Blog DVD Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Complete Season 8

Sunday, September 06, 2009

Blog DVD Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Complete Season 8

We are preempting the weekly Summer ratings for today because final numbers for Wednesday and Thursday were not available to us yet, so we bring you a special edition of the blog DVD reviews on this special Labor Day weekend!
Today we take a look at Lionsgate's Season 8 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Ninja Turtles is of course the hit animated series that caused kids and teens to go crazy for in the late '80s and early '90s. See my Blog DVD Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Complete Season 8:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Complete Season 8 (Lionsgate, $14.98) brings all 8 episodes from the series' eighth season on DVD. Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April are all back to battle Shredder, Krang and other villains! It's a heart-pounding, pizza-munching, right-outta-the-sewer ninja action on this eighth season that even has a new theme song!

Starting with season four we started getting season releases. Season 4 set had 39 episodes and season 5 had 18 episodes. Season six had a total of 16 episodes on its set. And season seven had 27 episodes in four collectible "slices." Prior to that we were getting volume releases. Here is a recap: Volume 6 had the last 11 episodes from season three, plus the first episode of season four. The third season had a total of 47 episodes, so they decided to split up that season into volumes, so volumes 3, 4, 5, and 6 covered season three. For season 2 there were just 13 episodes, so Lionsgate released that for volume two...so yes, technically the first two volumes were season sets. Season one had only 5 episodes, so that was on Volume 1, with four bonus episodes from season ten actually. So do you have all of these? Hope you do dudes!

The packaging has an outer box that holds a keepcase inside. It is very simple since it is a one-disc set that has just eight episodes. The cover art has the Turtles in battle mode with Leonardo featured and Michaelangelo, Donatello and Raphael in the background. The color scheme is blue. The show logo is on the top, with "The Complete Season 8" logo on the bottom right and the "produced by Fred Wolf Films" on the bottom. The back of the box has info on the series and set, with a yellow box listing all eight episode titles. Radical! We also have three small episodic photos, along with a nice shot of Leonardo. The cover and back of the case is exactly the same as the outer box. When we open the case, we have the disc on the right panel. There is no artwork or anything on the panels itself, it is just a plain black background. The disc art has Leonardo (same as the cover art), with a blue background. Bodacious!

The menu screen is similar to season six. First, we get autotrailers before the main menu appears with trailers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men Wolverine, Super Capers movie, and more. Then after that is done, we come to the main menu screen. The theme song is playing in the background, and it does loop, and the photo is similar to the box art with each turtle. The theme song is actually the more popular older theme song rather than the new theme song that starts this season. The menu options are: Play All Episodes, Episode Selection, Trailers. Episode Selection takes us to a submenu with episode #, title, and a screenshot from the episode. Gnarly!

The video is on par with the other volumes, with dust and debris here and there and on par with previous recent seasons. The audio is also on par with the previous releases, not bad...and listenable. It's not remastered, but this is the best we have and it beats our taped VHS versions. The episodes are around 23:30. We get 5 chapter stops per episode again. Sensei Master Splinter likes!

Seasons four and five had extras, but then season six had absolutely nothing! Then for the 25th anniversary set, we had a lot of extras for season seven. We get nada here. This is the point in time when the Turtles episodes start getting a bit weird, so I guess we should not expect any more extras from here on out. Look out for the "Red Sky" in each episode!

I still urge fans to buy this set even though there are no special features. There are only eight episodes, so you could finish this set in a day and if you have all seven seasons, then you need this to continue your collection. Only Seasons 9 and 10 remain to be released. Seasons eight through ten have 8 episodes each, so expect one-disc sets from here on out, just like this season eight set. Four of the eight episodes of season ten was released on the Volume 1 DVD, the very first DVD...but I'm sure they will release all eight of those will be released when that set comes out.
Anyway, the tone of the show became darker, the art style changed significantly...but it's still our Turtles and you need to get this set dudes! Cowabunga!

-- Reviewed by Pavan

(4/5 stars)

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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
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Official Website

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, April 13

The Neighorhood - "Welcome to the Breaking Point" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
After a frightening encounter, Dave takes a hard look at his health, prompting Calvin to help him find a healthier way to let off steam. Meanwhile, Tina has a hard time letting go of old memories, and Marty and Malcolm argue over a valuable find from their past.

DMV - "Fresh Ink" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When the SoHo DMV lands a glossy magazine feature, Barb struggles with feeling overlooked, stirring up old insecurities she thought she’d left behind. Meanwhile, Gregg and Vic go head‑to‑head in a competitive quest to earn their first positive review after a rough streak online.

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins - "Mischief and Memories" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The Dinkins family bands together for their annual push to get Reggie into the hall of fame, but Jerry Basmati stands in their way.

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins - "A Real Cinderello Story" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
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Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 13)

Monday, April 13

Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Watch Henry on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Tracy Morgan (The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins/Crutch/The Last O.G./30 Rock/The Tracy Morgan Show) - Tracy is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Maya Rudolph (Loot/Bless the Harts/Forever/Up All Night) - Maya appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Nick Offerman (Margo's Got Money Troubles/Parks and Recreation) - Nick stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Rachel Dratch (Grimsburg/Imaginary Mary/30 Rock) - Rachel makes a special appears once on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS. Andy Cohen interviews Rachel on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 11pm on Bravo.
Kristin Chenoweth (Stumble/Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Rachel Dratch (Grimsburg/Imaginary Mary/30 Rock) - Andy Cohen interviews Rachel on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 9pm on Bravo.
Elle Fanning (Margo's Got Money Troubles) and Michelle Pfeiffer (Margo's Got Money Troubles/Delta House) - Elle and Michelle talk about Margo's Got Money Troubles on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Jennie Garth (Mystery Girls/What I Like About You) - Jennie talks about I Choose Me: Chasing Joy, Finding Purpose & Embracing Reinvention on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am, on Live with Kelly and Mark (check your local listings), on NBC's Today in the 10am hour, and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Sarah Chalke (Scrubs/Roseanne/Mad Love/How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life)) - Sarah talks about Scrubs on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Anthony Norman (Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat) - Anthony talks about Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 9am hour and on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Bob Odenkirk (The Larry Sanders Show) - All Access sits down with Bob to discuss his life, career and new film Normal on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Daniel Radcliffe (The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins/Miracle Workers) - Daniel tells Sherri about his new sitcom, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, and his hit Broadway play, Every Brilliant Thing, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Jake and Jazz Smollett (On Our Own) - Jake and Jazz talk about their lifestyle series, Living By Design, on CLEO TV on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Dan Levy (Big Mistakes/Schitt's Creek) and Laurie Metcalf (Big Mistakes/The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/The Norm Show) - Dan and Laurie talk to Drew about their upcoming comedy crime show Big Mistakes on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Drew is joined by the entire cast of Big Mistakes: Dan Levy, Laurie Metcalf, Jack Innanen and Taylor Ortega.
John Stamos (Palm Royale/UnPrisoned/Fuller House/Grandfathered/Jake in Progress/Full House/You, Again?) and Jodie Sweetin (Fuller House/Hollywood Darlings/Full House) - - John and Jodie are guests on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.