Island of Fear

Island of Fear is the 74th episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, written by Antoni Zalewski and directed by Bill Reed and Lou Zukor. Following the completion of a new dam, the heroes of Eternia must solve the mystery of disappearing ships and an unexplained island.

Synopsis
A crowd is gathered to watch King Randor dedicate the new dam at the edge of the Eternian Ocean, designed by Man-At-Arms. Orko, Cringer, and Teela are concerned that the new dam has taken up land needed for wildlife parks and playgrounds. Prince Adam doesn't have time to hear their concerns, as he is needed with his father to hear Buzz-Off's report about food transport ships going missing in the past month. There are no clues as to the disappearances, except that they all occurred around a volcanic island which does not appear on any maps.

Adam, Cringer, and Man-At-Arms take a Wind Raider on the flight path that led Buzz-Off to the island, but fail to locate it. When Adam makes another pass by the new dam, he finds himself heading straight for the mysterious island. The Wind Raider hits a rock and crashes near the dam. Adam sees his friends being sucked into the dam's intake and transforms into He-Man to save them. Buzz-Off flies by and gives them a lift to the island before fetching Teela and Orko. By the time Buzz-Off returns, He-Man has turned back into Adam.

While Teela and Buzz-Off scout the island from the air, Adam, Man-At-Arms, Orko, and Cringer explore the terrain and find a waterfall concealing a cave. Adam and Duncan discover a sign inside the cave that reads "HELLO CHUMPS"--by the time they can read it clearly, they are in range of a trap designed to pull them under the water and into the catacombs beneath the island. Adam tries to turn into He-Man but loses his sword in the commotion. Adam and Duncan find themselves in an underground lake, where the transport ships are being kept. They are greeted by Skeletor, Mer-Man, and Whiplash, who take them prisoner.

Skeletor gloats about achieving his final triumph by capturing all the food shipments. Although the dam provides the land needed to grow new food, Skeletor plans to direct his floating island directly into the dam, flooding half the kingdom and creating a humanitarian disaster.

By the time Buzz-Off and Teela return to the island and meet up Orko, Cringer has gotten lost and Adam's sword has been found abandoned. The trio begin searching for their missing friends, and when they find Cringer asleep in a deep hole they realize it is an access tunnel to the island's engine room. After Adam and Man-At-Arms are rescued, Orko returns Adam's sword and the heroes begin planning to save the food ships. They are stopped when Skeletor announces he is putting the island on a collision course with the dam, and Mer-Man and Whiplash try to pin them down. Adam uses the commotion to turn into He-Man and destroy the island's engine. He-Man and his friends escape the engine room before it explodes. Skeletor manages to escape too, and ties Mer-Man and Whiplash together to haul him back home.

Back at the Royal Palace, everyone discusses what should be done about Skeletor's island, and it is agreed that it should be turned into a nature preserve to replace the land taken to build the dam.

Moral
Teela: "I sure enjoy jogging along this meadow." Prince Adam: "So do I. It's too bad every place in Eternia can't stay as natural and untouched as this place is." Teela: "You're right. But progress does force changes. And sometimes those changes mean we have to take down trees in order to put up buildings." Prince Adam: "That's why it's important to set aside some places to remain natural, where children can play and where we can all enjoy the wonders of nature."

Heroic Warriors

 * Prince Adam
 * Buzz-Off (first Filmation appearance)
 * Cringer
 * He-Man
 * Man-At-Arms
 * Orko
 * Teela

Allies

 * King Randor

Evil Warriors

 * Mer-Man
 * Skeletor
 * Whiplash (first Filmation appearance, not named)

Cast

 * John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam and Whiplash
 * Alan Oppenheimer as Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, Cringer, Buzz-Off and Mer-Man
 * Linda Gary as Teela
 * Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as King Randor and Orko
 * Erika Scheimer as Wind Raider computer

Orko's Fun Facts
As featured in BCI's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Season Two, Vol. 1 DVD boxset (Disc 2)


 * "Unfortunately, this is the only episode to feature the Great Eternian Dam."
 * "The mysterious floating island is actually the same as Dragosaur Isle from 'The Time Corridor.'"
 * "In the script, as He-Man flies through the air holding onto Cringer and Man-At-Arms, he delivers this amusing line, 'Now all we need is a place to land.'"
 * "In the shot of Adam and Man-At-Arms in the underwater cage you can see that Prince Adam's pose is almost exactly the same as when he holds aloft the Sword of Power."

Behind the Scenes

 * Script was approved on March 15, 1984 and final script revision took place on May 7, 1984.
 * The animation models for Buzz-Off and Whiplash, both based on their toy prototypes by Mattel, were designed by Harry Sabin.

Continuity

 * The scenes of Orko sheathing and unsheathing the sword and presenting it to Prince Adam are reanimated from footage first seen in He-Man and the Disappearing Act.
 * The animated sequence of Teela running seen in the moral segment was first seen during the moral segment of Colossor Awakes and was also used in the episode Trouble in Arcadia.
 * The whirlpool animation was previously seen as part of the Crossroads to All Universes in Quest for He-Man and was also used in City Beneath the Sea.

The He-Man and She-Ra Blog

 * The Great Eternian Dam.
 * Orko passes the Sword of Power.
 * But progress does force changes.