Olesker's Thread: "You've Got Questions, I've Got Answers"

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

Sorry if this has been asked,

For season 2, what would have become of Cringer/Battle Cat? Would he have been back? In the first episode, he wasn't even mentioned or seen.

Battle Cat definitely would have had a major role in Season 2. I've stated in other posts in other threads that I've always felt it was a huge mistake not to take him along to Primus. I felt that for reasons of drama and storyline that he could have been a tremendous asset. It would have been great to get him back in gear.

[johnissoevil1976]

Battle Cat definitely would have had a major role in Season 2. I've stated in other posts in other threads that I've always felt it was a huge mistake not to take him along to Primus. I felt that for reasons of drama and storyline that he could have been a tremendous asset. It would have been great to get him back in gear.

The scientists' arguing over who invented what would've probably had Cringer scared that they might hit him on accident. Would've made for some good classic Cringer stuff.

I do have one theory as to what would have become of two of Skeletor's warriors. As you may recall, in the last appearance of the MotU characters on She-Ra, Beast Man and Trap Jaw were being held for their role in Skeletor's invasion of Sweet Bee's hive. They probably would've still been doing time in a rebellion jail.

[Mike Bock]

Hey Jack have you ever thought about submiting a script for the "new" MOTU movie. I bet you could do the movie justice.

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

Hey Jack have you ever thought about submiting a script for the "new" MOTU movie. I bet you could do the movie justice.

Well thanks for that, Mike. But there are two problems: First, N/A didn't perform well -- for many reasons elaborated by me and others in this forum. So I'm not sure Mattel would want to bring me in. But more importantly, for the next year-and-a half I'm dedicated to writing, directing and co-producing my project, Ninja Knights, as a major animated film for global release through my 24/7 Productions, Inc.'s company's co-production deal with Longtale Productions and Ken Kreative Studios in Chennai, India. I've got a lot of commuting to do between my home and Chennai, so I don't think I'm going to have much time left for anything else.

[Mike Bock]

Well thanks for that, Mike. But there are two problems: First, N/A didn't perform well -- for many reasons elaborated by me and others in this forum. So I'm not sure Mattel would want to bring me in. But more importantly, for the next year-and-a half I'm dedicated to writing, directing and co-producing my project, Ninja Knights, as a major animated film for global release through my 24/7 Productions, Inc.'s company's co-production deal with Longtale Productions and Ken Kreative Studios in Chennai, India. I've got a lot of commuting to do between my home and Chennai, so I don't think I'm going to have much time left for anything else.

I wish you the best of luck with your new Project Jack.What's it about? sounds interesting
And about the MOTU movie well I wasn't talking about NA stuff, though your the man behind NA I am sure that you are good enough to write for MOTU as well. After all you are familiar with the classic MOTU I am sure. Since you planned to return to Eternia in season two you must've read the classic MOTU series Bible or at least watch some episodes in order to know more about it right ? or am I completely wrong here?


If this MOTU movie is true I would've loved someone who respects the fans to write the script. And you are the MAN! Boy I wished you were involved.

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

I wish you the best of luck with your new Project Jack.What's it about? sounds interesting
And about the MOTU movie well I wasn't talking about NA stuff, though your the man behind NA I am sure that you are good enough to write for MOTU as well. After all you are familiar with the classic MOTU I am sure. Since you planned to return to Eternia in season two you must've read the classic MOTU series Bible or at least watch some episodes in order to know more about it right ? or am I completely wrong here?


If this MOTU movie is true I would've loved someone who respects the fans to write the script. And you are the MAN! Boy I wished you were involved.

Again, thanks, Mike.

You'll find 411 about Ninja Knights in the Other Discussions forum under Ninja Knights: A Major Animated Feature Film. As you can imagine, it's a huge commitment of time and energy for me over the next year-and-a half. So I need to dedicate myself entirely to it.

[He-Fan]

Chris here...

Hey Jack, having read over this thread in its entirety over the past couple of hours, I now have a question to ask that I don't think has been asked yet!

When the New Adventures show was being produced, did you get to see all of the episodes you worked on in their completed form prior to their release to the general public?

Oh yes, and one other question - did you get chance to see the new MOTU cartoon produced by Mike Young Productions a few years ago, and if so what did you think of it?

Take care...

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

Chris here...

Hey Jack, having read over this thread in its entirety over the past couple of hours, I now have a question to ask that I don't think has been asked yet!

When the New Adventures show was being produced, did you get to see all of the episodes you worked on in their completed form prior to their release to the general public?

Oh yes, and one other question - did you get chance to see the new MOTU cartoon produced by Mike Young Productions a few years ago, and if so what did you think of it?

Take care...

Hey, Chris.

With the exception of the series' premiere -- in which the first five episodes were compiled into a 'movie' that aired at a VIP screen at MGM's theater in Culver City, California -- I did not get to see episodes prior to their airing. The production schedule was incredibly tight and in some cases delivery was made just a few days prior to broadcast. (It was a bit tense for me as I pride myself on never missing an air-date, and have been able to maintain that for over a thousand episodes of produced television.)

So in most cases I saw the episodes when fans did -- though I'll confess that my writing schedule was so tight that there were a number of episodes I didn't see until the DVDs came out!

As for your second query, no, I have not seen any MYP episodes.

[He-Fan]

Chris here...

Hey, Chris.

With the exception of the series' premiere -- in which the first five episodes were compiled into a 'movie' that aired at a VIP screen at MGM's theater in Culver City, California -- I did not get to see episodes prior to their airing. The production schedule was incredibly tight and in some cases delivery was made just a few days prior to broadcast. (It was a bit tense for me as I pride myself on never missing an air-date, and have been able to maintain that for over a thousand episodes of produced television.)

So in most cases I saw the episodes when fans did -- though I'll confess that my writing schedule was so tight that there were a number of episodes I didn't see until the DVDs came out!

As for your second query, no, I have not seen any MYP episodes.

Hey Jack, thanks for replying so quickly! Thanks too for answering my questions, it's very much appreciated - it feels amazing to be conversing in this way with the author of so many NA episodes, I've been watching the two boxed sets one after the other over the past few weeks and have been just constantly knocked out by the quality of the series! Even though I've seen all but one of the episodes before (having acquired 64 episodes on VHS waaaaay back around 2000/2001-type time, and watched many when I was a kid), having read all the insightful things you've had to say about the creation of the series has really given me a newfound appreciation for it!

Take care...

[Darth Latveria]

I think that the concept of MAA becoming an Eternian dictator is an awesome idea. I would love the idea to be explored further if future comics or cartoons come about.

Since the story would be pretty controversial, it might be a good idea to do it as a story where He-Man gets shot to the future, sees the mess and then uses some magical copout at the end of it to make that future never come to pass, but the story could be explored for a few episodes or issues.

[HeManOfGreyskull]

Been watching the sets and thought up some questions, so I thought I'd ask:

1)With He-Man returning to Eternia in Season 2, would any of the characters from Primus followed him? And would the gateway between past and present have stayed open?

2)if the Galactic Guardians did come to Eternia, wouldn't Adam's cover have been blown with Adam randomly showing up and also getting called "Prince Adam"?

3)Gleep vs Orko? Heh.

[Benj]

Hey,
Do you own a complete or at least partial set of the NA figures?

[Patreek]

dunno if he comes on here anymore

[Wacky Martin]

Not neccessarily related to the New Adventures here Jack, but I was wandering if you knew about the most recent He-Man series that came out in 2002, and if you would have liked to have written something for that?

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

Hey,
Do you own a complete or at least partial set of the NA figures?

I do not own a single toy from the toyline. It's not because I don't like the toyline. I actually thought the N/A toyline was great, and still do. The problem is that I've written over a thousand episodes of children's television. So I learned early on the dangers of collecting toys from every series I was writing for. By the time I started on TMNT I was having trouble walking through my home. Thus came the long-ago Christmas season when I gave every toy I owned to Toys for Tots. Naturally, as the prices of some of those toys skyrocketed in ensuing years, there have been moments of regret. But when they come I assuage remorse by reminding myself that my donation made a lot of kids happy and that I can now navigate safely through my home, in the dark, to the refrigerator where a Red Stripe awaits.

As an aside, now that I am directing NINJA KNIGHTS:WHEN WARRIOR WORLDS COLLIDE, I will make an exception and get multiples of every toy from the toyline. Part of the reason here is because I have an eight-year-old son chomping at the bit and the other part is because I will have a direct hand in developing the toyline. I've not yet decided if my desires in this regard stems from pride or ego, but I'm pulling for pride.

[Oz-Scott]

Well, I just finished watching the NA series on DVD and I have to say, I loved it! I didn't get to see the show on TV in Australia, (I don't even know if it was shown here?) so I didn't really know what to expect...
I will admit I'm guilty of buying the DVD's just to complete the spine mural, and thought I'd hate the show, but I was very quickly proven wrong! I think the thing I liked most was the continuity in the story.
I'm still not a fan of the toys, but I've been converted on the NA concept.



Scott

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

Well, I just finished watching the NA series on DVD and I have to say, I loved it! I didn't get to see the show on TV in Australia, (I don't even know if it was shown here?) so I didn't really know what to expect...
I will admit I'm guilty of buying the DVD's just to complete the spine mural, and thought I'd hate the show, but I was very quickly proven wrong! I think the thing I liked most was the continuity in the story.
I'm still not a fan of the toys, but I've been converted on the NA concept.



Scott

Thanks for this Christmas gift. You made my holiday season very merry, indeed!

[Darkspecter]

Hello. I just recently finished watching both seasons of NA, and I must say I was really surprised by the depth of the stories, the continuity in the series and the new characters. I really liked this series and got into it. It's really sad that it didn't make it to season 2. It sounds like it would have been amazing. Also, I think it's amazing that Mr. Olesker is on the boards and answering fans questions. That deserves applause.

I have a few questions, and appologise if they've been asked already:

1) Which main characters were all your creation in the series? I know you created Crita and I LOVE her. I loved her from the first time she was shown. lol

2) Did Mattel ever show interest in making a Crita action figure? The Mytes and Gleanons had prototypes made, and so did Mara. The Gleanons deserved their Queen.

3) This one is complex. lol There were certain tributes played to famous movies, tv shows, etc. in the series by things characters said, which were obviously intentional. Were any of the storylines, character designs or anything else based on movies, tv shows to pay tribute like this? Here are interesting things I noticed in the show:

Star Wars:
He-Man's new power sword: It has new "light" powers, sort of resembles a light saber. He-Man and the Sorceress have the power to control people's minds (like the force, which is what I think the way of the magic is a lot like in the series). The Sorceress is kind of like Yoda/Obi Wan's ghost. The villain troopers (I forget their names) look like Storm Troopers. The Space ships in The Games look like two giant Death Stars and the villain ships try to explode the one like Luke exploded the Death Star. Gleep and the other robot were kind of like C3P0 and R2D2. The Astro-subs are kind of like Ty-Fighters. The Eternia is similar to the Milennium Falcon.

Star Trek:
In the beginning, Crita seemed a lot like Uhura, but her character changes a lot later on. The whole villains crew just seems like the first crew of Star Trek to me. lol The episode where everyone on Primus gets the furry creatures, was that based on the Tribbles episode? Just the part about the furry creatures and multiplying? None of these are meant as criticisms, just observations.

I think Star Wars Episode 1, 2 borrowed the Galactic council and the villains pretending to be for peace from NA.

4) How do Skeletor and Crita escape the ship He-Man trapped them in? How does everyone get back to Eternia and who all goes back? (I've seen you mention Skeletor taking all the villains and Master Sebrian goes with He-Man. Anyone else?) Finally, how did Man-At-Arms take over Eternia, how did he become evil and what happened to King Randor, Queen Marlena (current rulers), Evil Lyn (who would surely WANT to rule in Skeletor's absence)...and would Teela now be evil with her Father?

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

Not neccessarily related to the New Adventures here Jack, but I was wandering if you knew about the most recent He-Man series that came out in 2002, and if you would have liked to have written something for that?

Hi, Martin. Good to hear from you.

As to your question, I knew about the series but it wasn't something I was interested in writing. The thing that appealed to me about N/A was that it was a totally different incarnation of a much-loved franchise. Maybe it's just me, but I've never understood the idea of a remake of Angels in the Outfield, The Odd Couple or The Pink Panther. Problem is the orginals were so brilliant that where do you go with it? Too, guys like Larry and Robby and Joe were (and are) amazingly talented. They're not only a tough act to follow but I prefer not to approach the body of their original work -- an homage to their towering talents, if you will. Others, of course, have a right to do what they want and I've heard some good things about the 2002 series. I'm always pleased when writers do well.

So for me, I wanted to move on to fresh fields, and Lord knows I've found plenty of them. I'm blessed beyond my imagination to have been in this business for over a quarter of a century, being able to write over a thousand episodes of television, six novels and, at last, be directing my own film. I consider myself blessed, too, to have seen some MOTU fans not only coming around to N/A but having some pretty nice things to say about it. That warms this aging warrior's heart on a cold December night with eleven inches of snow surrounding my home.

[Oz-Scott]

Thanks for this Christmas gift. You made my holiday season very merry, indeed!

No, Thank YOU Mr Olesker! Your show was really outstanding! I remember watching the 90's X-Men cartoon and being very impressed with the continuity in that show too! It led me to love that series. I just wish that I had the opportunity to see NA back in the 90's so I could have jumped on the bandwagon a lot sooner.
Oh well, better late then never I guess. Haha.
Merry Christmas to you and your family Mr Olesker.

Kind Regards.
Scott

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

Hello. I just recently finished watching both seasons of NA, and I must say I was really surprised by the depth of the stories, the continuity in the series and the new characters. I really liked this series and got into it. It's really sad that it didn't make it to season 2. It sounds like it would have been amazing. Also, I think it's amazing that Mr. Olesker is on the boards and answering fans questions. That deserves applause.

I have a few questions, and appologise if they've been asked already:

1) Which main characters were all your creation in the series? I know you created Crita and I LOVE her. I loved her from the first time she was shown. lol

2) Did Mattel ever show interest in making a Crita action figure? The Mytes and Gleanons had prototypes made, and so did Mara. The Gleanons deserved their Queen.

3) This one is complex. lol There were certain tributes played to famous movies, tv shows, etc. in the series by things characters said, which were obviously intentional. Were any of the storylines, character designs or anything else based on movies, tv shows to pay tribute like this? Here are interesting things I noticed in the show:

Star Wars:
He-Man's new power sword: It has new "light" powers, sort of resembles a light saber. He-Man and the Sorceress have the power to control people's minds (like the force, which is what I think the way of the magic is a lot like in the series). The Sorceress is kind of like Yoda/Obi Wan's ghost. The villain troopers (I forget their names) look like Storm Troopers. The Space ships in The Games look like two giant Death Stars and the villain ships try to explode the one like Luke exploded the Death Star. Gleep and the other robot were kind of like C3P0 and R2D2. The Astro-subs are kind of like Ty-Fighters. The Eternia is similar to the Milennium Falcon.

Star Trek:
In the beginning, Crita seemed a lot like Uhura, but her character changes a lot later on. The whole villains crew just seems like the first crew of Star Trek to me. lol The episode where everyone on Primus gets the furry creatures, was that based on the Tribbles episode? Just the part about the furry creatures and multiplying? None of these are meant as criticisms, just observations.

I think Star Wars Episode 1, 2 borrowed the Galactic council and the villains pretending to be for peace from NA.

4) How do Skeletor and Crita escape the ship He-Man trapped them in? How does everyone get back to Eternia and who all goes back? (I've seen you mention Skeletor taking all the villains and Master Sebrian goes with He-Man. Anyone else?) Finally, how did Man-At-Arms take over Eternia, how did he become evil and what happened to King Randor, Queen Marlena (current rulers), Evil Lyn (who would surely WANT to rule in Skeletor's absence)...and would Teela now be evil with her Father?

1) Aside from Crita, mine were Drissi, Master Sebrian, the Mites and Gleanons and Caz. (Okay, I'll fess up to the scientists, but I SWEAR I had nothing to do with their voices!) In episodes I wrote, all secondary and guests characters who were not in the toy line itself were my own invention.

2) I never had an indication from Mattel that they wanted to do Crita. I think Crita was a bit difficult for them to deal with. Now Mattel certainly had done powerful female characters before, but Crita was sort of pushing the envelope. Let's just say they saw her as a tad too 'dominant'. I always thought she was sizzling and incredible.

3) Well I've already said I did a bit of an homage to Kurosawa's Rashoman, but aside from that nothing was ever overtly intentional. There's an old saying that all the plots have already been done and that's pretty true. All you can do is try to tell them in a compelling way with engaging characters. So it's easy to see parallels to Star Trek, Star Wars and others. As for thr scientists, they're just who they were. Freud once said "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

4) Let's hold off on all that until I get around to writing some fan fiction. (I can't give away all my secrets!)

[Patreek]

You know what I think would be really cool? A one shot NA he-man direct to dvd movie. I actually think it would sell quite well and would be a really good chance to wrap up the series.

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

You know what I think would be really cool? A one shot NA he-man direct to dvd movie. I actually think it would sell quite well and would be a really good chance to wrap up the series.

I'd be all for that and would be delighted to write and direct it. But I think it's a tough sell for Mattel. They took a beating on N/A and the entertainment industry is notorious for shying away from less than stellar successes. Beyond that, N/A has only a fraction of the fan base that MOTU has, so it would make more sense for them to put their money into the incarnation of the franchise that has the largest audience.

Sorry, but that's the realistic businessman in me speaking.

[ICER]

Hi Mr.Olesker
How did you come about getting to write the New Adv. of He-Man eps.?How long on average did it take you to write an entire ep.?Do you have any of the original New Adv.storyboards that you wrote?
Thanks Alot for taking time out from your busy schedule to talk with us New Adv./MOTU fans!I hope you and your family have a safe and Happy Holidays!

[Patreek]

I'd be all for that and would be delighted to write and direct it. But I think it's a tough sell for Mattel. They took a beating on N/A and the entertainment industry is notorious for shying away from less than stellar successes. Beyond that, N/A has only a fraction of the fan base that MOTU has, so it would make more sense for them to put their money into the incarnation of the franchise that has the largest audience.

Sorry, but that's the realistic businessman in me speaking.

I totally see what you mean. I just thought with the new movie coming out if its really popular and they end up either resurrecting the MYP toon and/or releasing some direct to dvd movies of it, perhaps it might create room for an NA flick, in an atmosphere where something is really successful sometimes those kind of throw back redos get eaten up by fans. Either way I think it would be SOOOOO cool no matter how unlikely. ;-)