Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation

Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation is a television show that ran from 1997 - 1998 on Fox. It was produced by Saban. The turtles made a special appearance on Power Rangers: In Space.

The series was supposed to followe the 1987 cartoon series, but that wasn't the case. It follows the events of the first three movies.

A fifth turtle, Venus de Milo was added to the team. Also introduced was an army of humanoid dragons called "The Rank" led by the Dragonlord.

The show never caught on and was canceled after one season of 26 episodes. There were plans for an animated 2nd season, but they never materialized. The events of the show aren't considered "canon."

Venus de Milo
The most interesting contribution the show made to the turtle's mythos is a fifth turtle, Venus de Milo. Venus, a female, is shown as being an adept of the mystic arts of the Shinobi. Her fighting style sometimes resembles Kung Fu more than Ninjutsu. Venus is a controversial character and many fans didn't like her.

At the time, many fans believed that Venus was created by Fox and Eastman and Laird were forced to use her. Others say that Kevin Eastman created the character because he has a positive opinion of her. Either way, Peter Laird does not like Venus and removed her profile from the official site.