The Technodrome. Undoubtedly the most active Ninja Turtles related website and community forums on the internets. I, like many of you, got my start in the TMNT online community there. Where would we be without it? Homeless, in the gutter, clinging to life by a thread? No…probably not…But we love it anyway!
Though we think about and make reference to “the drome” regularly, we very seldom stop to think that it took someone to create said masterpiece. Two someones actually. We recently sat down with Shredder and Krang, admins and creators of the Technodrome, for a little back and fourth. Here is what they had to say!
Thank You for this opportunity guys. First of all, tell us about yourselves. I don’t think too many people out there know much about you personally.
Shredder:
Well, we prefer staying in the background and letting the site be about TMNT and general discussion rather than us personally, but I guess we can share a few details. I think a lot of people know that Krang’s my younger brother in real life and we grew up big fans of the TMNT cartoon.
Krang:
For me, you can tell what some of my hobbies/interests are based on my posts on the forums (video games, wrestling, computers, anime, etc.). I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this or not, but Shredder and I have also been taking karate for over 5 years. Other than that, I work as a software developer where I deal with the same sort of technology that we use on the site (PHP, MySQL, HTML, JavaScript, etc.), so there’s a lot of crossover between the two. I have a Bachelor’s degree in computer science and just recently finished my Master’s degree in web programming.
Shredder:
Krang’s definitely our resident computer guru. We do have a lot of similar interests- aside from karate, I’m also a big video game, wrestling, and anime fan. I also love animals, reading, and writing. As far as work, I’m currently employed at a college. My BA’s in English, though, and I’m considering going back to school at some point and am looking into graduate school options myself.
Why did you start the Technodrome?
Krang:
To be honest, I don’t really remember. I think we were just bored one day and came up with something fun to goof around with. Once we saw that people actually started visiting it, we started putting more effort into it and taking it more seriously.
Shredder:
Yeah, I think Krang pretty much covered it. The site was pretty much just for fun at first, since we both loved the TMNT cartoon. We also thought it would be cool to give a little more attention to the bad guys of the show, since just about all of the other TMNT sites were about the Turtles.
What made you decide to go with the Shredder and Krang online personas? For that matter, what was it about the Technodrome (from the television show) that made you decide to theme your website around it?
Shredder:
Shredder is my favorite character from the cartoon and we always liked the bad guys better as kids. I guess we thought they were funnier and more interesting than the Turtles. My favorite Turtle was always Michaelangelo, though.
Krang:
When I first started watching the cartoon as a kid in 1989, Leonardo was my favorite character, but a short time later I decided that I liked Krang more. He has been my favorite since. The site was originally called Krang and Shredder’s Page, but when we moved to our own domain in 2000, we thought The Technodrome would be a better name.
Shredder:
Yeah, we figured “The Technodrome” sounded better for a site name because it was a specific place.
What are some of your favorite and least favorite things about working on the Technodrome?
Krang:
Least favorite: Dealing with problems between members on the forums.
Favorite: Being able to write or setup software for the site and forums and seeing people use it.
Shredder:
Least favorite: There doesn’t seem to be a lot of interest in the content of the site itself (apart from the forums). I’d like to come up with more ideas for new features and things, but it seems that fansite-type material just isn’t really popular anymore. There are a few things I’m working on that I do want to put up anyway, though.
Favorite: I like reading the forums and working on projects here and there for the site. I’ve been working on a very big “Choose Your Own Adventure” fanfic and enjoy writing things like TMNT Madlibs. Whether there’s a lot of interest or not in the site itself, it still gives me an outlet for stuff like this and I enjoy it.
Is there a particular thread or topic that sticks out in your brains as being the most memorable?
Krang:
I’ve seen some funny threads here and there that stick out, but I can’t think of any right now. There’s also the Nintendo thread, which is one of the longest threads still active.
Shredder:
I enjoy the Original Toon Screencaps and gif threads. My favorite threads for discussion are the pro wrestling and video game threads, though.
Krang:
Yeah, I like those sections, too.
How do you feel about the site lasting as long as it has? And more generally, how do you feel about the TMNT lasting as long as it has?
Krang:
It doesn’t seem like it’s been almost 10 years, so I’m not sure what to say about that. I’m glad we still have people visiting the site, though. For the TMNT, it’s not really that surprising because of how popular the cartoon was.
Shredder:
Yeah, exactly. It’s cool that people are still interested in the TMNT and we’re glad there’s still discussion on our forums!
What are your future plans for the site?
Krang:
Improving the quality of the sections on the site, particularly the multimedia. A lot of it hasn’t been updated since the early 2000s.
Shredder:
Personally, I’ve been trying to participate more on the forums, rather than just reading them. I try to start new threads here and there to stir up interest. I’d also like to regenerate interest in the main site and maybe bring back things like contests.
Some would say that the general attitude among the TMNT fan populace of the Technodrome has taken a recent turn toward consistent negativity in regard to certain aspects of the brand…specifically the future of the turtles. Do you agree? And if so, what are your feelings toward this negativity.
Krang:
I don’t think that attitude is anything specific to our forums. Anywhere on the internet, you’ll have people who are positive and negative, so I don’t think it’s fair to focus only on the negative here when there are plenty of positive posts, too.
Shredder:
Exactly. I wasn’t really aware this was even an issue, to be honest.
Do you still consider yourselves fans?
Shredder:
Yes, but only of original cartoon. I’ve seen all of the live action movies and saw the recent CG film in the theater, but I haven’t really gotten into any other aspects of TMNT much, including the newer cartoon. I do really enjoy finally having the original series on DVD and am looking forward to the next release.
Krang:
Same here. I also liked the anime OVA. Actually, I’m not really a fan of the Turtles themselves outside of the OT, which is why the comics and everything closely based on them have never interested me.
Shredder:
I loved that OVA. I think most people would assume that we love everything Ninja Turtles having a site like this, but it’s really only about the original show for us.
Anything else you’d like to say in closing?
Krang and Shredder:
Thanks for the interview!
Thank YOU for allowing us an opportunity to pick your brains (no pun intended Krang)!
Anything else you’d like to know about this dynamic duo? ASK THEM YOURSELF @ The Technodrome! THE online resource for everything TMNT!
