Anticipation: TMNT 2012 Series

I often get asked what my thoughts are of Nickelodeon doing a new TMNT series.  This is a question I’ve pondered over the last year.  When I was a kid I watched both Nickelodeon and Disney growing up.  Jumping from Danger Mouse to Dumbo’s Circus.  Going from “You Can’t Do that on Television” to “The Mickey Mouse Club”.   These are things a lot of children did, there were not as many channels to choose from back then.  Kid shows were only shown during certain hours of the day and you took what ever you got.  Though surprisingly enough, Nickelodeon was a station I watched all the way back in the 1980s and I still watch today.

Personally, I cannot think of any series that I really hated that came from Nickelodeon or of a series that they ruined once getting the rights.  They got all sorts of different styles on their shows from Spongebob and Dora the Explorer for really young children, to game shows and Jimmy Neutron for kids with a little more attention span, to Iron Man and Wolverine and the X-Men for the older kids.  They even have some shows that transcends through ages to everyone such as Avatar: The Last Airbender.  These facts of their different styles tells me that we don’t really know where they’re going with Ninja Turtles, but one thing is for sure... they have many different skilled people who can take them in new directions.

Now what do I know about the new series?  I know what you know. If you’re someone who reads the press releases that come out and watch for the new stuff that is released online, you know as much as I do on the new show.  There has not been much shown to us. We’ve gotten the glimpse given in March 2011 of the CGI clips saying the new show is coming.  We found out about April being a teenager, The Turtles now having Three toes, and that Don starts off with a crush on April.   In July 2011, they held the Fan event at San Diego Comic Con.  Those who went got to see character designs and new toys.   And, of course, we also now know the cast of the Nickelodeon series.  I am no different from any other fan when it comes to sitting and waiting for something new to be shown to us.

I do have some hopes for the new series.  Things I hope to see are easy, I want to see an awesome Shredder who is Human.  I want to see character growth through the series.  I hope that Michelangelo is not just the comic relief.  I would totally love to see characters return to the series like Usagi.  And most of all, I want to see stuff we have not seen before to keep it interesting.  I am not looking for a copy of the original series, Next Mutation or the 4Kids series.  I want something fresh and new that will keep people guessing where they’re going with it and makes for a fun ride.

The rumored release date has been jumping all around as people have been saying February and March.  Though I would think that Nickelodeon would be pushing it a little more if they were being released that soon.  So I still feel that the release date is going to be this upcoming Fall.  If there is anything coming in March, it would not be the full series.

What we do know about March is the release of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Shell Shock ride.  Though that is another story for another day.

What are your thoughts, fears and hopes for the new Nickelodeon series?  Please feel free to comment below and take part in this conversations.