Featured TV on DVD Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season Nine

September 23, 2011

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season Nine - Buy from Amazon

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had its origins in a comic book and while it spawned a number of movies over the years, it is arguably best known for the animated series that started in 1987 and lasted ten seasons. (Although your definition of "season" might need to be adjusted downward for the last few seasons.) In August, the penultimate season of the show was released on DVD, but how well does it compare to previous releases?

The Show

There was a huge change at the end of season eight, as that season ended with the turtles finally defeating Shredder and Kang and destroying the Technodrome. This means the main villains in the series, as well as Rocksteady and Bebop, are no longer on the show. So who will replace them as the main villain?

Season Nine begins with the introduction of Lord Dregg, Supreme Warlord of the Seven Galaxies, an alien on the run from the Galactic Empire, who looking for a place with lots of gold to build his new base of operations. The Earth is the perfect fit. Lord Dregg sends some of his army to attack the Earth, or to be more specific, they attack the Federal Reserve building in New York, which is where the Turtles live. The Turtles attempt to save the day, but while it looks grim at first, they are aided by a mysterious man who has been following them on their recent battles. But while he saves their lives, he also accidentally lets the aliens get away.

Later he finds he way to the Turtle's sewer headquarters and we learn his name is Carter. He asks to be trained by Splinter, whom he calls by his original name, Hamato Yoshi. Because of his perseverance and ability to track down the Turtles, Spinter agrees to train him. But he's left behind on the first mission, because he hasn't begun his training. When he sees the fight is going poorly over the Turtle Cam, he jumps into action, and in the process, accidentally spills some mutagen on himself. In the battle, he is captured, but that's when he mutates into a large yellow warrior. (Of course the Turtles don't see him mutate or change back.) If they did know, they would really freak out, as the Mutagen has become unstable, as is anyone who has been mutated. This includes the Turtles.

Do these changes improve the show? No. Quite frankly, I wasn't halfway through the eight episodes before I was missing Shredder. Heck, I was missing Bebop and Rocksteady. Lord Dregg is nowhere near as interesting as the main villain. He does try to defeat the Turtles in a novel way by using PR. However, even here it's not that unique. (Also, in the first episode, he introduces himself as the conqueror of Earth, so I'm not sure why two episodes later people accept him as the new savior of the planet.) Carter was just not necessary, and never gelled as the new character. The Turtles new mutations don't seem to be well thought out either, and don't add to the season. Maybe if each of the Turtles had a different mutation that went with their skills, that would make it a change for the better.

On the other hand, it's still Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and there are enough of the classic elements that work that fans of the show will want to watch the eight episodes.

The Extras

Unfortunately, that's all they can watch, as there are no special features.

The Verdict

After the first few seasons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles started to decline in quality. As a result, changes were made starting in season eight. Season Nine brought even more changes to she show, most of them negative. Without the classic villains to fight against, the series lost a lot of its charm. I can see a lot of fans who own the previous eight seasons giving this one a pass, but most will probably want to complete their collections with season nine and ten, when the latter comes out.


- Submitted by:

Filed under: Video Review