BRIEF STORYLINE: Krang creates havoc again with his Hydrofluxer device that will flood the famous canals of Venice, and hold it for ransom. The turtles just happen to be in Venice, and they manage to bump into Shredder, who has gone through a portal to the Venetian sewers. Combat between the 2 sides begins, but Shredder makes a getaway. The turtles run into April and colleague Irma, who are reporting on the Venice Regatta. While the turtles are blabbering, Krangs transports Bebop and Rocksteady to assemble the Hydrofluxer, piece by piece. They just happen to ram into April and Irma, and threaten them. The turtles come back to rescue their friends and Bebop and Rocksteady run away, but they leave one thing behind in their hasteness...the instructions to build the Hydrofluxer. Donatello now knows the villain's devilish plans and leads to the location to snatch the most vital part of the Hydrofluxer.
Shredder can't wait to switch on the Hydrofluxer, and proceeds to do so, with the important component missing. It splutters out of control, and brings all these stone gargoyles alive, kidnapping April and Irma. The Hydrofluxer eventually does its job, and a giant tidal wave is beginning to grow and the city is at stake with some severe flooding on the way!
Can the turtles salvage the soon-to-be-waterlogged city of Venice? Have they met their match against the stone gargoyles? Will the ending be sad, causing you to FLOOD in tears?!
TMNT REVIEW HQ COMMENTS: The episode starts nicely and ideally, as the turtles are floating in a gondola(long canoe shaped boat used in Venice), with Leonardo showing his somersault skills on the gondola. The editing's quite good. Then in the next scene in the Technodrome we have the opposite, which is quite bad, when Krang devises his flood plan. There's one part where Krang and Shredder are outside the Technodrome on the asteroid, and the Foot soldiers are marching by, giving their respects to the 2. But where are they going? They are in the middle of nowhere. Maybe it's to give Krang that sense of empowerment and domination. Also, Shredder is voiced by a different voice actor in this one, not James Avery.
Irma's view on Italy is amusing as she is gibbering to April. All she thinks about Italy is "Italian men" and "pasta".One of the worst scenes is when April contacts the turtles in the sewer about the upcoming Mardi Gras. Blurry editing.
A better second stop at the on-goings in the Technodrome. Classic humour from Krang, who is talking about his Hydrofluxer and he pokes fun at Rocksteady saying, "chewing gum's complicated to you horn-head!". The fleeting action between Shredder and the turtles in the sewer's is scrappy, however redeemed by the turtles scene using wooden planks as surfboards in the water.
Krang's on really fine form on humour in this episode. When Krang is talking to Shredder, who is at his hideout in Venice, Krang mean-manneredly says "looks like your apartment...only nicer!". Shredder scoffs it off by calling Krang's humour "feeble". Bebop and Rocksteady though, have some failed attempts at humour when they are jumping gondola-to-gondola. The editing here is OK.
Another worst scene of the episode is definetely when Donatello finds out what Shredder and Krang are up to thanks to the instructions left behind. A couple of really bad edits.
Next up, Krang is funny via slapstick. He throws a wrench through the portal in frustration at Bebop, and hits him on the head. For a short while the episode gets better when the turtles are frenetically search for that vital part of the Hydrofluxer. More goodness to follow in the scene when the Hydrofluxer is switched on, causing multi-coloured lightining all over the city, and stone gargoyles come to life. It's quite epic-feeling.
More Krang being funny moments, between him crying at the end(though badly edited). Shredder is very comical when he admits he wants to be the one giving all the orders, but Krang tells him his IQ, and Shredder responds with "hmm, i might have to take a few night classes".
The final fight scenes are a let-down, but some of it is thrilling like Bebop and Rocksteady driving a speed boat, throwing itself over the Turtle Van. The closing sequence is badly edited i'm afraid, when the turtles hear the annoucement of "their heroes" having to unmask at a given time soon in Venice. A somewhat below par episode.
"VENICE ON THE HALF SHELL" GETS A: 2/5 RATING.
