NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

The Sheriff of Gorn City

The Sheriff of Gorn City title card
E39

Official Synopsis

Flipshot stands with a blaster as his deputy hauls a purple prisoner.

Gorn City has no law, and a voice on the Mutant side says it has someone else in mind for the job of sheriff, a plan to end He-Man. When Gorn City asks for Flipshot, Prince Adam suspects a trap, but the Mutants offer a treaty banning military action there, witnessed by the Galactic Council, and Master Sebrian is persuaded. Flipshot and Spinwit are attacked on the way until Flogg calls off the attackers. Two people claim to be mayor, and Flipshot jails a wanted alien and, after a tip about the bank's gems, Bi-Lock the Kid for robbing it. That angers Bi-Lock's brother Tri-Lock and his Ugly Bunch. Adam sees that it was all too easy, calls He-Man, and the gang is beaten. A fire safety lesson closes.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

Stop, drop and roll: if your clothes or hair catch fire, do not run, but drop to the ground and roll over and over until the fire goes out.

heman.org Episode Review

Which is the better bait for a vain man: a danger, or a job he wants? "The Sheriff of Gorn City" bets on the job. Early on, a Mutant volunteers to be sheriff of the lawless town and is told that he may be ready once he has mastered walking and blinking at the same time; a voice then says it has someone else in mind, and that once the right connections get him elected, it will mean the end of He-Man.

Adam sees the shape of the trap at once and says so: why would Gorn City want Flipshot as its sheriff, in a town full of the toughest, meanest alien miners in their galaxy? Flipshot hears an insult and answers that he is a Galactic Guardian and was born for action, which is just the reaction the plan needs. The treaty scene that follows is well built. A Mutant envoy offers a treaty guaranteeing no military action in Gorn City, Primus says it has been let down before and wants the Galactic Council to witness it, and Sebrian reasons that Flogg may be untrustworthy but would not anger all the planets in the galaxy by breaking such a treaty. Each character is being sensible, and that is why the trap works.

Put in plain words, the story is about a plan that runs on its victim's early success: each easy win nudges Flipshot closer to the one he cannot handle. The first turns out to be staged. Fighters of an unfamiliar sort go after Flipshot and Spinwit on the way down, Flogg appears to call them off and offers repairs, and he lavishes praise on the noble soldier; Flipshot says he did not expect to thank a Mutant, and afterward the Mutants gloat over the performance, and a voice promises that he is about to walk into the worst nightmare he has had, only he will not be dreaming.

In Gorn City the pieces keep arriving. A man declares himself mayor, Zeeka turns up as the mayor who beat him in the last election, and Flipshot tells a wanted alien that it can be the easy way or the hard way, gets the hard way, and jails him anyway. A voice calls this part two of Skeletor's plan, and Flipshot concludes that being sheriff is a lot easier than he thought. Someone then mentions a shipment of gems in the bank, a voice remarks that it sounds like a job for Bi-Lock the Kid, and Bi-Lock arrives to rob the place, only to be jailed. The town's reaction is the real sting: everyone hides, because Bi-Lock's brother Tri-Lock leads the Ugly Bunch and will be riding in.

The funniest line belongs to Spinwit, who is appointed deputy and says that anyone with brains will clear out once they learn he is coming. The tone of the dialogue keeps leaning on the Western: ride out of town, the easy way or the hard way, and a Tri-Lock who answers a demand for release papers with a famous line about not needing any. The He-Man wiki says it echoes The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

The weakness is crowding. A treaty, two claimants to the mayor's office, a bank deposit, a robbery, a jailing and a gang arrive in one slot, and it is Adam who spots that things were too easy, so Flipshot does not get to discover the trap himself. The likely reason is the short running time, which leaves the rescue to arrive quickly and Meliac to take over the job in a few lines.

Verdict: a lively, Western-flavoured outing that draws its laughs from Flipshot's vanity, and a good example of the Mutants baiting a trap with flattery.

Notes of Interest

  1. Homage: The He-Man wiki says Tri-Lock's line 'Papers? We don't need no stinking Papers!' is a reference to the 'Badges? We don't need no stinking Badges!' line from the 1948 film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
  2. Continuity: Per the He-Man wiki, Zeeka is the new mayor of Gorn City, replacing the devious Korac, and is voiced here by Venus Terzo.
  3. Continuity: The wiki says Korac, the ousted mayor, goes on to supply Skeletor with the Brain Amplifier in Brain Drain.
  4. Continuity: According to the wiki, Tri-Lock is the older brother of Bi-Lock the Kid, leads a gang called the Ugly Bunch, and also appears in a flashback in The Games.
  5. Voice cast: Scott McNeil voices both Flipshot and BH, and Don Brown voices both Hydron and Gepple, according to the He-Man wiki cast list.
  6. Continuity: The He-Man wiki lists the Ugly Bunch as travelling on Terrortreads, a Mutant vehicle.
  7. Fan observation: The sources differ on who proposes Flipshot for the job: Wikipedia's summary says Flogg appoints him at Skeletor's suggestion, while the He-Man wiki summary says Skeletor nominates him.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
Prince Adam
Good

Prince Adam
Skeletor
Evil

Skeletor
Flogg
Evil

Flogg

Episode screenshots

Flogg sips a red drink at a table while Skeletor's helmet looms at left.
Flogg sips a red drink at a table while Skeletor's helmet looms at left.
Flogg frowns with a tall glass of red drink at his elbow.
Flogg frowns with a tall glass of red drink at his elbow.
Flogg, Skeletor and a large mutant in a green vest sit around a table before a glass dome.
Skeletor grins beside a broad mutant in a green vest and a masked helmet.
Skeletor grins beside a broad mutant in a green vest and a masked helmet.
Flogg glares from his hood with a hard look.
A helmeted pilot leaves a landed craft before a round grey building.
A helmeted pilot leaves a landed craft before a round grey building.
A brown-haired man in blue gestures to Adam and Master Sebrian across a marble floor.
A brown-haired man in blue gestures to Adam and Master Sebrian across a marble floor.
Adam looks on beside Master Sebrian, who holds a wooden staff.
Adam looks on beside Master Sebrian, who holds a wooden staff.
A brown-haired man in a blue suit lunges past a table of flowers, arm outstretched.
A brown-haired man in a blue suit lunges past a table of flowers, arm outstretched.
A man in blue leaps toward a falling flower vase as Adam and Master Sebrian watch.
A man in blue leaps toward a falling flower vase as Adam and Master Sebrian watch.
A man in blue sits on the floor amid broken vase pieces beside Master Sebrian.
Adam and Master Sebrian watch a viewscreen with Flogg's helmet in the foreground.
Adam and Master Sebrian watch a viewscreen with Flogg's helmet in the foreground.
Flogg raises a finger in a pale room.
Flogg gestures with an open red glove, looking stern.
A man in blue crouches over the shattered vase and scattered flowers.
A brown-haired man smiles with hands pressed together before the screen, Adam and Master Sebrian behind.
Skeletor grins in the foreground as Flogg raises a finger behind him.
Skeletor grins in the foreground as Flogg raises a finger behind him.
Skeletor stands with his staff in a dim ship corridor as Flogg's arm fills the corner.
A white spaceship flies through the starfield.
Flipshot grips the controls in a ship cockpit, looking determined.
Flipshot looks ahead tensely from his seat.
Red fighters streak through a starfield.
Flipshot speaks, brow raised, at the controls.
Two orange explosions burst in space.
A white ship banks through the starfield beside a second ship.
A pilot in a visored brown helmet sits tense at the controls.
Flipshot glances sideways, looking worried.
Flipshot frowns at the controls.
Two yellow panels sit on a blue metal hull.
A dark creature-shaped ship looms below as small red fighters fly overhead.
A red fighter streaks past the curved claws of a large ship.
Flipshot shouts at the controls with a curved blue tendril behind him.
Flipshot watches a monitor, hand to his chin, as Flogg's helmet appears below.
Flogg spreads his arms wide before a control console.
Flogg grins with his hand raised, showing sharp teeth.
Skeletor laughs with his arms crossed near a dark curved wall.
Skeletor stands with his staff in an opening of a pink fleshy ship.
A staff and brown boot stand before a ship's control panel.
Skeletor steps forward with his staff, grinning, in the ship's control room.
Flogg scowls beside Skeletor's huge laughing face.
Two white ships fly in tandem through space.
A lit tower and dome stand on a flat plain under a night sky.
Two white ships land on a dark metal pad seen from above.
A white ship waits before a tall lit tower as two figures walk beside it.
Dark figures gather at the base of a cliff under the stars.
Three alien creatures crowd forward, one with big orange eyes.
Flipshot gestures with an open hand as a white-haired man faces him from behind.
A pilot in a visored helmet looks surprised, mouth open.
A crowd of aliens gathers around a white ship under a glowing platform.
The visored pilot shouts with his mouth open in the cockpit.
Flipshot looks ahead with a worried expression.
Flipshot turns his head to the side.
A blonde woman with pink horns smiles slyly.
The horned blonde woman faces Flipshot and the visored pilot, both shown from behind.
A white-haired mayor in a blue coat leans forward holding a small device.
The white-haired mayor grins behind a high collar.
Flipshot walks down a dusty street between old buildings as a hand rests near a holster.
The mayor grins from a round window.
A cloaked figure in a hat creeps along the street.
A cloaked gunman aims a large pistol straight at the camera.
Flipshot crouches with his hand ready, looking tough.
Flipshot stands with his hands out beside a cloaked man and the visored pilot.
The mayor looks out from a round window.
A wanted poster shows a rat in a bow tie crossed out in red.
Two men in blue suits stand behind a desk in a jail office.
A blonde woman talks with two men in blue in a small office.
A tiny helmeted figure and a distant green figure stand by a red rock.
A pink creature hugs a large green seed pod.
A big green pod rolls on the ground before a cave.
A red rock stands over a dusty plain under a blue sky.
A green tracked walker waits outside a bank as people stand on its porch.
A white pod with a red stripe sits behind a window frame.
The mayor, seen from behind, reaches a hand toward a man at a desk.
A broad shouldered man in blue stands with his back to the camera at a desk.
A green tracked machine edges into the frame beside a bank porch.
A man in blue looks up at tall brown buildings.
The mayor leans against a post as two men in blue talk on the sheriff's office porch.
The mayor smirks with a finger at his chin.
A brown-haired man in a grey collar smiles with raised eyebrows.
Master Sebrian listens at his desk as Adam raises a finger.
Adam and Master Sebrian stand at a console where a screen shows a brown-haired man.
A bright blue flash fills the frame.
He-Man holds the Power Sword high against a dark blue background.
He-Man holds the Power Sword high against a dark blue background.
He-Man speaks, brow furrowed, beside Master Sebrian at a console.
He-Man speaks, brow furrowed, beside Master Sebrian at a console.
A green tracked walker with long arms rolls through a dusty street.
Outlaws sit atop green tracked walkers before low buildings.
A prisoner with long blue hair grips the bars of a cell as a visored man looks on.
Five green walkers race across a sandy plain, seen from above.
Flipshot smiles confidently, head cocked.
A cracked window and wooden door sit in a pink wall.
A bearded outlaw in a green hat and a spiky blue-haired man look ahead.
He-Man smiles beside a masked man in teal.
Green walkers carrying outlaws fill the street.
A hand raises a pistol beside a pink building with a dented wall.
He-Man stands with Flipshot, the visored deputy and a tusked alien in a messy office.
Rows of outlaws on green tracked walkers wait in the night street.
A bearded outlaw in a green hat aims a pistol beside a spiky blue-haired man.
Three townsfolk crouch on a rooftop at night.
Heroes and townsfolk scramble up a pile of brown rubble.
A masked man in teal fires a glowing glove beside a tusked alien.
Two outlaws with rifles stand on a darkened street at night.
A one-eyed blue alien faces He-Man, who is seen from behind.
A pink building with a blue door and broken windows stands under a sign.
He-Man smiles beside the one-eyed blue alien, who looks worried.
From above, He-Man and others stand among scattered rubble and papers in the office.
A tusked alien covers his face as the horned blonde woman laughs.
Master Sebrian, a dark-haired woman and Adam gather around a bubbling red pot on the grass.

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