NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

Council of Clones

Council of Clones title card
E27

Official Synopsis

He-Man runs toward a glowing computer on a table as Caz and elders follow behind.

After days of Mutant attacks on one sector, the inner council is exhausted and the shield is weak. Skeletor sends a shuttle pod carrying his supercomputer, which he says holds the answer to his problems, and the Primans capture it. He-Man distrusts it, but Master Sebrian decides the risk is necessary. The scientists find a clone program and use it to duplicate the council members. The clones strengthen the shield and then bring it down, and the armada approaches. Scientists project holograms to make two ships look like twenty, the council tries to break the clone shield, and He-Man destroys the computer, which ends the clones. The closing lesson is to call 911 in a real emergency.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

Caz asks what to do in an emergency, and the answer is to call 911, give your name and address, and stay on the line, because you may be asked questions that get you the right help faster. If you are ever in doubt, call.

heman.org Episode Review

Tired people accept offers they would refuse after a night's sleep, and "Council of Clones" builds its trap on that human weakness. The Mutant armada has been battering one sector for days, the inner council has been concentrating its mental energy there until its members are extremely tired, and Master Sebrian says that if the shield cannot return to full strength, Primus will fall. Skeletor announces that he is about to give the Primans a present: a supercomputer they will think holds the answer to their problems, when it holds the answer to his own.

The best scene is the argument over whether to take it. The Primans capture a Mutant shuttle pod carrying the computer, and He-Man tells Sebrian that anything from Skeletor can bring nothing but evil. Sebrian thanks him for the concern and says they must have it, and Mara asks the question the audience is asking: what if He-Man is right? The reply is that the situation is desperate and that every precaution will be taken. In plain words, this is a story about a good leader overruling a good warning, and the script is fair to both sides, since the desperation is real and the warning rests on who sent the gift.

The scientists supply the comedy. Finding a clone program in the machine, Meldoc proposes cloning an army, another voice proposes cloning the council members instead, and Meldoc declares that this was his second plan. Sebrian says he has examined the machine thoroughly and that it is perfectly safe, which tells experienced viewers what comes next; Skeletor, watching, says it is time to send in the clones. The shield grows stronger than it was before, someone calls it a banner day, and then the real council goes to rest and leaves the clones in the chamber, at which point the shield goes down and the armada approaches.

The rescue is where the writing gets busy, and the invention is welcome. The scientists have hologram projectors that make two ships look like twenty, and Skeletor, seeing only two Primus ships, announces that he will get his beauty sleep until it is over. Woken by news that the two have turned into twenty, he goes to look for himself and sees through the trick. A villain who misses the start of the battle because he is napping is a good gag, and it gives the holograms a payoff that does not depend on a fight.

Meanwhile Sebrian gathers the council to concentrate their combined mental powers on the clone shield, and someone warns him that the effort is draining his energy, to which he answers that it is better he be destroyed than Primus. Inside the council chambers, He-Man tells the clones to stop their attack, and a voice tells Sebrian that he can still fight and should use his staff. Skeletor remarks that with the computer gone the clones will follow, and soon afterward the shield is raised again.

The weakness is crowding. Holograms, a council effort, a chamber break-in and the destruction of the computer come in rapid sequence, and the dialogue does not explain how the clones, who strengthened the shield one minute, bring it down the next. A 22-minute slot allows little room to play that out, so the ending leans on a quick reversal.

The ending is a graceful one all the same. Sebrian says he must reflect on his error, that in his heart he knew it was wrong, and that next time he will listen to his heart instead of his head, and someone remarks that Caz had been doing just that, though he was not listening to Adam. Verdict: a sturdy, well-argued entry, memorable because a desperate council talks itself into the trap and has to be rescued from its own good intentions.

Notes of Interest

  1. Homage: According to the He-Man wiki, the Clone Chamber is modelled after the transporter device from the 1986 film The Fly.
  2. Continuity: The He-Man wiki says Prince Adam does not appear in this episode and is only briefly mentioned by Mara at the end.
  3. Continuity: Per the He-Man wiki, this is one of the few times in the series that the Sorceress speaks to Master Sebrian.
  4. Edit history: The He-Man wiki says the shot of Skeletor pointing at the viewscreen is reused from The Mind Lens, and that the same animation studio worked on both episodes.
  5. Voice cast: Venus Terzo voices both Mara and the Sorceress here, and Doug Parker doubles as Adam and Meldoc, according to the He-Man wiki cast list.
  6. Voice cast: Don Brown voices Gepple and Werban in this episode, per the He-Man wiki cast list.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
Skeletor
Evil

Skeletor
Flogg
Evil

Flogg
The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull
Good

The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull

Episode screenshots

A machine covered in tubes and glowing pink lights fills the frame.
A machine covered in tubes and glowing pink lights fills the frame.
Flogg glares sideways from his grey helmet and red armor.
Flogg glares sideways from his grey helmet and red armor.
Skeletor carries a boxy computer unit through a dim room, his image faintly doubled.
Skeletor carries a boxy computer unit through a dim room, his image faintly doubled.
Slush Head holds a small orb as Flogg raises a hand beside him.
Slush Head holds a small orb as Flogg raises a hand beside him.
A grey helmet and armored shoulder fill the frame, a purple chin showing below.
A grey helmet and armored shoulder fill the frame, a purple chin showing below.
A blue and white ship fires pale beams while flying through space.
A blue and white ship fires pale beams while flying through space.
A purple and gold mutant craft glows with white engine light in space.
A purple and gold mutant craft glows with white engine light in space.
A white spacecraft with blue engines flies through a dark starfield.
A white spacecraft with blue engines flies through a dark starfield.
A brown and purple craft spins in space with a cloud of white smoke.
A beam streaks through space with bright white bursts around a small orange craft.
He-Man sits in a cockpit with his fist clenched, looking ahead.
He-Man sits in a cockpit with his fist clenched, looking ahead.
Two purple missiles sit under the wing of a white craft.
A grey spiky craft glows with white lights as it drifts in space.
He-Man holds a boxy device in a doorway while a long-haired woman stands in front.
He-Man holds a boxy device in a doorway while a long-haired woman stands in front.
He-Man shields his eyes with one hand, holding the boxy computer and frowning.
He-Man stands in a doorway holding the boxy computer against his hip.
An elderly man with long grey hair listens with a calm look in a high-backed chair.
A figure in a green hooded robe leans over a control panel, seen from behind.
Three elders smile at a lab console, the smallest wearing glasses.
Elders stand at a table around the boxy computer as a long-haired elder watches from the foreground.
Elders gather at the far end of a blue room while a long-haired elder watches from the right.
He-Man and Master Sebrian stand side by side, Sebrian holding a forked wooden staff.
A bald elder, seen from behind, studies a control panel with round buttons.
Skeletor leans on the back of Flogg's chair, grinning, while Flogg sits in his armored seat.
Skeletor leans on the back of Flogg's chair, grinning, while Flogg sits in his armored seat.
Flogg smiles with his eyes closed and one red hand raised.
Skeletor laughs with his mouth wide open.
A cratered orange skull-shaped planet floats in space.
The red-hatted elder stands wrapped in a sheet of perforated paper, gesturing with one hand.
A tall pod with a curved glass window sits in dim light, pale streaks across the glass.
Four elders cover their mouths as they laugh.
A tall woman in a long purple skirt stands beside a pod with a pink glowing edge.
Three robed figures stand shoulder to shoulder with their backs to the camera.
Robed elders walk in a line along a metal wall in a faded dissolve.
A tall purple crystal stands in a dark chamber.
Master Sebrian holds his staff in a crystal chamber, two people in the foreground seen from behind.
Four council members stand together, the woman in the middle clasping her hands.
A tall crystal glows with golden light.
Two tall crystals stand in a blue hall.
He-Man and Master Sebrian look down at a glowing globe of the planet between them.
He-Man speaks earnestly to an elder with long grey hair, seen from behind.
A brown-haired woman in white and Master Sebrian stand beside He-Man in a purple hall.
A domed tiered building sits on a flat grassy cliff with purple crystals in the foreground.
A man in a red vest and blue visor speaks with clenched fists.
Master Sebrian and the brown-haired woman look ahead gravely.
Four council members stand together in a pink-lit hall, a bearded man at the right.
He-Man walks across a bright floor, seen from above, as council members stand at the top.
Violet lightning forks across a cracked glassy panel against a magenta glow.
A saucer-topped building stands on a snowy plain under a blue sky.
A man in a red vest and visor sits in a white fighter in a hangar.
A boxy white screen glows with blinding white light.
Small orange mutant craft fly in formation toward a blue planet.
Skeletor stands beside a cot as a mutant in red and grey armor sits at the edge.
Skeletor lies on a cot with his hands behind his head.
Master Sebrian sits in a high-backed chair, looking up as a hand rests on its back.
Master Sebrian looks calmly ahead with his hands together near his chin.
A small bespectacled elder bends over a bald elder, resting both hands on his head.
An elder in purple holds a book under one arm as he turns away.
A bespectacled elder with a long nose looks worried in front of a diagram board.
Master Sebrian holds his staff beside the brown-haired woman as a cloaked figure stands in front.
Four council members stand with arms crossed over their chests amid streaming purple light.
Two purple boxy craft race through black space, trailing white speed streaks.
Slush Head clutches his chest in alarm in the pilot's chair.
Slush Head clutches his chest in alarm in the pilot's chair.
Flogg stares wide-eyed with his mouth open inside his helmet.
A squadron of white fighter craft flies in formation through space.
Slush Head grips his collar nervously in his pilot's chair.
Flogg glances sideways, baring his fangs.
White fighters fly through space as a purple beam streaks past them.
Skeletor snarls with his teeth bared from his throne.
Caz stands in a purple-treed meadow holding a staff among three white shaggy animals.
A boxy purple and pink computer with red lights and side handles sits on a white background.
The red-hatted elder gestures with one hand beside two bespectacled elders.
He-Man glares sideways with one shoulder turned toward the camera.
Master Sebrian holds a handheld screen that shows He-Man's face.
The brown-haired woman and Master Sebrian look aside as violet beams cross the frame.
He-Man's two clenched fists overlap in a faded double image.
He-Man grimaces as purple energy crackles at his chest.
Master Sebrian's face shows faintly through a magenta glow, his eyes closed.
He-Man looks down in profile with a tense expression.
Elders crowd together as the small bespectacled one grimaces with his fists raised.
Master Sebrian, seen from behind, faces a row of council members in white robes in a crystal hall.
Council members spread across a bright floor beside a large magenta crystal, seen from above.
Master Sebrian stands with his staff as purple light streaks across him.
Master Sebrian thrusts one arm out with his staff raised.
Skeletor snarls in a metal corridor with one fist clenched beside a dark heap on the floor.
He-Man leans against the edge of a wall, holding something raised in one hand.
Skeletor grins with his teeth bared and red eyes wide.
Slush Head peers from behind his huge raised shoulder, scowling.
Elders huddle together fearfully beside Slush Head's legs at the left.
Caz swings a long pole across the room in a fighting stance.
Slush Head glares with a clenched fist as a white arc sweeps across the frame.
Master Sebrian holds his forked staff close with his eyes closed.
A hand grips a forked wooden staff against a blue background.
A hand holds a staff up as a ball of white and purple light bursts above it.
Master Sebrian raises his staff with his eyes closed as white beams radiate behind him.
He-Man raises the Power Sword high as white beams burst behind him.
Skeletor grins as his skull chest plate fills the frame.
Slush Head recoils in alarm amid a purple haze.
He-Man points toward the camera with a stern expression.
Skeletor strides along a metal wall with Slush Head tucked under his arm.
Master Sebrian smiles, holding his staff with a hand near his necklace.
Master Sebrian points off to the side, holding his staff.
A dark planet's curve fills the frame with a streak of pink light in the corner.
A dark saucer-shaped building sits half buried in the desert.
Master Sebrian rests in bed as Caz and the brown-haired woman stand beside him.
Master Sebrian sits up in bed, gesturing aside with a smile.
He-Man smiles and looks to the side with a bedpost behind him.
Master Sebrian listens as a small elder's tall orange hat rises in the foreground.

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