New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV Show Replaces Cowabunga With "Booyakasha"

By Matt Aspin / September 30, 2012

Oh my! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans have had more than their fair share of bad news in the last 12 months so it should come as no real surprise that the latest buzz regarding the franchise is also going to ruffle a few feathers. Not that turtles have feathers. According to Entertainment Weekly, a world famous Ninja Turtles catchphrase will not be uttered during the premiere season of the new TMNT TV show which is airing on Nickelodeon in the US and Cartoon Network in the UK. That's right Turtles fans, "Cowabunga" is out. The new buzz word in the sewers of New York City? "Booyakasha". The show's producer Ciro Neili had this to say:

"There was a lot of talk about what the new 'cowabunga' was, or whether it should even remain 'cowabunga. We hadn't initially come up with anything yet because we didn't really necessarily need it . But then when we were at the record, one of the actors -- Greg Cipes, who actually plays Michelangelo -- just kind of went for it. When he said it in the room, there were a lot of executives there. I think it was our first record. And it was that moment when he said it -- I think he just really pulled it off and kind of won everybody over in the room. And it stuck."

Exactly why a phrase most commonly associated with Sacha Baron-Cohen's alter-ego Ali G is being used in a kids TV show considering they officially shouldn't have watched any Ali G is beyond us, however Neili assures us that Cowabunga is not gone forever - probably.

"That cowabunga replacement is one of many things we say. And we might actually -- I think cowabunga might be coming. We just wanted to wait on it. We didn't want to do everything at once."

So how do we all feel about this change? Are the catchphrases of classic shows as important as the stories and characters themselves? Will you be watching the cowabunga-less Teenage Mutant Ninja/Hero Turtles? And is this the biggest travesty since Ninja was replaced with Hero in the UK? Have your say below.