Things Change

Major Characters

 * Donatello (Sam Regal)
 * Leonardo (Michael Sinterniklaas)
 * Michelangelo (Wayne Grayson)
 * Raphael (Frank Frankson)
 * Splinter (Darren Dunstan)
 * Oroku Saki (Scottie Ray)

Secondary Characters

 * Purple Dragon Gang Members
 * John
 * Two Ton
 * Spike
 * Sunny
 * Foot Ninja
 * Police
 * Officer Frank (Chris Adams II)
 * Sarge

Main Locations, Vehicles and Accessories

 * Old Lair
 * Sewer Tunnels
 * City Streets and Rooftops
 * Purple Dragon Warehouse
 * Saki’s Rooftop Palace
 * New Lair
 * Armored Truck (Battle Shell pre-mods)
 * Mousers
 * Shell-Cell

Plot Synopsis
This season opens with the TMNT enduring another one of Splinter’s training sessions in their lair. All is going as per usual until the lair starts to shake and crumble. Suddenly, a horde of small robots burst through a wall. A large battle ensues between the mechanical menaces and our heroes. Just after the turtles and Splinter have defeated their robotic foes, the wall that the Mousers entered through collapses, which separates the the turtles from their Master Splinter.

The turtles communicate with Splinter via Shell-Cell, and they agree to rendezvous in another part of the sewer system. On the way to the rendezvous point, the TMNT are forced to go above ground, and in doing so, they interrupt a robbery taking place on behalf of The Purple Dragons. During the course of this side adventure, Raph is unintentionally locked inside the Dragon’s Armored Truck. The rest of the guys can only watch and follow as Raphael gets hauled off, along with the stolen loot.

By taking rooftop shortcuts, the other three turtles are able to see where the truck stops to unload. Mikey drops down, dispatches Two Ton, and Don frees Raph. But, just as they are about to make their exit, the TMNT are cornered by a large number of Purple Dragons. A battle royal occurs in the alley outside the Dragon warehouse. The turtles do just fine, but after their victory over the street thugs, numerous ninjas show up, surround our heroes, and face them in combat. These mysterious ninjas prove to be quite a challenge, nearly outmatching the TMNT here and there...Therefore, the mutants decide to "borrow" the Purple Dragons' armored truck and get the shell out of there...

After ditching the truck in an abandoned sewer tunnel, the TMNT finally rendezvous with Splinter, who has a discovery to share with them. The Sensei has stumbled across an old abandoned chamber in the sewer system, and has decided that this will be their new home and HQ. After inspecting the cavernous space, the turtles couldn’t agree more, and we leave them as they are beginning to make things tidy for living. Meanwhile, in The Foot Headquarters, John, the leader of the Purple Dragons, is apologizing to his mysterious "boss", and swears to him that he won't fail again. Oroku Saki acknowledges this and says that John won't fail him again...ever, before approaching John and mercilessly killing him (off-screen), sadistically laughing while doing so.

Trivia

 * This is the first appearance of the Turtles on television since the Saban 1997-1998 series, Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation.
 * The introduction to the episode begins with a voice-over by Leonardo where the Turtles are cornered in an alley by the Purple Dragons. This sequence is identical to the opening of the first issue of the Mirage comic book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1.
 * The first episode of the 1987 TMNT series also had the Turtles fighting a street gang who took orders from the Shredder.
 * The Turtles' original lair also looks similar to the lair in the first issue of the Mirage comic book.
 * This episode marks the first appearance of Mouser robots in the 2003 series.
 * This episode marks the first appearance of the Purple Dragons and Foot Ninja in the 2003 series.
 * This episode marks the first appearance of Ch'rell.
 * The two cops in this episode are modeled after series creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.
 * This is the first episode where Mikey attempts to say his 1987 counterpart's famous catchphrase "Cowabunga!", but is stopped by Raph before he can finish.
 * Despite accurately describing the Turtles by their species (albeit thinking they were costumes), the Purple Dragon leader in this episode calls them "frogs" when pleading for mercy before Oroku Saki.
 * This episode is ranked #2 on the TMNT Top Ten.

Gallery
Schattenkrieger