Shredder & Splintered

**Shredder & Splintered** is episode number 5 of the *1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* cartoon series.

It is the fifth episode of season 1 in (1987). This episode of the show is part of the Heroes in a 1/2 Shell arc. It was written by David Wise and Patti Howeth, and directed by Yoshikatsu Kasai. It originally aired on December 18, 1987, in syndication. It is available on DVD on the box set released on April 20, 2004.

Previous video releases of this episode gave it the name **The Shredder is Splintered**, and the DVD release lists it as **Shredded and Splintered**.

## Synopsis

Shredder creates a retro-mutagen gun that can undo any mutation and dares the Turtles to come get it. As Donatello tries to create a fuel source for the vehicle that The Nutrinos left behind, Splinter and the Turtles eventually make their way to the Technodrome just in time to discover Krang in his new body.

## Plot

The people of New York City have reported sightings of the Ninja Turtles, mostly exhibiting panic and hostility. April O'Neil is not happy about it, because it is not her story. The Turtles reassure her that she will get the full story and agree with Splinter that it is time to put The Shredder away.

Shredder contacts the Turtles at their sewer lair via their TV to show off his *Retromutagen Ray Generator*, a device that reverses mutations as he tests it on Scrag (a bat mutant). He claims it can transform Splinter back into Hamato Yoshi and invites them to "come and get it." Splinter says that he must go alone, because Shredder can use the device to transform the Turtles back into ordinary turtles.

The Turtles try to use the Starcruiser left by the Neutrinos to transport Splinter to the Technodrome, but it runs out of fuel. Donatello goes to Baxter Stockman's workshop to build something else, moments before the Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Splinter are attacked by Rocksteady and Bebop. The two mutants pose quite a threat to the Turtles, but the Turtles use ingenuity and a cement truck to immobilize them.

In the Technodrome, Shredder shows Krang his new "body"—a robot which Krang can pilot from inside. Krang's new body is equipped with a Molecular Amplification Unit microchip, which can enlarge both Krang and the robot. Shredder pulls the switch, and as electricity crackles, Shredder yells, "It's alive, it's alive!"

Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Splinter try to break into the Technodrome. The intruder alarm sounds, and Shredder—saying it is too soon and Krang "hasn't come to its senses" yet—sends the Foot robots to destroy the Turtles. While the Turtles fight the Foot robots, Splinter slips inside the Technodrome in search of the Retro Mutagen Ray Generator. The Turtles defeat the Foot robots by hacking open a raw sewage line, which causes the out coming water to flush the robots away.

April, who had returned to the Channel 6 News Building with the Turtle Van and a Turtle Communicator, is about to get fired by her boss Burne Thompson for being in cahoots with the Turtles. April O'Neil threatens him with the Turtle Communicator, pretending it is a "Hyper-Sonic Turtle Death Ray," until he signs a voucher authorizing her a film crew.

Meanwhile, within the Technodrome, Krang awakes in his new body and is delighted by the results. Splinter has discovered what he thinks is the Retro-Mutagen-Ray-Generator, but is just a hologram. Then Shredder arrives, accompanied by many holograms of himself, and engages Splinter in a martial arts combat.

The Turtles, watching from a remote control camera, see Krang heading for the Trans-Dimensional Portal, where he contacts General Traag, leader of the Stone Warriors from Dimension X. General Traag tells Krang that the troops are ready and waiting. Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael arrive to stop Krang from opening the Transdimensional Portal, but Krang uses the Molecular Amplification Device to expand to twenty times his size and chases them out of the Technodrome. He smashes a hole through the street and climbs out, pursued by the Turtles.

Donatello arrives aboard his new creation: the Turtle Blimp, created from the Neutrino's star mobile and Baxter Stockman's spare parts. He is closely followed by April, Vernon Fenwick, and their film crew.

April videotapes Donatello and Leonardo as they slip inside Krang's robot to destroy his Molecular Amplification Unit, even as Krang catches the Turtle Blimp glider and prepares to crush Michelangelo and Raphael. Leonardo can't cut out the growth mechanism with his katana, so Donatello smashes it with his Bō staff. As Krang begins to shrink, Donatello and Leonardo rush out before they are crushed, and hop on the glider. Krang, at normal size, contacts Shredder for help, but Shredder is still fighting Splinter in the Technodrome. Shredder uses a device to imprison Splinter inside an electric cage and disappears to help Krang.

Splinter, fearing Shredder will use the Retro Mutagen Ray Generator on the Turtles, pries up a metal screw in the floor with his fingernails and hurls it through the bars of his cage at the generator, which shuts of the power.

Shredder arrives and aims the Retro-Mutagen Ray Generator towards the Turtles, who are all horrified as they realize they are about to be transformed into ordinary turtles. Then Splinter arrives and throws his Bō staff at the generator, destroying it. The Turtles thank Splinter and sadly acknowledge that the Retro-Mutagen Ray Generator was probably his only chance to become human again, but Splinter said he had to do it to save the Turtles. Shredder and Krang escape back to the Technodrome followed by the Turtles and Splinter.

When they arrive, Krang's Stone Warriors are marching from the Transdimensional Portal... until Donatello reverses the flow of the portal, causing the Technodrome to pull itself into Dimension X. The Turtles and Splinter run out and turn around to see the Technodrome and everyone inside disappear.

Krang and Shredder discover that they are in Dimension X, as billions of rock soldiers wave to the Technodrome as it appears. Krang sees his chance to conquer his home dimension, but Shredder grumbles while removing his mask, "But I don't want to conquer this place. I want to conquer Earth." Krang says he is absolute master of Dimension X and Shredder will do his bidding from now on. Shredder exclaims,"The Shredder takes orders from no one!" Krang responded they shall see.

Back on Earth, April reports her story about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but the people of New York City are split in their opinion about them.

At the end of the episode, Splinter warns the Turtles that he fears that they have not seen the last of Shredder or Krang, foreshadowing the next season. An announcer says that their showing a classic movie called "The Evil Brain from Dimension X," but the Turtles are completely unamused.

## Characters

### Major characters

* April O'Neil
* Bebop
* Burne Thompson
* Donatello
* Krang
* Leonardo
* Michelangelo
* Raphael
* Rocksteady
* Shredder
* Splinter
* Vernon Fenwick

### Minor characters

* Army colonel
* Channel 6 news crew
* Anchorman
* Cleaning lady (debut)
* Dopey
* Dumbo
* Foot Soldiers
* General Traag
* Grunt
* Man in Hawai'ian shirt
* Old lady
* Scrag (retro-mutates)
* Turtle fanatics

### Species

* Humans
* Mutant bat
* Mutant dog
* Mutant lizard
* Mutant rat
* Mutant turtles
* Robots
* Rock Soldiers

### Locations

* Channel 6
* Dimension X
* New York City
* Technodrome
* Turtle Lair

### Vehicles

* Starcruiser
* Technorover
* Turtle Seeking Cycle
* Turtle Van
* Dimension X tanks
* Channel 6 newsvan
* Turtle Blimp

### Gadgets

* Turtlecom
* Turtlevision
* Retromutagen Ray Generator
* Cement mixer
* Laser guns
* Grappling hook
* Molecular Amplification Unit
* Technorover's Guided missiles
* Technodrome's platform control center
* Hologram control center
* Shredder's sword
* Splinter's stick
* Krang's Comlink
* Electric cage device
* Krang's axes
* Krang's winged arms

## Home media releases

### VHS

* *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Epic Begins*
* *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Shredder is Splintered*

### DVD

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

## Notes

### Errors

* When the Foot Soldiers shoot at Splinter and the Turtles (except Donatello), Raphael is seen with Donatello's colors.
* During the truck fight with Rocksteady and Bebop, there's a part where Leonardo is seen with Raphael's colors.
* Raphael and Donatello have opposite positions between shots when on the Turtle Blimp.
* When Michelangelo asked "What sort of juice goes this crate take?" his wristbands were colored green.

### Continuity Errors

* Where did Shredder get that sword from when he's fighting Splinter? Did he get it off screen? It must also be a pretty blunt sword, because it can't even cut through Splinter's cane...which the latter snaps apart with his bare hands a few minutes later.
* During the fight between Splinter and Shredder, Splinter's cane is almost split in half by Shredder's sword. Yet when he rescues the Turtles by destroying the Retromutagen Ray, the cane is whole again.
* When Shredder blasts the Retromutagen Ray on Scrag, he goes back into human form, however, moments later, he can be seen back into bat form with the rest of the punk gang when behind bars in the Technodrome.

### Trivia

* The woman with whom Burne is talking to is probably Tiffany (unspoken in this episode).
* When April gets fired, she manages to get her job back **by threatening to blow up the entire Channel 6 building.**
	+ Of course, this doesn't work for long, as Burne takes back his order and chases after April with two security guards afterwards. She's still seen later reporting under the Channel 6 banner as if nothing's happened, though.
* Why did Vernon run away from his boss when April makes her escape? Burne's not after him! It does fit with Vernon's later characterization as a glory-hunting sneak, but it seems a little odd considering that the first season mostly depicted him as a coward.
* This is the first instance where Shredder utter his "classic line": "Tonight, I dine on turtle soup!"
* The old lady (with the gun) from "Turtle Tracks" makes a second appearance in the end of the episode.
* Shredder's shouts of "It's alive...!" while electricity arcs around Krang's body is a reference to the classic movie *Frankenstein.* [1]
* Donatello makes the Turtle Blimp in this episode.
* Krang receives his android body in this episode. In this episode the body has an Inspector Gadget-esque ability to transform its arms into tools and other useful items; however, Krang is not seen using this ability again until "The Big Break-In" (it later appears in *Turtles Forever*, in Ch'rell's rebuilt body).
* First apparition of the Turtlecoms. In this episode they all resemble April's disguised powder compact version but the Turtles' versions would later be seen in their familiar walkie-talkie style from Season 2 onwards.
* Bebop and Rocksteady were last seen stuck in cement, and were never seen going into the dimensional portal at the end when Donatello sent Krang and Shredder back into Dimension X, but in the next season, Bebop and Rocksteady are there with the Shredder, even though the Technodrone was said to be out of power at this point in the series.
* Final apparition of Baxter's lab.
* Final apparition of the Foot Soldiers until "Teenagers from Dimension X" and the final time their Foot Clan logo on their masks are colored red.
* A flashback of this episode is used in the season 3 episode, "Blast from the Past".
* Final appearance of the white Channel 6 newsvans .

## Quotes

**Michelangelo:** "Uh-oh, it's that Retro-muto, uh, thingamabob!!"

**Donatello:** He's gonna use it to turn us back into ordinary turtles!!

**Raphael:** "Well gang, looks like it's back to the old pet shop for us!!"

**Shredder: "**Far from it! Tonight, I dine on turtle soup!"

- Looks like **Shredder** is hungry for vengeance. *\*rimshot\**
**Rocksteady:** Well-well-well! Lookie what we found! **Bebop:** We got a score to settle with you little twoips!! *(Rocksteady then tosses Leonardo and Raphael into some trash cans)* **Rocksteady:** Awww! Did I hoit youse?! *(whips out rifle)* Dis'll make it better!!!! *(fires off rifle)*
- **Rocksteady**, with a Ph. D in weaponry.
**Krang:** I am Krang, the all powerful, I have *never* been defeated! **Michelangelo:** Well you've never tangled with a turtle before, pal!﻿
- Uh.....**Krang**? YES. YOU HAVE.