That Time The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Promoted LA Metro's Blue Line

Happy Birthday to Metro's Blue Line, which opened on Saturday, July 14, 1990. It's Los Angeles' oldest light-rail, and for 28 years it has carried commuters from downtown L.A. to Long Beach and back.

The Blue Line debuted at a time when Saturday morning cartoons and state-of-the-art VHS tape reigned supreme. So we guess that's how this happened: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles starred in a promotional video called Operation Blue Line, hyping what was then the biggest thing in L.A. transit since the automobile.

This isn't the first time we've brought you this video. It won't be the last. Because wow.

In Operation Blue Line, Leonardo, Donatello, Rapheal and Michealangelo find themselves on the West Coast for a change, where they face off against a villain named "Gridlock." Get ready for extremely dated and not-quite-studio-quality foam suits, cheesy acting, and a notable lack of pizza.

Honestly, if you got through that entire video, you deserve a week's worth of free rides on the Blue Line.

That might be tough though, since Metro is shutting it down for a good part of 2019 for much-needed upgrades.

Shoutout, h/t, and cowabunga to KPCC/LAist transportation reporter Meghan McCarty Carino for reminding us of this gem.

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