Toy Galaxy’s History Of Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation

Toy Galaxy is a great YouTube channel that looks at pop culture of yesteryear and toy culture of today. There are episodes dealing with the trends in the action figure industry, discussions of various toy conventions, and reveals of how the toys themselves look when finally released.

Its long running “Histories” series looks at the rise/fall (and sometimes resurrection) of various properties - covering how well (or terribly) they did, their merchandising, and the various influences they had over popular culture. Host and writer Dan Larson (working with director Greg MP) review the inspiration for these creations, the people involved in making them, and the reception at the time, as well as today.

A great episode is a look at a truly bewildering spinoff made in almost desperation of a once towering brand. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had been going since the 1984 comics and had enjoyed all sorts of major success in multiple mediums, but that was waning in the mid-’90s. Creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird needed to keep the thing afloat (and that weird Michael Bay-produced, Jonathan Liebesman-directed movie was still a little under 20 years away) and after sifting through a bunch of ideas they landed on…this. Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation was a live action show with performers in turtle suits that also introduced the first lady ninja turtle, Venus. It’s a fascinating tale of how so many misfires and wrong turns eventually landed the creative team to this point, as well as an overview of the TMNT brand in the fallout.

Be sure to subscribe to Toy Galaxy’s channel, support their Patreon if you are able, and follow them on Twitter.