With the fad in full swing, season five of the insanely popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became more about marketing than entertainment. Plot lines show the writers were completely out of ideas, the introduction of new mutants is purely motivated by toy sales, and the series' key villain constantly takes a backseat. There is some manageable material, but this season is the beginning of the end.

While it would still run for five additional seasons, TMNT was long out of gas. One episode of the 18 in this set is notable. “Pirate Radio” returns to what the series did best, pitting the Turtles against nemeses Shredder and Krang. The wit, self-referential humor, and plot line are spot on with what made this series a success. Sadly, not much else here can be spoken of in the same terms.

Typical episodes with Shredder revolve around looking for the latest power source for the hulking home base named the Technodrome. Every one of these would revolutionize the world, yet it never gains any mention in later episodes. Yes, it’s a kids Saturday morning TV show, but after countless plots like this, it’s bordering on absurd.

The majority of the episodes ditch Shredder all together, inserting new villains in an attempt to break away from the norm. “Donatello’s Bad Time” is the perfect example of throwaway characters. The bad guys here are forgettable Southern stereotypes who happen to pick the wrong city to wreck.

New mutants tossed into the fray include additional fluff like Mondo Gecko and Muckman. Both would start out against the Turtles, only to realize the error of their ways in support of their mutant counterparts. Note they would both be purchasable on store shelves not long after airing in plastic action figure form.

Some improvements are noticeable, including better care in the animation which leads to almost no mistakes, yet the downhill slide begins here. For kids, they’ll still have a fun time watching the antics of these green mutants. For nostalgia fans, this is where you stop buying the box sets.

Video quality is in line with prior Lions Gate releases of this series, if not marginally better. Color is a tad brighter, though this likely has more to do with a lighter tone for the show than the DVD transfer. Compression remains heavy, and occasional jumping on the prints cheapens this effort.

Audio is straightforward 2.0 stereo. There is no noticeable use of individual speakers. Dialogue and the soundtrack come through cleanly.

Extras include one piece worth watching. The Turtles: A Ninjatastic Look Back is an 18 minute look back at the series with all four voice actors who played the Turtles. Some of their stories are funny, while their reminiscing about calling sick or even dying children in character are touching. Fans will love these interviews.