Notes from the Underground, Part 1/Transcript

This is a transcript for Notes from the Underground, Part 1, the thirteenth episode of season 1 of TMNT (2003 series).

VOICE-OVER INTRO

Michelangelo

[Opens in a dark, underground tunnel.  The four turtles walk along rail lines and past an abandoned train car, using flashlights to see where they are going.] What, you might ask yourself, would any sane turtle be doing in an abandoned subway tunnel deep under the city? [Rumbling sound followed by falling earth.]  A tunnel so decayed, it’s going to collapse from just one little noise. And a huge weird thing howling at us at the top of its lungs. [Monstrous creature approaches and roars, the vibration causing more rumbling. The ceiling begins to collapse, as support beams break.] Funny, I’m asking myself the same question.  Let’s get out of here!

{Opening sequence; title song}

	The episode begins with an old, black and white horror movie showing on television.  A monster approaches two characters.  The female character, Velma, screams.
TV Character Velma	Doctor, I’ve never seen anything like it.
TV Character Doctor	Me neither, Velma, I’m rapidly becoming convinced . . . .
	Split screen view, movie on one side, Mikey on the other.
Mike/Doctor	There are some things man was never meant to temper with.
Commercial	I must be insane.  Friends, I’d eat a bug to sell you a car.  Mm-mmm, now that’s good eating.  If that don’t tell you I’ve got the best used car deal in town ---
	Mikey polishes off a bag of chips, tossing it aside, then he turns off the television array. Stands, stretches, and yawns.  Don is at his work desk, looking at crystals through a microscope. Mikey walks over to him.
Michelangelo	Hey Donny, whatchya doing?
Donatello	I’m checking out these crystals we found when we moved in here. Trying to classify them, but I can’t find anything like them in the books. The microscopic crystal structures are linked, almost like mutated brain cells.
Michelangelo	Ooh--wee--ooh.
Donatello	I beg your pardon?
Michelangelo	Late night monster movies. “Perhaps there are some things man was never meant to tamper with.”  Ha-ha, nothing says a turtle can’t tamper though.
	Mikey clinks the two crystals together.  This causes them to produce a high-pitched whirring sound.
Donatello	Huh?
Michelangelo	Huh?
Splinter	Donatello, what is it?
	Leo appears from his room, yawns and jumps down to the ground floor.
Splinter	What is happening?
Raphael	[Jumps down from above.] What’s with the noise?
Donatello	I’m not quite sure.
	All walk over to his workspace.  Scene pans to caverns, where creatures appear.  Back to lair.  Whirring sound continues until Don separates the crystals.
Splinter	Are we in any danger, Donatello?
Donatello	Maybe the harmonics of the energy signature of the crystalline structure . . . .
Raphael	You don’t know, do you?
Donatello	Not a clue.
Michelangelo	I started the whole thing.
	Alarms begin blaring.
Leonardo	Now what is it?
Donatello	Something tripped a perimeter alarm in one of the old subway tunnels.
Raphael	Whoa!
Leonardo	What in the . . . .
Raphael	Sewer rats are getting bigger.
Michelangelo	Yeah, time to cut the cheese.  [Leo gives him a look and shakes his head.] That’s not what I meant.
Leonardo	Let’s roll.
	All dash out of lair. Next scene they are skimming through the sewer tunnels in the Sewer Slider.
Leonardo	Let’s not announce ourselves.  Switch to stealth mode.
	Don switches gears and Slider becomes nearly silent.  Slider comes to stop and turtles all hop out. They are looking around.
Raphael	Nothing.
Donatello	Don’t be too sure.  This is odd.
Leonardo	What have you got?
Donatello	Some kind of weird tracks, melted right into the stone.
Raphael	Whatever it was, it tunneled right through the cement.
	Don hands flashlight to Raph and removes his duffel bag. Opens it to retrieve rock pick and baggie. Hammers off a chunk of cement.
Donatello	Looks like the molecules have become unbonded.  Maybe some kind of catalyst or an acid?
Michelangelo	Okay, this is the part in the monster movie where the first attack happens. The first guy never makes it, need I say more?
Leonardo	Just calm down Mikey till we find out what this is. What is this?
Donatello	Another mystery. One thing’s for sure though, ...
Don/Mike Together	I’ve never seen anything like it.
Michelangelo	That’s it, I’m out of here.
	Runs to Sewer Slider and hops in. Removes nunchakus and begins spinning them.
Raphael	Hey, what do you get when you cross a turtle and a chicken? Mikey.
Donatello	I need to get back anyway, to analyze this and find out just what we’re dealing with here.
	As they walk back to the slider, close-up on opening in the wall shows a pair of glowing red eyes, followed by growling.  Back at the lair, Don experiments on the fragment of cement he chipped off.
Donatello	Hmm.
Michelangelo	Was that a good ‘hmm’ or a bad ‘hmm’?  ‘Cause this is the part in the movie where we should be looking for the monsters one weakness or we can kiss our shells good-bye.  Trust me, you don’t want to underestimate a monster!
	Raph throws a glass full of water in his face.  Mikey shakes his head to remove the liquid.
Michelangelo	Thanks.
Splinter	What can you tell us, Donatello?
Donatello	It looks like that creature melted right through the stone. Being able to liquefy stone is the perfect ability for a subterranean life form.
Splinter	I am hearing answers that raise more questions. A wise strategist gathers all his information before deciding on a course of action.
Leonardo	Anybody up for a fact-finding mission?
Raphael	If something’s out there looking for us, I say we find it first.
Leonardo	All in favor say ‘Aye’.
	The three oldest turtles clasp hands and say ‘Aye’ together.  They look at Mikey.
Michelangelo	Uh . . . meep.
Leonardo	Close enough.
Splinter	Good luck, my sons.  May you return safely.
Michelangelo	[imitating Splinter] Yes, my brothers, good luck to you.
Raphael	Come on!
	Raph grabs Mikey by his mask tails and drags him off.
Michelangelo	Yikes!
	All packing knapsacks. Leo throws food into his. Raph catches Mikey reading a comic and gives him a look.  Don packs the two crystals. Scene shifts to tunnel.  Leo enters opening in the wall first, followed by Don. Mikey signals to Raph.
Michelangelo	After you.
	Raph enters and Mikey turns around to begin tiptoeing away. Raph grabs him by the top edge of his carapace and yanks him back.
Michelangelo	Huh? Whoa!
	The small tunnel leads to a tunnel with train tracks and abandoned track cars.
Raphael	What is this place?
Donatello	There’s a whole network of abandoned subway tunnels, from the early nineteen hundreds down here.
Michelangelo	Abandoned?  Right.
Donatello	Hear that creaking? [Rumbling overhead, followed by pebbles and dust falling.] These old supports should’ve given out long ago.  I suggest we all be really, really quiet.
	Unseen by them, a pair of creatures observe their progress.
Leonardo	Any sign of the creatures tracks? [Swinging his flashlight around, the beam lands on tracks in the floor.]  Guys.
Michelangelo	Nope, nothing, let’s go home.
	They ignore him and keep following the tracks. A booming sound startles them, along with falling debris.
All	Huh? Wha...?
Leonardo	Shh, everyone be still.
Michelangelo	[Reacting to dust.] Ahh, ahh, ahh . . . .
	Raph rushes forward and slaps a hand over Mikey’s face to stop his sneeze.
Raphael	Not a sound, got it?
Michelangelo	I got it.
	Mikey holds his nose. Brothers walk away and Mikey takes his hand away from his face.  A second later he sneezes very loudly and it echoes, causing more rumbling. Sections of the ceiling fall.
Raphael	Mikey, for crying out loud, next time bring an antihistamine.
Michelangelo	Hey, how am I supposed to stop a – [looks past his brothers] a huge, grotesque, and frankly quite horrifying monster?
	His brothers turn to see large creature coming towards them.  They all react with surprise.  The creature begins roaring. Rumbling in walls grows louder and support beams collapse.  All shout and run as the tunnel collapses behind them. They reach an end to the tunnel and leap forward.  All light is extinguished.  They are all coughing.
Raphael	This just gets better and better.
Donatello	Just a sec. [Touches the crystals together and they light up.]
Raphael	You think that thing survived?
Michelangelo	Know your monsters, Raph! It can melt rock.
Raphael	Oh yeah, maybe I forgot because I was trying not to get buried in a collapsing subway tunnel!
Leonardo	Everybody calm down!  Let’s keep moving.
	They all walk farther into the caverns, following tracks in the ground. Don leads the way with the glowing crystals.  When they reach a huge sunken cavern, Don loops a length of rope around a rock and scales down the cliff.  His brothers follow.  They do not see the creatures who have come up behind them.  At the bottom, Don sinks against the wall.
Donatello	Uh.  I’m beat.
Michelangelo	[groans] Even my backache’s got a backache.
Leonardo	Let’s make camp. You up for first watch?
Raphael	[spins sais] You know me.
	Crystals propped up between them, three turtles sleep while Raph keeps watch.  He is drowsy and has to shake his head to stay awake. Mikey begins to dream.  He is at the lair and approaches the door to the elevator.  It shimmers and when he reaches for it, it opens with a flash of light.  It opens onto an underground city.
Michelangelo	What the shell?
	Proceeds along an elevated walkway towards a large building.
Michelangelo	Whoa, where am I?  Hello? [His voice echoes.]  Anybody here?
	More echoes.  Looks up to see a large spire in front of him.  A black cloud begins to form around it.
Michelangelo	Huh?  [The cloud gets larger and comes towards him.]  Uh-oh.
	A large, red glowing mouth forms in the cloud and starts snapping at him.  Mikey turns and runs.
Michelangelo	No!  [Shifts back to Mikey on his bedroll talking in his sleep.]  No!
Raphael	Guys, wake up!  Mikey, rise and shine!
Michelangelo	What?
Raphael	Everybody up!  We’re under attack!
Donatello	What is it?
Raphael	Our friend is back.
	Growling and rumbling all around them, pebbles falling from the roof.
Michelangelo	So, running would be good, right?
Leonardo	Huh? [Looks up to see creature pushing a boulder off the ledge above them.]  Run!
	All start running as the boulder rolls through the tunnel behind them.
Michelangelo	Man, don’t you hate when this happens?
Raphael	Oh, great!  [Slides to a stop. They are on a cliff edge and the bridge in front of them is broken.]  The bridge is out.
Michelangelo	Now what do we do?
	Raph retrieves a grappling hook rope from his pack.  He spins it.  Behind them, the boulder is coming close.
Donatello	Hurry, Raph!
	Raph throws the rope, which wraps around a protruding rock on the other side of the chasm.  The hook sinks into the rock and Raph tugs on the rope to test it.
Raphael	Grab on!
	The brothers all grab a length of the rope.  They jump just as the boulder reaches them.
Michelangelo	Cowabunga!
	All shouting as they dangle from the rope.  The boulder falls into the chasm.
Raphael	Mikey, I told you, no more Cowabunga!
	Raph starts to climb and the hook begins slipping off the rock.
Raphael	It’s slipping.
Michelangelo	Now what?
Raphael	Crack the whip, on my signal.  One, two, three!
	Rocks the rope back and then leaps forward.  The weighted rope swings upwards, taking the turtles with it.  The hook comes loose and the turtles fling themselves upwards, all landing on the ledge safely.
Michelangelo	I like a little excitement first thing in the morning.
Raphael	How are we gonna get back with those things playing bowling for turtles?
Donatello	Look at this.
	He is standing in front of a room built into the side of the mountain.  Two metal doors stand open, each of them bent at a weird angle.
Donatello	Not to make things worse but you’ll notice the door was forced open, from the inside.  Something was trying to get out.
Michelangelo	Oh, that doesn’t make things worse . . . it makes things horrifying!
Leonardo	Shh!
	They enter the room and look around.  It is filled with scientific looking material.
Raphael	Anybody got a clue what this place is?
Michelangelo	You want a wild guess?
Raphael	No.
Donatello	I’m seeing devices related to physiology, biology, genome analysis.  My guess? This is a genetics lab.  They were experimenting with mutation.
Michelangelo	Ooh-wee-ooh.
	He walks backwards and breaks a light beam near the floor. Alarms blare.
His brothers	Mikey!
	At the entrance, a pair of metal doors slide shut.
Donatello	Over there.
	At the center of tall panel sits a crystal.  It flashes to life.
Michelangelo	What the shell is that?
	Brothers gasp as a ring of energy forms around the crystal and spreads outwards.
Donatello	Looks like some kind of force field.
	Raph leaps at it, stabbing the force field with a sai.  The sai passes through, but the force field forces Raph’s hand off his weapon. It begins pushing his body.
Raphael	Oh, what now?
Michelangelo	Something’s telling me, ‘Do not touch’.
Raphael	Gee, you think?
	The turtles are forced backwards as the force field approaches. Don trips and falls. The force field rolls him over.
Donatello	Whoa!
Leonardo	Don, you okay?
Donatello	[Grunts as he pushes against the force field and stands up.]  Looks like this energy field only effects living tissue.
Raphael	Too bad that’s exactly what we’re made out of!
	Leo backs against a control station and leaps over it.  The force field passes over the station and backs the turtles against the walls.
Leonardo	Donny, what do we do?
Donatello	I’m thinking, I’m thinking!
Michelangelo	Well, think faster or we’re all gonna be a whole lot thinner!
Donatello	The crystal, it’s somehow powering all this.  Raph, your sai can go through the field.  Aim for the crystal.
	Groaning as he fights the field, Raph pulls his remaining sai and with the flick of his wrist, sends it flying towards the crystal.  It strikes the panel just under the crystal.  Lights flicker and sparks fly, and then the force field vanishes. The doors to the room slide open.
Donatello	Whoa, close one.
Raphael	And that’s the end of that.
Donatello	It’s only the beginning.  Look at this.
	A large monitor on the wall flashes to life with the Foot symbol.
Donatello	It’s the sign of The Foot.
Raphael	Every time we hit trouble, that Foot symbol is stamped right on it.  What is it this time?
Leonardo	Let’s find out.
	Don enters a control station and begins pressing buttons.
Donatello	These look like some kind of archived video logs. I’ll see if I can access them.
	The screen flickers with static, and then a video begins to replay. A scientist appears.
Scientist	Day one, project commences. Master Shredder believes his enemies have taken refuge underground.  Our Foot soldiers have been unable to locate them, so the genetic division has been directed to mutate human subjects, so that they can explore deeper into the Earth. [Shows a man lying strapped to a table.  Green liquid is pumped into his arm.]
Man	No! Please!
Scientist	The subject appears to be in some discomfort, but this is a minor annoyance.
	The man screams and a shadow of his hands appears on screen. It transforms into a clawed hand. Man continues to scream as his mouth fills with sharp teeth.
Leonardo	That poor guy.
Michelangelo	This is starting to get really weird.
Raphael	Starting?
Scientist	Day three-forty-five, the experiment appears to be a success.  Though the subjects are exhibiting reduced intelligence.
	Screen shows mutated humans in circular chambers filled with greenish fluid.  Static on screen, and then time jumps forward.
Scientist	Day five-seven-five, the creatures are showing signs of instability . . . Becoming angry and vicious.  Certain aspects of the experiment have gone horribly wrong! Have we attempted too much in developing this unnatural life form? Perhaps there are some things . . .
Mike/Scientist	Man was never meant to tamper with.
Michelangelo	That’s the one line in a monster movie you don’t want to hear!
Scientist	Through the generous use of shock restraints, [creature spits acid and disintegrates a wall] the creatures have been trained to retrieve evidence from their explorations.  [Time advances.]  Day six-nine-nine, the project is a success! Our creatures have found evidence of habitation underground, which has been turned over to Master Shredder. I’ve been told he is quite pleased.
	Time advances.
Scientist	Day seven thirty-three, the settlement we found is not what Master Shredder was searching for.  He has pronounced the project a failure.  We have been ordered to shut down the operation, and destroy the creatures.
	Screen flashes as time advances again.  There is smoke, fire, chaos, and screaming.
Scientist	The creatures have freed themselves!  They are more intelligent that we ever dreamed!  [More screaming and then the scientist appears on-screen, his face battered and fire roaring behind him.]  They – they have been manipulating us all along, waiting for their moment to escape! [Looks up to see creature.]  No!  Keep away!
	He screams and the screen cuts to static as the video log ends. The turtles spin around when they hear snarling from somewhere nearby.
Michelangelo	So, there’s always one guy in a monster movie who freaks out ‘cause he can’t take the pressure.  And I’m gonna do an impression of him right now and it goes something like this . . . Get me out of here! [Mikey starts running.]
Raphael	Not that I’d ever agree with him . . . but he’s got a point.
Leonardo	Agreed.  Fun’s over. Let’s go
	All four grab their gear and head out of the room.  They’ve only gone a few feet when they suddenly stop.
Michelangelo	Huh?
	The cavern starts shaking, rocks falling from above. A section of wall in front of them starts to melt.  Gasping, the turtles step back as an opening appears.  Three creatures leap through, all growling and hissing.  The turtles pull their weapons.
Michelangelo	Guys . . . This isn’t the end of the movie, is it?
	To Be Continued . . .

{Roll end credits}