[Mesnick]

Finished rewatching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Next Mutation. I feel like I need to give this show another post because my previous comment was too harsh. Either the show improves after the introductory arc, or I just got used to its style, but gradually my opinion of it improved. Yes, there is really too much humor, and not a particularly successful one, but still the characters are sometimes serious. Moreover, there is character development in the show (albeit directionless due to its open-endedness), which is greatly aided by the fact that everyone except Leo has a deeper connection to specific villains. Also, my favorite turtle is Donatello, and he gets a lot of attention from The Next Mutation. Perhaps even more than in any other version.
It is also very noticeable that the writers love the Venus they invented more than other characters, but I would not say that this directly spoils the plot and I would not call her a green Mary Sue. Although here it should also be taken into account that I grew up on “Guest from the Future”, “Mary Poppins, Goodbye!” and "Rock 'n' Roll for Princesses." So I wouldn’t be surprised by an omniscient female character.
It should also be noted that the fact that in this version the Turtles are not particularly heroic, and sometimes downright unpleasant, is also not necessarily a minus. This creates an interesting field for discussion, which, unfortunately, does not happen, because this is an action sitcom from Saban. But still, this moral ambiguity is present, which prompted me to the following thought.
The next Mutation is the antipode of MMPR. If the great success of the Rangers is due to the fact that they came out at the perfect time, then this show missed the mark with timing and format. If it had been released in 2017 on Netflix, with an emphasis on drama and re-interpretation, the result would probably have been different. Yes, most likely, then, during the first season of 8 hour-long episodes, there were three two-minute fights, and only towards the end did the Turtles emerge from the sewer for the first time. I myself would have abandoned such a show after the pilot, but others would have watched it. Someone is watching Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.But even in this form 1997, I still like The Next Mutation much more than Michael Bay's blockbusters, which have nothing to offer other than modern CGI.
To sum it up, it's still a bad show. But not because his idea or its implementation is bad. It just uses the wrong methods to implement this idea. So I still recommend it for viewing or re-watching for those who don’t have anything better in mind.
P.S. Ending the show with two recap episodes really sucked.