He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Season 01 (1983)

Synopsis of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Season 01

Season One of the daily, half-hour animated series (and extended toy commercial!) He-Man and the Masters of the Universe jumps in and starts swimming when, wasting no time, the evil Skeletor steals a cosmic comet in order to break into Castle Grayskull and accumulated the wisdom and power of the Council of Elders that will enable him to take control of the planet Eternia. Fortunately, the planet's half-human regent Prince Adam prevents this coup by transforming himself into the muscular superhero He-Man. Within a few minutes, virtually all the important characters, and the central situation, are set up without the necessity of a windy backstory. 65 episodes are featured this season, virtual each one a self-contained story, each adhering to a basic formula: Skeletor wants power; He-Man won't let him have it; Skeletor relies upon allies and inventions which prove unreliable; He-Man can always depend on his loyal comrades Orko, Man-at-Arms et. al. Along the way, we find out that Adam/He-Man has an obnoxious, snooty cousin, who of course learns the error of his ways; but we still haven't learned (and indeed won't learn for the next two years) of He-Man's more significant relative: his twin sister Adora, aka She-Ra, ruler of the "parallel" planet Etheria. Highlights include an "origins" episode, in which Adam explains how he converted the morphing robot Man-E-Faces from evil to good; and the two-parter "The House of Shokoti", in which He-Man is dispatched to the Sands of Time by the mysterious Sorceress to solve the mystery of a pyramid that has suddenly materialized, and just as suddenly vanished (shades of 2001: A Space Odyssey, perhaps?) Jump in and start swimming with Skeletor stealing a cosmic comet in order to break into castle Grayskull. All the characters quickly set up without the necessity of a backstory. Each episode self-contained. Skeletor tends to rely on allies and inventions which invariably backfire.Along the way, we find out that Adam has an obnoxious cousin, the snooty Prince Jeremy, but he learns his lesson along with the rest of the audience. Haven't yet met She-Ra. One of the few "origin" episodes, Adam tells how he converted Man-E-Faces from evil to good. In the last episode of the season, "The Heart of a Giant", the spotlight is on He-Man's comical sidekick Orko, who has been forced to perform his rather seedy magic tricks in a sinister travelling circus. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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