Poll of the Day > Masters of the Universe

(+) Yeah! (+)

Wow. It just isn't very good. I couldn't get past the 2nd episode.

The whole Teela thing at the end of the first episode was just awful and the 2nd episode started with characters I care nothing about. Total bait-and-switch act. No wonder He-Man's name isn't in the title.

11110111011 posted...

No wonder He-Man's name isn't in the title.

Technically Masters was the original name for the series, so that's not unusual.

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11110111011 posted...

Wow. It just isn't very good. I couldn't get past the 2nd episode.

The whole Teela thing at the end of the first episode was just awful and the 2nd episode started with characters I care nothing about. Total bait-and-switch act. No wonder He-Man's name isn't in the title.

From what I've heard, the original trailers and "reviews" for it were heavily manipulated to fool people regarding what kind of show it is, but now that the review embargos are off and people can actually talk about it everyone's pointing out that it's not like was originally presented at all. Kevin Smith's taking a bit of shit at the moment for lying about it.

Also, if you dislike Teela you're probably out of luck, because apparently the whole show is deliberately built around her.

Then again, some of the loudest complaints may be coming from people with a very specific bias, and I was never going to watch the show regardless, so I can't really say how accurate any of that is.
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11110111011 posted...

I couldn't get past the 2nd episode.

Gotta stick with it.

Sometimes when I'm eating cat shit the first few pieces are really, really gross but after 6 or 7 you acquire a taste for it

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Doesn't episode 1 of every show suck?

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Zeus posted...

Technically Masters was the original name for the series, so that's not unusual.

The original cartoon was "HE-MAN and the MASTERS of the universe", the theme song is just some dude singing "HE-MAN" over and over again, and literally everyone called it "He-Man". So it's kind of an understandable assumption. Especially since the later cartoons also all included "He-Man" in the title - and one of them didn't use "Masters of the Universe" at all ("The New Adventures of He-Man").

Granted, the movie was just called "Masters of the Universe", but the movie was also terrible and was more of a stealth adaptation of Kirby's Fourth World than anything actually related to MOTU, so it barely counts for anything.

It's also worth noting that while the toyline (and franchise overall) was generally known as Masters of the Universe, they also never really used that tag for anything She-ra related, so MOTU was very much reserved for the He-Man side of the line.

So let's be honest, while you could technically argue that the Masters of the Universe franchise doesn't revolve around He-Man, it totally does. And if you tune in to a MOTU show expecting He-Man but it turns out it's mostly about Man-at-Arms or Orko, you're probably going to be annoyed. So there are implications there.
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Never saw the original He-man stuff as I'm way too young but this sucks. Teela is an awful character and it feels like the show is forcing itself to focus on her.

I was really excited for a show where I could watch a buff dude beat the shit out of things but I guess you just can't have a show centered around a man.

Cruddy_horse posted...

Never saw the original He-man stuff as I'm way too young but this sucks. Teela is an awful character and it feels like the show is forcing itself to focus on her.

I was really excited for a show where I could watch a buff dude beat the shit out of things but I guess you just can't have a show centered around a man.

Primal breh. Motu 2002 is also pretty good.
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The early impressions I saw were fairly positive

Ive learned you really cant trust initial public reactions to things as any marker of quality. I never really watched He-Man as a kid, I think I was just a tad too young and caught the tail end of its popularity. But my perception was always that it wasnt really substantial in any way and was just a bunch of goofy shit to sell some toys.

I like Kevin Smith though so Ill give this a shot at some point most likely.

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I'm not about to hold the original up as some god-tier art form, but the initial trailer was everything you could dream of (apart from the odd song). The character art was nearly perfect to the original and it looked like something may have been remade correctly. Most of the first episode wasn't bad, but the last 5 minutes or so were just awful and the second episode seemed to distance itself as much as possible from the first.

Teela is just terrible as well. In the original series she was optimistic and adventuresome. In this new series she seems to just be bitter and angry. It is eerily similar to how they made Luke Skywalker in the sequel series vs Luke in the original trilogy. It just doesn't fit at all.

adam is a twig
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Bummer, it sounded good from what I was reading a few days ago

Mark Hamill and 2 GoT actors providing voices too

94% from 35 critic ratings
Vs
25% from 1047 user ratings

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Does it have or reference Heyeayeayea at all?

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I am reserving judgment until I see this for myself, but I have heard about the bait and switch.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Especially since the later cartoons also all included "He-Man" in the title - and one of them didn't use "Masters of the Universe" at all ("The New Adventures of He-Man").

+1 for referencing the '90s He-Man show.

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It appears that Critics find the show quite good, 97% on Rotten currently for season 1. The show is getting trashed hard by the general population though.

Monopoman posted...

the general population

who, like critics, often have some very bizarre opinions and baggage

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I knew it was going to be shit after it was announced it would be unrelated to She-Ra.

pleasantly amused I was right

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ParanoidObsessive posted...

Also, if you dislike Teela you're probably out of luck, because apparently the whole show is deliberately built around her.

SMG did an interview sating she thought she was just going to be a side character until she read the script and realized she was the show

Mead posted...

But my perception was always that it wasnt really substantial in any way and was just a bunch of goofy shit to sell some toys.

This, people are upset their half hour toy commercial doesn't have enough buff semi naked man beating on buff skeleton man.

Watched the first episode, enjoyed it for what is is, going to watch the second episode.

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I can't unhear Buffy

And Skeletor is just the Joker with a sore throat

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Metalsonic66 posted...

I can't unhear Buffy

Buffy, Man at Arms

Last thing I saw her in was The Crazy Ones with Robin Williams (CBS cancelled it three months before his death) and I didn't really watch Buffy during its original run, so I do not have that problem

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crazy_Ones

Metalsonic66 posted...

And Skeletor is just the Joker with a sore throat

Kevin just wanted an excuse to work with Mark, not that I'm complaining

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kevin smith doing something bad?

I'm shocked!
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Krazy_Kirby posted...

kevin smith doing something bad?

I'm shocked!

the man is a national treasure

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KodyKeir posted...

This, people are upset their half hour toy commercial doesn't have enough buff semi naked man beating on buff skeleton man.

Watched the first episode, enjoyed it for what is is, going to watch the second episode.

The show was marketed as 'He-Man', you look at all of the posters and they have He-Man and Skeletor looking just like they did originally with a crisp art style that pays homage to the original style. The trailer for the show has nearly every character from the original series and has He-Man and Skeletor fighting each other. Even pulling the show up on Netflix and Rotten Tomatoes shows a picture of Adam or He-Man.

The script leaks out, rumors circulate that the show is a bait-and-switch and not about He-Man at all, and Kevin Smith doubles down saying the rumors aren't true the show is ALL about He-Man. The show comes out and it turns out the rumors are true which just upsets people more.

It was like Kevin Smith was totally trolling everyone.

11110111011 posted...

It was like Kevin Smith was totally trolling everyone.

Kevin Smith being absolutely full of shit on social media to suck up to various entertainment companies is pretty standard these days, honestly. The prevailing theory is that if he keeps giving them free PR, they might be willing to hire him to do more things, especially now that his own creative rep is kind of in tatters (when's the last time he made a movie people actually liked?).

The only people who were fooled by his denials were the people who hadn't yet figured out that he's like 97% shill now.
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MrMelodramatic posted...

I knew it was going to be shit after it was announced it would be unrelated to She-Ra.

To be fair, if it HAD been related to She-Ra, it probably would have turned out like this instead:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR7wOGyAzpw
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The animation is a step up from She-ra (except for some of the CGI). Probably around even with Voltron.


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ParanoidObsessive posted...

when's the last time he made a movie people actually liked?

2019 Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is fucking hilarious

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is this the show that was written by kevin smith, who was adamant in press releases that it focused on he-man and skeletor

and then when it came out it turns out that it doesn't focus on those two at all and is instead some other character

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helIy posted...

is this the show that was written by kevin smith, who was adamant in press releases that it focused on he-man and skeletor

and then when it came out it turns out that it doesn't focus on those two at all and is instead some other character

youre thinking of paw patrol

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Mead posted...

2019 Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is fucking hilarious

Okay, allow me to rephrase:

"When's the last time he made a movie based around an original concept that people who aren't stoners actually liked?"

Because, even at the time Jay and Silent Bob 2 was in development, a lot of people were saying "He's going back to this well out of desperation."

The days when people respected him as the director of Clerks and Chasing Amy are long gone. Now he's just the weirdo that did Tusk and Yoga Hosers and wrote a comic where Batman pissed himself.
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don't forget that he's also making a clerks 3

and the second jay and silent bob movie was fucking horrible

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ParanoidObsessive posted...

The days when people respected him as the director of Clerks and Chasing Amy are long gone.

oh for sure and I think hed be the first to admit that

but he is a great niche filmmaker imo even if he doesnt have much mainstream appeal

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who the fuck respected Kevin Smith for Chasing Amy? trash movie that doesnt even realize its own homophobia

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ParanoidObsessive posted...

The original cartoon was "HE-MAN and the MASTERS of the universe", the theme song is just some dude singing "HE-MAN" over and over again, and literally everyone called it "He-Man". So it's kind of an understandable assumption. Especially since the later cartoons also all included "He-Man" in the title - and one of them didn't use "Masters of the Universe" at all ("The New Adventures of He-Man").

Granted, the movie was just called "Masters of the Universe", but the movie was also terrible and was more of a stealth adaptation of Kirby's Fourth World than anything actually related to MOTU, so it barely counts for anything.

It's also worth noting that while the toyline (and franchise overall) was generally known as Masters of the Universe, they also never really used that tag for anything She-ra related, so MOTU was very much reserved for the He-Man side of the line.

So let's be honest, while you could technically argue that the Masters of the Universe franchise doesn't revolve around He-Man, it totally does. And if you tune in to a MOTU show expecting He-Man but it turns out it's mostly about Man-at-Arms or Orko, you're probably going to be annoyed. So there are implications there.

Did I *really* need to specify "franchise" rather than "series"? Because I thought it was clear what I meant from context.

Lokarin posted...

Doesn't episode 1 of every show suck?

No. In fact, in some cases (albeit rarely) every episode after 1 sucks.

JixHedgehog posted...

Bummer, it sounded good from what I was reading a few days ago

Mark Hamill and 2 GoT actors providing voices too

94% from 35 critic ratings
Vs
25% from 1047 user ratings

tbh, I had some pretty serious reservations from the get-go, and something about the trailers looked off.

Kevin Smith is shit, and he's basically just done done garbage for decades.

MrMelodramatic posted...

I knew it was going to be shit after it was announced it would be unrelated to She-Ra.

pleasantly amused I was right

jfc, if it was related to the new She-Ra it'd be the shits. The first season of She-Ra was aggressively mediocre and I had cooled so much by the end I didn't watch the remaining parts.

<cite>[CENSOR-BYPASS POSTED:]</cite>

This, people are upset their half hour toy commercial doesn't have enough buff semi naked man beating on buff skeleton man.

...if they were half-hour toy commercials, at least it'd be within the spirit of the show.

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CrackCloud posted...

who the fuck respected Kevin Smith for Chasing Amy?

All these people:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chasing_Amy#Accolades

Like it or not, and regardless of how you view it now through the lens of 20+ years of culture shifting, it was very much the movie that made people think of him more as a serious filmmaker and not just a niche asshole telling vulgar jokes.

...and then he made Jay and Silent Bob.

But really, he was fairly well-received in general until Seth Rogen turned him into a stoner while doing Zack and Miri. That and the combination of him venting off a lot of his creativity doing his podcast is kind of where his downward spiral began.
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animated clerks is the only good clerks
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Krazy_Kirby posted...

animated clerks is the only good clerks

Oh no, bear is driving, how can this be?
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

The days when people respected him as the director of Clerks and Chasing Amy are long gone. Now he's just the weirdo that did Tusk and Yoga Hosers and wrote a comic where Batman pissed himself.

Yeah, his career has been the shits for a long time and, honestly, a lot of his early movies sucked as well, just not as bad as Yoga Hosers.

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ParanoidObsessive posted...

To be fair, if it HAD been related to She-Ra, it probably would have turned out like this instead:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR7wOGyAzpw

Should have posted the 10+ hour version

Zeus posted...

if they were half-hour toy commercials, at least it'd be within the spirit of the show.

Are they not selling toys tied in to this? That's like 90% of the revenue, who would sign that deal?

ParanoidObsessive posted...

until Seth Rogen turned him into a stoner while doing Zack and Miri.

Fairly certain Kevin was smoking up long before then

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Censor Bypass posted...

Are they not selling toys tied in to this? That's like 90% of the revenue, who would sign that deal?

Merchandising is how it's often worked with conventional television, where the toy companies were the ones making the cartoons (hence the phrase creating "30-minute toy commercials", because that was literally the agenda) or the production costs were largely offset by merchandising (which may or not include toys). The new show was commissioned by NF as original content. It's very fucking different.

More importantly, the "30-minute toy commercial" stopped being a thing by the late 90s for a variety of reasons. That's why most cartoons (and a lot of entertainment) now have very little in the way of merchandise. (And even the Marvel movies fold their movie-themed stuff into the normal toylines most of the time, with the exception of IM2... which is probably why they adopted that approach afterward.)

Basically you're stupidly asking "Hurr durr, why dun it work like it did in the 80s?" when nothing is being approached like it was in the 80s. The show isn't on basic television so it doesn't have the same reach it did. The show isn't being marketed for kids, so it doesn't have the same audience (although it does have collectibles -- more on that in a minute). The show very likely doesn't bring in new characters each episode -- who somehow save the day or threaten the heroes in some weird way -- which was the way that shit worked at the time (such as the episode that specifically called for a robot horse that appeared in the beginning and end of the episode). The storytelling has -- for better or worse -- changed, which kinda kills that approach.

As for the toys now... the new show doesn't have much merch (iirc, like 5 figures -- all geared more towards adult collectors, with a $20-25 price tag... although it looks like wave 2 added 3 more), but there's a lot of MotUC retro-themed stuff out atm (the Origins line), which started coming out a few years ago, and direct-to-customer campaigns that never see toy shelves. MotUC's merch hasn't been driven by the cartoons since maybe the 90s, since even the 2000s series didn't do much.

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Fairly certain Kevin was smoking up long before then

no PO got it right

he never really messed with the stuff but Rogen really wanted to get stoned with him so he finally agreed when they wrapped filming, it really changed his entire personality from that point forward

Im a big fan of the guy but I would agree that after becoming a stoner his films really went down in quality, to me anyways

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Every conversation in the first Clerks feels like a stoner conversation but okay

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Metalsonic66 posted...

Every conversation in the first Clerks feels like a stoner conversation but okay

thats just how he was back then

hes released some tapes of himself from when he was a teenager on his podcasts when he was super emo and just would monologue about his views on women and philosophy for just hours to himself, its really fucking hilarious and was just a few years before he made Clerks

I think one of the reasons I like the guy is that he is basically a nobody, that just decided to do some shit because he felt like it, and he actually managed to carve a place for himself in the world in a way that I dont think a lot of people would have expected

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ParanoidObsessive posted...

Oh no, bear is driving, how can this be?

car full of midgets
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Fun fact: MOTU, live action, is going to start prepping to shoot here in ABQ before the end of the year. I'm supposed to have a call with Netflix sometime to possibly do it.

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CyborgSage00x0 posted...

Fun fact: MOTU, live action, is going to start prepping to shoot here in ABQ before the end of the year. I'm supposed to have a call with Netflix sometime to possibly do it.

whoa thats cool

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Are we still discussing this particular Netflix show anymore?

Anyway, it really felt out of place when Teela just snapped out of nowhere at the end of the first episode.

Oh, people didn't tell her who He-man really was?
Well, they did it because that was the most sensible thing to do because they wanted to protect people(like her).

She even got that lesbian haircut in the next episode and she just so angry now.

I watched the 2002 series as a kid and, yeah I still kinda liked this new show.

I liked that Skeletor sounded like the Joker.
Fun fact; in the Swedish dub of the 2002 series, Skeletor's voice actor was the same voice actor as the Joker from the Swedish dub of Batman the Animated series.
And you know who dubbed He-man in that same series? Fucking Batman from the same dub, so it was just like Batman vs Joker again.

Anyhoo, I also liked seeing the old classic characters again in this kinda post apocalyptic environment and how they adapted to it.

I wonder if we'll ever get more episodes though.
I didn't like that cliffhanger at the end of episode 5 and I want to know what happens next.
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KodyKeir posted...

Are they not selling toys tied in to this? That's like 90% of the revenue, who would sign that deal?

That's how things used to be, but that's become a somewhat dead marketing strategy over the last decade or so. Older kids today are much less likely to play with toys (in a world of video games and Internet videos), so a lot of the push for toy sales is for younger kids.

The demo that shows like MOTU (or Transformers, GI Joe, TMNT, etc) used to push for is much, much, much weaker than it used to be. Which is part of why Cartoon Network has had trouble, and why shows like Young Justice have gotten cancelled (an expectation of toy companies to underwrite costs, sales are dismal, toy company pulls out of the deal).

Shows like MOTU are half-marketed to adults/nerds at this point because nostalgia. The other half is hoping that kids will watch, but Netflix isn't overly concerned with ratings because they're just more interested in getting recognizable name content on the platform to spur subscriptions (part of why they tend to do series for 2-3 seasons and then cancel them regardless of whether or not they're good or bad).


(As a side note, this is part of the reason why dedicated toy stores are dying. Between collapsing sales and people switching to buying things online, the need for a Toys 'R' Us is lacking. People who still buy kids will settle for Wal-Mart or Amazon, and kids are generally disinterested as they get older).
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

Shows like MOTU are half-marketed to adults/nerds at this point because nostalgia.

Which should be the very demographic that has disposable income, (I mean, I would have that, but I rejected society to live in [what's left] of my beloved swamp) surely I'm the exception and not the norm?

LeetCheet posted...

I wonder if we'll ever get more episodes though.
I didn't like that cliffhanger at the end of episode 5 and I want to know what happens next.

That was just the first half of the season, second half will come out eventually.

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