Release Date: 8/7/07

The Show

Back in the late 1980’s, if you mentioned the word, turtle, to any kid, you’d get barraged with all sorts of California surfer slang, ninja kicks, and ranting about the greatness of pizza. Sure the 80’s were a weird and wacky time, but the popularity of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles could not be matched by anyone else at the time. Based on a comic book with a darker tone, the children’s cartoon series was an outright monster in afternoons.

From episode to episode, we watched Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo, and Raphael take on Shredder and his mutant thugs, and we absolutely loved it. Sure there were some offbeat villains like the Rat King and Leatherhead, but it didn’t matter, the fun and ninja adventure was found in each and every episode. Of course, the four turtles couldn’t make it alone without a little guidance from their rat teacher, Splinter, and human connection, April O’Neil. They honestly don’t make cartoons like this anymore, and anyone who grew up in the 1980’s will have no problems jumping back into the sewers with the turtles.

Unfortunately, by the time Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Season 5 hit the airwaves, the show had become completely watered down and suffered from outright jumping the shark with the addition of a slew of characters including Napoleon Bonafrog, Mondo Gecko, and the Polarisoids. The shows were still fun, but at this point, it seemed like the turtles were more occupied on going on their own solo missions and battling The Shredder take a backseat.

The 3-disc includes 18 episodes from the fifth season with a Play All option found on each disc.
Disc 1
1. Donatello’s Badd Time
2. Donatellos’ Duplicate
3. My Brother, The Bad Guy
4. Enter: Mutagen Man
5. Napoleon Bonafrog: Colussus of the Swamps
Disc 2
1. Michaelangelo Meets Mondo Gecko
2. Michaelangelo Meets Bugman Again
3. Leonardo Cuts Loose
4. Muckman Messes Up
5. The Ice Creature Cometh
Disc 3
1. Zach and the Alien Invaders
2. Raphael Versus the Volcano
3. Raphael, Turtle of a Thousand Faces
4. Pirate Radio
5. Landlord of the Flies
6. Leonardo, The Renaissance Turtle
7. Welcome Back Polarisoids
8. Michaelangelo, The Sacred Turtle

The DVD

The main menu comes with a short introduction, that memorable theme song, and slightly animated backgrounds. Submenus include static stills.

The video transfer is offered in 1.33:1 Fullscreen Format. This is where the DVD falters. Absolutely no touching up or remastering was carried out on these episodes. Flaws, dirt, bleeding, haloing, and softness; you name it, these episodes have it. While it is watchable, it’s a shame this is how it has to look after all these years. What’s worse is that the 3rd disc that includes the bonus options also includes the most episodes for some reason.

The audio is offered in English Dolby Digital 2.0. The audio fared a little better, but that’s not saying much. It’s serviceable, but I guess there aren’t many ways to mess up the audio unless you include the wrong language. There are no subtitles offered on the discs.

The Extras

The DVD comes in the most ridiculous packaging ever. While it’s somewhat of a nice touch (A for effort), it’s ultimately very cumbersome to say the least. The set comes in a mini pizza box placed inside a cardboard box placed on top of a filler piece of cardboard. It’s all encased within a clear piece of plastic. Again, I appreciate the effort to make this look like a pizza box, but boy was it a pain to get to the discs. On top of that, there’s no included episode guide. What gives?!

The Turtles: A Ninjatastic Look Back offers an 18-minutes piece that features interviews with the original voice actors speaking on their experiences and memories of the show.

Under the Shell: Yosagi Yojimbo runs a little under 3-minutes and features the voice actors speaking on the Japanese rabbit character.

Under the Shell: Baxter Stockman runs a little under 4-minutes and features more of the same format from the previous piece.

The bonus options round out with a Trailer Gallery.

Final Thoughts

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Season 5 disappointed at every turn with the exception of including all the episodes. Unfortunately, the lack of substantial bonus options and the poor video & audio quality hurts the set. Fans will pick this up regardless, but everyone else should just rent the set.

- Morris Tang