NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

The Children's Planet

The Children's Planet title card
E33

Official Synopsis

Maxis, He-Man holding his sword, and the two-headed lizard stand together in front of a red staircase.

The Primans detect Black Omega, a deadly gas that would destroy their shield, on the frozen planet Omega 4. Master Sebrian reluctantly agrees it must be destroyed, and He-Man joins the Galactic Guardians, with Caz stowing away. On Omega 4 the exiled Maxis plans to turn the gas on Primus and holds captives who work his mines while their children are kept from their parents. When Spinwit tries to fire, a force holds his arm and Sebrian says there is life below. The heroes land and fight Maxis and his ice monsters, and Gepple's seeking missile changes the gas into something else, a kind of laughing gas. Gepple is later warned to slow down on wet roads.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

The closing lesson is a road-safety tip: ride slower when the road is wet.

heman.org Episode Review

Can a planet be sentenced to death without anyone checking who lives on it? "The Children's Planet" puts that uncomfortable question at the centre of an adventure that otherwise runs on ice monsters and wisecracks, and it is a better question than the surrounding cartoon might lead us to expect.

The set-up is stern. The Primans have found Black Omega, a deadly gas that will destroy the shield, and the mere presence of it would leave them defenseless against their enemies; it was supposed to have been destroyed years ago, and it turns up on Omega 4, the farthest planet from their suns, a frozen wasteland. The decision to destroy a planet is not taken lightly. Master Sebrian asks how he can condone such a thing, says he cannot place Primus in such terrible danger, and He-Man, asked to help, admits it is not easy for him either and wishes there were another way. For a children's cartoon, the sight of its good characters reluctantly choosing planetary demolition is unusual and rather effective.

In plain words, the story is about looking before you destroy. On Omega 4 the exiled Maxis gloats that Skeletor was a fool to banish him there, since the gas is now all his and he means to fill his space tankers and strike at Primus, while the people working his mines remind him that they are not robots and need rest. Two children are somewhere safe, the boy vowing to grow big enough to battle Maxis and free his father and all their people. We meet the victims of the plan before the plan is carried out, which is what gives the dilemma its teeth.

The turning point is the best moment in the episode. Aboard the starship, Spinwit prepares to fire on Omega 4, only for something to hold his arm and keep him from the button, and Master Sebrian then tells him not to press it because he is certain there are living beings on the planet. The ship's instruments showed no life, and one of the crew suggests the cold could have thrown them off. It is a lovely small twist on the usual rescue: no villain stays the attack, a warning does, and the planet is spared because Sebrian, who had agreed to destroy it, speaks up in time.

The ice-world action is lively. A voice welcomes the heroes to Omega 4 as their final destination, and Maxis claims his ice monster is stronger than any sword, which draws the reply that evil can never defeat good and leads into the fight. Later, with He-Man in trouble, the Sorceress tells him to let the power of the good radiate from him. Caz, who has stowed away to join the Galactic Guardians, is told to wait while the others go ahead and later receives a warm thank you, to which he answers that it is all part of a galactic guardian's duty, a nice payoff for the stowaway.

The weakness lies in how the dilemma is released. A character asks whether the gas can be destroyed without destroying the planet, and the answer is a missile Gepple has launched, whose effect he cannot quite recall; it turns the gas into something like laughing gas. A gag resolves the problem, so the gas that forced Sebrian into that hard choice is dispatched by a half-remembered missile, and the light tone of a children's show most likely explains it.

Verdict: a modest, good-hearted entry in which a change of heart saves a planet. The closing road-safety tip, to ride slower when the road is wet, is a cheerful finish.

Notes of Interest

  1. Voice cast: The He-Man wiki lists Alessandro Juliani, uncredited, as the voice of Brojee in this episode.
  2. Edit history: According to the wiki's errors section, Maxis creates two Ice Monsters from a wall of ice but speaks of only one in dialogue.
  3. Continuity: The He-Man wiki and Wikipedia summaries say the deadly gas Black Omega is detected on Omega 4, a frozen planet.
  4. Continuity: Wikipedia says the Black Omega gas has the power to destroy Primus' planetary shield, which is why the Primans want the planet destroyed.
  5. Voice cast: Campbell Lane and Scott McNeil are credited as "Various" in the He-Man wiki cast list for this episode.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull
Good

The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull

Episode screenshots

A flowing purple cloak sweeps across the frame as two elders stand in a garden doorway far behind.
A flowing purple cloak sweeps across the frame as two elders stand in a garden doorway far behind.
Master Sebrian rubs his brow while seated in a high green chair.
Master Sebrian rubs his brow while seated in a high green chair.
A man in a red pointed cap and a bald man in a green collar look up.
A man in a red pointed cap and a bald man in a green collar look up.
Caz peers through an arched doorway toward a tall dark machine.
Caz peers through an arched doorway toward a tall dark machine.
Master Sebrian speaks with a worried expression against green foliage.
Master Sebrian speaks with a worried expression against green foliage.
A blond man, a dark-haired woman, a man in a red cap, a spiky-haired elder and others talk.
A blond man, a dark-haired woman, a man in a red cap, a spiky-haired elder and others talk.
Master Sebrian faces a group of elders and officials standing before a garden of tall green trees.
Master Sebrian faces a group of elders and officials standing before a garden of tall green trees.
Master Sebrian looks to the side and talks with his mouth open.
Master Sebrian looks to the side and talks with his mouth open.
Caz smiles as he peeks around a pillar.
Caz smiles as he peeks around a pillar.
A small vehicle flies through a pale blue sky.
A small vehicle flies through a pale blue sky.
Wind blows snow across a steep icy mountainside.
Maxis in goggles and a fur collar sits beside a two-headed green lizard with red eyes.
Maxis clenches his fist and speaks, goggles over his eyes.
Maxis grins widely in a flight helmet and goggles.
He-Man and a brown-haired man in a blue vest sit side by side at a ship's controls.
He-Man and a brown-haired man in a blue vest sit side by side at a ship's controls.
Caz stands between He-Man and a brown-haired man in blue, who both turn to look at him.
Caz stands between He-Man and a brown-haired man in blue, who both turn to look at him.
He-Man looks back over his shoulder with a frown.
A woman drives a small forklift cart toward a snowy cave mouth.
A man in a blue cap with a red gem comforts a boy in a fur vest.
A man in a flight helmet with goggles scowls as masked workers stand behind him in snow.
A man's wide-eyed face with clenched teeth fills the frame.
Three people in fur collars and grey breathing masks stand in front of metal tanks.
A blue pod with a glowing clear window hangs from the roof of an ice cave.
He-Man, Caz and a brown-haired man in blue look out ahead from the cockpit.
A missile tip sticks out of a grey ship's hull.
Caz smiles at the camera in the cockpit.
A shaggy long-haired man in a loincloth raises both arms on an icy peak in a snowstorm.
Figures in red and green hurry down a snowy ravine between icy cliffs.
A girl in a purple hat and a round-faced child in a black coat stare into a blizzard.
A blue-haired figure in a long coat runs past a bare tree and swings a branch.
A lion-like beast snarls with open jaws through blowing snow.
A blue-haired boy in a long coat gestures toward children huddled on the snow in an ice cave.
Three children hurry into an ice cave mouth in the snow, one boy running after them.
A swirling tunnel of blue-white ice curves into the distance.
Litha and two other children huddle on a mat in an ice cave, one reaching out.
Litha clenches her fists and speaks to the blue-haired boy, seen from behind.
A blue-haired boy talks to Litha and two other children in the ice cave.
A round multi-tiered building stands on a grassy cliff beneath two pale suns.
Master Sebrian smiles with his eyes closed against a purple sky.
Caz stands between two seated pilots, seen from behind, facing the ship's console and a planet ahead.
Caz looks up toward the pilots in the cockpit.
He-Man looks ahead from his cockpit seat.
A white spaceship with a blue canopy glides through space.
A brown-haired pilot grimaces as rings of golden light swirl around him.
A finger presses a glowing blue button on a console wreathed in yellow swirls of energy.
He-Man, Caz and a pilot sit in the cockpit as a man in a gold-trimmed vest watches nearby.
Master Sebrian speaks from a small round viewscreen.
He-Man, Caz and a brown-haired pilot sit in the cockpit looking ahead.
A viewscreen shows snowy mountains in a blue valley.
Maxis smiles in a fur-collared coat and flight helmet with goggles.
He-Man, Caz and a visored warrior in blue sit in the cockpit as a blizzard blows past.
He-Man, Caz, a visored warrior and a tusked gold-armored warrior crowd together in the cockpit.
A small tracked craft sits alone on a wide snowfield between jagged mountains.
Two warriors run across the snow toward a red-orange mechanical beast beside the mountains.
He-Man, a visored warrior with a shield and a tusked gold-armored warrior stand together on an icy slope.
Long shards of ice slant across a jagged mountain peak.
A wide curved shield or dome sweeps across the frame as snow blows.
A tusked gold-armored warrior stands facing a huge shaggy brown figure.
A tiny figure stands high on a snow slope as a clawed paw reaches in from the left.
A two-headed green lizard snarls at the camera through blowing snow.
A shirtless man in blue trousers raises both arms as a blizzard blows around him on the snowfield.
One head of a green lizard roars on the back of a white-furred beast.
A fur-clad figure's legs stand on a flat white snowfield.
A tusked gold-armored warrior strides forward between snowy peaks.
He-Man holds his sword low at his side in the snow, one hand open.
He-Man leaps across the sky with his sword out, leaving a pink streak behind him.
Maxis laughs broadly in his fur-collared coat and goggles.
He-Man bounds from peak to peak with his sword extended.
A lion-like beast and a small figure stand on a snow slope near a cave mouth.
A faint orange streak of smoke trails across a hazy blue sky.
Five children huddle together on the snow, seen from behind, looking at the ice.
He-Man smiles as he speaks, with an ice wall behind him.
A visored warrior leans forward as a masked man and a tusked warrior sit behind him.
A visored warrior frowns and speaks as a masked man and a tusked warrior look on.
A child stands at a console below a text screen while Master Sebrian sits at his desk.
Master Sebrian reads a large book with his head bowed.
A bald man laughs beside an elder with glasses and a stack of books.
Master Sebrian smiles with his eyes closed.
A small group of children stands far off on a snowy ledge beneath an ice cliff.
Tiny figures walk along the top of a snow ridge below tall ice cliffs.
Litha stands at the mouth of an ice cave and looks to the side.
A figure in a fur coat stands on top of a tall ice peak under a streaked sky.
He-Man crawls in the snow toward his fallen sword as a red beam flashes behind Maxis's back.
He-Man pushes himself up from the snow below an ice cliff as a red beam crosses the sky.
Children watch from behind a snow ridge as a mountain looms behind them.
He-Man stands before two giant ice monsters while a red beam cuts across the frame.
Caz and the blue-haired boy duck behind a snow bank, shielding themselves.
Maxis stares ahead in his fur coat as snowflakes fall.
Maxis snarls in a bright blue glow, goggles on his helmet.
A pink and gold base with round towers sits on the snowfield as wind blows past.
Maxis, seen from behind, stands in a pink and gold hall.
Caz, Litha, the blue-haired boy and another child peer over an ice ledge.
A large eye reflects a figure in a flight helmet.
A pink and gold fortress with a yellow-banded dome stands in the snow beside stacked tanks.
Rows of grey tanks fill the open bay of a pink fortress as workers load carts nearby.
Maxis glances sideways in his goggled helmet beside the two-headed lizard.
Three ice monsters lumber across a snowy slope toward two small figures from above.
A red spacecraft fires a blue beam from its nose.
A pink faceted spaceship flies over snowy mountains.
He-Man stands with his sword extended as pink smoke rises from wrecked red machinery in the snow.
He-Man smiles in the snow beside a curved grey edge.
He-Man looks off to the side with his mouth open, ice cliffs behind him.
Maxis and the two-headed lizard sit inside a cabin as pink smoke swirls around them.
Maxis and the two-headed lizard laugh on a screen above a console.
Fur-clad workers raise their arms beside a red and blue cylinder-shaped craft on the snow.
Litha, her father and the blue-haired boy smile and look up.
Caz shakes hands with the blue-haired boy as Litha stands beside them.
A red, blue and white spacecraft flies through falling snow as workers wave from the ground.

DISCUSSION

Join the conversation.

Comments below are mirrored on the heman.org forum. Sign in once, post anywhere.