The Monster Hunter

"The Monster Hunter" is the twentieth episode of the animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003), which originally aired on September 20, 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)
 * Dr. Abigail Finn, a.k.a. The Monster Hunter (Kathy Pilon)

Secondary Characters

 * Parker, Dr. Finn’s assistant (Michael Sinterniklaas)

Main Locations

 * Casey’s Grandmother’s house in Northampton, Massachusetts
 * The woods around the farm

Voice-Over Introduction
Michelangelo : It is said that a terrible monster roams these woods. A creature from a forgotten age that brings terror and fear in the dark of night. Yes, there's a terrible monster roaming these woods, "And it's me, ooga booga!"

Plot Synopsis
April is cleaning up the farmhouse when Casey Jones tramps in and gets muck all over the freshly cleaned floors. April freaks and kicks Jones out of the house.

Outside, Mikey returns from exploring the woods and gets an earful from Casey about risking being seen by the crazy neighbor. Mikey says that the man did set his pit bull after him, but not to worry, as he’s a ninja and he got away unseen. No sooner do these words leave Mike’s lips then an ominous looking truck pulls into the driveway, and out jumps Dr. Abigail Finn, a wacky scientist who hosts a cable access TV show called "The Monster Hunter." Finn dreams of finding a real monster so her show will be featured on prime time network TV.

Dr. Finn and her assistant, Parker, start filming and Casey runs out to shoo them off his property. As Jones is trying to get rid of Finn, she keeps asking him about recent reports of monster sightings in the area, specifically green men. Casey states that there are no monsters, and then Finn's assistant, Parker, boots up a tape where we can see Mikey walking through the woods and being chased off by a dog. As Casey struggles to explain away the tape, April comes to his rescue and gets the Doctor to leave the property. As the monster hunter is leaving, she vows to get to the bottom of the "Green Man" mystery.

Meanwhile, Leo is moping around in the barn feeling sorry for himself. Embarrassed that he let himself be trapped by Shredder and the Foot, lost his swords, and worst of all, let his brothers down. Raphael arrives and hatches a plan to get Leo out of his funk: Raph fires up the old blacksmith bellows and gets Leo to start forging a new pair of swords.

As Raphael and Leonardo work on the swords (and Leo’s spirits), Donatello and Michelangelo go out to retrieve the video tape of Mikey from the Monster Hunter truck. Mike walks into the open back door of the vehicle and Don follows him in, warning Mike to get out of there because it's probably a trap. As soon as the words leave the Turtles' mouth, the doors slam shut and liquid nitrogen begins pumping into the bay! The mutants begin to freeze and have only seconds to make their escape! Don uses his bo to rip a nitrogen canister out of the wall and it sprays the doors with its icy contents. The ninjas then leap into action and break the vulnerable doors open and make their escape.

After this episode, the mutant brothers and Casey decide to teach Dr. Finn a lesson. They construct an elaborate hoax by dressing up as monsters in the effort to frighten Dr. Finn off. They stalk the woman as she searches the woods - but she proves to be no easy foil, and she captures Casey in a net! Her flying robots also prove to be problematic as they chase Donny off into the woods. Mike is able to free Casey before the Doctor can capture him and the pair escape.

Soon thereafter, Jones and Mikey meet up with Donatello in the forest. Mike spots a real Green Man in the woods right behind Donatello! Fortunately, the creature is as docile as a cow, and Mikey befriends it by giving it some of his pistachios. Suddenly, the Green Man begins to roar, as a bunch of Finn's robotic probes arrive and begin to attack and chase the creature. The Green Man is herded into the Monster Hunter van and trapped. Donatello tells Mikey to distract Dr. Finn while he and Casey rescue the Green Man. Mike torments the woman in the woods while Don and Jones invade the van, remove the tape of Mikey, and switch Casey with the real Green Man.

In the end, Dr. Finn makes a laughing stock of herself on national TV when she presents the "Green Man" to a group of news reporters. Finn announces to the group that she's captured a real monster, but when Parker opens the door of the truck, we see the costumed Casey caged and complaining about the insane behavior of Dr. Finn. Thus all rumors of monster sightings are laughed off and Abigail is humiliated. Mikey and Donatello are watching the scene from the safety of the woods. Mike congratulates Don for his good work, and then we see the Green Man standing peacefully in a clearing. Two young creatures arrive and Donatello explains that the Green Man is actually a Woman, and those are her babies. The animals snuggle and then run off into the deep forest.

Back at the barn, Raph introduces everyone to the new and improved Leonardo. Leo walks out of the shadows brandishing a new pair of swords and looking like his old self. Leonardo looks at his brothers and announces, "I think it’s time we return to New York, and finish our business with the Shredder". The group draws their weapons and with a cheer they raise them in unison.

Quotes

 * Splinter: Your brother has suffered injuries both physical and spiritual, Raphael. And he will need the support of all of us if his wounds are to fully heal.


 * April: What is it about Casey that gets under my skin?! He's so...so- (April growls angrily) Master Splinter, maybe you could teach me to meditate so I wouldn't get so angry at him. Splinter: Even meditation has its limits.


 * (Mikey and Don spy on Dr. Finn from a tree; Mikey is munching on pistachios) Michelangelo: Wha'd she say? Donatello: (annoyed) I couldn't hear her because somebody was crunching on pistachios nuts in my ear! Michelangelo: (crunching) What? (Don facepalms and shakes his head)


 * Casey: (about Donatello and Michelangelo) I can't believe you bozos walked right into a trap. Master Splinter: (meditating) I believe it.


 * Michelangelo: Heh heh, a ninja a day keeps the doctor away.

Trivia

 * Although not yet revealed, this is the first episode we see an Atlantian servant creature: The Green Monster.
 * Leo makes new katanas during this episode with help from Raphael.
 * In this episode, Donatello is seen putting back together a toaster. This may be a nod to the Mirage comics, in which he becomes obsessed with fixing up and repairing the many broken things within the farmhouse.
 * As Casey, Don, and Mike jump out at Dr. Finn in their Green Man costumes, Casey shouts, "Goongala! Goongala!" This is his battle cry from the comics.