It was pretty enjoyable to put together my last post on the various Super Friends DVD's, that I thought I would hit it again this week with a series which I also own on DVD, but which can be somewhat of a pain to decipher the various releases on home video. Specifically, in which order you should watch them. I'm talking about Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, and the fourteen releases.
There were five seasons of the show which started airing in September of 2012. However, by season five, not only had a major cast change occurred, but so too did the name of the show itself. No longer was it known as Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but instead, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Midway through season one, Paramount started releasing episodes from season one. It was a perplexing thing to see, and I can't help but feel like I wasn't the only person out there wondering why they would start releasing the series on home video not only before the initial season was finished, but in pieces. As a result, I initially passed on the set.
However, as time passed, and season one ended, a total of three DVD's would have been released through October of 2013. The would ultimately be sold not only individually, but packaged together as a complete season one set, though not by name.
This first disc, Rise Of The Turtles, contained episodes one through six. The second disc, Enter The Shredder featured episodes seven through thirteen. However, it skips episode fourteen, and instead includes episode fifteen. The final disc, Ultimate Showdown, wrapped up season one starting with the prior missed episode fourteen, and then by including episodes sixteen through twenty-six.
As an added bonus to the discs, they feature a unique six part animated comic book series, Tales From The Lair. Additionally, there is a Karaoke music video, and six "Making of" animatics.
It's disappointing to note that the first two disc sets, The Rise Of The Turtles, and Enter Shredder, are only available in a full screen format. Meanwhile, the remaining discs in the entire run feature widescreen presentations. It's too bad that these first two didn't get an updated re-release to include the preferred widescreen format. It doesn't deter too badly from the overall enjoyment of the series, but it's definitely noticeable when switching between the second and third set.
Mutagen Mayhem, The Good, The Bad, And Casey Jones, and Showdown In Dimension X
The trend continued into season two, and continued throughout the remainder of the series, where instead of releasing full seasons, Paramount continued to release individual volumes. Between March and December 2014, they released three sets which would encompass the entirety of the second season.
It's interesting to note that the order of the episodes on the DVD's don't necessarily match that of their release dates. Mutagen Mayhem contains episodes one through six, but switches the order of episodes two and three. The Good, The Bad, And Casey Jones contains episodes seven through twelve, but flips episodes eight and nine.
In between The Good, The Bad, And Casey Jones and Showdown In Dimension X, Paramount released a Wal-Mart exclusive disc entitled Pulverizer Power. However, this disc contained three episodes which were released on prior discs. There is no new material to be found on the disc, and it's unnecessary to the set.
You will however need Showdown In Dimension X, which contains episode thirteen through the final twenty-sixth of season two. Like the prior discs, a couple episodes have been flip flopped. Episodes eighteen and nineteen in this case.
Retreat!, Return To NYC!, and Revenge!
Season three is where the show started to get a little wonky for me. One of the biggest changes in the show occurred after episode nineteen of season two, when Leonardo voice actor, Jason Biggs, was fired for tweets on his private Twitter account, which Nickelodeon had linked to for some reason on the Turtle's page they hosted.
While the voice acting was taken over by actor, Dominic Catrambone for the remainder of the season, Seth Green would step in as of season three, and continue to voice the character for the remainder of the series. Though it was a little silly, Nickelodeon did a good job at transitioning the new voice actor in. I won't spoil it for anyone looking to watch the show.
To collect the entirety of season three, you'll need to grab Retreat!, Return To NYC!, and Revenge!. The first contains episodes one through seven of season three, the second contains eight through fourteen, while the last set encompasses fifteen through twenty-six.
As I mentioned above, season three gets a bit wonky for me, and it's not just the change from Biggs to Green. Overall, the episodes too odd turns, getting very weird in the process, almost on the verge of nightmarish. It didn't seem very kid friendly anymore.
If season three was wonky, season four was straight up convoluted. Though the Fugitoid was a highly anticipated addition to the show, it brought with it a transition from Earth to space, to alternate dimensions. Even as an adult the show confused me more and more, and I can't even imagine how kids kept up with it at this point.
Unlike prior DVD releases, which encompassed an entire season on three sets of DVD's, Paramount started releasing duel disc sets. While this would have made sense if consistent, it wasn't.
Beyond The Known Universe was the first duel disc set, and it contained episodes one through twelve. However, when Paramount released Earth's Last Defense, they returned back to a single disc format. This in turn meant less episodes. So, while season four could have been wrapped up in two sets, it wasn't, as the aforementioned disc only contained episodes thirteen through nineteen.
Parmount once again returned to two discs for Super Shredder, which included the final episodes of season four, but also episodes one through four of season five. This disc was also the first to be entitled, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This new name would remain for the remaining discs.
Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady, and The Final Chapters
The Turtles are back on Earth for the final season of Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. However, by this point I was so lost in the series, having felt that it was so far derailed from its initial premise, that I honestly checked out prior to the finale. Since I do own the DVD's, I should go back and watch them all again. See if a fresh perspective makes more sense overall.
To finish your collection of the show, on DVD, Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady will encompass episodes eighteen, nineteen, twenty, and ten, in that order. But, it's get weird again from there. The Final Chapters, features episodes five through nine on disc two. Disc one is a whole other ball of nonsense to wade through, and needs a paragraph unto itself.
Episodes eleven through thirteen, The Wasteland Warrior, The Impossible Desert, and Carmageddon!, are presented as a feature length episode with an all new title, Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse. Episodes fourteen through seventeen follow.
What essentially happens with these last two DVD sets, is that if you want to watch the series in order, you're going to have to jump back and fourth. After the set, Super Shredder, you need to start with disc two of The Final Chapters. From there, you've got to pop in Wanted: Rocksteady & Bebop, but only to watch the bonus episode, Lone Rat and Cubs. Then it's back to The Final Chapters to watch all of disc one, only to go back to Wanted: Bepop & Rocksteady for the three episodes contained within (less the bonus you've already watched). Boy, it's like playing one of those old time Sierra games on PC. Insert this disc. Now this one. Back to this one. Now this one...
It's kind of annoying, but there you have it. That's the order to watch all the DVD's of Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles if you want the full story from start to finish. Way more convoluted and complicated than it needs to be.
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