CGI Masters of the Universe reviews

[OwenMorton]

With stunning predictability, here I am with reviews of Netflix's CGI series, starting with The Sword of Grayskull: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...-of-grayskull/

[Neophron]

Wonderful job, OwenMorton.

[OwenMorton]

Thanks, Neophron!

This week, we're onto The Power of Grayskull, a title which I think is probably the most recycled episode title in MOTU history: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...-of-grayskull/

[Jukka]

This week, we're onto The Power of Grayskull, a title which I think is probably the most recycled episode title in MOTU history

It's only like 3 times.

Most fans associate the name with 200x episode.
Revelation didn't actually SHOW the title card so not sure many even remember that as the episode name.

[OwenMorton]

It's only like 3 times.

Most fans associate the name with 200x episode.
Revelation didn't actually SHOW the title card so not sure many even remember that as the episode name.

3 times is the charm!

Weirdly, I associate it with the Revelation episode most of all, no idea why. I can see why the 200x one would be the best remembered. It's a little odd Filmation never used the title.

[AlexApprobation]

Oh, wow... you're already on MOTU CGI? I still have the rest of the SPOP reviews to catch up on!

[OwenMorton]

Oh, wow... you're already on MOTU CGI? I still have the rest of the SPOP reviews to catch up on!

Yup... I think I finished with SPOP sometime in April or May. Have been through Revelation and now started on CGI. At this rate, there's an outside chance I might actually be able to do Revolution reviews pretty much at broadcast date, which will be a new experience!

[Mikey]

Your reviews are awesome Owen Morton.

[OwenMorton]

Your reviews are awesome Owen Morton.

Thanks Mikey, glad you like them!

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Keldor not unexpectedly shows his true colours this week, in The Heirs of Grayskull: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...-of-grayskull/

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And this time it's The Champions of Grayskull, in which Skeletor makes his grand entrance: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...-of-grayskull/

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Today's foray into Eternia brings us to We Have the Power: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...ave-the-power/

[AlexApprobation]

I'm now caught up on the first 4 reviews... great stuff as always!

[OwenMorton]

I'm now caught up on the first 4 reviews... great stuff as always!

Thanks Alex - great that you're enjoying them!

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And here's Orko the Great, an episode which brings the series crashing down to a low point: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...rko-the-great/

[AlexApprobation]

Thanks Alex - great that you're enjoying them!

It looks like we're done traveling for the year, so odds are strong that I'll keep up with these in a more timely fashion again.

That said, it looks like I somehow missed Ep 5. I guess I'll do that now and add some quick comments...

- Adam & the bathroom... didn't he end up urinating off the side of the castle after he was denied using Krass's helmet? I think it was an inference with a throwaway comment and/or look.
- Isn't the General's name Dolos? It stood out to me as it's similar to "Delos Inc" from Westworld.

And here's Orko the Great, an episode which brings the series crashing down to a low point: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...rko-the-great/

- I knew the Colossor name/concept seemed familiar, but I couldn't place exactly where. Good on you!
- I'm so glad I wasn't the only one annoyed by Orko in this episode. In subsequent rewatches, I'd skip his scenes completely. But as the season progressed, he kinda grew on me and I eventually was able to appreciate this episode in full.
- Heavy sigh as we won't get to see CGI Tuvar and Badra's fates. It sucks so much that they gave us this amazing show and then just let it wither on the vine.
- Does it have the power? I feel you on Orko, I understand your Duncan dislike, but I will not abide this slander towards Krass’s awesome little Masters of the Universe song!!!

[OwenMorton]

It looks like we're done traveling for the year, so odds are strong that I'll keep up with these in a more timely fashion again.

That said, it looks like I somehow missed Ep 5. I guess I'll do that now and add some quick comments...

- Adam & the bathroom... didn't he end up urinating off the side of the castle after he was denied using Krass's helmet? I think it was an inference with a throwaway comment and/or look.
- Isn't the General's name Dolos? It stood out to me as it's similar to "Delos Inc" from Westworld.



- I knew the Colossor name/concept seemed familiar, but I couldn't place exactly where. Good on you!
- I'm so glad I wasn't the only one annoyed by Orko in this episode. In subsequent rewatches, I'd skip his scenes completely. But as the season progressed, he kinda grew on me and I eventually was able to appreciate this episode in full.
- Heavy sigh as we won't get to see CGI Tuvar and Badra's fates. It sucks so much that they gave us this amazing show and then just let it wither on the vine.
- Does it have the power? I feel you on Orko, I understand your Duncan dislike, but I will not abide this slander towards Krass’s awesome little Masters of the Universe song!!!

Ooh travel - I love travel! Where have you been? I'm in Turkey at the moment!

Anyway - CGI series...

I think you're right about Adam, and you're definitely right about Dolos - sneak preview, I realise my mistake in my review for Episode 9 or 10!

As for Colossor, that episode was one of the very first I saw when I was getting back into He-Man in the late 90s, so it sticks in my brain. Not a great ep, to be honest, but there we go.

Yep, Orko is a right pain here, but agree he's (just about) fine later.

And as for Krass' song - well, I must admit I can't remember it, so I suppose I'll give it a pass too!!

[AlexApprobation]

Ooh travel - I love travel! Where have you been? I'm in Turkey at the moment!

Anyway - CGI series...

I think you're right about Adam, and you're definitely right about Dolos - sneak preview, I realise my mistake in my review for Episode 9 or 10!

As for Colossor, that episode was one of the very first I saw when I was getting back into He-Man in the late 90s, so it sticks in my brain. Not a great ep, to be honest, but there we go.

Yep, Orko is a right pain here, but agree he's (just about) fine later.

And as for Krass' song - well, I must admit I can't remember it, so I suppose I'll give it a pass too!!

For travels this year we spent weeks in Joshua Tree, Costa Rica, the Grand Canyon, and Vancouver. Turkey sounds awesome... how is it? That's a place I haven't been, but I'm willing to add it to the list for a future visit!

Haha, cool cool on Adam and Dolos. lol @ Orko.

I'm so surprised that YouTube doesn't have Krass's MOTU song. Nooooooooooooooooooo

[OwenMorton]

For travels this year we spent weeks in Joshua Tree, Costa Rica, the Grand Canyon, and Vancouver. Turkey sounds awesome... how is it? That's a place I haven't been, but I'm willing to add it to the list for a future visit!

Turkey is absolutely amazing. This may be crazy, but I'm on my fourth visit this year, and I will be back again at least one more time. It's a combination of work and play (I'm a travel writer) but I take any chance I can to come here!

Your travels sound great - I've never been to any of those places, but the Grand Canyon is definitely on my list. My parents in law went to Costa Rica a few years back and loved it. Embarassingly, I know nothing of Joshua Tree or Vancouver... I've just googled Joshua Tree though, and bizarrely it looks quite like Cappadocia in Turkey where I am now!

[AlexApprobation]

Turkey is absolutely amazing. This may be crazy, but I'm on my fourth visit this year, and I will be back again at least one more time. It's a combination of work and play (I'm a travel writer) but I take any chance I can to come here!

Your travels sound great - I've never been to any of those places, but the Grand Canyon is definitely on my list. My parents in law went to Costa Rica a few years back and loved it. Embarassingly, I know nothing of Joshua Tree or Vancouver... I've just googled Joshua Tree though, and bizarrely it looks quite like Cappadocia in Turkey where I am now!

Wow, fourth visit in a year is very encouraging! With this comment, it reminded me that a friend is from Turkey and I did a quick glance at her FB for the last few months of adventures. Do you know anything about Akyaka in the Mugla province? Do Ayvalik and Mugla ring any bells of familiarity? My wife and I have been loosely planning our first European trip, so for visuals from research, I mostly know about Greece. A lot of what I've seen in passing about Turkey looks like Greece to me, but from descriptions it sounds a lot colder?

Your occupation as a travel writer is so cool!!! I've dabbled with the idea of dipping my toe in that field. I was considering primarily vlogging with web essays and journals being supplements. Lots of internal hoops to jump over (like hating the sound of my own voice), but I hear they're all pretty common and easy to get over.

You should certainly check them all out if you get a chance! For the Grand Canyon, we stayed in Tusayan, Arizona which is the "city" that the South Rim is located. The place is super small with not much to do or see and the energy was terrible. But the actual park itself was amazing and vibrant. We were only able to do a few of the upper hikes as we had our doggo with us, plus we're not in the physical shapes we'd like to be. I'm hoping we can get in a year of endurance training so we can do the Rim to Rim hike there next year. We'll see how that goes.

Joshua Tree National Park is pretty local to us, so we do day trips there a lot throughout the year. But it was nice to spend a whole week there to relax and absorb the energy of the area. If you can appreciate deserts, this is one of the best. Lots of great hiking, bouldering/climbing, sight seeing, animals, plants, etc.

Costa Rica was a fun family trip, but it had a few snags here and there (not necessarily the location's fault in many cases). It was the most humid of the places we've ever been... I'm not one to sweat and even I formed a few droplets on my brow in some situations (oh, and my gel deodorant melted due to the heat on the first day... first time I've ever experienced that one). We were on the Pacific side, so we want to try that again and then the Caribbean side to compare them. We hear both sides offer different experiences.

Vancouver was a weird experience. A super clean and trendy spot... everything pretty much caters to well-off 20-30 somethings and/or young professionals. Everything is set for walking and the street only parking had to be paid by a phone app (none accepted cash and rarely did they accept cards). I did really like their protected green spaces within the city along with a lot of their modern design sensibilities. The absolute best thing was the VanDusen Botanical Garden. Pictures really don't do the place justice. The place is pretty large with so much to see. Google estimated it would be an hour thing... we spend like 6 hours there and probably still didn't see everything.

... wow, I didn't intend to type all of that and talk your ear off (so to speak, er, type). But yeah, a lot more passionate about this stuff than I realize or care to admit, haha.

[OwenMorton]

Wow, fourth visit in a year is very encouraging! With this comment, it reminded me that a friend is from Turkey and I did a quick glance at her FB for the last few months of adventures. Do you know anything about Akyaka in the Mugla province? Do Ayvalik and Mugla ring any bells of familiarity? My wife and I have been loosely planning our first European trip, so for visuals from research, I mostly know about Greece. A lot of what I've seen in passing about Turkey looks like Greece to me, but from descriptions it sounds a lot colder?

Have to confess I hadn't heard of them - I've looked them up and they're on the west coast, whereas my area of expertise is the centre and east. I did go to the west coast about 15 years ago and visited Ephesus and Pergamon: if you have any interest in ancient ruins, those two are absolute must-sees! I get where you're coming from about Turkey looking like Greece - the ancient ruins in both places bear a lot of resemblance. Bits of Turkey do get a lot colder than Greece too, though if you travel in the spring or autumn you'll probably find it a perfect temperature, unless you're in the far east when you probably will need to be there in summer.

Your occupation as a travel writer is so cool!!! I've dabbled with the idea of dipping my toe in that field. I was considering primarily vlogging with web essays and journals being supplements. Lots of internal hoops to jump over (like hating the sound of my own voice), but I hear they're all pretty common and easy to get over.

Luckily I don't have to do any talking - otherwise the hate the sound of my own voice thing would become an issue!! Let me know if you do start anything up, I'd love to read/see it.

You should certainly check them all out if you get a chance! For the Grand Canyon, we stayed in Tusayan, Arizona which is the "city" that the South Rim is located. The place is super small with not much to do or see and the energy was terrible. But the actual park itself was amazing and vibrant. We were only able to do a few of the upper hikes as we had our doggo with us, plus we're not in the physical shapes we'd like to be. I'm hoping we can get in a year of endurance training so we can do the Rim to Rim hike there next year. We'll see how that goes.

Joshua Tree National Park is pretty local to us, so we do day trips there a lot throughout the year. But it was nice to spend a whole week there to relax and absorb the energy of the area. If you can appreciate deserts, this is one of the best. Lots of great hiking, bouldering/climbing, sight seeing, animals, plants, etc.

Costa Rica was a fun family trip, but it had a few snags here and there (not necessarily the location's fault in many cases). It was the most humid of the places we've ever been... I'm not one to sweat and even I formed a few droplets on my brow in some situations (oh, and my gel deodorant melted due to the heat on the first day... first time I've ever experienced that one). We were on the Pacific side, so we want to try that again and then the Caribbean side to compare them. We hear both sides offer different experiences.

Vancouver was a weird experience. A super clean and trendy spot... everything pretty much caters to well-off 20-30 somethings and/or young professionals. Everything is set for walking and the street only parking had to be paid by a phone app (none accepted cash and rarely did they accept cards). I did really like their protected green spaces within the city along with a lot of their modern design sensibilities. The absolute best thing was the VanDusen Botanical Garden. Pictures really don't do the place justice. The place is pretty large with so much to see. Google estimated it would be an hour thing... we spend like 6 hours there and probably still didn't see everything.

... wow, I didn't intend to type all of that and talk your ear off (so to speak, er, type). But yeah, a lot more passionate about this stuff than I realize or care to admit, haha.

All sounds really cool! I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to visit the US (I have a passport stamp from a country the US isn't happy about, which means I can't get the ESTA, so I am kind of inclined to wait and see if policy ever changes and then make a visit there) so Grand Canyon and Joshua Tree are ruled out for now, but Vancouver sounds awesome! Costa Rica, well, maybe a bit too hot for me... It's 30 degrees here in Turkey and I'm finding that difficult!! So perhaps I need to do some research and go at a more manageable time of year. Good for wildlife, I think?

[AlexApprobation]

Have to confess I hadn't heard of them - I've looked them up and they're on the west coast, whereas my area of expertise is the centre and east. I did go to the west coast about 15 years ago and visited Ephesus and Pergamon: if you have any interest in ancient ruins, those two are absolute must-sees! I get where you're coming from about Turkey looking like Greece - the ancient ruins in both places bear a lot of resemblance. Bits of Turkey do get a lot colder than Greece too, though if you travel in the spring or autumn you'll probably find it a perfect temperature, unless you're in the far east when you probably will need to be there in summer.

Very nice additional info! I will have to make note of these and mark them on the map. Yes, I'm a big fan of ancient ruins, so that is a huge plus for both of those!

Yikes on the colder temperatures. Many times, the warmer it is, the better for me. So yeah, this is another reminder to check the temperature forecasts.

Luckily I don't have to do any talking - otherwise the hate the sound of my own voice thing would become an issue!! Let me know if you do start anything up, I'd love to read/see it.

I hear that! And yes, I certainly will!

All sounds really cool! I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to visit the US (I have a passport stamp from a country the US isn't happy about, which means I can't get the ESTA, so I am kind of inclined to wait and see if policy ever changes and then make a visit there) so Grand Canyon and Joshua Tree are ruled out for now, but Vancouver sounds awesome! Costa Rica, well, maybe a bit too hot for me... It's 30 degrees here in Turkey and I'm finding that difficult!! So perhaps I need to do some research and go at a more manageable time of year. Good for wildlife, I think?

Ah, I'm sorry to hear about the delay on US travels. That ESTA country stuff is crazy. I didn't even know that was a thing. Here's hoping the policy changes.

Haha, 30c is pretty much my temperature comfort spot. 33c is where it starts becoming a challenge, depending what I'm doing. 25c is when things start becoming uncomfortably cold (unless it's really sunny and/or I'm doing a lot of strenuous activity).

But yes, the temps there are soooo good for the wildlife. Sadly the turtle egg laying or hatching wasn't in season when we went... I was very much looking forward to that. On the other hand, our bungalow was near a large troop of coati, so that was magical as we ran across them (or vice virsa) often. We didn't get to see the river or deep jungle stuff this trip, but next time.

[OwenMorton]

Very nice additional info! I will have to make note of these and mark them on the map. Yes, I'm a big fan of ancient ruins, so that is a huge plus for both of those!

When you're planning your Europe trip, I'd be very happy to give you any other pointers you might find helpful - do let me know!

Anyway, for anyone still following this thread for CGI reviews, here we have He-Man, the Hunted: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...an-the-hunted/

[AlexApprobation]

When you're planning your Europe trip, I'd be very happy to give you any other pointers you might find helpful - do let me know!

Will do, greatly appreciated!

Anyway, for anyone still following this thread for CGI reviews, here we have He-Man, the Hunted: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...an-the-hunted/

Yes, back on track, haha

Seeing the pic, I know what episode this is and it's one of my absolute faves!

Okay, this one is the one where I would skip past the Orko stuff the first few times. I recognized the "A" story was a lot darker and serious for their target audience, so the "B" story skewed even more light and goofy to try and balance out the episode as a whole. It was a choice that I understood, but reactions varied greatly from viewers. I think those reactions might have caused them to skew a lot younger and silly in the 2nd part/chunk of the season.

I did like the "Ork-0" designation (maybe even "Ork.0" to fit more into tech type)... pays homage to the real Orko while also highlighting his technological origins.

Great stuff! I miss this show so much!!!

[OwenMorton]

Great stuff! I miss this show so much!!!

I miss it too - it was so good, and had the potential to go on for a lot longer. I'll never understand Netflix...

Anyway - here's this week's review: The Calm Before the Storm: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...ore-the-storm/

[AlexApprobation]

I miss it too - it was so good, and had the potential to go on for a lot longer. I'll never understand Netflix...

Anyway - here's this week's review: The Calm Before the Storm: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...ore-the-storm/

It somehow boils down to the Almighty Dollar, somehow someway. And sadly all of the streaming services are guilty of this in one form or another.

But yeah, new episode review! We land roughly in the same spot on this one. On paper, the episode plot could have been phoned in, but they made it all work so well. So much heart in the will-they/won't-they bits... and then heartbreaking at the end when their paths wouldn't connect due to their perspectives (due to incomplete info). These first 10 episodes were so much better than they needed to be, but I still appreciate that they were done this well!

[OwenMorton]

The first season begins to reach its conclusion this week, with Cry Havoc, Part 1: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...-havoc-part-1/

[AlexApprobation]

The first season begins to reach its conclusion this week, with Cry Havoc, Part 1: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...-havoc-part-1/

It would have been funny for Cringer to use this old slogan

[OwenMorton]

It would have been funny for Cringer to use this old slogan
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/880...ental_Logo.jpg

I'm unfamiliar with that one, but at a guess, emphasis on the "fun" of "fundamental"?

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And here's the season 1 finale, Cry Havoc, Part 2: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...-havoc-part-2/