Enter the Shredder

**Enter the Shredder** is episode number 2 of the *1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* cartoon series. It is the second episode of season 1 (1987). This episode of the show is part of the *Heroes in a Half Shell* arc. It was produced by Kara Vallow. It was written by David Wise and Patti Howeth and directed by Yoshikatsu Kasai. It originally aired on December 15, 1987, in syndication. It is available on DVD on the box set released on April 20, 2004.

## Synopsis

The Turtles find out about the Technodrome and try to find it. Splinter finds the Technodrome and ends up getting kidnapped by Shredder. When the Turtles find the Technodrome, Shredder tells the Turtles who is responsible for covering them in the ooze that mutated them.

## Plot

April O'Neil visits the Turtles in their lair, where they are sleeping after the hardships of the last day. After waking them, she watches as they go through their ninja fighting practice, and then have breakfast (pizzas topped with cereal).

She wants their help to search for the Technodrome, so they journey through the city's sewer system in search of it. It would have been located directly under the now destroyed MANHATTAN SECURITY SERVICES building. But when they arrive, our heroes find nothing but water and tread marks. Michelangelo is convinced that the Technodrome is mobile and April suggests that they travel through the immense subterranean tunnel system to continue their pursuit. But Leonardo suggests that they inform Master Splinter first.

Meanwhile, Shredder is commandeering the Technodrome in its escape under New York City, and is furious that his "mighty Foot Soldiers" were beaten by a bunch of Turtles. He is summoned to the bowels of the Technodrome by Krang. Krang, a gelatinous creature that looks like a talking brain, is likewise upset that Shredder, despite the vast technical knowledge that Krang has provided for him, has been unable to provide the evil alien with an artificial body so that he may lead his legions "waiting in Dimension X to storm into this world and crush it." Shredder offers a feeble excuse regarding their lack of safety as long as Hamato Yoshi and his Turtles roam the sewers.

Krang then suggests that when Oroku Saki tried to destroy Hamato Yoshi with the Mutagen it in fact made him stronger, because he gained the abilities of rats. Saki picks up on this line of thought and realizes that if he were to expose his own thugs to the Mutagen, along with wild animals, he could then defeat Yoshi and the Turtles.

Back at the Lair, the Turtles and April are now back home to report to Splinter. Splinter is convinced that his old enemy, Oroku Saki, is the mastermind behind the Robotic Ninjas and offers his help in tracking down the Technodrome. While he and the Turtles begin their search, April agrees to return to the Channel 6 newsroom to see if there have been any sightings of the Technodrome.

Meanwhile, a rhino and a warthog are "liberated" from the city zoo by two Roadkill Rodneys that have erupted through the sidewalk.

Back underground, Splinter and the Turtles stumble upon the tracks/treads of the Technodrome. They are getting closer. Splinter tries to root through the heap of stones that block their path, and orders his sons to the surface, to seek another way around.

Meanwhile, within the Technodrome, Shredder convinces two street gang members, Bebop and Rocksteady, to undergo an experiment that will enable them to get even with the Turtles; other members of the gang also volunteer. This experiment involves the Mutagen and the captive rhino and warthog from the city zoo. Two robots were sent out to steal the animals as they drag the two animals towards Bebop and Rocksteady so that they can come in contact with them before the mutagen comes down on them. Though Rocksteady is unsure about this, Shredder assures them it will work--although they may have some trouble getting a date on Saturday night.

At Channel 6, April's superior Burne is unimpressed with April's progress on the theft of the high tech scientific equipment and reassigns her to the theft of the rhino and warthog from the city zoo. Outside the Channel Six building, April encounters the Turtles disguised as "breakdancers." She convinces them that the zoo theft could lead them directly to the Technodrome.

Meanwhile, Splinter himself has located the Technodrome, only to be taken prisoner by one of the Roadkill Rodneys.

At the zoo, the Turtles climb/fall down through a hole left by the Roadkill Rodneys but leave April back on the surface. They land at the feet of the Technodrome where Leonardo finds Splinter's walking stick. Shredder suggests that they enter the Technodrome if they ever want to see Splinter again. Knowing a trap awaits them, the Turtles enter the alien craft. Meanwhile April calls Thompson to request a camera crew, but it is not granted to her.

The Turtles are immediately caught in a hallway whose walls close in on them, and are nearly crushed before Donatello can rewire a panel. Next they are attacked by robots - first by the Roadkill Rodneys, and then by manufacturing bots that attempt to kill them with lasers, crushing and other methods. Finally, they are nearly run over by a massive, spiked rolling object.

Finally, the Turtles find Splinter strung up from the rafters within a cavernous room. As Leonardo prepares to cut him down, Shredder enters, accompanied by four of his Foot robots. He congratulates the Turtles on their prowess, and he tells the Turtles that Splinter knows him as Oroku Saki, but they can call him "The Shredder", and suggests that they join his Foot Clan. He also suggests that they "owe everything to him," because by using the Mutagen (in an effort to defeat Hamato Yoshi), he mutated the Turtles. When the Turtles refuse, Shredder summons the mutated Bebop (warthog) and Rocksteady (rhino) to destroy them, but they are easily defeated along with the four Foot robots. Leonardo cuts Splinter down and he and the Turtles leave the Technodrome.

Meanwhile, April has the news van on the way. The Turtles and Splinter return to the city surface only to have Bebop and Rocksteady burst through the street, laser rifles a-blasting. Once more the Turtles defeat them, this time by leading them into the city zoo and entrapping them in a cage.

April arrives just in time to videotape the capture of Rocksteady and Bebop, and offers the Turtles and Splinter a ride home. April also will not let the Turtles out of her sight until she gets the whole story. Donatello promises to tell her, but reminds her that as long as Shredder is still loose, the story is not over. April then drives the brothers and Splinter home in the news van.

Moments after they leave, a lone Roadkill Rodney bores up through the Earth, breaks Rocksteady and Bebop out of their "prison," and informs them that the Shredder wishes to speak to them. Rocksteady responds by stating they would rather stay in their cage before being dragged underground.

## Characters

* Leonardo
* Donatello
* Raphael
* Michelangelo
* Hamato Yoshi/Splinter
* April O'Neil
* Burne Thompson
* Oroku Saki/Shredder
* Krang
* Bebop
* Rocksteady
* Roadkill Rodneys
* Scrag
* Grunt

## Locations

* Turtles' Lair
* The Technodrome
* Channel 6
* Central Park Zoo
* Earth's crust

## Vehicles

* Technodrome
* Channel 6 newsvan

## Home media releases

### VHS

* *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Heroes in a Half Shell*
* *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Epic Begins*

### DVD

* *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 1*
* *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Classic Series Collection*

## Notes

### Continuity Errors

* If Krang is capable of giving Shredder access to extra-dimensional technology, why doesn't he simply build a body himself, instead of complaining about Shredder not doing it over the course of a few episodes?
* He appears to be able to use his tentacles as hands, but doesn't seem to be fully dexterous with them.
* How does Krang know Splinter was mutated into a rat?
* Not a continuity error as such, but Burne Thompson accuses April of bringing him nothing in the three days that she's been gone, but just when she's about to give him a story, he brushes it off. Then again he might of been unforgiving.

* When she's asking for a camera crew a few scenes later, April is told that she doesn't get coverage unless she has a story... even though the reason she's there is that Burne gave her one to cover. So he's either being difficult, or he has memory issues.

* How is it possible that Michelangelo's wooden Nunchucks can completely shatter metal armor to bits?
* When Raphael says "This could put a serious cramp in our plans," Splinter seems to be lipping it.
* At the start of the episode the turtles sleep on quadruple-decker bunk beds. But in episode one (and all episodes thereafter), they sleep in separate beds, one of which April was using.

### Animation/Technical Errors

* When Donatello is sleeping, the letter "D" on his belt-buckle is white.
* When the Turtles wake up, the lights are switched on, and April is seen shortly after. Oddly, the animation suggests that she turned on the lights, but there is no visible light switch where she's poking.
* When Michelangelo gets thrown into a wall, Donatello and Raphael are seen sparring what appears to be the middle of the room, near some target boards. Yet, when the scene cuts away to another angle, they're seen right next to Splinter and April, near a corner.
* When Raphael is eating breakfast, Donatello is sitting next to him. Then later, Michelangelo is sitting next to him.
* When April meets with the Turtles after they cage Rocksteady and Bebop, Michelangelo's "M" is missing from his belt.
* Before the turtles jump to avoid Bebop and Rocksteady's ram, Michelangelo is seen with Raphael's mask.
* When Bebop and Rocksteady emerge from the huge hole in the road they created, Bebop's waistcoat is colored yellow.
* As the Technodrome blasts through the rock as it tunnels through the underground caverns for a brief second the video cuts out but the audio of the laser is still present.
* The restraining straps holding Bebop and Rocksteady in their seats prior to their mutation change colour from light silver to black and then dark grey.
* Watch Leonardo as he swoops in to chop the nozzle off of Bebop's laser gun. When he makes the chop, he is seen with Raphael's colors.

* And, to make matters worse, once Leonardo chops the nozzle off, Raphael jump kicks Bebop....right before another Raphael rolls into the scene to jam his Sai into Rocksteady's gun. Don't worry, though...at the very least, the first Raphael completely vanishes as the second one appears.
* In the shot after Bebop and Rocksteady are seen on April's camera one of Raphael's sais are missing from his belt despite not ever losing it or breaking it in the battle earlier.
* When the Turtles crawl into the hole that the Roadkill Rodneys created, Leonardo's weapon sleeves are colored blue.
* The strapping on Donatello's Bō is missing when the door for the crushing wall closes.
* Leonardo's sword sheaths are colored white instead of brown when he and the Turtles are about to descend into the hole made by the Roadkill Rodneys at the zoo.
* Rocksteady was missing his grenade from his shoulder strap just before the lone Roadkill Rodney tied both him and Bebop up.
* As the closing wall goes back the way it came from, Raphael's gains Michelangelo's mask.
* Just as the Turtles surface through the manhole, Leonardo speaks in Raphael's voice.
* As Michelangelo points to the flying robot, he grunts in Raphael's voice.
* When Leonardo and Michelangelo are blocking the laser shots with manhole covers, Michelangelo and Donatello switch.
* Throughout the episode, Shredder's neck is the same color as his cape.

### Trivia

* This episode marks the first appearance of Krang, as well as the mutant forms of Bebop and Rocksteady.
* First appearance of the Technodrome.
* The turtles sleep without their masks, which are hung on nails beside their respective bunks. Raphael appears to sleep with his sai weapon in his hand.
* If Shredder didn't want to call any attention to himself, why didn't he simply steal the animals from the zoo at nighttime?
* Amusingly, Rocksteady calls April a bimbo when she's filming them.
* First appearance of the Technodrome's exterior.
* First mention of Dimension X and Krang's Rock Soldiers army.
* First time the Turtles and Splinter enter the Technodrome.
* Final appearance of Shredder's personal control deck in the 87 cartoon first seen in the previous episode, but it will make one final appearance in the 88 universe in *Turtles Forever.*
* Shredder reveals that he was behind the events that led to the Turtles' creation something that, in the comics, he had no direct involvement in. Though it is mentioned on the cardback for the first series of toys in the "Backstory".
* A still from this episode is used as the background for the closing credits for seasons 1-3. It's taken from the scene when April and the Turtles were searching for the Technodrome underground.
* The "shredder" Raphael is referring to is a vegetable shredder, commonly used in making pizzas. Some might be confused by his line as "shredder" nowadays often refers to a paper shredder, an office appliance.
* A flashback of this episode is used in the season 3 episode, "Blast from the Past".
* Vernon doesn't appear in this episode.
* This episode marks the final appearances of Bebop and Rocksteady in human form (excluding a dream in Shredderville and illusions in Plan Six From Outer Space).

## Quotes

**Leonardo (in Raphael's voice):** "I got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore, Uncle Toto!!"

**Shredder:** "You may call me, the Shredder,"

**Raphael:** "...A kitchen utensil?"

- **Shredder** makes his grand appearance to the Turtles, only to have it ruined by a simple quip from **Raphael**.
**Leonardo:** "Taste cold Steel!"

**Donatello:** "Turtles fight with honor!"

**Raphael:** "Outta my face!"

- The **Turtles** work on their catchphrases....
**Michelangelo:** I feel like a marshmallow in a nutcracker!!

- ....while Michelangelo works on his innuendos.