EPISODE FORTY
“City at War” Part One
Written by Eric Luke
Original Air Date: March 13, 2004
Supervising Producer: Lloyd Goldfine
Producers: Gary Richardson, Frederick U. Fierst, Al Kahn, Norman Grossfeld, Thomas Kenney
Supervising Director: Chuck Patton
Story Editor: Lloyd Goldfine
MAJOR CHARACTERS:
Donatello (Sam Regal)
Leonardo (Michael Sinterniklaas)
Michelangelo (Wayne Grayson)
Raphael (Frank Frankson)
Splinter (Darren Dunstan)
SECONDARY CHARACTERS:
Foot Elite
Various mobsters
Various Foot ninja
Baxter Stockman
Karai
Baxter’s latest attack robot
MAIN LOCATIONS, VEHICLES AND ACCESSORIES:
TMNT lair
Foot and mobster headquarters
Synopsis:
Intro: Leonardo narrates as we see him inside an empty warehouse. A time bomb ticks down to zero and the building goes up in flames. The explosion throws the Turtles into the river and he begins to sink…
Act 1: Open with city at night. Leo and Raph are racing along the rooftops. Leonardo reaches the destination first and dives with his blades drawn, stabbing the weapons into a bulls eye painted on a billboard. Unfortunately, Leo missed the center. Raph arrives soon and throws one of his sais, which hits the bull’s-eye perfectly. Raphael retrieves his weapon and tells his brother that all his fancy techniques won’t necessarily help him get the job done. Raph then takes the lead and Leo follows him.
As the duo transverse the precarious rooftops, they hear noises and stop. The ninjas witness a group of mobsters meeting with some mysterious figures, doing a deal of some kind. The shadowy figure turns out to be an Elite Guard from the Foot Clan – he counts the money being offered him in the briefcase, which turns out to only be one half of the amount they had apparently agreed on. The gangster retorts that the Foot will get the rest once they deliver the goods, but the Elite Guard becomes angry and orders his minions to attack. The mobsters open fire with their weapons and a battle royale breaks out. Some stray shots nearly hit the observing Turtles, and Leo draws his blades and prepares to jump into the battle, but Raphael holds him back and tells him this isn’t their fight. Leonardo is unsure what to do, but the police arrive and run all of the villains off.
Cut to a darkened room in Japan where we see a woman training in the martial arts with a practice dummy. A phone call interrupts her workout and informs the ninja, whose name is Karai, that the gangs of New York City city are at war in the wake of the Shredder’s death. Karai informs her underlings to prepare her private jet… she’s going to the Big Apple to clean up the mess.
Act 2: Back at the Turtles’ lair, Leonardo is watching the news reports of increasing gang violence. Leo feels frustrated and angry by what he’s watching. The Turtle turns off the TV and stands up, spotting a target by the wall – he leaps into the air and stabs his blades into the target – once again missing its center. Splinter arrives and asks Leonardo what’s troubling him. Leo explains that he’s unhappy because their action against the Shredder didn’t actually help the city, but apparently made things worse! Leonardo feels responsible for the innocent people who are getting hurt in the crossfire between the gang attacks. The other Turtles arrive as Leo explains why defeating Shredder may have been a bad thing. Raph disagrees, but Mikey sees Leonardo’s point. Splinter cautions the upset Turtle not to get involved in the city’s war and to stay in the lair… but Leo states that he can’t sit by and do nothing about the mess that he’s created, and he walks off.
Outside, Leonardo is standing on a rooftop water tower, confused over Master Splinter’s desire not to fix things and feeling guilty about the innocent people being hurt in the gang conflicts. Leo wonders what he can do to make things right. He spots a gang of Foot ninja and secretly follows them. The Foot lead the Turtle to a warehouse, where the Clan members are greeted by an Elite guard. The ninjas enter the building. Leonardo decides to investigate and crashes through a skylight. The Turtle finds a gang of unconscious mobsters and a time bomb! Leonardo carries the thugs to safety and then tries to defuse the explosive. After ripping out a wire, it looks like Leo is successful as the bomb stops ticking, but as soon as the ninja breathes a sigh of relief, the device starts back up! Leonardo only has seconds to escape and he runs for the windows as the bomb explodes! The warehouse is completely demolished and the Turtle is tossed into the river…
Act 3: The Elite Guard sees the explosion and is pleased that their mission has been accomplished. As the fire burns and sirens sound, the Foot Clan retreat. Leo emerges from the river and follows the ninjas.
Back at the TMNT lair, Michelangelo is using an old map, some toys and dice to figure out who’s going to win the war between the gangs. Don arrives and asks Mikey what he’s up to, and the affable Turtle explains to his brainy brother that the mob, Purple Dragons and Foot Clan are all vying to gain control of New York’s criminal network now that the Shredder has been eliminated. Mikey states that the mobsters are currently in last place, and he wonders what they plan to do about it…
Cut to the inner sanctum of some gangsters. Several bosses are trying to figure out what to do when another leader shows up and announces that he’s found them a new (annoying) partner that will help them take control of the city that very evening.
At the Foot Clan’s HQ (a building barely holding itself together), we see Leo spying on the Foot, a lot of Foot. The Turtle draws his katanas and thinks that he’ll have to take them on alone, but before he can move, he’s grabbed from behind by his brothers, who have arrived to keep him from getting in over his head. Raph again states that this isn’t their fight – but the Turtles are spotted and quickly surrounded by the Foot ninjas – Mikey points out that it’s their fight now!
Act 4: A big battle ensues on the rooftop and eventually moves down into warehouse. The Turtles fair well, but they are greatly outnumbered and the odds don’t seem good for a victory.
Cut outside to see the mobsters arrive in a truck. We discover that the gangsters’ new ally is Baxter Stockman, his head now attached to the shoulders of a robotic exo-suit. Stockman releases an assault robot which joins the fray going on inside the building. The mechanoid begins firing shots at everyone it can spot. Leo notices how the robot is using a primary sensor laser to target, and he rushes the machine, leaping into the air with swords drawn. This time Leo hits the bull’s-eye and the mech’s sensors are destroyed. The machine begins firing wildly in all directions.
Stockman and the mob boss are watching these events safely inside their truck. Baxter resorts to “Plan B” and remotely blows up the warehouse with several (previously planted) bombs! As the building begins to crumble, Raph grabs Leonardo by the arm and tells him that he hopes he’s satisfied with himself for bringing this mess upon his family’s back. The building then crumbles onto the Turtles!
