NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

Rock to the Future

Rock to the Future title card
E51

Official Synopsis

He-Man and Skeletor strain against each other over a staff.

Slush Head sings about missing his swamp, and Staghorn begs to be spared, until a strange reading leads the Mutants to a stranded Earth musician, Hank Rappa, who says he was at a recording session one minute and in a cave the next. Flogg treats him as a guest, reasoning that humans have a weakness for this music. On Primus, Flipshot learns that Torzag is staging an Earth-style rock concert on Concert Star, and Caz, Drissi and He-Man go along as escorts. Torzag's workers quit, Flogg's crew offers to run the equipment, and the concert becomes a trap aimed at the Galactic Guardians. The closing tip warns children never to repair electrical equipment themselves.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

If something electrical breaks, tell your parents and let them call a repairman; never try to fix it yourself, because you can get a dangerous shock.

heman.org Episode Review

What do you do with a weapon nobody recognises as one? "Rock to the Future" is built on that question, and it answers it with a guitar. A human musician lands in the Mutants' hands, and he has no idea how he got there. When his recording of a hundred thousand people rocking out is played back, a Mutant calls it a most powerful weapon and wonders at the conquered crowd, and the musician has to tell him that nobody was conquered, because the fans paid to hear the show. Flogg's side then concludes that humans have a weakness for this music and that Primus may too, so the plan grows out of a misreading of what the recording shows.

The opening is the funniest stretch. Slush Head is mid-song about missing his swamp while Staghorn pleads to be spared, and Slush Head complains that Staghorn does not appreciate a good singer. Hank Rappa then turns up talking in the loose slang of a stage veteran, insisting that his guitar is a Fender Stratocaster with gold albums behind it, and another voice in the scene has to be told that a mega rock star is not the same thing as a singer. Everyone seems to be speaking a different language, which is a good gag for a cartoon about cultures meeting.

Put in plain words, the story is about music being innocent and the people who use it being the problem. The episode says as much in its closing stretch, when somebody remarks that it was not the music that was evil, only the way Skeletor tried to use it, and everything before that line is arranged to earn it. Flogg's side announces that everyone present is now a prisoner, Torzag's workers quit, and the Mutants step in to run the equipment so that a move against the Galactic Guardians will look like an accident that can be blamed on Torzag. It is neat villain logic, because the trap has to look like a normal night out.

The Primus half supplies the warmth. Flipshot is cheerful about a concert on Concert Star, someone else wonders why a space journey is worth making just to hear that noise, and Caz and Drissi go along anyway, so a few exchanges sketch several reactions to a cultural fad. He-Man comes as an escort and is urged not to be a square like Adam, a fun reversal. Hank's own nerves, a worry about negative energy in the audience, give the performer a human edge before he walks out.

The weakness is the slang itself. Line after line from Hank is a catchphrase, and a viewer decades on may hear the dialogue as a costume instead of speech. We can guess at the reason: the writers had a 22-minute slot and a rock star to introduce quickly, and shorthand was the cheapest route. The result is that Hank is easy to identify and hard to care about, and the villains' scheme occupies more of the story than the man who is supposed to be at its heart.

Still, the final moves land. The Mutants wait for the audience to sit down so they can get a clear shot, He-Man and the Guardians answer, and from up in the stands a voice admits that the singer sounds pretty good. The story also leaves Flogg hesitant about openly attacking an entertainment spacecraft, a continuity detail the He-Man wiki links to The Festival of Lights.

Verdict: a cheerful, slightly goofy stand-alone that trades threat for charm. It will not be anyone's favourite of the run, but it knows its joke, and it keeps the music blameless.

Notes of Interest

  1. Homage: The He-Man wiki says the title refers to the 1985 film Back to the Future.
  2. Homage: According to the He-Man wiki, the rock star Hank Rappa's name is a reference to musician Frank Zappa.
  3. Continuity: The He-Man wiki notes that, as in The Festival of Lights, Flogg worries about the consequences of openly attacking an entertainment spacecraft.
  4. Continuity: Hank Rappa and Torzag are listed on the He-Man wiki as first and only Jetlag Productions appearances.
  5. Voice cast: Per the He-Man wiki cast list, Ted Cole is credited for Slush Head and Staghorn, Mark Hildreth for Caz, and Tracy Eisner for Drissi.
  6. Voice cast: Doug Parker is credited as Adam of Grayskull and Venus Terzo as Crita on the He-Man wiki cast list.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
Skeletor
Evil

Skeletor
Flogg
Evil

Flogg
Slushhead
Evil

Slushhead
Staghorn
Evil

Staghorn

Episode screenshots

A green scanner screen with tracing lines sits above a blue cockpit window.
A green scanner screen with tracing lines sits above a blue cockpit window.
Slush Head and another mutant in space gear hover in a rain of falling dust.
Slush Head and another mutant in space gear hover in a rain of falling dust.
Two tiny figures fly in space gear over a grey rocky surface.
Two tiny figures fly in space gear over a grey rocky surface.
Slush Head grips a hand weapon beside a masked mutant on the rocky surface.
Hank Rapper plays his red guitar beside a round porthole and a rack of audio gear.
Hank Rapper points an arm toward a porthole above a rack of audio gear.
Slush Head stares ahead beside a masked mutant in blue gear.
Hank Rapper gestures with an open hand as two mutants watch from below.
Hank Rapper fades in and out over the mutants in their space gear.
Hank Rapper grins, his blond hair and red headband filling the frame.
Hank Rapper holds his guitar while a red-haired woman in a pink dress looks at him.
Hank Rapper cradles his guitar beside the red-haired woman, who rests a hand on her hip.
Hank Rapper turns to look at the red-haired woman as she glances aside.
Hank Rapper sits on a bike over a faded image of his guitar.
The red-haired woman holds a blue star-patterned card while Hank Rapper stands with his back to us.
Seen from above, Hank Rapper and the woman stand in a round chamber near some mutants.
The red-haired woman holds the star card while Flogg grips his head.
The red-haired woman holds the star card while Flogg grips his head.
Hank Rapper talks with an open hand raised.
Skeletor and Flogg face Hank Rapper, who has his back to the camera.
Skeletor and Flogg face Hank Rapper, who has his back to the camera.
A mutant with his back turned faces Hank Rapper and the red-haired woman.
Skeletor grins with his skull staff beside Flogg.
Skeletor grins with his skull staff beside Flogg.
Skeletor grins wide, his red eyes glowing.
A pilot in a white helmet sits at the controls of a ship above a curved planet.
A white and grey spacecraft glides through space.
Torzak sits in his chair in a black-horned hat and pink bow tie.
A small golden ship flies over a blue planet.
A pilot in a white helmet smiles at the controls of a ship.
A man in a cap sorts rolled posters beside a window of stars.
Hank Rapper winks and laughs, his hair flying.
A domed white building sits on a green hill above a stone path.
A blond man in a grey tunic carries a metal case through a doorway.
A blond man in a grey tunic carries a metal case through a doorway.
A blonde woman and a dark-haired boy in a yellow cap stand in a doorway.
The blond man lifts the case over his head while the boy and woman reach for it.
The blond man lifts the case over his head while the boy and woman reach for it.
The blond man, the boy and the woman smile, the woman holding up a white garment.
The blond man walks off as the woman and boy open the case.
A glowing city floats inside a glass dome in space.
Curved rows of empty stadium seats run along a green rail.
A tall blue wall has a dark slot with small lights below it.
Torzak and a worker in a blue cap pull two handles in a stage workshop.
A white-gloved hand presses a glowing pink pad on a console.
Torzak spreads his clawed hands in front of pink stage lights.
Tiny figures gather far below a steel scaffold.
Two helmeted mutants stand among scaffolding while an arm reaches into the frame.
Two workers in blue caps and overalls look on.
A bearded mutant in a crown-like helmet and blue suit lunges forward.
A bearded mutant in a crown-like helmet and blue suit lunges forward.
Steel scaffolding rises toward a metal panel.
Skeletor and Flogg stand with Slush Head and the stage workers.
Torzak peers out of a yellow pressure suit, one hand gripping the suit.
Skeletor holds his skull staff beside Flogg in front of the scaffold.
Flogg glares from beneath his hood.
Flogg glares from beneath his hood.
Flogg looks down while Skeletor watches from the corner.
Skeletor leers, his red eyes glowing.
Skeletor, Flogg and Torzak stand on a raised platform above mutants in space gear.
Torzak shows his teeth, a pink bow tie at his throat.
Torzak stands beside a grinning Skeletor.
Skeletor, with Torzak in front of him, looks at a row of seated mutants.
The blond man in the grey tunic stands in a bright hall with his hands clasped.
He-Man raises the Power Sword against a wall of orange flames.
He-Man raises the Power Sword against a wall of orange flames.
A blonde woman in a red vest stands beside a dark-haired man in a visor.
He-Man sits on a white ship's wing above three people standing below.
He-Man sits on a white ship's wing above three people standing below.
He-Man stands between a dark-haired man in a visor and a blonde woman seen from behind.
The blue-haired man in sunglasses gives a thumbs up.
A red-haired man in green armor faces He-Man, who has his back turned.
A mutant in a white cyclops-eyed helmet sits hunched in brown armor.
Skeletor stands in a doorway while a masked mutant and Torzak lean past.
Skeletor, Torzak and a mutant in a metal cage frame walk through a green corridor.
A blank teal panel fills the frame.
A green wall has an orange stripe and a metal door.
Two glowing blue ships fly toward a lit station in space.
The blue-haired man in sunglasses leans back in a seat with his arms behind his head.
A crowd fills the grounds around a white domed arena.
Hank Rapper watches a monitor filled with a cheering crowd.
Hank Rapper smiles at the camera while Skeletor stands behind him.
Skeletor holds his staff across a counter from Hank Rapper.
Skeletor smiles with his staff while Hank Rapper sits with his back turned.
Hank Rapper smiles beside Skeletor, who holds his staff upright.
Skeletor raises both fists and his staff in triumph.
A woman in a pink top and white tiara sits at a table while a mutant stands nearby.
The blue-haired man looks at a woman in a pink top and white tiara in a doorway.
The blue-haired man in sunglasses stands among a packed audience.
Red and blue spotlights shine on an empty stage.
Skeletor grins, his red eyes glowing under his helmet.
A crosshair frames a cheering crowd on a monitor.
Hank Rapper plays guitar on stage amid clouds of smoke and laser beams.
Thick white smoke fills the frame.
He-Man looks worried while the crowd presses around him.
A brown laser cannon on a mechanical arm sits among speakers.
Flogg, Slush Head and Skeletor lean over a control panel.
A brown machine has an open hatch and a ramp.
The crowd throws up its arms under crossing beams of light.
A figure in green runs across the stage through colored beams.
A monitor shows a blue beam sweeping across a dim stage.
He-Man, back to us with his sword drawn, faces the brown machine with Skeletor aboard.
He-Man aims a hose-fed laser cannon amid clouds of smoke.
A burst of smoke and sparks explodes against a dark background.
Flogg bares his teeth while holding a small device to his mouth.
Yellow sparks burst from a falling speaker stack.
The blonde woman in a red vest reaches out as the crowd throws up its arms.
He-Man scowls with his weapon at his shoulder.
Skeletor carries Hank Rapper in a bear hug, his staff in one hand.
Green and white beams cross over a dark speaker tower.
Skeletor fires pink energy from his staff while a woman stands behind him.
He-Man glares at Skeletor, their faces nearly touching.
He-Man sits on the stage floor while Skeletor reaches toward him.
He-Man holds his sword while the blonde woman stands beside him, hands clasped.
He-Man shouts as the blonde woman looks on in shock.
He-Man stands beside the blonde woman, who holds a microphone.
Torzak and He-Man stand together looking ahead.
A single spotlight shines on a lone figure on the stage.
Fans pump their fists as a guitarist plays on the distant stage.

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