The Return of Orko's Uncle

The Return of Orko's Uncle is the 23rd episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, written by Douglas Booth and directed by Marsh Lamore. Montork returns to Eternia to help He-Man and Orko defeat a pair of evil wizards.

Although this is the first episode produced featuring Montork, it is in fact a sequel to "Orko's Favorite Uncle," referring to events from that story.

Synopsis
Uncle Montork attempts to arrest an evil wizard called Azrog, but Azrog escapes to Eternia and teams up with a witch called Spydra.

Orko decides to try to make Montork proud of him by tackling Azrog and Spydra on his own, but he is easily defeated and put under a spell to make him act evil.

Montork persuades Orko not to be evil, while He-Man and Teela attend to Azrog and Spydra. It's happy endings all round when Montork returns to Trolla, taking Azrog and Spydra with him.

Moral
Orko: "Boy, I sure got myself in trouble today. And it all started when I fooled around with something I didn't really understand. When you're growing up, it's natural to be curious. But when you fool around with things you don't understand, it's downright dangerous! Things like electricity, pills, or berries in the forest. Play around with them, and you're playing with trouble. Handle only the things you know are safe and you'll be taking a big step toward avoiding accidents. Bye!"

Heroic Warriors

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

Allies

 * Montork

Villains

 * Azrog
 * Karg
 * Spydra

Locations

 * Eternia
 * Eternos - Royal Palace
 * Mystic Mountains - Spydra's Castle
 * Trolla

Vehicles

 * Wind Raider

Cast

 * John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam
 * Alan Oppenheimer as Azrog and Cringer
 * Linda Gary as Teela and Spydra
 * Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as Orko and Uncle Montork

Behind the Scenes

 * Script was approved May 20, 1983, and final script revision was done May 23, 1983.
 * The original design for Spydra had her sporting a Mohawk hairstyle.
 * Storyboard artist Barry Caldwell had fun changing the symbol on He-Man's harness in his storyboards, substituting the Superman insignia, the Bat symbol, an exclamation point and a question mark.

Continuity

 * The interior backgrounds of Spydra's castle were reused for Castle Fear's interiors in "Search for the Past" and again inside Castle Landros in Bargain with Evil.
 * The sequence of Teela putting her hand to her mouth and giggling was first seen in Diamond Ray of Disappearance.
 * The animation of Orko waving his arms in excitement would be seen again in Search for the VHO.
 * Azrog's dragon, Karg, shares his name with the most prominent of the three new evil warriors featured in the live action feature.

Errors

 * When Cringer runs out of the dining room after being frightened by thunder, the door is much too small in relation to his body.
 * When Orko first picks up Spydra's wand and uses it on magic beans, it has talon like fingers sculpted around the crystal orb. The next time we see him, as he is stuck in the beanstalk, the design of the wand has been altered, the talons are now much simpler triangular shapes. This is especially noticeable during the moral segment, where both scenes are shown in order as part of a recap.
 * Teela grabs Spydra's wand and snaps it's hilt in two. But later Orko somehow produces the intact wand from his sleeve.
 * When Montork says "It worked, didn't it" to Teela, he turns his head but his beard remains in the same place.

The He-Man and She-Ra Blog

 * A brief review #023 - "The Return of Orko's Uncle"
 * FILMATION FEBRUARY - DAY: 7
 * Azrog concept artwork.
 * Spydra concept artwork.
 * Spydra's poses.
 * Caldwell's Cringer.
 * Caldwell's Orko and Montork.
 * Azrog and Spydra interact.
 * Montork surprises Spydra!
 * Montork traps Spydra.
 * He-Man versus Spydra.
 * Azrog and Karg.
 * Azrog points!
 * Blackstar's sword?
 * FILMATION ART: The remains of Spydra's castle.