BRIEF STORYLINE: A series of burglaries of TMNT memorabilla is reported and the TMNT, obviously interested in this, set out to see who is behind this. Also, April's apartment is broken into, but April is there, and luckily makes a note of the license plate number of the thief's car. This gives April and Irma something to show to the police, who tell the address of the owner of the car. They find out its billionaire Monroe Q. Flem, a maker of rare gases, and in his spare time, obsessively collects items belonging to the turtles. April tries to sneak into his building by herself, but guard dogs block her way, and she is caught by Flem. Irma is waiting in the TV van outside.
The turtles are worried sick when they receive no answer from April on the Turtle Comm, and go to look for her in her apartment. She isn't there. They smartly figure out what April has been doing recently and go to the mansion. Flem manages to capture the turtles as well. A great addition to his collection. Flem want to dip the turtles in special preservative wax for his wax display in the mansion. To stop the turtles getting away, Flem sprays them with freezing gas.
With the turtles and April helpless, only Irma can save them now, but not known for her bravery can she retrieve them from the mansion of wax to safety? Or is Flem's one and only shot at the turtles going to become a 100% success?
TMNT REVIEW HQ COMMENTS: A not very memorable episode, with a stereotypical British or whatever, rich businessman as a villain. Well, it is an original concept of the turtles becoming well-known to people now, that we have someone who wants collect anything to do with the turtles. Even the living, breathing turtles themselves. It's a badly edited episode though.
It's mostly the action scenes that do shine in this episode, with some fuuny moments. The good stuff begins near the start, when the turtles are chasing of of Flem's minions, after ransacking April's apartment.
The first chance we get to see of Flem the billionaire, is funny in the words he uses to describe his feelings about his minion's intelligence, with "I anticipated your stupidity". However, the impact of this entrance is weak. Other things that have equal impact are the turtles making out Flem's mansion as a bad, horrible-looking building, which they try to derieve weak humour from it.
However one genuinely funny-for-a-cartoon moment, is the turtles finding Irma sleeping and snoring in the Channel Six van, which Raphael describes her snoring would make a great "intruder alarm". Another funny bone tickling scene is April slagging off Flem's bad jokes, while she is close to getting waxed completely. She also makes a reference about wanting only her legs waxed, as she normally does, but not like this!
Despite Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady not being in this episode, one thing we didn't expect to see are waxworks of them, silent and still, and nothing more. You think maybe they might turn up later on, but they don't, to maybe, some people's delight or groans. It is a fairly straightforward episode, and not that exciting either.
The final battle scene is done well, and we see a couple of good moves from the turtles connecting with Flem's evil robots as they go all out to save April. The ending isn't executed well and forgettable.
"TURTLEMANIAC" GETS A: 2/5 RATING.
