People like to harp on shows like ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’ as just being ’25 minute toy commercials’. I’ll admit, I watched He-Man as a kid and enjoyed it quite a bit. But as time passes (like say over 20 years) there’s no way for a show like that to stay fresh in your brain. So, natch you forget it. Not even the Blinding Light of Nostalgia can keep your memory properly archived with the show.
Well, a channel called ‘qubo’ (formerly Discovery Kids) has been running He-Man, She-Ra, Bravestarr and Ghostbusters at night. So, I finally had an opportunity to see the show again.
After an episode last night, I can say without a doubt that He-Man was far more then any toy commercial could hope to be. What the censors restricted them from doing ACTION wise, the production company made up for in writing.
The episode ‘She-Demon of Phantos’ is a perfect example of good writing.
To summarize, Queen Elmora, an ally of Eternia, became Skeletor’s mind puppet. So, He-Man and friends had to go help her. Man-at-Arms ordered Teela to stay behind and guard the palace. She decides that she wants to go anyway and follows the group. Once there, the group gets into trouble. Teela saves them. Man-at-Arms is, understandably, angry with Teela for disobeying him. He-Man allows her to stay and quickly gets the focus back on the mission. Throughout the episode, Teela proves herself as a valuable team member. Eventually, the group reaches Elmora only to have their efforts divided between fighting Skeletor and Elmora and trying to free Elmora from Skeletor’s mind control. Eventually, He-Man wins and sends Skeletor packing (again.)
With the issue resolved, the group returns to Eternia where Teela is punished. (She’s made to peel a huge pile of potatoes.) She doesn’t feel that she should be punished since she proved herself as a valuable team member. But Man-at-Arms is stern about the fact that she disobeyed a direct order.
What was the moral of the story? That’s up to you. He-Man didn’t feel any need to try and hammer a point into your head like SOME shows do today. For some, the lesson could be that respecting authority is more important than anything. For others, the lesson could be that Man-at-Arms is a jerk. Still others could see the lesson as ‘if you’re going to be disobedient make sure you’re useful’. Some folks could just see it as mindless entertainment and not feel any lessons were given at all.
I’ve got a lot more to say about Teela. But I think I’ll save that for another post.
Not bad for a ‘toy commercial’ eh?
