Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)
Genre	Action/Adventure Comedy-drama Science fiction
Based on	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Kevin Eastman Peter Laird
Developed by	Lloyd Goldfine
Voices of	Mike Sinterniklaas Wayne Grayson Sam Riegel John Campbell Darren Dunstan Veronica Taylor Marc Thompson Scottie Ray Scott Williams Karen Neil Greg Carey David Zen Mansley
Theme music composer	Norman J. Grossfeld Russel Velazquez
Composer(s)	Ralph Schuckett Rusty Andrews John Angier Mark Breeding Louis Cortelezzi Joel Douek John Petersen Pete Scaturro John Siegler John Van Tongeren Russel Velazquez
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	157 (List of episodes) (+ one TV movie)
Production
Producer(s)	JoEllyn Marlow
Running time	21-23 minutes
Production company(s)	Mirage Studios 4Kids Entertainment Dong Woo Animation
Distributor	4Kids Entertainment (2003-2009) MTV Networks (2009-present)
Broadcast
Original channel	4Kids TV (season 1–6) The CW4Kids (season 7)
Original run	February 8, 2003 (2003-02-08) – February 28, 2009 (2009-02-28)
Chronology
Preceded by	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)
Followed by	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 TV series)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (also known as TMNT 2003) is an American animated television series, mainly set in New York City. It first aired on February 8, 2003 and ended on February 28, 2009. The series marked the revival of the franchise as a Saturday-morning cartoon on Fox's Fox Box programming block (later known as 4Kids TV).

The 2003 TMNT TV series was produced by 4Kids Entertainment, and Mirage Studios, which each owned half of the rights to the show, and animated by Dong Woo Animation.^[1] Reruns ran on Cartoon Network's Miguzi block in 2004. The series migrated to The CW4Kids in its final season after 4Kids's contract with Fox ended. However, all episodes aired on the Canadian channel Teletoon under the Kapow block. Nickelodeon now owns the rights to this and any future Turtles series.

Overview

In the 2003 TV series, the four Turtles' personalities are in some ways different from the 1987 TV series in an attempt to follow the Mirage Comics versions of the characters more closely. All the characters are more complex individuals, and the Turtles have a stronger family bond. The tone is also somewhat more serious with a greater emphasis on action. The show does not feature nearly as much slapstick comedy or heavy puns as its animated predecessor, and the only turtle to use surfer slang is Michelangelo. The 2003 series also features magical powers absent from the earlier incarnation. Leonardo and Raphael often pick fights with each other, Michelangelo is now very obsessed with being cool and famous, and Donatello seems to take his inventions more seriously.

The series covers a large scope of the Turtles' adventures taking them from the sewers, to the streets of New York City (namely April's apartment), to the woodlands of rural New England, to outer space, alternate dimensions, to the future, and ultimately home once more. The first several seasons focus on the Turtles' battles against The Shredder and The Foot as well as the Purple Dragons, while the later seasons branch out to include other antagonists.

Characters

Turtles

• Leonardo - Leonardo is the leader of the group and as such, the most balanced turtle. He concerns himself mostly with his training and meditation. While this leads him to be the most disciplined of the Turtles, it can also be a shortcoming, as Leonardo has been shown to be a relative workaholic on more than one occasion. He wears a blue mask and favors twin ninjatō swords as his weapons.

• Donatello - Donatello is the intellect of the group. He surrounds himself with technological experiments and often endeavors to retain the enemies technology to make enhanced gear for the turtles. He is responsible for creating the shell-cell (a cell-phone like communicator) and Battle Shell (the Turtles' enhanced tactical vehicle) among other devices. Upon occasion he forgets to see the bigger picture by becoming obsessed by something else (usually his latest project). He wears a purple mask and favors a traditional bo staff as his weapon.

• Raphael - Raphael is the hothead of the group. He often lets his anger get the best of him and struggles to cope with some of the tougher issues the Turtles face. He would much rather rush into action than contemplate the best move. Throughout the run of the series, he works on his anger to some degree, but still flies into a rage when one of his brothers or friends are harmed or captured. He wears a red mask (the only one of the four to keep the red mask) and his primary weapons are twin sai.

• Michelangelo - Michelangelo is the goofy but lovable Turtle. He concerns himself with comics, video games, and horror movies, constantly making statements that spoof pop culture. Michelangelo sees the world in terms of good or bad, with no gray areas in between. He often refers to him and his brothers as superheroes, often wishing he could join the ranks of his favorite comic book characters. He wears an orange mask and favors twin nunchaku.

Allies and Friends

• Splinter - Splinter is the mutant rat leader of the entire family, and serves as a father figure for the Turtles. He once was a pet for a renowned martial artist named Hamato Yoshi in Japan. It was from watching Yoshi that Splinter first learned the art of ninjitsu which he then passes on to the Turtles. Splinter often acts as much as a spiritual guide and counselor to the team as he does their teacher. While he does not wield a traditional Japanese weapon, Splinter carries a cane which he can utilize as a weapon (like a Jo staff) with fierce proficiency. Unlike the previous animated series, the Turtles often refer to Splinter as their father, rather than their master and he refers the Turtles as his sons.

• April O'Neil - April O'Neil is the Turtles' first human ally, who also acts as a "big sister." When they first meet her, April's working for Dr. Baxter Stockman as a technical assistant. April is tech savvy on a level close to Donatello, making them fast friends once they become allies. April often assists the Turtles with recon on various missions. She later offers her apartment to the Turtles as a temporary home. April's apartment is located above the Second Time Around antique store which she owns and operates. April serves as the Turtles first true glimpse into human interaction and helps them learn about the outside world. She later becomes romantically involved with Casey Jones, and eventually marries him in the series finale.

• Casey Jones - Casey Jones is the Turtles' closest human ally along with April. He operates as a vigilante, at first on his own, and then later as a member of the Turtles' extended crew and at times trains with them. While at first being more closely aligned with Raphael, Casey quickly becomes part of the family and valuable fighter. When in his full get-up he wears a hockey mask, and utilizes a hockey stick and other sports paraphernalia as his weapons. He takes to April quite quickly, and although she dislikes him initially the two become romantically involved. He eventually gets married to April in the series finale.

• Professor Honeycut/Fugitoid - Professor Honeycut is a robot from a distant galaxy. Originally an alien with an appearance no different from humans and living on the planet D'hunib, he was forced to take his current form after he was struck by lighting during a storm which transferred his consciousness into his worker robot. He invented a transmatter portal device, which gives the user the ability to teleport anywhere in space. Two warring factions called the Federation and the Triceretons seek to gain control of the device. This makes the professor a fugitive on the run. When the Turtles encounter him, they attempt to help him escape his fate and keep the device away from both factions.

• Leatherhead - Leatherhead is a mutated green crocodile who was taken in by the Utroms when they discovered that their mutagen (the same that transformed the Turtles) made him sentient. Leatherhead lived with the Utroms peacefully until Shredder's attack forced him into hiding. Some time later Baxter Stockman fooled him into aiding him with a scheme to restore his body. Ultimately, Leatherhead learned that Stockman had ties to the Shredder and wound up fighting on the side of good. As the series progresses he becomes a semi-regular member of the Turtles extended family.

• Justice Force - A superhero group that is allied with the Turtles. The original members of the Justice Force was a spoof of the Justice Society of America while the second incarnation of the group is a spoof of the Justice League and the Avengers.
  • Stainless Steel Steve - The founding member of the original Justice Force. He has a metal saucer on his forehead that is capable of smashing through walls and withstanding any blows.
  • Joey Lastic - The founding member of the original Justice Force that has elastic powers.
  • Zippy Lad - The founding member of the original Justice Force that has super-speed even when his current age has him confined to a wheelchair. Zippy Lad was later seen in "Membership Drive" training the Justice Force's new recruits. He is a parody of Flash.
  • Metal Head - The founding member of the Justice Force who has fluid "metal" hair. Due to his artificial nature, Metal Head hasn't aged in a decade and is even a member of the Justice Force's second incarnation.
  • Dr. Dome - The founding member of the Justice Force. Dr. Dome has the ability to control robots called Domeoids. He later left the Justice Force following a squabble with Stainless Steel Steve over the love of Battling Bernice. Dr. Dome was later revealed to have had a child named Ananda with Battling Bernice.
  • Battling Bernice - The founding member of the Justice Force. She was killed in action and was revealed to have had a child named Ananda with Dr. Dome.
  • Silver Sentry - The leader of the second incarnation of the Justice Force who would occasionally be partnered with Michelangelo. In the "Flash Forward" part of the series, it was revealed that Silver Sentry has a grandson who became the second Turtle Titan. He is a parody of Superman.
  • Ananda - The daughter of Battling Bernice and Dr. Dome who previously blamed the Justice Force for her mother's death. After Dr. Dome cleared things up with his daughter on why her mother died, Ananda joined up with the second incarnation of the Justice Force.
  • Chrysalis - Member of the second incarnation of the Justice Force who comes from India. She can create an energy field similar to psychic telekinesis where she can form wings for flight, project energy blasts, and use her mind to manipulate objects.
  • Tsunami - An aquakinetic Japanese superhero who is a member of the second incarnation of the Justice Force. He is somewhat similar to Aquaman and Namor.
  • Nobody - Officer Longe was a police officer who was demoted to archive duty after Ruffington complained to the police commissioner that he was stalking him. Angered at this, Officer Longe became the superhero Nobody and received help from Michelangelo and Leonardo into stopping Ruffington. In "Still Nobody," the Turtles helped Nobody when the Turks planned to threaten two elderly witnesses which ended with the Turks disbanding and their leader ending up arrested. In "Membership Drive," Nobody and Raptarr joined the second incarnation of the Justice Force. He is somewhat similar to Batman.
  • Raptarr - Raptarr is an Avian (a race of angel-like creatures with bird feet that were created by the Y'Lyntians from human slaves) who met the Turtles when it came to stopping the rogue Avian Mephos. In "Membership Drive," Raptarr joins the second incarnation of the Justice Force.
  • Nanobot - Nanobot was originally a group of small robots with the mind of a 3 year old that were created by Dr. Marion Richards for the government. It later escaped and ran into a street vendor named Harry "The Schlub" Parker and made a body from his broken toys. He fought the Turtles and Casey Jones which ended with him being thrown into the blast furnace. In "Modern Love: The Return of Nano," a part of Nano survived and recreated a body which he uses to spring Harry from prison and abduct Dr. Richards in order to make a happy family. This time, an electronic pulse from a roller coaster at Coney Island was able to defeat Nano. In "Membership Drive," parts of Nano were seen in the wreckage of a Triceraton ship which Baxter Stockman salvages for Bishop. Baxter Stockman placed a control microchip on one of the nanobots in order to control it. It caused an internal conflict that sent Nano on a rampage. In a new body, Nano fought the Turtles and the Justice Force until Michelangelo used Moleculo's shrinking belt to remove the rogue nanite. Afterwards, Nano built a new body and joined up with the Justice Force.
  • Green Mantle - Al Gordon found a superpowered cape made by an alien tailor and used to fight crime as the Green Mantle. During a fight with Mechazoid, Green Mantle's cape was knocked off him and was founded by a comic book fan. 25 years later, Al Gordon is working as a security guard at a comic book when he tries to stop Dr. Malignus from stealing the Green Mantle cape. After Dr. Malignus was defeated by Raphael and Michelangelo, Stainless Steel Steve picked up Al Gordon and the two Turtles give Al Gordon the cape back enabling him to become Green Mantle once again. He is a spoof of Green Lantern.

• Ultimate Daimyo - The Ultimate Daimyo is the ruler of the Battle Nexus and the holder of the War Staff. He made himself known to the Turtles when he came to Earth to reclaim his son Ultimate Ninja after he was defeated by Leonardo.

• Miyamoto Usagi - Miyamoto Usagi is a samurai rabbit and master swordsman from an alternative universe's 16th century Edo Period in Japan, where animals are the dominant species, not humans. He became a friend and close ally of the turtles, especially developing a strong friendship with Leonardo, since both are swordsmen. Leonardo also ended up in Usagi's dimension when Ultimate Draco scattered the five mutants to different parts of the multiverse.
  • Murakami Gennosuke - Murakami Gennosuke is an Indian rhinoceros bounty hunter who is a companion of Miyamoto Usagi.

• Lord Simultaneous - Lord Simultaneous is a Time Lord who is the Master of Time and Space. He once had an apprentice named Savanti Romero who tried to steal Lord Simultaneous' Time Scepter (which also has a mind of its own) and was banished to the 15th Century. Lord Simultaneous later took on another apprentice named Renet.
  • Renet - Lord Simultaneous' latest apprentice. She was later put through a Trial to become a Timestress (a female Time Lord) by defeating Savanti Romero in the past.

• The Ancient One - The Ancient One is an ancient ninjitsu master who had adopted Hamato Yoshi and Yukio Mashimi as young boys and trained them in ninjitsu. In the end, he joined his own masters, the Ninja Tribunal, after the Tengu Shredder was defeated.

• Ninja Tribunal - A group of four ninjitsu masters who gathered the Turtles and four others to be their acolytes in order to combat the growing threat of the Tengu Shredder.
  • Kon-Shisho - The Ninjitsu Master of Spirit. He was the first of the Ninja Tribunal to reveal his true form to the Turtles and the other Acolytes.
  • Juto-Shisho - The Ninjitsu Master of Weapons. He was the second of the Ninja Tribunal to reveal his true form to the Turtles and the other Acolytes.
  • Chikara-Shisho - The Ninjitsu Master of Strength who is the only female of the group.
  • Hisomi-Shisho - The Ninjitsu Master of Stealth who is the largest of the group. He doesn't speak as he embodies the three pillars of ninjitsu that consist of stealth, silence, and secrecy.

• Ninja Tribunal Acolytes - Besides the Ninja Turtles, four humans were gathered by the Ninja Tribunal to be their acolytes and to train them for the fight against the Tengu Shredder.
  • Adam McKay - A large human who is one of the Acolytes of the Ninja Tribunal. Adam is shown to wield a war hammer and a ball and chain. Adam is good friends with Donatello and contributed ideas for the design of the Turtle Taxi. His avatar is the bear.
  • Faraji Ngala' - A human from Africa who is one of the Acolytes of the Ninja Tribunal. Faraji's weapon of choice is an African Blade and has become good friends with Leonardo. His avatar is the lion.
  • Joi Reynard - A female Japanese human who is one of the Acolytes of the Ninja Tribunal. Joi's weapons of choice are a rope dart and a staff. Joi is good friends with Raphael. Her avatar is the hawk.
  • Tora Yoshida - A human from Japan who is one of the Acolytes of the Ninja Tribunal. He is good friends with Michelangelo and wields a pair of sickles in battle. His avatar is the wolf.

• Cody Jones - In the "Fast Forward" series, Cody Jones was the great grandson of April O'Neil and Casey Jones. He was the one who accidentally brought the Ninja Turtles and Splinter to 2105. After Cody's parents passed away, his uncle Darius Dun took over O'Neil Tech as the CEO. In the event that Cody joins the Ninja Turtles in battle, he rides in the Turtle X battle suit.

• Serling - A robot butler who acts as the caretaker of Cody Jones. Serling is often be annoyed by the Turtles' antics. During the "Back to the Sewer" season, Viral took over Serling causing him to end up in the present day.

• Starlee Hambrath - A young alien girl who works as an intern at O'Neil Tech who is in love with Cody Jones.

• Constable Biggles - A gold robot who is the Chief Constable of the Peace-Keepers (the law enforcement of the Pan Galactic Alliance).

Villains and Enemies

• The Foot Clan - A secret ninja organization that seeks to take control of the city through criminal activity.
  • The Shredder/Ch'rell- The main antagonist of the Turtles throughout most of the series run. He is the leader of the Foot Clan, a secret organization of ninja that seek to take control of the city through criminal activity. The Shredder's empire is functioning at its peak until the arrival of the Turtles. Soon after their arrival and interference, the Turtles become the Shredder's main focus. The Shredder then focuses his efforts on ridding himself of the Turtles using his Foot Ninja to aid him. During the course of the series the Shredder is first revealed to be the killer of Splinter's former master Hamato Yoshi and later an Utrom war criminal named Ch'rell who was responsible for causing numerous deaths throughout the galaxy under numerous aliases like Torrinon, Kako Naso, and Duke Acureds. The Utroms (except for Ch'rell) are a peaceful alien race who crash-landed on earth during the feudal period in Japan at the time when they were transporting Ch'rell. It was then that Ch'rell took on the guise of Oroku Saki, A.K.A. The Shredder. When it came to the final battle, Ch'rell used the salvaged Triceraton technology to build a spaceship to take revenge on the Utroms only for the Turtles to stow away. When the spaceship exploded, an Utrom ship teleported everyone off the ship. Ch'rell ended up standing trial before the Utrom High Council for his various crimes and the Utrom High Council eternally exiled Ch'rell to the ice asteroid Mor Gal Tai.
    • Tengu Shredder - This is the true and original Shredder that tries to take over the world. His original form was a giant demon until he tempted Oroku Saki, a former member of the ninja tribunal, to take over the world using his power, and takes over his body.
    • Cyber Shredder - A program created by Utrom Shredder as a backup identity in case he was defeated. Viral's attempt to gain the data of Shredder causes her to merge with the data of the Utrom Shredder resulting in the creation of the Cyber Shredder.
  • Karai - The adopted teenaged daughter of the Utrom Shredder. She made herself known to the Turtles during a gang war between the Foot, the Purple Dragons, and the mob. After the Utrom Shredder was exiled to Mor Gal Tai by the other Utroms, Karai became the next Shredder to "avenge his honor." She is considered Leonardo's love interest.
    • Yin and Yang - Karai's personal aides.
  • Hun - Hun is the Shredder's muscle, and leader of the Purple Dragons. He constantly seeks the Shredder's approval and leads the Foot into battle against the Turtles. He is revealed to have been responsible for the death of Casey Jones's father years earlier, and as such, is a particular enemy of Casey. Later in the series when it appears that the Shredder is gone for good, Hun returns to leading the Purple Dragons as a separate criminal entity, only to return to the Shredder's side when he returns. Hun hates what he calls "freaks", which are basically any being other than a human, and was shocked when he discovers his master's true form. After this experience, Hun leaves the Foot for good, and organizes the Purple Dragons from a street gang to a criminal organization. In Turtles Forever, he mutates into a monstrous turtle-like creature.
  • Baxter Stockman - Baxter Stockman, the first arch-villain the turtles encounter, is a technical genius and mad scientist responsible for creating the mousers: a series of mouse-like robots that can eat through practically anything. While at first it appears the robots were created in order to help control the cities growing rat problem, it is revealed that Stockman created them as a technical resource for the Shredder. Portrayed to be extremely arrogant, Stockman often does his best to win the favor of the Shredder, but frequently fails leading to his general torture and ultimate dismemberment until only his brain and eye remained. Shortly before the Utrom Shredder was exiled to Mor Gal Tai by the Utroms, Baxter Stockman defected to Agent Bishop's side.
  • Dr. Chaplin - A young scientist who was later recruited by the Shredder and idolizes Baxter Stockman and is in love with Karai. Following the Utrom Shredder being exiled to Mor Gal Tai, Dr. Chaplin stays by Karai's side.
  • Master Khan - Member of the Foot Clan and servant of the Cyber Shredder. He gained control of the Foot Clan following the Tengu Shredder's defeat.
  • Amazonian Blade Bots/Karai Legion - Robots created by Dr. Chaplin and modeled after Karai.
  • Foot Ninjas - The Foot Soldiers of the Foot Clan.
  • Foot Tech Ninjas - Foot Ninja that can turn invisible. Their cybernetic armor makes them faster and stronger than regular Foot Ninja.
  • Elite Foot Ninjas - The seemingly most-skilled members of the Foot Clan who serve as Shredder's personal guard and field commanders on specific missions.
  • Foot Geneticist - Foot scientists who created the underground monsters.
  • Foot Police - Also known as the Foot Gestapo, the Foot Police are Foot Soldiers empowered by Ch'rell in the episode "Same As It Never Was," where Donatello is transported by Ultimate Drako into an alternate reality where Utrom Shredder takes over the world. These members of this reality's Foot Clan served as security enforcers and patrolled the streets. They wore long trench coats with the symbol of the Foot present on their left shoulder which identified them as members of the police force.
  • Foot Technicians - Members of the Foot Clan that have cybernetic enhancements.
  • Foot Mechs - The robot soldiers of the Foot Clan that were created by Baxter Stockman.
  • Foot Mystics - The seldom-seen magic-using members of the Foot Clan. Each one has powers over a classic element: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Metal. It is later revealed that they are the heralds of the Tengu Shredder.
    • Metal Mystic - Controls metal can form blades that can stab or tear enemies asunder. He can also create liquid metal and metallic dust.
    • Earth Mystic - Larger and more muscular than the other Mystics. He can create dust, sand, dirt and mud that blinds or overwhelms enemies, hurl large boulders, and tunnel underground.
    • Fire Mystic - He can create large flames and fireballs that packs a burning touch and explosive power.
    • Water Mystic - He can make waves of water and choking giant bubbles that submerges someone and drown them. He is also capable of creating walls of ice as well as freezing.
    • Wind Mystic - The most agile and flexible of the Mystics. He can conjure powerful wind currents such as tornadoes and can dodge many attacks and is shown to run faster than other beings. Although all of the Mystic Ninjas can fly, the Wind Ninja is the fastest while in the air.
  • Kappa Tengu - Turtles demons who serve the Tengu Shredder.
  • Mutant Shredder Clones - Three mutants who dress in Shredder style armor.
    • Mini Shredder - A mutant who resembles a mini version of Shredder.
    • Shiva Shredder - A mutant with four arms.
    • Spike-Armed Shredder - A mutant with lobster like claws
  • Nezumi-Tengu - A group of minions in the Tengu Shredder's army.
  • Re-Animated Foot Soldiers - The undead minions of the Tengu Shredder.

• Purple Dragons - An urban street gang that is led by Hun and initially allied with the Foot Clan.
  • Angel - A female Purple Dragons initiate would be member who becomes an ally of the Turtles
  • Bam-Bam - A heavyset member of the Purple Dragons.
  • Claw - A Purple Dragon member who has a claw on his hand.
  • Dagger - A Purple Dragon member who carries lots of daggers.
  • Dragon Face - The acting leader of the Purple Dragons who works under Hun. Dragon Face has a tattoo of a dragon on his face. He became the second-in-command to Hun after his predecessor John was apparently killed by the Shredder. He later turns on Hun.
  • John - John was the acting leader of the Purple Dragons during the group's first encounter with the Turtles. He was apparently killed by the Shredder for the group's failure to rob an armored car.
  • Max - Member of the North Hampton branch.
  • Mohawk - Member with a tall punk mohawk. In Turtles Forever he is mutated into a dog.
  • Ruffington - The head of Ruffington Arms who was an ally of the Purple Dragons. He was first seen being targeted by Nobody.
  • Spike - A red spiky-haired member of the Purple Dragons.
  • Spike (2) - A black bald member with a tattoo on his head.
  • Spuds - The leader of the Purple Dragons' North Hampton branch.
  • Sunny - Member of the Purple Dragons with blue hair and a ponytail.
  • Two Ton - A heavyset member of the Purple Dragons.
  • Vang - Member of the Purple Dragons. He has the same hairstyle as John. Became Hun's second in command after the Dragons went solo.
  • Waxer - Member who wears a backwards hat.

• The Mob - An organized crime group who fought the Foot and Purple Dragons for control of the city. They were allied with Baxter Stockman for a brief time.
  • Big Boss - The leader of the Mob.
  • Weasel - The Mob's lieutenant.

• Dr. Malignus - A supervillain who was the archenemy of Silver Sentry. He planned to use "mind-control bugs" to brainwash Silver Sentry into becoming his minion. But thanks to the intervention of "Turtle Titan" (Michelangelo), Malignus was defeated and carted off to jail.

• Garbageman - A morbidly-obese man in a high-tech contraption that he gets around in. He planned to make his own kingdom out of different junk which his plans always being thwarted by the Ninja Turtles. Garbageman was slated to appear in the Lost Season episode "Nightmares Recycled". The plot was supposed to resolve around the revelation that The Garbageman and Hun were born as conjoined twins, separated at birth by a seedy, back-alley surgeon; the baby that would later become Garbageman was thrown in the trash, whereas Hun was kept and raised. This was deemed by the powers-that-be at 4Kids as inappropriate for children's programming, and thus, the episode was scrapped before being completed.

• Touch and Go - Mr. Touch and Mr. Go are two assassins often hired by Hun who draw their special abilities from each other. Mr. Touch has superhuman strength while Mr. Go has superhuman speed.

• Ultimate Ninja - The son of Ultimate Daimyo who first appeared to challenge Leonardo to the death to become the greatest ninja in the universe, to which he loses. During the Battle Nexus Tournament, he returns claiming to be the turtles' friend, but in reality he sided with Drako to kill Leonardo and the Daimyo to take control of the universe. Both fail and are sent drifting through the universe for countless millenniums, causing their bodies to merge into one. Both return to steal the Time Scepter and the Daimyo's war staff and send the turtles into different worlds. After the turtles escape they fight Drako and Ultimate Ninja until both the war staff and the Time Scepter turn on both and turn them into ashes. Lord Simultaneous then revives Ultimate Ninja into a child so that the Daimyo can raise his son once again.

• Drako - A dragon warrior that previously fought against Master Splinter at the Battle Nexus tournament. He became angry after losing and took his anger out on Splinter until the Ultimate Daimyo drove him away. He forms an alliance with Ultimate Ninja to kill the Daimyo in turn for the Daimyo's war staff. Both fail and are sent drifting through space for thousands of years, causing their bodies to merge into one. Both steal the war staff and the Time Scepter in attempt to take their revenge on the turtles until both the war staff and the scepter turn on Drako and Ultimate Ninja and turning them into ash. Unlike Ultimate Ninja however, Drako was not revived by Lord Simultaneous.

• Agent John Bishop - Agent Bishop is a secret government agent from the Earth Protection Force (a secret organization formed by President Ulysses S. Grant that is tasked with protecting the planet from alien invasion and any other sort of extraterrestrial threat). He first comes into contact with the Turtles during the Triceraton invasion, somewhat later in the series. Although he at first appears to be somewhat of an ally, he in fact wishes to gain access to the Turtles in order to study their mutant DNA. Long after the Triceraton threat is over, Bishop continues to hunt the Turtles ultimately becoming one of their main villains for the majority of the fourth season. Bishop allies with Dr. Baxter Stockman and utilizes his technical knowledge in much the same way the Shredder did previously, though their partnership works better as Bishop does not give Baxter "punishments for failure" as Shredder did. It was revealed that John Bishop was a soldier back in the 19th century and was experimented upon by Grey Aliens which granted him longevity. In the "Fast Forward" part of the series, Bishop becomes the President of the Pan Galactic Alliance, and an ally of the Turtles ever since one of the aliens he held captive rescued him from one of Baxter Stockman's experiments that went horribly awry. With the exception of the Shredder, Bishop is the only villain who is more agile and quicker than the Turtles.

• Savanti Romero - He was Lord Simultaneous' earlier apprentice until he tried to steal the Time Scepter and was banished to 15th Century Europe while transformed into a demon-like state. When the Turtles and Renet came to the 15th Century, Savanti captured Renet and plotted to use the Time Scepter's magic to take his revenge on Lord Simultaneous. The Turtles managed to defeat him and rescue Renet and Lord Simultaneous banished him to prehistoric times. Savanti later tried to amass an army of dinosaurs and invoke the "Ring of Fire" which he plans to use to cause all the volcanoes in the "Ring of Fire" to erupt and push Earth out of the way of the asteroid, making it so the dinosaurs never went extinct and humanity never rose, thus erasing the Turtles from existence. Savanti Romero was defeated by the Ninja Turtles and Renet.

• Rat King - Rat King started out as a prototype bio-mechanical super-soldier that was created by Agent Bishop's group using genetically manipulated DNA of alien, the turtles, Bishop, and Splinter.

• Lord Hebi - A large snake villain who is the archenemy of Miyamoto Usagi.

• Darius Dun - One of the primary antagonists of the "Fast Forward" season. The uncle of Cody Jones and the CEO of O'Neil Tech who covers up his illegal activities. His fate is uncertain due to several unfinished episodes. He would have most likely been defeated by both the Turtles and the Dark Turtles. He is a slight spoof of Lex Luthor in the 1996 animated Superman series.

• Sh'Okanabo - One of the primary antagonists of the "Fast Forward" season. Sh'Okanabo is a shapeshifting alien who planned the "Day of Awakening" on Earth. He is ultimately defeated by the Turtles after his "Day of Awakening" failed and he is killed after exposure to the sun.
  • Viral - A female computeriezed system that is Sh'Okanabo's assistant. She can go into computer systems and infect them similar to a computer virus. Following the defeat of Sh'Okanabo, Viral possessed Serling and followed the Turtles back to the present. She came across the data of the Utrom Shredder and her attempt to encrypt it caused her and the data to merge into the Cyber Shredder.

• Inuwashi Gunjin - A group of four winged warriors who are controlled by Darius Dun. Their name is Japanese for Golden Eagle Soldiers. They later become allies of the Turtles after Darius Dun loses control of them.

• Dark Turtles - Evil clones of the Ninja Turtles created by Sh'Okanabo and controlled by Darius Dun.
  • Dark Leonardo - The Dark Turtles clone of Leonardo.
  • Dark Michelangelo - The Dark Turtles clone of Michelangelo.
  • Dark Donatello - The Dark Turtles clone of Donatello. He is the inventor of the Terrorpin (which is similar to the Ninja Turtles' Hovershell).
  • Dark Raphael - The Dark Turtles clone of Raphael

• Torbin Zixx - A mercenary who is constantly outsmarts the Turtles, claiming that his intentions are good, when in reality, he was smuggling weapons for other aliens or using the Turtles for his own benefit. His fate is uncertain due to several unfinished episodes in the "Flash Forward" season. He would've most likely been defeated by the Turtles.

• Triple Threat - A three-headed alien professional wrestler who was banned from wrestling for his violent moves and causes trouble throughout the "Fast Forward" season. His heads consist of a red head with a white face and dreadlocks on his right side, a one-eyed blue head in the middle, and a yellow head on his left side.

• Jammerhead - A cyborg who is the leader of the Street Phantoms. Jammerhead and his Street Phantoms use their cloaks that enable to become non-solid, enabling them to avoiding attacks and go through solid objects (such as walls).

Aliens

• The Utroms - An alien species that Ch'rell was a part of. Some of the Utroms ended up crash-landing on Earth 700 years ago while they were transporting Ch'rell. Since then, the Utroms have set up TCRI as their front until they could find a way to get back to the Utrom Homeworld.
  • Utrom High Council - The governing body of Utroms that reside on the Utrom Homeworld.
  • Council of Three - A group of high-ranking Utroms who were among the Utroms that had crashed on Earth 700 years ago.
  • Mortu - An Utrom Captain that was among the Utrom that crashed on Earth 700 years ago. He takes his orders from the Council of Three. His name is "Utrom" spelled backwards.
  • Krang - A Utrom by the same name as the villain from the 1987 cartoon. He made a cameo as one of the Utroms escaping back to the Utrom Homeworld.
  • Utrominators - In the dystopian future reality, amongst The Utrom Shredder's soldiers are enslaved, and apparently somewhat zombified Utroms. Some of these zombie Utroms are fitted into giant, winged, mechanic-like exo-suits, and are known as Utrominators.
  • Guardians - Human beings that protect the Utroms.

• The Triceratons - The Triceratons are a warring alien race from the Triceraton Homeworld. with the appearance of a humanoid Triceratops. The Turtles come into contact with when they are accidentally transported across several galaxies at the end of the first season while attempting to find the missing Master Splinter. The Turtles then become a public enemy of the Triceratons for harboring a fugitive known as the Fugitoid, who possesses a transporting technology that the Triceratons desperately want. The Triceratons wish to use Professor Honeycutt's technology to aid them in their war with a military group called the Federation. Later in the series, the Triceratons invade earth believing that the Fugitoid is still in hiding there when in reality he has gone to live with the Utrom on their homeworld. In the "Flash Forward" part of the series, the Triceratons are members of the Pan Galactic Alliance.
  • Zanramon - The Prime Leader of the Triceratons. He led the Triceratons into hunting the Fugitoid for the teleportation device that he had. He was later overthrown and shares a cell with General Blanque.
  • Commander Mozar - A Triceraton with an eyepatch over his left eye and a robotic hand who is the leading soldiers of the Triceraton Army. He later sided with Traximus to overthrow Zanramon.
  • Traximus - A Triceraton warrior who befriended the Turtles during their visit to the Triceraton Homeworld. Later he becomes the leader of the Triceraton Republic after he overthrows Zanramon.
  • Zog - A Triceraton that was stranded on Earth. He sided with the Turtles to fight Shredder and sacrificed his life to defeat Shredder on his ship.
  • Monza Ram - Leader of the Triceraton All-Star Team. Later he and his team join Traximus' rebel army.
  • Zed and Raz - Two Triceraton sports announcers who cover the Tri-Sports Arena “games”.
  • Gruell - A Triceraton that was the Tri-Sports Arena Master.
  • Boss Zukko - A Triceraton who is the leader of a gang of Triceraton Rebels in Fast Forward.

• The Federation - The Federation is an alien military organization of human appearance that the Turtles meet when they are in space. The Federation is locked in a war with the Triceratons and both sides seek to gain access to a robot known as the Fugitoid. The Fugitoid, having created a dimensional portal that would give either side a huge tactical advantage in their current battles, has become the prized object of the war. When the Turtles befriend Professor Honeycutt, the Federation seeks to destroy them for harboring him.
  • General Blanque - The head of the Federation military. He led the Federation into hunting the Fugitoid for the teleportation device that he had. He was later imprisoned in the same cell as Zanmaron after the Triceratons made peace with the Federation.
  • Lonae - A female who is General Blanque's aide and a double agent for the Triceratons.

Seasons Breakdown

During the show's run, the format was changed several times. The original run of the first four seasons kept the Turtles in their native New York facing The Shredder, The Federation/Triceratons, and Bishop. After the fourth season the show received its first major format change in the "Ninja Tribunal" season.

Ninja Tribunal

The fifth season focused on a new threat presented by another version of the Shredder said to be the original legendary villain Oroku Saki from feudal Japan. The Turtles were then asked by the Ninja Tribunal (a group of warriors who seek to combat this ancient, "Tengu" Shredder) to train alongside several human warriors to become strong enough to battle the Shredder. This involved the Turtles gaining new weapons, learning how to channel their chi into powerful projectiles, and finding their inner animal spirit. This season marked the end of the use of the original character designs and format.

Fast Forward

The sixth season featured a brand new direction as well as a completely redesigned look and feel. The season focused on the Turtles being transported one hundred years into the future to the year 2105; where they meet and befriend Cody Jones, a teenage descendant of April and Casey. Cody runs a successful and influential technology company and is its sole heir. The newly formatted show saw a brighter tone than its predecessor, and focused on shorter story lines. Some of the previous shows characters did return, however, including Bishop and Baxter Stockman.

Back to the Sewer

The seventh season was the last of the show's run. It featured yet another redesign for the entire cast similar to the designs from the film TMNT and brought the Turtles back into present day New York. The season did feature some returning characters from the Fast Forward season. The main villain for the Turtles as they battle in a cybernetic reality is a cybernetic version of the Shredder. It was then followed by the TV special episode Turtles Forever.

Turtles Forever

Turtles Forever is a 2009 TV movie featuring the Turtles and effectively brings an end to the 2003 series; following the seventh season finale. The movie features the revamped character designs from the seventh (Back to the Sewer) season. The story centers around the Turtles encountering their 1987 animated counterparts who were accidentally transported to the 2003 Turtles' dimension. Both sets of Turtles face off against the villains from both series in an attempt to prevent the Utrom Shredder from destroying all of space-time.

Episodes

Season	Ep #	First Airdate	Last Airdate	Digital Release
Season 1	26	February 8, 2003	November 1, 2003	March 9, 2015
Season 2	26	November 8, 2003	October 2, 2004	March 9, 2015
Season 3	26	October 9, 2004	April 23, 2005	TBD
Season 4	26	September 10, 2005	April 15, 2006	TBD
Season 5 (The Lost Episodes)	13	March 24, 2007	May 3, 2008	TBD
Season 6 (Fast Forward)	26	July 29, 2006	October 27, 2007	TBD
Season 7 (Back to the Sewer)	14	September 13, 2008	February 28, 2009	TBD

Cast

Main cast

• Mike Sinterniklaas - Leonardo, Dark Leonardo, Lord Hebi
• Sam Riegel - Donatello, Dr. Chaplin, Zippy Lad (1st Time), Dark Donatello
• Frank Frankson - Raphael, Dark Raphael
• Wayne Grayson - Michelangelo, Krang, Gruell, Metal Head, Dark Michelangelo
• Christopher C. Adams - Cody Jones
• Greg Carey - Hun
• Darren Dunstan - Splinter, Council of Three
• David Zen Mansley - Bishop, Savanti Romero, Zog, Rat King, Monza Ram, Kon-Shisho, Darius Dun, Triple Threat (Green Head)
• Karen Neil - Karai
• Scottie Ray - Shredder/Oruku Saki, Tengu Shredder, Cyber Shredder, Triple Threat (Yellow Head)
• Veronica Taylor - April O'Neil, Nanobot (young)
• Marc Thompson - Casey Jones, Serling, Ultimate Daimyo, Drako, Mr. Touch, Juto-Shisho
• Scott Williams - Baxter Stockman

Additional voices

• Michael Alston Bailey - Zanramon, Dr. Malignus
• Amanda Brown - Starlee Hambrath
• David Chen - Ancient One, Tora Yoshida
• Eva Christensen - Viral
• Marc Diraison - Raptarr, Ruffington, Silver Sentry
• David James Elliott - Torbin Zixx
• Dan Green - Mortu, Commander Mozar
• Jason Griffith - Miyamoto Usagi
• Britton Harring - Adam McKay
• Megan Hollingshead - Sydney, Moriah, Dr. Abigail Finn
• Liza Jacqueline - Renet
• Tara Jayne - Angel
• Carrie Keranen - Ananda
• Cedric Leake - Dragon Face
• Gary K. Lewis - Leatherhead
• Ted Lewis - Ultimate Ninja, Kluh
• Rachael Lillis - Tomoe Ame
• David Moo - Faraji Ngala
• Mark Odgers - Triple Thread (Red Head)
• Lisa Ortiz - Jhanna
• F.B. Owens - Traximus
• Mike Pollock - Garbageman, General Blanque
• Tony Salerno - Nanobot (adult)
• Sean Schemmel - Nobody, Ancient One, Yukio Mashimi, Constable Biggles,Master Khan, Sh'Okanabo
• Rebecca Soler - Joi Reynard
• Eric Stuart - Hamato Yoshi, John, Murakami Gennosuke
• Tom Wayland - Jammerhead
• David Wills - Stainless Steel Steve
• Oliver Wyman - Fugitoid/Professor Honeycut, Joey Lastic, Mr. Go
• Stuart Zagnit - Dr. Dome

Reception

The show was met with rare, but favourable reviews. Currently holding a 7.7/10 on IMDb and an 8.8/10 on TV.com. The praise went towards the storytelling, development, animation and appeal to all ages.

4Kids was known for it's controversial history of censoring eastern cartoons, but the show was praised also for trying to follow the dark and gritty tone of the original comics. However, due to 4Kids having to keep their ratings under PG, the show was met with criticism over having "cheesy" moments.

See also

• List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series) episodes
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) DVD releases
• List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series)

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at TV.com
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at the Internet Movie Database
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at the Big Cartoon DataBase

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