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 Jump to: navigation, search"Next Mutation" redirects here. For the Space Quest game, see Space Quest V: The Next Mutation.

Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation
[1]
Format Action-adventure
Comedy
Based on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

by Kevin Eastman Peter Laird

Starring Michael Dobson

Kirby Morrow Jason Gray-Stanford Matt Hill Stephen Mendel Lalainia Lindbjerg Saffron Henderson

Country of origin United States

Canada

No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 26
Production
Running time 25 minutes
Production company(s) Saban Entertainment

Mirage Studios

Distributor Saban Brands

MarVista Entertainment

Broadcast
Original channel Fox Kids
Original run September 12, 1997 – March 20, 1998

Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation is an American live-action television series produced by Saban_Entertainment, which ran on the Fox Kids network from 1997 to 1998. The short-lived series was based loosely from Mirage Studios' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[1] As of September 16, 2011, the series is currently distributed by Saban Brands and MarVista Entertainment, as Saban has recently regained the rights to the show from Disney.[2][3][4]

The series introduced many new elements to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles saga, including a female mutant turtle called Venus de Milo (named after the famous statue) and new central antagonists, an army of humanoid dragons known as "The Rank" led by the vicious Dragonlord.

The series was touted (in some of the promotional material) as a continuation of the 1987 TV series, but by the period of time it aired it became apparent that this was not the case. Instead, the series apparently followed the continuity of the live-action films. The Turtles lived in the same abandoned train station featured in the second and third films, and Splinter's ear is slashed as it was in the original film. However, the films and the series display differing styles, Shredder being alive (and no longer Super Shredder), and the absence of April O'Neil and Casey Jones. In a departure from other TMNT continuities, Leonardo states in the second episode that the Turtles are not blood-related, while other media either explicitly states that the Turtles are biological siblings or avoids the issue altogether.

Other notable differences were found in the Turtles' weapons; Leonardo carried one double-bladed ninjatō instead of two katana (though he was shown to own two in a few episodes); Raphael's twin sai could combine to make a staff; and because nunchaku are outlawed in several places, Michaelangelo's signature weapon in this series was a pair of tonfa. Similarly, the name of the series was amended in several countries to Hero Turtles: The Next Mutation under censorship ruling.[5][6]



Contents[]

 [hide] *1 Characters


Characters[edit][]

Turtles and allies[edit][]

Enemies[edit][]

  • Shredder (portrayed by Patrick Pon, voiced by Doug Parker) – The Shredder appeared in the five-part episode "East Meets West" when he and the Foot Ninjas discovered the Turtles' hideaway. When Venus de Milo came into view, she uses her shinobi abilities to defeat the Shredder presumed for good and the Foot was disbanded. His alias of Oroku Saki was later found on the streets when Dragon Lord's soldiers attack him in order to obtain a ninja amulet. After Dragon Lord's forces were busy fighting the Turtles, Oroku Saki was defeated and later seen in a deserted alley with the amulet in his possession where he has appeared to have unlocked the power of the ninja amulet and laughs maniacally. Yet the series was cancelled before another season revolving around this can be made.
  • Dragon Lord (portrayed by Gerald Wong, voiced by Christopher Gaze) – Leader of the Rank and the King of all Dragons. He and his forces were trapped in an enchanted glass years ago and have now escaped.
    • Wick (portrayed by Adam Behr and Bill Terezakis, voiced by Lee Tockar) – A small dragon who is Dragon Lord's sidekick.
    • Rank Lieutenant (portrayed by Andrew Kavadas) – The head of Dragon Lord's army.
    • Dr. Cornelius Quease (portrayed by Simon Webb) – A world renowned scientist and expert on mutation. He attempts to create various weapons to defeat the turtles. He is also quite insane. The Dragon Lord refers to him as a "master of the new magic" AKA science.
  • Silver (portrayed by Gary Chalk) – The last of the Yetis. Instead of living on top of the mountain, he makes his life by going into the crime business and starting a gang of humans who think of him as the smartest boss around.
    • Monkey Thief Mick (portrayed by Michael Dobson) – One of Silver's henchmen.
    • Monkey Thief Dick (portrayed by Ronnie Way) – One of Silver's henchmen.
  • Simon Bonesteel (portrayed by Scott McNeil) – A deranged big game hunter who specializes in hunting endangered animals. He has collected things off of endangered animals like elephant ivories, baby seal pelts, dolphin hides, and mountain gorilla skulls. He considers the Ninja Turtles endangered species as well since there are only five of them. Bonesteel possesses a paranoid personality and is known to give his weapons female names. In the four-part episode "Unchain My Heart," Simon Bonesteel is also known for hunting supernatural creatures when it came to Vam-Mi and her vampire henchmen.
  • Vam-Mi (portrayed by Kira Clavell, voiced by Saffron Henderson) – A 10,000-year-old female vampire from China. She was previously defeated by Chung I who tore out her heart plunging her into a long sleep. Her henchmen Bing and Chi Chu used a magic potion to awaken her.
    • Bing (portrayed by Justin Soon, voiced by Colin Musback) – A male vampire and one of Vam-Mi's henchmen, his appears to be the age of a child.
    • Chi Chu (portrayed by Lauren Attadia, voiced by Sherry Thorson) – A female vampire and one of Vam-Mi's henchmen, she appears to be the age of a child.

Episode guide[edit][]

Episode Title Airdate Synopsis
1 "East Meets West, Part 1" September 12, 1997
2 "East Meets West, Part 2" September 19, 1997
3 "East Meets West, Part 3" September 26, 1997
4 "East Meets West, Part 4" October 3, 1997
5 "East Meets West, Part 5" October 10, 1997
6 "The Staff of Bu-Ki" October 17, 1997
7 "Silver and Gold" October 24, 1997
8 "Meet Dr. Quease" October 31, 1997
9 "All in the Family" November 7, 1997
10 "Trusting Dr. Quease" November 14, 1997
11 "Windfall" November 21, 1997
12 "Turtles' Night Out" November 28, 1997
13 "Mutant Reflections" December 5, 1997
14 "Truce or Consequences" December 12, 1997
15 "Sewer Crash" December 19, 1997
16 "Going Ape" January 9, 1998
17 "Enemy of My Enemy" January 16, 1998
18 "King Wick" January 23, 1998
19 "The Good Dragon" January 30, 1998
20 "The Guest" February 6, 1998
21 "Like Brothers" February 13, 1998
22 "Unchain My Heart, Part 1" February 20, 1998
23 "Unchain My Heart, Part 2" February 27, 1998
24 "Unchain My Heart, Part 3" March 6, 1998
25 "Unchain My Heart, Part 4" March 13, 1998
26 "Who Needs Her" March 20, 1998

Power Rangers crossover[edit][]

Outside of The Next Mutation, the Turtles also guest-starred alongside the Power Rangers in Power Rangers in Space. The end of the episode "Save Our Ship" leads directly into "Shell Shocked," where the Turtles are summoned and brainwashed by Astronema to fight the Rangers. Her control over them is later broken, and they team up with the Space Rangers to battle Astronema's forces. Before returning to New York, the Turtles have one request from the Rangers: space surfing on the Galaxy Gliders.

Venus de Milo[edit][]

The show's most notable contribution to the Turtles mythos was a fifth mutant turtle, a female named Venus de Milo (initially named Mei Pieh Chi), was skilled in the mystical arts of the shinobi and wears a light blue mask that was braided in the back, giving the appearance of a ponytail. Venus was portrayed by Nicole Parker and voiced by Lalainia Lindbjerg.

Venus de Milo only appeared in The Next Mutation. In a 2007 interview, director Kevin Munroe elaborated on the instructions Peter Laird gave to him for TMNT. Munroe admitted that among those rules was, "there’s absolutely no mention of Venus de Milo, the female Turtle. You can’t even joke about that with Peter. It’s just one of those things that he hates with a passion."[7][8]

Cancellation[edit][]

The show was cancelled in the summer of 1998, despite solid ratings. The cancellation of the show marked the first time that the Turtles were off TV screens for a protracted period since the animated series debuted in 1987. A new animated series would eventually begin airing in 2003.

Home video releases[edit][]

The five-part pilot episodes were released in a heavily edited VHS compilation shortly following the series premier.

The complete series of the "Hero Turtles" version was released on DVD in the UK by Jetix Films. The series in divided between two volumes, containing three discs each. Volume 1 was released in July 2007 and Volume 2 was released in February 2008. Some foreign territories have released the full-length form of episodes in their native languages, including Germany, France, Israel, Poland and Italy. Shout! Factory released the first volume of Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation on DVD on September 4, 2012.[9] On December 4, 2012 Shout! Factory released the second volume on DVD.[10]

  • Ninja Turtles The Next Mutation Volume 1 (Episodes 1- 13)
  • Ninja Turtles The Next Mutation Volume 2 (Episodes 14- 26 plus the two cross-over episodes from Power Rangers in Space)

This series is currently available for watching on Netflix and LoveFilm.

Broadcast history[edit][]

In the United States of America, the show first aired from 1997 to 1998 on Friday afternoons on Fox Kids at 4:30 p.m.[11]

The show was aired in the Republic of Ireland on RTE Two from 1998 to 1999.[12]

The show was aired in the United Kingdom on Fox Kids UK on 1997 to 2003 and Kix! on 2012 to 2013.

The show was aired in Australia on Network Ten on 1998 to 2001 and Fox Kids Australia on 1999 to 2000.

As of June 2013, the United States broadcast rights to Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation are held by The Hub, which airs the show on Saturday afternoons.

Reception[edit][]

The series received mixed to negative reviews. Randy Miller III of DVD Talk said "It's far from the best incarnation of TMNT, but The Next Mutation has a goofy Power Rangers vibe that younger audiences might enjoy."[13]

David Johnson of DVD Verdict said "The first thing that immediately jumps out at us is the live-action format. Taking a cue from the fun-to-ridiculous-to-boring feature films, Ninja Turtles dispenses with the usual animation and suits up the stunt guys in rubber get-ups and turns them loose. At first glance it's sort of cool, and certainly brings back memories of the days of Corey Feldman-voiced shenanigans. But the cheapness of the production eventually catches up with the show. The turtle costumes look odd, particularly the masks, which appear to be molded out of whatever Gumby is made of. The opponents, be they Foot Clan or others looks less like legitimate threats to turtle well-being and more like your neighbor's weird kid and his friends LARPing in the backyard. When a moderately-budgeted feature film series is unable to figure out how to make Splinter not look like a Muppet with rickets, it's no surprise this shoestring kids show can't stick the landing either."[14]

References[edit][]

  1. Jump up ^ "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles On TV". IGN. Retrieved 2010-08-15. 
  2. Jump up ^ "Programming Catalog: Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation". MarVista Entertainment. Retrieved September 16, 2011. 
  3. Jump up ^ "Cynopsis: Kids! 09/19/11". Cynopsis. September 19, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011. 
  4. Jump up ^ Pickard, Michael (September 16, 2011). "MarVista picks up live Turtles". C21Media. Retrieved September 19, 2011. 
  5. Jump up ^ Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation at the Internet Movie Database
  6. Jump up ^ [1][dead link]
  7. Jump up ^ "Director Kevin Munroe on TMNT". Animated-Views.com. April 9, 2007. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  8. Jump up ^ "TMNT: The Rennaissance [sic Reptiles Return"]. Kung Fu Magazine. Retrieved 2010-08-18. 
  9. Jump up ^ Lambert, David (June 8, 2012). "Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation – Saban's Live-Action Show Comes to DVD from Shout! Factory". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved June 8, 2012. 
  10. Jump up ^ Lambert, David (September 7, 2012). "Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation – Shout! Finishes the Live-Action '97 Series on DVD this December". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved September 9, 2012. 
  11. Jump up ^ Allstetter, Rob (August 1997). "The Turtles Get a Gal". Wizard (72). p. 120. 
  12. Jump up ^ RTÉ Guide: 10–16. December 1998. 
  13. Jump up ^ "Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, Volume One : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". Dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2013-09-06. 
  14. Jump up ^ "DVD Verdict Review - Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, Volume 1". Dvdverdict.com. 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2013-09-06. 

External links[edit][]

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Edit links*This page was last modified on 28 July 2014 at 18:49.

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