| TMNT: Back to the Sewer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | USA | ||
| No. of episodes | 13 | ||
| Broadcast | |||
| Original channel | The CW4Kids | ||
| Original run | September 13, 2008 – February 28, 2009 | ||
| Season chronology | |||
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The seventh season of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, titled Back to the Sewer, aired on Saturday mornings on the CW4Kids on CW Network in 2008-2009. With this season, the show moved from Fox's 4Kids TV lineup to the CW. The season began with the episode "Tempus Fugit" which aired on September 13, 2008.
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Following their intentions to return the characters to the present day and adapt a tone similar to the recent TMNT movie, 4Kids pitched a revamp of the series to Peter Laird codenamed "Superworld". The initial proposal was given the 'thumbs down' by Laird.[1] Following this was a second proposal called TMNT Overload, which was approved by Mirage, but rejected by Playmates, who then proposed their own idea, only to have that be rejected by 4Kids and Mirage.[2]
On October 24, Steve Murphy confirmed on his blog that Playmates, Mirage, and 4Kids had firmly agreed on the new direction, which will take place in the continuity of the 2003 series and use the "more realistic aspects" of the aborted "Overload" pitch, with character designs similar to that of the 2007 TMNT movie.[3][4]
Its description was as follows:
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back in New York, ready to race across the rooftops and take on all challengers!
Not only are Casey and April back and ready to bust some bad guy butt, but a brand new, super advanced Turtle Lair is under construction (thanks to some hi-tech know-how Donatello garnered from the future), and of course there are all sorts of new heavy duty Turtle vehicles gearing up to roar down the streets of NYC and give the Foot a taste of some serious Turtle.
The stakes have never been higher, their enemies have never been stronger... and if the Turtles are going to be triumphant they’ll need to work together in ways they never have before.[5]
Further info was revealed in December 2007:
When the Turtles return from the future to their present time, Viral interferes causing Master Splinter to get trapped in cyberspace, bits of his data code scattered all throughout the digital domain. The Turtles must find a way to access the virtual realm so they can gather Splinter’s code and save their beloved father before he is lost to them forever...And what good is a digital realm without a super bad guy! That's right; the Shredder is back in new form. In order to save their master, the Turtles must now face... The Cyber Shredder! Now the Turtles must fight on two fronts - cyberspace and the real world. And twice the locations, means twice the bad guys. That's right; the TMNT will be facing off against Hun, the Foot, Baxter Stockman, and some dangerous digital monsters! Get ready, because the Turtles are back from the future, back in action, and back to the sewers! [6]
Three samples of a new opening theme song were announced by 4Kids to be under consideration on February 22, with the option for fans to vote on each of the samples and determine an official opening theme song. Six pitches for the theme song were released on February 29 most confirming that the Shredder will return in some form. Much of the theme lyrics identify him as "Cyber-Shredder".[7] A trailer was released on August 8.
On September 6, a sneak peek of the season's opening episode was featured on 4Kids official website. The footage revealed that the Turtles return from the future after Michelangelo coaxes Viral into assisting them. However, the Turtles discover they have been sent back a year or so later from when they had left, and also bear witness to a near future where a war has broken out between the Utrom Shredder (Ch'rell), the original Tengu Shredder (Oroku Saki) and the as-of-yet un-encountered Cyber-Shredder. Viral, desperate for energy after being depleted in battle, taps into the present day's network systems, but is overtaken by a Foot Ninja computer code, transforming her body and mind into the Cyber-Shredder.
It is later revealed that Cyber-Shredder is a digital back-up of Ch'rell's memories from prior to his attempted departure from Earth in the third season finale.
| # | Title | Original airdate | TV Broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 144 | "Tempus Fugit" | September 13, 2008 | S07E01 |
| When the Time Window is finally repaired, the Turtles enter into it to head home. Instead of returning to the lair, they find themselves with Viral, who had escaped from inside Serling. As part of her campaign of retribution, Viral forces Donatelloto scatter Master Splinter into bits. Upon returning to the present, Donatello blames himself for the loss of Splinter. Viral turns into Cyber-Shredder. | |||
| 145 | "Karate Schooled" | September 20, 2008 | S07E02 |
| The Turtles are reunited with Casey Jones and April O'Neil. Casey is brainwashed by his new martial arts instructor, Master Khan, a devoted Foot Clan operative. The Turtles must save Casey and themselves from this deadly Foot fanatic. | |||
| 146 | "Something Wicked" | September 27, 2008 | S07E03 |
| The Turtles journey into cyberspace to save as much of Master Splinter as they can find. They encounter Shredder, who has been reborn in the digital realm. | |||
| 147 | "The Engagement Ring" | October 4, 2008 | S07E04 |
| Casey and Raphael head to Chinatown to find an engagement ring for April. They are given a ring that turns April into a monster. After successfully turning April back to normal, the man gives her the real engagement ring and she and Casey are engaged. | |||
| 148 | "Hacking Stockman" | October 18, 2008 | S08E05 |
| While Donatello focuses on collecting Splinter’s data bits, his brothers find themselves pulled into a war between The Foot and the Purple Dragons. Cyber-Shredder finds a way out of the digital realm possessing the robotic body of Baxter Stockman. With Splinter’s data bits just within his grasp, Donatello is forced to make decide between helping his father saving his brothers from Shredder. He works with Stockman to save his brothers and banish Cyber-Shredder to cyberspace. | |||
| 149 | "Incredible Shrinking Serling" | October 25, 2008 | S07E06 |
| Serling builds a makeshift Time Window to return to the present. His machine bends space as well as time, and Serling is zapped to a miniature size. After destroying a boy's toy, Serling encounters toddler Mutant Ninja-in-training Turtles, who fight over him before being disciplined by Splinter. Serling is then kidnapped by the boy he encountered earlier, now a rich toy mogul who is intent on possessing the shrinking machine. | |||
| 150 | "Identity Crisis" | November 1, 2008 | S07E07 |
| Cyber-Shredder unleashes a virus that wipes the Turtles' memories, reprogramming them so that they work for the Foot. The four Turtles do the bidding of Master Khan while April, Casey, and Serling attempt to restore the memories of the four heroes. | |||
| 151 | "Web Wranglers" | November 8, 2008 | S07E08 |
| Cyber-Shredder creates a prototype web portal to escape cyberspace. He sends animals through which mutate and attack New York City, leaving the Turtles to clean up the mess and stop Cyber-Shredder from becoming real once again. | |||
| 152 | "SuperQuest" | November 15, 2008 | S07E09 |
| When Donatello finds that more of Splinter's data bits are in Michelangeo's favorite online game, Superquest, the Turtles enter the game to retrieve the data bits. The Turtles must learn to use their character's powers to unlock the chest that holds the cluster of Data bits. | |||
| 153 | "Virtual Reality Check" | November 22, 2008 | S07E10 |
| Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo experience a strange series of events that suggests that they are still in cyberspace. They try to warn Donatello, but they are attacked by Cyber-Shredder, who releases a virus to topple buildings and form mountains to block the Turtles from reaching the lair. The Turtles eventually get to Donatello and tell him that they are still in cyberspace. Donatello opens a portal for the Turtles to escape from cyberspace. Cyber-Shredder also finds the portal and uses it to escape into the real world. | |||
| 154 | "City Under Siege" | November 29, 2008 | S07E11 |
| The newly released Cyber-Shredder hacks into New York's power grid to take control of every electronic device in the city. Meanwhile, the Turtles find Hun and the Purple Dragons have been attacked. Once they realize that the foot are behind the electrical problems, The Turtles battle through New York to restore the power grid. | |||
| 155 | "Super Power Struggle" | February 21, 2009 | S07E12 |
| When Raphael finds a cape that grants him super powers, an impressed Justice Force invites him into their ranks. Dr. Malignus tries to get the cape for his own villainous designs. [8] | |||
| 156 | "Wedding Bells and Bytes" | February 28, 2009 | S07E13 |
| The Turtles and Master Splinter, who has been retrieved from cyberspace, prepare for April and Casey's wedding, but are interrupted by Cyber-Shredder and his Foot Clan. Thanks to the assistance of numerous guests from different dimensions, planets and times, Cyber-Shredder is thwarted.[9] | |||
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