Scott's Stories, Reviews & Blog: Shredder & Splintered

Episode 5

We finish up the pilot set with much satisfaction to be had. The turtles and even Splinter are on a quest to put an end to the Shredder. Who wouldn’t though, he is constantly trying to destroy them. Meanwhile April desperately wants her story she’s been unable to get on the turtles. This episode will bring season one to an end and we won’t quite see anything like these episodes in the future.

The turtles are motivated by the news reports depicting them as a menace. But come on their mutant anomalies what could be so surprising that the general public hates them? People don’t like different even in a cartoon! The turtles get a direct broadcast from Shredder on their television set as he shows off his retro-mutagen ray generator. I love well thought out technical gadget device names. I also love how he could directly transmit to their television or did everyone in New York City get that message too? I can imagine some New Yorker watching his TV thinking it’s some sort of advertisement for pest control. Splinter is enticed to get it to return to his human form which you can see he wants to be in truth. Who would really want to be a rat man? He’s also afraid Shredder will obviously try to use it on the turtles.

Like this will make a difference.

They set out on the vehicle the neutrinos left for them, how cool of them you know to leave it behind for the turtles. It runs out of fuel immediately, ha-ha the neutrinos do have a sense of humor! Donatello gets an idea of a new replacement vehicle he could build at Baxter’s work shop, they are really whoring out Baxter and his inventions all they can. Down in the technodrome Shredder finally has constructed Krang’s new body. Krang hands him a molecular amplification device he insists on installing inside his body. Shredder does so, I wonder what that does? It’s funny to see Shredder put on gloves to lift Krang into the android robot. Hey he doesn’t want to get slime all over his shiny blades you know? I wonder if Krang has some strange horrible smell too, it seems like he would. He cackles the machine on while letting loose, “It’s alive! It’s alive!” A classic well performed line I must say!

Our buddies Bebop and Rocksteady are sent to slow the turtles down. They do manage to sneak up behind them and strangle their necks. I like to see the tough character from those two brutes and the obvious strength they display by slamming the turtles into the wall. Rocksteady goes crazy blasting his rifle at them while asking if he hurt them and shooting is the supposed medicine. Raphael comments, “The boy loves his work” a very fitting line for the situation, ha-ha. Bebop throws a car at them while Leonardo says, “I think they’re beginning to tire.” Raphael zings back, “Yeah in a few hours they’ll barely be able to throw a car at us.” They dump garbage and wet cement on them holding them in place in classic fashion.

They continue on down to the technodrome with Splinter to get the gun when foot soldiers come out to engage them. Splinter heads inside to face Shredder while the turtles dispatch of the robots. Raphael’s brilliant idea to destroy a raw sewage pipe displays nice recklessness in defeating the foot soldiers. I’m sure some crewman will be happy to clean that up one day.

Looks like Splinter missed the block.

April goes bananas when her boss Burne Thompson fires her! She threatens him with a turtle communicator Donatello gave to her earlier. It looks like a make-up compact; Donatello is there something you’d like to share with us? The threat works as she gets her crew for a story but awkwardly done I might say. Splinter finds the ray gun but it’s a hologram, curse these old rat eyes! Shredder appears and we get a classic battle between the leaders. Shredder does hologram himself while Splinter has trouble figuring out which one is which; these old rat eyes trick me twice! The fight is great as character development sneaks into the battle subtly.

Not so fast, well they are rocks..

The turtles see Krang in his body while Michelangelo points onto the screen and says, “Who’s the weirdo?” You have to love the silly dialogue. General Traag is set to comeback at Krang’s command but the turtles intervene and trick Krang away from the trans-dimensional portal. Krang was swayed to beat the turtles, but now he simply chases them from the technodrome as he grows too big for his britches, ha-ha! He knocks a hole above in his giant size and proceeds upwards. Did you forget you wanted to destroy the turtles? You nearly had them under foot down below; did the molecular amplification device cause short term memory loss or brain damage? Luckily the turtles avoid that one.

Leo can I give it a shot? I got it Don!!!

Donatello arrives in the famous turtle blimp. How he built it so fast is so impressive and he even had time to paint it in turtle fashion! Did Baxter paint it? Perhaps Baxter all along was planning to join and help the turtles in their quest to defeat Shredder? I doubt he’ll have that same compassion anymore as they have strip mined his workshop. Get revenge on them Baxter I implore you! Props Donatello, you know how to work with stolen goods! April pursues them while filming her story. Donatello figures out Krang must have some sort of device enlarging him so he goes inside Krang’s body with Leonardo. They find the device and Leonardo isn’t able to hack it out, although he previously sliced through a streetlight pole and a raw sewage pipe, I guess it must be dull by now. Donatello steps in and pokes through it with his staff. Leonardo is thinking; show me up again Donnie, I dare you. I’m the leader! They escape the shrinking Krang and proceed to battle him 4 on 1. Krang cries to Shredder for help on a communicator. Krang can make his arms and hands change into different things, so why not that ray gun or a rocket launcher? I guess he panicked under pressure!

Shredder imprisons Splinter in an electric cage to make his escape. Splinter cleverly uses his long rat nails to unscrew a bolt in the floor and bull’s-eye the device imprisoning him. Watch out at the carnivals for him, he’ll clean you out! Shredder arrives and aims the gun at the turtles delivering the line, “Tonight I dine on turtle soup.” Wickedness man, one of the best lines! Splinter throws his trusty walking stick to break the gun though. He had to save his boys at his own cost of becoming human again, noble Splinter. I do commend Shredder for actually trying to shoot he just was a bit too slow with Splinter’s deadly throwing accuracy. Shredder and Krang retreat to the technodrome to release the rock soldiers from dimension X. The turtles stop them as Donatello reverses the flow of the portal while we get a couple glimpses of Raphael engaging Shredder one on one. I’d like to see that fight.

The technodrome gets sucked into itself somehow but who cares its neat. Now were Rocksteady and Bebop in the technodrome or are they still garbage statues back in New York City? I love to see Krang and Shredder still vying for the upper hand in dimension x. “The Shredder takes orders from no one!” With Krang adding we will see, ha-ha.