INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE

01PLOT

The Turtles fight with some mutant toads in the subway tunnels. After defeating them, Leo notes that it is getting late - the Turtles head back home. Meanwhile at Area 51, Baxter Stockman has created his new clone body. Agent Bishop confronts him and warns Stockman because the clone body is prone to decomposition (similar to the genetically engineered aliens), but Stockman disregards his warning. As Bishop leaves, Stockman puts his brain in a jar and starts to transfer his consciousness to the clone body.

Suddenly, Stockman starts to dream of his past. As a young boy, Baxter tried to experiment on a cockroach, but his mother soon arrives. Young Baxter runs to hug his mother who gives her the science lab set (which is going to be great game for her son to play than pots and pans). The young Baxter asks his mother to play with him, but she must work a double shift to pay the bills. As Baxter begins to get upset his mother encourages him to play saying: "The sky's the limit for my Baxter." Baxter lets free the roach with a smile on his face. After transferring his consciousness to his new body, Stockman is excited to be human again.

However, his clone body quickly begins to act strangely. While trying to test it, Stockman dreams about his mother again, but upon awakening he discovers his body has begun to decompose at a frightening rate. Although he attempts to study and repair himself through a mixture of reattaching his diseased limbs and cybernetic prosthetics, his efforts end in failure, resulting in him resembling something akin to Frankenstein's Monster. Driven to desperation and madness, Stockman attempts to trace back to the source of his trouble. First, the punishments at the hands of the Shredder and Hun, then the humiliating defeats at the hands of the Turtles. Then he finds what he believes to be the source of his troubles: April O'Neil. Stockman believes that if April had not run off and met the Turtles, the Mouser program would not have failed, and the Shredder would not have tortured Stockman. Filled with anger and revenge, Stockman jumps to the helicopter and uses it to fly to the New York City where he can get his revenge on April O'Neil!!!

!Don unveils the new and disguised Battle Shell.

Don unveils the new and disguised Battle Shell.

Back in New York City, April and Casey Jones watch TV together, but Stockman appears and attacks – Casey is knocked out, and Stockman kidnaps April (who is also knocked unconscious after being shot by Stockman's tranquilizer dart). Later on at the Turtles' lair, Donatello shows his brothers the new and disguised Battle Shell, but Casey calls them on the Shell Cell about April's kidnapping. Later on, Casey explains when Stockman appeared, he said he would take April to the place where the all started. Leonardo figures out it is the Stocktronics building, and they head there. At the abandoned Stocktronics building, Stockman arrives with April as a hostage. He suddenly hallucinates about his mother - she is dying, and he is incapable of saving her. Meanwhile, April finally awakens. Stockman then hallucinates he is working with April once again. The Turtles and Casey arrive and Stockman's mind returns to the present. Don tells April to get out, however, Stockman defeats the Turtles and Casey.

While trying to escape, April finds the cable car which goes above the East River. The Turtles and Casey try to find April and Stockman. Don spots a chopper (which Stockman piloted to the city) and tries to find them from above. April hides inside the cable car, but Stockman starts to chase her. Stockman jumps into the cable car and tries to attack April, she swing kicks him in the jaw, but ot didn't bother him. April was unable to fully fight back due to the high dosage of the tranquilizer temporarily blocking her adrenaline. The Turtles and Casey find them and attempt to fight Stockman and save April. As the Turtles and Casey escape with April, Stockman separates her from the Turtles. As the Turtles and Casey fly away, leaving April with Stockman, the cable car starts to lurch: the damage to the cable car is too great, and it shall soon fall. April begs for her life and says he was a brilliant man, with great potential. As April begs him to be that man again, Stockman hallucinates about his mother again. Seeing April as his mother, whom then begins to scold him for all the evil he has done, Stockman realizes his mistakes, says she must get away, because it is not safe there. The Turtles and Casey return, just in time for Stockman to hand over April.

Suddenly, the cable car breaks free from the support cable and Stockman falls into the East River. The Turtles, April and Casey become worried by the possible death of Stockman and think the only thing which Stockman gave them was grief. Don then says Stockman had also given them the chopper. The episode ends with the Turtles, April, and Casey fly off in search of a place to land the chopper.

02CAST & APPEARANCES

03OBJECTS, VEHICLES & PLACES

04SCREEN GRABS

4 frames. Auto-matched screencaps via Fancaps.net.

05MEMORABLE QUOTES

Bishop: Do what you will Doctor, but don't damage that brain of yours, it is still of some use to me. Baxter Stockman: Maybe the dullard should make a brain of his own.

Baxter Stockman: This expirment, IS... A... CATASTROPHE!!!!

Baxter Stockman: Oh, Momma, I started with with such promise, where did it all go wrong?!!! WHERE?!!!!

Mikey: You asked for it, Dr. Stockman-Stein!

06NOTES & GOOFS

• During Baxter Stockman's flashback, when his mother comes home, she closes the door behind her and kneels to wait for her son. As he runs to her, the door is shown to be standing open.

07TRIVIA

• Stocktronics is seen again; it was last seen in the third episode of the first season being blown to bits.
• When Stockman's cloned body starts falling apart, he takes a new monstrous form that resembles Mary Shelley's Frankenstein's Monster (that may explain Michelangelo's ironic commentary).
• The Turtles acquire Baxter Stockman's helicopter as their second arsenal of new vehicles.
• This episode initially did not air in the U.S because it was deemed "too graphic", until Nickelodeon aired it on the Nicktoons channel during their marathon of the TMNT 2003 fourth season.
• This would not be the only time the series would ban an episode due to its graphic themes, as another similar episode in season 5 called Nightmares Recycled was cancelled due to even darker tones than this episode.
• Unlike this episode, "Nightmares Recycled" was cancelled before it was completed.
• For some odd reason, in the montage scene where Baxter Stockman traces back his steps of failure, one scene shows Raph defeating Baxter in his third robot suit.
• Mikey says the Shaggy Rogers' catchphrase "Zoinks!".

08FAN REVIEW

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