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TMNT – “The Evil of Dregg” Review

by Dan Spitaliere
written by Dan Spitaliere
Source: TMNT "The Evil of Dregg"

Source: TMNT “The Evil of Dregg”

“The Evil of Dregg” diverted attention away from the main conflict of the season in exchange for pouring on the feels on our dear friend Raph. While it’s a little frustrating to not see the fallout from the Turtles losing two of the three pieces of the black hole generator, the “kidnapping” of Sal Commander was a good reason for a diversion. Finally getting to see Dregg on his home world and at full strength was also a treat we’ve been waiting for all season.

Of course, the real core of the episode was watching Raph respond to being betrayed by Mona Lisa. These two literally star-crossed lovers were forced into a huge test of their relationship, when it’s revealed late in the episode that Sal and Mona were forced into setting a trap for the Turtles, when Dregg threatens to invade their homeworld of Salamandria. We know Sal and Mona to be honorable characters, so of course they would sacrifice their friends to save their people. Dregg being the villain that he is, once the Turtles and Casey are captured, turns on Sal and Mona, and plans to go through with the invasion anyway.

Source: TMNT "The Evil of Dregg"

Source: TMNT “The Evil of Dregg”

But let’s go back to Raph for a little shall we? Man, was it weird seeing him so despondent. You would think Raph would burst into a rage at having his heart broken, but in fact, he just can’t take it. It destroys him, and it’s probably the most emotional moment we’ve seen of Raph since his movie counterpart bellowed “Damn” through the sewers at the kidnapping of Splinter. You can tell his brothers were expecting him to go crazy too. They needed him to. It was like the episode was setting up that Raph’s rage was really the only thing that could get them out of such a mess. Or so they thought.

Source: TMNT "The Evil of Dregg"

Source: TMNT “The Evil of Dregg”

Raph does save the day, but it isn’t because his anger overwhelms him. Rather it is Mona Lisa’s apology and declaration of love that sends him into a righteous fury. This isn’t dopey smile Raph. This is 100% confident, full of life Raph. It’s an interesting twist on the “with love I can do anything” trope, since Raph embraces that love and kicks ass!

There was some good humor in this episode as well. Donnie’s whole arc this episode, from his grotesque space bee sting, his happiness at recovery, he reaction to April’s kiss, and of course his straight up cockiness for his bug spray invention. It may have taken 1 whole episode for him to feel lost in space and regain his confidence, but at least his new attitude pays off with some fun and brash moments. Timid Donnie is interesting, but cocky Donnie is a blast. That’s what made the movie version so good. He’s smart, knows it, and enjoys it.

Source: TMNT "The Evil of Dregg"

Source: TMNT “The Evil of Dregg”

Let’s not forget Casey either, who got a kick out of how Sectoid 1 resembled some metal album covers back home on Earth. Gotta love his excitement any time they face off against Armaggon as well. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy reference April brings up; “The Explorer’s Guide to the Universe.”

Source: TMNT "The Evil of Dregg"

Source: TMNT “The Evil of Dregg”

“The Evil of Dregg” brought back two of this season’s secondary big bads, Dregg and Armaggon, and gave the Turtles a true challenge. Between set pieces like the giant Scorponoid, to the betrayal of Mona Lisa and Sal Commander, the challenges were both physical and emotional, and this gave the episode a well rounded feeling. Raph and Mona’s relationship has been a real treat this season, and it’s great seeing one of our boys happy, especially Raph. There was great action too, and seeing what Raph can do when he feels full of support was a lot of fun. Cue “The Power of Love” for our friend!

What did you think of the episode? Is Dregg a worthy villain for our crew? Should he be the real big bad? What’s with his robot head? And detachable other head?!? Does he know more about the black hole generator than he’s letting on? What do you think of Raph and Mona Lisa? Let us know it all in the comments!

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BlogTV Series

TMNT – “The Moons of Thalos 3” Review

by Zach Gasior
written by Zach Gasior

“Numbers mean nothing. I do not fear you or your friends.” – Mona Lisa

After leaving their pit stop, the Fugitoid’s ship finds itself smack dab in the middle of the Triceraton fleet. It doesn’t take long for the ship to be shot down, crash-landing on an ice moon. To avoid freezing, the heroes must find a local supply of metal that can patch up the ship. However, they are not alone; the Triceratons had been chasing down two Salamandrian warriors, and the turtles’ ship caused the two amphibians to crash as well.

As the heroes make their way to the supply of metal, the Salamandrians attack. Though there is a brief moment where it seems like the two factions will work together, a misunderstanding causes the fighting to escalate – and the turtles to be buried under a mountain. Fortunately, the boys and their friends survive and continue their quest.

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Proceeding to their destination, Raphael wonders if they could work with the Salamandrians, especially the female, who he seems to have a crush on. Breaking off from the others, Raph finds the amphibians and tries to convince them to join forces. Talks are interrupted, though, when the girl sends Raph plunging down the mountain again, and both factions find themselves face-to-face with ice dragons. The beasts freeze both Donatello and the Salamandrian commander, but Raph manages to save the girl just in time, earning her respect – and possibly her affection. As a way to call her by a much easier-to-pronounce name, Raph suggests she take the moniker of Mona Lisa.

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With his new friends, Raph returns to his brothers and saves the whole gang (and Michelangelo dubs the male Salamandrian Sal Commander). Together, the team finds a Triceraton space mine that they can salvage to fix their ships. Of course, more ice dragons come charging in, but some quick thinking by Donnie saves them temporarily. However, oxygen runs out, and the Fugitoid must race against the clock to save them all from certain death. Successful in repairing all the ships and defrosting the group, Raph and Mona Lisa seal their newfound affection with a kiss, and the Salamandrians return to their own mission.

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The early episodes of this season seem like they will be used to introduce all the new characters previously revealed, which is a fine way of doing things. Lord Dregg is supposed to be the main villain, and with the Salamandrians as friends, the turtles can feel a little more comfortable out in space. However, there’s been some discrepancy in how many episodes were actually produced for season four, and if the number is only 20, then it doesn’t seem like there’s really time to waste them on doing nothing (and no, character introduction with no forward motion in the plot is not “something”). There’s a larger mission that is suppose to be completed, so it would be nice if every episode was in furtherance of that mission. That could be accomplished by gathering information, going to a world where the part is likely to be, or any number of other ways, and all of those could also be used for character introduction. There’s no need right now to use up entire episodes like this (though, these standalones have been more of a staple in the last season plus, and they’ve been mostly misses in terms of actually being worthwhile).

 

Unfortunately, there isn’t much to be said for this episode. It just sort of existed, and while it was great to see Raph have a crush (and on a species that could actually result in a real relationship, no less), there was nothing particularly special about it. The name Thalos 3 wasn’t even mentioned in the episode. (Also, it was a little bit bothersome that again the show went with the old trope of “we can’t ‘pronounce’ your name, so we’re going to pretend it doesn’t exist and give the one that works for us” when it came to the Salamandrians.) Hopefully the episodes to follow will start to pick up the story again and push the heroes toward that first piece of the black hole generator.

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NewsTV/Cartoon News

Top 7 Memorable Moments From NYCC 2015 TMNT Panel

by Justin W
written by Justin W

When we found out that there was going to be a TMNT Panel at NYCC 2015, we were ecstatic. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that it would be broadcast live on Twitch.tv! Sharp eyed Twitter followers may have caught our link to the event before it started, but if you missed the event, you might still be able to catch the highlights on the NYCC Twitch channel. Unfortunately, much of the event wasn’t broadcast due to possible copyright violations, so you’ll probably notice that there are large segments of the video that have been taken out. Hopefully we can do a good job of filling in those gaps here by discussing some of the most memorable moments from the NYCC TMNT Panel!

1. David Tennant Loves TMNT

Sure, it’s been confirmed that his role as the Fugitoid will span a 13 story arc, but how does Tennant actually feel about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Well, according to Executive Producer/Writer Brandon Auman, he’s a huge fan! When talking about Tennant, Auman said that he wanted to do the show because he’s a TMNT fan himself. The doctor loves the Ninja Turtles? Well, of course he does! Oh, I’m sorry – Professor. He’s Professor Honeycutt.

2. Sean Astin Visits Via Phone

Despite the fact that he is currently training for the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, Sean Astin actually managed to make an appearance at NYCC 2015 – on Greg Cipes’ phone! The two managed to connect for the panel, and Cipes shared his screen for the audience to give Astin a chance to share some love for all the TMNT fans in the crowd. Even when he’s working his butt off, Astin manages to make time for all of his fans.

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3. #Booyakabunga

Both Ciro Nieli and Greg Cipes came out on stage spouting this new catchphrase, which is clearly a combination of both Booyakasha and Cowabunga. This moment brings to mind all of the moments in the past that Cipes was asked whether or not “Cowabunga” would ever make its way into the new series. Of course, we got our answer for that during the third season, but it’s cool to see that they’re bringing in this new combination of the phrases in order to incorporate elements that all the fans enjoy. That has definitely been a theme with Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, and we can’t wait to see where it leads!

4. New Characters Confirmed For Season 4

Although he may have been discussed previously, the official character design for Sal Commander was finally shown off during the panel. In addition to this, we also saw the first design for a new creature known as Wyrm, who will apparently be voiced by Keith David. As if that weren’t enough, it was confirmed for the first time that the Mandroid (used by Krang in the original animated series) will be making an appearance in Nickelodeon’s TMNT! Needless to say, these are all welcome additions and I’m sure the fans are excited to see what comes of the fourth season.

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5. TMNT Season 4 World Premiere

Speaking of the fourth season, they celebrated the world premiere of the first episode during the live panel at NYCC! Yes, they actually paused the event and let the show speak for itself, which is pretty awesome if you ask me. I’m sure we all wish that we could have been there, but even if you missed it, there’s no need to fret – the first episode of TMNT season 4 will be airing in a few short weeks on October 25th! You’ve only got a few more weeks to wait before you can get your Booyakasha on once again.

6. Seth Green Plays With Mega Bloks

Mere days after we discovered that Mega Bloks would be doing their own TMNT line next year, we saw their first official appearance during the TMNT Panel. In a clever use of construction toys, TMNT Mega Bloks were used to create the name cards for each actor. Seth Green in particular was quite taken with this, and he was seen playing with the toy set for quite some time while his fellow actors were answering questions. Speaking from experience, I can confirm that TMNT toys are excellent distractions.

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7. Classic TMNT Crossover Episode Planned

Along with everything else they discussed during the panel, it was confirmed that one of the upcoming episodes would feature the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meeting up with the new school turtles. Although they made an appearance in an earlier episode, it would appear that this episode is going to be a true crossover similar to Turtles Forever. With that being said, it’s best that we don’t confuse the two stories, as this upcoming crossover event will apparently feature its own original story.

What were you most excited to see? Are you as psyched about TMNT Season 4 as we are? Let us know in the comments below!

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