Watching NA for the First Time Ever

[Pravus Prime]

On other forums, I see threads like this pop up increasingly often, so I figured this would be a chance for me to do the same. I'm going to watch the New Adventures of He-man for the first time ever and give my comments/feedback/thoughts after I watch the episode.

A little bit of background, I was the right age for He-man; I got into it during the FILMation era, even enjoyed the live action movie, but NA was a big gap personally. I had gotten the Skeletor/He-man 2 pack, but other then that comic, I had no further exposure to this part of the franchise. The cartoon didn't air at a time when I could see it, so for me He-man had ended until the 200X relaunch, which I didn't see until about a year later via pirate sources due to not having cable. Thanks to here and the wonder of the internet, I got caught up in many of the elements that I had missed out on, such as the DC comics, mini-comics, etc. I particularly like the Pre-filmation barbaric Masters of the Universe series. Oh, I'm also a Transformers fan.

Enough of that, onto the first episode! (I'll use the episode guide here to make sure I get the names right.)

1. A New Begining

Primus is a nice place, under attack from mutants. Gandalf the-- uh, Master Sebrian has seen that way to save Primus is to get a warrior from the past "'with the power of the good and the way of the magic." He consults a group who like to hang out in crystals, who agrees. Our comic relief scientists build a snail shaped time machine and two heroic warrio-- Guardians of Primus, Hydron and Flipshot (Figures on sale now!) don their respective swimming and flying equipment for no obvious reason and hop into the timeship. Does it have a name? No? I'm naming it the Chronosnail.

The Chronosnail arrives in the past, Hydron and Flipshot assume everyone is a friend and are quickly captured by Andros and taken to a really great Snake Mountain. Skeletor learns of their story and decides he likes their naivete as well as the whole future technology angle and decides to pose as the good guy. Hydron and Flipshot, knowing not to judge a book by its cover, agree to take Skeletor to the future. The Sorceress butts in and gets He-man to go before his parents, blow his secret identity, and run off and try to catch a ride to the future. He does, go figure.

The Chronosnail arrives back in the present (future) just as the Mutants breach the shield to attack Primus. Skeletor blows his ruse, and long story short, He-man is known as the good and joins up with those on Primus while Skeletor hitches a ride with Flogg back to the Mother Ship where he joins up with them, under Floggs command, of course.

Notes:

-I didn't expect it, but either an explaination or a transition from the FILMation look to the current appearance would've been nice. I'll admit, again, since my only exposure to NA before this had been the minicomic, which did just that, I was hoping to see more of an explaination for Skeletor an He-mans new appearances, especially since we got a great looking classic Snake Mountain as well as a Randor and Marlena that more or less fit with the classic look. I wasn't expecting a whole episode explaining it, but just a nod or even a throwaway line about how they've changed.

-This is a really different take on Skeletor. Different voice, different personality. I like it!

-The Mutant fleet has a very Macross/Tekkaman feel to it. Technorganic in a few ways. I like it.

-I had always taken it as Primus wasn't Eternia (and I did see the thread about what it really is, but given the way the scene transition worked with the mudhole turning to a clean lake and Snake Mountain eroding, along with the Chronosnail being classified as only a timeship sure makes it seem like it's just Eternia of the far flung future visually.

-The Sorceress assures us that with Skeletor gone, Eternia is free from evil. This either gives Skeletor a lot of power or flat out ignores all the other evils in Eternia, of which there are quite a few, both natural and unnatural.

-I have to admit, the hardest part for me to swallow is when He-man obliterated that tree with a blast launched from his powersword.

-I don't like that whiny brat in the opening of the episode, I hope we never see him again.

-Why is there an Adam and why is he pretending to be Sebrian's nephew?

-It's funny how many Beast Wars actors there are in this series, and that Sue Blu is the voice director. I've met Gary Chalk and even did my original Skeletor voice impression during a voice acting competition at a convention, which he liked; I didn't realize he was He-man in this series until later!

Overall: I liked it! It's a good starting point for a new series, I just would've liked a smoother rollover from the previous setup if you're not going to start fresh or a stronger introduction of Primus/Mutants situation. 8/10

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

Welcome to the NA forum. Nice to have you here.

Well made points re: Episode One.

If you're going to get into NA for the first time, I suggest you listen to Masterscast Podcast Episode #25 in which I'm interviewed about NA. It will give you some good background information about the series and will answer a lot of questions that will no doubt come up during your viewing of the DVDs. Click on the link, scroll down to Episode #25 and listen in:

http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podcasts/4975

I hope you enjoy the rest of NA and, btw, everyone here -- including myself -- is always open to thoughtful, constructive, civil criticism...as well as a bit of praise once in a while.

Best,

Jack

[Pravus Prime]

Thanks for the welcome Jack!

I listened to your podcast, some interesting stuff, thanks for the link. I'll admit, I've seen watch and review threads for about 8-9 different series, yet this is the first time that I've ever seen the writer of the series post in them; it's almost intimidating! One thing I'll mention now, at this point, I do like the three scientists.

Anyway, onto:

2. Quest for the Crystals.

Since Skeletor isn't in charge, he gets Slush Head to volunteer for a recon mission for Flogg that's entirely Skeletors design. Nope, Skeletors not in charge at all. Slush Head seems aptly named, since he can't keep focused on his job and attacks (*Sigh*) Caz and Drissi. Sadly the whiney brat has been named and has a second appearance, which means he's a cast member and not a one shot, isn't he?

Anyway, long story short, He-man saves the day. The Mutants launch a second attack, damaging the Trithuseum generator, and fall back, knowing that He-man will lead a mission to Denebria to get new crystals. Sure enough, Flipshot, Hydron, and He-man bring up a Starship and head on out, with R2-D-- Gleep, and, (*Sigh*) Caz.

He-man thinks he's brokered a deal to get the crystals, but surprise, it's a setup. Skeletor doesn't take him out, He-man gets the Crystals. They name the ship Starship Eternia.

Notes:

-I'm surprised that our key character on both sides (He-man and Skeletor) are both fish out of waters, yet there's no description of the Tri-Solar System, their societies, or anything. I don't want or need an episode dealing with a long and ultimately pointless history, but something like how many planets there are in the system, how long the aggression has been going on, some other base details would've been nice.

-The society on Primus is an interesting one. They have spent at least 2 generations without any sort of conflict and isolated on Primus, yet they've got weapons, spaceships, and a Trithuseum plant that requires offworld resources. Drissi has repeatedly admonished Caz since Primus is a world without violence, yet Flipshot, Hydron, and so many others are awfully quick to go to arms and adopt a more battle oriented position. There is no mention of negotiations or anything other then "let He-man deal with it as violently as he wants" as a solution to their problems. Nor does there seem to be any reactionaries who feel this is a trial for their pacifist ways and want to stay that way (After all, it's easy to be pacifist when there are no enemies).

-Speaking of which, if Primus is so ripe for the picking now that the shield has failed, why doesn't Flogg just send in his entire force and conquer the planet right now, before He-man and others can prepare any sort of planet wide defense? Heck, give Skeletor a wing to command and have him lure He-man away from the city, then sack it with your own forces!

-This episode is really fast paced. Not a good or a bad, but it's a very tight script.

-Skeletors really big on handicapping himself, isn't he? I've argued before in other series that he doesn't seem to want to win on unfair terms, given the powers he often demonstrates how He-man ever wins is a question mark at times, but here he takes that extra step by essentially hiring buffoons to take He-man in the mines. Why not just blow the cave and bury him alive? Even so, I still like this Skeletor; if he keeps this up, he could become a favorite!

-I don't like Caz. I really don't. I think it's because he's moronically delusional.

-This episode feels a little schizophrenic, to the point where this could've been two episodes or a two-parter. We had He-man being questioned by the council and Skeletor sending Slush Head on a recon mission which could've provided backstory and context as well as setup for the next episode which was the attack on the Trithuseum plant and the quest to get new crystals, that would've allowed both stories to be told more fully.

Overall, it's a stumble episode for me, sadly. 3/10


EDIT: -At the end of the episode, there was a joke about Flipshot not being a good pilot. Did I miss something?

[MegaGearMax]

Kewl...do more of these!

[Wacky Martin]

I'm really enjoying reading your thoughts on these!

-I'm surprised that our key character on both sides (He-man and Skeletor) are both fish out of waters, yet there's no description of the Tri-Solar System, their societies, or anything. I don't want or need an episode dealing with a long and ultimately pointless history, but something like how many planets there are in the system, how long the aggression has been going on, some other base details would've been nice.

I particularly agree with this, though they explain things to He-Man throughout the first five episodes, Skeletor seems to instantly know everything about the Tri Solar Galaxy - and we never see him being 'taught' by Flogg, as was mentioned in the first episode.

Nor does there seem to be any reactionaries who feel this is a trial for their pacifist ways and want to stay that way (After all, it's easy to be pacifist when there are no enemies).

Episode four, and the character of Werban (who appears briefly at the start of episode two) throughout the series, deal with this. Werban is openly critical of Sebrian and He-Man throughout the series.

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

I woudn't call Episode Two so much a 'stumble' episode as a 'transition' episode.

What you need to keep in mind is that Mattel first came to me with the concept of my writing just five episodes as an episodic mini-series. They wanted to run it for five days straight -- which they eventually did. But their thought process at the time was actually that they wanted to premiere the five episodes as a complete film so they could present it to a focus group in order to decide whether or not they wanted to commission 65 episodes.

This they did, premiering it at MGM's theater in Culver City, CA to an audience of 1,500 kids. As it turned out, those 1,500 screaming kids fell in love with the film, and their audience response cards echoed this, resulting in Mattel immediatelly commissioning the rest of the episodes.

For this reason each episode needed to be interconnected, but also stand-alone. So you couldn't really create a traditional episode in the sense of using classic story structure because it was, of necessity, linked to the episode preceding and proceding it. This dual purpose -- trying to create stand-alone episodes but also interlinked ones -- contributed to the split-personality feel of the first five episodes, as you pointed out.

Add in the fact that I had two weeks to write a ninety-six page series bible and just another scant three weeks to write five complete episodes, from story springboars to outlines to complete script with re-writes and polishes -- and with no rest in between writing the series bible and moving to the scripts -- and it's a wonder I didn't end up schitzo! Were it not for being able to work with my good friend and brilliant producer Mark Taylor, Jetlag's VP Production and now GM at Nickelodeon, I might well have ended up in a rubber room! As it turned out it was an amazing experience and we enjoy much laughter and good times pulling off those first five episodes.

And little did I know, at that point, that I would go on to write another thirty-two episodes and story-edit a bunch more in a period of a few months. (Not that I'm complaining )

These aren't meant be be excuses; just explanations. And I think when the five episodes are viewed as a whole they become more of a cohesive unit rather than (admittedly) somewhat disjointed episodes.

[chrisbryan]

I woudn't call Episode Two so much a 'stumble' episode as a 'transition' episode.

What you need to keep in mind is that Mattel first came to me with the concept of my writing just five episodes as an episodic mini-series. They wanted to run it for five days straight -- which they eventually did. But their thought process at the time was actually that they wanted to premiere the five episodes as a complete film so they could present it to a focus group in order to decide whether or not they wanted to commission 65 episodes.

This they did, premiering it at MGM's theater in Culver City, CA to an audience of 1,500 kids. As it turned out, those 1,500 screaming kids fell in love with the film, and their audience response cards echoed this, resulting in Mattel immediatelly commissioning the rest of the episodes. Though surpassed it in story/character depth.

For this reason each episode needed to be interconnected, but also stand-alone. So you couldn't really create a traditional episode in the sense of using classic story structure because it was, of necessity, linked to the episode preceding and proceding it. This dual purpose -- trying to create stand-alone episodes but also interlinked ones -- contributed to the split-personality feel of the first five episodes, as you pointed out.

Add in the fact that I had two weeks to write a ninety-six page series bible and just another scant three weeks to write five complete episodes, from story springboars to outlines to complete script with re-writes and polishes -- and with no rest in between writing the series bible and moving to the scripts -- and it's a wonder I didn't end up schitzo! Were it not for being able to work with my good friend and brilliant producer Mark Taylor, Jetlag's VP Production and now GM at Nickelodeon, I might well have ended up in a rubber room! As it turned out it was an amazing experience and we enjoy much laughter and good times pulling off those first five episodes.

And little did I know, at that point, that I would go on to write another thirty-two episodes and story-edit a bunch more in a period of a few months. (Not that I'm complaining )

These aren't meant be be excuses; just explanations. And I think when the five episodes are viewed as a whole they become more of a cohesive unit rather than (admittedly) somewhat disjointed episodes.

My favorite part of NA is that there are these large story arcs. I didn't think the second episode was weak at all, like you said I saw it as transition. If mattel had payed closer attention to the toy design and product, NA could have easily have been up there with Filmation's MOTU in everyone's collective nostaliga.

[facet]

On other forums, I see threads like this pop up increasingly often, so I figured this would be a chance for me to do the same. I'm going to watch the New Adventures of He-man for the first time ever and give my comments/feedback/thoughts after I watch the episode.

A little bit of background, I was the right age for He-man; I got into it during the FILMation era, even enjoyed the live action movie, but NA was a big gap personally. I had gotten the Skeletor/He-man 2 pack, but other then that comic, I had no further exposure to this part of the franchise. The cartoon didn't air at a time when I could see it, so for me He-man had ended until the 200X relaunch, which I didn't see until about a year later via pirate sources due to not having cable. Thanks to here and the wonder of the internet, I got caught up in many of the elements that I had missed out on, such as the DC comics, mini-comics, etc. I particularly like the Pre-filmation barbaric Masters of the Universe series. Oh, I'm also a Transformers fan.

Enough of that, onto the first episode! (I'll use the episode guide here to make sure I get the names right.)

1. A New Begining

Primus is a nice place, under attack from mutants. Gandalf the-- uh, Master Sebrian has seen that way to save Primus is to get a warrior from the past "'with the power of the good and the way of the magic." He consults a group who like to hang out in crystals, who agrees. Our comic relief scientists build a snail shaped time machine and two heroic warrio-- Guardians of Primus, Hydron and Flipshot (Figures on sale now!) don their respective swimming and flying equipment for no obvious reason and hop into the timeship. Does it have a name? No? I'm naming it the Chronosnail.

The Chronosnail arrives in the past, Hydron and Flipshot assume everyone is a friend and are quickly captured by Andros and taken to a really great Snake Mountain. Skeletor learns of their story and decides he likes their naivete as well as the whole future technology angle and decides to pose as the good guy. Hydron and Flipshot, knowing not to judge a book by its cover, agree to take Skeletor to the future. The Sorceress butts in and gets He-man to go before his parents, blow his secret identity, and run off and try to catch a ride to the future. He does, go figure.

The Chronosnail arrives back in the present (future) just as the Mutants breach the shield to attack Primus. Skeletor blows his ruse, and long story short, He-man is known as the good and joins up with those on Primus while Skeletor hitches a ride with Flogg back to the Mother Ship where he joins up with them, under Floggs command, of course.

Notes:

-I didn't expect it, but either an explaination or a transition from the FILMation look to the current appearance would've been nice. I'll admit, again, since my only exposure to NA before this had been the minicomic, which did just that, I was hoping to see more of an explaination for Skeletor an He-mans new appearances, especially since we got a great looking classic Snake Mountain as well as a Randor and Marlena that more or less fit with the classic look. I wasn't expecting a whole episode explaining it, but just a nod or even a throwaway line about how they've changed.

-This is a really different take on Skeletor. Different voice, different personality. I like it!

-The Mutant fleet has a very Macross/Tekkaman feel to it. Technorganic in a few ways. I like it.

-I had always taken it as Primus wasn't Eternia (and I did see the thread about what it really is, but given the way the scene transition worked with the mudhole turning to a clean lake and Snake Mountain eroding, along with the Chronosnail being classified as only a timeship sure makes it seem like it's just Eternia of the far flung future visually.

-The Sorceress assures us that with Skeletor gone, Eternia is free from evil. This either gives Skeletor a lot of power or flat out ignores all the other evils in Eternia, of which there are quite a few, both natural and unnatural.

-I have to admit, the hardest part for me to swallow is when He-man obliterated that tree with a blast launched from his powersword.

-I don't like that whiny brat in the opening of the episode, I hope we never see him again.

-Why is there an Adam and why is he pretending to be Sebrian's nephew?

-It's funny how many Beast Wars actors there are in this series, and that Sue Blu is the voice director. I've met Gary Chalk and even did my original Skeletor voice impression during a voice acting competition at a convention, which he liked; I didn't realize he was He-man in this series until later!

Overall: I liked it! It's a good starting point for a new series, I just would've liked a smoother rollover from the previous setup if you're not going to start fresh or a stronger introduction of Primus/Mutants situation. 8/10

I just started watching it for the first time, and the first episode is great cause you get to see how eternia looks in the future. I love that they created a new evil warrior as part of skelators ranks, Andros ( I see an action figure out of him) He reminds me of the havoc staff, Basher(vehicle), and concept sketch of a of a goat headed man who has a ramming feature.
I too wonder why hemans power sword and skelators havoc staff changed so drastically, why and how did they do that? Any one have any answers for that. Are there any other galactic guardians or space mutants that are featured but never really realized or dicussed.

Also where can I find the series bible on this series?

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

My favorite part of NA is that there are these large story arcs. I didn't think the second episode was weak at all, like you said I saw it as transition. If mattel had payed closer attention to the toy design and product, NA could have easily have been up there with Filmation's MOTU in everyone's collective nostaliga.

I agree with you about the toy design -- although some were quite innovative (I love MOTUC Optikk, and imo the Nordor playset is incredible!). But I think, as I've stated in other threads, that the biggest mistake was in just starting the series without any preface. I think stating that NA was simply an 'adventure' and that He-man would some day return to Eternia might have gone a long way toward assuaging some of the shock for loyal MOTU fans.

I also think it was a huge error not to solicit input from MOTU fans. Who knew and loved (and still know and love, for that matter) the series more than its fans? I can tell you, as an aside, that I've personally learned from this error. I'm about to begin work on a zombie film and in the Other Threads forum I've solicited input from fans of the genre to see what elements of zombie films they like and dislike -- although I'm not able to hear actual story ideas. My feeling is that if you want to learn about what makes a series or a genre great (and, just as importantly, where the weak points are), then you're wise to go to its fans.

In Mattel's defense I will say that all of this, like all hindsight, is 20/20 and it's very easy to play Monday Morning Quarterback with Mattel and the choices they made. Remember that they wanted He-man to be successful. They did what they felt was right to keep the franchise going and, as I've said before, they gave me a great deal of creative latitude, for which I am grateful. The series was a pleasure to work on. That it was not more successful is one of the few great sadnesses in my career. That, through BCI's good graces, the DVD collection has been released and from my being on the board -- for which I am extremely grateful -- I think many fans have given NA a second chance and a first look. some of those fans have accepted it and some have even come to appreciate it as a separate adventure, actually becoming fans of it. This is something that has helped ameliorate the regrets I have that the series was not successful in its original broadcast. That I am able to be here and interact with fans -- and also with those who have well thought out, constructive and civil criticism -- is a personal joy for me.

[Pravus Prime]

Kewl...do more of these!

My intentions are to do one a day. I've actually got a cold/flu, so I saw this as good as an opportunity as ever to chill and watch some cartoons. I'm also doing these right after I see the episode, so my thoughts are fresh.

While I listened to Jacks podcast, I'm also trying to stay as spoiler free as possible. I've managed to go this far without knowing anything about this series, so it's refreshing to have brand new experiences.

Going back to the last episode, there was one note that got left off, there was a joke at the end when Caz took the controls about Flipshot being a bad pilot. Did I miss something? (I EDIT added this to the last review)

I woudn't call Episode Two so much a 'stumble' episode as a 'transition' episode.

What you need to keep in mind is that Mattel first came to me with the concept of my writing just five episodes as an episodic mini-series. They wanted to run it for five days straight -- which they eventually did. But their thought process at the time was actually that they wanted to premiere the five episodes as a complete film so they could present it to a focus group in order to decide whether or not they wanted to commission 65 episodes.
...
For this reason each episode needed to be interconnected, but also stand-alone. So you couldn't really create a traditional episode in the sense of using classic story structure because it was, of necessity, linked to the episode preceding and proceding it. This dual purpose -- trying to create stand-alone episodes but also interlinked ones -- contributed to the split-personality feel of the first five episodes, as you pointed out.

...
These aren't meant be be excuses; just explanations. And I think when the five episodes are viewed as a whole they become more of a cohesive unit rather than (admittedly) somewhat disjointed episodes.

I'll keep that in mind as I watch the next few episodes, though it still seems to me that Quest could've been two episodes rather then one; but I may agree with you after I see the next few episodes. We'll see.

New episode time!

3. The Heat

We begin pretty much right where we left off. The scientists are trying to repair the Trithuseum station, to no avail without crystals when He-man arrives with some. After a quick transfer of goods, the crew of the Eternia take off to respond to a distress call at Levitan. However, this is a carefully crafted ploy, there is no danger, the Mutants have instead once again attacked the Trithuseum station, kidnapping the scientists!

Skeletor congratulates Slush Head on not bungling the mission and questions the scientists for themselves. Like Caz, they too are full of moronic delusions, until face to face with Skeletor. Skeletor petrifies them to such a degree he gets nothing usefull from them, losing his temper in the processs.

Fortunately for our heroes, U-R is a tracking unit to the Scientist Locator Chips in the scientists and joins the crew of the Eternia to rescue the lost scientists. He-man searches the... cockpit? Bridge? Let's go with Bridge of the Eternia, finding he's been a good boy at Christmas, as the cabinets are full of goodies.

Long review short, He-man walks into Skeletors trap, then reveals his own, the Mutant ship is in the heroes trap. Flogg and He-man come to an agreement with He-man getting the scientists and safe passage back to Primus in exchange for letting the mutant mother/command ship out of the trap He-man set.

Notes:

-The narration was a bit biased, wasn't it? Skeletor followed He-man to the future? I seem to recall it happening the other way around.

-This episode flowed a lot better and was far more cohesive.

-Skeletor losing his patience was good to see. While he may play things laissez-faire or even glib, it only goes so far. His annoyance at Flogg for wanting to make/take He-mans deal was also a nice touch. This also makes him a more rounded character. Again, kudos on this Skeletor!

-Still loathe Caz. Drissi should beat him like a red-headed stepchild.

-Why does the Trithuseum station look like an observatory?

-The Mutants plan was a good one, but why didn't they trash the Trithuseum station and/or take the crystals to boot?

-Speaking of their plan, good thing U-R could track them, how else could the heroes go into the trap?

-While the scientists have their flaws, I still like them.

-Starship Eternia is the ship that keeps on giving! It's fully loaded with things that are exactly what you think they are! Either that or He-man is a supergenius, able to figure out exactly what a device is by looking at it.

-I thought at first that Slush Head was an amphibian, I don't think that's the case anymore and that he must be more fishy, given his behavior in the swamp and with the waters, along with his own helmet preferences.

-My biggest problem with this episode was that without the Trithuseum Station operating, Primus was supposed to have climate problems. The scientists at the start complain about the heat, yet we never see any adverse effects beyond that. Either the actual importance of the Trithuseum station has been overstated, or it was forgotten about/dropped. Usually in cartoons that have weather controlling devices, when they fail there's hell to pay. Especially when the episode is titled, "The Heat"! The recap even points out how without the station the planet will "Heat at an incredible rate!"

Overall, an enjoyable episode. 7/10

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

I just started watching it for the first time, and the first episode is great cause you get to see how eternia looks in the future. I love that they created a new evil warrior as part of skelators ranks, Andros ( I see an action figure out of him) He reminds me of the havoc staff, Basher(vehicle), and concept sketch of a of a goat headed man who has a ramming feature.
I too wonder why hemans power sword and skelators havoc staff changed so drastically, why and how did they do that? Any one have any answers for that. Are there any other galactic guardians or space mutants that are featured but never really realized or dicussed.

Also where can I find the series bible on this series?

He-man's and Skeletor's weapons changed as a result of their moving through time and space and to another venue with an 'atmosphere' -- both a physical and a spiritual one -- that is very different from that on Eternia.

What I wanted to achieve with He-man was to somewhat lessen his strength so he had to reply more upon his wits. To compensate for this I chose to give his sword some magical powers.

As for the series bible, the one in the DVD collection is not mine. I believe it is earlier material that Mattel gave me at their formal presentation of the toy line. My own series bible was ninety-six pages long. I regret that I do not have a copy of it. I do think Jean Chalopin may have a copy of it and some day I'll mention it to him.

[Pravus Prime]

New episode time!

4. Attack on Onnor

More or less continuing where we left off, Skeletor is running an entertaining show, with a clever plan to take Primus, he'll use an unwitting double agent to disable the shield and launch a two prong attack to take Primus. Caz and He-man wander the single garden that seems to grow all of Primus' food supply, meeting Grot, the caretaker.

Hoove and Karatti (Had to look up those names) attack said gardens in a Terror Claw (Buy one now!), but are foiled by Grot and He-man. That night Werban, a true pacifist meets up with Skeletor, who gives him an enchanted necklace to make him his pawn.

The next day Werban takes the shield crystal and 23 Skidoo's it. Master Sebrian sends... uh... not Drissi to get Adam to help out.

Long episode short, Werban looses his necklace, Skeletors Havoc staff (Who turns into the Kaiju Baragon) and He-man duke it out, the four scientists invent goo to cover Onnars tunnels. Skeletor beats a retreat, the mutants get gooed and feathered, Werban admits his "mistake".

Notes

-By far the biggest story problem of this episode that I have is that Werban folds on his stance. The scientists came up with a goo, Werban fled from Skeletor and the mutants, Werban should be more adamant then ever that they should persue nonviolent solutions or open a dialogue rather than have He-man lead open confrontation.

-This opens up another plot possibility. If Primus' food supply is Grot's grotto, that makes it a pretty big target, methinks.

-I could fill up the note section on comments about Skeletor, suffice to say he really shines in this episode. From one liners to his plan, it's all enjoyable. Also, he totally oogles Crita when she compliments him.

-Maybe it's me, but this seems like a really poorly animated episode. There's many scaling issues (Crita is twice the size of Optikk after they get gooed), errors, and heck, at the end He-mans face changes shape and size; his nose gets really big then shrinks back down along with other facial features. They also don't seem to be sure if he has a pony tail or not, since it appears and disapears all the time.

-It's a bit odd to think that Baragon ended up slumming it by living in the Havoc Staff.

-Cactii on Primus must be strong to hold that much water at that pressure inside them normally. Without all those Cactii, I think that area would be a lake, not a desert!

-Okay, up to this point I've been calling it the Tri-solar System. However they have repeatedly called it the Tri-Solar Galaxy, which makes no sense. Galaxies have millions of stars, not three. A Tri-Solar System makes sense and would be a far less common cosmic phenomenon, one that would allow for the frame of reference of calling it the Tri-Solar System and people would know which system you're talking about. So, I'm going to internally edit all occurances to the sytem, not galaxy.

-I noticed this before, but was waiting for a few more episodes before I comment, but He-mans sword is odd in that he doesn't hold it the same way. There appears to be two guards, and he can hold it either below the second or below the first, or use both to hold it two-handed, but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme nor reason for using one over the other. At first I thought that maybe Adam used the lower grip and He-man the higher, or that one would allow him to use the blades magic or something, but nope, seems random.

-Still don't like Caz.

Overall, without Skeletor I'd give this a 6 out of 10. The battle in the grotto is pretty much action for actions sake (yeah, I know, boys cartoon has action!), and Werban folds like a deck of cheap cards after his own first trial with his belief system, which annoys me. However, Skeletor is just so much fun in this episode, I give it 8.5/10.

[josh]

-Okay, up to this point I've been calling it the Tri-solar System. However they have repeatedly called it the Tri-Solar Galaxy, which makes no sense. Galaxies have millions of stars, not three. A Tri-Solar System makes sense and would be a far less common cosmic phenomenon, one that would allow for the frame of reference of calling it the Tri-Solar System and people would know which system you're talking about. So, I'm going to internally edit all occurances to the sytem, not galaxy.

I seem to recall someone complaining about the change to Tri-Solar System (from Galaxy) in Optikk's MOTUC bio when it was first released. Then a couple of evenings ago I was flipping through the only mini-comic I had from this toyline, and what do I see?



The Tri-Solar System.

My whole point is, you were doing fine before you even realized it

[SONICR]

Does anyone here have problem with Disc 4 - Episode: Adam's Adventure @0:24:16? The picture becomes pixelated for just a bit...

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

Does anyone here have problem with Disc 4 - Episode: Adam's Adventure @0:24:16? The picture becomes pixelated for just a bit...

I believe that's Flogg on Denebria, jamming the transmission.

[Wacky Martin]

-Maybe it's me, but this seems like a really poorly animated episode. There's many scaling issues (Crita is twice the size of Optikk after they get gooed), errors, and heck, at the end He-mans face changes shape and size; his nose gets really big then shrinks back down along with other facial features. They also don't seem to be sure if he has a pony tail or not, since it appears and disapears all the time.

It's definately one of the worst looking. Skeletor's face just looks bizarre at certain points. The next episode is the best looking one in the whole series, imo.

Skeletor gets some of his best moments though, and the whole scene with him and Flogg and 'but we don't just go down there and go BLABABABABABABALALALA!' is hilarious.

[Pravus Prime]

Skeletor gets some of his best moments though, and the whole scene with him and Flogg and 'but we don't just go down there and go BLABABABABABABALALALA!' is hilarious.

Yep, one of his many lines in that episode that actually made me laugh out loud.

The Tri-Solar System.

My whole point is, you were doing fine before you even realized it

Ha! Tri-Solar System it is!

New episode time!

5. The Ultimate Challenge

Adam and Drissi are taking a walk through one of Primus' many grottos when Skeletor appears in the sky, wanting a final duel with He-man to settle the issue once and for all. Adam leaves to Drissi's dismay and consults with Sebrian, who tells him Primus will be safe if he goes off to battle.

Flogg voices his uncertainty in Skeletor, to which Skeletor rebukes Flogg, calling him Flush and talks about his certain plan for victory, if Flogg can pull it off. Simply put, Skeletor takes on He-man, Flogg takes on Primus. Easy peasy. Flogg talks about how he'll be King of Primus, after the cockpit closes on Skeletors fighter, Skeletor remarks how soon everything will be his!

He-man sets off in a fighter (On sale now!) to the Cameroon Asteroid, secure in his leaving Primus safe. Except the scientists decide that the supercomputer that's finding the holes in the shield can multi-task so they each set it to do an absurdly complicated task, overloading the computer. Without a hole detector, the peoples of Primus have no idea where the holes are and the planet is once again open to invasion, which is just what happens.

Not Drissi gets a name, Mara and she and Caz set off in The Eternia to get He-man. On the asteroid, Skeletor wonders what's keeping He-man when he shows. The battle doesn't get far underway when The Eternia shows up, attacking Skeletor. Skeletor is bemused at He-mans cheating, who swears he had no knowledge of the attack. Caz explains how Primus is being invaded and they must return as Skeletor activates a device which pulls the debris field in to attack He-man and 86's the Asteroid himself. He-man orders The Eternia away and believes in the power of his heart. (What?)

Sebrian has surrendured to Flogg, citizens of Primus are marched, shackled, jailed, whatever. Standing before the Fountain of Freedom, Sebrian will surrender to Flogg, which Sebrian remarks is a poor place for freedom to die. Skeletor blasts the fountain and He-man emerges! (What!) He then uses his sword to create a mini-meteor storm and deluges the mutant army with it, (What!) causing them to retreat. He turns the storm on Flogg and Skeletor, causing Flogg to retreat and Skeletor to teleport away.

He-man remarks to his friends later that his power is l33t and that he will always be there for Primus. (Really?)

Notes:

-I've got to get this out of the way first. The resolution to this is insultingly bad. He-man is left to die on the Cameroon Asteroid, then appears inside the statue of freedom on Primus because. Seriously, my original synopsis was going to be, "Skeletor and Flogg come up with a plan which they successfully execute, winning their battles until He-man breaks the plot." If this were the new Battlestar Galactica, I'd expect a later episode has someone returning to the Cameroon Asteroid and finding He-mans dead body, causing them all to wonder who this new He-man is. Seriously, I actually feel insulted as a viewer for having seen this episode. The crap about the power within or seeing with your heart, no, it doesn't cut it. He-man super cheated. I could've accepted a lot, He-man used the power of his heart to see his way to get his power sword, then used said sword to open a wormhole. There, I could've accepted that and I just made that up.

-Adam and Drissi seem to have a developing relationship.

-Speaking of which, Drissi seems to have Snow White syndrome in that there are always animals on her and near her.

-Skeletor is awesome.

-Caz actually wasn't annoying.

-We saw several new Guardians of Primus. Don't know their names, I'm sure several were available wherever toys are sold. The episode guide on the site here is entirely blank for this episode.

-Skeletors plan is a good one, heck it's the one I suggested a few episodes ago! And he won!

-This episode, arg, I really do loathe it. Had I seen all five episodes together, the bad taste this one leaves in my mouth would negatively impact my score for the entire mini-movie. If this were being broadcast today this episode would get the series moved onto my probation list; I'd give it 1-5 more episodes to do right by me or I'd stop watching it. Going back, I'd suggest that Quest be broken up into two episodes and this episode never happened to make our first five. End the mini with Werban and Primus having the shield go back up and the open criticism of He-man end.

-I'm not fond of the Sorceress/Goddess Telepathic Plot Device. I've never been fond of it in any series or any form. I had hoped that in this series she would be more of an inner voice for He-man, telling him nothing new, just serving as an inner mental tool. Instead it seems she's communicating with him from another time and place, which makes it worse. Plus she repeats. Repeats. Repeats.

-He-man remarks that he'll always be there for Primus, yet if he was supposed to return to Eternia, wouldn't that be abandoning them? Not that he hasn't done that once already by turning his back on Eternia, but where is the line? What if Eternia and Primus were both in mortal danger and only one planet could be saved, at the cost of the others complete and utter destruction. Which planet does he save? Plus he essentially assassinated Adam before he left.

-He-man emerges from the statue, sword in hand, then he does his ponytail binding then draws his sword. That means he sheathed it to tie back his hair. Made me chuckle at the idea that he makes his triumphant entrance then fiddles with his hair.

-I'm likely to watch another episode later on, just to get the bad taste of this one out of my mouth, so to say. Blech!

Overall, I'm sure you see this coming, 1/10. Skeletor gets this episode most of it's point, I'll admit.

[Old Bolty-Neck]

-He-man emerges from the statue, sword in hand, then he does his ponytail binding then draws his sword. That means he sheathed it to tie back his hair. Made me chuckle at the idea that he makes his triumphant entrance then fiddles with his hair.

And then remembers that there are bad guys present that he might want to consider resisting when he's got his hair right, maybe.

You can check out what Olesker had to say about this episode's ending here.

[Pravus Prime]

Bonus episode time!

6. Sword and Staff

Skeletor is walking about the surface of Nordor, bemoaning his failures when he gets a message from Flogg to come back right away. He returns to find they're... (hee hee)... throwing him a... (ha ha!)... surprise party! Complete with a Skeletor cake! Skeletor is confused and Flogg explains that while they may have failed, at least they've gotten closer then ever before to victory. The true purpose of the party is revealed to be to give a pink elephant gift to Skeletor in Grrr, a rear leg amputee Terror Dog. Grrr growls at Skeletor, whose eyes flash red, quickly domesticating the beast to him. Skeletor is pleased with his new pet and generally touched. Flogg and the others (save Slush Head, who doesn't get it) are displeased that their gift has backfired on them.

Skeletor takes Grrr out for a walk/hunt to which Grrr gets caught in a small tunnel. Quake opens up the tunnel and the two descend to find not just Grrr, but also a weird temple object. Skeletor solves the puzzle on the door and gains entrance to a cyrstal room, with a large crystal in the middle. Quake doesn't like it, but Skeletor shoves him forward. The crystals radiation turns Quake into SuperQuake. Returning to Flogg, Skeletor gets him to send SuperQuake to test his powers.

Adam, Hydron, and Flipshot are at Gorn City (I'm guessing on Denebria, but we never get any info on that.) on a trading mission. After a brief encounter they find Malik from episode 2, who settles the issue with another bar customer and offers to do business with the Primeans. (Is that what they're called, it's what I'm calling them now.) SuperQuake crashes the party, taking out Malik and Flipshot with ease. Adam prepares to blow his ruse again until he's stopped by Saggitaur. SuperQuake takes on Saggitaur with less spectacular results, finding himself drastically outnumbered by a recovered Flipshot and Malik, Saggitaur, Hydron, and Adam, SuperQuake calls it a day and pulls back.

Skeletor calls it a successful test, Flogg not so much.

Sebrian explains to Adam that the crystal, and indeed all of Nordor are actually part of Primus itself. The crystal was so evil they launched it into spaaaaaaaaaaace. Err, into space as they couldn't destroy it. He also gets some jibber jabber from The Sorceress and sets off as He-man to destroy the crystal.

Skeletor uses the power to upgrade himself into a spiffy new look.

He-man takes The Eternia as far as it can safely take him, then takes an Astrosub (On sale now!) the rest of the way, only to find upgraded Skeletor waiting for him. He-man lies (!!!) about wanting to join Skeletor, and they end up before the Crystal. He-man is unaffected by the crystal, attempts to destroy it, only to draw Skeletors ire. The two briefly battle, until Skeletors upgrade wears off. They briefly join forces to destroy the crystal, but in the explosion He-man escapes while Skeletor does not.

He-man digs Skeletor out a bit, they talk, Skeletor tries to backstab him, fails, then He-man departs spouting some totalitarian monologuing. Skeletor emerges still in his new form, forever upgraded thanks to having been caught in the explosion.

Notes

-This is pretty much a villain story, the heroes don't play much of a role at all in the story at all.

-The surprise party for Skeletor is terrific. From the speeches, the balloons, the cake, it's all fantastic!

-Reglar Skeletor has an animation model change, he has black eyes until he gets upgraded, not white like all the prior episodes.

-Skeletor seems to have gotten a mutant companion in Quake, someone who can be a pseudo Beast-man relationship with, I can see them being a duo, especially if Quake retains some of his SuperQuake upgrades.

-Love Skeletors new look. Not sold on the boots, but the rest of the look is great. I don't know if he upgrades later or not in the series, but so far, if we get a MOTUC NA Skeletor, I hope it's in this look. I went ahead and looked at the figure gallery, Disks of Doom Skeletor doesn't look nearly as cool as the animation model, though I do like the toys gimmick of closing the helmet.

-While I know it's not so, it would be entertaining to view this series as He-man as the bad guy and Skeletor the good guy. I don't know why, but these last two episodes, the thoughts been in the back of my mind.

-No Caz in this episode!

-Malik is a shrewd businessman.

-The puzzle on the temple door to The Crystal is a Tic Tac Toe puzzle. That makes me chuckle. It also appears that he could've put an O in the center square to also win the game.

-This gets the series off probation that the last episode (Blech!) put it on. My palatte, so to say, has been cleansed.

Overall, this was a good episode, plus Skeletor got upgraded! 9/10

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

Yep, one of his many lines in that episode that actually made me laugh out loud.




Ha! Tri-Solar System it is!

New episode time!

5. The Ultimate Challenge

Adam and Drissi are taking a walk through one of Primus' many grottos when Skeletor appears in the sky, wanting a final duel with He-man to settle the issue once and for all. Adam leaves to Drissi's dismay and consults with Sebrian, who tells him Primus will be safe if he goes off to battle.

Flogg voices his uncertainty in Skeletor, to which Skeletor rebukes Flogg, calling him Flush and talks about his certain plan for victory, if Flogg can pull it off. Simply put, Skeletor takes on He-man, Flogg takes on Primus. Easy peasy. Flogg talks about how he'll be King of Primus, after the cockpit closes on Skeletors fighter, Skeletor remarks how soon everything will be his!

He-man sets off in a fighter (On sale now!) to the Cameroon Asteroid, secure in his leaving Primus safe. Except the scientists decide that the supercomputer that's finding the holes in the shield can multi-task so they each set it to do an absurdly complicated task, overloading the computer. Without a hole detector, the peoples of Primus have no idea where the holes are and the planet is once again open to invasion, which is just what happens.

Not Drissi gets a name, Mara and she and Caz set off in The Eternia to get He-man. On the asteroid, Skeletor wonders what's keeping He-man when he shows. The battle doesn't get far underway when The Eternia shows up, attacking Skeletor. Skeletor is bemused at He-mans cheating, who swears he had no knowledge of the attack. Caz explains how Primus is being invaded and they must return as Skeletor activates a device which pulls the debris field in to attack He-man and 86's the Asteroid himself. He-man orders The Eternia away and believes in the power of his heart. (What?)

Sebrian has surrendured to Flogg, citizens of Primus are marched, shackled, jailed, whatever. Standing before the Fountain of Freedom, Sebrian will surrender to Flogg, which Sebrian remarks is a poor place for freedom to die. Skeletor blasts the fountain and He-man emerges! (What!) He then uses his sword to create a mini-meteor storm and deluges the mutant army with it, (What!) causing them to retreat. He turns the storm on Flogg and Skeletor, causing Flogg to retreat and Skeletor to teleport away.

He-man remarks to his friends later that his power is l33t and that he will always be there for Primus. (Really?)

Notes:

-I've got to get this out of the way first. The resolution to this is insultingly bad. He-man is left to die on the Cameroon Asteroid, then appears inside the statue of freedom on Primus because. Seriously, my original synopsis was going to be, "Skeletor and Flogg come up with a plan which they successfully execute, winning their battles until He-man breaks the plot." If this were the new Battlestar Galactica, I'd expect a later episode has someone returning to the Cameroon Asteroid and finding He-mans dead body, causing them all to wonder who this new He-man is. Seriously, I actually feel insulted as a viewer for having seen this episode. The crap about the power within or seeing with your heart, no, it doesn't cut it. He-man super cheated. I could've accepted a lot, He-man used the power of his heart to see his way to get his power sword, then used said sword to open a wormhole. There, I could've accepted that and I just made that up.

-Adam and Drissi seem to have a developing relationship.

-Speaking of which, Drissi seems to have Snow White syndrome in that there are always animals on her and near her.

-Skeletor is awesome.

-Caz actually wasn't annoying.

-We saw several new Guardians of Primus. Don't know their names, I'm sure several were available wherever toys are sold. The episode guide on the site here is entirely blank for this episode.

-Skeletors plan is a good one, heck it's the one I suggested a few episodes ago! And he won!

-This episode, arg, I really do loathe it. Had I seen all five episodes together, the bad taste this one leaves in my mouth would negatively impact my score for the entire mini-movie. If this were being broadcast today this episode would get the series moved onto my probation list; I'd give it 1-5 more episodes to do right by me or I'd stop watching it. Going back, I'd suggest that Quest be broken up into two episodes and this episode never happened to make our first five. End the mini with Werban and Primus having the shield go back up and the open criticism of He-man end.

-I'm not fond of the Sorceress/Goddess Telepathic Plot Device. I've never been fond of it in any series or any form. I had hoped that in this series she would be more of an inner voice for He-man, telling him nothing new, just serving as an inner mental tool. Instead it seems she's communicating with him from another time and place, which makes it worse. Plus she repeats. Repeats. Repeats.

-He-man remarks that he'll always be there for Primus, yet if he was supposed to return to Eternia, wouldn't that be abandoning them? Not that he hasn't done that once already by turning his back on Eternia, but where is the line? What if Eternia and Primus were both in mortal danger and only one planet could be saved, at the cost of the others complete and utter destruction. Which planet does he save? Plus he essentially assassinated Adam before he left.

-He-man emerges from the statue, sword in hand, then he does his ponytail binding then draws his sword. That means he sheathed it to tie back his hair. Made me chuckle at the idea that he makes his triumphant entrance then fiddles with his hair.

-I'm likely to watch another episode later on, just to get the bad taste of this one out of my mouth, so to say. Blech!

Overall, I'm sure you see this coming, 1/10. Skeletor gets this episode most of it's point, I'll admit.

I rarely get involved in crossing swords with an animation studio as I have trouble even drawing stick people. But as many know from my posts in other threads, this episode is one that fiercely irritates me because of editing that was done by the studio -- and without my knowledge -- to the ending.

The ending that I wrote for the script had three complete scenes that made sense out of how He-man ended up inside of that statue. Those scenes were completely cut without my knowledge and I will tell you categorically that the scenes were there when I reviewed and signed off on the storyboards, as I did on every episode I wrote. I have an industry-wide reputation in all work that I do for being a stickler for logic. That He-man just went from the asteroid to -- POOF! -- being inside the statue is absurd and I believe anyone familiar with the more than one thousand episode of television that I have written will understand that this is the sort of writing that I would never do.

Believe me, I take full responsiblity for it when I make a mistake -- and I make plenty of them. But in this case it was simply something beyond my control, yet something I've taken a lot of heat for over the years.

Edit" Thank you for that cross reference, Old Bolty-Neck. If your bolts ever need tightening, I'm your man.

[DarkLiger]

I grew up with the orginal series, and after watching the 2002 series (which I thought was just as good in its own way) I bought the NA season 1 on DVD.
Never seen it befrore, just saw the toys.
My first thought was "Why the sword change?"
I was a bit disappointred when Adam finally revealed his dual identiy to his parents. Not quite the big reveal I wanted to see.

When I saw Skeletor I thought: Holy S$%* they changes Skeletor from "I'm evil" to "I'm evil and a sarcastic ***hole" Thus my enjoyment of the series really shot up from there.

[Bell110]

I just watched an episode (9 I believe) on YouTube. I really don't get it. There is nothing "He-Man" about this show. Maybe this series has a season wide story going on, because this episode didn't really seem to have a plot. And Skeletor reminds me of a cross between Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor and Jack Nickelson's Joker.

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

I just watched an episode (9 I believe) on YouTube. I really don't get it. There is nothing "He-Man" about this show. Maybe this series has a season wide story going on, because this episode didn't really seem to have a plot. And Skeletor reminds me of a cross between Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor and Jack Nickelson's Joker.

The New Adventures of He-man was one of the first animated children's series to have a continuing storyline that develops over the series arc. Therefore, to understand the series you need to watch it from Episode One.

You're assessment of Skeletor's personality is fairly accurate.

[Pravus Prime]

The ending that I wrote for the script had three complete scenes that made sense out of how He-man ended up inside of that statue. Those scenes were completely cut without my knowledge and I will tell you categorically that the scenes were there when I reviewed and signed off on the storyboards, as I did on every episode I wrote. I have an industry-wide reputation in all work that I do for being a stickler for logic. That He-man just went from the asteroid to -- POOF! -- being inside the statue is absurd and I believe anyone familiar with the more than one thousand episode of television that I have written will understand that this is the sort of writing that I would never do.

Thanks for that and I do believe you. That said, can you share at all what was supposed to happen, even in the most general of details?

Well, it's going to be a quadruple helping, as I've got four reviews! For anyone who's been enjoying this and wondering where I've been, real life and the Olympics have been taking priority, sorry.

I'm thinking I may cut down on the synopsis, I put them in mostly so people know which episode I'm talking about.

7. The Pen is Mightier then the Sword... Or is it?

Flogg and Skeletor are walking about Gorn City (Which is where, Denebria? I still don't know!), passing by a shop, Skeletor is enraptured by a painting of a dragon, which appears to be lenticular. Flogg is dismissive, but Skeletor is certain he's found something important. Inquiring, he finds the artist who painted the picture is on Primus and purchases the painting.

Artist McPainter is on Primus, staying with, surprise, Master Sebrian. He flirts with Mara, to Adams dismay. Adam and U-R (Or was that Gleep?) go for a walk, to which whichever one it is insinuates that Adam has a thing for Mara.

Skeletor and Slush Head blackmail and bluff their way onto a cargo ship headed for Primus. Once there Skeletor uses his magic to first free the dragon from the painting, then send him off to do battle. The dragon has a unique power, it can't be harmed by anything it sees headed it's way. Eventually it's destroyed when He-man heroically shoots the dragon in the back.

A second painting of a death butterfly comes to life but is destroyed by paint dissolver. A third of a lion is killed by Artist McPainter painting up a soldier to kill it. A banshee pheonix is undone by Artist breaking all his paintbrushes. Skeletor shows up and is comically foiled, everyone laughs.

He-man makes excuses for Adam, the end.

Notes:

-Adam is a player, isn't he? He takes Drissi for a walk and talks her up, here he's clearly romantically interested in Mara. Maybe all those years of being the playboy prince has rubbed off on him!

-Slush Head is an interesting choice, I was certain we'd start seeing Quake (Figure on sale now!) with Skeletor. Granted the mutants only role was to be a narrative sounding board for Skeletor, but still. I wonder if Flogg doesn't like Skeletor being unwatched by a mutant, so he chooses whomever has annoyed him that day to "Skeletor duty".

-I really do like Skeletors new look. I like the animated look far better then the toy and would like to see this Animated look as I've mentioned previously as the MOTUC NA Skeletor figure.

-The Animation when Skeletor uses his hand lightning to force the dragon is pretty well done.

-I love the surly dragon.

-Death Butterflys are nifty.

-No Caz in this episode!

-It also seems we got a new Guardian of Primus in Tuskador.

-I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I like the theme song.

Overall, I had no qualms about the plot, but it didn't really do that much for me either way. The resolution felt stiff and forced and I'm not a fan of the group shot where everyone laughs at the end. 5/10



8. Glastnost Schmaznost

The Tri-Solar council has decided to call a summit to end the dispute between Denebria and Primus. He-man, Skeletor, and their respective delegations are called forth to settle their differences. Skeletor comes up with a plan; they'll act as the good guys. Duh. Going so far as to appoint Slush Head Ambassador of Peace.

Skeletors plan goes off without a hitch, Slush Head is well recieved, he personally foils an assassination attempt on Mara, further getting the council to send He-man to Denebria and Skeletor to Primus.

On Primus, Skeletor is treated very poorly and surrounded by armed weapons by the peaceful and open minded people of Primus, who abhor violence and dispute, don't you know?

He-man however, is given a royal welcome, with a band, flag, speakers, etc.

Long episode short, He-man runs back to Primus and foils the final stage of Skeletors plot, good wins again.

Notes:

-First and foremost, this last act has a lot of logic problems. Without communication and Navigation The Eternia successfully flies (and quickly too) from Denebria to Primus (which is a laughably difficult task even if the planets are only half the distance Earth is to Venus). He-man uses the beam from his power sword to create a "constellation" in the sky viewable by the people of Primus so they know to lower the shield to allow him return entry. He-man does this by standing on top of The Eternia. In space. Without a spacesuit. Or breathing gear. For most of the return trip and the atmospheric entry. Nor does he fall off during atmospheric entry, instead jumping off and hitting the ground without dying to take care of the bomb. He creates a moving "constellation" that's so big that it takes up most of the heavens of Primus. The size and brightness necessary to do that is truly staggering assuming that Primus isn't that different from Earth in atmospheric and planetary body conditions. He also uses a magic lasso beam from his sword to yank the bomb back up and into the mothership. Technically, if he can do that, he should never, ever, become disarmed in combat. What do you want to be that he will in some later episode? Then you add that The Eternia somehow managed to sneak by (without it being a plot point) Floggs invasion fleet. Really, this isn't much better then He-man flat out breaking the plot in Ultimate Challenge to win. Furthermore, why didn't Flogg move the fleet in when Primus lowered the entire planetary shield to let The Eternia in?

-There were several laugh out loud moments for me. Slush Head in a tux, handing out balloons. Skeletors table facepalm. Slush Heads welcoming ceremony, the pledge of allegiance.

-Vizor has been seen before, but this is by far his biggest part. He strikes me as a Clint Eastwood Man With No Name type.

-For a people who abhor violence, who have spent generations as pacifists, and who give peace every chance and are slow to judge others, they sure are a well armed paranoid lot who are eager for a fight.

-I liked everything about Skeletors plan except that he really was intending a doublecross. I would've had none and let the paranoia of He-man and the Guardians ruin the peace. Of course I'd be doing everything I can to fuel that suspicion and distrust, but I wouldn't have actually made a real move against them.

-Who or what are the Tri-Solar council and what do you want to bet that we never see or hear from them ever again? Though it does add more mystery to the Tri-Solar system. Are they from another planet, are they kind of United Planets group?

-No Caz in this episode.

Overall the logic problems really subtract from what had been my favorite episode up until the third act. 6/10




9. The Youngest Hero

Caz is an idiot and doesn't die. Skeletor overplays his hand.

Notes:

-Caz wasn't bad in his last appearance, even remembing that "A good soldier follows orders", yet here he's back to his old annoying whiney self. He continues his trend of being moronically delusional as well as a thief and traitor to Primus. (He takes a ship and essentially gives it to Skeletor which the mutants can examine to find new weaknesses to utilize.)

-It's odd that Flogg considers Slush Head part of the cream of the crop, but not Quake.

-Primus has generic guardians to go along with the generic mutants. This means they have a full on military force. To go with their weapons of mass destruction, fleets of space fighters, and more. Such pacifists!

-Skeletors duplicate was fun. His virus was clever, but I was expecting it to be a "Caz infects everyone with the virus" episode.

-Quake fails to follow orders and doesn't return to the ship with the sword.

-This could have easily been a two parter, with Skeletor having the sword at the end of this episode and the virus spreading, the second part would've been the resolution.

-One element that I would've liked to have seen was that Magic being foreign to everyone and illogical to the scientists. That would also go fruther to explaining why something that both He-man and Skeletor utilize makes them so valued to their respective forces.

-He-man deducing which Skeletor was the duplicate was pretty good.

-Why didn't Skeletor infect He-man when he had the chance? What do you want to bet he never uses this power again?

-*Sigh* I kept hoping Caz would die. Or that he'd realize what his stupidity caused and undergo some character growth. Actually I should rephrase that. I kept wanting Caz to die.

Overall I'm sure you see this coming, 4/10



10. Festival of Lights

It's a Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace... err, Space Western along with a party on Primus.

Notes:

-Sagitar is a hypocrite, isn't he? He's quick to proclaim that The Eternia is under the protection of heading to Weststar, but then he wants to attack the mutant ship who has the same destination and thus protection.

-Several laugh out loud moments, Slush Head in ranch hand clothing, Skeletors southern drawl among them. Perhaps most of all was He-man riding Sagitar.

-When Skeletor activates the bull, the sound effect is the Ghostbusters Proton Pack powering up. Heh, love that sound.

-Adam is a player, flirting with Drissi and Mara at the same time, then getting some alone time with Mara.

-Adam did a good job covering his ignorance of the Festival of Lights, which itself is a nice touch that Adam is an outsider trying to fit in.

-Once we find out what the Festival of Lights is, I kept thinking about Isaac Asimov's Nightfall. Which then made me think that maybe all the people of Primus go nuts and kill each other during the darkness. I think that might have possibly taken the show in a different direction had that been what happened.

Overall this was a great episode, I don't have much to say, but I really did enjoy it quite a bit. 9/10

[Heeeere's Olesker!]

Thanks for that and I do believe you. That said, can you share at all what was supposed to happen, even in the most general of details?

Well, it's going to be a quadruple helping, as I've got four reviews! For anyone who's been enjoying this and wondering where I've been, real life and the Olympics have been taking priority, sorry.

I'm thinking I may cut down on the synopsis, I put them in mostly so people know which episode I'm talking about.

7. The Pen is Mightier then the Sword... Or is it?

Flogg and Skeletor are walking about Gorn City (Which is where, Denebria? I still don't know!), passing by a shop, Skeletor is enraptured by a painting of a dragon, which appears to be lenticular. Flogg is dismissive, but Skeletor is certain he's found something important. Inquiring, he finds the artist who painted the picture is on Primus and purchases the painting.

Artist McPainter is on Primus, staying with, surprise, Master Sebrian. He flirts with Mara, to Adams dismay. Adam and U-R (Or was that Gleep?) go for a walk, to which whichever one it is insinuates that Adam has a thing for Mara.

Skeletor and Slush Head blackmail and bluff their way onto a cargo ship headed for Primus. Once there Skeletor uses his magic to first free the dragon from the painting, then send him off to do battle. The dragon has a unique power, it can't be harmed by anything it sees headed it's way. Eventually it's destroyed when He-man heroically shoots the dragon in the back.

A second painting of a death butterfly comes to life but is destroyed by paint dissolver. A third of a lion is killed by Artist McPainter painting up a soldier to kill it. A banshee pheonix is undone by Artist breaking all his paintbrushes. Skeletor shows up and is comically foiled, everyone laughs.

He-man makes excuses for Adam, the end.

Notes:

-Adam is a player, isn't he? He takes Drissi for a walk and talks her up, here he's clearly romantically interested in Mara. Maybe all those years of being the playboy prince has rubbed off on him!

-Slush Head is an interesting choice, I was certain we'd start seeing Quake (Figure on sale now!) with Skeletor. Granted the mutants only role was to be a narrative sounding board for Skeletor, but still. I wonder if Flogg doesn't like Skeletor being unwatched by a mutant, so he chooses whomever has annoyed him that day to "Skeletor duty".

-I really do like Skeletors new look. I like the animated look far better then the toy and would like to see this Animated look as I've mentioned previously as the MOTUC NA Skeletor figure.

-The Animation when Skeletor uses his hand lightning to force the dragon is pretty well done.

-I love the surly dragon.

-Death Butterflys are nifty.

-No Caz in this episode!

-It also seems we got a new Guardian of Primus in Tuskador.

-I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I like the theme song.

Overall, I had no qualms about the plot, but it didn't really do that much for me either way. The resolution felt stiff and forced and I'm not a fan of the group shot where everyone laughs at the end. 5/10



8. Glastnost Schmaznost

The Tri-Solar council has decided to call a summit to end the dispute between Denebria and Primus. He-man, Skeletor, and their respective delegations are called forth to settle their differences. Skeletor comes up with a plan; they'll act as the good guys. Duh. Going so far as to appoint Slush Head Ambassador of Peace.

Skeletors plan goes off without a hitch, Slush Head is well recieved, he personally foils an assassination attempt on Mara, further getting the council to send He-man to Denebria and Skeletor to Primus.

On Primus, Skeletor is treated very poorly and surrounded by armed weapons by the peaceful and open minded people of Primus, who abhor violence and dispute, don't you know?

He-man however, is given a royal welcome, with a band, flag, speakers, etc.

Long episode short, He-man runs back to Primus and foils the final stage of Skeletors plot, good wins again.

Notes:

-First and foremost, this last act has a lot of logic problems. Without communication and Navigation The Eternia successfully flies (and quickly too) from Denebria to Primus (which is a laughably difficult task even if the planets are only half the distance Earth is to Venus). He-man uses the beam from his power sword to create a "constellation" in the sky viewable by the people of Primus so they know to lower the shield to allow him return entry. He-man does this by standing on top of The Eternia. In space. Without a spacesuit. Or breathing gear. For most of the return trip and the atmospheric entry. Nor does he fall off during atmospheric entry, instead jumping off and hitting the ground without dying to take care of the bomb. He creates a moving "constellation" that's so big that it takes up most of the heavens of Primus. The size and brightness necessary to do that is truly staggering assuming that Primus isn't that different from Earth in atmospheric and planetary body conditions. He also uses a magic lasso beam from his sword to yank the bomb back up and into the mothership. Technically, if he can do that, he should never, ever, become disarmed in combat. What do you want to be that he will in some later episode? Then you add that The Eternia somehow managed to sneak by (without it being a plot point) Floggs invasion fleet. Really, this isn't much better then He-man flat out breaking the plot in Ultimate Challenge to win. Furthermore, why didn't Flogg move the fleet in when Primus lowered the entire planetary shield to let The Eternia in?

-There were several laugh out loud moments for me. Slush Head in a tux, handing out balloons. Skeletors table facepalm. Slush Heads welcoming ceremony, the pledge of allegiance.

-Vizor has been seen before, but this is by far his biggest part. He strikes me as a Clint Eastwood Man With No Name type.

-For a people who abhor violence, who have spent generations as pacifists, and who give peace every chance and are slow to judge others, they sure are a well armed paranoid lot who are eager for a fight.

-I liked everything about Skeletors plan except that he really was intending a doublecross. I would've had none and let the paranoia of He-man and the Guardians ruin the peace. Of course I'd be doing everything I can to fuel that suspicion and distrust, but I wouldn't have actually made a real move against them.

-Who or what are the Tri-Solar council and what do you want to bet that we never see or hear from them ever again? Though it does add more mystery to the Tri-Solar system. Are they from another planet, are they kind of United Planets group?

-No Caz in this episode.

Overall the logic problems really subtract from what had been my favorite episode up until the third act. 6/10




9. The Youngest Hero

Caz is an idiot and doesn't die. Skeletor overplays his hand.

Notes:

-Caz wasn't bad in his last appearance, even remembing that "A good soldier follows orders", yet here he's back to his old annoying whiney self. He continues his trend of being moronically delusional as well as a thief and traitor to Primus. (He takes a ship and essentially gives it to Skeletor which the mutants can examine to find new weaknesses to utilize.)

-It's odd that Flogg considers Slush Head part of the cream of the crop, but not Quake.

-Primus has generic guardians to go along with the generic mutants. This means they have a full on military force. To go with their weapons of mass destruction, fleets of space fighters, and more. Such pacifists!

-Skeletors duplicate was fun. His virus was clever, but I was expecting it to be a "Caz infects everyone with the virus" episode.

-Quake fails to follow orders and doesn't return to the ship with the sword.

-This could have easily been a two parter, with Skeletor having the sword at the end of this episode and the virus spreading, the second part would've been the resolution.

-One element that I would've liked to have seen was that Magic being foreign to everyone and illogical to the scientists. That would also go fruther to explaining why something that both He-man and Skeletor utilize makes them so valued to their respective forces.

-He-man deducing which Skeletor was the duplicate was pretty good.

-Why didn't Skeletor infect He-man when he had the chance? What do you want to bet he never uses this power again?

-*Sigh* I kept hoping Caz would die. Or that he'd realize what his stupidity caused and undergo some character growth. Actually I should rephrase that. I kept wanting Caz to die.

Overall I'm sure you see this coming, 4/10



10. Festival of Lights

It's a Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace... err, Space Western along with a party on Primus.

Notes:

-Sagitar is a hypocrite, isn't he? He's quick to proclaim that The Eternia is under the protection of heading to Weststar, but then he wants to attack the mutant ship who has the same destination and thus protection.

-Several laugh out loud moments, Slush Head in ranch hand clothing, Skeletors southern drawl among them. Perhaps most of all was He-man riding Sagitar.

-When Skeletor activates the bull, the sound effect is the Ghostbusters Proton Pack powering up. Heh, love that sound.

-Adam is a player, flirting with Drissi and Mara at the same time, then getting some alone time with Mara.

-Adam did a good job covering his ignorance of the Festival of Lights, which itself is a nice touch that Adam is an outsider trying to fit in.

-Once we find out what the Festival of Lights is, I kept thinking about Isaac Asimov's Nightfall. Which then made me think that maybe all the people of Primus go nuts and kill each other during the darkness. I think that might have possibly taken the show in a different direction had that been what happened.

Overall this was a great episode, I don't have much to say, but I really did enjoy it quite a bit. 9/10

As for how He-man got into the statue, you need to remember it was an awfully long time ago and millions of words ago that I wrote that episode. My recollection is that He-man (covertly) had the statue shipped as a gift and that it was erected in the fountain, He-man hiding inside. But as I said, it was a looooooooong time ago. I can guarantee you that however he did it, it made sense and was logical.

The final editing, as I said, still irritates me after all these years.