HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: SEASON 1, VOL. 1 - DVD review

Combining elements of "Conan the Barbarian" with a mixture of sci-fi and fantasy, "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" left many happy memories for children of the 80's. For me, "He-Man" formed the third part of an Animation Holy Trinity, along with "G.I. Joe" and "Transformers."

The Eighties had arrived and so had Deregulation. The government loosened its reins on the television industry allowing a number of cartoons to debut that were more action-packed and tied into a flood of merchandise. Kids could watch the shows, then bug their parents to buy them the toys. I know I did.

"He-Man" followed the adventures of Prince Adam, whose pageboy haircut and foppish attitude protected his secret identity. Holding his sword high into the air, Adam transforms himself into the mighty warrior, He-Man. Like Clark Kent, it's a simple change as Adam actually just gains a tan and loses some clothes. He-Man protects his homeland of Eternia along with many allies such as: Battlecat, He-Man's ferocious tiger; Man-At-Arms, the King's right-hand man and a veteran soldier; Teela, Man-At-Arms' adopted daughter and captain of the guard; and The Sorceress, keeper of the mystical Castle Grayskull and He-Man's spiritual advisor. Of course, what's an 80's cartoon without a bumbling sidekick. Comic relief comes from Orko, a diminutive, floating magician whose magic tricks always seem to foul things up.

And what's a hero without a villain? He-Man constantly locks horns with Skeletor, a bone-faced megalomaniac who never seems to realize his evil schemes will always fail. Skeletor's army of goons include: Evil-Lyn, the original Goth girl gone bad; Trapjaw, a wicked cyborg; Beast-Man, vicious commander of monsters; and Mer-Man, warlord of the sea and Aquaman's worst nightmare. They would later be joined by one of my favorite characters of all-time, Stinkor with the power of horrible body odor. Yes, sir. Not only did Stinkor stink, but so did his action figure. Woe was any kid who locked the Stinkor figure in a toy chest with his other playthings, for they too would smell as bad as Stinkor.

Debuting in 1983, "He-Man" was a smashing success and led to a spin-off called, "She-Ra, Princess of Power" starring He-Man's long-lost sister. This was followed by the horrid live-action version starring Swedish meathead, Dolph Lundgren, and a young Courteney Cox. After "He-Man" and "She-Ra" ran their course, "The New Adventures of He-Man" debuted in 1990 and took place 10,000 years into the future. It was short-lived and another attempt to revive the franchise ("He-Ro, Son of He-Man") never saw the light. He wouldn't return until 2002.

Riding a wave of nostalgia, Mattel and Cartoon Network modernized the character for an all-new series of adventures. One big change was that Prince Adam was now a skinny teen and his transformation into He-Man was more radical. This was actually more in line with the original concept. The studio preferred Adam and He-Man to look exactly the same since that would cut down the animation costs. The new toys and cartoon were wildly popular with collectors and fans, yet it failed to reach new audiences and was deemed a financial flop. They, sadly, disappeared before their time.

This DVD set brings together the first 33 episodes of the original series. One of the highlights being "Prince Adam No More", where Adam wrestles with his dual identity when his father admires He-Man more than him. In the fan-favorite "Teela's Quest", Teela searches for the identity of her birth mother. We even get to see Orko's homeworld and his girlfriend in "Dawn of Dragoon."

While each episode is packed with battle scenes, the emphasis of the series was using the stories to teach kids valuable, pro-social lessons. In the end, the good guys give us the moral of the day and I kept waiting for someone to say, "Knowing is half the battle." Also, the show's writing staff consists of several luminaries such as: Janis Diamond ("Law & Order"), Paul Dini ("Batman: The Animated Series", "Superman: The Animated Series"), D.C. Fontana ("Star Trek"), and J. Michael Straczynski ("Babylon 5").

Here's a rundown of the episodes:

-Disc 1-
"Diamond Ray of Disappearance"
"The Cosmic Comet"
"The Shaping Staff"
"Disappearing Act"
"She-Demon of Phantos"
"Teela's Quest"
"The Curse of the Spellstone"

-Disc 2-
"The Time Corridor"
"The Dragon Invasion"
"A Friend in Need"
"Masks of Power"
"Evil-Lyn's Plot"
"Like Father, Like Daughter"
"Colossor Awakes"

-Disc 3-
"A Beastly Sideshow"
"Reign of the Monster"
"Daimar the Demon"
"Creatures of the Tar Swamp"
"Quest for He-Man"
"Dawn of Dragoon"
"The Royal Cousin"

-Disc 4-
"Song of Celice"
"Orko's Favorite Uncle"
"Wizard of Stone Mountain"
"Evilseed"
"Ordeal in the Darklands"
"The Return of Orko's Uncle"

-Disc 5-
"The Defection"
"Prince Adam No More"
"The Taking of Grayskull"
"A Tale of Two Cities"
"Search for the VHO"
"The Starchild"

VIDEO:
The video is presented in nonanamorphic fullscreen with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. This is probably the best this show has ever looked. The colors are vibrant and there's very little blemishes noticeable.

AUDIO:
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. It sounds great, although a remixed 5.1 track (similar to the "G.I. Joe" and "Transformers" releases) would have been nice.

EXTRAS:
The extras are found on Disc 6 and they include:

"The Secret Origins of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" - Interviews with the producers, writers, and animators as they discuss the creation of the show.

"The Stories of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" - The writers of the show talk about the stories created for the show.

There are also animated storyboards, character profiles and video clips, trivia facts, and episode scripts found through the magic of DVD-ROM. The set also comes with two post cards with artwork by comic book artists, Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz.

FILM VALUE:
I was never the biggest He-Man fan, I was more of a G.I. Joe guy. The stories are a bit silly and the animation is dated but, this DVD set is a fun-filled trip down memory lane. It's a must-have for all you cartoon fanboys.