on the last page of each issue spotlighting a real life turtle species. Mirage Studios staff artists such as Dan Berger and Jim Lawson provided a majority of the covers and spot illustrations. A pullout poster was available in every issue and was painted by Mirage Studios artist Michael Dooney.

See also

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

• Biker Mice from Mars
• Street Sharks and it's spin off Extreme Dinosaurs

External links

• Official website
• Template:Tv.com show
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at IMDb
• Template:Bcdb