| “Turtles on Trial” | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 Cartoon) episode | |||||||
 Clayton Kellerman | |||||||
| Season Code: | 3 | ||||||
| Episode: | 2 | ||||||
| Original airdate | October 20, 1989 | ||||||
| Written by | Michael Reaves | ||||||
| Producers: | – | ||||||
| |||||||
Turtles on Trial is a season 3 episode.
Plot
Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael are enjoying an episode of professional wrestling when Michelangelo enters the room and turns the channel to "ON TRIAL," hosted by Clayton Kellerman, a rabble rouser who suggests that a clear and present danger is lurking in the sewers: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Turtles are aghast and can't understand why Kellerman would be turning people against them. April had her wardrobe department make human masks so the Turtles can move more freely in the streets.
Meanwhile, Shredder is sweating from the heat, as Krang chews him out for his failure to retrieve the necessary components to repair the refrigeration units. Shredder has had enough and suggests that Krang go up on the Earth's surface and get what he needs and eliminate the Turtles himself. Krang considers this a good idea.
Back on the surface, April and the Turtles are enjoying pizza when an alarm sounds at a jewelry store nearby. The TMNT tear off their masks, chase and apprehend the thieves but then they are chased into the sewers by an angry mob. The Turtles decide that this is Clayton Kellerman's doing and ask April to help them get on the "ON TRIAL" show so that they can present their side of the story.
Back inside the Technodrome, Krang, Rocksteady and Bebop see a promo for "ON TRIAL" advertising the TMNT. Krang is ecstatic, now all he needs is the perfect weapon. Shredder is now having second thoughts, he wants to go, too. Krang reluctantly agrees, but only on the condition that Shredder act as a decoy while he breaks into the military warehouse containing the Solar Benite.
On their way to the television studio, Splinter contacts the Turtles via his Turtle Com, and alerts them to a break-in at the Natural Museum of History. The Turtles cancel their "15 minutes of fame" and arrive at the museum only to encounter Shredder, Rocksteady and Bebop.
Meanwhile, Krang and two Stone Warriors obtain the Solar Benite and the prototype for a weapons-laden robot that looks like ED-209 from the movie ROBOCOP.
Back at the museum, a crowd has gathered. The sight of the Turtles incites the crowd as Clayton Kellerman predicts huge ratings. Shredder has captured April. Krang contacts Shredder and orders him to let go - he plans to destroy them on national TV with his new robot.
With Shredder temporarily out of the picture, the Turtles realize that they still have time to appear on the "ON TRIAL" show. They get a bad case of stage fright as Clayton Kellerman makes "mincemeat" out of them, suggesting that they are cowards. Leonardo tries to explain about Krang and Dimension X, but it all falls upon deaf ears.
Krang is outside the studio, challenging the Turtles to "come out and play" as he fires upon the building. Clayton Kellerman is undaunted by Krang until he is fired upon and then rescued by Michelangelo. Krang is easily defeated when the Turtles disable the robot. Shredder helps Krang slither back into the Pneumatic Module and they disappear back to the bowels of the earth.
Clayton Kellerman thanks the Turtles, but promises to continue "badmouthing" them in order to protect his reputation.
Character voices
- Leonardo (Cam Clarke)
- Michelangelo (Townsend Coleman)
- Donatello (Barry Gordon)
- Raphael (Rob Paulsen)
- Splinter (Peter Renaday)
- April O'Neil (Renae Jacobs)
- Burne Thompson (Pat Fraley)
- Irma Langinstein (Jennifer Darling)
- Vernon Fenwick (Peter Renaday)
- Shredder (James Avery)
- Krang (Pat Fraley)
- Bebop (Barry Gordon)
- Rocksteady (Cam Clarke)
- Clayton Kellerman (Townsend Coleman)
- On Trial Announcer (Rob Paulsen)
- Angry Woman on Street (Jennifer Darling)
- Angry Man on Street (Cam Clarke)
- First Soldier (Peter Renaday)
Locations
- Turtle Lair
- Vinnie's Pizzeria
- Technodrome
- Channel 6 Building
- City sewers
- Natural History Museum
- Army Warehouse
Vehicles
- Cheapskates
- Transport Module
- Turtle Van
- Krang's Military Vehicle
Home media releases
DVD
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 3
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Season 3
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Classic Series Collection
Notes
Animation Errors
- The TV set changes color between shots at the beginning of the episode.
- The perspective on Shredder is a bit screwed up when Leonardo and Michelangelo trip him over...he's supposed to be smaller, to show that he's more in the background.
- Leonardo and Raphael had opposite colors when Clayton pointed to the Turtles at the start of the trial.
- When Leonardo explains to Clayton that they're saving the world from Krang, Michelangelo speaks in Raphael's voice.
- The order of the Turtles on TV trial between shots.
- Raphael is seen with Leonardo's colors in the mirror when the Turtles put on the rubber face masks.
- When April says the turtles have given up pizza her mouth doesn't move.
Continuity Errors
- The name of the show Michelangelo tunes into is called On Trial with Clayton Kellerman, but the title card only says 'Trial'.
- The Technodrome is seen wedged between some rock formations at the start of the episode, but is in an entirely different location when it's seen again.
- Rocksteady's machete was shown to be made of wood in an earlier episode, but it's made of metal when he threatens Donatello.
- The Turtles toss their weapons neatly in front of them as they surrender, but as the episode cuts back, the weapons are scattered all over the floor.
Logic Errors
- Why did the Turtles discard their human disguises in full view of everybody in the restaurant when they were going after the robbers? Wasn't the basic idea to not draw attention to themselves?
- The Turtles are basically lambasted by the crowd as being "No good!" after stopping a pair of robbers.
- Krang's super-weapon causes explosions and even destroys concrete on impact, but it merely stuns Michelangelo when it hits him in the chest at point-blank range.
- What's more, when Shredder uses the Tunneler to escape, magma appears immediately after.
- Clayton Kellerman, mistakenly calls the turtles amphibians instead of reptiles.
Trivia
- The premise of this episode (namely, somebody on TV saying the Turtles are evil and turning the public against them) is later used in the red sky seasons.
- Curiously, Krang's "Atomic Destabiliser" looks like a modified fighter jet, while his "Freeze Ray" appears like a modified tank.
- This is the first appearance of Krang's Bubble Walker, which he would occasionally use for covert missions.
- It is revealed in this episode that Michelangelo has stage fright.
- Irma wears white bloomers under her skirt. You can tell when she falls over during Krang's attack.
- Bebop using a spinning mace as a weapon would be revisited in the video game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project, albeit using it on his head.
- First appearance of the Turtles' human rubber face masks.
- The Channel 6 building now has a new permanent design which will last until it's final appearance in Get Shredder!.
- The part of the fight with Michelangelo wearing knight armour and twirling his nunchucks as well as the shot of him nervously fumbling with the weapons when April was filming him were removed from the UK broadcast of this episode.
- Clayton Kellerman resembles infamous talk show host Morton Downey, Jr., in terms of his personality. While the Show On Trial also features a similar format to Downey's self-titled late night talk show that was broadcasting at the time that this episode was produced. Both shows were considered "trashy" and known to have a rowdy audience that would easily get riled up.
- Bebop's favorite show is The Slurps. Which is a reference to the smurfs.
- Rocksteady says, "It's Taps for you, Turtles!" referencing the famous tune played on a horn at the funeral of a soldier.
Quotes
Michelangelo: "We fight for truth, justice and a bigger slice of the pizza pie!"
April: Uh-oh....trouble!
Raphael: Don't worry, April...."trouble" is our middle name!
Donatello: ...I didn't know we had middle names.
- - Raphael's quips tend to fly over Donatello's head sometimes.
Donatello: It's all that Clayton Kellerman's fault. We should do something about him!
Leonardo: April! Can you get us airtime on "On Trial", to present our side?
April: Oh, I'm sure I could. Burne Thompson would okay anything that would deliver big ratings.
- - I wouldn't be so sure of that, April.
Splinter: A wise man has nothing to fear from laughter, Michelangelo.
- - After all, Splinter's pretty sure they're laughing at Shredder's antics enough already.
Shredder: It's not fair! I deserve to have a part in this! The Turtles are my enemies, too!
- - The master of the dreaded Foot Clan tends to act like a four-year old when he's not invited to play.
Donatello: Hey! They just trashed the amphibian exhibit! That's it...no more Mr. Nice Turtle!
- - Don't ever mess with the Amphibian Exhibit in Donatello's presence. Ever.
Bebop: YEOOOOOW!!! Look out!! A monster!!
- - Bebop, on seeing his own reflection.
(April gets captured by Shredder)
Donatello: He's got April!
Raphael: (sarcastically) I've always admired your quick grasp of the situation.
- - Raphael says what we're all thinking.
(interviewing Turtles)
Clayton: And if you're such nice guys, how come you carry weapons?
- - Clayton, who has apparently never encountered a security guard, police officer or soldier before in his life. Naturally, the audience eats it up.