He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-84)

He-Man and the MotU (1983-84)
Dirs. various | Seasons: 02 | Episodes: 130 (total), approx 23 mins each.

In theory, writing about the original MotU TV series should be a simple task because it isn't a difficult series to describe —  it's a mix of High Fantasy and Science Fiction, wrapped up in a 1980s bun — but the characters and their world have been such a defining part of my life that finding the words is proving to be difficult. It'll probably sound ridiculous, but if I could reach deep into my soul and paste that onto the page, much of what's there would be MotU-shaped.

Within the colourful blobs of joy would be identifiable forms. There'll be one that looks like a stone castle with a skull entrance. Next to it would be a jagged mountain with a giant snake wrapped around it. Elsewhere, you'd see a large cat the size of a lion, but green with orange stripes, and red armour on its back and head.

And there would be heroes, different in temperament but each one cut from the same cloth, standing together, poised to defend, strong in spirit and steadfast in purpose as they do their utmost to prevent the forces of evil from realising their selfish goals, lest the innocent suffer. A cliché it may be, but it's a cliché with a true heart, and that heart beats in time with my own. Put simply, I adore 1980s era MotU.

Blackstar (1981)

Blackstar (1981)

13 episodes, approx 22 mins each.

It's well-known among the Masters of the Universe fanbase that some of the toy-line's action figures were repurposed assets from Mattel's own Big Jim franchise, but what's mentioned much less often is that Filmation's animated MotU TV series did some blatant borrowing of its own, from their short-lived Blackstar (1981) TV series, which came out two years before MotU and is in many respects a kind of precursor to the format that MotU settled on.

John Blackstar's origin is entirely different to He-Man's, and he doesn't have a secret dual identity, but the similarities in other areas are numerous and undoubtedly more than mere coincidence.

The show's opening credits provide backstory, which I'll transcribe below, for anyone who's interested: