NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

Escape from Gaolotia

Escape from Gaolotia title card
E17

Official Synopsis

Skeletor and Flogg stand behind a blonde girl and a boy in a cap.

During a test flight, a Shadow Shield hides a Primus ship from a Mutant fighter, and soon after, Hydron reports that the prison ship Gaolotia has entered the space corridor. Caz and Drissi hear a voice that sounds like their mother and borrow a ship to follow it, straight into Skeletor's hands. Adam hails the children's ship and Skeletor answers, telling him that to see them again he must rescue them from the prison ship, and He-Man goes. The Primus scientists find that Zennan's Comet is being pulled toward the Gaolotia by a magnetic field, and the Sorceress confirms that Skeletor is behind it. Aboard, a creature is used to pull a wall panel, and He-Man finds the generator on the hull.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

The closing tip is about dental care: brushing your teeth before bed helps prevent cavities.

heman.org Episode Review

Who is the bait in a trap, and who is the fish? "Escape from Gaolotia" has the answer ready, because Skeletor says it himself: the children are perfect bait for a big softie who would do anything to rescue them. Put in plain words, the episode is about bait, with the mother's voice as bait for Caz and Drissi, the children as bait for He-Man, and a comet as the hammer that comes down on whoever bites. It is a neat chain, and the script keeps each link visible.

The first links are quiet ones. A pilot tests a Shadow Shield against a Mutant fighter and it works, with a voice remarking that Master Sebrian will be pleased, and then Hydron reports that the prison ship Gaolotia has entered the space corridor of Primus. Soon afterwards Caz and Drissi hear a voice that sounds like their mother, one of them insists that they must find her, and they take a ship with the explanation that they are not stealing it, only borrowing it. The He-Man wiki hears an echo here of the 1987 Masters of the Universe film, where Evil-Lyn does the same to Julie; Crita, voiced by Venus Terzo, plays the same trick on the pair. Watching children walk toward a voice we know to be false is the uncomfortable part, and it works because their reason is so understandable.

The second link is He-Man. Adam calls the children's ship, Skeletor answers, and he names the price of seeing them again: rescue them from the prison ship. A voice replies that it is typical of Skeletor to endanger innocent people, and He-Man answers with a decision that sounds like a promise. The cleverness of the plan is that it needs nothing from the heroes except what they would do anyway.

What lifts the middle is a puzzle. Scientists who track comets arrive with news of a collision between Zennan's Comet and the Gaolotia, and the odd detail is that a magnetic field around the prison ship seems to be drawing the comet in. The Sorceress then appears with the missing piece: Skeletor is the one pulling the comet, and the way of the magic will point the direction. The audience has the clues about as soon as the hero does, even if the Sorceress's visit is short.

Skeletor's own conduct is the most interesting thing about the half hour. The He-Man wiki calls this a surprisingly ruthless Skeletor, who plans to leave Flogg and the Mutants to die, Crita included, and would save only Grr. His farewell is a piece of cheerful cruelty: he says he feels awful about leaving Flogg and the Mutants, but they did have bad attitudes, and he takes his leave with a line about not staying for the fireworks. The wiki adds that this is the last time in the series Skeletor appears to want to overthrow Flogg.

The weakness is the escape itself. A creature called a flizzard is introduced, coaxed to a wall panel and told to pull; He-Man locates the magnetic generator on the hull; the comet moves away; and a voice declares Primus safe, all within a few quick exchanges. The likely cause is the slot, since the trap took time to build and the unbuilding had to fit what was left. Skeletor, for his part, is left asking how his foolproof plan could fail, which is a satisfying note to land on.

Verdict: a compact, cold-blooded trap story that makes good use of its bait theme and gives Skeletor one of his meaner turns in the run. The closing tip, about brushing teeth to prevent cavities, is a gentler end than the story has earned.

Notes of Interest

  1. Homage: The He-Man wiki says Crita fooling Caz and Drissi by posing as their mother echoes Evil-Lyn doing the same to Julie in the 1987 Masters of the Universe film.
  2. Behind the scenes: According to the He-Man wiki, the series never explained why Caz and Drissi's parents are absent, though head writer Jack Olesker later wrote in a He-Man.org forum post that they had been the original rulers of Primus.
  3. Behind the scenes: The He-Man wiki says the original outline named the prison Warden Gomer, though the episode never names him.
  4. Continuity: The He-Man wiki calls this a surprisingly ruthless Skeletor, who plans to leave Flogg and the Mutants to die, including Crita, and would save only Grr.
  5. Continuity: The He-Man wiki says this is the last time in the series Skeletor appears to want to overthrow Flogg, something it says was last hinted at in The Ultimate Challenge.
  6. Continuity: Tuskador appears only in the closing safety segment, brushing his armor's tusks, and the He-Man wiki lists him as a non speaking role.
  7. Voice cast: Venus Terzo voices Crita, Mara and the Sorceress, and Tracy Eisner voices Drissi, per the He-Man wiki cast list.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
Skeletor
Evil

Skeletor
Flogg
Evil

Flogg
Prince Adam
Good

Prince Adam
The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull
Good

The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull

Episode screenshots

An old wrinkled man with a white headband glares sideways from behind bars.
An old wrinkled man with a white headband glares sideways from behind bars.
Skeletor and a mustached officer face each other near a ship hatch as armored figures stand by.
Skeletor and a mustached officer face each other near a ship hatch as armored figures stand by.
The mustached officer faces Skeletor as armored figures stand around them on the ship deck.
The mustached officer faces Skeletor as armored figures stand around them on the ship deck.
The officer and Skeletor talk beside a hunched orange creature.
The officer stands in an open hatch beside a harnessed armored creature and a faded grey figure.
The officer stands in an open hatch beside a harnessed armored creature and a faded grey figure.
The mustached officer winks with a tight, sly expression.
The mustached officer winks with a tight, sly expression.
Skeletor grins widely beside the officer in the blue uniform and cap.
A pilot in a white helmet grips the control stick inside a dark cockpit.
A red-haired man with headphones frowns at a console.
A blonde woman with a glowing lantern walks beside a boy in a yellow tunic and cap.
A boy in a yellow tunic and cap runs through a dark forest.
The boy in the cap looks back over his shoulder and smiles while holding a small white creature.
A blonde woman with a bead necklace looks down with a sad expression.
The blonde woman speaks with wide purple eyes.
A blue planet curves across the lower part of a starry sky.
A blonde girl and the boy in the cap sit at a spaceship control panel, seen from behind.
A round antenna tower with a blue ring stands above a dark ship against the stars.
A red-haired woman in a red dress holds a white cloth to her chest with a frightened look.
Skeletor stands in a ship corridor next to the red-haired woman, who looks on.
Skeletor stands with his back to us beside the red-haired woman.
A girl's hands rest on a blue ship control panel shown inside a faint glowing outline.
A blonde girl with wide blue eyes looks forward as a pale band of light crosses her face.
Skeletor presses a button on a control panel and grins.
Skeletor covers his mouth with a hand and smirks as the red-haired woman leans in beside him.
Flogg scowls with a bright orange flash crossing his armor.
Flogg scowls with a bright orange flash crossing his armor.
Skeletor laughs next to Flogg, who stares off to one side.
Skeletor grins beside Flogg's red armored shoulder.
Flogg bares his teeth and glares up with a moon behind him.
Flogg bares his teeth and glares up with a moon behind him.
A blond man with a headband and white collar looks forward with a firm frown.
A blond man with a headband and white collar looks forward with a firm frown.
A man in a white helmet sits in a dark cockpit.
Skeletor grins from a screen with a dark frame.
Skeletor raises one finger as he speaks from the screen.
Three pale suns glow in a cloudy sky over green hills.
Adam holds his sword up beside his head in a purple arched room.
Adam holds his sword up beside his head in a purple arched room.
Adam raises his sword overhead as blue streaks of light flash behind him.
He-Man stands with his back to us beside a grey-haired elder with a staff.
He-Man stands with his back to us beside a grey-haired elder with a staff.
The grey-haired elder with a blue hood looks ahead with a stern face.
The grey-haired elder holds a twisted brown staff and looks off to the side.
The hem of a blue cloak spreads across a pink tiled floor.
The bespectacled scientist is seen from behind as someone in red clothes tugs at his collar.
A bald elder in a green cloak talks with a worried look.
A pointed-cap elder glances sideways at the bald elder in the green cloak.
The bespectacled scientist raises one finger and speaks.
The grey-haired elder smiles faintly with a cloudy planet behind him.
The bespectacled scientist is seen from behind, rolling his eyes up under a pink and purple hat.
The grey-haired elder looks out a window at a field of stars.
He-Man looks off to one side with a set jaw.
He-Man looks off to one side with a set jaw.
The Sorceress spreads her winged arms inside a circle beside a speech bubble.
The Sorceress spreads her winged arms inside a circle beside a speech bubble.
A dark-haired woman and the grey-haired elder look out a window at a comet and a space station.
A dark-haired woman looks forward with a sad, tense face.
Skeletor and other figures walk away down a dark corridor toward a creature hanging in the distance.
Skeletor holds his staff and rubs his hands over his chest armor in a dark room.
Skeletor fades from view in a ghostlike overlay, his arm raised.
Skeletor looms in a dark doorway while the red-haired woman stands small behind him.
The red-haired woman gestures toward a red comet outside a window as armored figures stand beside her.
The red-haired woman clenches both fists with an angry look.
A tiled floor in a dark room with shadows crossing it.
Skeletor looks forward, his hands low in front of him.
He-Man looks ahead with a hard expression in a dark room.
A round tower with a blue ring stands above a dark ship against the stars.
He-Man stands with fists clenched in a dark hall.
Skeletor laughs with one arm raised and open.
He-Man grapples a spotted pink creature in a white and black striped suit.
The boy in the cap and the blonde girl turn toward each other inside a cage.
A purple creature climbs upside down along a dark ceiling.
A blonde girl pushes her hair from her face next to the boy in the cap.
He-Man swings a punch at a guard in a white and black suit while other guards close in.
The blonde girl holds a hand to her mouth beside the boy in the cap, who smiles slightly.
Skeletor looms behind a console with a small red creature at the left.
Skeletor grins and holds a red spiked creature against his chest armor.
He-Man looks forward in a spotlight with a red moon behind him.
Flogg raises one arm toward a red moon from inside a ship hall.
A purple insect-faced guard in a black and white suit clenches his fist and shouts.
He-Man grins beside the blonde girl and the boy, who face away.
He-Man frowns with eyes narrowed, a blue device near his chin.
A yellow machine with four dark round openings sits on wheels.
Skeletor, the red-haired woman and Flogg look on from behind a yellow console.
Flogg grimaces with a flame at his mouth while Skeletor watches from behind.
Skeletor looks over his shoulder from a red seat with a hard stare.
Two guards in striped suits are seen in silhouette running down a purple corridor.
A long ship hull stretches across the stars.
He-Man grips something and looks off to one side, with scattered specks around him.
He-Man grimaces and looks aside, his face lit from the right.
A red comet glows at the end of a long corridor with beams of light.
He-Man's face glows red as he looks ahead with a calm stare.
Skeletor and the red-haired woman look out through a window frame as she points at a panel.
Skeletor grins widely beside the red-haired woman, who looks shocked.
A small tube-shaped device is fixed to a yellow metal surface.
A dark-haired woman stands with the grey-haired elder, who holds a twisted staff.

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