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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series) (season 5)

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Country of origin
  
United States

Original network
  
4Kids TV

No. of episodes
  
12

Original release
  
March 24, 2007 – May 3, 2008

The Ninja Tribunal arc (consisting of thirteen episodes) was originally intended to be season five of the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, but the schedule was changed to try to increase interest in the series and "Fast Forward" became the fifth season to air on commercial TV. After the scheduling change was made, Mirage and its partners decided to finish production on the "Ninja Tribunal" episodes and release them directly to DVD. 4Kids Entertainment later signed a deal with Comcast and this season began airing on Comcast-On-Demand in August 2006. Mass confusion ensued regarding which season was officially season five and which was season six. However, after airing five episodes Comcast stopped airing the episodes.

Contents

The "Ninja Tribunal" episodes were scheduled to be released on DVD sometime in early 2007, but 4Kids Entertainment later removed them from their release schedule. 4Kids started showing the episodes starting on February 16, 2008. Although the title doesn't appear in the show itself, the season was promoted in commercials as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Lost Episodes. The DVD set was released on May 20, 2008.

The "Nightmares Recycled" episode was never completed. The script was finished and some animation had begun when 4Kids pulled the plug because it was deemed too controversial and violent for a children's program (Hun and the Garbageman were conjoined twins that were surgically separated at birth by a back-alley surgeon with the Garbageman being discarded as 'garbage'). Since there was no chance of it airing, it was shelved in the early stages of production.

Story

Following on from the previous season's cliffhanger ending, the Turtles and the four acolytes Joi, Feragi, Tora, and Adam are brought to the Ninja Tribunal's monastery to begin training to combat an unknown evil. Splinter and the Ancient One arrive at the monastery, the former aggressively opposing the Turtles' affiliation with the Tribunal, because of their disinterest in aiding Hamato Yoshi against the Utrom Shredder that could have saved his life. The Tribunal proves to be aggressive and unrelenting in their training, brutally berating their acolytes for even aiding their wounded. The Tribunal finally reveals that the enemy they are preparing to face is in fact a Tengu demon that was the original incarnation of the Shredder, whose legend the Utrom Shredder manipulated to gain respect. The Tengu Shredder will be revived if his helmet, gauntlet, and decayed body are brought together, having been separated by the Tribunal millennia ago. Though the Turtles and acolytes retrieve all three relics, the Foot Mystics, revealed to be heralds of the Tengu Shredder, attack the temple, stealing the relics and seemingly killing the Tribunal and the Acolytes. The Turtles, Splinter and the Ancient One return to New York to prepare for the coming threat.

The Foot Mystics soon successfully revive the Tengu Shredder, who rampages through New York to kill Karai, who he deems an insult to his name due to her taking on the mantle in the fourth season. The Turtles manage to achieve a victory, repelling the Tengu Shredder and saving Karai from his wrath. However, the Tengu Shredder soon succeeds in transforming the island of New York into a hellish, Tengu-infested dominion of his; a fate which he intends to inflict upon the rest of the world. To combat this threat to Earth, the Turtles unite with the four acolytes (who are revealed to have miraculously survived the monastery's destruction), the Justice Force, the Foot Clan, Agent Bishop's Earth Protection Force, Hun's Purple Dragons, and several other allies of theirs to assault the Tengu Shredder's stronghold. After falling in battle, the Turtles are revived by Hamato Yoshi's spirit, and they manage to separate the Tengu Shredder from his helmet and gauntlet, rendering him vulnerable for Yoshi's spirit to finally end the demon's existence. The Ninja Tribunal reveal their survival as well, and recruit the Ancient One to serve on their tribunal. Karai parts with the Turtles on friendly terms, seemingly entering a relationship with Dr. Chaplin, and Splinter finally makes peace with the loss of his sensei.

Main cast

  • Michael Sinterniklaas as Leonardo, the leader of the Turtles. (12 episodes)
  • Wayne Grayson as Michelangelo, the Turtles' youngest member and a source of comic relief. (12 episodes)
  • Sam Riegel as Donatello, the Turtles' genius engineer who is identified as the member who holds the team together. (12 episodes)
  • Frank Frankson as Raphael, Leonardo's second-in-command who often argues with him. (12 episodes)
  • Darren Dunstan as Splinter, the Turtles' sensei and adopted father, who suffers from visions of the future where the turtles are murdered by the Tengu Shredder. (12 episodes)
  • Scottie Ray as The Tengu Shredder. Instead of the Utrom Shredder, this season features a former member of the Ninja Tribunal who, after being corrupted by a demonic being (the Original Shredder) uses his newfound powers to conquer Japan. The Ninja Tribunal defeats and kills him. However, the Tengu Shredder's Heralds are able to bring him back to life and he begins to take over the world, beginning with New York. He serves as the main antagonist of this season. (7 episodes (has no lines in episode 2))
  • Veronica Taylor as April O'Neil, an ally of the Turtles who enters a relationship with Casey Jones. (3 episodes (has no lines in episode 9))
  • Marc Thompson as Casey Jones, an ally of the Turtles who enters a relationship with April O'Neil. (3 episodes)
  • Scott Williams as Baxter Stockman, a brilliant scientist and ally of Bishop who helps the turtles take down the Tengu Shredder. (3 episodes)

    • Recurring cast

  • David Zen Mansley as Agent John Bishop, a black ops agent in charge of the Earth Protection Force, an organization devoted to defending Earth from alien invasion, who helps the turtles take down the Tengu Shredder; Kon-Shisho, a member of the Ninja Tribunal, who contains the power of the spirits.
  • Karen Neill as Karai, the Shredder's adopted daughter and second-in-command, whose allegiance and devoted service come into question, as Leonardo tries to convince her to change sides; probably because of his romantic affections toward her. After the Tengu Shredder tries to kill her for taking his mantle, she decides to help the turtles take him down.
  • Greg Carey as Hun, a hulking gangster who and the leader of the Purple Dragons, who tries to increase their reputation after the Utrom Shredder's defeat. He reluctantly helps the turtles take down the Tengu Shredder.
  • Sam Riegel as Dr. Chaplin, a young scientist who threatens not only Stockman's place in the Foot hierarchy, but his life as well. He serves as Karai's love interest.
  • David Chen as The Ancient One, an old ninjutsu master who taught Hamato Yoshi and was taught by the Ninja Tribunal. He is initially reluctant about the Ninja Tribunal taking the turtles asd their new apprentices but later accepts it. After the Tribunal's destruction, he helps the turtles defeat the Tengu Shredder.
  • Marc Thompson as Juto-Shisho, a member of the Ninja Tribunal, who is a master of weapons.
  • Lenore Zann as Chikara-Shisho, a member of the Ninja Tribunal and the master of strength. She is the only female member of the Tribunal.
  • Hisomi-Shisho is a member of the Ninja Tribunal and master of stealth. He never speaks in the show.

    • Crew

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was produced by Mirage Studios, 4 Kids Entertainment, 4Kids Productions, and Dong Woo Animation and distributed by 4 Kids Entertainment and was aired on Fox's Saturday morning kids' block in the US. The producers were Gary Richardson, Frederick U. Fierst, and Joellyn Marlow for the American team; Tae Ho Han was the producer for the Korean team.

    References

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series) (season 5) Wikipedia
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