TMNT: Fast Forward Talkback: Episode 1.03: "Home Invasion" (Spoilers)

[TheShredder565]

http://www.ninjaturtles.com/

From the official site...











Synopsis:
Raphael is impatient with the highly automated future – especially when Cody builds the Turtles a new Dojo complete with realistic holographic simulation battle programs. Unfortunately, a malicious living computer virus named Viral takes over Cody’s building, and traps the Turtles inside the Dojo. Raph’s worst fears are realized when the simulations are turned into a deadly prison, and the Turtles have to fight for their lives!
NOTE: this synopsis is based on an early draft of the script and thus the title and/or description may be inaccurate.



Did anyone else think, 'Star Trek Reject script' when reading this? Holodeck goes wrong episodes are their staple!

[veemonjosh]

...The episode's not airing for another three days... :sweat:

[CyberCubed]

Last new ep until sometime late September. We have about a month of reruns ahead of us.

[Rahxepy]

They had the Cowboys cartoon characters in this one. Hooooooooooooooooooooot!. That was cool. I would love for that to be animated in a real series. It and Yojimbo.

[SirLemming]

Some of the animation is really pretty bad. Like the cars on the highway overhead (they were just tiny rectangles, it shouldn't have been hard to get smooth motion), or Donatello's very conspicuous rotation as he was hanging off the ledge (you could see his whole body, one static frame, swaying back and forth while his hand remained still, which made his arm look really bad).

[sdp]

I wonder if this is how the OT fans felt when the red sky episodes began? I like them a lot but maybe it was the same deal.
This shows just doesn't feel like Batman Beyond or Spiderman Unlimited at all, not even like Gulligans in Space.

anyways about todays episode CC has been right, it didn't feel too different than other TMNT episodes, sure we had a lame villian but so was Garbageman. Its always nice whenever they can freely stab and use their weapons on someone.

FF next week maybe means episodes are doing really good.

[Hyper Shadow]

Hm a ref to the Cowboys of Moo Mesa.:D

[CyberCubed]

At least the story arcs are finally getting underway. I thought today's episode was fine for the most part, it could still use some tweaking but whatever.

[Rahxepy]

Hm a ref to the Cowboys of Moo Mesa.:D That's the name. I loved that show. They should make it again.

[Dark Fact]

Thoughts:

- anyone heard Django's One Piece dub theme at the beginning of this episode?
- a reference to the Wild West C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa in this episode? :eek: Awesome!
- Another new villain is introduced in this episode with viral being his lackey. The plot thickens...
- It appears that "It's Ninja Time!" will stay indefinitely for the rest of the season. :(
- Too many puns and rushed action. The puns are really starting to get on my nerves.

Okay episode. Nothing too spectacular. The villain who appeared at the end of this episode made it all the more intriguing.

Why is 4Kids promoting an episode next week of Fast Forward? I thought we were done for the summer and it will start again in the fall.

[Simpler Simon]

Hm a ref to the Cowboys of Moo Mesa.:D

Moo Montana right? I thought they looked familar. What association did they have with the Turtles?

Aside from the intro with Leo facing off against the little guys in the pub (Samurai Jack/Men in Black anyone?), this episode was a step down from last weeks. The script seems littered with more cliched dialogue than usual, and the animation looked especially overly bright and cheap.

So they're showing reruns of FF already? Are we gonna get the same 3 eps from now through sept?

[Dark Fact]

Now all we need is a Bucky O' Hare reference in this show and we're all complete! :)

[SirLemming]

- It appears that "It's Ninja Time!" will stay indefinitely for the rest of the season. :(
People keep complaining about this, but it's only in the intro, right? I don't really care too much.

[Dark Fact]

People keep complaining about this, but it's only in the intro, right? I don't really care too much.
Uh no. They also say that line just as they're about to go into battle with the villain of the episode. It gets real annoying real fast.

[AdamYJ]

Hm a ref to the Cowboys of Moo Mesa.:D

I thought that's who that was. I too would like to know what connection they had to the Turtles. I heard they were going to appear in a recent issue of the Mirage comics. Were they an indie comic too at one point? :confused:

Anyway, episode wasn't bad. I feel bad for Raph. Everytime he tries to sit down and read the paper, a piece of furniture starts talking to him. :D

[Ebonyleopard]

Does Mirage or Laird own Cowboys now? This is the second teamup/cameo they've gotten in TMNT material in the past 3 months. They Cowboys were just in an issue of Tales of the TMNT a few months ago.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Friggin Baseball, but at least this time the episode is listed on the schedule at an obscure time where as with the first episode it didn't show up at all.

[AdamYJ]

Does Mirage or Laird own Cowboys now? This is the second teamup/cameo they've gotten in TMNT material in the past 3 months. They Cowboys were just in an issue of Tales of the TMNT a few months ago.

Issue #21 of Tales of the TMNT, right? I just looked it up.

Apparently, C.O.W.boys was created by a TMNT artist named Ryan Brown. It's probably through their association with him that they're allowed to use the characters. Just like how their friendship with Stan Sakai allows them to use Miyamato Usagi from time to time.

[BlackoutCreature]

Wow, a Moo Montana reference, that was unexpected. I actually have an episode of that show at the end of one of my wrestling tapes somewhere.

Once again, another underwhelming episode. Also another villain introduced with a ton of potential, but was done so poorly and hokey that it became impossible to take them serious. People are talking about Bishop potentially showing up, but at this point im not sure i want him to.

[creativerealms]

Better then the other two episodes but Fast Forward is still a huge step back for the Turtles.

[CyberCubed]

I think we can agree at this point that while Fast Foward will never be as good as Seasons 1-5, it's still pretty decent to watch on its own.

I've never considered FF to be bad, but simply a more kid-friendly version of the same show. In that case, they've succeeded in what they wanted to do. I'm just glad that we still have story arcs and decent stories.

It could have been a lot worse, but what we have is better than nothing.

[TheShredder565]

Uh no. They also say that line just as they're about to go into battle with the villain of the episode. It gets real annoying real fast.

This s how could be so promising if they would JUST town down the simplicity of it and make it ten times more interesting. Cody and Don in their planning where so obvious, the only thing they could have done to make it worse was look at the camera and talk to the audience..

did anyone catch Mikes Exactamundo? If t his is Peter Lairds way of sh owing that most of the stuff in the original toon wouldn't fit in the new show, he's proved his point a hundred times over :lol:

If they can get the attitude of the original show and pacing, and the grittiness, this Future stuff could be actually fun instead of damn annoying.

Sometime this week, we're going to try and get a contact at 4Kids and a contact at Playmates where people can call in and tell them how dissapointed they are. It's especially important to get your kids to complain too if they don't like it as they are the target audience.

I'm also going to upload two 15 minute clips. One, is a clip show of sorts, gathering all the best moments and animation of the first season, and the second contains FF. You'l DEFINETLY miss the old style when you see them back to back..

[CyberCubed]

This s how could be so promising if they would JUST town down the simplicity of it and make it ten times more interesting. Cody and Don in their planning where so obvious, the only thing they could have done to make it worse was look at the camera and talk to the audience..

And was that really any different than Don's plans in the previous seasons? About how they got into Shredders Skyscraper? Or the Triceraton base?

Why do people make out that Seasons 1-4 had this amazing dialouge and didn't spoon-feed the audience? The Turtles dialouge hasn't changed at all from 2k3 to FF, it's more or less the same.

The "plans" were also told straight-up to the audience. It is pushing it to believe that FF uses a totally different storytelling when it used the exact same thing that Seasons 1-4 do.

Cheaper animation for sure, but the rest isn't all that different.

[bigddan11]

Well, it was better than the 2nd episode of the season, but there's still a lot of room for improvement. They're getting the villians established, and while it isn't in the same great fashion that the Triceratons or Shredder were introduced, it's still a pretty dang good storyline.

I'm looking forward to next week, because I missed the first episdoe of Fast Forward. September 2 they are doing the Yu-Gi-Oh! Best Duel ever special, and then the new season (minus Chaotic) begins September 9. It's only 3 weeks of reruns before they start new ones again.

Besides, this is the line-up as of September 9:
8 AM- Magical DoReMi (new episodes)
8:30- Bratz (new episodes)
9 AM- Winx Club (new episodes)
9:30- Viva Pinata (new series)
10 AM- Chaotic (new series- debuts September 30, before then, probably Fast Forward)
10:30- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fast Forward (new episodes)
11 AM- Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monster (new series)
11:30- GI Joe Sigma 6 (new episodes)

[SirLemming]

Uh no. They also say that line just as they're about to go into battle with the villain of the episode. It gets real annoying real fast.
I honestly haven't noticed it even once...

[icerbreaker]

i'm i the only 1 that notice the legend of zelda reference in the very beginning? it sure look like a bunch of Links and a wannabe Grandof (Link's Villian) i think that how u spell it?

[Simpler Simon]

Why do people make out that Seasons 1-4 had this amazing dialouge and didn't spoon-feed the audience? The Turtles dialouge hasn't changed at all from 2k3 to FF, it's more or less the same.

Agreed. Check any of the old talkback threads and you'll find me usually first in line to bash the dialogue and writing. I think what's really grating on me right now are the new characters Cody and Serling. Cody's not that bad half the time, but the other half hes your typical "gee-whiz I'm cool!" kid who's so eager to learn martial arts, then gets bored when he realizes the first step is meditation. Serling reminds me of Alfred from season 1 of The Batman - stiff and unlikeable, without mining any of the comedic potential (though his "bludgeon" line got a smirk out of me).

And the animation....several times it looked flat like Winx Club, and much too bright. What happened to the wonderfully subtle shading they had in season 4?

[Anarky]

People keep complaining about this, but it's only in the intro, right? I don't really care too much.

Mikey said it in "Future Shellshock", Raph said it in "Obsolete", and Don said it in "Obsolete". Leo will likely say it in ep 4. I just hope Splinter doesn't say. "It's Ninja Time!" is here to stay.

[Dark Fact]

I honestly haven't noticed it even once...
I take it to mean that you're usually half-awake on Saturday mornings? Trust me, they say it. ;)

i'm i the only 1 that notice the legend of zelda reference in the very beginning? it sure look like a bunch of Links and a wannabe Grandof (Link's Villian) i think that how u spell it?
I thought that myself at first but they didn't look very "linkish" to me to post a comment about it.

And the animation....several times it looked flat like Winx Club, and much too bright. What happened to the wonderfully subtle shading they had in season 4?
It's gone to a better place Simon...:sad:

Mikey said it in "Future Shellshock", Raph said it in "Obsolete", and Don said it in "Obsolete". Leo will likely say it in ep 4. I just hope Splinter doesn't say. "It's Ninja Time!" is here to stay.
If Splinter says that, I'll laugh so hard. :D

[Anarky]

I honestly haven't noticed it even once...

It's been said in all 3 eps so far
Mikey: ep 1
Raph: ep 2
Don: ep 3

[CyberCubed]

Anyone else love Raph's line?

"Are we dead? This don't feel like dead."

:D

That surprised me, because not only was it a funny line, but they rarely used "dead" to begin with in this show, let alone the more kid-friendly Fast Foward.

[Hyper Shadow X]

Missed this this morning.

[huyductran]

i dont like it when they show baseball games on my 4KIDS TV times. Why cant they wait till 12 to show the baseball games or racing cars. man i missed the episode so i had to bit comet it. it was okie episode. I like the 1 and 2 one better. Well 23 more episodes

[Lutochris]

I don't mind puns when Mikey says them, and then everyone looks at him like he's stupid right after for saying them, but when LEO says them without consequence? That's proof enough that the dialogue is a step down from the previous seasons. Yeah I know it wasn't exactly great before, but come on. Within the first minute of the show, Leonardo had already made 3 "short people" puns while fighting the elves or whatever.

[Ian]

I only had two issues with Obsolete: the turtles’ needlessly destructive and arguably out-of-character rampage through Cody’s sitting room, and the uninspired battle scenes. Both issues have, thankfully, been addressed (at least partially) in Home Invasion: the fights here were much improved, easily on par with most of the previous series’ (although it doesn’t compare to that series’ best), and the introduction of the Danger room assures at least a bit less destruction to the Jones building. This episode, however, has a slew of new things to complain about, and I’m very tempted to blame the writer, Rich Fogel, for them.

Looking at Fogel’s IMDB profile, one can see that he’s been around the writing circuit. Legacy, Apokolips Now, Old Wounds, World’s Finest (as well as, interestingly enough, several Batman Beyond episodes)…pedigree like that is nothing to sneeze at. So how is it that he manages to write the worst episode of Fast Forward yet?

It’s not that the episode is horrible…the plot is well constructed. The fight scenes are the best in the series, and surprisingly violent. There are some genuinely fun moments (the elfin bar brawl teaser). Serling, surprisingly, doesn’t annoy me. Some of the dialogue is great. Viral has potential, although the depiction of her powers after being “crippled” is annoyingly inconsistent. And yet…why are the turtles quipping so damn much? Why does Splinter get taken out so easily, and why does he disappear halfway during Viral’s assault at the Dojo? How convenient is it that the vent back to the building is right where Donny held on? Why is Cody annoying me for the first time in the series?

This isn’t a Fast Forward problem—well, the quipping is (I think—it may simply be Fogel’s honest conception of the characters—personally, I think it’s a bit of both), but that’s it—it’s a case of the writer being out of his depth when dealing with these particular characters. It might be enough to say that Fogel is simply finding his ground among characters new to him, except that Beechen was also new, and he turned out an episode ten times better than this one last week, which managed to have a well-constructed plot, and arguably stayed true to the characters.

What I’m trying to say is that, despite an inconsistent showing (a decent pilot, a genuinely good episode, and a mediocre one), I’m still not ready to give up on Fast Forward, or to proclaim it the shark that killed the TMNT (again). I still believe that the series has a crapload of potential, and that it is being realized, albeit in a somewhat less-than-graceful manner. What’s more, I’m still more interested in seeing what the future brings than in the Lost Season. After seeing 4Kids’ preview of the series, I have only one thing to say: I’m in.

On another note, did anybody else wonder about the initials in the Power Station—“NNY”? Could this actually be New New York? Also, it’s the second episode with scenes from the preview omitted. Anybody have any idea what’s up with that?

[Freedom Fighter]

The opening sequence with Leonardo alone shows how punny the dialogue has gotten. Otherwise, the show through three episodes seems to be on par with TMNT Season 1's early episodes. Alright, but far from spectacular.

I do love the fact that Cody's so enthusiastic about learning martial arts... that at least means he'll be involved in the action, instead of a useless cheerleader.

I'm still feeling meh about FF, but it could be a whole lot worse.

6 out of 10 for "Home Invasion."

[DarthNuriko]

The only salvagable part imo was the cameo of what appeared to be the Wild West COWboys. I understand TMNT before wasn't perfect, but FF does more than act as the title of the show. It's what I do when I watch it as well.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

COWboys reference was the winner in this episode for sure.

Something just doesn't seem right about Leonardo meditating in that future get-up...

I'm getting use to the animation (reminds me of Static Shock BTW) but I hate how Splinter looks now. He really needs the extra details the other series had. Oh well...

Villian of the week... bleh. The other series had very little of that. All and all to me it's like comparing DBZ to DBGT.

But that last bit with some bad guy was so incredibly cheesy to me. And say what you will about the 80's toon and cheese and also the 2003 one but at the very least the villians were serious business in 2003 besides a few shall we say... joke villians like "The Garbage Man" and such. Darius so far is the least cheesy but he's pretty boarderline so far actually.

But there is an overwelming feeling of mediocrety so far and that's greatly dissapointing to me.

[Ian]

Sketch:Villian of the week... bleh. The other series had very little of that.

While I don't exactly disagree--TMNT thrives on recurring villains--I really don't see how you can conclude that Viral, or any of the other villains we've seen so far are "villains-of-the-week", especially at three episodes. So far, every villain we've seen so far seems designed to be recurring: Darius Dun and Sh'Okanabo (shadowy guy from this episode) will be regulars, as stated in the credits; we know from the opening that Jammerhead (the gang leader from the first episode) will re-appear at least once; given the Inuwashi Gunjin and Viral's status as flunkies for their respective big bads, there's a good chance that they'll re-appear as well. The may be cheesy, but there hasn't been any obvious one-shot character--a la Abigail Finn--yet.

Besides, it's not like the previous series didn't have its fair share of one-shot villains (sixteen, by my count--hardly "very few"). True, they were often overshadowed by more regularly-appearing characters, but they were a definite prescence in the show. In fact, going strictly by the numbers, its number of one-shot characters isn't any smaller (proportionally speaking, anyway) than any comparable show's.

[Shadow_Wolf75]

Serling reminds me of Alfred from season 1 of The Batman - stiff and unlikeable, without mining any of the comedic potential (though his "bludgeon" line got a smirk out of me).

I dunno, I LIKE Serling. Maybe it's just my love of all things robotic showing, but then there's the whole 'he's a spy and probably doesn't know it' angle, which I think is kind of interesting. There's a lot of potential there, I think.

[Knightmare]

I finally got to see the episode today, I think that his was the best episode so far. The C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa thing tripped me out I was amazed at seeing all of those characters and the fact that I recognized them all too(they really should bring that show back and make it truer to the original subject matter.) I think the show still has along way to go but it's slowly getting better.