#and i remembered i actually used to watch the 2003 iteration

[bloodsbane]

the 2003 tmnt theme song goes crazy

[yzafre]

who wore it better – 2003 v 2012 episode comparisons

I said I wanted to do this in my 2003 thoughts post, and I’m gonna. I've been picking away at this for a couple weeks now.

I’m focusing on places where they actually recycled a storyline rather than adapted general concepts.  Fugitoid and the space arc is an example of the second method – Robot Scientist with a connection to a Dangerous Machine is a shared concept, but the stories are different.

“Ohhh how did we end up here we’ve GOT to figure out how to get home, our Dad might still be in danger” versus “we HAVE to collect the McGuffins before the enemy or earth is going to EXPLODE. AGAIN.” You know?

Comparing those types of adaptations could be done, but it’s not what I’m interested in here.  I specifically want to look at the places that made me think “oh, 2012 just copied this” while I was watching 2003.

Now, obviously this is extremely subjective.  So take this as me defending my nominations for winner in these categories, rather than some sort of objective truth.  I am presenting my dinky power-point on why you should vote for my favorites.  Ect.  Your preferences may be different!

My ramblings on the episodes got long (should I have split this into parts? maybe! didn't though), so uhhhh...

tl;dr: Scoring got weird at 3.5 to 2003, 3 to 2012, and two draws.

Key takeaways: 2003 better matches my personal tastes, and what makes 2012 good is the stuff specific to its iteration, rather than copying 2003

With all that taken care of, here’s my opinions, in very messy order.

Meet Casey Jones vs The Good, The Bad and the Casey Jones

So, this was the very first episode that made me sit back and go: wait.  This is just.  The same thing? 

Raph loses a fight, loses his temper violently over it.  He then goes out to get some air and runs into Casey, getting into a fight.  Raph goes back and apologizes to his brother, and then they have to deal with the Casey situation.  Eventually they’re friends.

That being said, they do handle things a bit differently inside of those plot points, in a way that makes me very split on which one is better.

So, this episode is doing two things: introducing Casey (at least to the turtles, in 2012’s case), and spotlighting Raph’s anger issues, and the shows handle both of them differently.  So let's look at them:

Raph and his anger

I want to start with the positioning of the episode within the wider series.

This is the 4th episode of 2003.  At this point, they’re still setting up the characters and your understanding of them – so this is really here to say hey, our Raph has a temper, that’s going to be a thing going forward. (I'm watching '87 right now, and while I've heard Raph gets more of his anger late in the series, at the beginning he is... not that. So signaling this for people who might have watched the previous show is valid.)

After this, I don’t remember there being other episodes that are Explicitly About Raph’s anger issues?  That’s not to say there aren’t any – there very well could’ve been some that were just so boring I don’t remember them, which would be a whole other issue – but what I remember of him being, to quote the show, a “hot-head” is integrated into other stories.

For 2012, this is nearly halfway through season 2, and is one of 3 episodes I can think of off the top of my head that at least start out framed as a lesson on Raph’s anger issues.  (The one with the guy that turns into a spider mutant, this one, and…. Okay so I don’t remember the details but I’m Pretty Sure I remember there being another one post-space arc).

Now, in theory this is good – having a sort of long-term journey recurring throughout the series.  In practice… eh. 

This is very subjective, but from the way the topic was constantly put on the shelf until they wanted to use it for an episode, to the way it was all extremely surface level and used mostly for jokes, it didn’t do much for me.

That aside, let’s look at the content of the episode itself:

Raph's anger issues have two different tones here.

2003 Raph’s snapping at Mikey is framed a lot more seriously – and a lot more dangerously – than 2012 Raph going at Leo.  And, accordingly, ‘03 Raph is a lot more horrified at his actions, whereas ‘12 Raph is more petulant, unwilling to fully own up to his mistake.

That carries over to when they’re “getting some air” - ‘03 Raph is blatantly angry with himself, where ‘12 is complaining about his brother’s not getting it.  I do think some of that frustration with himself is buried underneath, but it's interesting to note the difference between how aware of it they are. (Of course, ‘12 also didn’t try to brain his brother over the head with a metal pipe.  So.)

The two different versions also shifted what they chose to have “spelled out” versus implied.  What I mean is.... okay, so ‘03 had Raph explicitly say “What is wrong with me” – that frustration with himself I mentioned earlier – where it’s kind of buried underneath for ‘12.

On the other hand, ‘12 Raph flat out says he wasn’t angry, just “determined to win,” when explaining himself to Splinter, whereas with ‘03 the reasoning comes from Raph’s “You think you’re better than me?” line during the fight (and a bit of Mikey’s taunting, the menace), allowing you to (very easily, let's be real, I don't know that you can really count this as subtext) connect the dots on how it escalated.

So, that leads to their fight with Casey – where they both get carried away, before coming to their senses and questioning what they’re doing (and subsequently getting surprise-attacked).  The difference here is that ‘03, upon calming down, went back to trying to talk some sense into Casey (using the lessons he’s obviously trying to absorb himself), while to me ‘12 Raph just kinda seemed disoriented by it all?

Which. Fair.

Next step: the apology.  VERY different receptions.  The ‘03 brothers greet Raph with worry and care, and take his apology quietly and warmly, whereas for ‘12 they act like this is another Tuesday, a bit dismissive, and tease and taunt him through his apology.  I’m not trying to disparage the ‘12 turtles here �� not exactly – more so observing the difference in tone once more.

When people say the ‘03 turtles feel older, I think this is a huge part of it – the ‘12 turtles’ behavior feels very “stupid teenager”.  And I mean that in a genuine, fairly affectionate way.  I remember being that age, I was dumb.  You don’t know how to handle all these strong feelings, you have no impulse control. Also around 2012 I remember being genuine being deeply uncool, so. But ‘03 are demonstrating a higher level of emotional maturity, compared to that, and it does make them feel older.

Anyways, after that you get the reunion with Casey, having very different tones.  ‘03 purposefully tries to reach out and rehabilitate help Casey get himself under control, whereas ‘12 diverges into a surprise attack by the Foot where Raph and Casey bicker their way into teamwork.

Overall, ‘03 takes a more... introspective? Approach to Raph’s anger, where ‘12 flickers between being slightly emotional and using the situation for humor or cool action scenes – it feels like setup for an arc that I never felt we got satisfying payoff for.

For my tastes, I think I prefer ‘03 for the Raph part of the episode, if only because it remains thematically cohesive till the end.  From start to finish, Raph is trying to impart the lesson he wants to learn to Casey.  With 12, it feels like the “Raph’s anger issues” thread got a bit lost/abandoned in building up the Raph-Casey dynamic.

Speaking of...

Casey Jones

I think ‘12 is the better Casey intro episode.  There, I said it.

I know, I know!  It’s not technically where we meet Casey, we already saw him interacting with April (also scenes I like), but... although having finished 2003 I think ‘03 has the better overall Casey (mostly because they give him like. Actual personal connections to the world), ‘12 has the better initial burst of character, in my opinion.

His little intro monologue is so stupid, and I love it.  The skates and the little taser-gloves he obviously put together himself (and the fact that we only got one episode of Donnie and Casey bonding over this kind of engineering is criminal???).

The initiative to follow Raph down, his reactions to Splinter, the entire subway tunnel chase scene, where his and Raph’s rapport is building up... it’s good stuff!  I like it!  Maybe there’s a bit less depth in some places – we don’t get the personal connection with the Purple Dragons, how it ties back to his family – but his character voice, his initiative and impulsivity, and his creativity all come through.

It’s such a shame they didn’t do more to add to his character throughout the series in ‘12, because he had a fantastic early showing.  But then, that series didn’t seem interested in doing that for any of their characters, to me.  Sigh.

But... just looking at the episode itself, I'd give the Casey have to 2012.

So... draw?  Great way to start off, I know.

Shredder Strikes Back vs The Invasion (or: Leo gets thrown through a window)

So, this is a tough competition, we’re gonna have to take this point by point, I mean -

2012.  It’s 2012.  Are you kidding me.

Okay, look.  2012 already has an advantage just on moving this from halfway through season 1 to the season 2 finale, but, I mean... come on.

With 2003, there was barely any build up with the Shredder.  We’d seen him sort of being in charge of the various villains since early on – but the turtles didn’t see that!  For them, he showed up, tricked Leo, Splinter gave some back story, they fought and then Splinter seemingly killed him.  It just... wasn’t that dramatic? To me??

So when you have Leo thrown through the window, whispering “he’s back”, I was just like... I see no reason for this level of dread.  It doesn’t feel that personal, or important, or.... anything, really.  I know 2003 came first, but having watched 2012 beforehand this was kind of a letdown.  Didn’t feel earned.

Now, 2012 on the other hand....

Shredder has been a constant, ever-increasing threat since the moment he showed up in Season 1.  It was already personal with Splinter, yes, but then he also became a subject of looming dread for the turtles themselves.  And it doesn’t come out of nowhere. 

Like, yes, we, the viewers, were aware 2003 Shredder survived, but otherwise he was just hanging out off-screen, doing who knows what.  He wasn’t on the mind.  2012, on the other hand, showed the way Shredder was slowly amassing power, planning for something.

And then you add the Kraang on top of it.

Like, seriously, making this a two-prong threat is. Mwah!  The boys are falling apart, stressed by the time-limit of the upcoming Kraang invasion, disagreeing on how to handle it.  And then the argument gets cut short by their home being discovered – they don’t even get a chance to choose their path together, because they have to run, and everything’s chaos, and they’re still focused on the Kraang.

And that’s when the Shredder comes in.

This is insult on top of injury with everything going wrong that possibly could.  This is an immaculate payoff to the set-up they’ve been doing all season. This is fantastic.

And when Leo is thrown through the window, you feel it – the dread, the horror, the regret.  It really feels like the breaking point of “we can’t take any more” that leads to them retreating.  It has a weight to it that 2003’s version was sorely missing.

When it comes to Leo getting thrown through a window, 2012 takes the win, hands down.  The stakes, the drama, and my investment are all so much higher than they were in ‘03, no contest, it’s my favorite part of ‘12.

What comes after, on the other hand....

Tales of Leo + The Monster Hunter vs Season 3a (or, the Farmhouse Arc)

Maybe it’s unfair to compare 2 episodes to 8 episodes.  And maybe this is diverging from my “only episodes that are directly connected” rule I stated in the beginning, but I need to get this off my chest.  Because I just.  I’m not impressed by 2012’s farmhouse arc. 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Warning: rant ahead, this is VERY subjective and heavily based in my personal tastes.  Reminder that I do genuinely enjoy 2012, I just think the farmhouse arc is the lowest point in the whole series and is representative of what I find to be the weakest aspect of the series’ writing across the board.  That being said.

I see what 2012 was trying to do, by drawing out Leo’s recovery over all those episodes, giving the characters some space to breathe.  But they didn’t do it well in my opinion, and honestly the whole thing.  Flounders. 

2012’s best feature is its plot writing, how one episode tumbles into the next, Rube Goldberg machine-style, across an entire season.  But at the farmhouse, they’re removed from the greater plot, and that’s not doing the writing any favors.

And it’s not that the episode ideas are bad – I generally think they’re pretty interesting!  It’s just that without the inter-connected plot, they need something else to push them from “okay” to “exceptional”.  Usually, this would be where deeper characterization and relationship building would kick in instead, but uh.  I don’t personally think 2012 is great at that.

They under-cut the message of the episode with Big Foot, the Casey and Donnie friendship doesn’t really go anywhere after this, every other episode where inter-personal issues are only dealt with on a very surface level become even more obvious and a bit annoying without the greater plot to distract from it. Yes I know this is a kids show, but A:tlA had already finished airing at this point, also on Nickelodeon.

I think there’s a consistent issue with character writing in 2012 where they do what looks like set-up with no intent to ever give a meaningful pay-off or significantly change the status-quo, and that’s very much on display here.

And it’s not that there was nothing good in the season – I liked what they were doing with Raph, and how he was trying to help/encourage Leo, while somewhat bungling it in very realistic ways.  It was a fascinating look at what this Raph acting at his best as the Lancer trope could be, and I genuinely wish they leaned into it more later down the line.

Also, I’m always thrilled to see the Leo-April friendship get some focus, so Eyes of the Chimera was a favorite.  But across the board... the season didn’t wow me, and the longer it went on, the more I could see the cracks.

It all tops off with Vision Quest, which was my biggest disappointment in the entire series, the point at which I had to really stop and reset my expectations on what kind of story the writers were interested in telling.  The summary describes them having to go on a spiritual journey to really face themselves and their weaknesses, and I was so excited!  But then it was just.  Really surface level.  And occasionally confusing.

Raph needs to work on his temper, sure – but how is this any different than any of the other episodes about it?  Do we look at all at where his anger comes from?  A deeper way to handle it?  No, of course not.

Mikey needs to focus, stop getting distracted – I mean, yeah sure I guess.  Not a particularly interesting way of handling it, though.  Also, even if he manages it here, I know it's not going to pan out to the rest of the show, they’re not giving up their easy source of humor for the younger demographic.

And Donnie needs to... stand his ground? What?  I was so caught off guard.  It’s not that it’s completely out of touch, we see him coming up with complex paths to his goals, trying to think his way around of problems, ect, but... it was never really highlighted or presented as a real problem other than maybe the episode on instinct over thinking too hard?  It just felt really disconnected from anything else they were doing with him.  A genuinely interesting pay-off scene, with no solid set-up.

And Leo.  Oh jeez.  My friends.  WHAT is up with how they handled Leo’s knee injury?  The pain is just in my mind? It's not real??  Really???  No, thank you.

Like... I think this was supposed to be a riff on what Splinter says about ‘03 Leo’s coma, and him being trapped in his head due to fear – but because in ‘12 they tied it to an actual, specific physical injury, the execution falls apart. 

(Especially when they use the same flash-effect they used on Leo having issues with his knee of Splinter having issues later in the series but I probably shouldn't take that into account here.)

I mean, his quest is the closest to being satisfying, because they had lain interesting groundwork with his struggle with recovery and his insecurities in previous episodes, but then they just completely bungle it at the end! Argh!

I was so excited for Vision Quest, but this didn't tell me anything new about the characters or progress the characters in any meaningful way! It had no effect on how the characters are written going forward. So – other than some admittedly very cool fight choreography – what was the point?  Was there one??  It felt like putting on the trappings of an emotionally deep story without any of the actual, you know.  Depth.

I am clawing at the walls. Look at all the potential you wasted.

And yes, I’m aware this is all very subjective, and again part of a show for kids, but that’s how it hit me.

The 2003 farmhouse arc, on the other hand, was very short, and I think it benefited from that.  It had two episodes, and it knew what it was doing with both of them.  They felt purposeful, in the larger arc of the story.

First episode: they make their way to the farmhouse, Leo’s in a coma (according to Splinter, one driven by his fear), and his family tells stories of when he was brave/strong as a little kid to try and bring him out.

Wonderful, amazing, I love this episode.  So much character work – both in the past and present!  By going back to when they were kids, it helps us contextualize the turtles’ relationships by making them simpler.

In showing early memories that probably started cementing their views of each other, we see the core around which they developed.  By seeing which memory each brother chooses to present, we get some insight into how they each see Leo.  It gives us a point A to our current point B, which allows us to extrapolate the line between the two, how they developed.

And then you also get the little moments of how the brothers are handling this catastrophic event, how they react to the stress, to seeing their brother so hurt – Raph especially!  It’s pure character work and I love it.

After that, we get one episode of shenanigans, which is both representative of that “space to breathe” after Leo woke up, and also gives space for the B-plot (which is the truly arc-important plot) of Leo, now awake, dealing with his own handling of this stressful situation.

Is the A-plot of this episode quite as good as some of the ideas for the 2012 episodes?  Honestly, no, but just the fact that it’s carrying the Leo recovery story pushes it ahead.  We see Leo struggling with his failure, Raph stepping up to herd him back on the right track – the idea of physically remaking his swords to remake himself!  And, though we don’t know it yet, how hard Leo takes this is great foreshadowing to how he reacts going into his season 4 breakdown.

And then, having done the character work they wanted to accomplish, the writers go back to the main story.  The characterization here matters (and also is good) in a way that whatever is going on in the 2012 farmhouse arc just.  Isn’t. 

In my opinion.

Okay, rant over, winner is obvious, moving on.

Triceratons

Again, we’re not comparing most of the space arcs, as that’s apples to oranges, but there are two episodes that caught my attention:

Rogue in the House vs Dinosaur Seen in Sewers!

Here we've got two episodes where the turtles find a Very Confused Triceraton and trick him into helping them.

I like the 2003 one better.

Honestly, it comes down to the context of the episode.  Rogue in the House comes after the turtles have been in space and when they know more about who the Triceratons are.  2012 on the other hand is a sudden introduction to a new arc.

2003 also... questions the ethics of their decision more, by the end.  It’s a bit more empathetic?  And I appreciate that.

I will give 2012 credit that translating “we’ve been dropped into the middle of a war where both sides are bad” over to be attached to the Kraang, which they’ve built up already as a powerful alien threat, was clever.  It doesn’t have the same edge of commentary that “and one of these sides looks just like us humans” has, but it is clever use of their existing world-building, and I like it.

The Arena vs The Arena of Carnage

The most obvious connection in the 2012 space arc – the turtles get thrown into a gladiator arena.

Now, 2003 does have an unfair advantage in this comparison, as The Arena is heavily bolstered by the set-up work done in The Big House, giving you a sense of place, stakes, connection to the other characters...

That last bit is where my bias and personal taste shows: I really love the turtles making any kind of meaningful connection with other characters, and I find this more convincing in the 2003 version than the 2012 one.

But 2012 also weakens itself in its own right by doing some setup here with no long-term pay off.  You’ve got your fellow prisoner, who turns out to be a Triceraton who objected to the leadership's decisions... and after this episode, that means nothing!  Cool, okay.

Like I get that was a part of the episode they’re pulling from, but if they’re not planning on reusing that long-term story, then they really could have cut that aspect all together.  I know they have enough creativity in them to adapt the concept of “stuck in a gladiator arena” to do something more interesting, they’ve proved they have it in them.  They just... didn’t, and the plot point didn’t translate well.  Ah, well.

2003 also wins this one.

City at War vs... City at War?(???)

Look, I am only comparing these because they use the exact same name.  Otherwise, it’s nowhere near a fair comparison.  For 2012, this is actually part of a couple episodes where they talk about there being a power vacuum after the Shredder is out of the picture, but...

Can we be so real?  They don’t even get close to the scale of 2003.  Like with the farmhouse, it’s not that they don’t have any good ideas – I like the Don Visioso episode quite a bit – but it never gets to the depth or scale I want it to. 

Like, 2003 made it visually obvious that the city is falling apart, that things are really out of control, in a way you can feel. Though, honestly, I’m not even sure 2012 could reach the levels of 2003, because they never put as much effort into making their NYC feel... real?  I guess?

Also, the 2003 City at War arc is just.  It’s really good, guys.  It did such great work on Leo and Raph’s characterization, the danger in the city is palpable, the tension is thick, and then you add Karai on top of it all?

You’d think 2012 could push this, given the added dimensions to Karai and her connection to Shredder, but it ends up falling short.  Point again goes to 2003.

What a Croc! Vs It Came From the Depths (Leatherhead)

So. I am painfully biased, because It Came From the Depths is my favorite 2012 Mikey episode, and I thought What a Croc! was... just okay.

I frequently bemoan that 2012 didn’t lean more into long-form character arcs for their story, and this is one of the central episodes that defined my desire for Mikey’s arc.

The instant compassion and understanding he has for Leatherhead – the way he recognizes and is willing to work with his trauma responses, but also is childishly impatient with the process when it gets messy later on, showing he still has some maturing to do – it's great, and I love it.  I didn’t find the same kind of depth in the 2003 episode.

On the other hand, long-term I like Leatherhead better in 2003, just because he’s more present as ally, friend, or even family.  2012 Mikey’s always excited to see Leatherhead, but you don’t exactly see them hanging out.

But this is about the episode, and for that, I’ll give it to 2012.

Renet (Time Travails + Return of the Savanti Vs Turtles in Time + Tale of the Yokai)

I’ll be real with you, 2003 gains points with me just because this is another example of 2012 poorly shoving in romance. I would like to make it clear – I don’t have an objective issue with the turtles being in romantic relationships.  It’s just... don’t put it in there if the writing's going to be so... bad. And boring. And unnecessary.

Additionally, this particular example put me off a bit more because... hm. Okay, the episode starts with Mikey going “I'm never gonna get caught up in all that!" Only for the show to do the writing equivalent of saying "of course you will, as soon as the right person comes along. And here she is!"

And uhm.  Okay, so, I’m asexual with a big ? when it comes to romance.  So that framing is..... nghghghgh I don't like it. Like I get the joke, but it still gave me the ick.

Also it was another infatuation-at-first-sight situation like Donnie which. Is a romantic trope that is So Stupid, you CANNOT tell me that's how it actually works, I don't believe you, and also it makes for stupid, boring writing. So there.

Ahem.

Once you get past that, there’s points to be made for both episodes.  The way the 2003 turtles find Renet just kind of tiring but can’t help going along with her anyways is very funny to me, but 2012 lets them do Tales of the Yokai, and I enjoy the concept of them getting to see what Actually Happened Back Then, rather than just hearing subjective stories of it.  Adds some texture.

I dunno on this one – if it’s Time Travails vs Turtles in Time, 2003 wins, but once you move on to Tale of the Yokai I give it to 2012.  Call it a draw?

Loosely inspired by

Okay. So. These are things where I can’t say “Oh, they were just doing this story again”, but where I think there might have been some heavy inspiration.  Your mileage may very on these, and you could think I’m completely wrong, but I thought they’d be interested to talk about.

Even if they are from Back to the Sewers.

The Engagement Ring to The Power Within Her

April gets magic jewelry that possesses her, goes on a rampage?  Admittedly, the set-up is very different, as is the tone, but... well, you have to wonder.

I thought The Engagement Ring was one of the better episodes of Back to the Sewers, but as entertaining as it was, I’m still going to give this to 2012, I think.  I like things that have more build-up to them, and they did pretty good at setting up this episode ahead of time, building up that dread.  And it just did more with the concept, you know?

Also, it fit well into my interpretation/re-write of April’s character, so.

Identity Crisis to Brain Worms

I mean.  Turtles get brain-washed by the Foot, have to be broken out of it by being reminded of memories/who they were.  Methodology of the brainwashing is very different, admittedly, which is why I put this down here rather than in the main section!  But it’s similar enough for me to connect them.

This is another situation where I think 2012 took a concept and further developed it.  The brain worms are fantastically gruesome, and really treated like the existential horror it should be.  The amount of fics I’ve seen expanding on the brain-worms concept is proof of how it hooks in people’s brains.

Another point to 2012.

Conclusion

So let’s run a tally.

I'm not sure the two Back to the Sewer episodes count, but I also maybe have broken my rule on the farmhouse arc... I guess we could count those as half points?

Casey Intro: Draw

Window: point 2012

Farmhouse: half-point 2003

Lost triceraton: point 2003

Gladiator arena: Point 2003

City at War: point 2003

Leatherhead intro: point 2012

Renet: Draw

Losely inspired: cumulative point 2012

So that's... 3.5 for 2003, 3 for 2012, and two draws? Pretty close.

Realistically, I think these should be the two takeaways from my opinions:

First, 2003 better matches my personal tastes. I'm a character arc girly, and 2003 gave a lot more attention to that aspect of their writing than 2012 did, and that affects my opinions. See: the Vision Quest rant.

Second, what makes 2012 good is the stuff that’s specific to its iteration.

The way they adapted the Hamato Yoshi backstory from 2003 to be about Splinter and Shredder, making Karai Splinter’s stolen daughter, and how that whole plot line plays out.  The way they make the Kraang a whole organization, and their alliance with Shredder.  The full season, Rube-Goldberg machine buildup of plot.  These are all the thing that make it excel.

So... yeah. That's my thoughts. Your opinions might be different, and - if you're nice about it, please - I would love to hear your thoughts on what I've said, which episodes you like better, and why you like them! Shows hit different people, well, differently!

[real-life-senshi]

10 (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Reasons to Watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 2003 Live Action

A countdown to the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

There are many things worth unpacking and appreciating in the live-action series, as long as one can overlook the tackiness of the action scenes and repeated use of questionable CGI sequences. (The real-time CGI isn't bad though, and the action scenes get better as the series runs!) Context to remember: the live-action is a low-budget Tokusatsu series, and it was the debut work of most of the cast in the acting industry! As we approach the show's 20th anniversary, I hope to spread some love and get more people exposed to watching the series!

Reason 1: Ongoing character & dynamic development for EVERYONE!

It is without question that Tsukino Usagi deserves all the love fans of the overall Sailor Moon franchise have for her! However, for those whose favourite character may not necessarily be the titular character, many may find there's just not much space in most iterations of Sailor Moon for their favourite character to shine with the depth of their character well explored, and most character development does not contribute long-lastingly to the plot of the story. It can almost feel like Usagi/Moon seems to often hog all the attention (besides side story chapters in the manga)!

The live-action series solved that issue beautifully, by focusing only on the Dark Kingdom arc in a 49-episode series, the screenwriter Kobayashi Yasuko with Takeuichi Naoko-sensei's input, did a stunning job of building a multi-faceted, linear storyline filled with colourful character development for each Senshi AND Shitennou characters. The Shitennou each have their own defined personality, depths and motivation that are all different from each other's.

Each main heroine character and villain character has their own thematic focus to their story, and they all actually converge and contribute to the storytelling of the series!

The most amazing thing? It dares to render Usagi/Moon into the ensemble cast on episodes when it doesn't make sense for Usagi to hog the screen time. Sometimes, our beloved princess is simply the comic relief in an episode! That's not to say that Usagi's character is disrespected, but Usagi is shown to be as flaw-filled as any other character in the series, and sometimes she herself needs to do some growing up and reflection, so she isn't always the sensible choice to be catalyst for her fellow Senshi' needed growth.

Usagi is undoubtedly loved and cherished and the definite lynchpin of the team, but each Senshi is allowed to have their own dynamics with each other, and let their personality shine... or clash with each other's.

Frankly, I've always been amazed at how much said dynamics were explored between each pair of Senshi. The only one I felt was underdeveloped was Ami and Minako. :(

Here is my rough table of how the character focus is spread across the series. (Many episodes actually have an A plot, B plot and C plot, but I'm not expert enough to parse them all down. This is by memory. lol)

You can watch the subbed versions of the series at:

Miss Dream Fansubs

Sea of Serenity Fansubs

The series is also on other online streaming sites, but be cautious to only visit them with good adware and firewall installed.

10 days till the 20th anniversary of Act 1 air date!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

[sketchytychou]

TMNT Anniversary asks!! 😂

2, 21, 33 and 36! Have a great day!! 😊

Thank you for the asks and for tagging me in this game! <3 2.) What was your first exposure to [TMNT iteration]? I think you were supposed to specify an iteration with this, but I can still work with this question. LOL Every TMNT series, I was there when it was created. I caught the first episodes when they came out and kept watching. For 2003, I actually got tired of season 1 (It is not their best season) and it was hard to catch it on TV at the time for me because of my schedule so I dropped it. But then I saw later seasons where Karai was fighting the turtles off while Shredder was trying to leave the planet and was like WAAAAAAAT? Hol up! I need to catch up on this! And it became one of my favorite iterations. Likewise with Rise. I saw the first episode and didn't watch any more until the movie came out. I just wasn't in the mood for it. But I gave it another shake and it is also one of my favorite iterations now.

21.) What is your favorite story arc? 2003 had some great story arcs. I love the Battle Nexus. The Good Genes story arc. Leo's angsty character arc. I also actually liked the Ninja Tribunal season, as weird as it was. You saw Leo's growth in this. When his brothers out-shined him, when he didn't even get a mystical weapon, he was very calm and humble about it. A far cry from the angry, anxious turtle he used to be. 2012, I don't really remember much of it. I saw it when it came out and very little of it stayed in my brain. I need to watch it again. Rise had very little story arcs, but I loved the whole thing with Karai. IDW: The Foot Leo story arc was far too short for my liking. I wanted more.

33.) What is your favorite thing you've made for TMNT?

Currently, my favorite fan work is my Brotherhood comic. It is in my thoughts constantly. I hope my love for the turtles shows in this story and it inspires fans and shares the love. I'm putting my whole heart into it. (I wish I was a better artist for this project, but I do what I can.)

36.) Which character do you have the hardest time writing/drawing?

I would say April across the board. She's never been a character where I've truly been able to get into her headspace. Our only common ground is we both love the turtles and I try to go from there.

Though I do adore writing Bayverse April. She is a lot of fun because she is both tenacious and kind of a dumbass and I love her.

[familyofpaladins]

tmnt asks #2

When were you first introduced and what was your first reaction/thoughts on the franchise?

thank you for the ask!!! <3

this is a (hopefully)funnily long answer

SO, when I was little I used to go to an in-home daycare (meaning it was just one lady babysitting about 10 different kids). When I was little we got a whole two (2) channels to watch tv, because we lived out in the country and didnt (couldnt) pay for cable. My babysitter however DID have cable, so for the hour or two we were allowed to watch tv, TMNT (2003) was occasionally watched when ever it happened to be on during tv time. Once me and my siblings were old enough we stopped going to the babysitter and no more tmnt. I could not have told you much about what I remembered of the show from that time but I know I liked it. That was roughly around 2005 or 6, so the show was still ongoing.

Fast forward (pun not intended) another 4 or 5 years and my family moves. When we move I suddenly have access to over 20 channels. I spent a couple different Saturdays watching differnt saturday morning cartoons to find ones I liked. One of those channels hosted 4Kids Saturday morning cartoons. On one of my channel surfing escapades, I saw an advertisement of Tmnt, and remembered that I liked it before. So I started watching that channel. Now this was in 2009, so I'm not sure if Back to the Sewer was just airing or it was on repeats already, but I remember watching parts of fast forward and Back to the sewer. I even got to see Turtles Forever air on TV at the time!

Then they stopped doing reruns of it, and showed other shows and I forgot about 90% of the show.

I Did know that I liked the show. And that Either Leo or Mikey or maybe Don (I was indecisive lol) was my favorite. But not Raph. I didnt like Raph because he was always so mean to Mikey and picking on him. (And this is HILARIOUS now because, Raph is one of my favorite characters lol).

Fast forward another 10 years or so and I start seeing random stuff here on tumblr about Rise of the tmnt. I wasnt sure how to feel about the style/ fact that the turtles were all different species, but well I liked the other tmnt show, so I decided to go ahead and watch it.

I LOVED IT. I wasnt sure how I felt about Leo not being the leader at first, but I LOVED this Raph, and he was a good big bro and leader. At first I also didnt know how I felt about splinter, and didnt like how distant from the boys he seemed to be. But as the show went on I loved him more! I really liked the rise series and was sad that it ended.

Another year or two later I decided to rewatch the 2003 series since I didnt remember a whole lot of it. I honestly expected not to like it as much, or that watching it as an adult would make it seem silly. But it was serious!! It had EXCELLENT continuity! I had expected things in one episode to be forgotten in the next, but it wasn't!!! It was so good, I fell in love with it all over again, (and appreciated Raph much more this time round lol).

Chilled out with other media for about 6 months, then decided to watch the 1987 series for the heck of it, enjoyed it more than I thought i would (Turtles Forever, as much as I love the movie, did the 87 boys dirty).

I had seen a clip of the Batman vs tmnt movie here on tumblr, and couldnt find anywhere to watch it online. So when I saw it in a set of tmnt movies at the store I bought it.

Also included was the three 1990's movies and the TMNT 2007 movie.

I like the 90s movies a lot more than I thought I would, the puppetry was AMAZING, kudos to all the stunt guys fighting in those suits!

At that point of watching the 87 cartoon and all those movies, I became obsessed with the franchise and have been now for over a year lol.

I got the 2012 series on dvd and was worried I wouldn't like the 3D animation style, but I actually enjoyed it WAY MORE than I thought I would. They did fun things with the eyes and backgrounds which was cool.

Each iteration is so unique, and yet has so many ties to other versions, it's just a wonderful universe and I'm so happy to be here. :)

Am now realizing that all of that is WAY more than just "initial first thoughts of the franchise" lol. but yeah I think I just really liked the serious tone of the 2003 series when I was little and the fact that it wasnt a "baby show" that brb I was allowed to watch. And turtles are cool!! So yeah little me loved it and remembered it even though if you had asked little me to tell you anything about it, all I would have probably been able to say is "WATCH OUT FOR SHREDDER" from the theme song, and that Leo got hurt at one point and the others all told stories about him and that in raph's story they fought a giant crocodile.

[deadpool1763492]

Happy 20th birthday to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003!

I remember around 15 years ago, when I was at the ripe age of 5-6 years old, someone gave me a TMNT DVD for my birthday. I wasn't exactly into action shows like that at the time and pretty much hated it, but my mom told me to give it a chance and put it on for my anyway. It was this show that made me realize just how much I love superheroes.

TMNT 2003 is something special. It's the most loyal show to the original Mirage comics, for one, with literal episodes taken directly from the pages themselves. Even the first lines of the show are from the first issue! Who can ever forget Leonardo's iconic line: "He's wrong. We're not wearing costumes." I still get shivers hearing the delivery of those sentences to this day.

And let's not forget that it was this iteration that basically confirmed the TMNT multiverse in dare I say the greatest turtle movie ever released yet: Turtles Forever. Because of that movie, we know that every past iteration and future iteration is connected to one another, and, whenever one version of the story ends, we have the hope in our hearts that it might not actually be the last we'll see of those specific turtles, whether it be in future references, actual crossovers, or something else entirely.

And, of course, we can't forget that this was the first cartoon version of the turtles that apparently swore, albeit it only in some of the few comic issues of the show ever released.

Who doesn't love that? If you're a fan of 2003, by the way, you should definitely check out the comics they released of it. If not all of them, just check out issue #5. It's become one of my favorite comic books ever (of all time) just because of how absolutely raw it is. The comics really did not hold back at all.

Which, by the way, is true for the show, too! Who could ever forget iconic episodes like Same As It Never Was, which ended up literally scarring us as kids by showing a fascist, apocalyptic future that was supposedly indirectly Donatello's doing, where we had to watch three of our turtle boys literally die? I can never forget, at least. That episode gave me nightmares for a bit when I was a kid. Did I still end up watching it? Of course! I needed to see how the Shredder ended up getting defeated!

I could go on and on about this series (and I have, if you're someone I know in real life and are a victim of my ramblings of it), but I'll cut this short here for all of your sakes. I'll just end it with this: thank you, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird— and 4Kids Entertainment—for giving us a show that would stick with me for so long. I don't know where I'd be without the teenage mutant ninja turtles. It's literally the show that became my gateway to Marvel! So, instead of arguing about which version is better than which, let's take today to celebrate these idiot turtle boys for what they are: an amazing, creative story that brings us all together with one universal truth: Things Change, but that may not always be a bad thing.

Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day!

[papercutie]

Strawberry shortcake...!

This is a review of many different Strawberry Shortcake character design iterations over the years!! Long post beneath the cut!!

1980's: 10/10

Not the very first design, but definitely the one from when Strawberry Shortcake first gained traction as a brand and character. Absolute instant classic. Has that Raggedy Ann charm, I like that the hair seems to be yarn to really get across that she is a plush doll. She looks very squishy! Not the design I grew up with, but I've always been fond of it.

1990's: 5/10

I'm actually not very familiar with the 90's design, so maybe it's the fact that I don't have nostalgia for it, but I'm not really a fan! She needs a big hat. There is a reason that every other iteration of the design has a big hat: the big hat is good. It's iconic. Without her dumpling-shaped face I think this design would be very bland, there's not much memorable about it.

2000-2003: 16/10

These designs were used briefly before the 2003 revival TV series and were exclusively used in things like greeting cards, gift paper, and stickers. You can see with the second image that this is the introduction of the design they ended up keeping for 2003- but we can get further into that soon. The design in the first image is probably my favorite design for Strawberry, I think I had the sticker set these were from. If so then there's a good chance I either ate them or put them somewhere they were never removed from (this was long before removable/reusable stickers). I love the introduction of more green into the outfit here, I think it's a much needed addition to really evoke 'strawberries'. More importantly, we get Big Hat. The hat is never quite this big again after this, which is a shame. I've always considered it a landmark of her design, so the bigger the better. Everything about this design is delightful.

2003-2007ish: 10/10

This is the design I grew up with! Although I don't find it as aesthetically pleasing, I appreciate the casual denim and the depiction of her that was less "princess". You didn't see a lot of this kind of design at this time- she was kind of a black sheep compared to Bratz and Barbie and other dolls from the same years. The proportions and dumpling head were so so so important. As a kid with a fat little face I never really saw myself in Polly Pocket, but Strawberry was so attainable. The whole outfit is 100% something I would have and could have worn as a kid, and it never really made me feel like I was perpetually underdressed by simply being a child. I didn't watch the TV show, which the more easily animated design in the second image is from, but did read the pictures books that used the design from the first image. I still have 'Strawberry Shortcake and The Friendship Party'.

2007-2009: ???/10

2007 through 2009 really act as an artifact of how designs were in a state of flux in the world of children's properties (especially for dolls). Different contexts and purposes and lines of dolls came with their own design variations- and I will not be reviewing each one, but here are three examples. I was a bit old for Strawberry Shortcake at this time and had moved on to Polly Pocket- as such I'm not very familiar with these designs, although I do vaguely remember the first image. Common factors between designs are the longer hair, the pitifully small bow on the hat, and the smoothing out of the dumpling chin. These aren't horrible but they are an unfortunate sign of things to come.

2009-2021: 7/10

I don't hate this one! It's not as good as previous designs but it's very solid, which I have to imagine is why it lasted for over a decade. My only familiarity with this design is seeing the occasional doll when getting gifts for my young cousins or roaming aimlessly down the toy aisle of a store. I really can't say I approve of how she's been slimmed down in the face, and the eyes aren't huge but they're definitely starting to lean towards the "big-eyes-tiny-nose" trend that boomed in popularity with disney-pixar princesses a few years after this design came out (sure she's always had a small nose but at least she used to have the decency of tiny little doll eyes to match). I like the versatility of switching between a skirt and shorts, and her hat is just fine. It's not huge but at least it's a strawberry.

Honorable Mention: Lost Media 2017 Press Release Design: 2/10

You may have seen this design in posts and articles meant to stir up engagement or clicks, but this design was never actually used! When WildBrain (formerly DHX) bought the brand in 2016/2017, they introduced this design in the form of a press release. There's only a few images of this design in circulation on the internet, as nothing ever came of it, and anything that wasn't in an article about it has been basically scrubbed, so any "then vs now" images or videos that use it are either from a short time after the announcement, or are clickbait. You may have noticed I haven't said anything about the design itself. This is because I don't like it.

2021-current: 5/10

I actually hadn't seen this design until making this post! The design itself is actually okay, but it loses a lot of points for style. -1 point for bigass disney eyes. I've also deducted an extra point for bringing us to a design with completely straight long hair. Every other doll on the market already has straight hair. Bring back her curly short hair. I'm also not a fan of giving her full lipstick. It could be worse but it really doesn't add anything except making elementary schoolers feel like they need to wear makeup. Beanie is back from the abandoned 2017 design, and I don't hate it , but it's a downgrade in my opinion. Like would I buy and wear this hat if i saw it at a thrift store? Yeah. But the big hat was so important. Maybe this is more relatable with the kids. I have literally no way of knowing. One other note I have is that the animation style from the shorts is definitely trying to emulate MLP, specifically Equestria Girls. A quick look at any of the animations in motion make this extremely obvious, especially the way they draw hair and eyes (it's much much much more obvious on other characters).

[whispering-about-the-tmnt]

9 and 11 NOW IT'S YOUR TURN TO PICK FAVORITES BY ITERATION BWUAHAHAH! XD

Seriously keep up the amazing work, big fan!

*hugs you*

9 - If you could change one thing about TMNT, what would it be?

Probably that so much attention is paid in-canon to Raph and Leo's "rivalry", at the expense of other, different forms of tension. Now, don't get me wrong... I do like it when they have little disagreements, but the point to which it has become the central theme of so many stories just make me wanna, you know...

11 - Favorite turtle (iteration specific)?

See what you have done! You have opened the proverbial can of worms, and I will now be naming my favorites in every version of the TMNT that I have ever watched or read! Mwahaha!

*ahem* In (more or less) chronological order...

Mirage Comics - I never had much of a preference between the guys in the old comics, though Donatello always had a great appeal to me.

1987 - I totally had a crush on Donatello back in the day. He was the toy that I played with the most, and the one I chose when me and my friends were pretending to be the TMNT (which was pretty easy, since I could use a broomstick as my bo staff).

1990 - There aren't many versions where Raphael is my favorite (I mean, I always love him, but other Turtles usually appeal to me more), but I loved his journey in the first TMNT movie.

1991 - To me, Secret Of The Ooze was all about Donatello. I loved how he had an emotional stake in what was basically a silly little movie.

1993 - How could you not love cute little lovesick Michelangelo? And plus, him being all heroic and rescuing Yoshi!

TMNTA (Archie) Comics - Although Don is dear to my heart in this version, I am going to go with Michelangelo. He is a sweetheart, an artist, he likes poetry, in the future he runs an orphanage, and he is one half of the only TMNT ship I ever actually had... and also, the Blindsight storyline is, in my opinion, the best in the comic's run.

Image Comics - Although I read most of the Image comics, I am going to be honest and say that none of the Turtles really stood out to me. If I had to choose, though, it would probably be Donatello, because of all that cyborgification he went through. Poor guy.

2003 - I know, you know, we all know... Leonardo is my boy in this version! Such a ball of stress... so relatable. Don is a very close second, though!

2007 - Gotta be Donatello! The dude had so much to take care of being the de facto leader while Leo was gone.

2012 - I have to confess that I have not watched enough of this series to develop an opinion, but on behalf of my 12-year-old daughter, I am compelled to say Michelangelo!

2014 - In the first Bay movie, Donatello really shined for me. His nerdy badassery stole my heart.

2016 - While I also really liked Don in the second Bay movie, Michelangelo was my primary focus. How he went back and forth between being the goofy goober and his heartbreak at being perceived as a monster was fascinating to watch.

2018 - Again, I have not watched much of Rise, but based on the movie alone (which I did watch, several times), I would like to say this is another instance where Raphael stood out to me... though it was really hard to choose between him and Leo!

Batman Vs. TMNT (movie) - I loved the way Leonardo was portrayed in this one! His primary fear of failing his brothers was both palpable and understandable, and his fight with Ra's al Ghul is one of my favorite TMNT battles of all time ("I'm sixteen, and I learned this from a rat!")

2024 - Baby... baby boy Leonardo... he needs a hug so bad!

If an iteration isn't listed, then assume I haven't read or watched it enough to form an opinion! Yes, this includes IDW (the concept doesn't appeal to me, for some reason), and The Last Ronan (my heart can't take that)... and although I did watch some of The Next Mutation back in the day, I can't actually remember any of it.

[revolutionary-girl-emily]

RWBY x Justice League Designs

For my very first RWDE post, I’d like to discuss the outfits for the Justice League in the upcoming movie. I love sewing, it’s a huge part of my life. I spend a lot of time researching fashion history and different textiles. I’ve had issues with how the clothing is modeled since the jump to Maya, but most of that has been discussed all over the place, so for now I’m gonna stick to the new designs. 

*HUGE NOTE* All of my criticisms with the models are due in the most part to the people making them not having the time or resources to really finish them. I do not blame any of the designers/modelers at all for any of these issues. They all deserve the utmost respect for making them as good as they are. Fuck RT and their exploitive business practices.

This is going to be a long post.

One more quick note before jumping in, I know almost nothing about DC. I watched the 2003 Teen Titans and the first 2 seasons of Young Justice. Outside of that, I don’t know these people. If there are any specific references their costumes make, they’ll definitely be going over my head.

Firstly, I have got to talk about the Flash. This goddamn zipper. This is the main reason I created this blog in the first place. The designs in RWBY have really trended towards throwing zippers all over everyone in later volumes, but this is the first time (that I recall) where they broke the laws of physics to do that. Zippers function by passing uniformly sized teeth through a zipper pull, which interlocks the teeth together. For this to work, the teeth have to all be the right size and shape. This means that even sewing zippers around gently curving slopes can be difficult. It is impossible for a zipper to turn on an acute angle and still function. And this guy’s got 4 of them.

Other than that I honestly don’t mind much about the costume. I like the lighting bolt scarf that trails behind him even when he’s not going super speed. He has goggles that he actually uses, which would be genuinely beneficial in combat. I don’t quite understand the bandages by his ankles; maybe they’re to imply that all his running led to increased strain that needs some extra support? Though then why not give him more supportive, calf-length boots? He also has bandages on his wrists and I really don’t know what they’re for. Maybe he hurt them trying to twirl his new staff with no prior training? My last note is that there are too many lines crossing all over his body. Zigzag lightning bolts, horizontal lines on either side of his waist, vertical lines on his pants, and the bandages again. It makes your eyes dart all over the place.

Cyborg seems a bit jumbled. I know he’s usually portrayed with red lights all over, though I remember blue in Teen Titans ‘03. Well they covered both bases by giving him red lights around the upper chest and head and blue accents for his right arm, hands and legs. But wait, there are also purple lights on the bottom of his drone, and his belt and shoes are both green (though not the same green). He also has a blue and black chain on the same side as his mechanical arm. There’s lots of stuff going on all over with him, but then his entire midsection is just an empty void that reads as unfinished. And for someone who is a cyborg, from the pecs down he just looks like an entirely normal human. I think it would have been a much more interesting (and I think faithful) design if they had his mechanical attributes continue down his body. 

(I just looked it up and it seems that in his most common depictions, only the right side of his head remains flesh. This iteration could very well be mechanical below the pecs but it would be nice to see that instead of completely covering it with cheap looking fabric. It’s not like that would be out of place in Remnant.)

Also, I wish the metal looked like metal and not plastic. But that’s an issue that plagues every single design on this show so let’s move on.

Superman absolutely got that jacket out of the children’s section. You could maybe read it as a cropped jacket with 3 quarter sleeves, if it also wasn’t clearly incapable of meeting in the front to zip up. Other than that I just wish his turtleneck didn’t have that random zipper on it.

Wonder Woman, the Amazon, also the only one wearing heels, is shorter than all of the men. I don’t care if that’s canon to the comics I still hate it. I honestly love her costume though, by far my favorite one.

Vixen and Green Lantern both look pretty good. I wish Batman had another color on him, just a small accent would be good. Maybe make his scarf that classic dark blue his cowl used to be decades ago, or make the utility belt yellow.

One final note, it seems so on the nose that they made the two heroes with animal themes into faunus. How come being isekai’d changed only two of them into a different species? And now Batman can fly when his whole deal is being such a good detective and so physically fit that he can keep up with super-powered guys even without any powers. Not to mention turning a billionaire white guy into an in-universe minority.

If you’ve read this far, thank you! I hope this post was decently coherent. It started from me ranting to my one irl friend that actually watches rwby about that goddamn zipper and I realized I needed to get these thoughts out into the world. I look forward to posting with you all through volume 9!

[starrcrossrose]

Okay for the risk of a long post, I’ll put all my answers under the cut but I wanna play!

Here are my answers to these 😗🐢✌🏻

1) First exposure to TMNT was I think the 2003 series?… wait NO it was the movies from the 90’s! But I don’t remember them super well so I’ll just say 03.

2) Watched 03 on weekends or sometimes after school as a kid when I’d visit my Nana’s house (she had cable tv, but my mom did not so tv time was sacred and special to us at Nana’s 😂)

3) I loved them, the theme song was awesome, and I was always always ALWAYS a Leo girlie

4) I was always a casual fan of TMNT and enjoyed almost every new bit of content when they hit big screens. However, Rise of the TMNT did me in. I have been a goner since late 2020, but DEFINITELY since 2022 when the movie released.

5) I’m most familiar with Rise by now, but have definitely done more digging now that I’m IN. Second to that would probably be the Bayverse movies and then 2003 (again, only bc I didn’t have cable or internet so most things I loved as a kid were watched in spurts and all of them incomplete lol)

6) I own SOME official TMNT merch. I have a couple of comics (IDW Collections volumes 1 and 2, the 40th anniversary comic, and the TMNT X MMPR volume 1 comic), as well as a couple of figures and some games. But most of what I own currently is fan made bc Rise got NO good merch. Not a single thing.

~Favorites~

7) Rise is my favorite, hands down. But there are things about the other iterations that I do love. It’s just that Rise has everything someone like me LOVES, so it’s perfect for my silly brain

8) Leo. Always Leo. And Donnie is always fighting for that top spot but I always end up caving into being a Leo girlie. Especially with Rise where Donnie WAS my favorite… until season 2 🤣 sorry lil dude

9) tbh Rise Leo is my favorite of the Leo’s ONLY because I loved the divergence from his typical outward character traits. It was fun to see who he COULD be if the weight of responsibility and leadership were not forced upon his shoulders at a young age. And, at his core, he is STILL such a Leo. He just buries a lot of those things under his cool guy persona. There is nothing I love more than a well written, multi-faceted character

10) Rise Leo 💙✌🏻

11) I have come around to loving lots of the Raph’s, actually. I really like Bayverse Raph, and I like 07 Raph, 03 Raph, and Rose Raph for very different reasons. Rise is special to me tho bc he has such eldest sibling energy and problems that I heavily relate to

12) Oh I ADORE Bayverse Donnie he’s just such a gentle, quietly unhinged dude. But RISE DONNIE. HE IS EVERYTHING IVE BEEN SAYING A DONATELLO COULD BE! Little mad scientist who can make anything out of everything and is so unhinged in his projects and his love for his family. But every Donnie is so good, so cherished. (Except for maybe 2012 Don… sorry buddy your writers failed you just a little)

13) Favorite Mikey is also Rise Mikey and now probably Tales Mikey. Because I think he deserves to be a little more of a gremlin. Channel that youngest energy (even if he’s the same age he just has that “youngest” privilege in a lot of ways I think). I loved how he got to be more blunt and feel an array of emotions instead of always being the party guy in the recent two iterations.

(This is where I add that I wish I knew the IDW boys better. I’ll get there someday)

14) Mmm I actually really liked 03 and 07 Splinter. Wise, tired dads with good character designs. And yes I also like Rise Splinter (again, complex and multi-faceted and you have to actually pay attention to get the payoff of his own character arc. It was refreshing to see the Sensei also experience growth even tho he’s an old man).

15) Favorite April is also absolutely 03 and Rise. Fierce ladies who will absolutely put themselves on the line for their turtle friends in very upfront ways. I did also enjoy 07 April but just didn’t get as much time with her as I would’ve liked. That movie had a lot of sequel or spin-off tv series potential but alas.

16) Casey… is harder for me to answer. But tbh I really like IDW Casey, and I also love Casey from Rise bc it was such a different take on the character. I don’t remember too much about 03 Casey as far as personality so eh. He was there but doesn’t stick out as strongly to me.

17) RISE SHREDDER IS PEAK, YOU CANNOT PRY THAT PLOT AND INCREDIBLE DESIGN FROM MY SILLY LITTLE GRIP

18) Mmmm… favorite Villain… I mean Shredder is the classic but I think I really like the Kraang in Rise bc they’re actually scary in the sense of the power they hold. But I also liked Superfly in Mutant Mayhem, he was interesting. I need to keep reading and watching other series to get to know the other villains better. XD Bishop is a good one too

19) Favorite ally… gosh this one is also hard to answer bc I don’t know many of them well enough yet to give an opinion. For now I will say Casey Jr from the Rise Movie

20) THEME SONGS. I will always love the 03 theme it was MADE for the era is was airing in 🤣 the Rise one also slaps. But tbh I think TMNT has stayed pretty consistent in having good soundtracks and theme songs throughout time ✌🏻

21) Favorite story arc isssss also hard to answer. Again I didn’t have cable to I never got to finish arcs and see them out from start to finish. And Rise was too short to have anything more than “Growing into being heroes and defeating Shredder” arc into “traumatize every single one of them down to their bones and almost kill Leo right in front of me and my salad” arc for the movie. 🪦 and in 03… I also never saw enough of it to fully finish arcs either. I’m sorry I’m a fake fan 🫡😂

22) My favorite pizza is Hawaiian and when I found out Rise Leo liked it too I actually yelled 🤣

Okay I will answer the rest later! 💙💙💙

In honor of TMNT's 40th Anniversary, here are 40 questions for people to send you about TMNT!

~~ Background ~~

1.) What was your first exposure to TMNT?

2.) What was your first exposure to [TMNT iteration]?

3.) What was your first impression of [TMNT iteration]?

4.) When did you become a fan of TMNT?

5.) Which iterations are you familiar with?

6.) Do you own any TMNT merchandise?

~~ Favorites ~~

7.) Which iteration is your favorite?

8.) Which turtle is usually your favorite?

9.) Who is your favorite version-specific turtle?

10.) Which version of Leonardo is your favorite?

11.) Which version of Raphael is your favorite?

12.) Which version of Donatello is your favorite?

13.) Which version of Michelangelo is your favorite?

14.) Which version of Splinter is your favorite?

15.) Which version of April is your favorite?

16.) Which version of Casey is your favorite?

17.) Which version of the Shredder is your favorite?

18.) Who is your favorite villain?

19.) Who is your favorite ally?

20.) Which theme song is your favorite?

21.) What is your favorite story arc?

22.) What is your favorite kind of pizza?

~~ Fandom ~~

23.) What is one of your favorite TMNT fics?

24.) What is one of your favorite TMNT fan comics?

25.) What is one of your favorite TMNT AUs?

26.) What is one of your favorite pieces of TMNT fan art?

27.) What is something you love to see in TMNT art/fics?

28.) What is one thing you would like to see explored more in TMNT art/fics?

29.) What is one headcanon that you have?

30.) What is one common headcanon that you reject?

31.) What is one piece of TMNT canon that you dislike/ignore?

~~ For Artists/Writers ~~

32.) What was the first thing you've made for TMNT?

33.) What is your favorite thing you've made for TMNT?

34.) Which character do you write/draw most often?

35.) Which character relationships are your favorite to write/draw?

36.) Which character do you have the hardest time writing/drawing?

37.) Do you write/draw for one specific iteration, or multiple?

38.) Do you generally stick close to canon, or diverge from it?

39.) Do you have any TMNT OCs?

40.) Do you give the turtles tails?

[theromanticscrooge]

Thinking About Writing a Sims Retrospective...

I started playing The Sims when I was 11 years old. The original game was at the end of its run. So, I had access to pretty much all of the packs and gameplay. Rosebud was a godsend for unlocking the fun gameplay immediately. I remember having little pixel people making out on a bear rug in a log cabin while nervously looking over my shoulder to make sure my dad wasn’t watching. There was another time when I used an external editing program to try and recreate the Teen Titans from the 2003 animated series with a horrible air-brushed, MS Paint-esque result. Of course I showed my friends because I was proud of my jerry-rigged custom content. Beast Boy ate turkey because “there weren’t many vegetarian options.” Every meal option, outside of some buffet options, Makin’ Magic spells, pizza, or microwaved Hungry Man looking lasagna, was salad. A very pathetic looking salad.

The most in-depth game play I really remember doing was trying to work a Sim up the celebrity star ranks in Superstar. When I revisited this expansion 20 years later, I seriously questioned how much patience I had for certain aspects of this game when I was younger. In the most recent go I had at a celebrity Sim, I managed to get him as far as 3.5 stars before I went “fuck it” and started grinding for the materials needed to achieve the Instant 5 star celebrity Makin’ Magic spell. Within the next day, my Sim was decked out in a cowboy-inspired fit with gaudy tassels on his coat and the coveted star floating above his head.

I’m nostalgic for this game. And when I can actually get the original Sims to work, I embrace how janky some elements are and engage with gameplay as if it’s still the early aughts.

I’m an older Sims fan. I only play Sims, Sims 2, and Sims 3. There’s been a few Sims 4 packs that seriously tempted me, especially the Paranormal one. So...I have this ridiculous itch to see how a Reigen Arataka Sim would handle a Bonehilda that’s more interested in finding a booty call than housework. But I’m not so tempted that I’ll overlook EA’s list of scummy, money-grubbing moves: making a DLC that requires DLC, divvying up gameplay into smaller and smaller game packs than any previous iterations, releasing content day 1 riddled with bugs to the point its unplayable and refusing to fix anything. 

After seeing Reckowski make a retrospective and news about Project Rene, I’ve been debating whether or not I want to make my own retrospective video on The Sims. It’s either a Sims retrospective that’ll resurrect my YouTube shenanigans or a “Is Reigen Arataka sexy?” video and the latter has been harder for me to write anything other than an unfinished essay for thus far, hahah. And honestly, I think retrospectives from older Simmers are a good idea period. Younger players deserve the depth and variety of gameplay that older Sims games hinted at having. It’s more than possible now. I have good reason for being cautiously optimistic about Life by You and the development around Paralives.

Granted, I’m also hoping Sims 5 crashes in a fiery, spectacular mess similar to what Sim City did in 2013. So, I’m not sure if I’m the best person to make that kind of starry-eyed, rose-tinted glasses video when I also just want to carve up EA’s micro-transaction nonsense like a crazy person carving up a turkey with a chainsaw.

[goldenspecter]

Once again, I am wishing Rise fans can praise the movie without insulting/demeaning other iterations of TMNT. It's absolutely frustrating, as a fan of all the iterations plus Rise, constantly seeing people go "Rise did the Raph/Leo fight better than other where it's not just "Who's a better Leader/Leader" fights!" when not that's not the case. Rise didn't do it 'better' than the others, they just made it much more explicit, without using leadership as the framing of the fight, but the other iterations are not actually fighting about Leadership.

(Hell, I would even argue I'll argue the others were very clear about it too, fans just didn't care to pay attention to the text of canon and just walked away from it as "Raph and Leo fighting about Leadership, again”)

Let me explain what I mean, Raph and Leo in other iterations do fight quite a bit, yeah sure, but they are not fighting about “who should be leader” but the thing they are arguing about is painted with the framing of 'leadership/I'm the better leader.' Hell, Raph and Leo argue often because they are both the same people, but who have different approaches to the world, and the fact that one of Raph's roles in the franchise itself is to balance the team, especially Leo and call him out on his bullshit/hypocrisy.  Ignoring the contexts of these fights and just trying to frame these fights as just being about “who the better leader” heavily negates the fact the importance of Raph's role and make it sounds like Raph is being an asshole and arguing just for the sake of it and ignoring the very valid points they made. Not to mention, it also negates that TMNT, as a franchise, has attempted to tackle bigger ideas for a long time and makes other versions sound juvenile and childish with these fights being incorrectly boiled down to "Who's the better leader."

2003 TMNT has a great, the best example of this, with the City at War. The context for those who don't remember/haven't watched it: because of the Turtles defeating Shredder earlier in the season, there is now a power vacuum with the Shredder being absent and various gangs/mobs are trying to fill that vacuum.

Leo and Raph are split on what should be done. Leo believes they are responsible for innocent people being hurt in the crossfire of gangs vying for power since this was a consequence of them defeating the Shredder and that they should do something about it. Raph on the other hand, does not agree with this take, believing that they had done their part and they don't need to be involved any further.

Raphael: Are you out of your green gourd? We did the city a favor.

Leonardo: Did we? Did we really? [The other two turtles arrive.] Raph, don’t you see what’s going on up there? This city’s at war. Don’t you feel just a little bit responsible?

Raphael: No. It’s not our deal.

Leonardo: It is! Even if we didn’t mean to make things worse, we did. [Donatello and Michelangelo look at each other.] Don’t ask me to explain how, but it feels like our fault.

-City At War, Part One

This facet of their fight continues for the rest of the 3 episode arc, with Raph constantly protesting that this situation they are now in was something they should never have gotten involved in, and Leo constantly upholding that this was the right thing to do. The idea of Leadership or who would be the better leader had never come up once during that arc. 2003 Raph just never cared for leadership. He had no reason to fight for it, however, the few times he does fight with Leo, it is not about leadership or who would be the better leader. It is their morality that is being put up for conflict and their ideologies/worldviews clashing.

Regarding 2007, I am very certain many people forget that at this point in time, EVERYONE thought that Leo abandoned Raph, Donnie, and Mike. Like point blank period. Leo had no intention of returning; his brothers were seen to be lost without him and had no way to move forward without him. Especially Raph, who gets frustrated that Leo refuses to get to know the three boys who have CHANGED and GREW during the time he was gone and expected them to fall back in line as they did as younger teenagers. It became even more unfair and frustrating on Raph and the others’ end that Leo, who abandoned them, comes back and tries to upend something that no one else was doing, without refusing to understand WHY it was going on and refusing to share empathy.

During the year that Leo was gone, they were all FORCED to grow up without a big brother by their side, in ways that drove them apart and it wasn't healthy for them, but they were still growing. Leo doesn't put in the WORK to get them back together so they can all work to grow together as a team, in a more healthy manner so I think Raph has every right to be frustrated with Leo at that point, who unironically expected them to regress to a version of themselves that he knew before HE left so he can lead them without being empathetic.

Raph: You are so smug, you know that? You think the world revolves around you, don't you? We couldn't survive without the mighty and powerful Leonardo to guide us through our problems. Well, I got a news flash for you: We got along just fine without you.

Leo: Oh, and this qualifies as "just fine"? Dressing up like it's Halloween every night? Risking the safety of our family? I mean, come on, what were you thinking?

Raph: Don't push it, Leo. You can't leave and come back....expecting us to fall in line like your little soldiers.

Leo: Hey, I was training. Training to be a better leader, for you. Why do you hate me for that?

Raph: And whoever said I wanted to be led? I'm better off calling my own shots now. Get used to it.

Leo: You aren't ready. You're impatient and hot-tempered. And more importantly, I'm better than you.

Yeah, Raph also makes mistakes(him being reckless, and possibly putting himself/the family in danger with the Nightwatcher persona), but Leo's are just as egregious. Yes, leadership is used as a way to frame this fight, but ultimately, that is NOT what the original fight was about.

For the IDW Turtles: Raph has gotten onto Leo's case multiple times for things that could possibly endanger their family as well as Leo's hypocritical nature that Leo has. There are too many examples to pinpoint just one.

For the Bayverse films, Raph and Leo don't even argue/have major arguments in the first one. Hell, Raphael is the one who encourages his two younger brothers to follow after Leo when Donnie is about to question Leo's orders.

Leo:Yeah. Let's play Buck-Buck.

Donnie: But why would we...

Raph No. We do what Leo says. Lead the way.

I'll focus on the second one. The fight here was not about "who would be the better leader," it was NEVER about that. This fight here, was about Leo's awful actions as both a leader *and* older brother, the MAIN thing being his deception to Raphael and Mikey about the purple ooze and how it could turn them human, how he forced Donnie to take part in said deception and not allowing them to have a say in the matter. Leo revoked both Raphael's and Michelangelo's autonomy to make such an important decision that affected all of them, as well as the fact he considered his own vote to be superior of them all.

Raph: Pop quiz. What are the three most important traits of the ninja?

Leo: Speed. Stealth.

Raph: And honor. Where's the honor in keeping secrets from your brothers? Leo: I don't know what you're talking about.

Raph: So now you're adding lying to the list.

Leo: If you're referring to what Donnie told me about the purple ooze, it's called "compartmentalization of information."

Raph: If there's even a chance that ooze can make us human...

Leo: We're turtles, whether you like it or not.

Raph: It's not about what I like, it's about what people up there are willing to accept.

Leo: True acceptance only comes from within.

Raph: Don't give me that fortune cookie muck! You should consult with us before you decide to do something like that!

Leo: I consulted Donnie. And we decided...

Raph: And what about Mikey? He don't get a vote?

Leo: There's only one vote that counts in this family! Mine!

This superiority and arrogance that Leonardo feels about himself has been called out not only by Raphael but also by Splinter and his other brothers, and had constantly proved itself to be detrimental to Leo at multiple times in the film. But again, this fight was not about ''who could be the better leader."

The only time Raph really fought with Leo over leadership was 2012, and the fight itself wasn't even initially about leadership but rather the execution of a plan, but then actually BECAME about leadership/who would be the better Leader.

Leo: We'll take Snakeweed from above. Tie him up in the clotheslines. Come on.

Raph: That'll take forever, and we have to stop Snakeweed now! I mean, he's kidnapping people.

Mikey: Not just people, people who bring pizza.

L.eo: We take him from above. Let's move!

Raph: And the award for worst leader goes to-

Leo: How am I the worst leader?

Raph: If we did this my way, Snakeweed would be toast by now.

Mikey: Ugh. That'd be some nasty toast.

Leo: This way would've worked if you hadn't wasted time second-guessing my orders.

Raph: Don't give bad orders, and I won't second-guess 'em.

Leo: You know what, Raph? If you think you could do better, why don't you lead?

Raph: First good idea you've had all day.

There’s also the the S4 episode “Riddle of The Ancient Aeons,” where the fight is about leadership/has the framing of leadership, but was in truth about something much deeper, see here:

Leo:Bummer? Look what happened to their world. You have about as much sensitivity as a rabid dog.

Raph:Look, just because you're leader doesn't mean you have to get into everyone's face.

Leo:Don't start on that leader thing again, Raph. You've always been jealous of me.

Raph:Jealous?! [April and Casey hold him back.]Maybe that's because you were always Splinter's favorite!

[He lunged toward, sais in his hands. Leo urged him a deep hug which suddenly calm Raph down.]

Leo:Raph, I love you, bro.

Raph:Leo, I-I'm sorry. I don't understand what's going on.

Rise didn't do anything "Better" they just made the argument much more explicit without the "who would be a better Leader" thing as a cover, the frame, or the crutch for it. To constantly paint each an every fight that Leo and Raph have as "Who should be Leader/I'm the better leader" is disingenuous at best and downright deceptive at worst to the other iterations, especially when many have neither: a. seen the previous iterations, b. don't understand the actual context that was presented, or c. both.

Before anyone comes into my notifications and tries to argue with me that I'm saying ''you can't make comparisons to other iterations" when no, I'm not. You absolutely can make comparisons, but making comparisons and framing them to make it as though Rise was the first to do something is not fair to neither Rise nor the other iterations that laid down the stepping stones that built up to Rise.

[laziarteest]

Ellie Rants About TMNT 2012

It took approximately three years, but I’ve finally watched every episode of this cartoon. I didn’t expect it to take me that long, but I got distracted. I didn’t expect my feelings to turn quite so sour towards the end, but.... Well I’ll cover that when we get to it. If you’re familiar with the show or saw my other posts, you might know what I mean. Gonna do my best to avoid comparing the show to any of the other iterations of the series since I feel like each one should be able to stand on its own.

So if you’ve been around on my blog since 2018, you might remember that I started watching this version of TMNT on a whim because hulu was working while Netflix wasn’t. Up to that point my knowledge of the franchise basically consisted of a tiny handful of episodes from the 1987 and 2003 cartoons that I’d happened to see one way or another, the fact that it was crazy popular in the 90s, and a couple fun facts that my dad would share. That meant that this was going to be my first time watching a TMNT cartoon from the beginning and trying to get invested in what was happening. I made it as far as partway into season 4 before I dropped it. It can’t have been long after Trans-dimensional Turtles. When I decided to watch all of the 2003 cartoon recently, I figured I might as well revisit the 2012 cartoon afterward since it was the show that got me interested in the first place. Instead of picking up where I’d left off, since I couldn’t remember where that was, I decided to just go back to the very beginning and watch it all again. It’s somewhat unfortunate that they decided to do 3D models for the animation, in my opinion, since when it comes to the way the show looks, it’s definitely going to age pretty poorly in the long run. Though the stylization of the models does help somewhat.

Season 1: I might as well get this out of the way early. Pretty much right away, Mikey tends to be treated fairly poorly. I don’t know if they intended him to come off as annoying or if it was just a side effect of trying to make him appealing for very young kids, but he tends to get on my nerves. I don’t hate him, but he’s by far my least favorite turtle. So if there’s an episode where the entire conflict happens or is exacerbated because of Mikey, there’s a good chance I don’t care for that episode, or at the very least that parts with him in it. The problem is that I desperately want to like Mikey because I know he can be done well. He just tends to not be. Thankfully the first couple episodes, the two-parter Rise of the Turtles, that start off the series are pretty enjoyable. They’re the whole reason I stuck it out as long as I did, I just liked those episodes that much. From that point I feel like the quality tends to fluctuate a bit. Episodes that contribute directly to forwarding the plot tend to be pretty solid. Anything else in between ranged between really good and meh for me. Anything to do with romantic relationships was definitely off-putting. It didn’t bother me as much the first time I watched these episodes, but revisiting them more recently, Donnie tends to be pretty creepy about April, and it’s slightly spoilery, but the thing between Leonardo and Karai is super squicky once you know the twist. Looking past these issues, I generally had a good time with these episodes. The problems were there, but were usually contained to just a couple episodes here or there. Season 2: When it comes to looking at the big picture, this season is one of the better ones. Dare I say, it could be my favorite? There were definitely some throwaway episodes, but there was also a lot of really cool stuff. Casey Jones shows up for the first time, we get some conflict between the turtles and April, got some good Leo moments in Fungus Humongous, the Rat King appears.... Lots of good episodes. Really like the finale. Plus there were some Mikey episodes that I didn’t tune out of because his childishness and randomness was actually useful a few times. One thing that was slightly annoying as soon as I noticed was that Leonardo’s voice actor got replaced partway through the season. I know why they did it, but it was still odd once I noticed. The guy filling in did a pretty good job at first, it wasn’t until a couple episodes into his run that I noticed some of his line deliveries felt off. Otherwise I don’t have a ton to say about this season? It was good. Some of the issues from before are still here, but they’re not really going to go anywhere for a while, if at all. Season 3: I’ve heard people tend to like this season? I’ll admit I found the first half with the farmhouse to be really fun. Any time they shake up the setting and let you look at something other than just city streets is usually a good time. Plus since I’m very biased towards good Leonardo content, watching him try to recover and deal with some internal strife was a good time for me. I will say that the episode A Foot Too Big gets a mixed reaction from me though. It was good to see Donnie realize he’s been really gross about his feelings towards April, and it would have been nice to see him get let down gently and they just be good friends instead. But then she had to go and kiss him and ruin the whole lesson. Speaking of Leo again, he also got his new permanent voice in this season. I wasn’t expecting them to attempt to give a reason for the change, but I guess Seth Green’s voice was different enough they felt an explanation was necessary. The voice took a while to grow on me, but I think he usually did a really good job. The second half of the season was a little more hit or miss for me. Most of the episodes were at least okay, but anything dealing with Karai felt like they were just retreading old ground that they forgot to cover earlier or didn’t have time for but wanted to use anyway. Especially since the resolution is so quick. At least there were some time traveling shenanigans with Renet. I understand that it would be really easy to overuse her since time powers are kinda OP, but I wish we got to see more of her. I sort of wish the build up to the finale was a bit smoother though. The previous two seasons did a pretty good job of setting up for the story of the finale episodes and then having the following season pick up right away from where they leave off. This time though it just drops the story in your lap with no foreshadowing. The first time I watched the show it didn’t bother me, but the second time through it caught me off guard how the Triceratons just come out of nowhere and are suddenly a world-ending threat. Sure the finale was very exciting, just wish it had been telegraphed better. I saw another post where someone mentioned they should have had Bishop show up earlier in the season, and I definitely agree that would have helped. It just sort of felt like they didn’t know they were going to be doing a space arc until they got to the last three episodes of the season and realized they hadn’t set anything up for season 4. While the high points of this season get pretty high, I think the low points go low enough for me to still prefer season 2, but if you can ignore a few stupid sideplots, it’s fairly solid and fun to watch. Season 4: Alright! Here we go! The season that probably should have been the last one and is where I originally dropped the series back in 2018! The first half of the season was... interesting? Like season 3, it takes place in a different setting. Most of the first 13 episodes take place either on a space ship or an alien planet. To me it felt like they tried to juggle too much. While there is a coherent story, it takes a lot of breaks that don’t really contribute. There’s an entire episode that just gets undone by the end, so aside from wanting to include Wyrm, it didn’t really need to be there. Looking at a list of episodes, there’s at least one episode I can’t remember at all, and I watched it like two days ago. And as fun as Trans-dimensional Turtles is, it doesn’t really contribute much in the long run either. Though I still like the episode. I’d say things pick up after the space arc, but for me the second half still felt fairly weak for a while. Shinigami seems really cool, but we never really learn more about her beyond the fact that she knew Karai when she lived in Japan. City at War didn’t really feel like the city was at war. Some of the stuff with April and her crystal was kinda fun though. Got some cool fights out of it. I wanted to like the episode with Alopex, it just seems like a waste to have alluded to her before and then she finally shows up, fights a little, and then we never see her again. Splinter sure did take a lot of abuse this season though, hoo boy. I got spoiled on it ahead of time, but geeeeez I did not expect some of the things they put him through. I’d possibly have to watch it again to be sure, but I thought Owari would have been a really good place to end things. It was somewhat bittersweet, but in the end they beat Shredder. The guy that just wouldn’t give up. More so than the previous ones, season 4 feels like a mixed bag. It had a handful of really great episodes, and then a whole lot of episodes that you could probably skip and not be missing anything. Mostly by this point, the one thing that kept me going aside from wanting to know how it ends was the fact that the look of the show had improved. It was still the same CG, but the composition of the shots and the choreography of the action scenes looked a lot higher quality. My dad kept commenting on how the background music was really good towards the end. Season 5: Also known as Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This one... I have VERY mixed feelings on this one. The idea of doing multiple smaller story arcs seemed like a decent idea. Some of them I thought were entertaining, but one of them. One of them I loathe. The first few episodes leading up to End Times were whatever. Not good, not bad. Passable. I thought bringing Shredder back AGAIN was overkill, but it was fine with the way it worked out. I’d prefer if this arc didn’t happen because why was Tigerclaw so gung-ho about reviving this asshole, but it’s fine if you just want to see some neat action. The episodes with Newtralizer were, again, okay. I wasn’t really curious about what had happened to him or Dregg, but it was fine. Nice to see Mikey actually be competent and not get beaten up for saying something dumb for the 47th time. The crossover with Usagi Yojimbo was pretty fun. I’m not terribly familiar with the source material, and it felt a bit rushed at times if only because they had to resolve the whole plot in only three episodes, but I had a good time and it made me appreciate Usagi’s character more. Lone Rat and Cubs was the only standalone episode, and honestly, I wish they’d done more to show the turtles when they were younger. Would I want an entire series about them being toddlers? No. But would I want two or three more episodes about single dad Splinter raising 4 rowdy boys? Yes. Probably my favorite episode of the whole season. Then we get to the arc that left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Looking into it after the fact, this arc was apparently supposed to be the series finale. And I’m so glad it wasn’t and Nickelodeon made it non-canon. This arc is so depressing and it contradicts canon so badly. The Mutant Apocalypse arc is so terrible. I’m sorry if you happen to like this arc, but I hate it. Not only does it do wrong by all the characters, it doesn’t even properly explain everything that happened. My hatred for this arc is the whole reason I’m even making this post. So there was a Mutagen Bomb? Where did that come from? How did it affect the whole world? Why did it turn everything into a desert instead of making it look like Dimension X? Was it a different kind of mutagen? Why is everything Mad Max now??????? How did Raphael lose his memories? How did he grow a beard??? We’re told that Donatello’s body was near death, so he moved his mind into a robot. But how did he manage that? How is it that Casey, April, Karai, Shinigami, Slash, Mondo Gecko, etc seemed to have either died or just gone missing. That’s a lot of beloved characters to just decide are irrelevant. Yet Ice Cream Kitty is somehow fine??? Mikey can grow hair and is a crazy hermit?? I was already angry enough about what they did to the other three brothers, but then they show what happened to Leonardo and any hope I had of this arc being okay just dropped dead in front of me. They did this boy so dirty. They did all four of them soooo dirty. The only decent thing to come out of the arc were some okay visuals, but that’s not enough to overcome my contempt for this story. I just cannot properly express how distressed this story made me. AND THEY WANTED TO SHOW THIS TO KIDS? At least since that wasn’t the finale anymore, it got to be followed up by another story with Renet. This story is honestly pretty dumb, but it’s at least harmless in its stupidity. Maybe it’s because Raphael wasn’t around to punch Mikey for being stupid, but I actually found Mikey to be a welcome bit of comic relief for once instead of the annoyance he usually was prior. I think the most obnoxious part about Savanti Romero returning the way he did was just that it got so much wrong about the monsters, but I can overlook it since most kids probably aren’t well read enough to be familiar with Dracula and Frankenstein as they are in the novels. Plus Raph being a vampire was probably funnier than it should have been. Still wish we could have gotten more Renet content earlier on, but what ya gonna do. Then finally it ends with one last crossover with the ‘87 turtles. I wish we could have seen more of the 1987 dimension since it looked like the animation quality had gotten better since the last crossover episode. I think Trans-dimensional Turtles was the better crossover though. Maybe it was because of the shorter runtime, but it seemed like the ‘87 turtles were more competent in that one than here. I know I said at the top that I wanted to avoid comparisons, but it gave me Turtles Forever vibes the way the 2012 turtles were boasting about being better. Why can’t these turtle boys just get along Though I did think it was pretty fun how Bebop and Rocksteady got to save the day. Overall though? Season 5 is kind of a disappointment. I knew to expect that going in since I’d read all about how this show got screwed by the network, but I didn’t expect my opinion to go as low as it did. Out of the whole season, there’s really only a few episodes I would ever consider revisiting. An unfortunate way to end a series that was otherwise pretty great.

So after watching the whole thing, I’d say if you haven’t seen it before, but still want to after potentially getting spoiled, you should really stop after season 4. You could probably pick and choose from Tales if you really wanted to, but Owari was already the perfect ending. I know I complained a lot, but aside from that last season, I really did have a lot of fun watching the show. It might not be my favorite version of the turtles, but it is the one that introduced me to the franchise, so it’ll always be special.

BONUS Half-Shell Heroes: Blast to the Past: It’s a goofy toy commercial. Has some really cute flash animation. It’s not canon or anything, but I did watch it. Not much else I can say lol

[we-rate-tmnt]

I request: Leonardo. Please and thank you 🙏.

Idk if everyone loves Leo or if my header and avatar just remind everyone about this amazing blue boy. (This one’s super silly btw. I’m just sillier as time goes on. Character development I guess?) 

The iconic leador Leonardo (1987)

Bro idk why but I loved this Leo. I have a tiny memory, especially with this version but I clearly remember that I thought he was the funniest and the coolest. I mean, he had swords, what was I supposed to do as a 7-year-old. NOT like him??? Anyway, while Raph was the best at insult comedy, I think Leo had the best puns and punchlines. I really like how nonchalant this Leo is compared to his iterations, going along with really silly ideas and having fun along the way. But because of this, his leadership is a little forced at times, he seems like such a chill and fun dude that when he gets serious, I have to squint and ask ‘are you Leo? Or were you just putting on act a moment ago?’ Or my perception is entirely warped over time. Either way, good turtle boy, could have used some work tho. 5.7/10

Here comes grumpy lad wooo this is all read very monotone btw Fearless Leader (2003)

What. What the fuck happened. I was actually so confused when Leo turned really angry and serious and almost manic. I thought that episode when he popped into Casey’s window and was like ‘Hey bitch lets go beat the shit out of some lowlifes’ I was WOAH THERE BUDDY BACK UP BACK UP BACK TF UP. It was so sudden to me and when it was finally explained, it made some sense??? Like yeah, character development is great an’ all but this ain’t it chief. I can’t imagine what it was like having to wait for these episodes to release one at a time. Bc I watched every episode back to back on Youtube and I was genuinely bamboozled. But when you have an experience like that where guilt is weighing down on you from a situation you couldn’t control, it would’ve been HELLA HELPFUL to have at least a flashback, like a line saying ‘I was so useless!’ at BARE MINIMUM. Like right after Shredder is booted off to Planet Zula, Donnie would notice that Leo didn’t seem all that happy and would ask why and Leo would get upset and yell at Donnie saying that ‘You wouldn’t understand’, ‘You don’t know how I felt, how I feel because of that’, etc. Like you don’t even have to say he felt guilty or helpless, just give us something to grab onto. We’re merely six-year-olds who thought they could climb the YMCA rock wall in easy mode but instead the script riders harnessed us up on the hard one and wouldn’t let us come down until we rang the little bell at the top. I think that is the only problem I had with his Leo. The sudden change of calm and decisive to angry and irrational was so jarring that it felt unnatural without that crucial context. If you want a surprise reveal, at least hint at the reveal (like just about every Disney movie with their ‘twist’ villains) not wait until the very last moment. I think this might be my least favorite Leo and I think the season where he stood out the most and seemed the strongest was Fast Forward (Which was GOOD FIGHT ME), especially in scenes with Dark Leo, his clone. He sees so much of himself in Dark Leo but he also sees something he had once grasped (AKA the poorly written character arc, I CANNOT stress how bad I thought it was). Although, I honestly think he’s a really good character and he’s a pretty neat guy. However, this score is entirely held up by Fast Forward and his connection with Usagi, sword bros to the end of time. 3/10 (2 for FF and 1 for Usagi)

And now a Leo that makes me genuinely feel UWU Leo (2012)

I cannot stress how much I like this guy! Like his design is so appealing, his dedication, his obsession with Space Heroes, like I FUCKING LOVE IT. And everyone knows, that shit with Karai, at first when they didn’t realize they were related, I can let slide but kajsdflksadf what even like why did the writers feel the need to add in more ‘love interest’ implications like yuck yuck yuck. The only two interactions with Leo and Karai that I really like are when Leo defeats her using the healing hands technique and when Leo has a goth/emo/punk/idk I’m new here phase and they team up and EXPLOSIONS. He was introduced to us as being incredibly naive and his idea of leadership is from some old cartoon that’s basically star trek but ethically questionable. After his fights in season 1, to the finale with the technodrome, you can see his growth. He’s able to formulate plans and make life or death decisions. BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE. When Leo got hurt, I felt like the oof sound effect mixed with some tears I normally shed at some Shojo manga bs. While the episodes following were super weird, it was a nice way to help Leo recover, not only physically but spiritually (Although I don’t remember the spirit arc at all except the epic Raph vs Fishface fight, so we’re skipping that). When Master Splinter really died, you could tell there was a huge impact on Leo, but he had to remain stoic and lead the family now. A lot of heartbreaking moments in this series came from Leo and I’m glad they took at least some thought into developing him. Tiny head Leo will haunt my nightmares, but the giggly fanboy will warm my heart constantly. 6/10

I only have one word for this Leo (Heroes in a Half Shell: Blast to the Past)

This is a super crazy bad idea accent on the super crazy bad part have I mentioned it’s also a really terrible idea/10

Okay, spoiler alert, didn’t really think this Leo was that grand Leo (2014/2016)

Painfully average. He didn’t stand out that much, Raph was part of the focus and had that touching scene at the end, Donnie was ICONIC and Mikey (with his weird-ass eyes) was super lively and funny! Leo? Uh, I don’t remember a single line he said. Because he never really grabbed my attention, I don’t have too much to say on this version. The Raph and Leo fight felt forced and the whole ‘keep this stuff that could turn us human a secret’ was pretty pointless and was added just to cause drama, I don’t even remember what that Splinter and Leo conversation was about. Design-wise, really neat! You can see some more traditional Japanese clothing/style mixed with modern (I’d feel a lot better about this assumption if some could tell exactly what the heck he’s wearing, but I get traditional Japan warrior vibes from it) in his look which was super neat! Other than that, if you like him, please tell me why because I don’t get. He was just kinda eh. 5/10

AHHH MY BOY YASSS WHOOO!! Neon Leon (2018)

Okay, I loved Ben Schwarts already from Parks and Rec but like him being Sonic AND Leo, like DUDE. He’s super funny by himself but teamed up with this shows writing and animation, it makes it hilarious. I literally love this Leo so much, maybe because we’re alike but honestly, he’s amazing. I love his design with the red and yellow crescents accenting his skin and livening up his color pallet. He has a very healthy and natural dynamic with his brothers, he’s the first to know what’s wrong and tries his best to make up for his actions. This is really prominent in the most recent episodes, along with the episode portal jacked. In both, Leo is separated from his brothers. Portal Jacked is in a more literal sense, while Air Turtle handles in more of an emotional sense. While both are brief, Leo sees his error and tries his best to make it up to them. I love his dynamic so much and it’s so nice to see something like this compared to the unnecessary drama and tension between the brothers in the previous series. It’s refreshing and this is something a younger audience needs to see; instead of fighting, it’s better to work together and improve yourself along the way. Improvement is a big theme for Leo here. He’s a goofball, makes jokes at every opportunity and isn’t quite skilled at fighting or using his weapon. But he grows over time, he learns to manage his power and he’s working on mastering it. He’s trying to put aside his narcissism more and focuses on his family. I think the approach they took with him rising to leader rather than slapping it on his forehead was the goddamn best decision they could make. He’s making plans, finding loopholes, helping out and getting out of his comfort zone. I cannot stress how well this show has handled Leo, along with the other characters. I can’t wait to see more episodes about his growth and I am awarding him with one of the greatest honors I could give... 10/10

Storytime: I drew a super cute 2012 Leo, you should look at him. Shameless self-promo, but you should follow me on my main blog bc I’m nice and I draw pretty pictures. Also. I have a little 2012 Leo Happy Meal toy??? I think??? guarding my window and he’s been there for YEARS. I need to bring him in and refresh his paint job.

Wow! I didn’t expect this many requests for Leo, so the blog will be momentarily spammed with the requests, but it shouldn’t be too much! Up next should be the last turtle (Mikey) and then we can get to some REALLY great requests I���m eager to answer. As usual, please comment and reblog! I’d love to hear your opinion!

[olderthannetfic]

Remember that time Jack had Daniel guard the corridor, he got shot, and Jack had to angstily leave him behind to die? BOY I SURE DO!

Stargate Atlantis was more of a crossover fandom that attracted fans from other parts of fandom following BNF fic authors, but SG1 was a big slash fandom before that and big at Escapade.

SG1 was so good for my kinks. I read all the fic where people die and come back because if it was great 45 times in canon, it’s even greater 450 times in fic.

The big slash fandom was, unsurprisingly, for Jack/Daniel in early seasons of the show. Many of the old fic sites are gone by now.

INCLUDING AREA 52?!?!?! NO ONE TOLD ME THIS WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED OH NO WHAT?????

(Proof that that thing that always happens in my tumblr notes when I post about fandom deletions also happens to me! Who wants to help me save Area52? I think there’s a way to get everything via the Wayback Machine.)

Truly the greatest Stargate vid of all is Fancy by Barkley, but like most good SG-1 vids (and unlike SGA vids, grrrr), there’s no streaming copy online.

Luckily, the second best vid is available streaming. (If you are suspicious that “best” means THE MOST OVER-THE TOP AND RIDICULOUS, you are exactly right!)

https://archive.org/details/rasputin_201903

Past Escapade panels include:

2001 - in search of good writing in SG-1 

2002 - Where's the Science in the Fiction? (Stargate has easily reachable aliens and worlds and tech, scientists eager to discover, and warriors ready to take all comers. Fanfic for other SF shows takes vistas like that and expands them, exploring the universe as well as the characters. Why do so much SG slash shrink the universe down to Cheyenne Mountain a a few houses?)

2003 - What's Wrong With This Universe? (When Bad Fanon Overcomes Good Canon. Do you ever wonder just what show some people are watching? Why people hate Jack? How Sam lost all her personality? When Teal'c became a professional yenta? And who is this pathetic guy going around calling himself Daniel? After 6 years the disjunct between who we see on screen and what we read in fanfiction is as bad as ever. What are the reasons that fans ignore the canon reality of the characters?)

2004 - Season 5-7 Does J/D still work? (In seasons I -3 there were little touches in almost every episode that suggested the J/D pairing, sometimes subtle, sometimes scripted. Starting in season 4 or 5, depending on your point of view, there was a definite change in the way the characters interacted. In the little time actually spent together this season, do we continue to see a pairing between Jack and Daniel? This is meant to be a discussion of whether it has gone more subtle and without saying or whether it is just not there anymore.)

2005 - Character Arcs in SG-1 (How has the SG-1 team changed? How are their relationships with one another different in seasons 7 & 8 because of those changes? Has Carter been turned into a damsel in distress? Will Teal'c ever get a life off the mountain? Does General Jack make you drool or cringe? And was Daniel better as a bookish geek in oversized clothes or as a t-shirt-wearing, ass-kicking hottie?)

2006 - Heaven and Hell (Religion - What's up with this? We're cool with the Ancients, and the Asgard are fun, but the Orii? Heaven and Hell, salvation and condemnation. Can they do this?)

2009 - What Now? (SG1 and Atlantis are now regulated to movies and Universe airs later this year. Where does fandom go from here?)

2011 - The End? (We were charmed by the original movie concept, many of us were fannishly enslaved by the first television series, others were entranced by Atlantis and some of us even tuned in for Universe. Are we ready to let the Stargate concept go or are we sitting on the edges of our seats, anxiously awaiting the next incarnation?)

2012 - Best Fan Fiction Recommendations OR Daniel Jackson: Messiah or Hopelessly Naive Idealist? (Come prepared to share some of your favorite stories or SGI sites, and while we're doing that, we'll discuss whether ascendance helped or hurt Daniel Jackson's already stellar reputation.)

2017 - Stargate: Classic Fandom Flashback (Free discussion for Stargate fans, old and new, in all its iterations.)

2018 - Stargate: Ten Years On (Stargate (SG1/SGA) were very popular with large and active fandoms. Now (a decade later) are they still going strong or are they slowly fading away? Without new content how is fandom keeping its forward momentum? Is it Netflix and Amazon or maybe fic (crossovers) that are bringing in fresh fans? Come talk Stargate, what you loved, what drove you crazy about it, and what do you want more of? Bring your story recs!)

Stargate: SG-1 on Fanlore

Stargate: SG-1 on AO3

Stargate: SG-1 on FFN

[theloniousbach]

50 Years of Going to Shows, Pt. 2: The Grateful Dead Universe

Part one of this series extrapolated from the conceit that the 9/4/19 Hot Tuna show here at the Sheldon Concert Hall also marked the anniversary of my Fall 1969 Johnny Winter concert that was my first rock show.  50 years!!   That segment was about those early concerts in KC (well, a couple of Dylan shows in St. Louis and then Chicago).  

The glaring omission from that note was the Grateful Dead (11/11-12/72; 6/16/74 Des Moines; and 10/28/77).  I propose correcting that with this entry that can take up 7/26-27/94 and 7/5-6/95 (shows 4 and 3 from the end) plus visits with The Other Ones, The Dead, Furthur, Dead and Company, various Phil Lesh and Friends iterations (including the Q 3 times, the Campbell/Greene band twice, another time with Campbell, and this past summer with an Allison Krauss sit in); Ratdog maybe 5 times; Weir and Wolf Bros; and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead to whom I’ve passed the torch.

This is a quite modest Deadhead roll call, but it does include 1972, a Wall of Sound, and 1977.  So I’ve been around long enough to have opinions.  

And I do have opinions.

1972–The 11/11 show was all we thought we were going to get.  A Sunday night show after them always missing us.  There was a rumor then, pure fiction it turns out, that they opened (?!?) for Iron Butterfly (#@%!) in KC before I got on the bus (1969ish?).  I was transfixed—the long unfolding two sets, pauses including for a cigarette puffs), the wide range of songs, the stacks of speakers and Macintosh amps even if it wasn’t quite officially a Wall of Sound show—but that’s all I remember.  Set lists say there was a Box of Rain.  

The second show got added and I was going to go no matter what—two school nights in a row.  And that one is better fixed in memory because of an Owsley Stanley tape that captures a sprawling Playing in the Band to close the first set.  I don’t need that tape to remember the Dark Star>Morning Dew, though being able to revisit it sure is a treat.  It was in fact huge though I was beside myself from the opening notes announcing that the adventure was beginning.  In the moment, I just knew it was happening and that was good enough then.  It is a big big one though with lots of space travel before settling into the Dew.  I turned grumpy about Dew but this one was magic then and now.  

1974–I couldn’t get anybody to go to Des Moines to see them that June.  My dad, actually, was up for the drive and camping (him staying in camp while I and the other Deadheads went to the afternoon outdoor show.  He had a draft dissertation to read which he left somehow but we got it back).  The key parts of this show (another Playing with a gnarly breakdown) were released officially as part of the Road Trips series honoring the Wall of Sound.  That was a sight though I thought I’d seen a version of it inside in KC.  Also a sight was Garcia’s chin and upper lip as he had reduced the beard to mutton chops for a very short while.  The second set was where the meat of the show was culminating in the Playing.  I experienced it at the time as meandering and anxious, without the tranquil spaciness of some of their explorations, but it’s just fine and part of the oeuvre as per repeated listening AND a much broader experience with their music.

1977–When Steal Your Face and then Blues for Allah came out, my enthusiasm was waning.  To this day, I’m a pre-hiatus fan with a real focus on 71-74 when Kreutzmann was the only drummer.  They were more lithe, exploratory, and dynamic.  Still a good friend told me I was going back to Memorial Hall for a late 1977 show, so I got part of that magical year.  And what stood out was 1977 slinkiness even though there wasn’t a Dancin’ in the Streets.  But Lazy Lightning>Supplication, Samson and Delilah, and Passenger all caught my ear.  It was fun, but I was not on the bus much.

The taping scene pulled me back in in the late 1980s, though I’d been intrigued by Lowell George of Little Feat producing Shakedown Street.  I suppose in some ways I am a secondary Touch Head, though Without a Net too was welcome.

I was on the periphery of the Brent Mydland era and actually found Bruce Hornsby’s interlude a real boost to the creativity, particularly Garcia’s. That was spent really by 1994 and 1995.  I went to both nights that they were in St. Louis on those summer tours.  Still I was glad to see the break outs and covers (Here Comes Sunshine, Take Me to the River), but they were going through the motions, keeping Garcia in tow.  It was fun, I'm glad, I'm went, they are memorable in a general sense, but I won't go play recordings.  1995 was the third and fourth shows from the end as they headed from here to Chicago.  Within 5 weeks, Garcia was dead.

It was about the party or, ahem, the cultural experience. I'm glad I got that too with the originals (and subsequent Furthur Festival/The Other Ones/The Dead/Furthur/Dead and Company shows in big venues were as much about that as the music), but an advantage of the end of the big machine is that the shows got much smaller.  The party was still there, but the music was closer. Also as I have aged, I've been willing to pay for better seats (to see Phil Lesh at Willie Nelson's Outlaw Festival this summer we even paid for premium parking.  Sheesh.) so that helps put the music to the fore.

So has couch touring—and that is how my concert gang and I saw the first night of Fare The Well—GD 50 from Levi Stadium in the Bay Area as well as the Friday and Sunday from Chicago.  We also saw a Phil Lesh Quintet reunion.  Being in real time, I count those as shows which indicates that experiencing the music live is what counts for me.

The GD Meet Up at the Movies don’t, but they do remind me that I like to be in the presence of those songs and their creators. And that has pulled me along so far to shows that have included at least Phil Lesh and/or Bob Weir.  I actually am a fan of Drums/Space and stay in my seat to watch the spontaneous magic happen, so having Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart along for The Other Ones, The Dead, and Dead and Company is just fine.  But those operations felt a little bloated.  They have to be in large spaces to accommodate the party, so the gestures are equally grand and the rituals are observed.  Furthur (Lesh and Weir’s operation) was a bit more nimble—one drummer, Joe Russo, and more flexible set lists.  But I saw them in a small arena (12 K) and The Fox Theater (almost 5 K), so those were big concert experiences.

Bob Weir is an indefatigable road warrior, sometimes when he shouldn’t.  St. Louis was an early stop of a Fall 2004 tour that was aborted.  But we got to see him and it was awfully good, one I return to.  It jammed into Jack Straw into the opening of a Terrapin that would be concluded in the second set and the rest of the suite in the encore into Dark Star (my first since 1972 and the only one of two more I saw in person, both from Ratdog) that concluded at the end of the set before back into Jack Straw.  The second set had Peggy O, The Winners, and Friend of the Devil for a can’t be beat acoustic interlude before firing up The Other One and Uncle John’s Band (its reprise after Terrapin proper closed the second set.  With the exception of Playin’, he rehearsed all the big tunes and was energetic and in good voice.  That one was a treat.

Ratdog was always fun, a solid band and a showcase for Weir’s quirkinesses which help make the GD experience.  I like many of his songs more than Garcia’s, excuse the heresy, but I confess that I probably haven’t given up being angry at him not just for being dead but for dying, for giving up which probably started in the 1980s.

Ratdog shows were chances to hear the songs and Weir’s take on them, including Garcia’s at the heart of the canon were always good to hear.  He brought most things into circulation.  The bands were not the all star configurations that Lesh’s were, but they were effective.  St. Louis shows reflected his connection with Johnny Johnson (a 2003 The Dead Show had Johnson and Willie Nelson jam on Little Red Rooster (overplayed over the years, but the way to do a 12 bar blues) and Lovelight that was historic).  After Johnson’s death, it was his horn section sitting in, usually for one of the big jam tunes.  A Dark Star stands out, but there must have been a Sailor>Saint or Eyes another year.

But it is Lesh who is the curator of the part of the universe that matters to me—the invention, the opportunity that any tune can unfold into a world of possibility.  That was most clear with the Q—John Molo, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, and Rob Barracco whom I got to see in their prime three times.  They played the big barn with Weir’s Ratdog to open in July 2001, with a Weir sit in to open set one.  The feature of that one was a Viola Lee Blues sandwich that wove out of that primal jam vehicle from the GD past four times with interludes of Lovelight, Tons of Steel, and Into the Mystic.  Lesh would pull out tunes that had fallen out of the rotation—Alligator and Doin’ That Rag that night, Caution with Furthur at the Fox, Cosmic Charlie with the Q that November, and Viola itself.  The Q revival Couch Tour show we saw had a Mountains of the Moon which suggested a potential (not developed) for that tune as a subtle jam vehicle just as it was the last night of Fare The Well.  They did Beatles tunes, Brent Tunes, Van Morrison.  The second show at the Fox for some reason doesn’t leap out as magical.  But the third one, also at the Fox, on what would have been Garcia’s 60th birthday was.  The first hour was Bird Song>Here Comes Sunshine>Not Fade Away and had me riveted.  The second set had Sunshine of Your Love and a transcendent Low Spark of High Heeled Boys with Haynes somehow capturing the piano parts on guitar.

My only quasi bit of touring was to run over to Indianapolis to see Lesh in a hybrid band of Molo and Barraco with Larry Campbell, Barry Sless on pedal steel, Greg Osby on alto, and Joan Osborne on vocals.  It was a hot hot day but good adventurous stuff.  The Peggy O  as a story with Lesh narrating, Osborne being the fair maid, Campbell as our captain was very cool.  Bertha, Viola, and Shakedown stretched things out too.

With the Molo/Larry Campbell/Jackie Greene/Steve Molitz band, I got to see the premiere of the Ritter Eyes of Horus bass.  A dark stage, the fretboard LED lights on, a solo into The Other One and then Truckin' made quite an impression.  It didn't have the heft/power of the Modulus instruments he used before and after (a possibly smaller one) and it was more striking then pretty, but it was a moment of GD lore that happened on my watch.  Those were two good shows with Campbell showing a range I hadn't expected.  He could dig into the jams whereas I thought he would be more of a Robbie Robertson fills and one chorus solos player. It was also fun to watch Greene grow.  It was like he went to grad school or maybe a post doc in that band.

I have seen Greene at least 5 subsequent times (Duck Room, Old Rock House twice (band and "acoustic," Delmar Hall, and as an opener for Gov't Mule).  He has tasty covers including but not exclusively GD ones and some damn good tunes.  It's good to see his efforts to extend the GD universe.

But I'm putting my money on Joe Russo's Almost Dead as where the legacy will reside.

I saw them earlier in the year and they strike me as not just a Dead cover band, but a PLQ cover band--anything can be jammed out, the tunes can be played in any order in any part of the set.  Russo is a dynamo of energy on drums and his alter ego Marco Benevento is an inventive player.  It's cool to see the varied opportunities the music presents.

My shows this year with Weir (the Wolf Bros trio) and Lesh at Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Festival felt valedictory.  Weir was an interesting disappointment in that his wonderfully idiosyncratic guitar was at the fore, but too often through a too thin toned D’Angelico Bedford guitar.  He had that jangled tone in Ratdog but it went away during Fare The Well and beyond when he used Fender Stratocasters. His voice too was thinner.  So, while I wanted to see him in the spare setting, I don’t need to do it again.

And, though I’m likely to succumb to peer pressure if Dead and Company comes to town, I don’t need that party.

So, I’m content to go out on the Phil and Friends set at the barn with Willie Nelson as my last time seeing an original member.  There was Molo once again, Jason Crosby and Stu Allen from the Terrapin scene, and a new other guitarist Cris Jacobs.  The set had Jack Straw, Brown Eyed Women, Sugaree, and a Cumberland Blues (a favorite) as the closer.  Eyes was the jamming tune, but so was Help>Slip>Morning Dew.  And what a Dew it was as Alison Krauss sang it as she did on To Lay Me Down.  Amazing and what a rare moment in the Dead universe.

Dead music is magical and so it has been for me right to this end.

But long live JRAD too.