Tales of Leo

"Tales of Leo" is the nineteenth episode of the animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003), which originally aired on September 13, 2003.

Major Characters

 * Donatello (Sam Regal)
 * Leonardo (Michael Sinterniklaas)
 * Michelangelo (Wayne Grayson)
 * Raphael (Frank Frankson)
 * Splinter (Darren Dunstan)
 * April O'Neil (Veronica Taylor)
 * Casey Jones (Marc Thompson)
 * The Shredder (Scottie Ray)
 * Hun (Greg Carey)
 * Baxter Stockman (Scott Williams

Secondary Characters

 * The Police & Fire Departments
 * Foot Ninja (Flashbacks)
 * Foot Elite (Flashbacks)

Main Locations, Vehicles and Accessories

 * April's Apartment Building
 * City streets
 * Casey's Grandmother's house in Northampton, Massachusetts
 * Foot HQ

Voice-Over Introduction
The Shredder : My revenge is complete. My hated enemies thought they had destroyed me, but I am not so easily destroyed. I was merely biding my time, awaiting the right moment for my ninja forces to strike. And they struck hard. They herded my enemies to me like sheep to the slaughter. And even though allies foolishly came to their aid, my enemies were forced to make a cowardly retreat. But vengeance was mine nonetheless. At last the Turtles are no more!

Plot Synopsis
The four Turtles, Splinter, April and Casey are all trapped in an old walk-in cooler, as April’s apartment building burns. Shredder and the Foot have left the scene, due to the arrival of the New York police department. However, New York’s finest have arrived too late to stop the inferno, and it looks like our heroes will go up in smoke with the building! Fortunately, April suddenly remembers that the motor that used to power the cooler was removed a few years back, leaving a hole in the exterior wall.

Raph moves some boxes out of the way and finds a flimsily installed patch over the old motor opening. He quickly pries the patch off, and they all crawl through the opening into the adjoining alley. Once they pull the unconscious Leo outside, the crew beats a hasty retreat away from the fire. The group watches as the building explodes into flame. With Leo to care for, the Turtles and Splinter don’t know what to do next. April’s place has burned to the ground and it’s still too dangerous to return to the lair. Just when all hope seems lost, Casey comes up with an idea and he offers to take everyone to his Grandma’s old farm in Western Massachusetts. No one will find or bother them there.

Master Splinter and the Turtles, including the unconscious Leo, huddle in a U-Haul trailer attached to Casey’s old ’57 Chevy. It’s freezing out as they leave the city, and it only gets colder as they head north to Massachusetts. When our heroes finally arrive at the dilapidated farm, the Turtles are almost frozen solid and Leo is in real bad shape. Casey and April get a fire going in the fireplace ASAP as Leo is placed on a couch and covered with a heavy blanket. Gradually everyone warms up, but Leonardo remains, more or less, in a coma.

Meanwhile, in the city, Saki wants proof that the Turtles really perished in the fire. Baxter Stockman agrees to use a device of his creation to get hard DNA evidence, if Shredder will allow him to study Shredder’s mysterious exoskeleton once the proof of the TMNT's demise is presented. Saki reluctantly agrees, warning Stockman that he had better not fail again - or he will get his final punishment. Baxter says not to worry, if the Turtles died in the fire, he’ll find the evidence.

Back at the farm, everyone is worried about Leonardo’s lack of progress. In an effort to communicate with Leo’s spirit, Don, Mike and Raph all tell Leo a heartfelt story about an adventure from their early days. With each story, Leo stirs a little more.

In NYC, Stockman goes to the site of the fire, but he can’t find any real evidence that the Turtles, or anyone else, died in the blaze. Fearing the repercussions of facing Shredder empty handed, and wanting the opportunity to study the exoskeleton, Baxter manufactures some evidence to deceive Saki.

At the farm, Splinter tells Leonardo the tale of how he conquered his fear of heights. Things still look bleak, but Leonardo suddenly mutters, "No fear" and wakes up! Everyone is overjoyed and excited to see that the boy in blue is back, even though there is still a long road to full recovery.

Back at the Shredder's dojo, the Foot Clan's leader is deceived by Stockman's ruse and tells the mad scientist that the exoskeleton will be delivered to his lab in the morning. Saki then leaves, cheered by the news that his foes are apparently dead. We leave the Foot HQ with Stockman laughing about his opportunity to study the mysterious suit, thus enabling to deal out his own form of punishment in the near future. .

Quotes

 * Michelangelo: (shivering) Man, it sucks being coldblooded.

(April makes soot fall from the chimney; Mikey coughs) Michelangelo: When was that, in the late Jurassic? Casey: Dude, ya' live in a sewer.
 * Casey: Alright, so it needs some fixin' up. The place got a little run down since grandma passed away.

Young Donatello: What, you didn't get the car?
 * (After a young Leo saves a young Don from drowning, both are panting heavily)


 * Splinter: It is said that the voice of a loved one can guide a lost spirit back to its home.

Leonardo: I-I was..but you brought me back. All of you.
 * Raphael: We thought you were gone, bro.

Trivia

 * This episode is ranked #10 on the TMNT Top Ten.
 * Stockman's second punishment is shown. In addition to the clawed out eye, he wears a neck brace, has a metal left hand, and is now in a wheelchair.
 * In Michelangelo's flashback, he asks Leo where his "Game Guy" is, this is obviously a spoof of Nintendo's Game Boy.
 * Most likely to keep the turtles looking more human, whenever a flashback of the young turtles occurs, their eyes are given irises.
 * This is the first time we see Raph cry.


 * This is the first episode to show that Leonardo was afraid of something. The second was The Darkness Within.