Customer Reviews

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - Season One, Vol. 1

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Season 1 - Volume 1: He-man & the Masters of the Universe! The classic 80s cartoon FINALLY arrives with all its memorable characters, stories & fantasy, digitally remastered with extras! This fall - mark the date! October 18th! Part 1 of 2, Season 1, this set is chock-a-block with amazing extras. The hit cartoon adventure series brought to life the adventures of Prince Adam & his alter-ego, the mighty He-Man battling the evil Skeletor to protect the secrets of Castle Grayskull. Son of King Randor and Queen Marlena of Eternia, his faithful sidekick was the cowardly green & orange pet tiger, Cringer. "By the power of Grayskull!" Adam's cry in times of danger, together with his magical 'Sword Of Power' transformed them into the mighty He-Man and the ferocious tiger, Battle Cat. Aided by Man-At-Arms, Duncan (the slightly older scientist and Adam's mentor), his adopted daughter Teela (Captain of the Guards and Prince Adam's aide), the quirky & comic Orko (the little floating magician) & Ram Man (kind hearted, but slow "human battering ram") with his winged ally Stratos, the team faced the forces of evil. The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull entrusted Prince Adam with the Sword of Power to defend the magnificent kingdom of Eternia and Grayskull - said to hold the powers to rule the entire universe.

Heading the forces of darkness was Skeletor, the evil hooded skull face, residing on the dark side of the planet in his powerful fortress, Snake Mountain. While the savage, dim-witted Beast Man, who possessed telepathic control over many animals was his right hand; it was Evil-Lyn, the incredibly shrewd witch who played on Skeletor's troop for sheer convenience, only to assume power for herself at the right moment. The cyborg-like Trap Jaw, aquatic warlord Mer-Man, and the three-eyed, pan-visioned Tri-Klops completed Skeletors army.

The show ran for two seasons, of 65 episodes each - hence the DVD release of each season has been split into 2 Volumes each, over the next 2 years. Initially, many of the stories put our heroes against Skeletor, revolving around Castle Grayskull. As the series grew the adventures took them to many different locations and foes, often putting characters on both sides of the battle. Sometimes criticized for being too dark & violent for its time, this claim seems a little redundant in today's age of children's graphic animation. Particularly note-worthy is that each episode ended with one or two of the characters presenting a moral from that episode's tale - the consequences of thoughts & actions, which makes the series particularly relevant given the times we live in. For fans of the show - its a great chance to relive those golden moments of childhood, & hopefully it will open the door to a whole new generation of fans, adults & kids. Get ready to feel the power of Grayskull!

DVD contents:
-33 digitally remastered episodes
-6 DVD box set
-2 NEW documentary features
-2 collectible art cards (this is an ongoing set starting with the Best Of release)
-More special features like Character Bios, Story Boards, Scripts, etc.

Complete 33 episode listing:
01 - "The Cosmic Comet"
02 - "The Shaping Staff"
03 - "Disappearing Act"
04 - "Diamond Ray of Disappearance"
05 - "She-Demon of Phantos"
06 - "Teela's Quest"
07 - "The Curse of the Spellstone"
08 - "The Time Corridor"
09 - "The Dragon Invasion"
10 - "A Friend in Need"
11 - "Masks of Power"
12 - "Evil-Lyn's Plot"
13 - "Like Father, Like Daughter"
14 - "Colossor Awakes"
15 - "A Beastly Sideshow"
16 - "Reign of the Monster"
17 - "Daimar the Demon"
18 - "Creatures From The Tar Swamp"
19 - "Quest for He-man"
20 - "Dawn of Dragoon"
21 - "The Royal Cousin"
22 - "Song of Celice"
23 - "The Return of Orko's Uncle"
24 - "Wizard of Stone Mountain"
25 - "Evilseed"
26 - "Ordeal in the Darklands"
27 - "Orko's Favorite Uncle"
28 - "The Defection"
29 - "Prince Adam No More"
30 - "The Taking of Grayskull"
31 - "A Tale of Two Cities"
32 - "Search for the VHO"
33- "The Starchild"

Why this outrageous statement??? Originally cartoons were shown on Saturday morning only. He-Man was the first show to be syndicated through a network other than the big 3 (ABC, NBC and CBS). What this meant was that an episode was shown every afternoon instead of just on Saturday mornings. Wow... 65 episodes were made per year instead of only 13 that were normally produced for a typical Saturday show and this made for an incredible following. Who didn't watch this show? Even parents would comment about it when they asked what I did for a living and I mentioned I was an animator on He-Man. This was one of the last shows done entirely in the U.S. as most of the animation work was being sent overseas by the early 80's. Lou Scheimer was the founder of Filmation Studios and made a vow to keep the work in the U.S. and was true to his word until it became impossible to compete with the wages being paid overseas and, sadly, the studio closed in '86 but not until after the successful runs of He-Man, She-Ra, Ghostbusters and the final series Bravestar. My memories working at Filmation are some of the best I have of my 25+ years in the animation industry. He-Man changed the way cartoons would be viewed forever... this is a must have set!!!! Lets hope they decide to release some of the other memorable animated shows created at Filmation Studios.

When I saw this on my computer screen that He-Man had finally come out on DVD, I couldn't believe it. Finally the original was out to be seen again. I was one of those kids who had all the He-Man figures, and Castle Grayskull. My cousins and I loved playing with these toys and watching the cartoon. I was upset when it went off the air, and even more upset when they tried to replace it with sub-standard forms. I still have all those figures stashed away to hopefully play with my son someday, and now I have the show I loved as boy to also share. Oh the cartoons I watched as a boy, this is the only one I thought was worth putting in my DVD collection. Thanks for finally allowing me to once again enjoy a part of my childhood.

It is said even the best memories fade in time. Thankfully, BCI (under its impressive Ink & Paint label) has been making it their mission to keep classic animation alive in the minds of nostalgic viewers while introducing the magic to a whole new generation of fans through their beautiful DVD box sets.

I recently spent a few straight weeks traveling back through time to my own 1980s youth through their animated He-Man and the Masters of the Universe collection and in response to the readers who have been eagerly awaiting my review, I am pleased to report my thorough praise. I will break up my review of the entire collection (including the She-Ra sets) into a multi-part series throughout the following weeks.

For those who are unclear on the many iterations of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe source material, Season One/ Volume 1 is the 33 episodes of the Filmation debut season from 1983. Surprisingly, the entire Filmation He-Man series (not counting She-Ra) only ran for 2 seasons. However, these were no mere 13-episode seasons, which is standard fair for animation; rather Filmation worked tirelessly to produce back to back 65 episode seasons! BCI Eclipse wisely broke the two seasons down into four box sets (each of either 33 or 32 episodes). The sheer volume of material included on each set is mind boggling as in addition to the 33 digitally remastered episodes themselves, we are treated to a whole host of special features and bonus material that puts rival animation sets to shame. The sets each contain 6 discs plus original episode artwork with quotes, a full color book of episodes loaded with facts and trivia, two original 4 x 6 inch art cards (in this case by artists Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz, all contained within a beautifully drawn fold-out case and slip-sleeve. The attention to detail is absolutely stunning. Clearly Ink & Paint isn't just a DVD distribution company but rather a group of fans and collectors themselves as material (both physical and digital) is about as thorough as any collector could hope for.

Season One/ Volume 1 doesn't waste a whole lot of time with back story or character introduction and in fact drops the viewer into the midst of the ongoing struggles of the fantasy world of Eternia where an epic struggle of good versus evil happens to be taking place. The show's writers were clearly attempting to find their footing in the first few discs as many of the initial plots tend to revolve around the heroes thwarting the malevolent efforts of Skeletor (the arch nemesis of He-Man) without much in the way of motivation or backdrop. This reality isn't really made clear until after the later episodes reveal much more connection between the host of main characters and complex interaction between them. As the series grew so too did the writing mature to the point where the scope of the locations and characters grew exponentially. Again, this isn't a flaw in the early episodes, nor is it glaringly apparent but rather when directly compared to the exploits that would follow, the original season becomes a bit claustrophobic.

The image and sound quality of the episodes are superb having been digitally remastered from the original film negatives and recorded in Dolby Digital 2.0. Truly, the original broadcasts pale in comparison to the crisp quality of these new releases. Included on the first Volume of Season One are the following episodes:

01 - "The Cosmic Comet"
02 - "The Shaping Staff"
03 - "Disappearing Act"
04 - "Diamond Ray of Disappearance"
05 - "She-Demon of Phantos"
06 - "Teela's Quest"
07 - "The Curse of the Spellstone"
08 - "The Time Corridor"
09 - "The Dragon Invasion"
10 - "A Friend in Need"
11 - "Masks of Power"
12 - "Evil-Lyn's Plot"
13 - "Like Father, Like Daughter"
14 - "Colossor Awakes"
15 - "A Beastly Sideshow"
16 - "Reign of the Monster"
17 - "Daimar the Demon"
18 - "Creatures From The Tar Swamp"
19 - "Quest for He-man"
20 - "Dawn of Dragoon"
21 - "The Royal Cousin"
22 - "Song of Celice"
23 - "The Return of Orko's Uncle"
24 - "Wizard of Stone Mountain"
25 - "Evilseed"
26 - "Ordeal in the Darklands"
27 - "Orko's Favorite Uncle"
28 - "The Defection"
29 - "Prince Adam No More"
30 - "The Taking of Grayskull"
31 - "A Tale of Two Cities"
32 - "Search for the VHO"
33- "The Starchild"

Almost as impressive are the special features packed into this six-disc set:

2 brand new documentaries that provide a comprehensive look inside the creation of this landmark children's animation program including interviews with
the producers, writers, director, and show historians.
The Secret Origins of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
The Stories of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
2 Collectible 4" x 6" Exclusive Masters of the Universe® Art Cards by Acclaimed Comic Artists Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz
Full Length Animated Storyboard with Interactive Episode Comparison for Episode #30 "The Taking of Grayskull"
50 Detailed Profiles of Various Characters, Creatures and Artifacts
Trivia Facts
5 Complete Episode Scripts (DVD-ROM PC/Mac Compatible)
English & Spanish Language Audio Tracks for all 33 Episodes.

In conclusion, BCI Eclipse/ Ink & Paint have set the Benchmark in animation compilation. Their efforts will be appreciated by viewers of all age groups (including serious collectors) yet the material itself is truly timeless. I personally find myself lost in a flood of nostalgia while enjoying this series but can confidentially state that children of today's generation who will be experiencing the magic for the first time will get equal enjoyment out of this series.

If you love 80's cartoon series you are probably very familiar with He-Man, but if not you MUST see this. It's a terrific television series with enough depth to surpass most current television cartoons. If you are familiar with He-Man this set is a way better choice than the 10 best episode collection. The set includes many of the terrific episodes included in the 10 best and has many that finished just out of the top 10 (as voted by fans and supporters of he-man.org). The cost of this collection is only 60% more than that of the 10-best and contains nearly five times the material. Special features are great, and you won't get sick of watching several of these episodes over again. Also, the stories are wholesome and are not seeking chances for clever inuendos like some current cartoon series, so that they are appropriate for young children as well.

For this I rushed home from school to plant myself in front of the tube by 3:30 each weekday? Believe it. No soaps for you, Mom! My folks absolutely hated watching the show with me, even more so than pro wrestling. The arguement over which one would take me to see the movie that introduced She-Ra had to be heard. Do I see their perspective now? Kinda. It's mindless fun at best for adults. Yet, mindless fun is often the best kind! Kudos to Filmation for pushing not just toys, but morals like friendship, honesty and self-confidence. Unnoticed by the PMRC parents of the 80's in the rush to hang Mattel execs, but they missed so much, didn't they? Where o where did Skeletor keep coming up with those sundry magical devices to threaten Eternia and Castle Greyskull? How come there was never an action figure of Lizard Man? Such questions find no answer herein, but so what? Me, I plan on forcing my parents to watch an endless loop of MOTU in the crappiest nursing home I can find. Just kidding, Mom. I love ya.

This incredible release remind me of my child days where I sit in front of the TV to watch He-Man and the masters of the universe.

This release comes in a very cool presentation of 6 dvd, everyone with a incredible image of a masters of the universe character.
The episodes are simple in excellente quality and definition. The audio is more than excellent.

I just love this Volume, among with Volume 2 that I already bought from Amazon.

I recommend this to any fan of the MOTU universe.

This is a landmark in televised animation. Featuring the voice talents of John Erwin and Alan Oppenheimer("The Neverending Story"), this series features a skillful blend of family-friendly writing and genuinely compelling science fiction and fantasy elements.

Originally created by Lou Scheimer's now-defunct Filmation Studios for Mattel and put on the air in 1983, "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" was a fresh spin on classic comic book motifs. He-Man, the legendary hero of Eternia and alter-ego of the lazy but good-hearted Prince Adam, is joined by stalwart allies Teela, her father Duncan aka Man-At-Arms, and Orko, Eternia's goofy but lovable magician. These are the core of a protective force for both Eternia and its king and queen, Randor and Marlena. Opposing them are primarily Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, Beast Man, Mer-Man and Trap-Jaw, although as the series went on a slightly more varied cast of both heroes and villains joined the fray.

Among the top episodes in this initial half of the first season are "Dawn of Dragoon," in which Orko and He-Man travel to Orko's homeworld of Trolla to combat a beast called, not surprisingly, Dragoon. The truly unexpected power of this episode comes from a genuinely romantic moment between Orko and his girlfriend Dree-Elle. Another classic episode from this early portion is "Disappearing Act," in which Skeletor makes off with Prince Adam in hopes of luring He-Man out, having no idea that Adam and He-Man are one and the same person.

Running from 1983 to 1985, and featuring such talent behind the scenes as Vicky Jensen("Shrek"), Paul Dini, ("Superman: The Animated Series") and J. Michael Stracyzinski("Babylon 5"), "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" is an important technological bridge. Its groundwork pointed the way out of the mediocre wasteland that defined televised animation at that point(late 1970's to early 1980's), and predicted "The Simpsons" which debuted four years after "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" had ended. I would even say that every animated series on the air today owes a debt of gratitude to this exceptional show.

Significantly raising the bar and renovating its industry, "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" is still an entertaining treat for a broad age range.

I'll keep it short and sweet. 4-5 stars for Content, 5 stars for the DVD release. THIS is how a cartoon series should be released on DVD. Unlike the horribly mastered THUNDERCATS DVD set, the He-Man DVD set is beautiful! I watched it on an LCD monitor to really scrutinze the quality. This package passed with flying colors. A very hi-res release. They put a lot of time and energy into this box set and priced it VERY reasonably. Nice extras, attractive packaging.

As far as content, there are some "throw-away" episodes, but mostly it's great cartoon fantasy! I forgot how much I liked this show as a kid. I still do!

Back in 1982 after the success of "Conan The Barbarian", the Mattel company decided to cash-in on it by making a new line of fantasy action figures called "Masters of the Universe" with a hero modeled after Conan named "He-Man" and became one of the hottest selling toys of that year and Filmmation bought the rights to make it into an animated series that became one of the most popular Animated shows ever with high ratings. The show is set in another planet called Eternia where a king and queen rule as their cowardly son Prince Adam can become a powerful hero named He-Man with his trusty tiger sidekick Battlecat as he with Man-At-Arms and the wizard Orko with some other friends like Teela, Stratos and Ram-Man go on many adventures battling the evil forces of the skull-faced fiend Skeletor and protect the secrets of Castle Greyskull.

The show is a cross between "Heavy Metal" meets "Star Wars" and "Conan" with good storylines, great characters especially cool bad guys like Skeletor, some average animation and good morals that taught kids back then good lessons. The 33 episodes here on season 1 part 1 are " The Cosmic Comet" is where a mysterious comet is flying above the skies of Eternia and the wizard Zagraz knows about it as Skeletor has power over it and if it can't be stopped then Eternia will die, "The Shaping Staff" is about a mysterious female magician named Majestra who's really Evil-Lyn in disguise as she kidnaps King Randor during one of her tricks as He-Man must save him. Next is " Disappearing Act" Skeletor and Beast-Man wants to get rid of He-Man once and for all as Orko accidently sends Prince Adam's special sword back in time as he must try to get it, " The Diamond Ray of Disappearence" has Skeletor who just found the title diamond and with the help of his forces of evil which with the power of the diamond he can make anyone disappear even the Sorceress so he can have Castle Greyskull for himself, "She-Demon of Phantos" deals with the moon of Phantos which is a planet that has the strongest metal in the universe given to the royal palace in Eternia until Skeletor has turned the kind Queen evil, " Teela's Quest" has Teela who has always wondered about who her mother could be as she goes on a quest to find the oracle which can help with past but unfortunately the insidious Mer-Man wants to bring back a powerful monster sea god. " Curse of the Spellstone" features Evil Lyn and Skeletor stealing the magical spellstone from the Fire People then unleashing a terrible storm and the plant-like creature called the Creeping Horac, " The Time Corridor" has The Sorceress sending He-Man and friends back in time so they can stop Skeletor from implanting a time bomb where Castle Greyskull stands from exploding in the present, " The Dragon Invasion" deals with Beast Man with Skeletor stealing Dragon eggs to make them hatch then magically mature into deadly dragons under the command of Beast Man as only He-Man must deal with the problem. " A Friend in Need" has Teela's lovely friend Illena visiting the palace as she may feel like she's not strong enough until the evil sorcerer Jarvan disguises himself as a old lady to give her a addicting formula to make her stronger as he wants her to retreive a transmutor machine for his evil palns, " Masks of Power" has Prince Adam/He-Man in some ancient temple that has two cursed masks thus whoever wears them will become the spirits within them as two travlers steal them and want power over Eternia, " Evil-Lyn's Plot" has Evil-Lyn disguising herself as a lovely maidan to fool the Widget people who are guarding a special mineral crystal from which He-Man's harness was made from then steal it from them to give it to Skeletor, " Like Father Like Daughter" deals with The Sorceress warning He-Man that Skeletor will unleash a powerful army.

"Colossor Awakes" has Skeletor who just created a special device to make statues come to life as he wants to bring to life a giant ancient statue, " A Beastly Sideshow" has Beast Man in disguise as a carnival host then he kidnaps Prince Adam's tiger Cringer so it can be a prisoner for snake Mountain, " Reign of the Monster" deals with Skeletor and the tribal people called Torgs who awaken a deadly monster called Mulkram after it's frozen sleep. Then with " Daimar the Demon" after Orko cast a spell on a book about a dark demon as the cute little creature maybe harmless at first but it's really a dark giantic demon that will threaten Eternia, " Creatures from the Tar Swamp" features Randor's not-so-friendly niece Lady Edwina as she visits the palace then Orko falls for her as he must find a special medallion that he had long ago so he can impress her only to find that Skeletor and his gang will resurrect ancient swamp beasts to attck the palace, " Quest for He-Man" has He-Man whisked away to a bizare planet where he has amnesia then Orko with Ram-Man and Cringer must rescue him in that dimension even if they have to outfit a sinister rabbit. " Dawn of Dragoon" deals with Orko who summons a girl Trollan (Species of Orko) named Dree Elle then gets back to his magical world called Trolla where there's a terrible beast called Dragoon and Prince Adam/He-Man with Cringer/Battle-Cat must save Orko and his kidn, "The Royal Cousin" is about Prince Adam's spoiled cousin Prince Jeremy who is visiting the royal palace getting into trouble as he creates more problems by being tricked by Evil-Lyn into stealing a special device that can break into Greyskull, " Song of Celice" deals with a beautiful woman with a special singing voice that can sooth tremors as Skeletor uses her so he can get into castle Greyskull, "Orko's Favorite Uncle" has Orko's Uncle Montark accidently brought to Eternia thanks to his nephew then a crook from Trolla called Azog joins with the witch Spydra where he puts Montark under their spell, " Wizard of Stone Mountain" is about a lonely wizard named Malik who had a long crush on Teela makes a deal with a creature called Locus in return of seeing Teela. " Evilseed" has a evil cabbage-headed creature who has plants growing in Eternia so he can take over the planet as He-Man with Man-At-Arms, the Sorceress and Skeletor to stop it, " Ordeal in the Darklands" deals with Evil-Lyn who captures the daughter of the wizard Kor then frames He-Man for her kidnapping, " The Return of Orko's favorite uncle" has Uncle Montork with his pet returning back as a dark wizard called Tauron makes them evil then wants to set them to Greyskull, " The Defection" has the once evil Queen Sybilline turned good and wants He-Man with her to restore the throne of the island of tears back to the original king away from Gorgon. "Prince Adam No More" has Prince Adam who's a little upset that his father chose He-Man to be his guard on his business trip and wants to make his father proud of him as the now banished Beast Man kidnaps King Randor so he can return back as one of Skeletor's men, " The Taking of Greyskull" deals with Skeletor who has made a white hole (Similar to a black hole) that has taken the castle into another dimension so he can take it over as He-Man with friends must stop him, " A Tale of Two Cities" deals with two cities at war with each other and He-Man has gotten amnesia after rescuing the beautiful princess of Abherran as he's forced to fight a powerful fighter in the kingdom of Targa but can he get his memory back so he can restore peace between the two kingdoms?, " The Search for the VHO" has a father and son research team under attack by wild beasts on the island and Man-At-Arms has created a device that can swarm off those creatures to deliever it with the help of Teela and Adam/He-Man as Mer-Man and the monster Kraken steal the device and Teela, He-Man must rescue her in time including the thing and finally "Starchild" has two tribal people fighting over a special orphaned girl in a custody battle, He-Man takes her to the palace until there is a settlement between the two tribes.

This awesome boxset contains good picture and sound remastering on each episode and contains 2 featurettes, trivia and fun-facts on the each episode on the chapter stops, 2 cool art cards, DVD-Rom scripts for some episodes, storyboards, and profiles of characters. A wonderful landmark animated classic show that is one of the best of it's time next to "Transformers", "G.I. Joe", "Thundercats", "She-Ra", "Garfield and Friends", " Heathcliff", " Danger Mouse", "Count Duckula", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends", "The Raccoons", "Ducktales", "Robotech", " Voltron", and "Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers".