“Raphael Knocks 'em Dead” | |||||||
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 Cartoon) episode | |||||||
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Season Code: | 04 | ||||||
Episode: | 15 | ||||||
Original airdate | September 25, 1990 | ||||||
Written by | Jack Mendelsohn | ||||||
Supervising Producer | Fred Wolf | ||||||
Producers: | Walt Kubiak | ||||||
Supervising Director | Bill Wolf | ||||||
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Raphael Knocks 'em Dead is an episode of the 1987 TV series.
Appearing in Raphael Knocks 'em Dead[]
Major characters[]
- Donatello (Barry Gordon)
- Leonardo (Cam Clarke)
- Michelangelo (Townsend Coleman)
- Raphael (Rob Paulsen)
- April O'Neil (Renae Jacobs)
- Burne Thompson (Pat Fraley)
- Vernon Fenwick (Peter Renaday)
- Anchorman (Rob Paulsen)
- Pinky McFingers (Peter Renaday) (debut)
- Barney Stockman (Pat Fraley) (debut)
- Shecky (Cam Clarke)
- Mr. Bigelow (Townsend Coleman)
Minor characters[]
- Audience Member (Barry Gordon)
- Joey (Pat Fraley)
- Police Sergeant (James Avery)
- Pinky's First Goon (James Avery)
- Pinky's Second Goon
- Stagehand (James Avery)
Species[]
Objects and vehicles[]
- Channel 6 newsvan
- Gag-A Magnifier
- Pinky's limo
- Turtle Van
- Turtlecom
Locations[]
- Channel 6
- City sewers
- City streets
- House of Ha-Ha
- Pinky McFinger's mansion
- Turtle Lair
Plot[]
Donatello is just finishing up a high-tech new television with over a hundred available channels. However, the Turtles can't agree on what to watch - Donatello wants a show about brilliant scientists, Leonardo wants a kickboxing tournament, Michelangelo wants a cheesy monster movie, and Raphael wants the Laugh Channel. They decide to draw straws, and Raphael wins. However, the other Turtles decide to go have pizza rather than watch with him.
He watches comedians doing live standup at the House of Ha Ha, but is shocked when the lights cut out and the comedian Joey vanishes. Just then, April calls to ask him to go check the disappearance of the comedian at the club.
Raphael manages to infiltrate the club and begins lurking around backstage, hoping to see what happens. Comedian Shecky Schtick also vanishes from onstage, and the only other comedian flees. When the owner spots Raphael, he mistakes him for a comedian wearing a costume and throws him onstage. The Turtle starts telling jokes, which both April and his brothers see on television.
Meanwhile, Pinky Mcfingers is lurking at the back of the club, and the owner begs him not to take any more comedians. Nevertheless, the gangster orders his men to kidnap Raphael, which the other Turtles see on live TV. McFingers' men drag Raphael out to their car in a sack, and drive off to a remote mansion.
Donatello, Michelangelo and Leonardo head off to the House of Ha Ha to investigate further. At the same time, April begs her boss to let her cover the disappearances, but he forces her to cover a gypsy moth infestation instead. April goes to the House of Ha Ha anyway.
Raphael tears his way out of the sack and manages to subdue the three gangsters alone. He finds Joey and Shecky strapped into a strange machine, just before McFingers recaptures him in a net.
The Turtles confront the owner of the House of Ha Ha, but he vanishes without a trace, just like the comedians.
Raphael is strapped into the same machine as the two comedians, and discovers that McFingers is in league with Barney Stockman (Baxter Stockman's nearly-identical brother). The scientist has constructed a device called the gag-a-magnifier, which causes even mediocre jokes to paralyze victims with laughter. While this is happening to the entire city, McFingers and his goons will rob it.
Raphael is deemed the funniest of the three. Though he initially refuses to participate, McFingers threatens to torture the other comedians until he agrees. The bad jokes and gag-a-magnifier causes the populace to collapse with laughter, with the Turtles being the only ones able to escape the effect. Donatello manages to track down Raphael's voiceprint to the mansion.
When McFingers returns, he reveals that he's planning to expand his criminal endeavors by robbing the National Mint. The other Turtles arrive, but are struck by a paralyzing ray and about to beaten down by McFingers' goons. Raphael manages to switch on the gag-a-magnifier and orders Shecky to start telling jokes, which is enough to paralyze the criminals with mirth. April arrives with the police, and Raphael is set free.
That evening, Raphael rehearses more jokes in front of the other three Turtles, who are unimpressed. He jokingly threatens them with the gag-a-magnifier, only to have Donatello threaten him back with the House of Ha Ha's trap door.
See also[]
Quotes[]
Raphael: You know what you call a turtle in a steam bath? A turtle-neck sweater. It's not easy for a turtle to get a job, no one wants to shell out the money.
Notes and errors[]
- The first shot of Pinky at the House of Ha-Ha was frozen.
- Raphael uses his sai to cut himself free of the sack he's tied up in, but he isn't seen with the sais on his belt when he's inside the castle.
- The ties on Raphael's belt where missing when he told his first joke into the Gag-A Magnifier.
- In the previous episode Baxter was in; "Son of Return of the Fly II", he was trapped for a second time in another dimension, so even though Barney looks just like his brother, it doesn't make sense that Raphael mistook Barney for Baxter when he knew the former scientist was now a mutant fly, unless he thought he had been found and restored to normal. Barney then tells Raphael about Baxter's mutation incident when he botched an experiment. But in "Enter The Fly", Baxter turned into a fly when Krang tried to vaporize him in his disintegration unit but got cross mutated with a fly instead and he’s always tried to get revenge on Shredder and Krang for it. It’s also never explained how Barney knew about Baxter’s mutation.
- When Pinky and his goons left the last bank they robbed, they weren’t wearing the gag masks Barney gave them to protect them from the joke waves of the gag-a-magnifier, but they still weren’t affected by them.
Trivia[]
- Baxter Stockman has a brother named Barney Stockman, who is identical in every way apart from having red hair. Barney takes it very personally when people mistake him for his brother.
- This is one of the few post-Season 3 episodes to have Michelangelo using his nunchakus instead of the Turtle Line.
- Pinky McFingers's voice changes mid-conversation during Barney's exposition scene when Raphael and the comedians are strapped to the Gag-o-magnifier.
Home media releases[]
VHS[]
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Raphael Meets His Match
LaserDisc[]
- Donatello's Degree/Raphael Meets His Match
DVD[]
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 4
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Classic Series Collection