I'd say a little of both. The CW has had Gorilla Grodd running around in The Flash (2014) since the start, but at the same time Jojo the human doesn't work if his dad is an ape.
I read bits and pieces that were still around after the strike and... Yikes. Are we sure that script wasn't from a porn parody? Like one of those cheap superhero knockoff pornos?
No? Yikes... Because that's legit what it read like to me. A really distasteful porn parody script. Nothing in Turtles Forever was nearly that distasteful to me, though looking back it did kind of go a little far in hating the 1987 Turtles.
Edited by PhiSat on May 26th 2021 at 2:20:19 AM
Oissu!The creators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were part of the creative team. It's why the 2K3 show was more faithful to the source material than the 80's cartoon. I certainly don't think they were "venting their anger"
Anyway, it's not comparable to this situation since the 80's show wasn't the source material, the Mirage comics TMNT are the source material and the 2003 show was actually very faithful to it even if it also did it's own spin on things. The Mirage Turtles themselves were treated with respect and the story even points out how the other Turtles wouldn't exist without them.
Edited by Cortez on May 27th 2021 at 2:59:31 PM
I'm remembered of how Jodi Picoult was given the job of writing Wonder Woman and her run was filled with moments pointing out how Diana is seen as an inferior superhero in-universe (one gag even mentions a drink based on her being discontinued due to lack of popularity). This clearly wasn't endearing Diana to audiences but DC wasn't about to tell a major author she was screwing up.
I hope this does not come across as too tasteless, but I've been giggling to myself all day at the fact that the name of The CW's CEO is Mark Pedowitz.
"I like girls, but now, it's about justice."I had some trouble stomaching it but I finally pushed myself to reading the entire script.
They did Bubbles and Professor Utonium dirty. These issues were pretty clear from the first couple pages - Bubbles an Utonium are obsessed with their 'brand' in what seems like a very poorly executed meta-commentary.
I don't really get why they made Mojo Jojo into two human people. Especially at the end of the script where it turns out Mojo's brain has been transplanted into his pet monkey. I mean if you are going to have that reveal at the end then what was the point in making him human??
I don't buy the girls deciding to stay in Townsville at the end. It felt kind of forced and did not really make sense for their characters, especially Blossom.
There are way too many forced pop-culture references in this script. Blossom is talking to her boyfriend using bitmoji (who does that???). Bubbles and Utonium keep on talking about weird 80s movies which the script assumes everyone remembers. It just doesn't land, a lot of these references are very dated and I am not sure which demographic they are targeted at.
Having Blossom deal with PTSD is an interesting idea, but it could have been executed better. Buttercup came out of this the most unscathed, however I later read about the Unfortunate Implications of making the one tomboyish aggressive Powerpuff Girl a black lesbian so . . .
I think the biggest overall problem is this pilot is trying to make the show gritty and realistic and distance itself from the silly campy stuff of the original cartoon. Now we all know this is a very dated idea that a lot of execs are still obsessed with. But this pilot somehow botches *that*. The writer is trying to hard to go in the opposite direction and makes the show seem somehow more silly and embarrasing.
I think someone said it's the tv equivalent of the the Steve buscmei "How do you do fellow kids ?" Meme in how Totally Radical it is.
"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."Oh, so the cartoon is actually Show Within a Show in this show?
Huh. That could have been interesting.
I like that idea.
The 03 turtles got their share of that too. They weren't as intense as the Mirage Turtles.
Edited by FOFD on May 28th 2021 at 6:58:46 AM
"There's an entire scene where Bubbles derisively refers to the cartoon as "whitewashed" since it was In-Universe propaganda and it's implied all the girls hated it."
See, that's a problem because the audience of a live action Powerpuff Girls show is likely to be mostly composed of people who actually liked the cartoon. So that's kind of spitting in their faces. Then again, from the sound of things, they seem to be writing the show for people who didn't like the original cartoon; the script seems successful in that regard, but it forces one to ask "why bother?" In either case, why bother? Why make a TV series that twists something you like into a joyless parody of itself, or (taking it from the other angle) essentially amounts to wiping your butt with something you don't like?
Has anyone here noticed the Unfortunate Implications of what they did to Professor Utonium?
- The Caucasian Utonium of the original show - Kind and loving father who to say he cares for his daughters would be an understatement. All in spite of their creation being by complete accident.
- The African-American Utonium of the Live Action show - An abusive dick who stole the glory from his white partner and then exploited his children just to become rich.
Kind reminds me of how the Brain Dump episode covering the 2016 reboot discussed the lessons that show could impart on today's youth
.
He basically is more Dick Hardly here. A scummy scientist who forces them to do this and a huge douchebag then his Nice Guy original self.
"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."

If Mojo does turn out to be human, do you think the change was due to a green chimp not being "dark" enough or for budgetary reasons?