Parasitica Review (Nickelodeon)

Writer: Pete Goldfinger
Director: Micheal Chang
Air Date: 7/20/2013 (US)

It has been well over a month since the last episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There's not even going to be that long to wait between the season finale and the season two premiere. So, that means that this episode must be really good right? Nope.

It's not that this is a bad episode, it's just that it's so mediocre and doesn't really leave an impression. With the long wait in between episodes,I was expecting something better. The story, the humor, the animation, it's all just so "meh" for most of the episode.

The episode starts out with the Turtles going into a Kraang hideout. They find a giant wasp that stings Leo after a fairly dull fight. To be fair, the animation of the wasp oozing fluid from where his stringer was removed does look disgusting. In a good way.

Leo then becomes possessive of a wasps egg they find and takes it back to the lair. He guards over it, refusing to let his brothers come near it. The other Turtles trying to get him away from the egg are both the highlight and low point of the show. Every time "Space-Heroes" comes on, I think it's hysterical. I love having the show poke fun of Star Trek, specifically the ridiculous characters and story lines seen in the animated series, and this episode has one of the better jokes so far. This gag is followed up by Mikey trying to distract Leo by wiping his ass with a coming book. It's just so stupid. It's not funny and it's dumb moments like this that take away from the overall decent quality of the show.

Anyway, Leo has a fight with Raph and infects him with the wasps venom. I like the animation and sound design here. It's like a scene out of Alien. Raph gets infected, and in turn infects Don. Mikey saves the day, and the episode ends with the Turtles being surprised Michelangelo did something marginally intelligent.

Maybe the wasps will come back as part of the Kraang's plan, but I don't really care. Their origin and powers could probably be wrapped up in one sentence instead of wasting an entire episode on them. At least the Turtles are back on TV, hopefully straight through until the finale.

2/5 (5/5 for the Star Trek joke)