Column: Ninja Turtles, The Next Mutation Volume One

Back in 1987 a cartoon premiered that blew me away and I immediately became obsessed with it. What cartoon was this? It featured four turtles named, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael and a rat, yes it was “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”

I had everything from cereal to bed sheets. I never missed an episode. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were baby turtles that ended up in some radioactive ooze and mutated into walking, talking, intelligent, pizza eating, crime fighting ninja turtles that are almost human like. 

They were trained by a rat named Splinter who also came into contact with the ooze. Their mission is to stop Shredder and his evil foot soldiers from conquering the world. With three live action movies, toys, video games and other merchandise the animated series came to an end in 1996.

Then in 1997 a live action series was created called “Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation and featured twenty six episodes.  Now you can see the first thirteen episodes on the two-disc set thanks to Shout Factory.

In the first five episodes, you see the turtles defeat Shredder and a new villain makes an appearance called, “Dragon Lord.”   Plus there is a new female turtle that makes an appearance named, Venus De Milo. 

I watched all 13 episodes and thought they were great and action packed.  I had never seen this series before, because by the time it came out, I had outgrown my obsession for the turtles.  I still enjoy watching all of the episodes and playing the video games.

I really thought that this series was well done.  It had an interesting story and I really like how they introduced the new female turtle.  It made sense and was a nice surprise.  I also thought the costumes were great and the fight scenes were well choreographed. 

In “Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation,” the turtles are still making all of their wise cracks and still love their pizza, but the one thing that I was disappointed in was, that they got rid of their battle van and now drive a Humvee.  People might like the new vehicle, but I was fan of the van.

Another thing that I would have liked to have seen,  was some extras on the DVD.  You just get the thirteen episodes and that’s it.  They are great, but it would have been nice to have an interview with the creators or with someone who had worked on the show.

Overall I really liked this DVD and my kids really liked it as well.  I think that if you were and are a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, you will really enjoy, “Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation.”

Click here for more information on the Shout Factory.

Aaron Chalich is a columnist for KSTP.com blogging about the latest entertainment news.