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| Episode 1 |
The pilot series gets off to a fantastic start as the
turtles enter the scene by saving April O’Neil in the sewer. This episode is still interesting to watch
unfold even as an adult now. The jokes
made, primarily by Raphael, are quite well written and will still make you
crack a smile.
I
really like this storyline how the origin of the turtles and Splinter comes to
be. Hamato Yoshi (Splinter) is banished
from the foot clan as a result of Oroku Saki’s (Shredder) trickery. I admire this setup as it establishes Saki as
an ambitious man who wants control of the clan.
Yoshi, being the good man he is reluctantly flees to America with no
money or family. How does he get
there? Well we’ll just leave to your
imagination. He is forced to dwell in
the sewers with rats. He is soon joined
by four turtles that were dropped by some poor kid who really should have
handled them properly. I mean in a glass
bowl on the streets? Thanks to his
carelessness we get an unforgettable cartoon so I suppose we should thank him,
ha-ha! The explanation of the turtles
being trained as ninjas reflects Splinters past well. He knows the outside world will reject them
so he trains them in the martial arts each one specializing in a weapon. The montage of that scene is classic,
absolutely to my liking.
A
couple of the punks who attack April are Rocksteady and Bebop, although their
names aren’t mentioned any turtle fan could recognize them a mile away. Their voices match their character splendidly. The turtles show their love for pizza a few
times during the episode which is classic, they even semi-mock themselves for
it. At the ninja pizza restaurant they
are at checking out for leads April asks them if they take anything seriously
over pizza. Raphael replies, “Not unless
we have to.” The battle on the roof is
executed to perfection against the foot soldiers. The theme music triggers at the start of the
fight which really excites you. Raphael
attacks a foot soldier and upon striking him says, “Clang? Did you say clang?!” He realizes something is up and it’s a comical
reaction. Leonardo discovers their
robots upon slashing the chest and stomach of one open. Donatello says, “This is nuts, their
robots.” Michelangelo promptly does that
awesome jump into the air shouting, “Let’s rock!” as the battle erupts.
This episode
has an unmistakable seriousness to it aside from the turtle’s sometimes silly
teenage behavior. The Shredder, from
what little you get to see of him, looks like a guy you’d rather not
cross. The episode finishes on an escape
from a building that floods and gets destroyed in a wild fashion. If the show keeps the format of this pilot series
it would be one awesome ride of 193 episodes.
If you’re a turtle fan then you know the truth by now. My objective is to review the series and try
to sort out the best episodes from the worst.
The first season is commonly thought to be the best so the review method
will be in a slightly different format.
By that I mean it just may be lengthier than the rest of the series in
general. The world created for the
turtles is so well executed in the pilot set I cringe and vomit after what it does
become later. Wish me luck, cowabunga
dudes!
Rating: 10 of 10
Links
Next Up: Enter the Shredder – Episode 2
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