| “Return to the Underground” | |||||||
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| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) episode | |||||||
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| Season Code: | S02E13 | ||||||
| Episode: | 39 | ||||||
| Original airdate | March 6, 2004 | ||||||
| Written by | Marty Isenberg | ||||||
| Supervising Producer | Lloyd Goldfine | ||||||
| Producers: | Gary Richardson | ||||||
| Frederick U. Fierst | |||||||
| Al Kahn | |||||||
| Norman Grossfeld | |||||||
| Thomas Kenney | |||||||
| Supervising Director | Chuck Patton | ||||||
| Story Editor: | Michael Ryan | ||||||
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"Return to the Underground" is the thirty-ninth episode of the animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which originally aired on March 6, 2004. It had 1.22 million views on the 4kids website as of 2007.
Appearing in Return to the Underground[]
Major characters[]
- Donatello (Sam Regal)
- Leonardo (Michael Sinterniklaas)
- Michelangelo (Wayne Grayson)
- Raphael (Frank Frankson)
- Splinter (Darren Dunstan)
Minor characters[]
- Mutant Monsters
- Quarry (Dan Green) / Sydney (human counterpart) (Megan Hollingshead)
- Stonebiter / human counterpart
- Razorfist / human counterpart
- Spider Monster / human counterpart
- Ram Horn Monster / human counterpart
- Insectoid Dragon Monster / human counterpart
- King Nail / human counterpart
Species[]
- Human
- Mutant rat
- Mutant turtle
- Mutated human
Objects and vehicles[]
- Crystal Moon
- Explosive geodes
- Sun Crystal
- Turtle Tech-pack
- Turtle Tunneler
Locations[]
Episode[]
Voice-over introduction[]
Donatello: A while back, I made a promise to some friends... and, believe it or not, that thing struggling in the net right now is one of those friends. You see, it's kind of a long story. Our friends were mutated into monsters by The Shredder's scientists; now, they're forced to live underground, prisoners of an ancient city powered by a giant crystal moon. And I believe it's these very same special crystals that are the key to saving our friends, and hopefully curing them for good. Trouble is, right now, my friends don't particularly want to be cured.
Plot[]
Open on Donatello examining some of the underground crystals that the Turtles found in Episodes 13-15, trying to find a cure for the people who had been turned into monsters by the Foot geneticists.
Exhausted after having been up for days studying the crystals, he falls asleep and dreams of the underground city where the monsters now live. Quarry, in her human form, is in the dream, then changes into her monster form. The Crystal Moon liquifies and covers Quarry then she emerges in her human form and gives Don a clue - "hear the crystal." Waking up, he finds that the clue works – the crystals react to sound and turn into liquid when exposed to heavy sonic bombardment. Donatello hopes to use the crystalline liquid as an antidote serum to cure the people of their mutation.
The gang decides to head underground to help the monsters. Don leads the team to his lab, where he unveils his latest creation, the Turtle Tunneler. This vehicle can burrow straight down into the earth via a huge, front-end drill. The guys pile into the snazzy new ride and tunnel their way back to the underground city. However, once they arrive, they discover that the crystal “moon” that had floated above the underground city the last time they were here is gone!
Not only is the crystal moon missing, but the underground city is now populated with dangerous mutants. The crystal moon, Donatello reminds us, was the only thing that allowed the monsters to return to their human forms - without the moon, they all reverted to their hideous forms. The Turtle Tunneler is attacked by the spider and insectoid-dragon mutants. Don tunnels through a wall and escapes the monsters, but once they arrive on the other side, two more creatures lift the vehicle up and toss it over the ledge, where it plummets into a river of lava far below!
The Turtle Tunneler safely emerges from the molten rock (Don notes that the vehicle is lava-proof), but the guys are stalked by monsters as they make their way inside the city. The Turtles disembark and locate the still-frozen body of The Entity (see Episode 15). Donatello removes the crystal from the pedestal and a wall mysteriously opens up to reveal a hidden area. The Turtles enter the room and find more bodies being held in stasis fields - apparently the Entity was lying when he told them that he was the sole survivor of his race. The guys hear approaching creatures and Don uses the crystal to close the door, but it doesn't hold up to the assault and crumbles away. In leaps Quarry… but she's not happy to see the Turtles!
Using the weaponry encased in their tech packs, the Turtles shoot concussive stun blasts at Quarry while Donatello prepares to inject her with antidote serum. Raphael manages to pin the menacing mutant to the ground and Don injects her with the cure. Thankfully, Quarry reverts into her human form and introduces herself as Sydney. We learn that the people who were forced to live underground grew tired of their life and decided to try to create their own antidote. The group needed more crystals to study, so they used explosive geodes in effort to knock some shards loose from the moon high overhead. Unfortunately, the "bombs" were too powerful and the blasts that they created caused the crystal moon to fall into the lava bed! This event plunged the underground city into darkness and everyone returned to their monstrous forms.
Don comes up with a plan to raise the crystal moon out of the lava. He will use the Tunneler to tie a crystal cable around the moon, and then the others can use the explosive geodes to topple a tower in the city. As the structure falls, it will pull the cable and raise the moon - so it will act as a gigantic winch. Sydney rides with Don in the Tunneler to navigate their course as the rest of the team surrounds the base of the tower with explosive geodes. Sydney leads Don directly to the crystal moon and he begins to wrap the cable around the giant gemstone. Meanwhile, the other three Turtles find themselves face-to-face with numerous mutants and spend their time dodging and repelling attacks. Eventually the spider mutant manages to capture them in its weird webs!
Don and Sydney tie-off the crystal moon as the ship's heat shields begin to fail. Donatello radios his brothers to set off the explosives - but the others are still "tied-up". Leonardo manages to cut out of his cocoon and frees his brothers, as the mutants close in on them. Michelangelo uses his tech-pack's grappling ropes to swing away from the threat and set off the explosives. The tower falls, pulling the cable, which drags the crystal moon out of the lava! Donny's plan worked!
The crystal moon's power begins to work immediately, and the monster mutants revert to their human forms. Leo radios Don to tell him the mission was a success - but there's no answer! It looks like Don and Sydney couldn't escape the lava before their shields gave out. Mike, Leo and Raph walk over to the lava, afraid that they've lost their brother - but the molten rock begins to bubble and the Turtle Tunneler comes shooting out! Don and Sydney have survived!
The brainy ninja and his assistant then get to work on the crystals that they've recovered and make enough antidote to cure everyone. The Turtles then lead the people back to the surface, arriving topside just as the sun is setting. Sydney looks at the sky and sheds a tear of joy to see such a beautiful sight. She thanks the Turtles and the humans make their way into the city.
The Turtles begin jumping down the open manhole cover, but before Don can dive in, Mikey pops out and says that while Donny can sometimes be a pain in the shell, he's proud to be his brother. Donatello leaps into the hole with a huge, satisfied grin plastered on his face.
See also[]
Quotes[]
(as the Tunneler emerges from a lava pit, and the others have varying expressions of shock of their faces) |
Michelangelo: Nets! I'm all out of nuts! ...I mean... Nuts! I'm all out of nets! |
Michelangelo: Him and his big ideas! "C'mon guys, lets go down to the underground city! We'll have some laughs!" We'll get EATEN!! |
(Mikey jumps into sewer but holds onto the rim of the hole) |
Notes and errors[]
- In a flashback, the unnamed woman in red is seen turning into the Spider monster but later when the Crystal Moon is placed in the ceiling, she is seen transforming back from being the Insectoid Dragon Monster.
Trivia[]
- Second appearance of the Underground, and final appearances of Quarry, Stonebiter, and Razorfist.
- Quarry's real name is revealed to be Sydney. In "Notes from the Underground", they asked Quarry if it could remember, but all she could say was the S sound.
- Similar to the scene in "Notes from the Underground" Quarry is changed back into an attractive human girl, but due to having previously been in monster form she is naked so the camera only shows her from the shoulders up. When the other monsters are changed back into people, they too are naked and only viewed from the shoulders up.
- Donatello had a crystal dream like the one Michelangelo had.
- Only time that Donatello has lost his temper.
- Donatello's line "Gentlemen, and Mikey" is reused in the 2012 series as "Gentlemen, and Raphael."
Errors[]
- In a flashback, the unnamed woman in red is seen turning into the Spider monster but later when the Crystal Moon is placed in the ceiling, she is seen transforming back from being the Insectoid Dragon Monster.