Reply With Quote51. What were the plans for the character of Prahvus, as introduced in "Out of the Past"? He struck me as an interesting character and I wonder if he would have played some greater role in the series had it continued.
IR: He would have come back with a vengeance to work for Hordak.
52. Is there any truth in the rumor that Queen Marlena was to have been revealed as half-Gar (the blue-skinned race, we were told)?
IR: This was an idea Gary and I cooked up. We never found a way in the first 39 to work it in, but may have explored it had we continued.
53. I loved the new show and thought it was excellent and so did my 8 year old, we'd really like to have the series on DVD - ANY CHANCE?
IR: Glad you liked it. A DVD release is in the works.
54. Also, the Mike Young Productions website has a section devoted to the He-Man cartoon, but it is missing a lot when you click on the links, any chance that will ever be updated now that the show is over?
IR: I’m not sure what they have planned for their website.
55. First of all, thank you very much for answering questions from the fans. It's been a very long time since we have had any Mattel representatives communicate with the .org
IR: No problem.
56. Speaking of which, when can we expect answers for the latest What The Fans Want To Know? Or does this replace that?
IR: I think for now, this does somewhat replace that.
57. Now, I know Skeletor's origin was partly explained in the pilot episode, but we were told that the "second part" of his origin was to come at the end of season 1. Then we were told it would come in season 2. Was the second part of his origin in the episode "The Price of Deceit", or was there more (I'm sure there was more ). And if there was more, is it possible to divulge any info?
IR: Get ready for this: RANDOR AND SKELETOR ARE BROTHERS. This was always the plan. They have different mothers, but the same father! I was disappointed we never got to finally do this.
58. Secondly, what were the plans for She-Ra? There were rumours that she (Adora) was going to be Adam's cousin, and other rumours saying that she was going to be from the future. Also, the box from the SDCC exclusive figure said she was He-Man's sister, but it did not say TWIN sister. Can you explain what the plans for her were?
IR: The plan for She-Ra would have been the same as in the existing mythology.
59. I was wondering if there were ever plans to introduce some of Skeletor's warriors that still had not been seen at the time, namely Jitsu and Spikor.
IR: The Four Horsemen did some cool artwork for Spikor, but we did not have any immediate plans for either character in the series.
60. Also, with the series at an end on regular television is there enough justification to perhaps keep the MYP He-Man series going in some form of straight to DVD movies? (in the same vein as the Batman Animated Series' Mask of the Phantasm etc.)
This way we could see the introduction of the Horde (as im sure was intended for series) and She-Ra.
IR: Not right now.
61. My questions are pretty much the same as those preceeding mine, with the following exceptions: How much freedom were you allowed in creating origin-stories for the characters? Was it left to the writing team then submitted for Mattel's approval, or was it specifically dictated by Mattel? and How many of the MYP staff are MOTU fans? Thanks again!
IR: Hello. As I mentioned before, Dean and I broke the stories and then submitted them to the rest of the team and to the network for comments, concerns. Many of the MYP, Mattel and Cartoon Network staff are HUGE MOTU fans.
62. were any episodes completed that were not aired on Cartoon Network for Season Two? It seemed rather short-lived and not a lot of issues were resolved. The "final" episode felt anything but.
IR: No – all episodes aired.
63. Mattel seems to be putting out a new Max Steele dvd- even though those toys are long gone in the USA. What are the chances of MOTU getting an all-new dvd movie released? If slim or none, how come?
IR: The Max Steel movies are for Latin America where the brand is huge.
64. Will there be a release of the cartoon on dvd (either several eps per dvd or full-season box sets)? If not, how come?
IR: Yes – that is the plan.
65. Like the many other people here, I am currious to know, what else was planned. I also want to throw my support for a DVD release, of the series. I would like to see all 39 episodes, the begining in both episode and movie, format, and The World of He-Man, all in a box set.
I would also like to throw my support behind special DVD movie releases, like Batman: The Animated Series has had, in the past.
IR: Hello, thanks for the support. Yes – I would like to see the DVD set with all of those components as well.
66. Also, where there any classic characters you really wish had appeared in the new series?
IR: It would have been fun to see She-Ra return.
67. Was season 2 planned to be 26 episodes originally then later cut down? Was there ever plans to have a proper Skeletor vs Hsss battle? That's what I wanted to see!
IR: The plan for season 2 was always 26, but we only made 13 of them. Yes – we would have had a jaw-dropping fight between those two.
69. And if you had the opportunity to pit the Horde vs. the Masters and Skeletor's warriors as the third party (instead of the Snake Men), would you do so?
IR: Yes.
70. Why wasn't Megator one of the three giants seen in "Buzz-Off's Pride"? Were there any plans to bring him in later, or did you have no intentions of using him at all (and if so, why)?
IR: We decided to create new giants with their own identities. There were no plans to introduce him, but if we had done more episodes anything is possible.
71. Were there any plans on bringing back Snakeface? He got turned into a statue after his first appearance and hadn't shown up since. Were the Snakemen going to break into the Palace and reverse the spell or something?
IR: Yes – you’ll see how in script 40.
72. Why was Tri-Klops the "mechanic" or "tech guy" in this series instead of Trap Jaw? It would seem more fitting if it were Trap Jaw, especially since I believe he was in the classic series. Any specific reason for the change?
IR: We decided to make Tri-Klops the smarter, tech savvy one when we heard Paul Dobson’s great concept for the voice.
73. And was there going to be other planets such as Etheria or Infinita when Hordak was going to be introduced, or was everything happening on Eternia only?
IR: We didn’t want to tread into “New Adventures” territory and have He-Man in space, so the action would have most likely stayed on Eternia.
74. Finally (I think ), do you regret not having Battle Cat speak? I felt that it made the character under-utilized in the cartoon because of this. I think it would be nice if He-Man would run battle-strategies across Battle Cat, or possibly ask his opinion on a matter etc. He could have been another 'person' that He-Man could talk to instead of just being a living vehicle. And I don't think it would be too far-fetched of an idea to have the power of Grayskull grant Battle-Cat the ability to speak. How about you?
IR: We decided not to have Battlecat speak because talking animals tend to skew a show young.
75. why was battlecat so scaled back? except for a few scenes he was basically a glorified vehicle and I am not asking why he didn't talk I am more so asking why he and he-man didn't interact as much. (he doesn't have to talk for that)
IR: I think we had some great He-Man and Battlecat moments. I was really happy with Battlecat’s lion ancestor in Power of Grayskull.
76. any truth to the rumour that She-ra was going to be He-Man's daughter from the future?
IR: Not that I know of.
77. Out of all the changes that where made from the original Filmation show, in hindsight, do you think any where harmful? Would you do everything the exact same if given the chance to do it all over again?
IR: I was happy with the updates we made and would do them again the same way.
78. Will we ever see behind the since production notes or the series bible available online now that everything is said and done? We really want to know what was planed but never happened. Eternia's history fleshed out, what would have happened with She-Ra and the Horde, How Clamp Champ a Snout Spout would have been introduced and so on.
IR: I hope to make much of that available on the new series DVD release.
79. loved the show and truly miss it now. but one question - Did Webstor die in the end of "Web of Evil"? and if not, were there any more plots which were going to include him more?
IR: Yes, but anything is possible.
80. Now I can understand why He-Man was wearing his Snake Armor in Season 2 when he had to fight the Snakemen, but why was he wearing the Snake Armor when there were no Snakemen around? A specific example I can think of is in the Power of Grayskull episode. At the end He-Man goes to stop Skeletor from releasing Hordak, but why is he wearing the Snake Armor? In my opinion he just looks ridiculous in that situation. There was no threat of a Snakemen attack so why didn't he just wear his regular armor? (As you can probably tell, I'm not a big fan of the Snake Armor ).
IR: We originally had him fighting Snake Men in that episode, but we had to cut it for time.
81. And lastly, were there plans to bring back ALL classic characters (the ones that had action figures), or were there some characters that weren't going to be incorporated because of how ridiculous they were, or for some other reason?
IR: We probably would have brought back all classic characters eventually.
82. To re-hash a couple of questions already asked:
Can you tell us how the Evil Horde was going to come back to Eternia?
How much restrictions did Mattel put on you on the storylines?
Can you answer what the deal is with the video game? Why not release it in the US?
Mattel said that ratings dropped off after awhile. Could you guess why? (I think its due to Cartoon Network constantly moving it around the schedule and not promoting it enough.)
IR: Evil Lyn and Skeletor would take over Eternia; banish Randor to Despondos and Evil Lyn would take the opportunity to release Hordak and his entire Horde army. No restrictions on story. Video game, not sure. Ratings dropped off for a variety of reasons, but I think the primary reason for the end of the show was that the brand was not re-launched in a way that was relevant enough to kids of today. I think by the time we got to season 2 we were there, but it was too late.
83. This was brought up in another thread and I thought you might have the answer for us. Who's tombstone was placed in front of Castle Grayskull? Was there a story behind it or was it just some random detail that was added to the castle? Can you elaborate on it?
IR: It was Loo-Kee’s tombstone (joke).
84. Oh, and since King Grayskull vaporized his physical form, how would you have explained how Hordak got a new body?
IR: He’s a wizard and master of black magic. Don’t underestimate Hordak.
85. Was Modulok planned for the series, and if so what were his origins and personality planned to be like?
IR: We didn’t have any immediate plans, but we would have brought him in, in a cool, updated, much more threatening fashion.
86. They say that the original 80's cartoon was very expesnive to make at the time. How would that compare now? How does the new compare to other currant shows production cost wise?
Oh, and who was the most difficult character to animate?
IR: The cost to produce He-Man today is on par with other shows like Teen Titans, Justice League, TMNT, etc… I’m not sure how it compares to budgets in the early 80s, but I suspect they cost less to produce then based on the amount of reused animation.
87. Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions Mr. Richter.
I guess my sole question is, will it be possible to continue the series via another way besides Cartoon Network, like DVD? I don't think I was interested in any cartoon series like I was with Masters of the Universe. I would have liked to explore more of the origins of a few characters. If not a continuation of the series, at least a finale to somehow tie up loose ends...?
IR: You’re welcome. I would like to do this, but we would need it to make financial sense. It is very expensive to produce each episode. Keep supporting the great work the Four Horsemen are doing and the various DVD releases. That is the best way to make the case for more entertainment.
88. My question is, and I'm dead serious: "Can I have a job?"
IR: Yes. Your job is to become an avid He-Man fan.
89. Who was the next classic character scheduled to be unveiled in the new toon?
IR: I think it was Clamp Champ.
90. 1 why did the cartoon have to be so damned good 2 why did mattel have to kill it ?
IR: The brand did not catch on as we’d hoped.
91. Has there been any outside sources, that you know of that might be interested in purchasing the He-Man & The Masters of the Universe line to re-start the series again to continue where it left off ?
IR: I’m not sure Mattel would part with one of their core brands.
92. I've heard John Woo will be making a new He-Man Live action movie. Now I gotta ask what would be the purpose of this with no action figure line, and no cartoon series. What could they possible hope to accomplish with this new movie? If they other two failed.
IR: There is a huge fanbase for He-Man. If done right, it would be a great way to re-launch the brand.
93. A lot of the episodes featured an individual character, e.g. Buzz-Off's Pride featured Buzz-Off, Mekaneck's Lament's featured Mek, so I would like to know which character was scheduled next after ep 39 to be the star of an episode? (this can be a good and/or bad character).
IR: We were planning more Snakemen episodes followed by the return of Hordak. No specific character focus.
94. I have another question. That Prahvus guy, was he a member of the Horde? Always seemed logical too me.
IR: No, but the plan was that Hordak would recruit him.
95. Is there any chance that you can let us know what your plans were for the future epsiodes of the series. We have been told that the script for ep. 40 was done, and we would all appreciate some insight to where the show way going. What kinds of ideas can you reveal to us?
IR: Please see my earlier answers above.
96. Teela's father. There were impilcations that both Fisto, and Man-At-Arms may be her true father. Could you please tell us who, if either were going to be her father.
IR: Fisto.
97. If there was a season 3, was The Horde going to become the new focus?
IR: Absolutely.
98. Vehicles and Characters that were on the show, and not made into toys, how far along were they in the toy stage that the cartoon had designed them (Webstor, The Horde, Wind Raider, Sky Sled, etc.) or vice-versa?
IR: They were not developed into toys. Idea sketches may exist, but that's all.
99. I was a big fan of He-Man's new Snake Armor, if the show had continued, would there be a new design for He-Man each season to fight the new threat?
IR: Yes. We had a concept for Horde armor that we did not have time to see in the flashback in Power of Grayskull, but would have seen in season 3.
100. Clawful. Why was he scripted as being so dumb?
IR: We needed some bumbling villains and decided Clawful fit the bill. We were planning a story later in season 2 where Clawful would gain intelligence via some brain tampering from Tri-Klops and almost overthrow Skeletor.
101. Was Man-At-Arms the leader of the Masters, or was He-Man? The show kind of projected Man-At-Arms as the leader, but then he would fall back when He-man appeared.
IR: Correct. They both took the lead from time to time, but He-Man is the key heroic leader.
102. Was there going to be any kind of love relations/or tensions between Teela and He-Man or Teela and another Master?
IR: No.
103. I loved your Historic episodes like the stories of King Grayskull and how Keldor became Skeletor. Was there ever to be any more origin stories of characters like Man-E-Faces, or Mekaneck, or other characters that were on the 1st episodes and how they came to be?
IR: I was planning to write the Mekanek origin comic and came up with a great story with Dean for this. I didn’t end up having time, but we will see this outline on the DVD release.
104. It was hinted that Faker was going to eventually show up on the new show. What were your plans for his story if any?
IR: He was going to play an important role in the season 2 cliffhanger. We actually introduced him early on in the series. Look carefully at “The Courage of Adam” I deliberately had the He-Man cyborg flicker the Faker colors when he shut down. The plan was that Tri-Klops and Skeletor would come across this robot and use him to turn Eternia against He-Man.
105. Was King Hsss dead at the end of episode 39, or were there plans to bring back him and the Snake Men?
IR: You’ll see in the Ep 40 script.
106. What was the reasons for choosing MYP as your animation studio?
IR: Please see earlier answers.
Thank you, everyone. We had a blast producing the show and always love to hear from the fans.
Best Regards,
Ian Richter
Please check out Ian's current project: AcceleRacers
Originally Posted by IR
Amazing stuff, and can't wait for the DVDs.
