TMNT *is* for the old fans, as much as newer ones, just like the Transformers movies. That's the point of making a new show based on an old IP, not only introduce new audiences to it, but also make money off of the old audience, plus people will have heard of the old series so will watch it just based on the recognizable name. It's like the new Scooby Doo prequel movie - kids these days haven't grown up with Scooby Doo, so they made a movie that can get those kids interested, while still keeping it similar enough to the original show to make money off of original fans, even if it only has two members of the original gang. The trailer really gives the sense of a Scooby Doo mystery. Otherwise they might as well just make an entirely new show with a new IP that wouldn't require paying for the rights to use the IP.
See, you're wrong right there, TMNT is not for old fans, you're confusing marketing strategies. TMNT is for kids, it's a kids property, especially now that Viacom bought it. They might make some products where they have a wider target demographic like the Platinum Dunes movies (which failed) and the IDW comic among other nostalgic merchandising aimed at adults. The 2012 show was still a kids show, the fact that adults could enjoy it was an extra, Rise of the TMNT is getting a backlash because entitled nerds think they need to be catered to when in the end as long as they're making money, they don't care. Geek culture has become mainstream and companies are marketing more to a different crowd but don't confuse that as being the real target audience, especially not comparing evergreen properties like TMNT or Marvel to smaller niche ones.
Kids don't need to be introduced to series as you say, I watched so many shows without knowing anything about them as a kid just fine. I watched Scooby-Doo incarnations like 13 ghosts without having watched anything prior and you can bet my dad who had watched Scooby-Doo didn't care to watch a new cartoon of a pup named Scooby Doo and yet it was my favorite interpretation.
I do agree with your last point, when you make something so different then it hurts it, the scooby formula is evergreen because it's proven to work over different generations. ReBoot was not proven to be an evergreen show however. And having the ReBoot name IS hurting the show as everyone is reviewing it negatively because it's not ReBoot. I mentioned in the review I linked that the show would do a lot better if it didn't have the ReBoot baggage.
You still haven't said who you think the target audience is, if it isn't us. What is this target audience for whom the Reboot license makes sense over creating an entirely new IP, such as "VR Guardians" or some such? So far your only reason for the "Reboot" license being a bad idea is so they don't annoy "angry neckbeards" (great way to make a reasonable argument, insulting people who you don't agree with).
Note, I'm not talking about the quality of the show at all. I'm asking who you think this target audience is, since you say the target audience is not people who have seen the original series.
It's clearly not us as the target audience, I mean they hope old fans can like it but they know a few neckbeards can't carry a show. And I don't mean neckbeards as a way to insult, just to categorize that we're not who it's intended for, it's a stereotype that they even use in the actual show on the last episode. And I did answer who the target audience is: Kids, kids who will catch this on TV or Netflix and like it with all the hype that VR has which is still there despite what "neckbeards" may think, I mean it's no coincidence the show launched the week that Ready Player One came out.
Yes, I agree a new IP would've been better for what they're doing (at least so far), I would've gladly preferred that as it's more like Power Rangers than anything else and I think a VR Power Rangers is a really cool idea.
Why are they using the ReBoot IP? I already mentioned it but I think Rainmaker/Mainframe love ReBoot, and after unsuccessfully trying to get the show going, they opted for a new concept and sneaking ReBoot in it. Based on episode 10 I also think they will try to incorporate more stuff going forward.
I don't think the show is bad because it's different from the original ReBoot. I think the show is bad judged independently, and it's just a shame that it happens to be using an IP that was once a great children's property.
It was regrettable that the former female main character from ReBoot was relegated to essentially a damsel in distress in Episode 10 of TGC. Dot didn't do anything but act fearful and smooch Bob, while she was always a strong character in the original show from the first episode of Season 1. You have to understand, I know I'm not the target audience, but I can still identify crap when I see it. I don't care about continuity, I'm not looking for answers to a cliffhanger I watched when I was 10. I'm saying this not as a fan of a children's show from 20 years ago, but as someone who'd decide whether or not to show a child a television program.
There are plenty of good shows for kids to watch. The bar is high. Steven Universe, Adventure Time, Star vs The Forces is Evil, and so on. They inspire the imagination and recognize that children are complex and capable of understanding all sorts of things. It's a shame own its own that a show like TGC is put out there for kids.
It's difficult to put your bias aside even when trying to be neutral about a show, you can think it's bad, that's fine. I think it's a bit mediocre so far but it has potential to get better since I like the concept and they started laying seeds for story arcs in the later episodes. I may be wrong but I wouldn't call the show trash, I'm just not the target audience, if I were a little kid I would've loved it. Many of us loved Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers as kids and yet it wasn't all that different from this show. and had no level of "complexity". The idea of going into virtual worlds was always something I wanted to see more of as a kid and I'm sure many kids will fill their imaginations with this idea.
Let's also not act like ReBoot was a different show, its first season is extremely rough and I think this show has a better first season than the original show had. Dot was not that much of a "strong" female character at all during that first season, we saw that evolve as well as the other characters. Episode 10 showed us the characters in their season 1 characterization, it's not "web corrupted' Bob and Enzo is a kid, sure that may need some explanation but I guess the system just rebooted like Season 4 tried to explain or whatever. It was done for fan service more than to further the original ReBoot plot similar to Turtles Forever which can't really fit in the original show of TMNT's continuity very well. They were also trying to re-create the "bad" CG of the 90s, because the rest of the CG characters are really cool even if not all the set pieces so those criticisms that "the cg is worse than the 90s" didn't seem to get it, they were meant to look like their season 1 counterparts, Dot even has the uniboob.
