Eternia has seen the end of tyranny and evil. Its community lives in peace, safe in the knowledge that its greatest threats are trapped behind the great barrier in the badlands near Snake Mountain. But little do they suspect of the danger to awaken, for Skeletor has broken through the barrier at last, and hopes to spread his bane once more, beginning with the capture of King Randor.

Their liberation is detected within Castle Grayskull by The Sorceress, who informs Man-At-Arms, captain of the guards within Randor’s kingdom and a trustworthy ally, that the time has come for destiny to be fulfilled.

He-Man must appear.

2002 saw the re-appearance of an 80’s fan favourite, the revival of the classic He-Man and the Masters of the Universe franchise. Consisting of two seasons and 39 episodes, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe returned the storyline back to its original roots, and expanded greatly on the characters from original Mattel toy line, bringing a lot more depth and character development to the classic characters that one was accustomed to from an animated television series.

Given the fairly large cast of characters available to the writers, the episodes cover a wide array of stories which get told, and pleasingly, the show carries all the right quantities of action, drama, fantasy and comedy that one requires from a decent animated show, making for a pretty enjoyable watch – even more so if you grew up with the toys yourself back in the 80’s!

Artwork is actually not bad at all, simple lines but well animated and choreographed, and the classic character designs, which although quite colourful, do happen to work quite well in this particular universe.

The musical score for the show is top notch, and for the most part, the voice actors employed to bring the characters to life all do a really good job. That said, it is a pity that Cam Clarke produces such an annoying pitch for his role as Prince Adam (basically the same voice that you got accustomed to coming out of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle – he was Leonardo in case you’re wondering), as does Brian Dobson who gives Skeletor a far too comical instead of menacing tone.

Overall, this is a solid action television cartoon which should entertain and please most boy viewers, and if you are a child of the 80’s, bonus, because then the nostalgia alone is enough to instantly make you fall in love with this show.

Certainly an enjoyable and action-packed watch to pass the time then.

Related Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He-Man_and_the_Masters_of_the_Universe_(2002_TV_series)