Not having little brothers or children or nephews that I know about, it has been ages since I have turned on Nickelodeon. Hell, I’ve never even watched an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, which I am pretty sure makes me a notable minority in the world and a wretched old man to most children. My Nickelodeon days were full of Salute Your Shorts, Hey Dude, You Can’t Do That on Television, and Ren & Stimpy – shows that probably would be considered to risqué in our politically correct world today and I know that Nick was on a major decline in quality when I stopped watching it in early middle school around 1998.
Which is why I am surprised to hear from Variety that my beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been acquired by Viacom for $60 million and they’ll be airing a brand new CG-animated Turtles show on Nickelodeon, slated to premiere in 2012 – and of course, they will also acquire all merchandising rights. They also have a new theatrical movie in the works by Viacom’s sister company Paramount, although it is not clear if this will also be a CG venture, a live action film like the originals, or a blend of the two, nor is it clear if it will be directly related to the developing television show.
Either way, I’m curious to hear more. While TMNT has some very painful moments (besides the Raphael storyline, which was totally radical), I still have an intense love for the first live action movie, which I think is quite an achievement, and pop it in at least once a year, usually while I’m drunk and feeling nostalgic. The Turtles were also featured in some of the best NES and arcade video games back in the early 90s. It is inevitable with the exposure they will get on Nickelodeon that they will be popular once again – perhaps even more popular than ever. I’m just hoping it will be something that will appeal to both children and adults. If so, I better hurry up and knock some broad up so I can have an excuse to turn on Nickelodeon after a long day of work to watch this.
If you want to watch it onl1ne for free,...
http://www.worldscreen.com/worldscreenings/display/3290
Comment by Jonathan B. — October 21, 2009