THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE

01PLOT

Open at night with the Turtles camping out in the deep woods of Northampton, Massachusetts, still recovering from their injuries sustained in their final battle with the Shredder (episode #78). After building their campfire, the guys decide to head out to do some exploring. Leonardo lags behind brooding as Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael investigate an old saw mill. Once inside, they decide to race to the roof.

Back at Casey's farmhouse, we see Jones, April O'Neil and Master Splinter sitting on the porch swing. Casey asks the Sensei if it's time for his nightly meditation and Splinter catches on that Jones wants to spend some time alone with April and departs. Casey yawns and stretches, slipping an arm behind April. The two lean into each other and kiss as a shooting star falls from the sky.

Upon reaching the roof of the mill, the Turtles (now joined by Leonardo) spot the shooting star. Only this isn’t a star at all, it’s some type of ship and its heading right for them! The ship crashes into the old mill, smashing it to pieces, as the Turtles dive into the nearby lake for safety. A large robot emerges from the water and the Turtles prepare themselves for trouble. Donatello intercedes and tries to talk peace, but the mechanical menace transforms its arm into a large energy cannon and attacks!

After defeating the robot (Leonardo is particularly zealous in his assault), the Turtles find an unconscious alien woman inside. The ninjas carry her back to their camp.

Cut to the farmhouse, where Casey speaks with Master Splinter in the attic. Jones wants to tell "someone" that he has feelings for her - but he's afraid that he'll mess things up, so he's seeking wisdom from the rodent Sensei. Splinter explains that he has no experience in these matters, but suggests breakfast in bed and many, many flowers. Casey is psyched to have the advice and rushes off.

In the morning, the alien woman awakes and attacks. Once again the guys try to talk, and they're happy to discover that she has a universal translator, making speech possible. The group exchanges stories over breakfast. The alien, Jhanna, explains that she was elected to take over rule of her planet through the traditional elector process: mortal combat with the current ruler. However, the current ruler, Moriah, tried to kill Jhanna by ambushing her ship before the scheduled battle. Jhanna was forced to make an emergency landing on Earth. The Turtles offer to help the woman, but she states she must do this alone to preserve her honor. She sticks a signaling beacon into the ground and waits for her political adversary to arrive.

Soon enough another blue-skinned alien female arrives... only she plans to cheat once again and has brought a group of four monsters with her to defeat Jhanna!

A battle ensues and Jhanna is swallowed whole by the blob creature, and the rock monster threw a bomb inside. The Turtles decide to help Jhanna since Moriah is cheating. Leonardo and Donatello free her and the bomb explodes taking the blob creature with it. As the Turtles fight the creatures, Jhanna tries to take the attack to Moriah, but she is caught by the huge rock monster that tosses her into the woods. Jhanna lands roughly and hits her head on a rock, knocking her senseless.

Back at the farmhouse, Casey brings breakfast (not a pretty sight) to April in bed and tells her how he truly feels about her.

In the woods, the Turtles eventually defeat all but one of the monsters. The huge rock creature punches its fist into the foundation of the old mill, collapsing the wall onto Michelangelo, trapping him. As Leonardo and Raphael try to free their brother, the beast throws a grenade at them.

Donatello leaps into the explosive's path and swings his bō like a baseball bat, knocking the grenade back at the monster. The canister is sent right into the creature ’s mouth where it explodes, blowing the baddie to bits - unfortunately they're very large bits, and they shower our heroes with rocks and boulders, knocking them unconscious.

Jhanna is finally able to face Moriah in one-on-one combat. Jhanna eventually defeats the trickster Moriah in a close fight. The champion uses her staff to capture the former leader in a stasis bubble.

Later that night, everyone is sleeping by the campfire. A brilliant light awakens Jhanna and a disembodied voice tells her it's time to come home. The alien warrior is pleased to assume her new role, but before leaving she cuts her braided ponytail and places it on Donatello's chest as a memento. With that, both alien women vanish.

At sunrise, Donatello announces forlornly that Jhanna has departed. April and Casey arrive in the van to pick up the guys. Donatello lags behind as the others pile into the vehicle, carefully packing the gift he was given.

02CAST & APPEARANCES

03OBJECTS, VEHICLES & PLACES

04SCREEN GRABS

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

05MEMORABLE QUOTES

Raph: (after Leo goes insane in destroying the giant robot) Leo! It's over! Back off bro!

Mikey: Cool move! I gotta remember that one. Raph: What's wrong with you, nunchuck-for-brains?

06TRIVIA

• This episode was based directly on the storyline of _TMNT #13_, from Volume 1 of Mirage's original comics.
• The movie _Tremors_ is referenced as Raph rides the black worm beast as he hollers out, "Yee-Freakin'-haa!".
• The mercenaries fighting for Moriah are direct allusions to the beasts Heracles/Hercules fought as well as the Titans themselves. The most obvious is the black worm beast, which heals and multiplies like the mythical Hydra.
• This episode reveals that a chunk of Leo's shell had been broken off after Karai stabbed him in "Exodus, Part 2".
• The phrase Mikey uses to try to communicate with Jhanna's robotic ship, "Klaatu verata nikto", is from the movie _The Evil Dead_ and is a variation of the phrase used in _The Day the Earth Stood Still_.
• The scene where Raph, Mikey, and Don high threed upon Moriah's defeat was recycled from "The Ultimate Ninja".

07FAN REVIEW

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