Would
you mind me asking you some He-Man-related questions?
A couple are about specific episodes, and some others are
just asking your opinion on characters.
Sure,
but keep in mind you're asking me about a show I worked
on about twenty years ago (makes you feel OLD doesn't it!).
So forgive me if the answers are not all that deep.
You
co-wrote an episode with Antoni Zalewski called "The
Gambler." I just wondered if you had any memories or
opinions of the story itself, or the characters?
Actually
Tony Zalewski wrote the episode and I rewrote it. Obviously
Tony's last name would indicate some Polish heritage, but
he's from Britain, though he has been here in America a
long time. Oddly enough Tony is one of the few people from
He-Man I do see now and again, usually at game
conventions. The other of course would be Bob Forward, who
got his start as a writer on He-Man. "The
Gambler" script needed some work, so I am at least
glad it turned out well with that effort. The name Melbrag
rings a bell, but that's about all I can recall about the
episode. I generally had fun with all the He-Man
and She-Ra episodes I worked on.
What
has been your favorite show that you’ve worked on?
My
favorite show thus far? Well I don't have one; I have two
- He-Man and She-Ra. And I'm not just
saying that because you're a big fan of the show. I truly
loved the experience of working on those two shows, more
than I have ever enjoyed an animation experience since.
Sure it didn't have the best animation in town (I doubt
any Filmation show could make that claim) and it was a little
corny, but I truly believe I did some of my best work ever
on those shows. No lie, frogeye!
Also,
what are your opinions on these characters:
He-Man?
Let's
face it, he's the big cheese on the show. Just a flat-out
good guy, who can punch the lights out of a Sherman Tank,
but prefers reason to violence. You don't really see heroes
like He-Man anymore. He's maybe a little too fey in the
guise of Prince Adam, but that part of it was kind of silly
anyway, kind of like Clark Kent takes off his glasses and
nobody knows he's Superman - Bloody right!
Battle
Cat?
Kind
of the opposite of He-Man, Cat was more fun in his Cringer
mode. As Battle Cat he was just a ferocious sidekick, but
as Cringer he never failed to make us laugh. D.C. Fontana
who was the story editor of both the classic Star Trek
and the first year of Star Trek: The Next Generation
wrote the ultimate Battle Cat Story.
Orko?
Oh
boy. Well Orko was the classic "kid" character
and I am not too fond of kid characters. However as we wrote
more episodes and Orko grew up some (particularly in the
Trolla episodes one or two of which I wrote) I did grow
fonder of the little guy. He was also decidedly weird and
that I do like.
Teela?
A
babe and I would say one of the very first feminists in
cartoons. She was fun to work with, as she went against
many of the female stereotypes in cartoons.
Man-At-Arms?
I
really liked this character. I am fond of the old, wise
warrior type and Man-At-Arms played that part very well.
I also liked the relationship between him and his daughter.
Skeletor?
Do
you know we once did a survey of the most popular characters
on the show and Skeletor came in second, right after He-Man.
There is no doubt he was a good villain, but frankly we
overused him in the first season and he began to slide into
something of a comic opera villain. I was about the only
person at Filmation who realized this and that's why I began
creating new villains for the series. Do you know we had
to take out all his episodes in France? They thought he
was way too scary for kids.
Hordak?
He
was my boy. I was in fact responsible for most of the characters
on She-Ra since I developed that show (whereas
most of He-Man was in place by the time I arrived
on the scene). The real problem was trying to make him different
from Skeletor, which is why I emphasized his technological
prowess rather than the evil magic that was Skeletor's forté.
I think in general he was more of a threat than Skeletor
and he had a very perverse sense of humor (particularly
where that poor sap Mantenna was concerned), which I liked.
Stinkor?
Lou
Scheimer, the head of Filmation hated the name Stinkor and
Lou had total control of the show by contract, control he
never hesitated to use when he didn't want something in
one of his cartoons. That was probably the last time any
toy company ever gave away such control. Too bad.
Jitsu?
Jitsu
was a second He-Man generation toy and it depicted
an Asian. We never had Jitsu to work on until late in the
Series. People were very nervous about depicting 'minority'
characters, lest they be taken as a harmful stereotype.
So Jitsu made one brief appearance and said nothing. He
was the victim of political correctness, you might say.
