NA He-Man - Volume One DVD - Official Talkback

[TheShadow]

The New Adventures of He-Man - Volume One DVD Boxset

DVD Release Date: Tuesday: 26 December 2006

Warning: This thread will contain spoilers.

Please post all your reactions in this thread. Scans and/or photos of the art cards and the interiors/discs of the set are not allowed.

[MOTUfan]

I decided Im buying it from where ever is cheapest and not ordering online and having to wait

Brent

[Tallstar]

Does Best Buy open early today? I wanna get my set while avoiding the after-Christmas-Day rush.

[gnewton34]

Does anybody know if Circuit City is carrying the set?

[MossMan710179]

Does anybody know if Circuit City is carrying the set?

Does not look like it according to there site...

[Tallstar]

Oh no. The set is like all special and everything!

Just got mine from Best Buy for $29.99. Didn't see it in the new releases though, which is a little aggravating since I want this thing to get noticed dammit!

The packaging is very attractive...(dare I say moreso than all the other sets)....with its celestialness. It almost looks like a brand new series. It pretty much is a brand new series to me!

More later...

[MegaGearMax]

I can't wait to go home tonight...I'm gonna have me a marathon as well...take in the futuristic atmosphere and the music of this series that I barely remember...

The Galatic Guardians are on here...I liked that music at the beginning. The Running of the Herd and Warrior Mara are on season 2...I guess that box will have Skeletor, Flogg and Slushead...

Does Jack Olester do anything in an upcoming season set...I'm surprised there are no commentary episodes...

[HeManOfGreyskull]

yeah, what's with the no Jack thing?

The art cards rock, although I'm surprised Ed's was Classic and not NA.

Just finished episode one, can't wait to dive into more

[BCI Guy]

The art cards rock, although I'm surprised Ed's was Classic and not NA.

Seems like a good idea to move this to this thread.

It was mostly because we were sort of torn on which direction to go. The 4 NA cards were planned to be part of the 16 card MOTU set, so we felt they should have some kind of tie into the first 12 cards. But on the other hand, they were going into NA sets...

So we just decided to do 1 NA and 1 MOTU in each so we could keep continuity, but still get a chance to show a bit of NA.

There probably isn't a perfect solution, but I think it works really well. And all 4 cards for the NA sets are pretty awesome.

[rlight_2001]

Got mine today. I've never was the New Adventures until today. Its not as good as the original, but I like it.

[HordeTrooper1138]

OK, I'm not planning to pick them up yet (at least not until I get the remaining two She-Ra's), but I have to say how disappointed I am. I went to Best Buy, Future Shop, Music World and two HMV's, and none of them had it.

I wouldn't be that upset about it (like I said, I have no plans to get the series at present), but I have begun to notice that the stores near me take an incredibly long time to get them, if at all. (The Future Shop took two weeks to get She-Ra S1 V1 along with He-Man S2 V2).

Is anyone else having these problems?

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

yeah, what's with the no Jack thing?

The art cards rock, although I'm surprised Ed's was Classic and not NA.

Just finished episode one, can't wait to dive into more

When I first came on the Forum someone suggested I get in touch with BCI regarding doing interviews. I did, but didn't get a reply, so I assume it was too late in the production process for me to come on board. And, btw, I fully understand their not getting back to me. Having been on the other side of the desk for twenty years, I completely understand the pressures and time constraints of production. So I only expected a reply if there was a way for me to be in the docs. That said, I'm a bit sad about because I would have loved to have talked about the series. On the other hand, I've had an amazing opportunity to do that here, in the Forum, over these past months. Moreover, I've been able to get amazing feedback from everyone -- good, bad and ugly -- that I wouldn't have had from just doing the doc.

At the end of the day, there's no way I can describe the gratitude I feel toward BCI. If they ever want a favor, I'm the guy to ask.

[Neo]

On the other hand, I've had an amazing opportunity to do that here, in the Forum, over these past months.

I am not into NA (I am going to pick up the sets though ) but I have to say how cool it is to have someone who has worked on one of the shows here on our forum. You have my respect for coming here and talk to us all, I don't see any Filmation peeps on here . We had Jeremy (MYP)visiting us a while back, but he apearantly doesn't come here anymore.

[Tallstar]

The Trades gave the set an A-

http://www.the-trades.com/article.php?id=5082

[Wacky Martin]

The Trades gave the set an A-

http://www.the-trades.com/article.php?id=5082

Skeletors not a buffoon, he's a genius!
Glad to see it getting such good reviews though!

[Patreek]

IT IS IN MY HANDS AS WE SPEAK! I got mine at best buy, they had a lot of them. (side note they only had one of each of the others and S.2 V.1 was completely sold out, I know for a fact that they had 10 of those as I had been there earlier in the week so it seems he-man was a big seller in my area this holidays. YAY)

I am SOOO excited to have this DVD. I lived in an area that didn't get this toon on TV but it was released at the height of my HE-MAN obsession. As many of you know I grew up in Alaska and didn't get "TV" so everything I watched came from the video store, this is how I was introduced to the Masters. THEN I moved to South Dakota at which point I was able to watch the series as reruns... in ALASKA I only got to see many 10 or 12 eps, but I watched them over and over. Once in South Dakota (just as isolated but with TV reception) I began watching the series through reruns and became obsessed and IT SUCKED because at this point the series was long dead. SO THEN this relaunch happens and I CAN"T SEE IT!!! I was able to get a lot of the toys but i never got to see the actual TOON and I WAS REALLY REALLY UPSET. I've waited and waited for a chance to see NA He-man and I thought maybe I never would... the idea that I have not just the toons but this BEAUTIFUL release of them in my possession is just crazy. I don't know yet it I like it more or less or any of that... thats part of what i'm excited to find out... but this was for sure the most anticipated release for me.

EDIT: Watched the first two episodes.... I LOVE IT! VERY DIFFERENT but it DOES retain the he-man FEEL somehow and the writing is great. Skeletor is REALLY funny, and not just looking (though he is that, only part I don't like) he's a stich!

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

IT IS IN MY HANDS AS WE SPEAK! I got mine at best buy, they had a lot of them. (side note they only had one of each of the others and S.2 V.1 was completely sold out, I know for a fact that they had 10 of those as I had been there earlier in the week so it seems he-man was a big seller in my area this holidays. YAY)

I am SOOO excited to have this DVD. I lived in an area that didn't get this toon on TV but it was released at the height of my HE-MAN obsession. As many of you know I grew up in Alaska and didn't get "TV" so everything I watched came from the video store, this is how I was introduced to the Masters. THEN I moved to South Dakota at which point I was able to watch the series as reruns... in ALASKA I only got to see many 10 or 12 eps, but I watched them over and over. Once in South Dakota (just as isolated but with TV reception) I began watching the series through reruns and became obsessed and IT SUCKED because at this point the series was long dead. SO THEN this relaunch happens and I CAN"T SEE IT!!! I was able to get a lot of the toys but i never got to see the actual TOON and I WAS REALLY REALLY UPSET. I've waited and waited for a chance to see NA He-man and I thought maybe I never would... the idea that I have not just the toons but this BEAUTIFUL release of them in my possession is just crazy. I don't know yet it I like it more or less or any of that... thats part of what i'm excited to find out... but this was for sure the most anticipated release for me.

EDIT: Watched the first two episodes.... I LOVE IT! VERY DIFFERENT but it DOES retain the he-man FEEL somehow and the writing is great. Skeletor is REALLY funny, and not just looking (though he is that, only part I don't like) he's a stich!

And I thought He-man's journey to Primus was tough. Your epic trek through various delivery systems to finally getting the DVDs makes He-man's travels seem like a walk in the park! I hope your enjoyment of the DVDs will be as rewarding as He-man's adventures were on Primus.

[MegaGearMax]

Hey Jack,

How come there are sooooo many supporting characters on the good guys?

We have Sebrian, Mara, Drissy, Caz, The 4 scientists, the 2 robots and the big green gardener. 11 folks who didn't have toys or weren't Galactic Guardians.

Did Mattel not have folks made up past Hydron and Flipshot at the time you wrote the script for the episodes? Is that why you have so many? To make up for the lack of heroes?

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

Hey Jack,

How come there are sooooo many supporting characters on the good guys?

We have Sebrian, Mara, Drissy, Caz, The 4 scientists, the 2 robots and the big green gardener. 11 folks who didn't have toys or weren't Galactic Guardians.

Did Mattel not have folks made up past Hydron and Flipshot at the time you wrote the script for the episodes? Is that why you have so many? To make up for the lack of heroes?

Well, you're partially right on your thoughts. The characters in the toy-line were presented to me in phases. Mattel asked that I not introduce the second wave of characters in the series until they had those characters on the shelves at toy stores. As a businessman this made sense to me, so I had no argument with it.

As for why there were so many heroes, that was primarily my idea. As I've said in other posts, the executives I worked with at both Jetlag and Mattel gave me a huge amount of creative control. They basically told me I could do just about anything I wanted within the initial parameters they had set up.

One of the things I've always felt about most kids' series is that they're lacking in the number of good guys. Look at the legion of villains Batman and Robin have to deal with, or Spiderman or Superman for that matter as opposed to the good guys. Some writers will tell you that part of the problem is that villains are inherently more interesting. While that's arguable, I believe that good guys can be just as interesting (well, almost as interesting), although it does take more effort to make them so.

With that in mind, I set out to create a full array of good guys for N/A. To make them interesting I had some occasionally arguing. Others I tried to made extremely wise or extremely sexy. I created a young man who could look up to He-man as a role model because I felt this would give He-man a one-on-one relationship through which his virtuous spirit could have a direct and immediate effect. I thought another way to make the good guys compelling was to give them real lives. Someone made a post equating Mara to Lois Lane and they were absolutely right about that. By giving the characters real lives, real motivations, real jobs (a shepherd, for instance), rather than just being a bunch of super heroes who are trotted out (or descend) -- deux ex machina -- to do their bit, I hoped to create a real world for He-man and Skeletor to live in.

Hope that gives you some insight into why we had all those good guys running around.

[MegaGearMax]

Well, you're partially right on your thoughts. The characters in the toy-line were presented to me in phases. Mattel asked that I not introduce the second wave of characters in the series until they had those characters on the shelves at toy stores. As a businessman this made sense to me, so I had no argument with it.

As for why there were so many heroes, that was primarily my idea. As I've said in other posts, the executives I worked with at both Jetlag and Mattel gave me a huge amount of creative control. They basically told me I could do just about anything I wanted within the initial parameters they had set up.

One of the things I've always felt about most kids' series is that they're lacking in the number of good guys. Look at the legion of villains Batman and Robin have to deal with, or Spiderman or Superman for that matter as opposed to the good guys. Some writers will tell you that part of the problem is that villains are inherently more interesting. While that's arguable, I believe that good guys can be just as interesting (well, almost as interesting), although it does take more effort to make them so.

With that in mind, I set out to create a full array of good guys for N/A. To make them interesting I had some occasionally arguing. Others I tried to made extremely wise or extremely sexy. I created a young man who could look up to He-man as a role model because I felt this would give He-man a one-on-one relationship through which his virtuous spirit could have a direct and immediate effect. I thought another way to make the good guys compelling was to give them real lives. Someone made a post equating Mara to Lois Lane and they were absolutely right about that. By giving the characters real lives, real motivations, real jobs (a shepherd, for instance), rather than just being a bunch of super heroes who are trotted out (or descend) -- deux ex machina -- to do their bit, I hoped to create a real world for He-man and Skeletor to live in.

Hope that gives you some insight into why we had all those good guys running around.

It does somewhat.

What I meant was why so many SUPPORTING characters, not so much fellow Galactic Guardians (i.e. Spinwit, Kayo, Tuskador, Sagitar, Artilla, Nocturna and Vizar). NA He-Man seemed to have more of a supporting cast than most cartoons, period. In the first 5 episodes I noticed the great amount of characters who interacted with He-Man who DIDN'T have action figures.

It just seems strange for a show that is supposed to sell toys to have so many non-toy characters grab so much screen time, instead of the folks who are "supposed" to be featured in order to sell a product.

I thought the characters were great...they set up his immediate environment rather nicely.

Did Mattel ever want you to use certain characters more (like Kayo or Nocturna or Vizar?)

[Tallstar]

Starting from about the episode "He-Man in Exile", New Adventures really starts reminding me of She-Ra, specifically the episode "Duel at Devlin" where She-Ra teaches the villagers to stand up for themselves against The Horde. There's this one brief scene in NA where - I swear to God - it looks like He-Man and Mara are in The Whispering Woods (I think there's a shot of it on the boxset), though they simply refer to it as 'the wilderness.' There's even talk of a rebellion. Oh and Adam and Mara are walking around sporting cloaky disguises. I really liked the elaborate trap that was set for Skeletor and the mutants in the following episode. Very crafty. He-Man's sword has waaaaay cooler powers too than in the original. What I really like about NA, is that He-Man isn't boring like MYP's He-Man. The other heroes, though cool, don't eclipse him.

[MegaGearMax]

Adam has women problems, LOL. Sex in MOTU. That's something you don't see much in MOTU...

Drissy seems to like He-Man from the way she walked off with him on Weststar. I'm not to sure what Mara is feeling yet, but Adam likes her. Too bad she's dating Hydron...or was that only a one time thing?

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

Starting from about the episode "He-Man in Exile", New Adventures really starts reminding me of She-Ra, specifically the episode "Duel at Devlin" where She-Ra teaches the villagers to stand up for themselves against The Horde. There's this one brief scene in NA where - I swear to God - it looks like He-Man and Mara are in The Whispering Woods (I think there's a shot of it on the boxset), though they simply refer to it as 'the wilderness.' There's even talk of a rebellion. Oh and Adam and Mara are walking around sporting cloaky disguises. I really liked the elaborate trap that was set for Skeletor and the mutants in the following episode. Very crafty. He-Man's sword has waaaaay cooler powers too than in the original. What I really like about NA, is that He-Man isn't boring like MYP's He-Man. The other heroes, though cool, don't eclipse him.

I know you probably didn't mean it to sound that way, but because of the way your comments could be construed by some, I need to respond to them. Throughout the thirty-seven episodes of N/A that I wrote and the others that I story-edited, I continuously focused on making the episodes as original as possible. Of course I have always done this on any of the shows I've worked on. But in the case of N/A is was particularly important to me that none of the episodes seemed derivative of any of the episodes in the various He-Man/She-Ra franchises that preceded them. First, I had tremendous respect for the original franchises. Second, doing work which is based upon an earlier episode is, in my opinion, plagarism. And third, I've personally known, to varying degrees, a number of the writers of those other series -- Joe, in particular. I have the utmost respect for them and for their talents. So I would never intentionally borrow from their work in the slightest.

[Fsmiler]

You worked on the toons... okay that I have to ask the inevitable seeing as I am a huge POP fan. I watched the NA cartoons when I was younger and was desperately hoping that She-ra would make an appearance. Was that ever on the cards or mentioned? Did the POP series have any influence at all on the series. I know you've just said that you didn't set out to copy the franchises.

[markatisu]

I think he meant it was similar to She-Ra in the feeling that the good guys were not always in control and they had lessons to teach that were not preachy. And having seen all 3 shows I tend to agree, it has nothing to do with plagarism or borrowing sentiments or themes.

Any fan of She-Ra is probably going to find a lot in common with the NA series just due to the way it was written and the balance of power between good and evil.

She-Ra was a very mature series compared to MOTU (though I am sure the MOTU fans would immediately disagree), the episodes were written better and deeper. New Adventures continued that type of intelligent writing (and no I am not kissing your rear here, its just the way it is). See my comments earlier about the depth of the supporting cast, thats a prime example.

For instance the big difference between He-Man and She-Ra in their filmation runs was that in She-Ra the good guys were always getting stronger but still at the end of the day were not in charge. This feeling goes throughout the NA series because if they had things in hand they would have never needed He-Man in the first place, and even though they retain control of their domain it is under constant threat (Skeletors Victory, He-Man in Exile, and The Seeds of Resistance are a perfect arc to show that). In 130 episodes of He-Man for Filmation I never once got the feeling that the good guys were on the verge of loosing power, Skeletor was good but never THAT good so to speak! Numerous times in the NA series I could feel Skeletor was on that verge, He-Man was strong but Skeletor seemed empowered by being on a new planet and his schemes actually tended to work.