NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

The Heat

The Heat title card
E03

Official Synopsis

He-Man dodges Flogg's attack as a spotted mutant lashes a cable at him.

With the Trifusium generator wrecked, Primus is heating up, and the new crystals have to be installed fast. While He-Man and Hydron are drawn off by a false report of an attack on Levitan, Slush Head slips in and kidnaps the scientists, and Flogg takes them to the Quagmi Swamp as bait. A homing device lets He-Man and Hydron track the scientists. In the swamp, Skeletor demands the hero's sword. He-Man answers that the Mutants' own ship is wrapped in a laser web, and Flogg is forced to bargain. He-Man gives his word, and the heroes go home.

Morals by Closing safety lesson spoken at the end of the episode. Paraphrased from the audio.

The closing lesson is a safety tip about ice: check how thick it is before you go skating.

heman.org Episode Review

Decoys are the engine of "The Heat." The mutants send a false report of an attack on Levitan so the heroes will leave the generator, Skeletor wants the hero lured to the Quagmi Swamp, and the scientists everyone cares about are taken as bait. The heat of the title is the deadline hanging over Primus, and the rest of the story is a game of where people are looking.

That setup gives the episode a better first half than the series' average. Hydron and Flipshot return from Gorn City with crystals and a certain amount of swagger, and the script lets them be tired and pleased with themselves for one brief scene before the report comes in. When they rush back to Titus, the viewer already suspects the report was a diversion. That's a pleasing sort of tension, and it works because the kidnapping is explained in the next scene.

The comic centre of the story is the captive scientists, who spend their time blaming each other for the crack in the shield. Gepple and his colleagues, locked up in the Mutant mothership, trade accusations about whose idea the seal was, and Skeletor, who wanted to learn how the shield opens, listens to them argue and gets nowhere. It is the funniest scene of the five episodes, mostly because it lets the series laugh at its own technocrats.

The middle of the story belongs to the rescue party and a tree with an unusual talent. He-Man, Hydron and Flipshot cross the storm to the swamp, Flipshot gets sick over the side of the ship, and the heroes find a tree that stops sneezing. That last bit is a jolly little throwaway, and it also sets up a real joke about the swamp being a place of strange remedies.

The climax carries the episode's argument. Skeletor orders the hero to hand over the sword, and He-Man replies by pointing at the ship. The heroes had located the Mutant vessel in advance and surrounded it with a laser web, so Flogg has to choose between a prisoner and a ride home. The hero wins with preparation instead of strength, and it is a rare moment where a Primus plan works because somebody thought it through. He-Man then gives his word to lift the web once they are safe on Primus, and the Mutants have to take it on trust. Flogg's doubt that the hero will keep his promise is echoed in the penultimate episode, Flogg's Revenge.

It is worth saying that Prince Adam does not appear in this episode at all. It is a small relief after the premiere; the Adam disguise costs the hero scenes without adding much, and dropping it lets the hero spend the half hour as He-Man.

The weakness is the second half's pacing. Once the laser web is announced, the story has nowhere to go, and the final minutes are a victory lap with the young heroes trading stories and a quarrel over who gets the credit. The moral at the close, about checking the thickness of the ice before skating, comes out of nowhere in a story about a swamp and a ship. It is the least earned of the lessons in the first run.

Verdict: the sharpest of the five on plotting, and the one where the heroes win by being prepared. The decoy structure is a good idea well used, and it deserves to be remembered ahead of the premiere.

Notes of Interest

  1. Edit history: The recap at the start of this episode opens with a shot taken from the finale of The Ultimate Challenge, according to the He-Man wiki.
  2. Continuity: The wiki says this is one of only two episodes in which Slush Head takes off his helmet, the other being Four Ways to Sundown.
  3. Continuity: Slush Head gives the Mutant salute to Flogg and Skeletor here, a gesture the wiki says later matters to the plot of The Battle for Levitan.
  4. Continuity: Prince Adam does not appear in this episode, per the wiki.
  5. Continuity: Flogg's doubt that He-Man will keep his word is echoed in the penultimate episode, Flogg's Revenge, where Flogg gets the same promise and quips that He-Man could not lie, according to the wiki.
  6. Toys: Flipshot's movements while planting the bomb on the Mutant Mothership resemble the action feature of his toy, per the wiki.
  7. Voice cast: Ted Cole voices Slush Head, Karatti and Gleep, and Venus Terzo voices Mara, Crita and the Sorceress, according to the wiki's cast list.
  8. Toys: Slush Head was in the first wave of the toy line and was called Kalamaar in all European media, per the wiki.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
Skeletor
Evil

Skeletor
Flogg
Evil

Flogg
Slushhead
Evil

Slushhead

Episode screenshots

A small scientist in a white coat works at a control panel on the tall generator.
A small scientist in a white coat works at a control panel on the tall generator.
He-Man walks through a night street flanked by an alien in green armor and a dark-haired boy.
He-Man walks through a night street flanked by an alien in green armor and a dark-haired boy.
A giant robot face with large round goggle eyes looms in the dark.
A giant robot face with large round goggle eyes looms in the dark.
A bespectacled scientist in a lilac robe tinkers with a red coiled part on the generator.
A bespectacled scientist in a lilac robe tinkers with a red coiled part on the generator.
A red-clad elder gestures at a bald man beside the generator while a blond boy in blue looks on.
A red-clad elder gestures at a bald man beside the generator while a blond boy in blue looks on.
Four scientists gather by the generator door, a red-hatted one perched on a blond man's shoulders.
A bald scientist in a grey collar smiles and gestures with one hand.
The bespectacled scientist turns to speak, looking worried.
A white robot with purple goggle eyes and orange pads raises an arm.
The red-hatted scientist sits with his hands on his knee, scowling.
The bald scientist spreads his arms wide with a worried look.
Three scientists stand with hands on hips while the red-hatted one rides on another's shoulders.
Two scientists crouch with metal canisters held over their heads for cover.
The white robot with goggle eyes stands in the generator hall.
Four scientists walk together through a large dark doorway.
He-Man and a brown-haired man in blue look out under a bright sky.
He-Man and a brown-haired man in blue look out under a bright sky.
A red-haired man in teal armor carries a frightened blond scientist as another reaches out.
A dark-haired boy in a yellow tunic holds up a rock before the scientists and the visitors.
The red-hatted scientist and the bespectacled scientist look up together at the sky.
A white and blue spacecraft rests on a patch of rocky ground.
A small ship flies over a dense city of boxy buildings on a floating platform.
He-Man stands with arms crossed, scowling, beside a dark-haired boy in a yellow tunic.
An armored pilot with a glowing white eye sits at a control console.
He-Man looks out over the purple cityscape with a stern face.
A domed metal machine with clamps stands in the dark generator room.
The bespectacled scientist grips a metal tool and a red valve wheel with a pleased look.
A mutant in a blue suit with a grey face and yellow-green arms grips two coiled cables.
A mutant in a blue suit with a grey face and yellow-green arms grips two coiled cables.
A spotted mutant walks off through the control room with a captured scientist bound in cable overhead.
A spotted mutant walks off through the control room with a captured scientist bound in cable overhead.
Bound scientists stand in a line under guard by mutants, one hulking figure holding a scientist.
A few tiny figures stand at a doorway at the foot of a huge dark wall.
He-Man stands alone in a doorway before a ruined metal wall.
He-Man faces a blonde woman in an orange dress while a dark-haired boy stands beside them.
He-Man, a blonde woman, a boy and a white-haired elder with a staff talk in the dim hall.
He-Man looks at a white-haired elder in a blue robe with a gold medallion.
He-Man and the white-haired elder stand together at a wrecked machine in the dark.
A mutant with a grey face and yellow-green arms stands guard before a pink glow.
Flogg sits in a blue pod reading a paper while Skeletor leans in grinning.
Flogg sits in a blue pod reading a paper while Skeletor leans in grinning.
Skeletor grins with wide eyes, red armor and a skull badge on his chest.
Skeletor grins with wide eyes, red armor and a skull badge on his chest.
A bald scientist lies on the floor, smiling weakly.
A pink cloud bursts over a bespectacled blond scientist who clenches his fist.
Three scientists tend to a fallen bald scientist on the floor.
Skeletor grins with bared teeth and wide eyes.
Skeletor grins with bared teeth and wide eyes.
The scientists bicker in a huddle while Skeletor looms behind them.
The red-hatted scientist and the bespectacled blond scientist glare at each other, fist raised.
Skeletor stares wide-eyed with a toothy grin.
Skeletor ushers the scientists through a doorway with his back-lit cape.
The scientists stand frightened together beneath Skeletor's raised arm and staff.
The scientists huddle anxiously, the bald one looking up worried.
The scientists crowd together and talk anxiously.
A blonde woman in an orange dress and He-Man look on as a blue robot moves in front.
He-Man and a blonde woman in an orange dress stand with a robot in the foreground.
A blue robot looks across a heap of wrecked machinery.
A section of blue metal hull lies in a pile of wreckage.
A white robot's chest panel of dials and buttons glows with orange trim.
A cratered orange skull-shaped planet floats in space.
He-Man and two companions ride in a ship while a goggled pilot sits at the controls.
He-Man looks over at two companions in teal and blue armor as the ship flies on.
He-Man raises a hand and looks to the side with a calm face.
A group of silhouetted figures step down a glowing ramp from a mutant ship.
A mutant in orange armor stands guard at a glowing ship doorway with captives inside.
A tiny group stands before a huge clawed ship in a swamp.
Mutants with scaly faces and a grey-faced mutant in a blue suit look on.
A mutant in a dark blue suit and another in white armor stand on a landing platform.
He-Man walks down a wide white staircase past two mutants in the foreground.
A masked man in blue armor points an arm across the screen.
He-Man and his group crouch near a huge spiny swamp creature at the bottom of the frame.
A figure in white armor with jets on his back stands in front of a big pink shape.
A twisting yellow ribbon of light cuts through the darkness.
He-Man shields his eyes with one arm and ducks forward.
He-Man squints through a swirl of orange dust.
A figure raises a glowing sword high on a rocky outcrop with two companions beside him.
Four bound scientists sit tied together on a rock in the dark swamp.
The bald scientist laughs aloud while the bespectacled scientist frowns, both tied with rope.
The bespectacled blond scientist and the red-hatted scientist sit tied up looking aside.
A bound bald scientist sleeps as a man in blue armor walks past.
He-Man and a small group stand near the bound scientists as a figure in white boots flies in.
Skeletor stands with arms spread, cape wide and a grin on his face.
A figure in white leg armor hovers above the ground on jets.
A man in blue armor with a yellow tank grapples a mutant in tan armor.
Flogg swings a spiked weapon overhead with a scowl.
Flogg swings a spiked weapon overhead with a scowl.
A figure in dark armor swings a long blade amid bright purple laser beams.
Skeletor stands over the bespectacled blond scientist, who clutches a fist.
He-Man and a masked man in teal armor stand side by side, looking to one side.
A woman with long orange hair and a pink dress holds a small device in a dark landscape.
A masked man in teal armor with a yellow collar tube frowns.
Skeletor smiles wide-eyed and looks sideways.
He-Man, two allies and a bald scientist stand together as a mutant's orange arm fills the foreground.
Flogg looks on with a frown while a green mutant watches from behind.
Flogg snarls with bared teeth inside his grey hood.
A blonde woman, a boy in yellow, a white-haired elder, a woman in white and a robot stand beneath a ship.
The boy in yellow clasps He-Man's hand as two allies smile beside them.
The elder, a woman in white, scientists and robots gather at a ship doorway.
He-Man smiles down at the dark-haired boy and rests a hand on his shoulder.
He-Man, a blonde woman, a boy and two allies stand together smiling.
Small figures sit and stand on the steps of a rounded building in an orange city.

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