She-Ra: Princess of Power Season One, Volume 2

In continuing with my reviews of the BCI Eclipse She-Ra DVD sets, today we will be taking a look at the second volume of the first season of Filmation's fantastic She Ra: Princess of Power.

To begin, this 6-disc collection contains the final 33 episodes of the debut (1985) season. The show is structured very similarly to its He-Man counterpart with a bit more emphasis on fantasy over science. While the cast of characters closely mimics a reverse-sexed He-Man lineup (female leads & male supporting cast this time), rather than hover cars and battle tanks, the She-Ra heroes ride horseback. Interestingly, the show's writers have admitted that there was a subtle environmentalist theme occurring within the show's message: In that the heroes (the Great Rebellion) were naturalists who lived off the land while the Horde used their technology to trash the beauty of Etheria. In fact the Fright Zone itself often appeared as an industrially inspired factory surrounded by thick smog.

Politics aside, the writing of the second half of the first season was quite consistent with the level of quality achieved in the first half; which is to say quite on par with some of the better moments of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe run. In fact a majority of the writers for She-Ra came over directly from their He-Man assignments. Also like before, the color pallet and animation quality itself actually surpasses that of the He-Man series on account of the fact that She-Ra was granted a higher budget to work with (and as the creative staff admitted on the included documentary, by this point in time Filmation was operating as a well-oiled machine).

Once again we are given several He-Man/ She-Ra crossover episodes throughout the 6-disc set which while well done, in my opinion often slowed down She-Ra's solo momentum. However, some of the highlights of this volume include the introduction to the interesting alien "Rock People" and a really solid episode called Huntara in which She-Ra finally meets her potential physical match. My only compliant is that despite such a massive supporting cast to work with, the show's writers were still pretty stingy with who we meet in our travels. Characters like Frosta, Mermista, Perfuma, even Queen Angella, are used in extreme moderation. However, Adora's love interest (Sea Hawk) makes a return with a few surprises to boot and Glimmer's family tree expands in one of the episodes.

From the surprise file- The odd little character who "hides" in every episode, Loo-Kee, is actually the hero of a single episode in this set (Loo-Kee Lends a Hand) and in the episode Magicats, it is revealed that these characters were developed as a back-door pilot for a potential spin-off series that never actually developed. A shame too as they had potential.

Like always the case, BCI's packaging and presentation are the benchmark of the animation industry. The exterior packaging and inner-sleeve artwork is spectacular as are the disc labels themselves. Once again BCI takes the backseat to no one when it comes to special features. Included here are the following:
English & Spanish Audio Tracks for all 32 episodes. "The Stories of She-Ra, Princess of Power, Part II" - Interviews with Producers, Writers, Directors and Experts, specifically commenting on episodes 33-65 of Season 1. Audio Commentary for Episode 39 "Intro the Dark Dimension" with writer J. Michael Straczynski, and Episode 45 "Huntara", with executive producer Lou Scheimer and creator/writer Larry DiTillio, both moderated by Andy Mangels. Full Length Animated Storyboard-with interactive Episode Comparison for Episode 45 "Huntara" with optional Audio commentary. 50 Character Profiles, Fun Facts and Trivia, Image Galleries, DVD-ROM scripts for episodes:
episode 39
episode 45
episode 51
episode 53
episode 56
episode 59
episode 60
episode 63
And of course a pair of 2 collectible 4" x 6" exclusive She-Ra Season 1 Vol. 2 art cards by acclaimed comic book artists.

This excellent compilation contains the following 33 episodes which complete the first season of She Ra: Princess of Power.

A Talent for Trouble
Troll's Dream"
Gateway to Trouble
The Unicorn King
The Anxious Apprentice
Zoo Story
Into the Dark Dimension
Treasure of the First Ones
Glimmer's Story
Enemy With My Face
Welcome Back, Kowl
The Rock People
Huntara
Micah of Bright Moon
The Price of Power
Birds of a Feather
For Want of a Horse
Just Like Me
My Friend, My Enemy
The Wizard
Unexpected Ally
The Light of the Crystal
Loo-Kee Lends a Hand
Of Shadows and Skulls
Jungle Fever
Black Snow
Anchors Aloft Part 1
Anchors Aloft Part 2
Darksmoke and Fire
Magicats
Flowers for Hordak
Wild Child
The Greatest Magic