The New Adventures of He-Man (cartoon)

The New Adventures of He-Man is an animated series released in late 1989. Mattel commissioned the new animated series to accompany their new The New Adventures of He-Man line of toys.

The story continues the adventures of He-Man from the two previous Filmation series: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983) and She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985). The storyline saw He-Man removed from Eternia and into a more heavily sci-fi accented setting, where he continues his battle against Skeletor.

Overview
The New Adventures of He-Man opens during the ongoing conflict between the peaceful people of the planet Primus and the war-like Evil Mutants of Denebria. Under constant attack from the Mutants, the leader of Primus, Master Sebrian, looks to the past for a hero who can defend the planet. Sebrian sends two Galactic Guardians - Captain Hydron and Lieutenant Flipshot - to Eternia via time travel, where they are tricked into believing that Skeletor is the hero they seek. Before Skeletor can abscond to the future, He-Man arrives and engages him in battle, forcing Hydron and Flipshot to return to the future with both He-Man and Skeletor in tow.

Once they arrive on Primus, Skeletor quickly allies himself with Flogg and his Mutants, while He-Man becomes the new champion of Primus and its people. The show was intended to be a continuation of the Filmations series which had ended several years earlier, though the change in production company from Filmation to Jetlag studios resulted in a different animation style and voice cast. The only characters from the classic series who appeared regularly in the show were He-Man, Skeletor and The Sorceress, with King Randor, Queen Marlena and Teela making cameo appearances. The significantly different character designs (to coincide with the new He-Man toyline) and shift from fantasy to sci-fi turned many fans off from the series at the time of its debut.

Despite this, the show had a strong sense of continuity and consistent character development and storytelling, with the majority of episodes and series bible being penned by Jack Olesker. The animation was of a high standard, with a much stronger anime influence. While unpopular with He-Man fans for many years, the show received a much warmer reception when it was released on DVD in 2006.

Though the series was not renewed for a second season, Jack Olesker has gone on record as saying that a second season would have involved He-Man's return to Eternia.

Cast

 * Don Brown as Hydron, Gepple, Optikk, Quakke, Kayo, Vizar
 * Garry Chalk as He-Man, Artilla, Alcon
 * Ted Cole as Spinwit, Slush Head, Karatti, Staghorn
 * Tracy Eisner as Drissi
 * Mark Hildreth as Caz
 * Anthony Holland as Master Sebrian
 * Campbell Lane as Skeletor, Sagitar
 * Scott McNeil as Flipshot, Butthead, Krex
 * Doug Parker as Prince Adam, Hoove, Meldoc
 * Alvin Sanders as Flogg and Tuskador
 * Venus Terzo as Crita, Mara, Sorceress of Castle Grayskull

Uncredited
 * Long John Baldry as Treylus (in "The Test of Time")
 * Michael Donovan as General Nifel

Season One (1989)

 * 01 A New Beginning
 * 02 Quest for the Crystals
 * 03 The Heat
 * 04 Attack on Onnor
 * 05 The Ultimate Challenge
 * 06 Sword & Staff
 * 07 The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword... Or Is It?
 * 08 Glastnost Schmaznost
 * 09 The Youngest Hero
 * 10 The Festival of Lights
 * 11 The Gift
 * 12 Skeletor's Victory
 * 13 He-Man in Exile
 * 14 The Seeds of Resistance
 * 15 The Battle for Levitan
 * 16 Crack in the World
 * 17 Escape from Gaolotia
 * 18 He-Man Mutant
 * 19 Juggernaut
 * 20 Fading Star
 * 21 Skeletor's Revenge
 * 22 The Mind Lens
 * 23 Adam's Adventure
 * 24 Collision Course
 * 25 Planet of Junk
 * 26 Sanctuary
 * 27 Council of Clones
 * 28 Cold Freeze
 * 29 He-Caz
 * 30 Slaves to the Machine
 * 31 The Galactic Guardians
 * 32 The Siege of Serus
 * 33 The Children's Planet
 * 34 Zone of Darkness
 * 35 Once Upon a Time
 * 36 A Plague Upon Primus
 * 37 The Test of Time
 * 38 Four Ways To Sundown
 * 39 The Sheriff of Gorn City
 * 40 The New Wizard in Town
 * 41 The Nemesis Within
 * 42 He-Fan
 * 43 The Dream Zone
 * 44 Brain Drain
 * 45 You're In the Army Now
 * 46 No Easy Way
 * 47 The Guns of Nordor
 * 48 The Bride of Slushhead
 * 49 Dreadator
 * 50 Mutiny on the Mothership
 * 51 Rock to the Future
 * 52 The Running of the Herd
 * 53 Balance of Power
 * 54 The Tornadoes of Zil
 * 55 The Taking of Levitan
 * 56 Save Our City
 * 57 The Power of the Good and the Way of the Magic
 * 58 Queen's Gambit
 * 59 There's Gems In Them Hills
 * 60 The Call to the Games
 * 61 The Blacksmith of Crelus
 * 62 A Time To Leave
 * 63 The Games
 * 64 Flogg's Revenge
 * 65 The Final Invasion

Home Video Releases

 * He-Man Adventure Video: Contained the episode "A New Beginning" and several toy commercials.
 * The Ultimate Challenge (VHS): A 30 minute edit of the episodes A New Beginning, Sword and Staff, The Gift, The Seeds of Resistance and The Battle for Levitan. Also includes toy commercials.
 * He-Man - The Ultimate Challenge: A movie version of the first five episodes of the series, edited into one feature length adventure.