Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)

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TMNT 1987 TV series Logo

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (known as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Germany and Sweden) is an American animated television series, produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, Inc. which premiered in December 14, 1987, first as a 5-part mini-series. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created in comic book form by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the property was changed considerably from the darker-toned comic in order to make it more suitable for children.The show was in Saturday morning syndication from October 1, 1988 to September 23, 1989. Due to becoming an instant hit, the show was expanded to 5-days-a-week and aired weekday afternoons (in most markets) in syndication from September 25, 1989 to September 17, 1993. On September 8, 1990, it began its secondary run on the Columbia Broadcasting System Saturday mornings and ran as a 60-minute block from 1990 to 1994 and a 30 minute block from then until November 2, 1996. The show was Animated in Dublin, Ireland. In fact, In one episode, the Turtles visit Ireland to stop Shredder & Krang.

The show helped launch the characters into mainstream popularity and became one of the most popular animated series in television history. Breakfast cereals, plush toys, and all manner of products featuring the animated versions of the Turtles populated the market during the late-1980s and early 1990s, and a successful Archie Comics comic book based on the animated show instead of the original black-and-white comics was published throughout the 1990s.Between 1988 and 1992, with their images ubiquitous in advertising, cinema, comics, magazines, music, newspapers, television. Their action figures were top-sellers around the world. In 1990 the cartoon series was being shown on more than 125 television stations every day and the comic books sold 125,000 copies a month.

At the time of its final episode, it was the longest running animated series in American television history. However, this record was beaten two years later by The Simpsons.

Storyline

The origin story in the 1987 animated series differs greatly from that of the original Mirage Studios comics, presumably to make it more appropriate for a family audience. In this version, Splinter was formerly a human being, an honorable ninja master named Hamato Yoshi. Yoshi was banished from the Foot Clan in Japan after being deceived by the seditious Oroku Saki, who pinned Yoshi's dogi to the wall with a knife, preventing him from kneeling

Promotional art for the video release of "Heroes in a Half Shell".

before their sensei, which was seen as an insult. When Yoshi removed the knife, the sensei was again insulted, believing Yoshi was drawing the blade in opposition to him. Exiled from the ninja clan, Hamato Yoshi moved to New York City, where he lived in the sewers.

While living in the sewers with the rats

as his friend, Yoshi one dayfound four turtles, recently bought from a pet store by an unnamed boy who accidentally dropped them in the sewer. Yoshi returned one day from his explorations around New York to find the turtles covered with a strange glowing ooze. The substance caused the turtles - most recently exposed to Yoshi - to become humanoid, while Yoshi - most recently exposed to sewer rats - became a humanoid rat, and started going by the pseudonym "Splinter". This, and the following Archie TMNT Adventures Comics, is the only origin story in the TMNT franchise where the Turtles come to Yoshi before being exposed to mutagen. Also, it differs from other version in that Splinter is Hamato Yoshi and becomes a rat, whereas in most other versions, he is Yoshi's pet rat that becomes humanoid. This is also the only version in which the Turtles become fully grown immediately after exposure to the mutagen, whereas Splinter raises them from infancy in other versions.

Yoshi adopts the four turtles as his sons and trains them in the art of ninjutsu. He names them after his favorite Italian renaissance artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi (Donatello), Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael), and Michelangelo Buonarroti. In most versions, the Turtles tend to go by nicknames Leo, Don, Raph and Mikey, but in this version they are always addressed by their full name: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo. Each Ninja Turtle wears a mask over his eyes with a distinctive color, and is trained in the art of a distinct weapon.

Meanwhile, Oroku Saki has left Japan and tracked Yoshi to New York City, where he intends to destroy him once and for all. He has become associated with Krang, a disembodied alien brain who has been banished from his home, Dimension X, where he was a great warlord. Saki has taken on a new persona, donning a suit covered with razor spikes, complimented by a long cape, and a metal mask over his mouth. He has also taken on the pseudonym "The Shredder".

It becomes clear in the first season that the mutagen that transformed the Turtles and Splinter into their new forms was dumped into the sewer by Shredder in an effort to destroy Yoshi. Shredder thought it was a deadly poison. The Turtles vow to take revenge on the Shredder for dishonoring their master, as well as turning him into a rat. The Turtles want to force him to turn Splinter back into a human again. This quickly evolves into stopping Shredder's ongoing criminal career. The Turtles quickly take on the role of vigilante crime-fighters operating outside of the jurisdiction of law enforcement against any criminals, much like Casey Jones in the third season. For the first couple of seasons, it seems as if the Turtles are constantly preoccupied with hiding their existence. This seems to be slowly relaxed and, by the last few seasons, most citizens seemed to be well aware of them.

In the last two seasons of the show, the Turtles finally banish The Shredder and Krang to Dimension X. They destroy the engines and the "transdimensional portal" of the Technodrome (Krang's mobile fortress, and his and The Shredder's base of operation) preventing them from ever returning to Earth. The show, which had already lasted well past the average lifespan of most Saturday morning cartoon series, then went through dramatic changes. The animation became darker and closer to the original comic book style, the color of the sky in each episode changed from the traditional blue to a continuous and ominous dark red sky (which was commonplace with newer action-oriented children's programming at that time), and the theme song was changed.

A new villain, Lord Dregg, an evil alien warlord, also appears as their new chief nemesis. Lord Dregg begins a propaganda campaign against the Turtles, turning the general population against them and in favor of him and his forces. In the last episode of the series, the Turtles trap Dregg in Dimension X.

Impact

While the story diverged heavily from the original conception of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the 1987 TV series is probably the most notable and popular incarnation, and drove the franchise to the phenomenal status it would achieve in pop culture. The series was in production for nine years, and was still quite popular when it went out of production. It was responsible for introducing many of the catch phrases associated with the Turtles, such as "Cowabunga!", "Turtles fight with honor!" and "Turtle Power!", into our lexicon. The animated series was such a prominent part of the Ninja Turtles that many people consider it the definitive version.

Soundtrack

This version is also renowned for its critically acclaimed soundtrack. Through most part the episodes featured a background music which reflected the mood of the situation (e.g. danger, action, exploration, confusion, mystery, winning), as well as ID music for settings such as the Technodrome, the sewers etc. which contributes to the show's dynamic uniqueness.

Characters

Main characters

The main cast

These are the core characters of the series and appear in nearly every episode. However, after Season Eight, most of the main characters aside from the Turtles, April, and Splinter were removed from the show, although Krang and Shredder would return for a few episodes in Season Ten.

• The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
  • Leonardo: Turtle with the blue mask who wields two katana swords. The unofficial leader of the Turtles, he is the most serious member of team, he is closest to Splinter and the most talented fighter. His swordsmanship is unmatched. Voiced by Cam Clarke. He had a love interest for a japanese girl named Lotus Blossom. He's a charming character, with a super hero attitude, but his role as responsible leader was the source of contention to the other turtles in several episodes..
  • Donatello: Turtle with the purple mask who wields a bo staff. His simple wooden bo can disarm any adversary. He is interested in science and is constantly tinkering with various inventions. Voiced by Barry Gordon. A running gag was that most of his inventions exploded or otherwise malfunctioned, but it was still Donatello who came through to save the day most of the time. Donatello was the turtle with the most vocal negativity towards humans. Irma seemed to be more interested in him than any of the other turtles.
  • Raphael: Turtle with the red mask who wields two sai. No sword on Earth can withstand his sai. He's sarcastic, often jokes, and seems to get irritated easily. He was voiced by Rob Paulsen, except in Season 10 when he was voiced by Michael Gough. This version of Raphael is not a hothead like the other Raphael versions but the main source of comic relief. He's generally lazy and doesn't want to fight at times all while remaining sarcastic. Raphael's main love interest in the series was a female lizard named Mona Lisa but she was only seen in one episode.
  • Michelangelo: Turtle with the orange mask, who is the master of the whirling Nunchaku. (And master of the whirling Pizzas!) He is the most relaxed of the group, mostly interested with pizza and having a good time. He used a lot of slang, and is the source for many of the catch phrases the group used such as "Cowabunga!". He was voiced by Townsend Coleman in every episode. He had a crush on a Neutrino girl named Kala. He is often teased by his brother Raphael in many episodes and at times he crossdresses to fool many villians.

• Hamato Yoshi/Master Splinter: A strict and wise sensei, he is the mutant rat who trained the Turtles in ninjitsu. He was voiced by Peter Renaday. This version of Splinter treats the Turtles like students more then his sons. When he's not calling the turtles by their names he calls them his "students" or "my turtles".

• April O'Neil: Red-headed Channel 6 TV reporter who discovers the Turtles' home in the sewers. She befriended the turtles in the very first episode. April O'Neil was voiced by Renae Jacobs. This is the first version where April is a news reporter and it continued in the live action movies. She puts her self in danger all the time just to get her story and thinks more about her job then the lives of her friends and hardly had any love interests in the series. During the final two seasons, she became a freelance reporter.

• Irma Langinstein: A Channel 6 TV associate and April's best friend. Irma is preoccupied with men, but is also a friend to the TMNT from late season 2. Voiced by Jennifer Darling.

• Vernon Fenwick: An egotistical, self-righteous, mysoginistic coward who is also a reporter at Channel 6 and is April's chief rival. He dislikes the Turtles and generally reports negative stories blaming them for various things in the city. At various points in the series, Vernon has been portrayed as analogous to Geraldo Rivera. Vernon was voiced by Peter Renaday.

• Burne Thompson: Channel 6 NEWS producer and April, Vernon, and Irma's boss. He dislikes the Turtles and blames them for everything that goes wrong and encourages his reporters to broadcast negative stories about them, similar to J. Jonah Jameson from Spider-Man. Burne was voiced by Pat Fraley.

• Carter: Introduced in season nine, he comes to New York to study martial arts under Splinter. He is accidentally exposed to the Turtles' Mutagen, which causes him to spontaneously mutate between his human and mutant forms, and for a short time, the Turtles know nothing about it. After helping the Turtles many times against Dregg in Season Ten, Carter decides to return to College and Donatello is able to stabilize his mutation. Shortly after he leaves, Carter briefly comes back to aid the Turtles one last time against Dregg before traveling to the future with the turtles allies Landor and Merrick so he could be fully cured of his mutation. Carter is voiced by Bumper Robinson.

• Casey Jones: A vigilante, and also a friend of the Turtles. Casey wears an ice hockey goaltender's mask (which is never removed in the series) and carries a wide assortment of unorthodox weapons including golf clubs, baseball bats, and cricket bats and on one occasion a sword. Compared to his other incarnations, this version parodies a Dirty Harry-like persona and is quite a psychopath. His trademark tagline..."All I wanna know is when do I get to break something?!". Voiced by Pat Fraley.

• Zach: An adolescent boy who loves the Turtles and wants to be one. The Turtles refer to him affectionately as "The Fifth Turtle".. He is the only character that was not able to endure the feather tickling torture of Don Turtelli. He is occasionally accompanied by his brother Walt. Zach was voiced by Rob Paulsen.

Recurring characters

This is a far from complete list of recurring characters or, characters that played a substantial role in the plots of more than one episode. The characters are arranged by frequency of appearance.

• Usagi Yojimbo: A Samurai rabbit from another universe's 16th century Edo Period Japan where animals are the dominant species, not humans. Usagi Yojimbo is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai starring a ronin rabbit, Miyamoto Usagi; apparently the TV show writers did not understand the distinction and misnamed the character after the comic book. He was voiced by Townsend Coleman (which is also the voice of Michaelangelo). He's only in two episdoes. This version of Usagi has a good friendship with Michelangelo and tends to act silly in a world he doesn't understand. His weapon of choice is a sword just like Leonardo.

The Punk Frogs: The Turtles' frog counterparts. Four anthropomorphized frogs from Florida created by Shredder and trained in martial arts. They were intended for evil, but convinced to turn to good by the Turtles when the Turtles saved them from the authorities. The Punk Frogs lived out the rest of the series in the swamps of Florida, but sometimes they returned to town and visited the Turtles. Shredder named them after historic villains compared to Splinter's choice of name his pupils after painters.

• Attila the Frog: Named after Attila the Hun, he is armed with a mace. He was voiced by Cam Clarke.
• Genghis Frog: Named after Genghis Khan, he is armed with an axe. He was voiced by Jim Cummings.
• Napoleon Bonafrog: Named after Napoleon Buonaparte, he is armed with a whip. He was voiced by Pat Fraley.
• Rasputin the Mad Frog: Named after Rasputin the Mad Monk, he is armed with a bow and arrow. He was voiced by Cam Clarke.

• Neutrinos: 1950s-college-kid type people in flying cars called Starmobiles (complete with tailfins), from Dimension X. Their names are Dask, Kala, and Zak. Friendly to the Turtles, they even once left the Turtles one of their Starmobiles, but unfortunately neglected to mention it ran on plutonium. Kala, the lone female of the trio, is often shown to be affectionate to Michelangelo (who likewise had a crush on her), but it never clearly develops into full romantic relationship. In the episode "Four Turtles and a Baby" it is revealed that the TMNT have also met the Neutrinos' leader Zenter and his wife Grizzla who send their baby daughter Tribble to stay with the turtles when the Neutrino capitol is under attack by General Traag. Donatello explains how baby Neutrinos have psychokinetic powers similar to Kala's pet Grybyx.
  • Zak: Zak was voiced by Pat Fraley.
  • Kala: Kala was Michaelangelo's love interest. She was voiced by Tress MacNeille.
  • Dask: Dask was voiced by Thom Pinto.
  • Zenter & Grizzla: Zenter and Grizzla are the leaders of the Neutrinos. They were voiced by Rob Paulsen and Jennifer Darling respectively.
  • Tribble: Tribble is the heir to the Neutrino throne. She was voiced by Tress MacNeille.
• Walt: Zach's big brother. Walt was voiced by Nicholas Omana.
• Lotus Blossom: A female ninja hired by Krang to destroy the Turtles. She developed a respect for Leonardo and tried to get him to become her partner. Lotus was voiced by Renae Jacobs. Only seen in the episodes called Baware the Lotus in season three, and Farewell to Lotus Blossom in season four.
• Metalhead: Built by Krang in a plot to destroy the Turtles, Metalhead was a robot Ninja Turtle whose programming consisted of all the Turtles' personalities. Prone to malfunction, he was re-programmed by the Turtles and spent most of the series in Donatello's closet. Metalhead was voiced by Dorian Harewood (Shredder's alternate voice), Townsend Coleman (Michelangelo's voice), Rob Paulsen (Raphael's voice), Barry Gordon (Donatello's voice), Cam Clarke (Leonardo's voice), Pat Fraley (Krang's voice), and Renae Jacobs (April's voice).
• Polarisoids
  • Fripp: An alien from the planet Polaris. Voiced by Tony Pope.
  • Millimeter: Fripp's wife.
  • F-Stop
  • Saycheez
• Brick Bradley/Bugman: Michaelangelo's comic book hero come to life, Bugman is half man-half-insect. Bugman is a parody of Spider-Man and other comic book superheros. He was transformed into a superhero by a laboratory experiment gone awry, has a secret identity, and he has a vulnerability to the metal Leestanite.
• Hokum Hare: The hare from "The Tortoise and the Hare" fable. The Turtles meet him in a parallel "fairy tale" dimension. He also helped the Turtles to stop Shredder from traveling to the future and becoming a crime lord in a crime-free era. Hokum was voiced by Townsend Coleman.
• REX-1 (Robotic Enforcement EXperiment): An experimental robot built by the New York City authorities to replace human policemen. The Shredder used computer hacking to steal the plans for REX-1 and build an army of robots.
• Donald J. Lofty: A Donald Trump-esque character who owns Lofty Tower.
• Turtleoids
  • Kerma
• MacDonald Crump

Minor characters

The series had myriad minor characters, or characters that were not part of the main cast or involved in the majority of plots. These characters generally went along with the show's theme of anthropomorphic animal fighters often mutated in a way similar to the Turtles. As was the trend with cartoons during the end of the TV era of animation, a considerable number of characters who appeared briefly, once, or never at all in the series were made into action figures.

• Algernon: A lizard from another planet. Algernon's home planet orbits a star in the Turtle Nebula, a nebula in the shape of a turtle. Algernon's spaceship crashed on the Earth, and Algernon helped Donatello defeat the businessman Hiram Grelch, who tried to take over TV stations in New York City.

• Agatha “Aggie” Marples: April's famous gumshoe aunt. Voiced by Joan Gerber.

• Mondo Gecko: A lizard who was actually in the sewers when the Turtles mutated, and also mutated himself, but was picked up and carried away by a crime boss before Splinter found the Turtles. He was raised by criminals and trained to commit robberies and other crimes. Michaelangelo met Mondo during one episode and talked him over to the side of the Turtles. Mondo then supposedly came to live with the Turtles in the sewer "right next door". After his first appearance, however, he was never seen again, save for a cameo.

• Dippy: a young Diplodocus, who the TMNT befriend in the Lost World. Voiced by Pat Fraley.

• Caitlyn: Female friend of Zach, who appears in the episode "The Great Boldini". She and Zach help the Turtles prevent Rat King and Don Turtelli from carrying out their plans. She and Zach are at one point captured by Don Turtelli and subjected to his torture: Her are tickled with feathers. Voiced by Maggie Roswell.

• Emperor Aleister: Emperor of the fictional state Malicuria.

• Gadgetman: A retired hero, tries to return to crime fighting in the episode Super Hero for a Day.

• Lieutenant Kazuo Saki: Shredder's younger brother. Kazuo Saki works as a policeman in Tokyo, Japan. Voiced by Peter Renaday. In the Mirage comics Shredder has an older brother named Oruku Nagi but in this series Shredder is the older brother.

• Klaatu, Barada & Nikto: A family of aliens who visited Earth (And abducted Donatello and Rocksteady in the process) to retrieve a children's toy that - if left unchecked - might destroy the world.  They, themselves, are pacifists, despite owning technology that attracted the interest of Shredder.

• MACC (Mobile-Armored Computerized Combatant): A robot from 400 years in the future who traveled back in time by accident.  MACC abhors violence, despite having been programmed to be a soldier.  His favorite - and, perhaps, only - pasttime is watching old western movies; as a result of having nothing else to do but watch them, MACC occasionally speaks with the accent and expressions one would expect from a movie cowboy.  Krang tried to re-program MACC to destroy the Turtles, but failed, and MACC was sent home to the future. MACC was voiced by Peter Renaday.

• Princess Mallory: Princess from the fictional state Malicuria, daughter of Emperor Aleister. The Shredder tried to kidnap her from at party at the Malicurian Embassy in the USA and give her back in exchange for Lydium 90, a metal Krang wanted to repower the Technodrome. She looks exactly like April, who is kidnapped instead of her. Voiced by Renae Jacobs.

• Mona Lisa: A mysterious female mutant who was once human. Working with Raphael, the two of them thwarted the plans of Captain Filch, a pirate, to hold the passengers of a yacht for ransom. When she first appeared, it seemed like she would become a regular character, possibly Raph's girlfriend, but this did not happen. Voiced by Renae Jacobs.

• Muckman and Joe Eyeball: Two garbagemen mutated with garbage. Their radiation weakened the Turtles. April convinces them that Bebop and Rocksteady were responsible for their condition, so they help the Turtles to find a cure and turn against the Shredder.

• Seymour Gutz/Mutagen Man: A geeky deliveryman who fell into a vat of mutagen. He has a brain/skull head and a containment suit. He has the ability to shapeshift into anyone. Shredder promises him a cure in exchange for components to make more mutagen. After the Shredder's betrayal, the Turtles infuse him with a dose of mutagen that (permanently?) changed his appearance; which was into that of a charming lady's man. It's interesting to note that while impersonating anyone, his voice also mimicked that person whereas his final form had his original voice. Voiced by Rob Paulsen.

• Octavious Ogilvy: President of the company Octopus Inc. Worked with the Shredder until he realized that the Shredder was a bad guy who tried to brainwash businessmen. Because Octavious Ogilvy had a hearing disability, he couldn't be brainwashed because his hearing aid didn't work. Instead, Shredder locked him in a room.

• Shibano-Sama: Founder of the Foot Clan in Feudal Japan. When his burial urn was in the Asian-American Cultural Center, Shredder tried to open it so Shibano-Sama could teach Bebop and Rocksteady ninja skills. However, he shunned Shredder and stripped his henchmen of their powers after Splinter demonstrated the final secret techniques of the Foot, which Shredder didn't know. Oddly enough, the final Foot Techniques parodied Three Stooges slapstick, the "Kur-Li Maneuver". Voiced by James L. Avery, Sr..

• Speega: A Tyrannosaurus leader who, along with a Triceratops and Pachycephalosaurus, are descendants of a group of dinosaurs that escaped extinction millions of years ago by escaping to the center of the earth. They have been on a mission to save endangered species ever since.

• The Grybyx: A pet of the Neutrinos.

• Tiffany: Burne's beautiful girlfriend.  She loathes turtles after a traumatic childhood incident involving a turtle her brother placed in her bed. Voiced by Jennifer Darling.

• Buffy Shellhammer: 15-year-old CEO of Shellhammer Chemicals.  She acquired the company after her grandfather passed away.  She is often rude and bratty to others, but has a soft spot for her late grandfather and would eventually befriend the turtles after Shredder and Krang attempt to kidnap her.  Voiced by Jennifer Darling.

• King Arthur: King of Camelot.

• Queen Guinevere: Queen of Camelot.

• Merlin: Wizard of Camelot. Voiced by Jim Cummings.

• Sherlock Holmes

• Dr. Watson

• Dr. Jane Goodfellow:

• Pete: Michaelangelo's pet pigeon.

• Blodgett

• Myron Bimbleton

• Clayton Kellerman

• Professor Von Ziflin

• Professor Willard W. Willard

• Howie Hardy: Friend of Irma's.

• Oswald Dren

• Rondo

• Scoop Oliver

• Billy Jim Bob

• Dr. Kepple

• Dickie Bark

• Professor Chumley

• Foster Fenwick

• Milton Frobish III

• Bogart Flywheel

• Dr. Webb

• Quarx An alien child who loves to cause mayhem and play with everything he finds but he also has destructive powers, he refused to grow up because his father had died years earlier, after Splinter convinces him that he is speaking for his father he decides to grow up and opoligizes for his behavior. His child form was voiced by Elizabeth Daily and his adult form was voiced by Cam Clarke.

• Merrick: Quarx's father.

• Hamato Koji

• Master Mogo-San

• Yoku

• Dirk Savage

• Atlanteans
  • Alim Coelacanth
  • Malathar
  • Hepax Lagamina

• Weazel & Zwerk

• Commander Korak

• Glaxxons

• Colonel Wesley Knight

• Krakus

• Gargon

• Landor & Merrik

• Dr. O'Toole

• Dr. Alvin Huxley

• DUMP 1000 (Disposal Unit Main Processor 1000)

Main Villains

• Krang: A disembodied brain who was a warlord in Dimension X before he was exiled and had his body taken away. Krang usually resides inside a large robot body and controls it from a compartment in the abdomen area, or uses a "bubble walker". He also commands the Technodrome, an enormous mobile fortress used as his and Shredder's headquarters. He also funds and helps plan most of Shredder's schemes. The character Krang was inspired by the original comics' "Utroms", who were also small, squishy aliens, but by contrast, did good deeds on Earth. Voiced by Pat Fraley.
• Oroku Saki/Shredder: Arch-villain of the Turtles and Splinter. The Shredder wears a suit covered in metal blades, a cape, and a metal helmet and mask. He typically has the bottom half of his face covered. While a rare occurrence, he has removed the mask and helmet to reveal his face. Despite the fact that the Shredder is usually the main villain in other incarnations, Shredder here has always, against his own will, had to take orders from Krang. Voiced by James Avery (most notable for playing Uncle Phil on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air) but replaced in the 1994-1996 seasons by William Martin.
• Lord Dregg: In the eighth season's last episode, "Turtle Trek", Krang, Shredder, Bebop, and Rocksteady are trapped in Dimension X and the Technodrome is rendered inoperable. In the ninth season, the alien Lord Dregg is introduced as the Turtles' new main adversary. The character was disliked by fans for many reasons, one being the fact that his personality and name were very similar to that of Lord Zedd from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Lord Dregg was voiced by the late Tony Jay.
• HiTech: He used to be Lord Dregg's right-hand man until season ten where he was betrayed by Dregg himself. In season nine HiTech was voiced by Rob Paulsen. And in season ten he was voiced by Cam Clarke.
• Mung: He becomes Lord Dregg's right-hand man in "The Return Of Dregg" until the end of the series run, replacing his former right hand man, HiTech. Mung was voiced by Cam Clarke.
• TechnoGangsters: Lord Dregg's foot soldiers.
• General Traag: General of Krang's army of Rock Soldiers from Dimension X. Many plots involve Krang almost bringing them to Earth, but failing miserably in the end. He was voiced by Peter Renaday.
• Lieutenant Granitor: Lieutenant of Krang's army of Rock Soldiers from Dimension X.
• Bebop and Rocksteady: Formerly New York City street gang members, they were mutated by the Shredder to act as his personal henchmen. A warthog and a rhinoceros, respectively, they are clumsy, oafish, and almost always totally unsuited for the task of fighting the Turtles. Bebop was voiced by Barry Gordon, and Rocksteady was by Cam Clarke.
• Foot Soldiers: The ninjas led by the Shredder. In the 1987 animated series, most Foot Soldiers are robots.
  • Alpha One: is a foot soldier seen at the end of season four who turned against Shredder in the episode called The Foor Soldiers are Revolting. Alpha One is the first Foot Soldier to speak.
• Rock Soldiers: Krang's soldiers in Dimension X. Sometimes work alongside the Foot Soldiers.
• Shredder's Rogues: A group of villains the Shredder once gathered to defeat the Ninja Turtles.
  • The Rat King: A human inhabitant of the sewers with the ability to communicate with rats. He also hypnotized Splinter to attack the Turtles. Extremely unusual for this series (which is typically morally absolute), his role of either good guy or bad guy is sometimes blurry. While he is sometimes involved in some plot to destroy the Turtles, he also occasionally aids them. However, no matter what the circumstances, his motives always seem questionable and surreptitious. Was once one of Shredder's Rogues. The Rat King was voiced by Townsend Coleman. He was first seen in season three in the episode called Enter the Rat King.
  • Leatherhead: A mutated anthropomorphic Alligator with a Cajun accent. In some plots, he is the main adversary of the Punk Frogs. In season 4, he joined forces with The Rat King. Leatherhead is known for his many catchphrases at the end of his sentences, which include; “by gumbo”, “I guarantee” and “you betcha”. Was once one of Shredder's Rogues. Leatherhead was voiced by Jim Cummings.First at the end of season three.
  • Slash, the Evil Turtle from Dimension X: Bebop's pet turtle, whom Bebop and Rocksteady mutate into an anthropomorphic with the intention of having him be their subordinate and do their work for them. The bad guys send him after the Turtles, but it turns out that Slash is even dumber than Bebop and Rocksteady. He returns in a later episode with a vastly enhanced intellect, but it doesn't last. Was once one of Shredder's Rogues. Slash was first voiced by Peter Cullen. He was later replaced by Pat Fraley. First seen in season four in the episode called Slash the Evil Turtle from Dimension X.
  • Tempestra: This female villain is from a video game. Once one of Shredder's Rogues. Voiced by Tress MacNeille. Seen in the episode called Leonaro VS. Tempestra when Leonardo gets addicted to a video game at the end of season four.
  • Chrome Dome: A huge robot built by the Shredder to supervise the Foot Soldiers. He has many built-in weapons such as blasters, cannons, missiles, etc. He was destroyed by the Turtles by disabling a main chip on his back. He returned in another episode with several other villains as one of Shredder's Rogues. Voiced by Peter Renaday.
  • Scumbug: A mutated cockroach, once one of Shredder's Rogues. Voiced by Pat Fraley.
  • Anthrax: Krang's royal exacutinor, also was once one of Shredder's Rogues.

Recurring Villains

• Dr. Baxter Stockman/Baxter the Fly: A Caucasian (as opposed to African-American in the Mirage comics) mad scientist who aided Shredder in the first and second seasons before he was changed into an anthropomorphic fly in a disintegrator malfunction. He always blamed and resented Shredder for the accident, and most of his subsequent appearances involved his ambitions for revenge, or transformation back to his human self. He spent large portions of the series trapped in a rift between Dimension X, Earth with only his computer, "Z", as a companion. Baxter Stockman is also a character that appears in most other incarnations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but this is the only one where he is turned into a fly. He was voiced by Pat Fraley. First seen in the episode called A Thing about Rats in season one.

• H.A.V.O.C. (Highly Advanced Variety Of Creatures): The Turtles meet H.A.V.O.C. in the process of thrwarting a robbery, meeting mutants and H.A.V.O.C. members Raptor, Amok, and Overdrive, and then later, the H.A.V.O.C. leader, Titanus. The Turtles find out that while H.A.V.O.C. has offered the Turtles a safe haven from those who think they are the villains, H.A.V.O.C. is actually creating mutants instead of protecting them, and actually tries to turn the entire city into mutants. The Turtles spend a few episodes of season 8 battling H.A.V.O.C.
  • Titanus: Leader of H.A.V.O.C.
  • Raptor
  • Amok
  • Overdrive
  • Synapse
  • Highbeam
  • Magma
  • Seizure

• Pinky McFingers: Local crime boss. First appeared in season 4. Voiced by Peter Renaday.

• Big Louie: A crime boss who leads a mafia. Sometimes, he works with the Shredder.

• Don Turtelli: A local crime boss, and a spoof on the Godfather. He has a memorable form of interrogation; he uses feathers to tickle the feet of his hostages (including April, Vernon, Zach and Caitlyn); to extract information, interrogate, etc. Two known members of his gang are Rodney and Bruce. Voiced by Peter Renaday.

Minor Villains

• Barney Stockman: Baxter's twin brother. He built a machine that enhances the humor of jokes and renders everyone who hears them helpless with hysterical laughter. He hates to be mistaken for his more famous brother. Barney Stockman is voiced by Pat Fraley. First seen in season four in the episode called Raphael Knocks Em Dead. He,s only in one episode.

• Crooked Ninja Turtle Gang: A karate gang taken over by the Shredder, who ordered them to change their name to the Crooked Ninja Turtle Gang, dress up like turtles and commit robberies so that the people of the city would come out against the TMNT. In Hero Turtle (European) airings of the episode they were in, their name was shortened to the Crooked Turtle Gang.First seen in season two in the episode called Return of the Shredder.
• Smash: the leader, was voiced by Peter Cullen.

• Fenton Q. Hackenbush: Fat man who worked for Donald J. Lofty. He tried to rip off the city by getting rid of the sewer system and inturn get rid of the TMNT. When the Turtles told Lofty of this scheme, Lofty fired Hackenbush.

• The Triceraton Empire: The Triceratons are Triceratops-like creatures from another planet. They had planned to take over the Earth. Only in one episode called Night of the Dark Turtle.
  • Captain Zorax

• Bezerko a.k.a Drakus: In the season 8 episode Get Shredder! it is revealed that he helped Krang to design and build the Technodrome. But he was betrayed by Krang so he came to earth and took on a new name Berserko he wanted revenge on Krang who destroyed his world and nearly killed him. He built a tank called the Annilhilator and began a rampage on the city. Fortunatlely the turtles managed to stop him and turned him in to the authorities. Beserko/Drakus was voiced by Jim Cummings.

• Eric Red: A man who led a gang of "modern vikings" in Norway who tried to melt the polar ice and flood coastal cities. This happened in the episode Northern Lights Out.

• Groundchuck and Dirtbag: When Shredder wanted two new mutant grunts, a lion and a gorilla, Bebop and Rocksteady accidentally cause a bull (Groundchuck) and a mole (Dirtbag) to mutate. However, they refused to serve Shredder and left. They clash with the Turtles on another planet. Their fate is unknown. Groundchuck was voiced by Cam Clarke.

• The Great Bouldini: Don Turtelli's cousin, and a magician. Voiced by Peter Renaday.

• Hiram Grelch: A businessman who tried to take over all the TV stations in New York City, but was defeated by Donatello and Algernon at the Channel 6 building.

• J. Gordon Hungerdunger: A millionaire from Texas who tried to put chemicals into New York City's water system and brainwash the population so he could easily take over the city.

• Kojima Brothers: Ancient warriors from Edo period Japan. Shredder stole their diary in Tokyo, Japan and created solid holograms of them to destroy the Turtles. Donatello smashed the hologram projector with his bo staff, destroying the holograms. Voiced by Peter Renaday.

• Miyoko Saki: The Shredder's mother. Helped Shredder and Krang to send out some kind of mirror orbiting in Dimension X and burn the Earth in heat. Voiced by Jennifer Darling. First seen in the episode called Shredder,s Mom in season four.

• Spats Sparkle: One of two Dutch thieves who tried to steal the Duchess Diamond in Amsterdam in the Netherlands and sell it. This happened in the Vacation in Europe episode April Gets in Dutch, and Shredder also tried to steal the diamond, so Krang could use it to open a portal to Dimension X and send the Technodrome to Earth.

• Toka and Razar: Two out of control mutants who appear in season seven. Toka was voied by Jim Cummings, while Razar was voiced by Townsend Coleman.

• Turtle Terminator: An android who posed as Irma to try and blast the TMNT to smithereens. If anyone said "Turtle", it would attack. Voiced by Jennifer Darling (in Irma's voice).First seen in the episode called Turtle Terminator but was fixed by Donatello and used against the Shredder and Krang.

• Wingnut and Screwloose: In the Archie comic book series their home planet was destroyed by Krang, but in the cartoon they are two aliens who brainwash Earth's children in attempt to take over the world! Wingnut is voiced by Rob Paulsen and Screwloose is voiced by Townsend Coleman.

• Winston Fripp/Chronos: A villain in the season nine episode "Split Second". Found by the Turtles to be committing crimes within the city under the name Chronos and challenges them to stop two other crime plans of his. Once they do so, he is revealed to be Winston Flipp, someone who the Turtles apprehended and tied up for the police in a clocktower, in which the ticking drives him insane. When the Turtles capture him once more, Lord Dregg takes advantage of it by pretending to be the man behind Chronos' capture to continue his properganda campaign against the Turtles.

• The Globfather: A crime-boss who worked under Lord Dregg.

• Mr. X

• Captain Filch

• Monroe Flem

• Dr. Polidorius

• Ray

• Professor Philo Sopho

• OMNSS (Omnipotent Multiprocessing Nexus Sub-Universal Sentience)

• Tony "The Butcher" Vivaldi

• Super Rocksteady & Mighty Bebop

• Mutagen Monster

• Mr. Ogg

• Captain Kroolik

• Grillox

• Wally "Babyface" Cleaver

• Professor Lloyd Cycloyd

• G. Cleff

• Talbot Breech

• Claude: Breech's cat

• Electrozapper

• Dr. Lesseau

• Dr. Davens

• Mr. Big

• Little Huey

• Badd Family
  • Bedelia Badd

• Basher & Sluggo

• Jerry Spiegel/The Swatter

• Wally Airhead

• Professor Wilhelm Vanilli

• Mad Dog McMutt

• Professor Mindbender

• LEX

• Sir Percival

• Casbah

• Lafayette LeDrone

• Destructor X

• Shreeka: Krang's former-partner-in-crime.

• Creepy Eddie

• Rufus Higby

• Professor Von Volt

• Mugsy McGuffin

• Boris

• Dr. Otto Van Shrink

• Max & Iggy

• Cobrato

• Skarg & Dementor

• The Dregma Brothers

• Drako

• Oroko Sancho

• Black Heart Ninja Gang

• A.J. Howard

• Horatio Stressbar

• Denton Nulcet

• Krangazoids

• Vorx

• Alex Winter/MegaVolt

• Medusa

• Replicon

• Slorr

• Jet McCabe: Carter's rival.

• Sleazebug: One of Dregg's minions.

• Karg

• Doomquest

• Draconus

• Mole Squad

• Tattoo

• Herman the Horrible
  • Bork & Dwark

Vehicles and gadgetry

Like many cartoon superheroes, the Turtles have a wide array of turtle-themed vehicles and gadgets.

Vehicles

• Turtle Van (aka Party Wagon): A van that originally belonged to Baxter Stockman before he was arrested. Donatello rigged up the van with other equipment from Stockman's lab, including various monitoring devices and missile systems. The Turtle Van, despite having bright yellow and green colors and being very conspicuous, is the Turtles' main form of transportation. April used a van in the third issue of the original Mirage comic. The Battle Shell in the 2003 series is similar to the Turtle Van. It is apparently based on an early Dodge forward-control van, due to its split windshield and engine under the front seats).

• Turtle Blimp: A blimp created by Donatello in the season one finale is one of the Turtles' modes of transportation. The blimp had the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles logo displayed prominently on the side. The glider can detach from the blimp to allow the Turtles better accessibility where a large blimp would be impractical. This vehicle becomes non-exisitant in the red-sky series.

• Cheap Skates: Donatello made four skateboards in season two with propellers on the rear.

• Turtle Bike: A motorcycle with a sidecar, normally ridden by Leonardo, first seen in season three.

• Sewer Tubes

• Sewerski

Gadgets

• Turtle Comm: Turtle Communicators (frequently shortened to Turtle Comms) are small and designed to look like turtle shells, and were created by Donatello. The Turtles, Splinter, and April each have one and can instantly communicate with each other. The Turtles' and Splinter's communicators stretch open where April's is built with a flip top to resemble a makeup compact. Zach, a fan of the Turtles, gets a Turtle Comm in the episode The Fifth Turtle. Even the Punk Frogs have a Turtle Comm. Krang, Shredder, and the henchmutants each have a Comlink, a similar device for communication. Similar in function to the Turtle Comm, the Shell Cell in the 2003 cartoon allows the characters to talk to each other.

• Retro catapult: Introduced in Season 3.

• Portable portal generator: Also Introduced in Season 3.

Status of the 1987 TMNT TV series

There are currently no reruns of the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, at least not in North America. Mirage Studios does not own the rights to the 1987 show, although they owned one third of the rights to the 2003 show. Many episodes were released on many VHS tapes from 1988 to 1996 by Family Home Entertainment.

Nickelodeon has expressed interest in obtaining the rights of the 1987 series for rebroadcast.

DVD Releases

Lions Gate Home Entertainment has released the series on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. Initially it was released in volumes, with each volume containing 9-13 episodes in production order, with the exception of the first volume, which included bonus episodes from the last season. After six volumes, it has been announced that the series will now be released in season sets, starting with season 4.

For a more thorough list of which episodes are on each DVD, see the list of episodes.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date	Additional Information
Volume 1	5	April 20 2004	Contains all 5 episodes of season 1 and 4 bonus episodes from season 10
Volume 2	13	April 26 2005	Contains all 13 episodes of season 2
Volume 3	12	December 6 2005	Contains the first 12 episodes from season 3
Volume 4	12	April 4 2006	Contains the next 12 episodes from season 3
Volume 5	12	August 29 2006	Contains the next 12 episodes from season 3
Volume 6	12	December 5 2006	Contains the final 11 episodes from season 3 and the first episode of season 4
Season 4	39	March 13 2007	Contains the remaining 12 syndicated episodes from Season 4, all 26 CBS episodes from Season 4 and one of the final two syndicated episodes of which aired in Season 5, but were left from Season 4. All new interviews with James Avery (the voice of Shredder) and Pat Fraley (the voice of Krang/Slash) Fresh from the Oven: A Recipe for a Cowabunga Cheese Pizza, Fit for a Ninja Turtle
Season 5	18	August 7 2007	Contains all 18 CBS episodes from Season 5 "The Turtles: A Ninjatastic Look Back" featuring all new-interviews with Barry Gordon (Donatello), Rob Paulsen (Raphael), Cam Clarke (Leonardo) and Townsend Coleman (Michaelangelo). "Under The Shell" with Usagi Yojimbo (interview with Townsend Coleman) and Baxter Stockman.
Season 6	16	April 8 2008	Contains all 16 episodes from Season 6

Magazine

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Magazine was a typical children's magazine published quarterly by Welsh Publishing Group, Inc during the height of TMNT popularity in the early 1990s. It was officially licensed by Eastman and Laird and available by subscription.

The $1.95, 32 page magazine featured kid friendly articles about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as well as a variety of subjects. Mirage Studios staff artists such as Dan Berger and Jim Lawson provided a majority of the covers and spot illustrations. A pull out poster was available in every issue and was painted by Mirage Studios artist Michael Dooney.

Trivia

• The show was renamed Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles when originally shown in the United Kingdom (and the Republic of Ireland) because British censors considered the show's original title to have too violent connotations. Changes have been done to reflect this, such as changing "Splinter taught them to be ninja teens" to "Splinter taught them to be fighting teens." The intro was also edited, using alternative scenes or freeze-frames in place of Michelangelo using his nunchuks. The movies and 2003 series were, however, released in the UK under the international name. This led to a titular distinction between the 1987 series and the 2003 series.

The altered UK opening sequence.

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is listed at #27 of the 100 Greatest Cartoons.

• IGN ranked Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as the 55th Greatest Animated Show Of All Time in their Top 100 list.

• Repeats aired on USA Network's USA Cartoon Express from October 31, 1993 to September 13, 1996.

• Original Animation Cels from the TV series were on display at the offices of Cire Computer Productions when their office building burnt down in 2003.

• HORSE the band released a cover of the original theme on their Pizza ep.

Also See

• List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) episodes

External links

• The Technodrome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Website - Information about the 1987 animated series
• Original Theme Song Lyrics
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) at TV.com
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) at the Internet Movie Database
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) at the Big Cartoon DataBase