The Case of the Killer Pizzas

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"The Case of the Killer Pizzas" is the eleventh episode of the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series. It is the sixth episode of season 2 (1988). This episode was written by Douglas Booth. It originally aired on November 5, 1988, in syndication. It is available on DVD in the box set released on April 26, 2005.

The unnamed creatures that are the villains of this episode later appear in "Sewer Surfin'", the third level of the video game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. They appear throughout the level jumping from the water to attack the player, and a cluster of them make up the level's boss battle. They were replaced in the Super Nintendo Entertainment System version of the game by the Rat King on a Footski. The instruction booklet of the Super NES version named them Chunky Cheese Pizza Monsters. One also appeared as a mini-boss in Back from the Sewers. The manual for Back from the Sewers named them Sewer Mutant. The end credits for both games simply called them Pizza Monster.

Writer

 * Douglas Booth

Plot Summary
Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady send eggs which resemble meatballs from Dimension X to Shredder and Baxter Stockman. The plan is to sprinkle the eggs on pizzas and hope that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles eat them. Shredder sends down information to the sewers about a pizza competition.

April O'Neil and Irma also attend the Pizza Bake-Off, where Irma avoids a man who wants her as a girlfriend. April agrees to enter the TMNT in the "Three Prize Pizzas" raffle.

Meanwhile, Baxter Stockman has surreptitiously placed an egg on each of the three prize pizzas. However, the pizza maker has a rush order, and sends two of the prize pizzas out on delivery, replacing them with fresh ones. When Baxter reads the winning names in the drawing, he lies, saying the TMNT won. April delivers the three pizzas to the TMNT and they give her one of them. April and Irma decide to eat that pizza at Irma's apartment - not knowing that the egg from Dimension X is on that pizza.

When Irma heats up the pizza, the energy of the microwave oven activates the egg and causes it to hatch into a little red creature. Irma faints when she opens the microwave. April contacts the TMNT, who rush over to Irma's apartment and try to capture the little red creature, which escapes. The turtles realize that it came from the pizza, and there must be two other red creatures out there as well.

The TMNT fly the blimp over New York City and spy Mario, the pizza delivery boy, as he delivers pizza to two children. The TMNT are too late to stop the kids from reheating the pizza in the microwave, and two red creatures hatch and dash into the sewers. The two creatures join the original in bathing in a subterranean river, which causes them to mutate into large yellow monsters.

The TMNT are attacked by the monsters, which are being controlled by Baxter Stockman's handheld device. Donatello smashes the controller with his bo staff, causing it to release its hold on the monsters. Baxter Stockman reads the instructions on how to force the monsters to mutate back to eggs. The turtles team up with Shredder and Stockman to fight the monsters as Michelangelo jumps into the water after the water-logged remote control, but when he attempts to use it on the monsters the batteries go bad. Leonardo spots a power box and uses his katanas to cut the electrical lines. A loose line falls into a puddle of water, causing an arc to leap from puddle to puddle until it reaches the monsters. The power overload causes the monsters to become eggs again, and Shredder and Baxter Stockman escape.

Trivia

 * The creatures, when they reached their full growth, look very similar to the xenomorphs in the 1979 film Alien.
 * The part where Michelangelo fights the washing machine dummy with his nunchuks is removed from UK airings of this episode.
 * April contacts the Turtles via cordless phone instead of her Turtlecom.
 * Bebop and Rocksteady appear for the first time since "Return of the Shredder".

Character voices

 * Leonardo (Cam Clarke)
 * Michelangelo (Townsend Coleman)
 * Raphael (Rob Paulsen)
 * Donatello (Barry Gordon)
 * Splinter (Peter Renaday)
 * April O'Neil (Renae Jacobs)
 * Vernon Fenwick (Peter Renaday)
 * Irma Langinstein (Jennifer Darling)
 * Shredder (James Avery)
 * Krang (Pat Fraley)
 * Baxter Stockman (Pat Fraley)
 * Bebop (Barry Gordon)
 * Rocksteady (Cam Clarke)
 * Little Boy (Jennifer Darling)
 * Little Girl (Renae Jacobs)
 * Alfredo (Cam Clarke)
 * UFO Pizza Chef (Pat Fraley)
 * Mario

Goofs
There is an unusually high amount of mistakes in the episode:


 * Shredder's gauntlets seem to be longer when he uses them on the fire hydrant.
 * Leonardo's red chess piece flashes red and white as he starts his turn.
 * When Raphael said he could practically smell Shredder, his mouth didn't move.
 * The turtles seem to withdraw their heads into their bodies (which real turtles can't do). This was a common mistake in the series, most prominently used in the live action films, particularly the first and third.
 * Raphael is seen with Donatello's colors when he spins the pizzas with his sais.
 * When Baxter receives the contest winners' tickets (and lies to trick the turtles) the fourth ticket disappears as it shows the actual winners' names.
 * The creature is animated late just as the box lid flies open.
 * Leonardo's tail is missing when he's looking through the hole.
 * When Raphael says "if it isn't history by now" he is seen with Leonardo's katanas.
 * Just as Leonardo and Raphael are coming inside from the roof, Donatello replaces Leonardo.
 * Raphael replaces Michelangelo inside the house.
 * When Leonardo says they should catch the creatures, Michelangelo is seen with Leonardo's katanas.
 * The TV shows April and her crew chasing the creatures with the cameraman shown too.
 * The full grown monster throws a brick without picking it up and throwing it, ignoring the hole on the wall.
 * Michelangelo seems to jump onto the giant monster from nowhere.
 * The monster doesn't have tonsils.
 * After the Turtles mistake April for a pizza monster in a corner in the sewers, Michelangelo speaks in Raphael's voice.
 * Leonardo pushes Shredder out of the way, and fully becomes Raphael a shot later. When the pizza monster picks up Raphael (Leonardo), he completely becomes Raphael (voice becomes Raphael's), and Leonardo is on the ground.
 * Leonardo jumps over the monster to the electric switch, even though it and the other monsters were in front of the turtles.
 * Baxter's hair changes length throughout the episode.
 * When Bebop throws the eggs through the portal, the stomach area of Krang's body is red.
 * When Shredder slides by in the trolley in the pizza parlor he is drawn smaller than when Michelangelo is waiting next to him to throw the pizza at him.
 * The Turtles were holding their weapons when Shredder threw the knife at the saucepan hangers but their weapons were then shown still on their belts in the next shot.

Locations

 * Turtles' Lair
 * Technodrome (1987 TV series)
 * UFO Pizza
 * Irma's Apartment
 * Sewer System
 * Penthouse

Vehicles

 * Technodrome (1987 TV series)
 * Turtle Blimp (1987 TV series)
 * Channel 6 Newsvan

Gadgets

 * Com-Link

Quotes

 * Krang: The eggs must be handled with care.
 * Rocksteady carelessly sends the eggs through the portal by way of a tennis racket.
 * Baxter: No, you idiots!
 * Baxter leaps to catch the eggs.
 * Shredder: Excellent reflexes, Baxter! We may make a ninja out of you yet!
 * --Ironically, they later end up making him a fly.

---
 * Leonardo: April O'Neil, on behalf of pizza lovers everywhere, it gives us pleasure to award you this...
 * Michelangelo: One slice!
 * Leonardo: Michelangelo!
 * Michelangelo{dejectedly}: I mean... One pizza.

---
 * Leonardo: OK, Where's this killer pizza?
 * April: It's not the pizza, it's the creature that came with the pizza!
 * Raphael: Hey! Sounds like a great title for a horror movie!
 * --April almost gets killed, Raphael sees comedy gold. It happens.

---
 * Vernon: You go ahead, I'll cover my rear..Uhh uh, THE rear!
 * April: (dragging Vernon's by his arm) Ohhh, Vernon!!