Casey Jones (1984 / 1987)

Picture
Casey Jones, the New York City Street vigilante who wears a hockey mask and carries a golf bag full of baseball bats, golf clubs, cricket bats, and hockey sticks from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I went with a mix between the 87 cartoon and the 84 comic book version, both had spiky hair in the beginning and a hockey mask where you couldn't see their face. It reminds me of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, meaning it's a neutral mask free of expression with his eyes and mouth completely covered in shadow, the criminals are beaten by a pure emotionless mask that somewhat resembles a skull (which represents death) that's totally indifferent about beating or killing them. But depending on the how it's drawn, it can look as if the mask is giving a mien intense look. Either way it gives him a very mysterious and threatening look that other versions are missing.


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987)
I first saw him in the 1987 cartoon series in episode Casey Jones - Outlaw Hero in 1989 and he was a fracking manic... but in a good way. Pat Fraley did the voice, and his Dirty Harry persona was funny as hell, and he could kick @$$. But he only appeared in 5 episodes.
Casey Jones - Outlaw Hero (season 3, 1989)
Corporate Raiders from Dimension X (season 3, 1989)
Leonardo Cuts Loose (season 5, 1991)
Night of the Rogues (season 7, 1993)
Cyber-Turtles (season 8, 1994)

The title to the first episode might be a reference to the film, The Outlaw Joeys Wales, since Casey talks like Clint Eastwood.


Weapons
I wanted to do something a bit different than what I see with other pictures of Casey Jones, we always see him using or carrying baseball bats, hockey sticks, golf clubs, and cricket bats. Those are of course his main weapons, but only in the 87 series did we got to see him use an actual weapon like a sledgehammer and a long sword. He also used range gear like some type of harpoon spear with rope and attachments to slide down with.


Comic Book
He first appeared in the Mirage comics in Raphael #1, Me, Myself and I in 1985.
http://comiconlinefree.net/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-color-classics-raphael-micro-series-one-shot/issue-Full/10

In the beginning he was pretty tough, ruthless, and badass. He even mange to kick the Shredder in the stomach.
https://i.imgur.com/quHV0VO.jpg
http://www.writeups.org/wp-content/uploads/Casey-Jones-TMNT-h1.jpg

He was created to be a parody of the superhero who always had a personal reason for becoming one. For Casey Jones, it's from watching too much bad TV.
"I had this idea; it was kind of a parody of all these vigilante characters that were in comics. You have the classics like Batman and Daredevil and all these characters where something tragic happened in their past that helped them choose the path to go out and fight crime on their own, and I thought it was really funny if we had a character who was inspired to do the same, but just from watching too much bad TV, like "TJ Hooker" and "A-Team" and all that stuff. So I came up with the idea of this character who would be called Casey Jones and he would have two bats as his main weapon, and he would wear a hockey mask and sweats – just something he cobbled together. And at the last minute, Pete said, "Well why don’t you give him a golf bag and he’ll have all kinds of weapons in it?" And I’m like, "Dude, that’s it!" But that’s the kind of collaboration we had; it was always that kind of spontaneity, and how so many of the characters came together. But Casey and Raphael – they’re fun. And they’re a little retarded like me [laughs]."
http://archive.li/5BlM8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2pUTt9bAVg


Video Games
For a while the 80s Casey Jones only made two appearances in TMNT video games.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES-Sega-SNES)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxTOY_jFAZc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hfR3GApeo0

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Manhattan Missions (DOS)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMVtE8AL2zI

In 2022, the 87 version of Casey, April and Splinter were made into playable characters in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge and he was one of the most requested characters. However, the voice they picked for him doesn't match his character and they all repeat their lines every few seconds. The original NES and SNES TMNT games never did that because that would have been annoying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-bAntTle0s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWR1wXTVtsQ


87 Adaptation Accuracy
He wasn't a 100% but in terms of his looks (spiky hair, his hockey mask hides his eyes and mouth, a ripped tight light blue shirt and sweatpants), background, toughness and fighting ability (a violent vigilante who beats the hell out of criminals, even for petty crimes), the 80s cartoon Casey Jones was pretty accurate to the original comic book version, but only during his early years in the Mirage series.
http://comiconlinefree.net/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-1984/issue-48/11
http://www.writeups.org/fiche.php?id=5880

He does mellow out a bit in his last two appearances and the comic version does the same thing, although more so in the Mirage series since he became a main character, but it got to the point where he wasn't the same character anymore. But his hair become less spiky, it was straight and a bit longer.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wvyPYcwdHao/URf8icKMRcI/AAAAAAAAKEA/KzdXjXy71Hc/s1600/60-2.jpg
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/10/105264/3751609-casey%20cyber-turtles.jpg

Like the comic book version, he's also a parody of typical superheroes, he becomes one simply from watching vigilante cop shows and too much Filthy Harry movies.
Raphael: "That guy's seen too many "Filthy Harry" movies!"
"Modeling himself after his favorite vigilante cops show, Casey decided to take the law into his own mitts."
https://i.imgur.com/quHV0VO.jpg
https://archive.ph/IDYa5

This mod version of TMNT Shredder's Revenge has them in their Mirage colors and Casey didn't have to go through any real change.
TMNT: Shredder's Revenge - Mirage Comic Colors mod - Turtles In Time Soundtrack mod 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bccXhCTGfVI


Missed Opportunity
He was such a fun character to watch, he should have gotten his own spin-off comic book miniseries. I would have thought that after the success of the first film, he would have become more of a main character or at least made a lot more appearances in the 87 series. Instead, they brought in a new character called Carter in season 9, it seems that he was inspired by Keno from TMNT II... and he's just as uninteresting, annoying, out of place and he's not very well liked. He's pretty much just an adolescent with teenage problems that can mutate into a big yellow strong guy who looks Japanese... even though Carter is black... the fact that both Carter and Keno never appeared or were even mentioned in any other TMNT films, TV series, comic books, or video games pretty much says it all. Hell, the character Tatsu from the first two films actually made an appearance as a boss in the Sega video game TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist.

It was disappointing that Casey Jones never appeared in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comics produced by Archie Comics, which was based on the 87 series, he was only mentioned a few times. When writers like Stephen Murphy, Dean Clarrain, and Ryan Brown took over... things got worse... the artwork was terrible, the humor was idiotic, it tried too hard to be serious with a lot of political Left-Wing propaganda nonsense. They made April into a Mary Sue, she looked and acted so differently, that she might as well have been a new character.

He finally appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #3, which is of course based on the 87 series. While he comes across as a tough badass who takes down some bad guys, but he didn't do anything important, I still found it to be just another wasted opportunity.
https://comiconlinefree.net/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-saturday-morning-adventures/issue-3


When he was a real Badass
In the 87-cartoon series, his first appearance shows him being pretty buff and beating up
1 mugger
1 store robber
3 thefts: He throws weightlifting stacks from a lat pull down at all three of them, then a barbell at one, skiing poles at another which pins him to the wall and throws the other into the air with just one hand into a basketball net. I love the fact that he doesn't use any of his weapons at first, just his bare hands and other objects.
Later he's seen fighting all 4 turtles on his own.
He's very athletic, able to jump great highs and do flips in midair.
He was pretty strong since he was seen picking up a refrigerator and throwing it.
Picking up what looks like a vending machine and throwing it.
Smashes through a door.
Smashes a few machines with his bare hands and feet.
Uses a sledgehammer to make a hole in Krang's robotic bug.
https://kimcartoon.to/Cartoon/Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-1987/Season-03-Episode-023-Casey-Jones-Outlaw-Hero?id=16907

In his third appearance he takes down a huge machine called the blockbuster, but he calls it a giant boxing glove.
https://kimcartoon.to/Cartoon/Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-1987/Season-03-Episode-025-Corporate-Raiders-from-Dimension-X?id=16909

His last appearance had him fight Rocksteady, the Shredder and Krang. They were short fights but he still fought them.
https://kimcartoon.to/Cartoon/Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-1987/Season-08-Episode-007-Cyber-Turtles?id=17037

In the 1990 film, actor Elias Koteas was great and he made the character memorable. He even gave him a little bit of a Errol Flynn / Robin Hood personality. However, he wasn't very accurate to the comic book version, he never really came across as dangerous or threatening... they tried to in a few scenes, it wasn't bad... but he's too goofy at times, he just ended up as a tone down version of Raphael and Casey is suppose to be more violent than him. But I still like the character he played and he could kick @$$.

In 2011 a Fan film simply called Casey Jones The Movie, even though they only a 20,000-dollar budget, the editing was very well done, it looked like an hour long pilot episode. The turtle outfits in the original film were made by the Jim Henson Creature shop, so they were not going to be able to match that level of design and detail. Most of the main actors looked and acted like their character's, although the actor playing Casey was too thin for the part. The acting may not be top notch, but it's watchable. It didn't hold back on the action and violence, but it wasn't over the top, it still manages to have a sense of humor and be entertaining.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LWrEDkzaF4

Some people have complained that it should have been Raphael and not Michelangelo since that's how it happens in the comic book. It may not be a 100% accurate, but it's better than most adaptations and the reboot. According to the director, it's easier to find someone who knows how to use the Nunchakus than the Sai's.


From Mediocre to downright Terrible
After the comic, the 80s cartoon and the first film, the character went downhill.

TMNT III was not only a terrible film on every level, but the character is given nothing to do other than to watch over 4 Japanese men from ancient Japan. But that subplot adds nothing to the overall storyline of the film, just dumb comedy, oh look, these guys can adapt to modern times so easily and they don't listen to Casey, isn't it funny... meh. The turtles and Casey were no longer tough and funny, they were just annoying and useless in their own film. There was no reason to even make a 3rd movie at all, the Shredder was dead and the foot clan were gone.

Image Comics published a third volume to the Mirage Studios TMNT in 1996, but it's not considered canon by Mirage Studios due, in part, to a lack of desire by co-creator Peter Laird to follow-up material with which he was not directly involved nor fully approved. Casey's characterization is pretty weak... well... the whole storyline was weak. He works at a supermarket and at one point they celebrate because he gets a promotion... wow, how exciting... they try to make him into that tough vigilante from the original comics, but they pretty much make him an alcoholic and he looks like a joke, he wears a flat V shape mask that has colors of the American flag with stars...

The 2003 version was just a dumb weak useless character with an annoying New York City accent who looks like a Disney character with a personality disorder who whined too much. He hardly wore his mask, his so-called fight scenes were just pathetic, he got his @$$ kicked a lot just to show how better the turtles and April are at fighting. His relationship with April was very much forced and one has to wonder what she even sees in him. The lines and dialog they have with each other are just cheesy as hell. To be fair, none of the other versions of Casey Jones were really that smart, but it seems like the writers purposely reduced him to a bumbling obnoxious comic relief.
http://turtlepedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:XMAS73.gif

This character is so god damn lame... I always hear the 03 fans trying to defend this version, but they do so very poorly by either exaggerating, lying or their reasons are just nonexistent. Some people even say that he's more relatable... but how in the hell can a dumb stereotype that became a useless love interest and got his @$$ handed to him half the time be relatable in anyway???? Although given just how stupid the youth is in the US and other parts of the world in this day and age... yeah, maybe they can relate to him...

"You see, deep down, I think we all secretly yearn to be Italian and stupid."
--Stewie Griffin

The 2007 CGI version is supposed to be based off the character from the live action films, but he's turned into a skinny sensitive clumsy dork who looks like a CGI version of Shaggy. The storyline has too many unexplained changes and plot holes.

IDW Publishing rebooted the TMNT story in 2011... but he's a weak skinny short-hair teenager or 20-year-old (because that age group never gets boring) with a background coming from an abusive drunken father after his mother died from cancer (because that never gets old or becomes a cliché). They turned him into Peter Parker, a wimp. The artwork got pretty bad at times, he doesn't really seem useful to the turtles, he can take on common thugs, but that's it... and yet the Mirage and the 87 versions were able to hold their own against the Shredder, the 90s film and 2011 fan film were able to kick the shoot out of the foot clan... but the IDW version can't even do that.
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/3/39001/3077137-tmnt1.png

The 2012 version was just irritating and dumb... like I said, the character has never really been smart, but the writers with the 2012 series really went out of their way to make him be the dumbest. His choices and stupidity just made things worse for everyone and the most unlikable version. Then there was this whole thing with him putting black and white paint of a skull on his face... and then wears a painted skull mask over it... so what's the point of the paint if he's going to wear a mask???? I mean the hockey mask looked like a goofy skull (something people would laugh at), so the face paint became pointless, it was so fracking dumb, he looked like he got rejected from clown school. The original hockey mask was already threatening the way it was, painting it up to look scarier, literally throwing crap on it just made it look childish.

The 2016 version is thy most bland boring Casey Jones I've ever seen; he's not a real vigilante and he hardly does any fighting. The filmmakers just completely revamped the character where hardly anything is recognizable with his appearance, past and personality. The only thing that's left is his mask and weapons, but that's not enough.

The 2018 version, as if that series couldn't be any worse, they just gender bend the character into a female... because that type of writing has always been successful... but it's later revealed in the film that she's the mother of the real Casey Jones… meh…

There are a few other versions, mostly in comics, they're still nothing more than cheap knockoffs, and are pretty insignificant to even mention.

There are of course going to be different interpretations with every new continuity, but the last few versions have been so completely different from what the character was original intended to be, that there's hardly anything left that's familiar. From the 03, 12, 16 and the 18 version, they might as well have been different characters all together (the 2018 version actually was).

A lot of people have completely missed the point of what Casey Jones is supposed to be, a big tough guy who is an extremely violent threatening vigilante who beats the hell out of criminals, even people for lesser crimes and he doesn't have the overused background of losing a friend or a family member. I don't care if the 2003 series gave him a cliché tragic past, that's pointless if your pretty much useless to a team that does nothing but fight.


A Spineless Generation
It's a real shame that the character has lost a lot of his appeal and toughness over the past several years, like so many characters from the 80s, he keeps getting toned down. It's a type of trend that seems to have started in the early 2000s, tough muscle characters who were pretty ruthless, but where still the good guys or anti-heroes, get turned into the nice sensitive clumsy oaf who becomes a dumb joke and made to look like a skinny teenager or a 20-year-old Twilight vampire reject.
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/6/67602/3289258-lobo.jpg
Thankfully they got rid of this version.

Why???? Because they have to appeal to this young sorry @$$ generation of pussies who are overly sensitive, have no sense of humor whatsoever and their overprotective parents don't help either.

5 Ways America Is Creating a Generation of Wimps
http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2014/03/22/5-ways-america-is-creating-a-generation-of-wimps-n1812893/page/full

Did Tom and Jerry Kill Themselves?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QylqwxAb5Y
"Hell if the internet has shown us anything is that even adults can take it too seriously!"

Trigger Warnings, Campus Speech, and the Right to Not Be Offended
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpCUKIzDYpQ

John Stossel - Squelching Student Speech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTN1R4Is2oU

When Does a Joke Go Too Far?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNyHlSHbK4s
"Jerry Seinfeld was too extreme for you?"

Labyrinth - Nostalgia Critic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ypgzzDvZS4
"80s Movies: Making modern media look like pussies for generations."

Prevailing Campus Nonsense
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OURq6xFE4l4
"toxic masculinity"

Richard Grayson Makes Straight Men Nervous
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOH2Ts5KVQk
Dick Grayson vs. Toxic Masculinity

Some bits from my appearance on "Outsiders"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPeM3v1EJrw
"You're literally having this situation where boys are growing up with, there are no positive messages about men, other than maybe superhero movies and comics and stuff like that. Which are apparently the feminists say those are the toxic masculinity roles that we don't want boys to grow into."

#317 'TOXIC MASCULINITY' DEBUNKED! Dennis Prager and Gavin McInnes Guest | Louder With Crowder (17:20)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewCkQgBf36k

The Myth of Toxic Masculinity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8fUXCBTwrQ

So many young people today find these kinds of fictional characters creepy and are uncomfortable of these big threatening tough guys. Do male and female teens and per-teens of this area feel so offended, disturbed and inadequate when they see or compare themselves to these big muscle men or they can't get over the fact that it's just a cartoon???? From what I've seen... the answer to all of that is YES! Do these people think that these characters are going to ruin the lives of children and give them the wrong message and that they'll end up as violent people????? They told my generation that (and many other things) dozens of times... and it never happen. There wasn't a rise in crime, violence or traumatized people because of such things like an animated series... that happen because of Socialist / Communist teachers and professors brainwashing the youth.

It's not surprising that a fan film took him back to his roots while certain Hollywood studios and TV networks just play it safe and bow to all these groups complaining about so-called violence, which is one of the main reasons why the sequels went downhill. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II was far too lighthearted, Casey was replaced with an annoying teenager, the turtles hardly used their weapons, they give lame jokes, and it had 90s white rap crap. Because of rampant censorship, the 80s cartoon had to get rid of Michelangelo's Nunchakus and replace it with the Turtle Line. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, TMNT 2007 and the Reboot films ended up suffering from this as well, along with bad writing and direction.


Another Reboot That Sucked
Like all the rest, they ruined his character in the sequel to the 2014 reboot, they're not even trying. The movie from 1990 was an independent film with only a 13.5-million-dollar budget, it didn't have to rely on a big Hollywood studio, a famous director or producer, big name stars (who are just eye candy), computer effects and nonstop action scenes to be successful.

The 2014/16 films are everything that's wrong with reboots or just movies in general these days. The fact that the 2011 Casey Jones fan film was done on a lower budget, it managed to stay far more accurate to the source material, it mixed in the comic, the 80s cartoon and the first film, and it was far more entertaining than the reboot... and that's just sad...
Top 10 Worst Movies of 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5j92Zq630w

Scumbucket! August's Worst Films
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8CEfH9RSio

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) - Phelous
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI-qGxAMqBY


Origin
Like I said, Casey Jones is supposed to be a parody of other vigilantes, he didn't have a very personal reason or vendetta against someone or a group of people for becoming one. His family wasn't killed, he didn't have a girlfriend or a wife or kids that were murdered, none of the usually tragic background. But apparently this was changed at one point in the comics, taking away that unique feature.

It was semi-retconned when "writer" Tristan Huw Jones imported his 2003 TV series back-story, in Tales issue #59... apparently he didn't get the joke... that he's a satire of common crime fighters... this really just shows how dense, unoriginal[/b] and untalented hacks like him are and just goes for typical clichés.

But Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's writing wasn't always very good. TMNT is obviously not based on science fact, it's not grounded in reality, but somehow a pet rat learns martial arts simply by looking at Hamato Yoshi? The rat also somehow became an expert in life, philosophy, has leadership skills and has a Japanese accent...


Catchphrases/One-liners
In the original comics, his battle cry is "Goongala!" The 80s cartoon and the 90s film version never said that, the one-liners and catchphrases they said were not only badass and funny but they made sense, you can understand them, they at least had some basic meaning behind them.
"I'll give you a jawbreaker!"
"Now you're where you belong, garbage!"
"Here's all the dough you'll get lawbreaker!"
"All lawbreakers must pay the price!"
"And for the icing on the cake!"
"Hold it sports fans!"
"Go ahead, make my night!"
"Catch'a on the slops punk!"
"You could use a little iron in your diet!"
"Consider yourself slam-dunked scuzzball!"
"Casey Jones is gonna clean up this city!"
"Even machines have to obey the law!"

"I guess I'm gonna to have to get tough with you!"
"I see I'm gonna have to get tough with you!"

Casey and Raphael didn't have the that tough brotherly bond like the other versions, but they did get along with each other.
Raphael: "I hate to say it, but this guy's destructive streak might just come in handy."
Leonardo: "I think your right Raphael."

Raphael: "Who appointed you judge jury and executioner?"
Casey Jones: "This city's a cesspool of crime. Somebody's gotta clean it up and that someone is me. Not even criminal mutants can stop... Casey Jones!"

Casey Jones: "What I want to know is, when do we get to break something?"
Raphael: "I like this boy's attitude."

Raphael: "Besides which, he also ripped off your costume idea."
Casey Jones: "Trademark infringement? How low can ya get?"

Leonardo: "He was a strange guy. Reckless, dangerous and totally violent."
Raphael: "Yeah, I liked him too."

Raphael: "So why not just bust that thing to pieces?"
Casey Jones: "Now that's an idea I like!"

There is a reason to why he shouts Goongala, but I think this is only coming from the 03 series, and it just makes him look more like a moron (if that was possible). In the 13th episode of season 3, "The Lesson", Casey's modern-day battle cry originated from Michelangelo, who taught him to shout "Goro Goro Sama!" (literally, "Mr. Thunder"), which Casey ultimately garbled into "Goongala!" Michelangelo kept trying to teach him but Goongala was the best he could come up with...

Is he... illiterate? Does he have a lisp?? Is he so dumb that he can't even pronounce that right??? Since it's a garble of another word, then there's no joke or meaning to it... is saying a random phrase or a made-up word really that funny and badass???? Look at some of the most popular one-liners and catchphrases.
You gotta ask yourself a question, do I feel luckily? Well do ya punk? (Dirty Harry)
Go ahead, make my day (Sudden Impact)
You forgot your fortune cookie... it says... you're shoot outta luck (The Dead Pool)
I'll be Back (Terminator 1)
Hasta la vista baby (Terminator 2)
Stick around (Predator)
Knock, knock (Predator)
You takin to me! (Taxi Driver)
Say hello to my little friend! (Scarface)
Groovy (Evil Dead II)
Swallow this! (Evil Dead II)
Trust me, I know what I'm doing (Sledge Hammer)
Your move creep (Robocop)
Dead or alive or you are coming with me (Robocop)
Goodbye! (Robocop 2)
Fore! (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Oops! (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

The reason they're great and memorable is because they actually make sense, because the character is pretty much saying or describing something about what's going on at that moment, what's about to happen or what just did happen.


Final Thoughts
One of the reasons why I say all this is because Casey Jones keeps getting changed with every version and not for the better, even though a lot people say they want adaptations to be more accurate to the source material... but they end up changing their minds pretty quickly and become hypocrites. It was OK for the film, the 2003, 2012 and the 2018 series to make certain changes, but somehow it wasn't for the 1987 series to do that at all or to even be accurate in some areas...

If the original 1984 version of Casey Jones from the Mirage comics was shown on film or on TV... I can't imagine him being very well liked by today's audience at all, not in this day and age of PC, SJWs, feminists and wokeness. As for the 87 series itself, like a lot of 80s cartoons, it didn't take itself so seriously, it broke the 4th wall so many times that there wasn't a wall left to break. The characters even made jokes about their own show, they were all simply having FUN... and that seems to be a word that a lot of people don't understand anymore. It was not about relatable characters, seeing them develop, grow and dealing with personal issues or asking important questions. The characters did have to learn lessons but it wasn't trying to be very deep with meaning.

It was more focused on
1.The adventure of the episode: Fighting the Shredder again or a new villain(s).
2.The action scenes: Martial arts or they have to find another way to fight or both.
3.Funny dialog: Raphael's sarcasm, Michelangelo's jokes, pizza topping recipes, Shredder's insults and so on.
4.Fantasy type characters with heart: The opening songs says it all, Leonardo leads, Donatello does machines, Raphael is cool but rude and Michelangelo is a party dude. That's all we need to know about them and we don't want them to change. But the characters were not just that, when it came time to fight the villains they took it seriously, they showed emotion, genuine concern for each other, Splinter, April and others, it was just never over the top. One of their top priorities for awhile was to change Splinter back into his human form.

Doug Walker the Nostalgia Critic said it best when he reviewed the film Demolition Man
"This is the direct opposite to the 80s and 90s, where they mainly just focused on one thing... being a MEH-YAN! RED MEAT, PUNCHING, BOOBS FOR MY DICK ON AN EXPLOSION WITH SAM ELLIOT'S MUSTACHE! We never talked about ideas or expressing our emotions! We were Meh-Yan-this-is-is!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efzCBvq3Q98

The Critical Drinker said, "It's also a surprisingly witty takedown of the progressive touchy-feely culture that was starting to emerge in Hollywood in the early 90s. The macho bravado of the 80s was fading out and with it the action starts who made their names there, Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Wills and Van Damme all saw their careers wane from the mid 90s and this movie is clearly a reaction to that. John Spartan embodies everything you expect from a classic action hero, he's big, gruff and no nonsense, he smokes, he eats junk food, he drives an old-fashion sports car because it looks cool and struggles to adapt to the sensitive caring world, he's now living in."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiG99WmpX7c

A lot of 80s cartoon series were fun to watch, they weren't written to be sad and depressing. Now I'm not saying that cartoons shouldn't be like that, the 90s X-Men and Batman The Animated Series had very touching episodes. But is that the problem with animated series these days since the 90s and early 2000s? Are they so dark, gritty and taken so seriously that any series from decades ago that had any kind of fun humor aspect in them are just automatically deemed as dumb and inferior?? That just because one is darker than the other makes it better??? (the simplistic minds of some people) Are cartoons even fun to watch anymore???? If so, that's pretty sad, but typical of younger generations to hate anything that came before them.

I'm not expecting everyone to love it, I didn't like every episode, but I see a lot of people not understanding it and criticizing it for what it wasn't trying to be. Hell, at this point in time I don't expect the 03 and 2012 fans to know or understand what I'm talking about or that they even care... they don't. The 1987 series was a product of its time, it wasn't perfect, it still suffered many of the same things that other television series (live and animated) goes through. Hopefully when they get older, they'll learn to appreciate it for what it was and the decade it came from.