NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

The Festival of Lights

The Festival of Lights title card
E10

Official Synopsis

Skeletor holds a captive elder by the arm beside Flogg and a masked mutant.

Primus prepares for the Festival of Lights, held around a total eclipse of the suns, and Drissi has invited a rodeo to perform. Skeletor knows the rodeo's ship is protected by galactic agreement, so he brings a gift for its owner, Buck West-Star, and follows the heroes to Westar. Sagitar and Staghorn recognize each other. Skeletor holds Buck's daughter Ferl and demands that mutants join the show on Primus. When the show arrives, the animals are not themselves, a fight breaks out, and He-Man works to free them. Ferl offers a present named Clobber, and Hydron closes with a lesson about drinking water.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

The closing lesson is about staying hydrated: when it is hot and you are playing hard, take a time out for water or other liquids, because the heat will clobber you if you do not drink enough.

heman.org Episode Review

Why build a celebration around the moment the light goes out? Adam remarks that it seems strange, Drissi answers that what they really celebrate is the return of the suns after the eclipse, and Adam then offers the idea that carries the story: when the light comes back, it is as if we realize someone is watching over us, someone who makes sure we do not have to stay in the dark.

It is a lovely thing to say in a children's cartoon, and the script keeps it in play. Drissi has asked the rodeo to come and perform, Caz is thrilled at the thought of cosmic cowboys, and Adam stays behind while He-Man goes with them to Westar. Meanwhile Skeletor, the other side of the equation, has noticed that entertainment ships are protected by agreement across the galaxy, so he cannot attack openly; he plans instead to bring a special gift to the owner, which is a villain finding the polite route to a violent end.

In plain words, the story is about protection: who watches over whom, and what it costs a villain to get around a rule meant to keep people safe. Skeletor broadcasts Westar as his destination and closes on the heroes' ship, which cannot engage because the same protection covers them. On Westar the rule continues. Ferl, Buck's daughter, becomes the lever, and Skeletor's price to Buck is that the performers allow mutants among them when the show reaches Primus.

Craft stands out in a few places. The best is the rodeo master himself, a drawling and generous host who thanks Skeletor for the fine gift and plans to put it in the show, and who tells the two feuding boys to take their quarrel somewhere else. Sagitar's recognition of Staghorn is the other good moment: they meet again, and the charge is that Staghorn has much to answer for. A grudge between two minor characters gives the climax an edge a plain brawl would lack, and it is delivered with only a few words.

A demonstration of Alcon's invention adds some warmth: the festival is being powered by it, and a delay interrupts the announcement. The rodeo scenes have a smaller pleasure of their own. After the show the owner tells Caz that any time he wants a job with his show, he has it, and Caz introduces himself to Ferl as a future Primus Space Force pilot, a quick, friendly exchange between two kids. A comment that his heart is in the right place even if his circuits are not is gentle humor that suits a festival story.

The weakness is the shape. The title promises a festival, and a good stretch of the half hour is spent on Westar and in space before the festival proper arrives, so the Primus finale feels compressed, with the animals not themselves, a trap, prisoners and a rescue all packed into the closing stretch. The result is that the celebration is more backdrop than event.

Verdict: a charming, well meaning episode with a good thematic spine and some strong small moments; its climax is crowded, though it is a warm one.

Notes of Interest

  1. Continuity: The He-Man wiki says this episode is the first mention of the enmity between Sagitar and Staghorn.
  2. Continuity: According to the He-Man wiki, it is the only time in the series that Sagitar is used as a ride creature, even though his figure was sold as one.
  3. Continuity: Per the He-Man wiki, Buck West-Star, his daughter Ferl and the Denebrian Tailor are first and only Jetlag productions appearances, and Clobber, listed on the wiki as Clawber, makes his first.
  4. Continuity: The He-Man wiki says Staghorn drops his rodeo disguise on spotting Sagitar, forcing Skeletor to start his plan early, one of several times Staghorn's grudge endangered a scheme.
  5. Toys: The He-Man wiki's Sagitar page says his toy biography places him on Palomar, while the cartoon gives him a home world called Equinos where Staghorn once raided.
  6. Toys: Staghorn's figure came out in 1991 with a back lever that raises and lowers his horned helmet, according to the He-Man wiki.
  7. Voice cast: Campbell Lane voices both Skeletor and Sagitar, and Ted Cole voices Slush Head and Staghorn, per the He-Man wiki cast list.
  8. Behind the scenes: The safety moral has Hydron telling Caz to take time to drink during activities, according to the He-Man wiki.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
Skeletor
Evil

Skeletor
Slushhead
Evil

Slushhead
Staghorn
Evil

Staghorn
Prince Adam
Good

Prince Adam

Episode screenshots

A blonde woman in pink smiles beside a dark-haired woman in white under streetlamps.
A blonde woman in pink smiles beside a dark-haired woman in white under streetlamps.
The blonde woman looks on warmly as the dark-haired woman closes her eyes.
The blonde woman looks on warmly as the dark-haired woman closes her eyes.
Caz grips a pole in a market lot as Adam and two women stand before a blue tent.
The blonde woman in pink raises a finger while the dark-haired woman listens on a dusty lot.
Adam talks with Caz, who waves one hand, beside a tray of cups on a dusty lot.
Adam talks with Caz, who waves one hand, beside a tray of cups on a dusty lot.
Adam smiles warmly with his hands resting on a pale tray.
Adam smiles warmly with his hands resting on a pale tray.
The skull-shaped moon drifts in space.
Flogg sits with folded arms in a purple cockpit seat framed by two windows.
Flogg sits with folded arms in a purple cockpit seat framed by two windows.
Flogg sits with arms crossed between two windows in his red-armored seat.
Flogg sits with arms crossed between two windows in his red-armored seat.
Flogg scowls with his teeth bared, his grey hood pulled up.
Skeletor holds his skull staff and glares at Flogg, who sits with arms crossed.
Skeletor holds his skull staff and glares at Flogg, who sits with arms crossed.
Skeletor leans in to talk with Flogg, who faces him in grey and red armor.
Skeletor leans in to talk with Flogg, who faces him in grey and red armor.
Caz sits strapped into a seat between a dark-haired woman and a blonde woman in pink.
Mara taps a keypad at a console and glances back over her shoulder.
Passengers aboard a ship watch from their seats while Caz sits strapped in at the front.
Skeletor grins with a hand raised before a wide ship window as Slush Head peers behind him.
Slush Head grins and points a thumb while Skeletor leers behind him through the ship window.
Slush Head grins and points a thumb while Skeletor leers behind him through the ship window.
He-Man sits at the controls beside a red-vested pilot in a helmet, both looking ahead.
He-Man sits at the controls beside a red-vested pilot in a helmet, both looking ahead.
He-Man works the control keypad as the red-vested pilot clenches a fist beside him.
He-Man works the control keypad as the red-vested pilot clenches a fist beside him.
A white shuttle flies beside a huge green creature-shaped warship with curving spines.
He-Man and the red-vested pilot sit strapped in, scowling at the view ahead.
A shuttle engine fan glows red above a landing area with round lamps in the dusk.
He-Man looks ahead sternly with the sword hilt at his shoulder.
Flogg stands among a crowd of horned and bird-faced aliens at a gathering.
Aliens in seats cheer in a red bleacher section as one holds a drumstick.
An orange horned bull is led across a metal walkway.
A horned bull noses toward a blonde woman who covers her face while He-Man and a woman watch.
A red-vested man in a helmet stands near the walkway as a dark horned beast looms behind him.
Caz smiles beside the dark-haired woman and the blonde woman in a ship's corridor.
The dark-haired woman and the blonde woman face a helmeted man in the ship's corridor.
The dark-haired woman in white looks on calmly in the ship's corridor.
The blonde woman in pink stands with her back to the camera before a green sliding door.
Skeletor grins beside a white-bearded man in a brown cowboy hat and long coat.
A white-bearded man in a cowboy hat leans over a counter above Skeletor, who peeks from below.
The cowboy-hatted man stands with Skeletor, who grins with arms folded on a counter.
The white-bearded cowboy raises a finger as Skeletor grins and He-Man listens from the right.
The cowboy and Skeletor stand before the blonde woman, Drissi, who turns toward them.
The cowboy gestures with an open hand between He-Man and Skeletor.
Flogg stands with arms crossed on a ramp while a distant gold-armored mutant looks on.
Skeletor laughs openly beside Flogg, who glowers in his hood.
A black bull with glowing horns paws behind a rail as cowboys in fringe watch from the arena.
A bull's shape stands behind glowing orange bars of an arena gate as cowboys watch.
Skeletor grins and holds a small device in his hands while seated.
A shaggy red beast bares white fangs in close view.
The blonde woman in pink and He-Man sit side by side in the arena seats.
He-Man runs across the arena floor toward the bull's gate.
A black-and-red bull with long white horns charges forward in the arena.
Skeletor sits among a crowd of aliens, with Flogg and Slush Head in the seats beside him.
He-Man throws himself at the charging black bull as it lowers its horns.
He-Man crouches with his back to the camera in the dim arena.
He-Man bellows with one arm raised high under a ribbed arena ceiling.
The black bull lowers its horns and snorts in the arena.
He-Man wrestles against the bull's neck in a cloud of dust.
He-Man looks aside, crouched and breathing hard on the arena floor.
He-Man grips the bull's head as blue sparks arc around it.
Skeletor sits scowling among a crowd of grinning aliens, with Slush Head and Flogg nearby.
He-Man looks down as the bull's torn shell shows machine parts beneath the red hide.
Caz looks up at the blonde woman in a red dress standing beside him.
Caz speaks with a blonde girl in purple as the cowboy owner looks on behind them.
A man in a white hat and vest strains in a tailor shop beside a spotted figure.
A red-faced man in a white hat faces a green-faced tailor with a red mustache.
Flogg and Skeletor stand with arms folded in a dim stone hall.
A green-faced man in a cowboy hat and red scarf stands with Flogg, who folds his arms.
Adam, the white-haired elder and Mara stand under a purple evening sky with tents behind.
Adam smirks beside Mara as they look off under a purple evening sky.
A crowd gathers around a wired metal machine with a spiked crown on a lit stage.
A scientist in a tall red hat gestures beside a metal tower as a bald man watches.
The scientist in the tall red hat stands with hands on hips beside two bald men.
The small scientist with tall yellow hair and glasses smiles beside a machine with hoses.
The scientist in the tall red hat raises a hand beside a glowing lamp on the machine.
Two stage spotlights hang from a rail in a darkened hall.
Onlookers watch as the red-hatted scientist and a helper kneel among cables on the stage.
A large ship with a dome and horn-shaped tower sits glittering with lights at night.
A white-bearded man in a cowboy hat sits at his desk with his boots up.
Skeletor laughs and slaps his thigh in front of the desk and a pair of boots.
Skeletor presses a hand to his chest and grins.
Skeletor stands grinning beside the desk while a cowboy in shadow sits at the left.
Skeletor roars with laughter, his red eyes wide.
A domed saucer-shaped ship hovers over a festival of lit tents at dusk.
A white-bearded cowboy in a brown coat stands in a stage spotlight surrounded by glowing lights.
The blonde woman in pink speaks to the white-bearded cowboy under a red sunset sky.
Three dark eclipsed discs hang in a night sky above the lit festival tents.
The blonde woman in pink looks up at the red-vested helmeted man, who faces away.
The red-vested helmeted man talks gravely with a hand out beside the blonde woman.
The red-vested man in a blue helmet shouts and swings an arm out in a blurred motion.
The red-vested man stands with a hand on his hip as a fist swings in at left.
Flogg sits at the cowboy's desk while Skeletor leans on it beside him.
Flogg crawls on the floor of the ship, his helmet askew and his teeth bared.
A green-faced man in a cowboy hat points a blaster at a brown-haired man in blue.
Overhead, armed figures stand in rows on a white platform.
Adam looks up with resolve beside Mara against a sunset sky.
The blonde woman holds a finger to her lips as Adam and the dark-haired woman look on.
The blonde woman's long hair fills the frame as she looks away in the dark.
A glowing blue silhouette of He-Man holds up a sword against black.
Skeletor, Flogg and a tusked golden-helmeted mutant stand together in the dark.
A blonde woman in red and a dark-haired woman in white walk toward a lit ship.
Skeletor in a dark hood laughs while Flogg looks alarmed beside him.
Skeletor and several captives in overlapping images pass through a ship doorway.
Skeletor grins with red eyes in a hood in front of a lit ship at night.
Slush Head lunges with cable arms at a girl in pink on a white ship deck.
Slush Head lunges with cable arms at a girl in pink on a white ship deck.
A pale ship interior stretches along a bare white floor with a dark cable across the wall.
He-Man leaps with his sword raised across a red and orange plain as figures watch from above.
He-Man holds the Power Sword across his body and looks toward the camera with a smile.
A grey-helmeted purple-armed mutant reaches out as another stands behind under a bright sky.
Festival tents spread below a glowing creature-faced mothership on a sunny day.
The mothership sits as a domed ship with curved horns and glowing orange eyes on its front.
A white-bearded cowboy in a black hat talks with He-Man in a lit ship bay.
He-Man, the elder, two women, a cowboy and a boy gather on a dirt field.
A blonde woman and Caz walk together, both smiling under a blue sky.
A red-haired man in a teal jacket fades through a faint overlay of sky and trees.

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