NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

Glastnost Schmaznost

Glastnost Schmaznost title card
E08

Official Synopsis

Flogg, Slush Head in his tuxedo and Skeletor sit at their council desk among delegates.

A message from the Galactic Council summons Primus and the Mutants to a session to end the violence. Skeletor plans to use it as cover for an attack on the shield, and the Mutants appoint Slush Head their Minister of Peace. At the session the Council votes to exchange delegations headed by Skeletor and He-Man. Skeletor lands on Primus and objects when his ship is searched, while the heroes' ship is left without radio or navigation. Slush Head recites a pledge of allegiance to a slimy place, Skeletor says his ore is almost at full power, and the heroes struggle to get word to Primus. Flipshot is told to buckle up at the close.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

The closing lesson is about seat belts: Flipshot is told to put his on, and the story ends with the reminder that a seat belt can save a life, so always buckle up.

heman.org Episode Review

Who wins a peace conference when only one side comes to cheat? The Galactic Council calls both Primus and the Mutants of Denebria to a session to end the violence, Skeletor tells Flogg he is sure he sees the great opportunity in it, and the script lets him use the machinery of peace as a disguise for a plan to destroy the shield.

The plan itself is laid out for us in scenes of real comic confidence. Skeletor tells Flogg that they will plead for peace, ask the Council to protect them from that ruffian He-Man, and invite him to bring a delegation, so that while he is away on Denebria the Mutants will be on Primus busy with the shield. The delegate they choose is Slush Head, introduced as the new Minister of Peace, and the line that he comes with peace on his lips and a sword on his back tells us what kind of story we are in: a farce with a real threat in it.

The spine of the half hour, in plain words, is that a show of goodwill can be a weapon when the other side wants to believe in it. Slush Head's address to the Council is a stumbling one, full of hesitations and ending in a shouted demand for peace, and yet the Council goes along with it; one of the listeners allows that maybe the mutants really do want peace, since anything is possible. The script knows how thin the act is, since someone on the heroes' side asks how anyone can fall for it, and the next thing we hear is that they are falling for it. Skeletor has announced that BH will make an attempt on Mara's life and that he will come to her rescue, and afterwards Mara says he saved her; the Council then votes to exchange delegations headed by Skeletor and He-Man.

Craft is where the episode does its best work, and the strongest piece is the second act on Primus. Skeletor arrives as a guest, tells the guards that he wants everyone to be friends, and complains when they insist on inspecting his ship, asking whether this is how they welcome a new friend. The performance is delicious, because Skeletor sounds like a sincere visitor, and the guards find it hard to object. Slush Head gets his own gag when he recites a pledge of allegiance to a slimy place with a slimy pledge, and he then trips over what he really means, saying it is another planet that Skeletor is about to blow up.

The danger arrives on the other side of the story. Back on the heroes' ship, the radio and the navigation system are gone, so nobody can warn Primus or find a way through the shield, and Skeletor says his ore is almost at full power. The pressure comes from separating the two groups: those who know the truth cannot send word, and those who could act on it do not have it.

The weakness is in the middle of the Council scenes, where the script has to keep Sebrian and Mara half persuaded while the viewer is fully informed, and the result is a stretch of waiting for the characters to catch up. With no second, subtler deception to play with, the villain explains himself and the heroes have to be slower. Hydron's report that a Skeletor trooper fired the shot arrives only after the vote.

Verdict: a lively farce with a sharp idea at the centre and a good showcase for Skeletor as a talker. Its comedy is stronger than its suspense.

Notes of Interest

  1. Homage: The He-Man wiki notes that the title plays on glasnost, a Cold War term for the greater openness in Soviet institutions promoted by the Gorbachev administration.
  2. Continuity: Per the He-Man wiki, this is the only episode that features the Galactic Council and its unnamed leader, even though the Council is referenced often across the series.
  3. Continuity: The He-Man wiki says this episode brings the first appearances of Butthead (BH) and Staghorn, with Staghorn only in a brief silent cameo on the Mothership bridge.
  4. Continuity: According to the He-Man wiki, this episode gives Lizorr his largest role in the series, including a scene using his extendable tongue, which Wikipedia's character list also mentions.
  5. Continuity: The He-Man wiki says Lizorr was the only toyline based character in the cartoon never to get a line of dialogue, and names this episode as one of his most notable roles.
  6. Continuity: Per the He-Man wiki, this is the only time Vizar takes off his helmet, and the only time Hydron uses his trident gun to fire water.
  7. Continuity: The He-Man wiki says Slush Head tries to perform the full oath of allegiance again in The Battle for Levitan.
  8. Voice cast: Don Brown voices Hydron and Vizar here, and Scott McNeil voices Flipshot and BH, according to the He-Man wiki cast list.
  9. Toys: The He-Man wiki's Vizar page says his toy was brown skinned, while the cartoon leaves his skin tone ambiguous.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
Skeletor
Evil

Skeletor
Flogg
Evil

Flogg
Slushhead
Evil

Slushhead

Episode screenshots

A translucent caped figure with horned shoulders smiles from a viewscreen against stars.
A translucent caped figure with horned shoulders smiles from a viewscreen against stars.
A pale hooded figure in a long cloak appears faintly against a starry background.
A pale hooded figure in a long cloak appears faintly against a starry background.
Adam and the white-haired elder stand with gnarled staffs while a white light glows beside them.
Adam and the white-haired elder stand with gnarled staffs while a white light glows beside them.
Adam looks aside with a faint smile next to the white-haired elder.
Adam looks aside with a faint smile next to the white-haired elder.
Adam closes his eyes with a calm smile as his arm sweeps across the frame.
He-Man raises the Power Sword high against a wall of orange flame.
He-Man raises the Power Sword high against a wall of orange flame.
Skeletor in skull-chested armor leans over a cockpit console with stars behind him.
Skeletor in skull-chested armor leans over a cockpit console with stars behind him.
Skeletor grins with red eyes inside his grey armored helmet.
Skeletor grins with red eyes inside his grey armored helmet.
Skeletor glares sideways with a toothy grin in front of a yellow glow.
Skeletor in armor grins beside a dark cockpit seat.
Flogg walks away in red armor toward Skeletor and Slush Head under a dark sky.
Flogg walks away in red armor toward Skeletor and Slush Head under a dark sky.
Skeletor holds his skull-topped staff and clasps Slush Head's shoulder in the cockpit.
Skeletor and Slush Head overlap in a faded transition inside the ship.
Skeletor stands with his staff as Slush Head tumbles through an open hatch.
Slush Head stares wide-eyed in his seat with his mouth open.
Slush Head stares wide-eyed in his seat with his mouth open.
Slush Head grins nervously behind a swinging robotic claw with a planet in the foreground.
Slush Head grins nervously behind a swinging robotic claw with a planet in the foreground.
A small ship flies over a landing field where two sleek craft are parked.
Small robed figures stand at the top of wide steps before a columned hall.
A horned, white-haired council leader eyes Skeletor, who grins beside him.
He-Man, a long-haired woman and the white-haired elder stand together on the council steps.
He-Man, a long-haired woman and the white-haired elder stand together on the council steps.
A white chess-piece gavel with a studded band sits on a council desk.
Flogg and Skeletor sit at a council desk, Flogg scowling with folded arms.
Flogg and Skeletor sit at a council desk, Flogg scowling with folded arms.
Flogg glowers in the foreground while Skeletor grins beside him.
He-Man, a woman and the seated elder wait at their council desk with other delegates behind.
Skeletor spreads his hands in a flourish beside a council column.
Skeletor clasps his gloved hands together with a grin while Flogg looks on.
The horned council leader in a white cape smiles from a tall chair.
A wide view of the council chamber shows rows of desks and delegates in a dark hall.
Slush Head in a white tuxedo and bow tie waves, holding three balloons.
He-Man covers his forehead with one hand, looking pained.
Delegates watch from their desks as Flogg and Skeletor sit among the council.
Slush Head in a white tuxedo raises one hand in front of a microphone.
Slush Head in his tuxedo stands beside Skeletor, who grips a small blaster.
A dark landing field stretches under a starry night sky with a ship's edge at right.
A long-haired woman in white looks ahead against a starry sky.
A green warty creature with long spines and tentacles crouches on a dark field.
A masked mutant in olive armor holds a rifle and stares out grimly.
A masked mutant with a pistol stands before Skeletor, who gestures from a ship's hatch.
Skeletor grins sideways with red eyes in a faded overlay of the landing field.
The horned council leader in a white cape sits in a spotlight beside a small bell.
Delegates of many species sit in tiered benches in the council hall.
A man in a purple cape and goggles with a moustache scowls from the council floor.
A distant desk of delegates sits on the curved floor of the council hall.
A masked figure sprawls on the floor as a woman, the elder and He-Man look on.
The elder frowns and He-Man looks on grimly at their council desk.
He-Man, the elder, a woman and Flogg gather around a chained, masked figure on the council floor.
A long-haired woman in white clasps her hands, smiling gently.
Skeletor smirks with red eyes, leaning down inside his armored helmet.
The council leader in an orange crown smiles slyly with eyes cast sideways.
The council leader in a horned crown speaks with a weary face.
An overhead view shows a red circular floor with desks and delegates in the council hall.
A long-haired woman in white looks off with a hopeful face before a dark column.
He-Man looks aside with a calm face under a pale sky.
A short-haired man in a brown tunic with a red chest stripe looks on tensely.
A white-and-blue spacecraft with a red engine fills the frame against sky.
He-Man, a red-haired man in green and a brown-haired man in blue sit in a ship in space.
Skeletor in armor sits at the controls of his ship with grey and brown pauldrons.
Skeletor leers at the controls of his cockpit with his mouth open.
A spiked green and pink creature-shaped warship drifts through space.
A planet curves below a cockpit window above a row of dark gauges.
A masked mutant in olive armor with a visor sits at a cockpit seat.
Skeletor holds his skull-topped staff in his ship, his red eyes narrowed.
A white ship flies down through streaks of rain or falling water in a dark forest.
A white ship rests on a dark marsh beside a rock wall.
He-Man faces a band of armed swamp dwellers on a rocky shore, seen from behind.
A boot sinks into green mud as a small dark creature scuttles past.
A man with visor and the white-haired elder stand behind the blurred back of Skeletor's armor.
The white-haired elder in a blue robe speaks, holding his gnarled staff against a blue sky.
The elder, seen from behind, faces Skeletor as a visored man between them looks on.
Skeletor spreads one hand in welcome beneath a looming purple ship.
A cockpit window looks out on a desert field where dark figures stand in rows.
Skeletor grins widely in his armored helmet before a yellow background.
Slush Head clutches his chest with a pop-eyed stare in a dark jungle.
Slush Head clasps his hands together and squints with a nervous grin.
Slush Head waves one open hand and looks up with a smirk.
A red streak cuts across dark leaves in a blurred shot.
Slush Head runs through the marsh with a green mutant in brown armor at his side.
Mutants thrash and splash in swamp water as a metal arm rises overhead.
Slush Head sits in the swamp beside two mutants with a robotic claw raised overhead.
Slush Head sits in a mud puddle with cables dangling and a stunned look.
A blue glowing hatch is set into the white hull of a spacecraft.
A red-haired man in a teal jacket pries open a hull panel with green-gloved hands.
A spiked creature-shaped craft rests alone on a flat desert plain.
A distant visored man stands on the desert beyond the cockpit seat where Skeletor sits.
A visored man in a tan vest examines a handheld device beside a purple ship's leg.
A visored man walks across the desert beside a faded image of Skeletor with his staff.
A man in a tan tunic with a red chest stripe smiles, shown from the chin down.
Skeletor in armor holds his staff in a ship's open hatch, grinning with his arms at his sides.
A white spaceship glides through a starfield of blue gas.
He-Man looks ahead with a stern face against a starry backdrop.
He-Man grins, gripping the Power Sword at the edge of the frame.
A figure raises an arm in the center of radiating blue beams of light.
He-Man raises the Power Sword skyward, seen from behind against the stars.
The white-haired elder stands with his back to the camera on a dusky plain.
Skeletor grips his chest plate and grins with glowing red eyes.
A small figure with a sword floats in starry space beside a large blue cylinder.
He-Man reaches out with one arm raised against a dusky sky.
He-Man holds his sword aloft as he grapples with a helmeted man in green on a rocky field.
A spiked, purple creature-shaped warship tumbles through black space.
A red dome-topped ship settles on the desert in clouds of smoke and falling rain.
Flogg scowls at the controls inside a cockpit beside a blue-skinned gloved arm.
Two hands grip the Power Sword raised overhead in streaking rain.
He-Man holds a glowing line of energy from his sword while rain streaks down.
He-Man smiles in the night while a long-haired woman looks up at him.

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