10 out of 10! Yes!

This is the episode that I direct all my friends to if they are curious about He-Man. You get everything. You get a great long look at Snake Mountain, Castle Grayskull and Eternos. You learn about the villians special abilities. You learn the Sorceress is powerless when she is away from Castle Grayskull. You learn Randor is disappointed with his son. It's He-Man school for noobs!

What is the story with Skeletor's battle axe with the crystal ball at the end if it? It's such a wicked weapon it's a shame they did away with it.

@he-mayon Short video from cerealgeekTV: Skeletor’s BATTLE AXE?!

@johnnyotool Thanks for that. I still think it was a shame that the battle axe was done away with. It would have been nice to see Skeletor carry it from time to time.

Another instant classic. I like that Beast Man isn't used for comedy in this episode like Filmation did in later episodes. I wouldn't have noticed the artistic flair if I hadn't read this mini review first so I'm glad I did. I paid close attention and there are a bunch of beautiful scenes in this episode. It's a 10 for me.

The watch a thon is messing with me because obviously the old DVD set and Plaion blu-ray has them in air date order so this one for me has always been the first episode and pilot for me. I remember it was one of the first episodes on VHS i had as a kid so I remember it more than the other episodes.

So when I got the blu-ray set I began trying to slowly introduce my youngest son to the show a month ago so naturally this was the first episode and it was a fun trip going down memory lane because I've honestly not watched the Filmation series in full episodes in decades and seeing them now as an adult i can appreciate the animation more as well as the other details such as the lore and everything! What a beginning though! 

The title card showing the map of Eternia seemingly showing Snake Mountain's location was a surprise! Loved the introduction to Snake Mountain as you get that wonderful shot of the exterior twinkling away and then a detail pan of the interior. A classic introduction to Skeletor who right away makes his motives clear and via Beast Man summons the other Evil Warriors with a detailed prop too that I thought was unique! Like others have said it establishes these other villains and their powers quite well and immediately.

The interaction and Battle at Eternos is quite good too. I love the interaction with Orko and Duncan and it establishes the royal family and supporting characters well enough too. 

When it moves to Castle Grayskull though I love the various angles and shots of the castle. When I first saw the castle in the animation all those years ago it left such a lasting impression that I had to have the toy and even today I think it's the coolest hero base/fortress a main character has really had. So seeing the episode there and all these little bits of lore like He-Man summoning the draw bridge down and going inside to communicate with the Sorceress was all really cool to see now.

The rest of the episode plays out great with more Heroic Warriors joining the fight and He-Man using his might to destroy the ray. If I had any negatives it would be the animation feels a little rough at times like repeated animations with He-Man saddled on Battle Cat or when destroying the ray, and then some choppy music edits that are jarring like the first transformation to He-Man but otherwise everything was great! 

Overall a 9 out of 10. It's a strong start and great pilot that does a good job of introducing everyone to the world and characters of Masters of the Universe!

Side note: Amazon Prime Video in the US has also put the series up for streaming if you're looking for a alternative to watching along!

I was surprised how good this episode was. I really liked it.

After watching the first three production order episodes, I just thought they were alright, but seeing as this was the first episode aired on TV back in '83 this, THIS IS A FIRST IMPRESSION!

I didn't grow up with this show and looking at it from a critical point of view as a young adult, it has to be one of the best first episodes of a cartoon I've seen in terms of how it sets up the tone, characters and world to the audience. 

compared to the last three, there's more character variety even if they don't do much, that's a good thing. First time all of Skel's main warriors are together. Also Rammy and Stratos are there.

I fully understand why the show became an immediately resonated with kids when they first saw it back in '83. Hell if I saw this as a kid, yeah I would see it as weird and campy but also get into it with all the weird characters and unique locations.

Duncan randomly has a lightsaber.

Skeletor randomly has an axe which I know CerealGeekTv did a video explaining the production reason behind it. Need to watch it again.

I mean I'm sorry if I may rag of Filmation's cheap animation a good amount of times throughout this watch-a-thon, but I just love and also think it's sometimes funny whenever one of the human characters has an expression other than neutral or shocked . The way He-Man smiles a few times while fighting in this episode looks funny. 

Overall while we have a long way to go in this Watch-a-thon, I'm definitely marking this as one of my favorites for now. The perfect introduction to the most powerful man in the universe.

What a great introductory episode (depending on the order you watch in). It really showcases the main heroes and villains and puts Skeletor's villainy and He-Man's strength and heroism on display. It's my 3yo daughter's favorite episode also, and she often tells me she wants to watch "the crystal one that makes people disappear!" Very memorable.

5 stars. Great intro to the villans, great fight scenes. Bit of everything really. Fun watching the roughness due to it being a very early episode, even some of the voices are slightly off.