Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV Series)

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles** is a 2003 American animated television series. It lasted for 7 seasons, or 156 episodes, and ended with a made for TV animated film in 2009. The series ran from February 8, 2003 to March 27, 2010. The series had an unaired (banned episode) air on August 2, 2015 on Nicktoons.

## Why It Rocks

1. Excellent animation with very great action and fight scenes.
2. Is one of the darkest shows 4Kids ever made, as it got away with things that 4Kids typically don't allow on their shows.
3. The made for TV animated movie released in 2009, titled Turtles Forever, was exciting because it featured a crossover between three different incarnations on the ninja turtles, the 2003 version, the 1987 version, and the version from the comics.
4. Very appealing art style and character designs, especially that of Shredder.
5. This series incarnation of the Shredder, besides being by far the most evil and threatening, has a unique backstory and is a sociopathic alien named Ch'rell instead of an successor to the original or an immortal.
6. Out of all of the TV adaptations of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this one is considered the most faithful to the original comics, and it's creator Peter Laird's favorite adaptation.
7. The characters are more complex and interesting than in the original 1987 version. This time, instead of focusing more on comedy until towards the end, the series focuses much more on drama from early on. The biggest example is the turtles having to deal with their appearances, that being the reason that they have to reside in the sewers instead of conversing with common humans.
8. Great soundtrack.
9. While the characters are more complex in this version, that doesn't mean that the comedy is neglected. The comedy is just as great as in the previous version. If anything this version manages to balance the comedy with the drama much better.
10. Good voice acting, with the main turtles all having great chemistry.
11. Another thing that this series does more than the previous incarnation of the turtles is going in depth with the martial arts training, which is immensely important as it shows how the turtles become as strong as they do when it comes to combating evil.
12. Outstanding pacing.
13. The theme song is outstanding. The characters are likable, Leo, Raph. Villains are the most fierce.
14. It was considered the greatest incarnation of the entire franchise.
15. Episodes like Exodus, Enter the Dragons, Same As It Never Was were examples of excellent episodes. They are some of the highest rated.
16. The animation style look's amazing. It is praised as the best redesign of the turtles ever made. By 2003 standards.
17. Impressive plot twists.
18. Throughout the first 5 seasons, they garnered over millions of viewers on 4kids. With the highest, coming at 3.56 million viewers from Season 3.
19. Impressive character development.
20. Nice Back-Story for Casey Jones.
21. Memorable Villains like Hun, Bishop, Stockman, Karai, The Foot Clan, and the Purple Dragons.
22. Well-Written Overall.
23. The show is like a legacy to Batman: The Animated Series.
24. The iconic theme song in all 7 seasons.

## Bad Qualities

1. Seasons 6 was not very well received and weren't as dark due to 4Kids Entertainment wanting it to be more lighthearted and to be more marketable and "appropriate" for kids. Season 7 was not either.
2. Some bad episodes like Super Power Struggle.
3. The show can get disturbing at times.
4. It can also get violent very much.
5. While well voice acted, Michelangelo can get kind of annoying at times.

# Reception

The series was both highly acclaimed and commercially successful throughout its first five seasons. Many consider this to be the greatest *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* show ever made. The praise went towards the faithfulness to the source material, the storytelling, character development, action, darker tone, humor, the theme song, background musics, voice acting, animation and appeal to all ages. It currently sits at a 8/10 on IMDb and an 8.8/10 on TV.com.