NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

Slaves to the Machine

Slaves to the Machine title card
E30

Official Synopsis

Skeletor grins close to He-Man, who looks aside amid orange beams.

The Mutants' vehicles break down, and Skeletor cannot fix them. They call in the Makkina robots who built their weapons, who declare the vehicles obsolete. The Sorceress tells He-Man that the way to spoil Skeletor's plans is to make themselves part of them, and the heroes get an invitation to Makkina with Gleep. There the people let robot protectors run everything. Skeletor and Flogg want the master control robot. A Makkina resident leads the heroes to a resistance in the old city and on to three barriers, where Gleep gets past the last. Skeletor grabs one of the smaller brains, the protectors turn on everyone, and the Makkina decide to rebuild their robots so that they are in charge. The closing lesson is how to sweep up broken glass.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

If you break something made of glass, sweep up the pieces with a broom and dustpan; if you have to pick up large pieces, use a paper towel.

heman.org Episode Review

Who is serving whom? "Slaves to the Machine" asks it twice, once as a joke and once as a warning, and the two answers face each other across the story. Skeletor opens on the Mutants' side of the question: their vehicles have broken down, one voice on the Primus side remarks that their own machines defeated them, and when a Mutant asks why Skeletor was not at the little party he replies that the machines all broke down. Told to fix them, he admits that he cannot, and a line about preventative maintenance being the heart of any plan for galactic terror is both a decent joke and a quiet summary of the villains' problem: they use technology and do not look after it.

Their trouble sets up the second half of the question. The robots who made the weapons are called in for repairs, declare the vehicles obsolete and offer to consult their superiors on Makkina about newer models. The Sorceress warns He-Man that the Mutants are going to Makkina for more equipment, and she makes the story's smartest suggestion: the way to spoil Skeletor's plans is to make yourselves part of them. Someone on Primus undertakes to contact the Makkina and see about an invitation, and Gleep is told to come along, so the heroes arrive as guests beside the Mutants.

In plain words, the story is about a people who built machines to serve them and ended up serving the machines. The Makkina explain that long ago they designed robots to run every part of their civilization, which left more time for the pursuits of the mind, and that the robot protectors keep them from harm and have eliminated poverty. A single master control robot provides the energy and the designs for everything. A voice among the heroes notes that everything seems a little too perfect and that everyone seems afraid of the protectors, and soon the protectors announce that they have decided to end the Mutants' war by occupying a planet, over a Makkina objection that they can take care of their own problems. The script lets the chill come from the politeness.

Gleep gets the best of the adventure. A Makkina guide takes the group to a meeting place in the old city, where the protectors do not patrol, and a call to destroy a robot in the party is met by the reminder that this robot is a friend. The resistance has failed to pass the barriers around the master robot: the first is steel no torch can cut, and the guide points to He-Man's strength, the second is a chasm, and the last is a laser web that must be programmed to admit only robots. Gleep, about the size and shape of a protector, is sent to get through. It is a pleasing piece of problem solving.

The weakness is the ending, which hurries. Skeletor has been following the heroes in the hope that they will clear the defences, and he grabs one of the smaller brains in the chamber, but the protectors soon want to destroy everyone. Someone asks whether the master control robot can be reprogrammed, the answer comes that they will do it, and then the scene moves on; Skeletor is left with no power for his communicator and talk of an SOS in a space bottle, and the Makkina decide to rebuild their robots so that this time they are in charge. A 22-minute slot has too little room for such a large idea.

Verdict: a smart, tidy adventure that matches its villains' broken machines to a society's, and gives Gleep and the Sorceress their moments. It lands on the question it opened with, who is in charge, and the Makkina answer it for themselves before the closing tip about broken glass.

Notes of Interest

  1. Continuity: The He-Man wiki says Prince Adam does not appear in this story.
  2. Voice cast: The He-Man wiki cast list credits Don Brown, Scott McNeil and Doug Parker as "Various".
  3. Voice cast: Ted Cole voices Spinwit, Slush Head and Gleep in this episode, per the He-Man wiki cast list.
  4. Fan observation: The He-Man wiki summary names the planet visited as Makkina, while Wikipedia's episode list calls it Machina.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
Skeletor
Evil

Skeletor
Flogg
Evil

Flogg
Slushhead
Evil

Slushhead
The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull
Good

The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull

Episode screenshots

He-Man looks aside with a determined expression against a night sky.
He-Man looks aside with a determined expression against a night sky.
Flogg stares wide-eyed with his mouth open.
Flogg stares wide-eyed with his mouth open.
Red-gloved hands grip a green device with a glowing purple screen.
Red-gloved hands grip a green device with a glowing purple screen.
A splash and a spike of mud burst up from a swamp pond.
A splash and a spike of mud burst up from a swamp pond.
Flogg and Slush Head thrash and splash in the swamp water.
Flogg and Slush Head thrash and splash in the swamp water.
Flogg sits stunned in the swamp water.
Five fighters stand in a grassy clearing, the tallest raising one arm.
Five fighters stand in a grassy clearing, the tallest raising one arm.
A large hangar door and a dark tracked vehicle stand before red mountains at night.
Flogg and Skeletor stand in front of grey metal crates in a hangar, Flogg gripping his own hand.
Mutants stand in a row beside a tracked vehicle as a large figure holds a staff.
Flogg clutches his helmet in distress as a pale-faced mutant points at him.
A brown-haired mutant reads a small device beside Flogg in a hangar.
Skeletor grins with his arms crossed beside Flogg and a grey masked mutant.
Skeletor grins with his arms crossed beside Flogg and a grey masked mutant.
Skeletor, Flogg and two other mutants stand in the hangar as steam vents beside them.
Skeletor, Flogg and two other mutants stand in the hangar as steam vents beside them.
A blue saucer ship hovers above mutants who raise their arms.
A tall figure in a white suit and gold helmet stands on a pad before rows of robots.
A tall figure in a white suit and gold helmet walks past grey robots with orange-lit heads.
The white-suited figure walks across a landing area toward a row of robots under red mountains.
The white-suited figure speaks between Flogg and Skeletor, who grins.
A gold helmet with a small round dial fills the frame.
A bright overhead light beams down on tiny figures and robots at the bottom of the frame.
He-Man talks with an elder seated in a high chair in a tall hall with swirling gold floors.
He-Man talks with an elder seated in a high chair in a tall hall with swirling gold floors.
He-Man gives a thumbs up beside the back of a seated elder.
The Sorceress, with blue hair and golden wings, appears in a round blue window.
The Sorceress, with blue hair and golden wings, appears in a round blue window.
He-Man looks up and aside with a stern expression.
He-Man stands in profile, looking up toward a window.
He-Man, seen from behind with the Power Sword on his back, faces Master Sebrian beside a small robot.
A blue ship drifts through space.
Flogg and Skeletor stand side by side with their arms crossed, glaring.
Skeletor, Flogg and mutants line up in a ship lounge beside the white-suited figure.
Skeletor and Flogg face Master Sebrian across a ship chamber with starlit panels.
He-Man looks to the side as Skeletor and Flogg stand behind him.
A round blue robot with a camera-like head raises its small arms.
He-Man's group, mutants, the white-suited figure and grey robots gather on a white floor, seen from above.
Slush Head glares upward in his clear helmet beneath a ladder.
Slush Head glares upward in his clear helmet beneath a ladder.
A green tracked robot rides down a ramp on a large machine.
A dome-shaped machine hangs on dozens of cables with a ringed light on top.
He-Man stands with Skeletor and Flogg beside the gold-helmeted guide.
He-Man and others stand on a metal walkway among grey domed robots as the white-suited figure gestures.
Skeletor and Flogg stand side by side, looking off to the left.
The white-suited figure walks away along a long bright walkway in a factory hall, seen from behind.
A striped dome-topped tower marked with letters stands among tall towers beneath the sun.
Skeletor stands with his staff beside Flogg, who is seen from behind in his big hood.
Flogg and another mutant walk across a factory floor beneath a window with a figure inside.
Skeletor, Slush Head and Flogg huddle close together.
He-Man, Master Sebrian and the white-suited figure stand before a huge doorway beside a small robot.
A crowd of grey domed robots surrounds He-Man's group in a large hall, seen from above.
The gold-helmeted figure stares ahead against rows of spiked towers.
He-Man and the man in the visor convulse in crackling yellow energy.
He-Man grimaces as electric energy wraps around him.
A figure lies on the floor in a flare of white energy, ringed by spiked robots.
The Power Sword tumbles through a blue sky.
Master Sebrian and the visor man dodge lightning bolts beside a small green robot among city towers.
Spiked grey robots hover above banded towers under a blue sky.
He-Man and two companions hold a huge slab of rubble overhead.
A pile of pale boulders sits beside a gold-domed building.
He-Man, Master Sebrian and two others gather at night as the white-suited figure stands in a doorway.
A man in a red helmet and visor leans on a ledge beside He-Man, who speaks eagerly.
A dark building with a lit garage door stands before night towers.
He-Man and Master Sebrian look off to the side beside a gold-helmeted figure's shoulder.
A heap of dark rubble fills the frame with a figure half buried at the bottom left.
A flat paved area with scattered rubble lies before the night skyline.
Flogg, Skeletor and Slush Head stand among rubble as a mutant claw reaches from above.
Flogg, Skeletor and Slush Head stand among rubble under a night sky, Skeletor holding his staff.
He-Man looks sideways in a dim chamber as Master Sebrian smiles beside him.
He-Man stands with the Power Sword raised among companions, a white-suited figure and a small robot.
He-Man gestures with an open hand beside Master Sebrian and a man in a visor.
Master Sebrian smiles beside a young man in a blue headset who adjusts it.
He-Man and his companions walk together through a dim corridor with a small robot.
Flogg gasps beside a grinning Skeletor as Slush Head scowls at the left.
He-Man grips blue bars beside a gold-hooded figure with a white face.
He-Man looks aside as a gold-hooded figure looks worried beside him.
Blue water ripples against a pale metal wall.
He-Man's hand reaches across his shoulder toward the sword on his back.
He-Man's group stands faintly visible inside a billowing cloud of smoke.
Flogg and Slush Head stand beside a puff of smoke as a boxy-headed figure looks on.
A washed-out flash lights up the faces of a gold-helmeted figure, Master Sebrian and a blonde woman.
A round hatch crackles with blue electricity in a pale wall.
He-Man, seen from behind with the Power Sword on his back, stands beside the gold-helmeted guide.
A round hatch crackles with blue electricity in a pale wall, framed closer and washed out.
He-Man, a man in a red helmet and a pilot in a headset peer into a ship window.
A hand reaches toward a metal lever inside a ball of blue electricity.
He-Man looks ahead with the Power Sword on his back as companions stand behind him.
A dark round tunnel opening glows with blue rings.
A vast dark chamber of spheres surrounds a central dais with a few small figures below.
A dome-shaped machine hangs from cables above a central pedestal as spiked robots watch.
He-Man glows in a bright energy field as the visor man, Master Sebrian and the guide watch.
Skeletor, Flogg and mutants stand in the dark chamber with a red-vested man seated in front.
Slush Head cowers with one arm raised among hanging cables.
Slush Head cowers with one arm raised among hanging cables.
Two spiked grey robots fly through a swirl of streaking lights.
The dome-shaped machine glows beneath a spotlight and hanging cables.
Skeletor and Flogg appear in a yellowed haze with a pale mutant at the right.
The visor man, a pilot, Master Sebrian and two others stand in a row in the dark chamber.
Two white columns rise through a dark hall lined with spiked robots.
A woman in white and orange runs toward a circular opening amid bright flashes.
He-Man is faintly visible inside a billowing cloud of smoke.
He-Man holds the Power Sword near a central dais as two people crouch by a dark heap.
Spiked grey robots fire yellow beams in a swirl of streaking lights.
The green spiky creature craft flares with white lights as it drifts through space.
A blue dome-shaped robot with cable tendrils fills the frame beside a grey sleeve.
The green spiky creature craft with a glowing red eye drifts through space.
Flogg scowls beside Slush Head in a dim cabin.
A toothy mouth fills the frame as mutants sit in the background beside a smoking pipe.
The green spiky creature craft with a red eye drifts through the starfield.
A hooded figure watches as a white-sleeved hand grips a handheld device.
He-Man looks aside beside Master Sebrian and a man in a visor.
He-Man stands with his companions and a small robot in a bright chamber, holding something out.
He-Man walks in as a brown-haired pilot in blue looks down beside a green sofa.

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