Nickelodeon Acquires Rights to 1987 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" Animated Series

[JamesG.]

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" 1987 Animated Series Coming to Nickelodeon (EXCLUSIVE)
by Angelique Jackson
July 20, 2023


Cowabunga! The original 1987 animated series “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is coming to Nickelodeon.

Ahead of the theatrical release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Nickelodeon has acquired global rights to the storied Fred Wolf series, which follows the adventures of the heroes in a half-shell — Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo.



Under the deal, all 193 episodes — which ran from 1987 to 1996 — are set to debut digitally on Nickelodeon-owned and operated channels (such as YouTube, Pluto TV and O&O linear channels) later this month in the U.S., followed by Nickelodeon-branded channels and digital platforms internationally.

The acquisition was announced Thursday at San Diego Comic-Con during Paramount Pictures’ Hall H presentation for Mutant Mayhem.

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/tee...on-1235675090/

[Eurbane132]

What About the other Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles material?

[Mikezilla3k]

Originally Posted by JamesG.

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" 1987 Animated Series Coming to Nickelodeon (EXCLUSIVE)
by Angelique Jackson
July 20, 2023


Cowabunga! The original 1987 animated series “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is coming to Nickelodeon.

Ahead of the theatrical release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Nickelodeon has acquired global rights to the storied Fred Wolf series, which follows the adventures of the heroes in a half-shell — Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo.



Under the deal, all 193 episodes — which ran from 1987 to 1996 — are set to debut digitally on Nickelodeon-owned and operated channels (such as YouTube, Pluto TV and O&O linear channels) later this month in the U.S., followed by Nickelodeon-branded channels and digital platforms internationally.

The acquisition was announced Thursday at San Diego Comic-Con during Paramount Pictures’ Hall H presentation for Mutant Mayhem.

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/tee...on-1235675090/

That includes physical/home video rights?

[Walter Kafka]

Originally Posted by JamesG.

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" 1987 Animated Series Coming to Nickelodeon (EXCLUSIVE)
by Angelique Jackson
July 20, 2023


Cowabunga! The original 1987 animated series “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is coming to Nickelodeon.

Ahead of the theatrical release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Nickelodeon has acquired global rights to the storied Fred Wolf series, which follows the adventures of the heroes in a half-shell — Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo.



Under the deal, all 193 episodes — which ran from 1987 to 1996 — are set to debut digitally on Nickelodeon-owned and operated channels (such as YouTube, Pluto TV and O&O linear channels) later this month in the U.S., followed by Nickelodeon-branded channels and digital platforms internationally.

The acquisition was announced Thursday at San Diego Comic-Con during Paramount Pictures’ Hall H presentation for Mutant Mayhem.

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/tee...on-1235675090/

It was understood that this was edited on video, right? So we shouldn't expect too much.

[BenjaminG]

Originally Posted by Walter Kafka

It was understood that this was edited on video, right? So we shouldn't expect too much.

Who knows. But it would be amazing if the negative turned up one day

[Dragon78]

Who owned the rights before Nickelodeon got them?

[Mikezilla3k]

Originally Posted by Dragon78

Who owned the rights before Nickelodeon got them?

Lionsgate distributed the series on DVD

[Jodi]

Good thing I already own all the syndicated Wolf-era TMNT eps on DVD. I have practically every complete 80s toon series on DVD ever made. I'm "strike-proof" here!

[BenjaminG]

Seasons one and two coming to Paramount Plus in September. What's the chance of a remaster?

https://www.cbr.com/teenage-mutant-n...aramount-plus/

[SpaceBlackKnight]

Originally Posted by BenjaminG

Seasons one and two coming to Paramount Plus in September. What's the chance of a remaster?

https://www.cbr.com/teenage-mutant-n...aramount-plus/

Unlikely. Not only was the series edited/finished on tape, but the film elements back then were in such bad shape (from constant mangling and careless shipping from the Asian animation houses) and discarded immediately upon transfer to tape. This also happened to series that were not entirely edited on film or were smaller productions other than Hanna Barbera Warner and Disney.

[ResidentEvil7200]

I thought the old Ninja Turtles TV series would never go back on TV again, because it's been so long. I'm glad they're finally coming back. Now to get them on Blu-Ray or 4K, so we can watch them in HD or UHD.

I'm also hoping they'll put the original 3 1990s Turtles movies on 4K.

[Batman1980]

They could skip putting 3 on 4k disc.

[BluZone]

AstroRes could be used for remastering the series.

[BenjaminG]

Has anyone checked this out on Paramount Plus?

[LexInHD]

Originally Posted by BenjaminG

Has anyone checked this out on Paramount Plus?

The visual quality is as bad as you could possibly imagine, given that they clearly used the old broadcast tapes, which are now suffering from deterioration and damage. The audio is adequate.

[libertyeagle20]

Originally Posted by LexInHD

The visual quality is as bad as you could possibly imagine, given that they clearly used the old broadcast tapes, which are now suffering from deterioration and damage. The audio is adequate.

How does the quality compare to the DVDs? I don't think the DVD video quality is awful given the circumstances.

[meremortal]

Loved the show as a kid but haven't gotten around to watching it again as an adult. There's just way too much tv content out there and I'll often just watch newer shows with fewer episodes.

[BenjaminG]

Originally Posted by LexInHD

The visual quality is as bad as you could possibly imagine.

Thanks for checking, but disappointing. I guess the fan AI upscaled efforts are as good as it gets.

[LexInHD]

Originally Posted by libertyeagle20

How does the quality compare to the DVDs? I don't think the DVD video quality is awful given the circumstances.

I haven't watched the DVDs, though I do own both the Turtle Van set and the Complete Series from Walmart, so I can't say. I don't know the source of the Paramount video streams other than to say that they appear to be the ancient tapes and I've certainly seen the show look far better on cable, when it was on regularly.