Search - He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Complete Series on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 3/21/2024...

A must see family classic!

The Silver Lining of BCI's Unfortunate Closing

ONENEO | Buffalo, NY | 09/07/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There's no denying it: BCI Eclipse had some incredible animated titles that risked becoming forever lost to the archives of time once the company was forced to shut its doors this past year. Fortunately Mill Creek Entertainment, which by the way is distributed by BCI's parent company, Navarre, has acquired the rights to bring many of BCI's titles to the home market once more. Even more impressive still is that these sets will be packaged up and sold as complete box sets (rather than individual season releases).

In the case of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, this set represents the complete 2002-series release by Mike Young Corporation. Coming in at a total runtime of 960 minutes, this set spans 4 discs and contains the same clear-plastic slipcase and artwork-style as the previous BCI releases.

The extras contained are only slightly less thorough than the individual season releases and include:
End of Episodes Morals
Interviews with Toyline Artists from Mattel and The Four Horsemen
12 audio commentaries
Scripts for episodes 1-40
A PDF Comic Book for unproduced episode #40

Notably missing from this set are the original art cards (a pair was included in each of the three season releases).

Now let's take a look at the show itself:

Fans are treated to what many consider the most accurate and exciting rendition of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe saga. Debuting in 2002 under the Mike Young Productions umbrella, this latest rendition of the He-Man source material closely follows the original Filmation standard set in the early 1980s with modernized animation quality and in-depth stories that further built upon the original characters and environments. The first season consisted of the following 26 episodes:

The Beginning Part 1
The Beginning Part 2
The Beginning Part 3
The Courage of Adam
Sky War
The Deep End
Lessons
Siren's Song
The Ties That Bind
Dragon's Brood
Turnabout
Mekaneck's Lament
Night of the Shadowbeasts
Underworld
The Mystery of Anwat Gar
The Monster Within
Roboto's Gambit
Trust
Orko's Garden
Buzz-Off's Pride
Snake Pit
The Island
The Sweet Smell of Victory
Separation
The Council of Evil Part 1
The Council of Evil Part 2

Season two consisted of the following thirteen:

The Last Stand
To Walk With Dragons
Out of the Past
Rise of the Snake Men Part 1
Rise of the Snake Men Part 2
The Price of Deceit
Of Machines and Men
Second Skin
The Power of Grayskull
Web of Evil
Rattle of the Snake
History
Awaken the Serpent

In case you're just tuning in, no this isn't the Filmation version of the show so many of us recall with warm fuzzies from our youth. This is in fact the third (and most recent) animated iteration of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Produced for Cartoon Network by Mike Young
Productions, this version ran from 2002 until 2004 where it went for two full seasons (26 in the first season, 13 in the second). Along the way it managed to snag a very well deserved Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing (2004).

While there are few who could argue successfully that anything could replace the original Filmation series, Mike Young Productions managed to capture all of the elements that made the original so successful and to bring them up to modern standards of animation quality, sound work, and script writing. As a result the mythos had been brought to an entirely new generation of fans while simultaneously pleasing fans of the original.

Without giving too much away (I hate spoilers personally), I will say that the origins of Snake Mountain will begin to unfold in the second-half of the first season in addition to the complete origin of the Dark Hemisphere which imprisons Skeletor and his minions. New characters are plentiful as well and contain some slick back-story efforts, which make even the original Mattel toys a lot more desirable. Among the notables includes the stories of Two-Bad, Cobra Kahn, Cyclone, Roboto, Moss Man, Zodak, and Stinkor. Many of these characters were never fully fleshed out in the original show (if they appeared at all) and would have remained only in the imaginations of those who played with the toys if not for the spectacular effort here. We are also treated to a couple of new looks for He-Man himself including an amped up version of he and Skeletor in combat and his ever impressive winter gear which includes a flowing fur cape and a heavy battle ax.

The Snakemen element introduced in the first season develops into sheer brilliance in the second (and unfortunately final) season! Not to insinuate that the Masters didn't have their hands full as it was with Skeletor and his minions, this time around the threats to peace and justice come in from all angles in the form of the Skeletor and company, the Snake Men, and the Evil Horde! Yes, you read that correctly- She-Ra's arch nemesis, Hordak, who just so happens to have been Skeletor's mentor, shows up in Season 2 within Skeletor's origin story that finally ties all of the loose threads of Mattel's franchise together once and for all.

I often like to wonder what ground Mike Young's team would have covered had the show continued. Would they have expanded to include He-Man's sister (She-Ra's) story arc? Could have writer Larry DeTillio revisited some of his wise dragon influence? A shame that we'll probably never know.

All in all, the show simply continued to build upon the foundation first set by Filmation in the 1980s and thanks to Mill Creek Entertainment, can be yours in its entirety for the cost of each of the single season releases."

Great classic remake

J. Straker | United States | 01/05/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the full series DVD set. Includes the first 10 episodes that were released separately in a previous release, so you will NOT have to purchase both to have a complete set. I have enjoyed this incarnation of the classic TV cartoon show. The show does have a lot of action, and there are definite separations between the good and bad characters in the show. The good guys are very good and the bad guys are evil. The character profiles and morals (or lack of morals) are well defined.

I do have some warnings for parents looking to buy this for there kids. The last 10 or so episodes are pretty violent, dark, and can be pretty severe for young children. Some anonymous characters are killed or more specifically "eaten" by the main antagonist. This seemed pretty gruesome to me but Judge for yourselves; watch them with your kids to evaluate the content or answer questions your kids may have. There are some minor occult references and many references to mysticism. I don't recommend this video for children under 6 years old.

Even with the previously mentioned violence, I'm pleased with my purchase and glad to add this to my cartoon collection.
"

Great box set great series

Robert Micheal Cass | wyoming,MI | 01/16/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"i this box set contains all 39 episodes of the 2002-2004 series. expect for that with episodes 30-39 its missing masters of the universe vs the snakemen opening.

Season One: 2002-2003
# Title Director Writer Original airdate Production Code
01 "The Beginning Part 1" Dean Stefan
Keldor attacks the Hall of Wisdom and Captain Randor heads forces to stop him. Years later Skeletor emerges to attack Eternia.
02 "The Beginning Part 2" Dean Stefan
Prince Adam must visit Castle Grayskull and seek the Sorceress' help to save his captured father.
03 "The Beginning Part 3" Dean Stefan
He-Man emerges to protect Eternia from the evil forces of Skeletor.
04 "The Courage of Adam" Dean Stefan
Prince Adam realizes that as long as evil exists on Eternia, he will be called to defend his home as He-Man.
05 "Skywar" Michael Reaves
Skeletor secretly instigates a war between races in a plot to defeat He-Man.
06 "The Deep End" Brooks Wachtel
He-Man must save Man-At-Arms from the belly of a sea beast threatening Castle Grayskull.
07 "Lessons" Larry DiTillio
After messing things up in the Royal Palace, Orko seeks the Sorceress' help to return to his homeworld.
08 "The Siren's Song" Dean Stefan
Ram-Man is hypnotized by a beautiful Siren who plots to destroy the Masters
09 "The Ties That Bind" Dean Stefan
Teela becomes curious about her past when she develops temporary telepathic powers.
10 "Dragon's Brood" Dean Stefan
Massive fire-breathing dragons threaten Eternia and Castle Grayskull.
11 "Turnabout" Michael Reaves
Skeletor is punished by a magical belt that prevents him from being evil.
12 "Mekaneck's Lament" Erik & Lara Runnels
While trying to acquire better powers, Mekanek unwittingly sets a dangerous villain free.
13 "Night of the Shadow Beasts" Dean Stefan
Skeletor unleashes fierce nocturnal creatures to destroy Castle Grayskull.
14 "Underworld" Dean Stefan
In Subternia (Eternia's underground), He-Man and King Randor must prevent Skeletor from attacking Castle Grayskull from below.
15 "The Mystery of Anwat Gar" Dean Stefan
He-Man and Man-At-Arms journey to a mysterious island to prevent Skeletor from getting his hands on powerful ancient stones.
16 "The Monster Within" Dean Stefan
He-Man and Man-E-Faces battle dangerous bounty hunters in the Tar Swamp.
17 "Roboto's Gambit" Dean Stefan
A simple chess-playing robot helps the Masters battle an evil army of skeletons.
18 "Trust" Dean Stefan
Stratos must form an uneasy alliance with Trap-Jaw to survive the perilous Ice Mountains.
19 "Orko's Garden"
Orko unwittingly helps the villainous plant-like Evilseed take all of the Masters hostage.
20 "Buzz-Off's Pride" Christy Marx and Randall Littlejohn
Buzz-Off must battle vicious giants in order to defend both a peaceful village and his pride.
21 "Snake Pit"
The Masters enlist the help of the mysterious Zodak to prevent the Snake Men from escaping their ancient prison.
22 "The Island" Dean Stefan
While visiting his mentor on a remote island, Man-At-Arms is captured by evil crab-like creatures.
23 "The Sweet Smell of Victory" Kevin D. Campbell
When a low-level crook tries to join Skeletor, an accident mutates him into a new super-villain intent on destroying the Masters.
24 "Separation" Larry DiTillio
He-Man must return three mystical objects to the far corners of Eternia to prevent the destruction of the entire planet.
25 "Council of Evil, Part 1"
The members of Skeletor's newly formed Council of Evil are capturing the Masters one by one.
26 "Council of Evil, Part 2" Dean Stefan
It's up to Adam to stop the forces of evil that plague Eternia without his Power Sword.

[edit] Season Two: 2003-2004
# Title Director Writer Original airdate Production Code
27 "The Last Stand" Dean Stefan
He-Man has to battle Skeletor, the Council of Evil, and the Evil Warriors to protect Castle Grayskull.
28 "To Walk with Dragons" Dean Stefan
The Masters must thwart Skeletor's attacking serpinataurs by enlisting the help of vicious red dragons
29 "Out of the Past" Dean Stefan
Teela is drawn to a small village where she gets further clues about her past.
30 "Rise of the Snakemen, Part 1" Steve Melching September 12, 2004 (2004-09-12)
The Masters have to battle Skeletor's forces while trying to prevent the dreaded Snake Men from getting free from their ancient prison.
31 "Rise of the Snakemen, Part 2"
Zodak joins forces with the Masters of the Universe to prevent the freed Snake Men from taking over Eternia.
32 "The Price of Deceit" Larry DiTillio
Skeletor seeks to punish Evil-Lyn for betraying him.
33 "Of Machines and Men" Michael Halperin
A mysterious force disables all technological power in Eternia.
34 "Second Skin" Steve Melching
It's up to the Masters of the Universe to stop King Hiss from using a devastatingly powerful ancient artifact.
35 "The Power of Grayskull" Dean Stefan
The Sorceress tells Prince Adam of the great history behind the power of Grayskull.
36 "Web of Evil" Kevin D. Campbell
Webstor builds a spider army that threatens to take over Eternia.
37 "Rattle of the Snake" Steve Melching September 23, 2000 (2000-09-23)
The Masters of the Universe track King Hiss through Subternia (Eternia's underground) to a long-lost Snake Temple, which holds the key to releasing a terrible power.
38 "History" Larry DiTillio
He-Man tries to stop King Hiss from reaching the Well of Darkness, unaware that Evil-Lyn is planning something catastrophic.
39 "Awaken the Serpent" Dean Stefan
King Hiss uses the Medallion of Serpos to release the ancient snake god.
"