Throwback Thursday- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Happy Thursday everyone!

OK, so here's the plan: Every Thursday, I'm going retro. How better to start the tradition than with my favorite cartoon and toy line of all time, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I've got to say, when I was a kid, I had a lot of toys. I had a ton of Power Rangers and even more Ghostbusters. In fact, the Ghostbusters are a very close second to the Turtles. But there was just something about the Ninja Turtles that kept you coming back for more. They have you something to believe in, and something to root for.

I really got into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1989. At this point, the comic book has been long established, but the television series and the toy line are just starting to get hot. Let me just say, the toy line from Playmates, in my opinion, goes down as the most successful toy line in history. Why? Because here we are over 25 years later, and the two are still partnered. That speaks volumes to me. Not to mention, the toys were timeless. They were the most fun to play with, and the fact that there were so many different varieties made for endless fun, along with endless imagination.

You could start with your four standard turtles, then decide it's going underwater. Bust out your scuba diving turtles, and you are in business. The villain line was awesome as well. They had the complete roster of bad guys. If you were lucky enough to have a number of Foot Soldiers, you could really put together battles consistent with the TV show and the films. Of course, you fight Shredder at the end. You save the day, but only the day. You know ol' Shred-Head will be back for more tomorrow afternoon after school.

The only thing I didn't love about the toy line was the array of villains and allies that never actually existed in the show. I get it, Playmates needed to keep making money, but they could done more. I would have liked to have seen more heroes and villains from Dimension X. I think that would have been better than some of the absolute nonsense they came up with. I remember getting a few of them for a birthday one year. I thought the action figures were cool, but couldn't understand why they were in Ninja Turtle boxes. To be honest with you, I played with these oddball toys, but I actually never played with them AND the Turtles at the same time. I sent them on their own adventures.

Speaking of another confusing adventure, how can you forget the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle video game for the Nintendo? The year was 1989, the company, Konami. I remember my parents buying us this game. My brother and I were beyond excited to have it. Honestly, we could never get past the bomb stage. Apparently, we traded the game to my father's friend for a copy of Mario Brothers 3. I'm not sure if this was meant to be a permanent trade or not, but it ended up being so. Not that it mattered, we bought it a few years later at Funcoland and ended up with both games.

It's 2012, I still can't get past the 3rd level of this catastrophe. Between the re-generating enemies, lack of pizzas for energy, and electric freakin' seaweed, there was no way for a kid to get past it. I'm 25 now. I play the game on my Wii console, and I'm stick stuck. The game makes absolutely no sense. Almost none of the enemies in the game existed in the show, or even made sense. Leatherface is in the game, along with robots who heads fly, mini evil astronauts, robotic falcons, and men on fire. It's a game that I will always play, and always look back on with fond memories, mostly of being a kid in love with the turtles, but let's be real: this game is horrendous (as were most games on the NES). It's a huge letdown compared to the arcade version, which is probably the greatest arcade game of all time.

The next year brought perhaps the greatest Ninja Turtle moment of all time: A full length, live-action, feature film! I remember when my dad took me to see this movie at the late Commack Multiplex. In fact, I think I made him take me about 4 or 5 times. To this day, it is still one of my favorite movies. I don't care what anyone says. It was fairly true to the TV show, and was as much fun as any episode. It wasn't without a few flaws. There was no Krang, Bebop or Rocksteady, and April was missing her yellow jumpsuit. There was no Technodrome, and the story between Splinter and Shredder had been altered, but all in all, it was a fun watch. It still is! 

The 2nd movie was a lot of fun. As a kid, I actually liked it more. As an adult, I don't like it as much for the same reason: It is just too goofy. I know that sounds strange, considering the flick is about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but it was just too silly at times. It was almost as if the writers were trying to one up each one-liner with ANOTHER corny one-liner. It wasn't as dark, and the fight scenes weren't nearly as good. There was a reason for this, however. It had to do, mostly, with international distribution. Believe it or not, many countries overseas had declared the nunchaku illegal many years before the show even began. As a result, the show, as well as the first film, had to be completely re-edited in order to be shown overseas. If you notice, Michelangelo really never uses them. You hardly even see them!

We saw two new villains introduced in the movie, Tokka and Rahzar. Again, no Bebop and Rocksteady. No Casey Jones either! And who could forget the "Ninja Rap", courtesy of Vanilla Ice. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad movie. It's still a fun one to sit and watch, but it wasn't nearly as good as the first one. As an adult, it comes off a bit too fluffy for me. The one positive takeaway was an actress change for April. I always liked Paige Turco over Judith Hoag in the role. I think the animatronics were also better in this film. Makes sense, it was a little later, and the Jim Henson Company had the opportunity to build on what they already had.

Moving on without the Henson Company seems like it would be a mistake. It was, but it is the tip of the iceberg of problems with the third movie. This movie is so bad, it couldn't keep me entertained as a 6 year old. This is a true story: My mother rented the VHS for me the day I finished Kindergarten. It was a reward for doing a good job. I watched half the movie, turned it off and she returned the tape the next day. I didn't see the rest of the movie until two years ago. I had purchased the DVD box set during a Black Friday sale at Best Buy. I had the first movie on DVD, but not the second. The box set was actually cheaper than the regular DVD, so I figured, why not? The trade off was that I ended up with the third flick. It was as bad as I remember it being, and that's putting it lightly. I'm not even going to give it the courtesy of a review. Instead, I filled its space with an anecdote about Kindergarten and Black Friday deals to watch out for.

Now I must say, I did like the fourth movie from 2007. Despite that it was CGI, had an entirely different cast and was made 14 years after the third movie, I do consider it as a part of the series. Why? Because it picks up a few years after the third movie left off. It has all of your favorite characters, sans Shredder since he bit the big one in "Secret Of The Ooze". I thought it had its funny moments, while stayed dark and gutsy. The fight scenes were pretty good, and reminded me of the early TV show, before the censors and international distribution destroyed it. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out.

I said it earlier, the TV show was my favorite of all time. I have about half of the original series on DVD, and should have the collection finished by the end of the year. The early episodes were by far the best. They were funny enough to keep you laughing, and action packed enough to leave you wanting more. It was exciting to watch as a kid. In fact, you wanted to BE one of them .You wanted to be the hero and fight off the bad guys. I think that's what made the toys so much fun. You couldn't be a turtle, but you could still fight the good fight and create your own stories.

Like I said previously, the early episodes were much better than the later ones. I would say it was around Season Four when the show started to change. The weapon use was reduced, and in some cases, removed completely. Michelangelo's nunchakus were eventually removed and replaced with a grappling hook. I mentioned before how the second film differed from the first because of the censors and the risk of losing money is they couldn't show the film outside of the U.S. The same was said for the TV Show. In fact, in some countries, they are known as the "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles". Apparently, the word ninja isn't allowed to be used because of the violence associated with the game. But swords, bo staffs, and twin sai attacks are acceptable if used sparingly. Despite it all, the show had a successful 9 year run, ending in 1996.

Naturally, any successful TV show, toy line, comic book, etc, is going to been merchandised left and right. This franchise saw so many different foods, it was insane. Everyone who loved the turtles woke up to a cool bowl of Ninja Turtle cereal on the table. This stuff was the best. It was almost like sugary Crispix, along with marshmallows; a kids dream. I can still taste the stuff. You know you can't complete your breakfast before you take your Ninja Turtle vitamins though. Once you were done, it was off to your toys. The pudding pies were also a favorite. I remember many afternoons spent chompin' away at these while watching the show on TV. I could keep going, but honestly, there is just too much to talk about. These were the three things I remembered the most.

Dear Michael Bay, please don't ruin my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Alright, we all know that a new live-action movie is in the works. Honestly, I was excited when I heard that Michael Bay was attached to it. He did a great job with the first Transformers film, and I really believe he can make a dark, gritty Ninja Turtle movie. Not to mention, I love that it's taking the live-action route again. However, all of that came crashing down when he said that the story was being changed. They are no longer teenagers. Actually, they're really not even turtles anymore! They are aliens...aliens! They come from another planet, and are, more or less, warriors. He said he did it so that they would have a better back story. Last time I checked, their back story was pretty solid.

Could this be what the new turtles look like? Early rumors suggest they might.

He caught a lot of crap immediately, and took to the internet to tell everyone to calm down. In all fairness to him, we haven't seen it yet, and there isn't enough information out there to make a complete decision of how we feel. In all fairness to the fan boys out there (and myself as a bona fide fan boy), I think we have a reason to complain and be worried. My biggest question is how Splinter is going to play into this. There can be no Ninja Turtles without Master Splinter. Also, if this an alien planet run by overgrown animals and reptiles, or is it a planet consisting of Turtle-esque creatures, in which case, how is Splinter even there or involved.

Until we know more about it, I don't want to make a final determination. I'll wait until we know more, or at least until we see the movie. My only plea is that the film, characters, and franchise as a whole, doesn't lose its integrity or direction. I'm OK with a little change, as long as it makes sense in the end. Don't forget, the origins on Splinter and Shredder in the 1990 movie are different from the story in the TV show, and that worked out OK. I just hope that the movie stays as true to the original story as possible. And even if he does make a big mistake, it won't be the worst Turtle moment on film...

Nickelodeon

You may or may not know this, but Viacom acquired the rights to the Teenage Mutant Nina Turtle franchise, and is releasing a new TV Series this Fall. It will be CGI, and star Sean Astin and Jason Biggs. I've got to say, I'm kind of excited about this one. I think, from the early looks of it, that this generation of kids will be treated to a show that is fairly similar to what we grew up with. And you can't forget about Playmates either. They are releasing the toys, just like they did when we were kids. In addition to the new line of toys, they are also releasing a retro line. I'll be picking these up for sure. I've seen the early prototypes online, and they seem pretty impressive.


Hope you guys enjoyed this one. I look forward to more Throwback Thursdays. Hopefully, you do as well.

Off to eat some pizza.

-Sean
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Fenway Turns 100, and I miss Yankee Stadium

Fenway Park, Home Of The Boston Red Sox

 Today marks a historic milestone for one of the most historic facilities in professional sports. Fenway Park turns 100 years old today, and how better to celebrate than with an afternoon game against their rival, the New York Yankees. Now despite the fact that I am a die-hard Yankees fan (and the fact that I really hate the Red Sox), I have a true appreciation for Fenway Park. It's one of the few relics left that tells us a story every time we see it. Babe Ruth played there. Ted Williams played there. Mel Parnell played there. Carlton Fisk's home run in Game 6 of the 1976 World Series is one of the more recognized highlights in all of sports (along with Bucky Dent's, don't argue with me on this one).

It's also a symbol of "newer isn't always better". I think that the John Henry-Tom Werner-Larry Lucchino group should be saluted for their respect to the organization, the fans, and baseball as a whole. They've spent hundreds of millions of dollars repairing the old place, and it seems like Fenway is here to stay. Apparently, they were the only group of potential owners that were willing to keep the place going. Let me say this, I am a Yankees fan, and I have teams that I like, and teams that I don't, but I am a BASEBALL fan first and foremost. I am a true believer in hanging onto things that make the game what it is. There should be a certain bit of magic that comes with attending a game. Some parks offer a little more than that. Some teams do it by adding restaurants and shops, or fan plaza's, which is all well and good in this day and age. There are some parks that just give you a sense that you are somewhere special, which is more than any video arcade or over-the-top salad can do. Fenway can do that. Wrigley can do that. Yankee Stadium (the OLD Yankee Stadium) used to do that.

Every time I see Fenway on television, it makes me angry that Yankee Stadium is gone. Call be biased, but Yankee Stadium was the greatest ballpark on the planet. There were more historic, memorable moments at that stadium, than anywhere else. More legends played there, and it seemed like the ghost of legends past was always lingering. It started the minute you walked into the place: The smell of stale beer and hot dogs is something that I will carry with me forever. It was dark and crowded, and all you wanted to do was get to your seat. To me, this was the most magical part of going to Yankee Stadium: You walked through that dark tunnel, and all you could see was light. Once you got to the end, it was almost as if the world just opened up around you, and all of a sudden you are transported back in time. Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle are sending balls into the short porch. DiMaggio extends his hitting streak. Lou Gehrig refuses to sit down, all while Yogi and The Scooter are joking around.

The Old Yankee Stadium sitting next to the New Yankee Stadium

You knew you were somewhere special. You knew how important Yankee Stadium was. For me, it was a place I looked forward to going to for the rest of my life. The Yankees were all about tradition and legends, and there was no way Yankee Stadium would ever be taken down. I was wrong, and there isn't a day that goes by where I don't miss the old place. Is the new Yankee Stadium nice? Yes, it is. Does it have soul? No way. What the new Yankee Stadium has is padded seats and luxury boxes for those who can afford it. It has a wide variety of food options...on the field level. It has wider seats and aisles...on the field level. You can stand on line for food and not miss a bit of the game...on the field level.

The new Yankee Stadium does very little to cater to the blue collar fan. Now I can only speak for myself with certainty, but I think it's a safe assumption to say that I speak for the vast majority when I say, I can't afford those seats. I can afford to sit upstairs. Upstairs, you see the same 5 or 6 food stands over and over again. Upstairs, you can't see the field if you are standing on line. Funny thing about standing on line is that it hardly moves upstairs. We were told, "more options, shorter waits". Last time I was there, I spend 2 innings waiting for a hot dog and a soda. I could have done that in the OLD Yankee Stadium and have cared less because I was at Yankee Stadium. In my opinion, the seats aren't much wider, and the aisles are still on top of each other. The even figured out a way to ruin Monument Park! In the old stadium, you would walk slowly past the plaques of each retired Yankee. Once you finished that, you had to turn a corner which opened up into the beautiful Monument Park. Again, butterflies in your stomach. Now, you walk down a flight of stairs, and in no particular order is Monument Park. It's kind of thrown together in a, "Well, there it is, go look at it" mentality.

 Let's be real here, the new Yankee Stadium is for the business man, not the baseball fan. The proof to me was when people complained about the obstructed view seating in the bleachers, which the Yankee Organization had "no idea" would happen. It's architecture 101: If you build something moving forward, your view to the left and to the right WILL be blocked. Billions of dollars spend between designs and executions, and you're telling me that the designer didn't notice that? Give me a break. You just took your most loyal fans, The Bleacher Creatures, out of the game by blocking out half of the outfield. But that's OK, because they can enjoy the game inside the air conditioned Mohegan Sun Sports Club...all for an extra $110 ($100 if you buy them in advance).

Good for the John Henry-Tom Werner-Larry Lucchino group for fighting the good fight and keeping Fenway alive. Good for the Ricketts family for slowly improving Wrigley, yet keep it afloat. Those stadiums are special venues for a special game. Baseball is a game with heart and integrity. It's about history and triumph in the face of disparity. Baseball is THE American Past time. Baseball keeps up together. It gives us hope. It makes us happy and sad. It gives us something to root for. It's about acceptance and diversity. It's about Jackie Robinson who broke the color barrier, and Fernando Valenzuela who connected the Dodgers with the large Mexican community out in Los Angeles. We all played Little League, and we all dreamed of one day playing for our favorite team. It's that childhood innocence, the smell of your glove, and the will to win that keeps me coming back for more. Those two buildings remind us of that, and about a past era when baseball meant all of this. Yankee Stadium has no feeling anymore. It isn't inviting for the blue collar fan anymore. I miss the old Yankee Stadium, I really miss it.

*Disclaimer: This article, like any other, is strictly based on MY opinion. Some may agree and some may disagree. This wasn't meant to hurt any feelings or insult anyone, but this is the way that I feel.

-Sean
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Mr. Croft, meet B.O.B.

Sean Croft with B.O.B., 4/18/12

Good Afternoon All.

Well I suppose it's time I jump on the blogging bandwagon. Funny though, I actually created this blog a year ago. I had written a movie review for The Green Lantern, and I had talked about how much I liked the film. Then I saw the critic reviews and the fan reactions, and I decided to put it to bed for a while. Then, I more or less forgot about it. Maybe one day, I will explain why I actually liked Green Lantern, but until then, let me tell you the story of how I met B.O.B.

WBLI hosted a "Lunch With B.O.B." yesterday. I've attended a few of these events before, and have been pleasantly surprised with how nice each of the artists are. One of the best experiences I ever had was when I met Meatloaf. Everyone saw on "Celebrity Apprentice" just how much he cared about his charity, The Painted Turtle, and about people in general. We had a woman at the meet and greet who had been severely paralyzed following a stroke. Meat was her favorite singer. I'm not kidding you when I say that he must have spent 10 minutes with her exclusively after everyone else had left. He not only signed a number of autographs, but he stayed to take some pictures with her, and then surprised her with tickets to his show later that summer at Jones Beach.

 The misconception about celebrities is that they are all stuck up, and have no interest in being around their fans. This, at least in my experiences, could not be farther from the truth, especially in the case of B.O.B. I'm not kidding, this guy was a class act. He walked in the room and immediately started saying hello to people and thanking for being there. Syke did a great job hosting, and B.O.B. was a good sport about answering every question thrown his way, and has a fantastic sense of humor.

He performed a few songs off his new album, Strange Clouds, due out May 1st (check back here later that day for a review). After the show, he stuck around to sign an autograph and take a picture with every person there. The nice thing was that he never seemed to rush people through. He actually took the time to say thank you and engage them in a small conversation. He even signed a few autographs for people to take home to family and friends.

I was one of the last people to meet him. When he met me, he shook my hand and introduced himself. I introduced myself back and told him it was great to meet him. He answered with, "Hey man, the pleasure is all mine." We took the picture, thanked each other again, shook hands, and went on our merry way. He stuck around to talk to some people, and I went back to work.

His performance was excellent, and I am definitely buying this album. He impressed me when he said that the one word that could describe this album was "diversity". I think it's important to keep that in music. The songs he performed were beach-like and reminded me of summer. This, as you all know, is right up my alley. Then you hear something like "So Good", his newest single, and it has a completely different feeling from the stuff we heard yesterday. I love albums that take you on that roller coaster ride, and I have the feeling that this one won't disappoint. 

-Sean
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