Written by TAKE the CHALLENGE!
By next April, some “Masters of the Universe” fans will be able to proudly proclaim they watched all 130 Episodes of the 1983 Filmation Cartoon Series “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe“, one episode a day, for 130 days straight. Will you be one of them?
Today’s Episode is:
The Dragon Invasion
| PRODUCTION NUMBER | EPISODE TITLE | DIRECTOR | WRITERS | PREMIERE DATE | RE-WATCH-A-THON DATE |
|---|
| MU9 | “The Dragon Invasion” | Gwen Wetzler | Michael Reaves | September 8, 1983 | Dec 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synopsis: Skeletor and Beast Man steal baby dragon eggs and use a growth serum on them in order to have them attack He-Man and the others. While He-Man is distracted, Skeletor attacks Grayskull and captures Sorceress inside the Dragon Pearl. | |||||
CLICK HERE to Watch on YOUTUBE (or watch it embedded below):
OUR THOUGHTS:
An action packed thriller of an episode where Skeletor has the Dragon Pearl and even learning how he obtained it is terrific. The villains excitingly take Castle Grayskull, the heroes invade Snake Mountain, but the true winner is the amazing visuals: A fantastic feast for the eyes throughout! (10/10)
Comment, Review and Discuss below:
Tomorrow’s Episode is: “A Friend in Need”
I completely forgot how amazing this episode is. This might be my new favorite!
You guys are way too fast for me, but I’m also sort of re-watching since they have it on Prime again. I’m seeing it in the broadcast order though, I think?
This was a great episode. Somehow, especially these early episodes, they are not as “childish” as I remember them. The Diamond Ray of Disappearance was a spectacular show that really introduced this world very well! It was dramatic and dark and way less campy.
I love when Beast Man is more rebellious in the beginning, grumbling to himself how he’s going to pay back Skeletor for bossing him around.
Much more fun than when the evil warriors are just plain stupid, for laughs…
So it’s later in the show where it gets the way more campy tone it is iconic and infamous for?
Yeah watching these episodes in production order I can definitely tell they were making these earlier ones with more substance with it’s plot and characters (except Time Corridor that’s the only one so far in this watch-a-thon I would say is outright bad), but considering the amount of episodes this show has, I’m betting Mattel wanted them basically on an assembly line as the brand was getting bigger and some later episodes feel more rushed out. Am I getting this right?
@slycooperastroboy51 I’m actually not sure if it’s true that the episodes got more campy and rushed, this was my theory when I saw how surprisingly good some of these early shows were…
Not an expert in Filmation, was always more into the various European vintage comics, the classic mini comics etc There’s so much stuff…
I know that 130 eps is a lot and I seem to remember someone was saying it got harder to come up with new ideas. I do remember one episode in which He-Man stayed in his He-Man persona throughout the whole episode, that was a great one too. (Was that Dragon Invasion? Nah, something else, possibly also dragons. Something with Avion? I know Teela defeated some trolls or dwarves in it, too.
(Edit: It was “Reign of the Monster”, Ep 35, that I meant, according to google.)
I absolutely love this episode. This is one of the best, if not the best episode in regards to scale: The number of Heroic Warriors and Evil Warriors, the number of dragons, and the fact that the Evil Warriors actually took Grayskull. Plus the rare appearances of Panthor and Jitsu.
The He-Man/Skeletor fight is also top 5 of the series. Such a cool backdrop around the falls of Snake Mountain and Skeletor utilizing the Dragon Pearl. I also love whenever He-Man saves a villain, it goes to show just how worthy he is of his power. And who doesn’t love his burn of Skeletor: “I guess I value life more than you do Skeletor, even yours!”
Looking at all images above I am reminded how great this episode looked. I could be wrong but none of it looks like stock animation.
Battle Ram! Battle Ram! I love watching Man-At-Arms driving it and firing the Battle Ram. That whole sequence is amazing where all the good guys are traveling together. I would love to have a print of that. Seeing Jitsu was great but I wonder if he’s considered racist today. I’m not Asian so I can’t say. Everyone had a moment in this story and I loved it. 10 OUT OF 10!
Going on my list of some of my favorites.
Said this before, but I love episodes with a good cast or mix of characters present.
First time Skeletor goes into Grayskull. He doesn’t do much in there before He-Man and squad show up
I like Beast Man’s little scene with him bragging that he should have more power. idk but I like it when any Skeletor crony not named Evil-Lyn seemingly gets a little more character depth.
Orko in this episode is cute nothing else to say
One thing’s for certain, we are NEVER getting a Cartoon Collection Jitsu/Chopper for obvious reasons 😆
I wouldn’t say this episode has the strongest plot, like I said Skel doesn’t do much in Grayskull, it but it makes up for it with everything else except the racism.
5 stars. Exciting episode whoch moves at a great pace. Loved the big cast and epic storyline. One of the best.