Picture it: The year is 1987. Over the last three Christmases and birthdays, you’ve amassed a small army of musclebound warriors, ghouls and snake-people, and you’ve dutifully watched every episode of Masters of the Universe. You even rent VHS compliations of episodes you’ve seen a million times. You have no idea the series is now in syndication. In fact, you’re still throwing He-Man and She-Ra birthday parties and chasing your siblings around with a Power Sword.
Then, one day, you’re eating a pimento cheese sandwich in front of the TV and you see a trailer for the Masters of the Universe movie. Skeletor looks weird, even a little scary, but He-Man has lots of muscles, and a distant voice proclaims: “I have the Power!” You’re head … explodes.
In Part One of our last official He-Man and She-Ra review show, we’re talking about the “Masters of the Universe” Movie, starring Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Courtney Cox, and Billy Barty.
Notorious for its myriad and hilarious production problems, the MOTU movie today enjoys cult status for its campy feel and standout performances. Plus, as we’ll discuss, you just can’t shake the excitement of seeing your old friends on the big screen, even if they look and sound a little different. And, hey, there are some new friends too. (When you can’t afford an Orko, send a Gwildor! And couldn’t the cartoon use a Detective Lubic?)
We’ll talk about all our favorite characters, especially the mercenaries and their haircuts, we’ll cover the main conflict, and of course we’ll do our best to rate the story. We’ll touch briefly on some our favorite trivia as well.
Then, get ready for Part 2 of our last episode, as we take a look at our own show, the MOTU series overall and what we have planned next for The Wizard’s Nightshirt podcast!
Show Notes:
0:00:00 – Episode Start
0:00:33 – Introuctions
0:01:09 – Show Setup and Heads-Up (Guest Appearance from “Frank”)
0:03:35 – Context for the Movie
0:06:11 – The Plot Challenge
0:12:01 – On He-Man
0:17:28 – On Skeletor
0:21:00 – On Evil-Lyn
0:23:58 – On The Mercenaries
0:30:48 – The Conflict
0:31:44 – Rebekah’s Band Battle Dreams
0:33:30 – On Man-at-Arms
0:35:36 – On Teela
0:38:48 – On Gwildor
0:41:32 – On the Teens (Julie and Kevin)
0:46:13 – B-Movie Vibes (and a Dance Craze)
0:48:09 – On Det. Lubic
0:51:14 – Plot Wrap-Up and Early Impressions
0:55:26 – Production Trivia
0:59:57 – Ratings
1:04:02 – Closing Thoughts for Part A
1:04:58 – Episode End
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