He-Man Season One/ Volume 1

It is said even the best memories fade in time. Thankfully, BCI (under its impressive Ink & Paint label) has been making it their mission to keep classic animation alive in the minds of nostalgic viewers while introducing the magic to a whole new generation of fans through their beautiful DVD box sets.

I recently spent a few straight weeks traveling back through time to my own 1980s youth through their animated He-Man and the Masters of the Universe collection and in response to the readers who have been eagerly awaiting my review, I am pleased to report my thorough praise. I will break up my review of the entire collection (including the She-Ra sets) into a multi-part series throughout the following weeks.

For those who are unclear on the many iterations of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe source material, Season One/ Volume 1 is the 33 episodes of the Filmation debut season from 1983. Surprisingly, the entire Filmation He-Man series (not counting She-Ra) only ran for 2 seasons. However, these were no mere 13-episode seasons, which is standard fair for animation; rather Filmation worked tirelessly to produce back to back 65 episode seasons! BCI Eclipse wisely broke the two seasons down into four box sets (each of either 33 or 32 episodes). The sheer volume of material included on each set is mind boggling as in addition to the 33 digitally remastered episodes themselves, we are treated to a whole host of special features and bonus material that puts rival animation sets to shame. The sets each contain 6 discs plus original episode artwork with quotes, a full color book of episodes loaded with facts and trivia, two original 4 x 6 inch art cards (in this case by artists Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz, all contained within a beautifully drawn fold-out case and slip-sleeve. The attention to detail is absolutely stunning. Clearly Ink & Paint isn't just a DVD distribution company but rather a group of fans and collectors themselves as material (both physical and digital) is about as thorough as any collector could hope for.

Season One/ Volume 1 doesn't waste a whole lot of time with back story or character introduction and in fact drops the viewer into the midst of the ongoing struggles of the fantasy world of Eternia where an epic struggle of good versus evil happens to be taking place. The show's writers were clearly attempting to find their footing in the first few discs as many of the initial plots tend to revolve around the heroes thwarting the malevolent efforts of Skeletor (the arch nemesis of He-Man) without much in the way of motivation or backdrop. This reality isn't really made clear until after the later episodes reveal much more connection between the host of main characters and complex interaction between them. As the series grew so too did the writing mature to the point where the scope of the locations and characters grew exponentially. Again, this isn't a flaw in the early episodes, nor is it glaringly apparent but rather when directly compared to the exploits that would follow, the original season becomes a bit claustrophobic.

The image and sound quality of the episodes are superb having been digitally remastered from the original film negatives and recorded in Dolby Digital 2.0. Truly, the original broadcasts pale in comparison to the crisp quality of these new releases. Included on the first Volume of Season One are the following episodes:

01 - "The Cosmic Comet"
02 - "The Shaping Staff"
03 - "Disappearing Act"
04 - "Diamond Ray of Disappearance"
05 - "She-Demon of Phantos"
06 - "Teela's Quest"
07 - "The Curse of the Spellstone"
08 - "The Time Corridor"
09 - "The Dragon Invasion"
10 - "A Friend in Need"
11 - "Masks of Power"
12 - "Evil-Lyn's Plot"
13 - "Like Father, Like Daughter"
14 - "Colossor Awakes"
15 - "A Beastly Sideshow"
16 - "Reign of the Monster"
17 - "Daimar the Demon"
18 - "Creatures From The Tar Swamp"
19 - "Quest for He-man"
20 - "Dawn of Dragoon"
21 - "The Royal Cousin"
22 - "Song of Celice"
23 - "The Return of Orko's Uncle"
24 - "Wizard of Stone Mountain"
25 - "Evilseed"
26 - "Ordeal in the Darklands"
27 - "Orko's Favorite Uncle"
28 - "The Defection"
29 - "Prince Adam No More"
30 - "The Taking of Grayskull"
31 - "A Tale of Two Cities"
32 - "Search for the VHO"
33- "The Starchild"

Almost as impressive are the special features packed into this six-disc set:

2 brand new documentaries that provide a comprehensive look inside the creation of this landmark children's animation program including interviews with
the producers, writers, director, and show historians.
The Secret Origins of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
The Stories of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
2 Collectible 4" x 6" Exclusive Masters of the Universe® Art Cards by Acclaimed Comic Artists Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz
Full Length Animated Storyboard with Interactive Episode Comparison for Episode #30 "The Taking of Grayskull"
50 Detailed Profiles of Various Characters, Creatures and Artifacts
Trivia Facts
5 Complete Episode Scripts (DVD-ROM PC/Mac Compatible)
English & Spanish Language Audio Tracks for all 33 Episodes.

In conclusion, BCI Eclipse/ Ink & Paint have set the Benchmark in animation compilation. Their efforts will be appreciated by viewers of all age groups (including serious collectors) yet the material itself is truly timeless. I personally find myself lost in a flood of nostalgia while enjoying this series but can confidentially state that children of today's generation who will be experiencing the magic for the first time will get equal enjoyment out of this series.

Next I'll dig into the second Volume of the first season with a full review. For more on this set head over to:
http://www.inkandpaintdvd.com/?page=c_heman1