The New Adventures of He-Man

The New Adventures of He-Man
New Adventures of He-Man title screen
Genre	Animated television series
Created by	Mattel (He-Man and Skeletor) Donald F. Glut Steven J. Fisher
Developed by	Jack Olesker[1]
Voices of	Garry Chalk Don Brown Ted Cole Michael Donovan Tracy Eisner Mark Hildreth Anthony Holland Campbell Lane Scott McNeil Doug Parker
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	65 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jean Chalopin
Running time	30 mins
Production company(s)	Jetlag Productions Mattel
Distributor	LBS Communications NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Release
Original network	Syndicated
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	September 10 – December 7, 1990
Chronology
Related shows	He-Man and the Masters of the Universe She-Ra: Princess of Power He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002 TV series)

The New Adventures of He-Man is an American animated series which ran in syndication in the fall of 1990 while Mattel released the toy line He-Man, an update of their Masters of the Universe line. The cartoon series was intended to be a continuation of Filmation's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series. Filmation had gone defunct a year earlier and this series was meant to add more episodes to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, which itself was in syndication at the time.

This would mark the final entry in the original Masters of the Universe continuity, as the whole franchise would be rebooted twelve years later.^[1]

Synopsis

He-Man, legendary defender of the planet Eternia, has been summoned to the futuristic planet of Primus to defend the planet from the evil Mutants of the neighboring planet of Denebria. But his old adversary Skeletor has followed him and allied himself with the Mutants in his fight to conquer the whole universe. Together with a team of Galactic Guardians, He-Man fights to defend Primus and all its power resources from the continuous attacks by Skeletor and the Mutants.^[2][3][4]

The majority of the cartoon episodes were written by Jack Olesker.^[1][3]

Characters

• He-Man/Prince Adam (voiced by Doug Parker as Adam, Garry Chalk as He-Man) - The protector of Eternia who is summoned to Primus to help fight the Evil Mutants.

• Skeletor (voiced by Campbell Lane) - The archenemy of He-Man. Upon being accidentally being brought to Primus, Skeletor forms an alliance with the Evil Mutants of Denebria where Skeletor tells Flogg that he will help him take over Primus in exchange that Flogg helps Skeletor destroy He-Man. By the end of the series, Skeletor and Crita are last seen in a shuttle pod disappearing into the depths of space.

Galactic Guardians

• Flipshot^[5] (voiced by Scott McNeil) - A space pilot from the cloud city of Levitan. He is also known as Icarius in the toyline.

• Hydron (voiced by Don Brown) - An undersea commander and the captain of Starship Eternia.

• Kayo (voiced by Don Brown) - A space warrior and space pilot from the Terra region of Primus. He is also known as Tatarus in the toyline.

• Nocturna - A martial artist and master of stealth. He was mostly seen as a background character.

• Vizar (voiced by Don Brown) - A warrior with strong powers of sight.

• Tuskador (voiced by Alvin Sanders) - An intergalactic merchant warrior from the Polarides star system with tusks on his elephant-like armor that he uses to catch enemies with. He is also called Insyzor in the toyline.

• Artilla (voiced by Garry Chalk) - A cyborg weapons expert. He is also called Weaponstronic in the toyline.

• Spinwit (voiced by Ted Cole) - A spinning warrior from the planet Zil. He is also called Tornado.

• Sagitar (voiced by Campbell Lane) - A former slave in the Denebrian Mines and arch-enemy of Staghorn who comes from the planet Equinos. His kind can turn from centaur-like beings to four-armed humanoids. He is also called Tharkus in the toyline.

Evil Mutants of Denebria

• Flogg (voiced by Alvin Sanders)^[4] - The leader of the Evil Mutants of Denebria. Flogg is a military commander of the Mutant Armada which he commands from the Mutant Mothership. Skeletor forges an alliance with Flogg where Skeletor will help him take over Primus in exchange for Flogg helping to destroy He-Man. By the end of the series, Flogg surrenders and ends up signing a peace treaty between Primus and Denebria. He is also called Brakk in the toyline.

• Slush Head (voiced by Ted Cole) - A incompetent amphibious mutant with cybernetic tentacles. Slush Head serves as Flogg's second-in-command and the co-pilot of the Mutant Mothership. Slush Head comes from the Quagmi Swamp, a place on Denebria that most other Mutants find disgusting because of its deadly creatures and foul stench. In the toyline, he is also called Kalamarr.

• Optikk (voiced by Don Brown) - A cycloptic cyborg with an eye for a head.

• Karatti (voiced by Ted Cole) - A mutant with deadly martial arts skills who is often paired with Hoove.^[6]

• Hoove (voiced by Doug Parker) - A mutant with powerful kicks who is often paired with Karatti.

• Lizorr - A reptilian mutant. He was mostly seen as a background character.

• Quakke (voiced by Don Brown) - A super-strong mutant warrior who can shake the ground by hitting it with his Grabatron Meteormace. He is also called Earthquake in the toyline.

• Staghorn (voiced by Ted Cole) - A scheming Evil Mutant tracker that wears a helmet with large metal pikes protruding from it which he uses in battle to pick up his enemies and throw them around. He comes from the deepest, darkest part of the frozen Fog Zone on Denebria. Staghorn is the archenemy of Sagitar.

• Butthead (voiced by Scott McNeil) - A mutant who attacks his enemies by ramming them with his head. Known as "B.H." on the cartoon.

• Crita (voiced by Venus Terzo) - A crafty female Mutant and later Queen of the Gleanons. She is an attractive and ruthless Evil Mutant who works on the Mutant Mothership and is attracted to Skeletor. By the end of the series, He-Man traps Skeletor and Crita in a shuttle pod and banishes them into space.

Other characters

• Master Sebrian (voiced by Antony Holland) - The wisest and most knowledgeable man on the planet Primus and the only one who Adam reveals his secret identity to.^[3] To help keep Adam's secret, Master Sebrian allows Adam to pass off as his nephew.

• Mara (voiced by Venus Terzo) - An assistant of Master Sebrian, ambassador of Primus, and eventually the leader of the Galactimytes.

• The Scientists of Primus - The Scientists of Primus are the four greatest scientists of the planet whom, while intelligent. often provide the comedy relief in the show.
  • Alcon (voiced by Garry Chalk) - Member of the Scientists of Primus. He is very flamboyant and full of himself. Behind the massive ego of Alcon is a brilliant mind that he used to save Primus on more than one occasion.
  • Gepple (voiced by Don Brown) - Member of the Scientists of Primus. Even though most of the time he's just as bickering and cowardly as his partners, there are times that Gepple is more level-headed than the others. Gepple is also the inventor of a glue called "Gepple Goo" which has come in handy in most episodes.
  • Krex (voiced by Scott McNeil) - Member of the Scientists of Primus.
  • Meldoc (voiced by Doug Parker) - Member of the Scientists of Primus.

• Drissi (voiced by Tracy Eisner) - Tends to the animals on planet Primus, and occasionally lends a hand to the Galactic Guardians with her piloting skills and telepathic control over creatures.

• Caz (voiced by Mark Hildreth) - A young boy with a thirst for adventure. It is hinted that he may be the heir to the rightful rulers of Primus.

Episodes

Cast

• Don Brown - Hydron, Gepple, Optikk, Quakke, Kayo, Vizar, Werban
• Garry Chalk - He-Man, Artilla, President Pell, Alcon, Sgt. Krone, Andros, Gross
• Ted Cole - Spinwit, Slush Head, Karatti, Staghorn, Gleep
• Tracy Eisner - Drissi
• Mark Hildreth - Caz
• Antony Holland - Master Sebrian
• Campbell Lane - Skeletor, Sagitar
• Scott McNeil - Flipshot, Butthead, Krex, Captain Zang
• Doug Parker - Adam of Grayskull, Hoove, Meldoc
• Alvin Sanders - Flogg, Tuskador
• Venus Terzo - Crita, Mara, Sorceress of Castle Grayskull

Additional voices

• Long John Baldry - Treylus (in the episode "The Test of Time")
• Michael Donovan - General Nifel

Crew

• Susan Blu - Voice Director

Minicomics

In the New Adventures mini-comics packaged with the toys, the story is slightly different: when Prince Adam and Skeletor travel to Primus, Adam becomes He-Man in front of Skeletor, revealing his secret identity and giving up the identity of Prince Adam to remain permanently as He-Man. The "explosion" from the transformation damages Skeletor and he has to become a cyborg in order to survive. Also in the comics, Skeletor does not fake allegiance to Flogg. Instead, he defeats Flogg and assumes full command of the Evil Mutants.

The element of the transformation from Adam to He-Man is retained from the first cartoon series, as the makers felt it would be unwise to abandon it given that the transformation sequence had been one of the most popular elements of the original series. However, in this series, one word in the transformation line is different - instead of "By the power of Grayskull...I have the power!", he says "By the power of Eternia...I have the power!"

Reception

The show has been compared to the original series, with most reviews noting a dramatic shift in tone, creating a sense of discontinuity compared to the original.^[7] The quality of the animation is considered superior, but the character designs have been described as bland.^[1][4]

DVD releases

BCI Eclipse LLC (under license from Entertainment Rights) released The New Adventures of He-Man on DVD in Region 1 in two volume sets in 2006/2007.

As of 2009, this release has been discontinued and is out of print as BCI Eclipse has ceased operations.^[8]

To commemorate the 30th anniversary He-Man and the Masters of the Universe brand, Mill Creek Entertainment released the 30th Anniversary Commemorative Collection of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe DVD in December 2012. The 22-disc features all 130 episodes of the 1983 series, 20 fan-favorite episodes of the 1990 series, as well as all 39 episodes of the 2002 series.^[9]

Notes

External links

• The New Adventures of He-Man at the Internet Movie Database
• The New Adventures of He-Man at TV.com