Insane in the Membrane
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| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) |
| "Insane in the Membrane" | |
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| Season Code: | S04E19 |
| Episode: | 97 |
| Airdate: | Unaired |
| Written by: | Mathew Drdek |
| Supervising Producer: | Lloyd Goldfine |
| Producers: | Gary Richardson |
| Frederick U. Fierst | |
| Al Kahn | |
| Norman Grossfeld | |
| Thomas Kenney | |
| Supervising Director: | Roy Burdine |
| Story Editor: | Michael Ryan |
"Insane in the Membrane" is the ninety-seventh episode of the animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003). This episode did not air on US affiliates of 4KidsTV because the content of the episode was deemed too graphic in nature.
Contents |
[edit] Information
Major Characters:
- Donatello (Sam Regal)
- Leonardo (Michael Sinterniklaas)
- Michelangelo (Wayne Grayson)
- Raphael (John Campbell)
[edit] Episode
[edit] Voice-over introduction
Montage of Baxter's accomplishments accompanied by Baxter Stockman's voice over.
Baxter: Once, long ago, I, Doctor Baxter Stockman, was a whole man. With a brilliant mind and an able body! In the scientific community, I was unequalled! Throughout the world, I was renowned! But it all went wrong, horribly, horribly wrong. My genius fell under the control of cruel-minded brutes.
Flashback of Shredder ordering Hun to drag Stockman away. We see Hun, from Baxter's POV, thrusting a drill in his face, and the image shatters as it makes contact. A montage of Baxter's various injuries plays until we see him as just a brain in a jar.
Baxter: They whittled me away, piece by piece, limb by limb, until I was reduced to almost nothing.
Baxter, in his deteriorated form, approaches the camera menacingly.
Baxter: But those simpletons aren't to blame. I finally know who's responsible for my downfall, and now, with my new body, I will finally have my revenge!
[edit] Plot synopsis
- From the Official TMNT Site (ninjaturtles.com):
"Stockman has finally reclaimed his humanity by cloning a body for himself. Now, he is human once more… until his body starts to deteriorate and the changes undermine his sanity. Stockman’s broken brain fixes itself upon one paranoid delusion: April O’Neil is responsible for his downfall, and she will pay with her life."
- Recap of the episode (broadcast in Australia):
The episode opens with the TMNT fighting some of the mutated creatures plaguing the city. Raph laments not being able to use his sais on the creatures, but Don explains they must use his newly created monster hunting gear in order to capture the creatures without releasing any of the mutagenic substances within. The turtles capture their opponents, and decide to call it a day after Don is almost hit by an oncoming subway car. At Bishop's lab, Bishop warns Baxter not to be in such a rush in creating himself a new body, but Baxter ignores him. Insisting he'll be an invincible super-soldier in his new body, he ejects the tube with his brain into the cloning tube in order to transfer his consciousness into the new body.
This triggers a flashback to his childhood. As Baxter prepares to experiment on a roach, his mother comes home from work. To Baxter's delight, she has bought him the chemistry set he wanted, but he saddened when she says she must now work extra shifts to pay the bills. Baxter's mother insists she knows his genius will improve their lives. "The sky's the limit" she tells him. This prompts Baxter to set the roach free. Baxter enjoys his new body, noticing he his much more handsome and muscular than he originally was. Soon, however, his body begins to slowly deteriorate. He works frantically, but soon his body has deteriorated into a monstrous appearance. Baxter begins to go mad, and all the people who have wronged him appear before him. He pinpoints April O'Neil as the cause of all his misery.
Casey and April are at home watching television when Baxter bursts in abducts April, tossing Casey aside like a rag doll. Back at the Turtle's Lair, Don shows off his newly built Battle Shell, this time fashioned from a common moving van. Don's interrupted by a call from Casey, alerting them to April's kidnapping. Baxter takes April to the old Stocktronics building, the site of his first battle with the Turtles. Suddenly, he's hit by another flashback. His mother his lying in bed, as the toll of all of her double shifts has finally caught up with her. She tells Baxter she knows he'll be a big success someday, and tells her son she loves him as her life ends.
The Turtles and Casey bust in, but Baxter throws them aside easily. April runs from Baxter, heading into a cable car near a bridge. Baxter leaps up on top of the car, trying to punch his way in. The Turtles commandeer a helicopter and follow in pursuit. The cable car begins to break apart as Baxter jumps inside, intending to kill April. She tries reasoning with him, reminding him of what an admirable man he was, and how he used to work for the good of mankind. "The sky was the limit for you, Doctor Stockman," April says. Suddenly, Baxter is reminded of his mother saying the same thing to him. Baxter then sees April as his mother, pleading for his help. Refusing to watch his "mama" die again, he hands April to Casey, who is suspended from the Turtle's copter. "Hurry Mama, it's not safe!" Baxter cries, "Mama, I love you!"
Just then, the cable car falls, sending Baxter plunging to his death. In the Turtle's copter, April laments the passing of her old boss, while Raph is glad to be rid of their old foe. However, Leo points out Baxter has a habit coming back from the brink of death.
[edit] Miscellanea
"Insane in the Membrane" did not air on US affiliates of 4KidsTV after Fox Broadcast Standards and Practices pulled the episode. According to a May 25, 2006 news update on the official Ninja Turtles website [1]:
- TMNT cartoon series producer Lloyd Goldfine sent in the following info regarding why the episode "Insane in the Membrane" did not air on 4Kids TV in the USA (it has aired in Australia, England and a few other countries):
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- "The final edited and mixed version of the notorious 'Insane in the Membrane' was deemed unsuitable for air by Fox Broadcast Standards and Practices. Apparently, in between the time the episode was written, storyboarded, animated and edited (all stages approved by Fox BS&P), and the time the show was mixed for air, there was a change of personnel in the Fox BS&P offices, and no one involved in the original approvals was still employed at Fox. Upon seeing the episode, they were said to be 'horrified' and that there was no way they could air the episode. I'm not sure I disagree with them - had there been BS&P comments earlier in the process, we certainly would have handled the show differently. But as it was approved at every stage, we went full steam ahead. In the end, I was told it was bad judgment on my part... so there you have it.
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- I believe this episode will eventually be available, but plans have not been finalized."
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- - Lloyd
"Insane in the Membrane" however was aired October 14, 2006 in the UK on CITV and was released on the Season 4 DVD in the US.
- The title of this episode is taken from a lyric from a Cypress Hill song Insane in the Brain.
[edit] Series chronology
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) Chronology | ||
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| Previous Episode: | Current Episode: | Next Episode: |
| Trouble with Augie | Insane in the Membrane | Return of Savanti |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) Season Guide | ||
|---|---|---|
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[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Insane in the Membrane at the official TMNT website
- The Trouble With "Insane in the Membrane"
