Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation - The Madness Begins - Phelous 

One thing that always bugged me was they kept having Venus saying, "I'm not a ninja, I am a shinobi", which is kinda like saying, "I'm not drinking water, I'm drinking H2O."

There's a good message in there about how "family" doesn't have to mean blood relatives, but shoe-horning it in so you could set up Venus as a love interest rather than have her come to accept the turtles as brothers isn't the way to do it.

Honestly, this show looks so 90s that even the 90s is embarrassed to be seen with it.

This version of TMNT is more cartoony than any of the cartoons themselves.

When the TMNT version that involves Skipping stones and Shredder hating music is better then this... yeah, soak it in

It's a shame April was absent from this show. I think having another female character for Venus to bounce off of might have been interesting.

Ok Phelous you can knock it off with the cartoon sound effects...wait that's actually part of the show? Well that's just Prime...

Saban: You're laughing. We changed the turtles' backstory so that Venus can be a love interest to any of them because of how taboo incest is, and you're laughing. Turtlecest fans: I know!

surely even if they're not biologically related they're still brothers because they were all... raised as brothers?

It does seem werid about the turtles not being brothers so venus could be a love intrest. She could just be a seperate turtle who was also mutated.

to be fair, Die Ninja Turtles is what I would proclaim after watching that show.

UHHHHHHH.....Peter Laird, the TMNT co-creator hated this show. I don't blame him. I met him and he said "That was...a long time ago." He didn't want to talk about it.

Thsnk you Phelous, for pointing out how much Venus de Milo is unfairly blamed for this shitshow. Yeah, the character was executed terribly, but no, the show wasn't ruined by her simple presence.

You’re wrong Phelous, yellow Leo is his next mutation.

16:34 "Drainspotting"? Not only would that reference go over kids' heads, but now I'm imagining the Turtles going through heroin addiction. "Choose ninjutsu. Choose pizza. Choose skipping stones. Choose life."

-"Hey, Venus, how didya get the part in the series?" -"Well..." Oof. I was dreading a "casting couch" story...

Hey let’s make Leonardo yellow. Why? Let’s have him yellow. ...Why? Yellow.

Honestly Venus is still a good idea for a character. If only she was on a different show.

Even when I was a kid my parents were like 'It's a TMNT show!' and my brothers and I were like 'No...it isn't' We couldn't watch this much .It seemed like a literal bootleg show.

I actually got to work on TMT cross over with the Power Rangers . It was great to be apart of the ninja turtles, but production was poorly planed. I puppeteered Michaelangelo. We got no time to rehearse or practice with the animatronic heads, and the director only did a few takes, so the mouths never matched the dialog. Im sure that pissed off the v.o. actors immensely. But. Im happy i get to say for a brief time in my life i was a ninja turtle. Thank you for posting this. TURTLE POWER

It saddens me that every time they introduce the "fifth" turtle, they seem to completely forget about Slash. Gotta give kudos for 2012 TMNT for giving him more of a story.

When I was a kid, I appreciated the fact that they didn't make the new token girl character's team colour pink. I loved the colour blue and that choice came pretty close.

“We are teenagers now and must deal with all that teenager stuff”. I actually groaned at this. This show is the definition of wtf.

Oh, so Kirby the 5th turtle was actually a thing? And here I thought he was a silly invention of Phelous.

Venus annoys me cause, like, there ARE female artists they could have named her after.

"I divide my life between Pre-Next Mutation and Post-Next Mutation." Yeah, I'm like that too, except with Beast Machines.

When I was younger, I thought Venus was the next mutation. Like she's the new turtle and newest mutation to be found and part of the team. Some stuff about her magic and the origin was weird among other things in my opinion. But I always found her very charming.

If kids see a character using sticks tied together as a weapon they might emulate it and hurt themselves and others. That's why we're changing the weapons to just sticks, something kids can't possibly emulate.

"Welcome, my friends, to the History of Ninja Turtles."

Oh boy. Buckle up everyone, it's gonna be a LONG ride!

Got to give you credit, Phelan, I was kinda dreading when you eventually got to this one because I've always had a soft spot for the show and I figured you'd mercilessly rip it apart, but honestly the review was pretty fair :P The main frustration for me was just people piling hate on Venus when she really wasn't the problem with the show, but the corniness of the show itself, so my hat off to you for being a mature TMNT fan and giving it a reasonable rundown.

i do not understand how people can be more offended by two sticks chained together than a freaking sword

Neat, we haven't had a drawn title card in quite a while

I remember watching this show when I was younger. But purely because nothing else was on and I wanted watch something that was on after it. But I have no memories of anything that went on in these episodes except for remembering being very very annoyed that time did not move faster.

Phelan: It's more cartoony than the cartoon. Everyone else: Thanks Saban...

Leo mentions wanting to star in "Drainspotting?" How would that movie play out? Would the Turtles be heroin addicts with Leo taking opium suppositories to wean himself off his drug habits?

Phelous finally covering Next Mutation? Complete with the first Andrew Dickman title card in years? This is the best birthday present I could ask for!

And yes...that is SCOTT MCNEIL! NOT DOING A VOICE! Yeah, Scott! Yaaaaay! But still..SCOTT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?! Oh well..A gig's a gig, right?

Watching this and the Charmed reboot??! Haven’t you suffered enough?

5:00 The extra mutations thing sounds like an interesting concept. But the problem with them is that they're way too obvious. Because of course the smart one is the glasses wearing psychic. I think it would've been more interesting if the secondary mutations were switched around a bit. Like... Maybe instead of Donatello getting the psychic powers, it's Leonardo, and he has to learn not only to control his new abilities, but to also get used to his new *disability* (i.e. his failing eyesight). Plus, him having psychic powers would make him more aware of other people's thoughts and feelings, especially his brothers, which could be a very useful trait for a leader like him. Instead of Mikey getting the transformation powers, it's Raph, and he has to learn to be more sociable and to control his temper (because with that new power, he could use it to infiltrate enemies to get information). Instead of Raph getting the monstrous form, it's Donnie, and he has to learn to control his newfound strength because he's not used to being the "hard-hitter" of the group (and maybe this can affect his mental/physical state because this is the first problem he can't use his brains and technology to instantly fix). And instead of Leo getting the shield-like chrome skin, it's Mikey, with him having to learn how to not overuse his new powers (because maybe there's a limit to how many times he can use it or something) and to, quite literally, be more comfortable in his own skin.

Unpopular Opinion: The "over the head bandanas" actually don't look too bad on the turtles

Before this show, Venus was doing a commercial for car wax? Oh. I get it. Ha. Ha. Ha.

So story time, I was browsing Netflix the other day and I came across the next mutation and thought "ya know it's been such a long time since I saw this and I remember liking it as a kid so was really as bad as people say it is?" It took me less than ten minutes confirm that

I always assumed the turtles were never related by blood, but they still considered each others brothers.

Jennika's actually a pretty cool character. Adds an interesting perspective having a Turtle who used to be human, and she's pretty kickass in a fight. As for this series... I remember seeing one episode of this show as a kid, something about one of the characters being brainwashed by what looked like a furry gangster to go berserk when they heard the word "banana"? I never bothered going back after that, and I was a HUGE TMNT fanboy at that point. lol

Crap, I think I remember reading that Fox Kids interview back in the day too XD

Not gonna lie, the coloring book designs of the TNM turtles gave me some 2003 TMNT vibes.

Reminds me of how people blame Krystal for StarFox's downfall, when in reality it was a series of very poor decisions made by Nintendo. Thank you for reviewing this series; it was something I was interested in, but afraid to watch because it looked so bad. Seems I was right.

"East Meets West" just sounds like the origin story to EastWest DVD and their horrid Dingo dubs.

That family thing seems excessive, surely they could have remainned brothers & just have Venus NOT be their sister, I mean Brothers (especially of a similar age) Fighting over the affections of a lady, it happens.

This show would've been way more popular if Kirby was the 5th turtle .

1994: Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad *Studio Trigger enters the chat* 2017: SSSS.Gridman 1997: Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation *Studio Trigger is typing*

Why does “Yellow Leonardo” sound like a lost episode-style creepypasta kinda thing??

Thanks for the nightmares... :P

The alternate theme was used in 2005 when the show was broadcast on the "Kicks" channel, then again in 2012 & 2013 when it was aired on the "Hub" Network. Hence the alternate theme song being used on future DVDs, same with the episode order. On the Hub network reruns the episodes are aired out of order.

I can't believe this is my first introduction to TMNT as a whole

I don't think that the turtle girl was what killed the show, but adding a new member to an iconic group will always be awkward and audiences will subconciously think that they won't stick around for long, no matter what. TMNT has always been 4 brothers each with distinct personality and features that play well with each other, including a 5th member kinda fucks up the whole balance, not helped by the forced retcon of the team's backstory, or that her personality is pretty much just "strong indipendent love interest", even her color and weapon doesn't gel with the whole thing, it just wasn't going to last, the new turtle girl from the comics will probably get dropped for these reasons as well.

I grew up with this series and remember loving it so much! So much nostalgia 🥰

Power Rangers fans were spoiled with a more mature series that treated them more like adults. TMNT fans got this, and would have to wait another five years for such a series.

If you have not seen it already, Netflix has a show called, "The Toys that Made Us". One of its 12 episodes is on the topic of Ninja Turtles and it shows the evolution of the property as a toy franchise, but discusses in detail the creators feelings about each of the animated and live action projects including this one. The episode also has a touching ending to it.

The IDW comics of the turtles with Jennika is actually really well done.

One of the weird things about Venus is that after the first five or so episodes, she's just kind of there. Like the writers wanted this new turtle to the group but didn't really know what to do with her outside of the love interest aspect. Also, does anyone else think Matt Hill was miscast as Raph? His voice is kind of perfect for Michelangelo.

Dang it, Phelous. I'm at work with a home health client and I get a TMNT notification while doing a sponge bath?

Very fair and descriptive opening look at this point of Turtles history. Your reviews are very entertaining. I like Venus a lot and it’s good to hear other people stand up for her! She did not ruin the show, if anything she was often one of the best characters. It’s very cool that you included that early interview. I congratulate you on once again digging in deep to give us the real backstory of the show!

Rest in peace Kirby Morrow. :(

Words cannot express how excited I am to see you finally tear into this one.

"Drainspotting" We could have had a film about Glaswegian ninja turtles on heroin, but they weren't prepared to go further than that one weak pun. I feel robbed.

“Heck the next mutation turtles look better on fruit snacks packages” Me: * dying of laughter * 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣

Phelous reading the interview in his typical sarcastic tone had me laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe.

19:40 So the guy would go onto to be Prince Pyrus from War Planets, Ed from Ed, Edd n Eddy, and the english voice of Kira Yamato was Raphael in the Next Mutation. Mind blown!

Rest in peace, Kirby Morrow!!🙏🙏💐💐💐

I’d rather live in the universe of Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy with their sound effects than this shows universe and it’s god awful annoying sound effects that just doesn’t shut up.

Ah yes, it was only after Nickelodeon bought the rights to the Ninja Turtles that they made a reference to Venus as a graffiti

Oh my land this was filmed in Vancouver?? Dangit, now I'm recognizing streets and scenes from all over downtown!! XD; Gotta wonder if that one sign is for "Ontario Street", there are a bunch of streets named after provinces... Time to suffer with a splash of sightseeing! If we gotta traverse this land, I'm glad you're guiding us through it Phelous! Keep up the awesome work!

So Leo was shipped with Venus who was technically his stepsister? and in the 2012 series he was shipped with Karai who was technically his half sister? What the hell?

This is wonderful. The clips from the Addams family joke from the 3rd film, referencing immediately the Batman and Robin ads in a couple of episodes intros, the fact that this series of reviews will continue... i'm hyped. I can confirm that the italian version of Netflix used the newer version of the opening theme even if back in those times there was an original one sung in our language. Long live the TMNT universe, it gave me so much joy intentionally or unintentionally still to this day.

im honestly so ashamed that this series was my first real exposure to tmnt when the 2k3 show was RIGHT THERE airing around when i was trying to catch saturday morning winx club and later sonic x

Yikes, this is like the Caddyshack 2 of TMNT.

Phelous, I'm far from a TMNT junkie in any way shape or form, but I was also far from a Mortal Kombat junkie, and your episode-by-episode dismantling of Defenders of the Realm was exceedingly enjoyable. Just know that I know almost nothing of the source material, but I'm looking forward to this series as much as anyone else. I hope that says something good about your entertainment value. :)

The fake interview and your voice over of them Phelous is my favorite part of your review

When I first saw Next Mutation I felt the same way as the Germans did. Die Ninja Turtles.

Watched it. My Grandma shook her head in confusion. Years later a certain Toy reviewer talked about it and...I got admit something: I think I need to rewatch the episodes featuring our Bounty Hunter. Scott McNeil is just entertaining to see in Live action

2:25 that is the worst thing I have heard any of them ever say. It coming out of Leo specifically just makes it so much worse. Bloody hell, I even ignored ROTTMNT for a good while because of this trauma. Fortunately I was informed that they actually went full tilt into the egsact opposite direction.

Dragon Lord looks like a gorn

The voice of Raphael was also the voice of Jab in Street Sharks. Weird.

Matt Hill (who plays Rapheal in this shows and TMNT 3) also voiced Captain N and would much later be the voice of Ed from Ed, Edd n Eddy.

It’s as if Saban was saying “no hard feelings?” to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans.

14:13 Oh the cartoon "interviews" they did in those kid magazines back in the day, it was basically bad fanfiction before internet fan groups, and done by lazy adults.

I was planning on taking a nap later today… _and already the nightmare fuel is here!_

I have waited for the day Phelous was going to get to this show and now that he has it is glorious.

In Poland this show was called "Dzielne Żółwie" (Brave Turtles) but had Hero Turtles logo on it

I've been waiting for you to do this series for several years. I remember when it was a Patreon goal.

You know one of these days we'll have to make phelous completly review a good show. Just saying, it's sad that out of three so far, the best show he has reviewed is Mortal Kombat Conquest.

This show is the weirdest nostalgia trip I've ever had.

the fact they got saban probably killed it

Alternative title to this review series: Phelous slowly loses his mind watching The Next Mutation

No, they dropped the "teenage" part, because they're more immature.

I like Venus De Milo and It's kinda SAD that We NEVER get to see HER in of the TMNT Franchises/Series....

Mikey @ 3:26 It seems the Turtles lip movements hardly sync up with the voices, so they move the heads around a lot to make up for it.

I wonder if Kirby was supposed to be a reference to Jack Kirby? He does kinda look Fourth World-ish in that Eastman drawing