Creatures from the Tar Swamp

Creatures from the Tar Swamp is the 18th episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. When King Randor's niece Lady Edwina comes to visit, Orko is desperate to impress her, causing him to get mixed up in Skeletor's plot to revive the extinct beasts of the Tar Swamp.

Moral
Prince Adam: "Today's story was about something more precious, more valuable than gold or silver. It's called 'friendship'. Orko learned that friendship can't be bought. Giving somebody a present may get that person to act as if he or she is your friend, but don't be fooled. A real friend is someone who likes you for yourself, not your presents. So don't try to buy friendship. Just be yourself, and treat others with honesty and respect. And then you'll know the friends you make will be real ones."

Heroic Warriors

 * Prince Adam
 * Battle Cat
 * Cringer
 * He-Man
 * Orko
 * Stratos
 * Teela

Allies

 * King Randor
 * Queen Marlena

Evil Warriors

 * Beast Man
 * Evil-Lyn
 * Skeletor

Others

 * Lady Edwina

Creatures

 * Drachadon
 * Shriekers

Locations

 * Eternos
 * Royal Palace
 * Tar Swamp

Vehicles

 * Wind Raider

Cast

 * John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam and Beast Man
 * Alan Oppenheimer as Skeletor, Man-At-Arms and Battle Cat/Cringer
 * Linda Gary as Teela, Evil-Lyn and Lady Edwina
 * Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as Orko, King Randor and Stratos
 * Jay Scheimer (uncredited) as Queen Marlena

Behind the Scenes

 * Script was approved February 9, 1983 and final script revision was completed July 28, 1983.
 * This story is loosely based on a Filmation script premise also titled 'Creatures from the Tar Swamp', in which lightning struck the Tar Swamp, causing it's prehistoric creatures to come back to life.

Continuity

 * Lady Edwina calls Orko 'Gorpo', among other things. Gorpo was the characters original name during early production.
 * A slightly different version of the Tar Swamp flashback was featured in The Secret of Grayskull.
 * The backgrounds for the Tar Swamp are seen again when Statos finds himself in a forest after being exiled in Betrayal of Stratos.
 * This is the first of two occasions in which Skeletor manages to sit upon the throne of the Royal Palaces of Eternia. The second time is in The Littlest Giant.
 * The character models of young Prince Adam and Cringer as a cub will be seen again during an extended flashback sequence in Battlecat.
 * Lady Edwina can be spotted in the audience at Man-E-Faces performance in the final scene of The Mystery of Man-E-Faces.
 * Lady Edwina's facial design would be reused for Cara in the episode Disappearing Dragons.
 * The backgrounds for the royal palace dungeons are seen again in Quest for He-Man.
 * The animated sequence in which Man-At-Arms uses a tree branch to keep a Shrieker at bay is used again in Song of Celice, when he keeps a Giant Crawler at bay.
 * The flashback in which Orko arrives on Eternia and saves young Adam and Cringer from a swamp is a retold in the 2002 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe episode Lessons.

Errors

 * When Skeletor is sitting on the throne at the Royal Palace, his cup disappears from his hands as he stands up.

The He-Man and She-Ra Blog

 * A brief review #018 - "Creatures From The Tar Swamp"
 * 30 YEARS - Top 30 GREATEST MOMENTS #15
 * Weekend Away #9 - The Drachadon unleashed!
 * FILMATION ART: Royal Palace outskirts.
 * Birthday Blog #7 - Shriekers!
 * Happy Birthday He-Man #13 - Edwina and Gorpo?
 * Memories #7 - I need that VHS tape!