| “The Dimension X Story” | |||||||
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| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 Cartoon) episode | |||||||
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| Season Code: | 04 | ||||||
| Episode: | 30 | ||||||
| Original airdate | September 8, 1990 | ||||||
| Written by | David Wise | ||||||
| Supervising Producer | Fred Wolf | ||||||
| Producers: | Walt Kubiak | ||||||
| Supervising Director | Bill Wolf | ||||||
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The Dimension X Story is a season 4 episode of the 1987-1996 TV animated series.
Appearing in The Dimension X Story[]
Major characters[]
- Leonardo (Cam Clarke)
- Donatello (Barry Gordon)
- Michaelangelo (Townsend Coleman)
- Raphael (Rob Paulsen)
- Splinter (Peter Renaday)
- April O'Neil (Renae Jacobs)
- Burne Thompson (Pat Fraley)
- Irma (Jennifer Darling)
- Vernon Fenwick (Peter Renaday)
- Dask (Thom Pinto)
- Kala (Tress MacNeille)
- Zak (Pat Fraley)
- Shredder (James Avery)
- Krang (Pat Fraley)
- Bebop (Barry Gordon)
- Rocksteady (Cam Clarke)
Minor characters[]
- Angry Dimension X Alien (Rob Paulsen)
- Vic, the video store owner (Townsend Coleman)
- First Channel 6 technical guy (James Avery)
- Vernon fangirl (Renae Jacobs)
Species[]
- Human
- Mutant rat
- Mutant rhinoceros
- Mutant turtle
- Mutant warthog
- Neutrino
Objects and vehicles[]
- Dimensional Teleporter
- Explosive Devices
- In-Universe Media
- Laser Feather Sword
- Neutrino Starcruiser
- Portable Portal Generator
- Rocket Powered Pogo Stick
- Technodrome Space Vehicle
- Turtlecom
Locations[]
Plot[]
With relative quiet in their crimefighting lives, the Turtles devote their ninja skills to getting the latest martial-arts movies, such as Snow White and the Seven Samurai. Meanwhile, at Channel 6, Vernon has gotten his own talk show and has somehow become even more arrogant. April is in need of a story, but laments that Shredder hasn't tried to conquer the world lately.
Shredder is in fact more concerned about vanquishing the Turtles, even though the Technodrome is stranded on an asteroid in Dimension X. He transmits a message through to the televisions of New York, challenging the Turtles to meet him at the South Side dump for a final battle. Vernon and April also get the transmission, and set out to scoop each other; and in Dimension X, the Neutrinos also get the transmission.
Of course, the entire challenge is a trap; Shredder intends to use the Dimensional Teleporter to suck them into Dimension X. The Turtles reluctantly accept his offer and head off to find him.
But when they arrive at the dump (observed by April and Irma), all they find is Vernon with a news camera. Then a large glowing whirlwind appears behind Vernon and sucks him in, soon followed by April and Irma, and finally by Raphael and Michelangelo. They are deposited (along with a large amount of trash) in the Technodrome, and Shredder laments that Donatello and Leonardo aren't there also.
The five manage to escape from the Technodrome and onto the asteroid, pursued by Rocksteady and Bebop. Fortunately the Neutrinos show up and rescue them, but confirm that they don't have access to a dimensional portal, and the only one they know of is Krang's.
Back in the lair, Donatello is desperately trying to get his own portal working, but he needs a new power transformer. Splinter suggests "borrowing" one from Channel 6.
The Neutrinos break through the Technodrome's armor and infiltrate it, but run afoul of Shredder and his mutants, while April and Vernon fight over who uses the one camera. Michelangelo and Raphael shove Shredder, Rocksteady and Bebop into a giant washing machine and set it to "super wash."
They manage to get the Trans-Dimensional Radio working, and learn from Leonardo that Donatello has just gotten his own portal to function. But April reveals that Vernon has since left the Technodrome on a spacecraft, seeking a story. Though they know they have to find Vernon before returning, Donatello is dubious about whether the portal will work that long.
During Shredder's fight with the Turtles, Krang makes an intriguing discovery: the mountain they're stuck on is in fact a dormant volcano. He intends to use a series of explosions inside the volcano's crater to free the Technodrome.
The Neutrinos say that there's only one place Vernon could have gone: the Blast-o-Rama Pleasuredome. Vernon is at a bar there, pestering Dimension X plutonium miners, who like to work off their tension by fighting in the arena. Raphael and Michelangelo intervene before one of the aggressive miners can squash him, but April, Irma and the Neutrinos are captured by Rocksteady and Bebop while they're busy fighting.
Krang and Shredder place their captives inside the volcano, right near an explosive meant to trigger an eruption. As Michelangelo and Raphael rush back to save their friends, Donatello desperately tells them that they only have a minute before his portal explodes. They free their friends, and the gang reposition the explosives to wreck Krang's plan and leave the Technodrome trapped. The Neutrinos head off, and the five leap through the portal only a few seconds before it tears itself apart.
Krang sets off the volcanic eruption, but it turns out to not be big enough to free the Technodrome. Instead, it submerges the Technodrome in hardened lava, leaving it stuck deeper than before.
At Channel 6, Burne is enraged by Vernon's footage, as he mostly videotaped his own face, but is delighted by April's.
Michelangelo rejoices that Shredder is really stuck in Dimension X now, but Splinter points out that being stuck in Dimension X didn't keep them safe from him before. The Neutrinos call to say farewell, sparking off a debate about who is the cutest Turtle.
See also[]
Notes and errors[]
- The sign on the window of Vic's Video said "closed" when Raphael jumped inside even though Vic already changed the sign to "open" beforehand.
- When Raphael contacts Donatello to open the portal when he and the gang are in Krang's volcano, he and Michelangelo's colours are switched and he is holding April's powder compact Turtlecom.
- The news footage of Raphael and Michelangelo battling the Dimension X aliens shows Michelangelo with Leonardo's colours, which then flash back to his own as he dodges one of their attacks.
- Rocksteady is briefly missing his bandolier when he and Bebop toss the giant tire at Raphael.
- When April is filming the Turtles at the city dump, the '6' on her camera is backward.
- When April and Irma are holding onto the wall of garbage at the dump, April is holding her camera in her right hand and Irma's wrist in her left, but when the girls are seen being dragged into the tornado their hands switch.
- Raphael pushes his human mask on his face without taking off his hat.
- When the Musclebound Alien says "Get 'im!" Raphael is seen with Leonardo's colours.
- When Raphael is talking to Donatello when he's riding the Starmobile, the driver's seat is on the right instead of the left, meaning that this shot might be mirror-flipped.
Trivia[]
- Oddly, this episode is largely written as if Shredder and company have not been causing any trouble for the Turtles since being stranded in Dimension X at the end of season three. Further, given that the episode shows how the Technodrome became buried in molten lava—something that has already been referenced as having happened as far back as "Super Hero for a Day", and many times since—it stands to reason that this episode was probably intended to serve as the premiere for the twenty-six episodes of season four that were produced for CBS, only to wind up being held back significantly, hence multiple episodes of both the CBS run, and the thirteen episodes of the season produced for syndication, make reference to the lava beforehand.
- The Dimensional Teleporter previously appeared in "Usagi Yojimbo". Shredder refers to this previous use.
- First time Vernon and Irma visit the Technodrome.
- Kala remarks that if the Technodrome got free it would be bad news for everyone in Dimension X, yet nothing disastrous ever happened to its inhabitants when it finally left for Earth in "My Brother, the Bad Guy".
- The shot of Shredder saying "I've gotta get out of this bonehead outfit" was repeated earlier when he said that he'd find the Turtles just after Krang revealed to him about the Technodrome being trapped on its volcano.
- The shots of the Turtles getting away from the tornado and Raphael yelling "Cowabunga!" were used in a CBS Kid TV promo for TMNT Season 6 in the 1992-1993 season. Before that, the shots of Michelangelo and Raphael sliding, and Raphael throwing the pogo stick-like machine was used in a CBS promo for Season 5 in 1991-1992.
- Just as Raphael makes a reference to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a pair of glowing ruby slippers fly past his head.
- As a continuity error, Dask tells Raphael they don’t have a dimensional portal, despite that the Neutrinos were able to open portals before with their Starcruisers in “Teenagers from Dimension X” and “The Grybyx”.
Home media releases[]
DVD[]
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Season 4
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Classic Series Collection