History YMMV / Teenagemutantninjaturtles1987

* EvilIsSexy:
%%** Tempestra.
%%** Shreeka to some.
%%** [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Medusa.]]
** Shredder according to some female fans. In fact, he seems to be the version of Shredder with the most fangirls.

* ClicheStorm: Appears as one to modern audiences due to SeinfeldIsUnfunny.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: This probably ''started'' most modern-day cartoon cliches.
** This trope becomes more apparent when we have the TruerToTheText [[Westernanimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 2003 series]] to compare it to, with addition to the [[Westernanimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 2012 cartoon]], while having many callbacks to this show, still relatively does its own thing.

** "Cowabunga Pizza Turtles" from fans of the other versions, particularly Mirage, affectionately or not.

** The show aired on the British and Irish feed of Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} in the 90s. Sixteen years later, on 2009 Viacom would obtain the rights to the franchise when Nickelodeon bought it. (the deal didn't include this cartoon until recently this year when Nickelodeon purchased the rights to the 87 show from Fred Wolf Films).

* NeverLiveItDown: April has a reputation of being TheLoad, who is constantly getting kidnapped by the villains and forcing the Turtles to waste time rescuing her. While her reputation as a DistressedDamsel isn't an undeserved one, most of her kidnappings happen as the direct result of her investigating a story and discovering the villains' plan, with occasions where she's randomly taken hostage being the exception rather than the rule. In turn, her getting kidnapped is often how the Turtles discover there's even a threat in the first place.

* MemeticMutation:
** "Cowabunga!" and "It's Pizza Time!"
** "Turtle Power!"
** "Turtles Fight With Honor!"
** "Go Green Machine!"
** "SUPER IRMA!"
** The theme song.
** The Technodrome will definitely be one of the first things to come up in your mind when you think about this show.
** Recently, posting weird and OffModel screenshots from the show has become popular on Website/FourChan, several of which have become minor memes of their own.
** "...All on account of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymFDtbk2teE those Turtles!]]"
*** "Those blasted Turtles!!"
** "I crave pizza no more."
** "Tonight I dine on turtle soup!"
** "MY PRECIOUS POWER RING.....''GOOOOONE FOREVER''....."
** "It's Shredder!" "WHERE?!"

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: Lampshaded in ''WesternAnimation/{{Turtles|Forever}} [[{{Crossover}} Forever]]''.
-->'''2003 Raphael''': Was that a mutant... banana?!\\
'''2003 Michelangelo''': This dimension is seriously messed up.

** In ''"The Four Musketurtles"'' there's a brief shot that includes a [[DemBones walking skeleton]]. There's no way it's somebody in a costume, since you can see through the ribs and pelvis.

** Many fans will tell you that the Turtles hate {{anchovies|are abhorrent}} on their pizza. While several storybooks based on the cartoon have brought this up and Michelangelo did specifically say he wanted no anchovies in [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles the first film]] when he phoned a delivery, the cartoon itself never said they hated them. Quite the opposite in fact; several episodes have mentioned that they did eat pizzas with anchovies.

* FanonDiscontinuity: Seasons 8-10, the "Red Sky" seasons. (Possibly CanonDiscontinuity, since ''WesternAnimation/TurtlesForever'' chose to ignore those seasons completely, though it could simply take place before them. The film was also meant to highlight the differences between the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 ''2003'' series]] and this one, so including the more serious seasons would largely defeat the purpose). Some are more forgiving of Season 8, though.

** "It's Shredder! WHERE?!"

** Art/TheMonaLisa only appeared in one episode, but she has a '''huge''' fan base as a result.

** In the pilot, when introducing each turtle and their WeaponOfChoice, Splinter describes Raphael's specialty as "No sword on Earth can withstand his sai". Come [[WesternAnimation/{{TMNT}} 2007]], we see this is true even for Leonardo's katanas, as an enraged Raph breaks them in their big fight, leaving him unarmed and vulnerable for the antagonists to capture him.

** The show aired on the British and Irish feed of Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} in the 90s. Sixteen years later, on 2009 Viacom would obtain the rights to the franchise when Nickelodeon bought it. (the deal didn't include this cartoon until recently this year).

** The show aired on the British and Irish feed of Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} in the 90s. Sixteen years later, on 2009 Viacom acquires the rights to the franchise (sadly, the deal didn't include this cartoon).

** "Get Shredder!" has the Channel 6 building being blown up by a bomb, which became much harsher after the Oklahoma City bombing. Surprisingly enough, the episode was never banned from airing unlike episodes of other shows which featured similar scenes (I.E. "New Partners on the Block" in ''Bonkers'').

** Season 7, the last "normal" season, is considered to be the best a number of fans, due to some surprisingly well-written and enjoyable episodes. "Night of The Dark Turtle" and "Legend of Koji" are believed to be ''the best episodes in the entire series''.

** "Get Shredder!" has the Channel 6 building being blown up by a bomb, which became much harsher after the Oklahoma City bombing. Surprisingly enough despite this the episode was never banned from airing unlike episodes of other shows which featured similar scenes (I.E. "New Partners on the Block" in ''Bonkers'').
** The plight of the Neutrinos, whose only 'crime' in Dimension X is to be young and not want to take part in the endless war of the adults around them, grows more poignant for the generation who came of age post-9/11 and the seemingly unending war in the Middle East.

*** Speaking of Creator/RobPaulsen, while we know that he voiced Raphael, his LoveInterest [[EnsembleDarkhorse Mona Lisa]] is voiced by Pat Musick. Fast forward 25 years, and Rob is now playing Donatello. But the real kicker is that Donnie's LoveInterest, April, is voiced by Pat Musick's ''daughter'', Creator/MaeWhitman!

* Shredder at one point comes up with a plan to use armored bulldozers to terrorize the city. Krang laughs it off as a stupid plan. The eventual real-life rampage of Marvin Heemeyer in 2004 would prove it to be a dangerously effective idea.