Excitement and adventure a wait those who enter the magical land of Eternia! Join He-Man and the Masters of the Universe as they battle against Skeletor and his crew of dastardly villains in the greatest adventures ever told! These first 33 episodes are only the beginning of the most phenomenal stories ever created in animation! Relive the excitement as you enjoy the adventures of the universe’s greatest warriors. The power has returned!

CRITIQUE

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an action cartoon series with serious characters (except clumsy Orko) and well-thought out stories that also teach a morale or lesson at the very end of each episode. Some of the themes explored are family, trust, compassion, honesty, etc. The themes each serve a purpose (to inspire and instill virtue to its viewers) and tie in well with the stories. Over the course of the first 33 episodes some stories stand out as highlights while others seem a little weak. This is a natural occurence, especially when there are many episodes.

Not too long ago a "Best of" DVD came out that featured five very strong episodes of the first season, which are Evilseed, Quest for He-Man, Prince Adam No More, Diamond Ray of Disappearance, and Teela's Quest. These are obviously among the best on this 6-disc set, but there are others for you to explore as well. The weaker episodes are generally those that don't focus specifically on He-Man, Skeletor or a general conflict, but instead on a supporting character or an isolated event. However, the general quality of writing for He-Man is very good. The dialogue doesn't sound as cheesy as you would expect, though some of the voice acting is a little on the cheeky side (the show is geared towards kids afterall).

The best part about He-Man is the action, which is the show's main appeal. The fights and confrontations between the good and evil characters are realized quite well through innovative and solid animation (at the time it must've looked pretty impressive). Another great aspect about the show is the memorable, catchy and action-oriented music score by Shuki Levy, Haim Saban and Erika Lane. The theme song is just cool, and I could swear some of today's cartoon scores can be traced back one way or another to some of the motifs and sound cues from He-Man.

The first 33 episodes of the first season appear on five discs in story continuity order:

Disc 1:

04 - "Diamond Ray of Disappearance"

01 - "The Cosmic Comet"
02 - "The Shaping Staff"
03 - "Disappearing Act"
05 - "She-Demon of Phantos"
06 - "Teela's Quest"
07 - "The Curse of the Spellstone"

Disc 2:
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"

Disc 3:
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"

Disc 4:
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"

Disc 5:
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"

THE VIDEO

BCI presents He-Man and the Masters of the Universe in 1.33:1 fullscreen format. The video looks pretty nice. The few flaws that exist, such as some aliasing, don’t really distract. The colors look fine, and overall the picture quality is good. Each episode is divided into four chapters.

THE AUDIO

BCI presents He-Man and the Masters of the Universe in English 2.0 Dolby Stereo. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The music sounds good, and the sound effects come across well. Some noise and distortion creeps in from time to time, but overall the audio presentation is well done for a cartoon show.

THE EXTRAS

First, let me begin by saying I love the menus. All the menus are scored (the main menu to the theme song) and I could listen to the songs for hours and not get tired of them (in fact the main theme is playing right now as I write this review – but after I’m done I probably won’t listen to it for a while – hehe).

Part of an ongoing documentary series created exclusively for the DVD releases, the Volume 1 set features two brand-new documentaries:

The Secret Origins of He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe (19:47) offers interviews with producers, writers, directors and experts speaking about the legal issues that led to a toy-based series, relationship between Filmation and Mattel, development of the characters and storylines, and more.

The Stories of He-Man And the Masters Of The Universe (27:19) features interviews with the show’s writers commenting on several of the first season’s first 33 episodes, specifically Diamond Ray of Disappearance, The Curse of the Spellstone, The Time Corridor, The Dragon Invasion, Like Father Like Daughter, A Beastly Sideshow, Reign of the Monster, Dawn of Dragoon, The Royal Cousin, Song of Celice, Wizard of Stone Mountain, Ordeal in the Darklands, and The Taking of Grayskull.

Next are 50 detailed profiles of various characters, creatures and artifacts. Select a certain profile and some text corresponding to your choice scrolls down to the left side of the menu. For character and creature profiles, you can view a brief video clip for each profile.

The Animated Storyboards for Episode #30 that lets you choose from three different points of view (storyboard, episode, or side-by-side view). Pretty neat stuff.

Embedded with each episode menu are fun trivia facts about the specific episode.

Inside the digipak set you’ll find 2 collectible art cards by acclaimed comic artists Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz.

When you put disc 6 into your DVD-ROM drive you can choose to read 5 complete episode scripts. This feature is PC/Mac compatible.

Lastly, a very nice companion booklet accompanies the digipak packaging. The booklet lists the synopsis for every episode and other useful info.

FINAL THOUGHTS