NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

The Taking of Levitan

The Taking of Levitan title card
E55

Official Synopsis

He-Man reaches out toward Cog.

President Pell presents the Mite robot Cog to Primus as a thank-you, and Ambassador Bimo is to travel with him. Skeletor, Flogg and the Gleanons see their chance, and a raid under cover of a Gleanon diversion gets Private Dobson into Cog's building, where he reprograms the robot. Cog and Bimo are welcomed on Primus, and Cog helps bring down a craft with failing landing gear. When the Mutant fleet arrives, Cog turns on Levitan and He-Man, until Bimo's plea shows that Cog was tampered with. Cog helps beat the Mutants and leaves to protect other galaxies. The closing tip is about volunteering.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

When you do something for your community or for people in need, that is volunteer work; volunteering is important and needed, and you have the power to make a difference.

heman.org Episode Review

When your best friend becomes the threat, who do you trust? "The Taking of Levitan" answers with a Mite diplomat who steps in and calls a giant robot his friend. The setup is clever, because the present is the weapon: the Mutants do not need to break a wall when Levitan is preparing a welcome for the visitor.

The first scenes are the villains' best. When Pell offers Cog as a thank-you, an excited voice accepts on the spot and has to be apologised for, and among the villains someone insists that Cog is a robot with legendary strength. Skeletor is told that Cog is a keeper of goodwill who has served in other galaxies, and a Gleanon boasts that his people are natural sneaks. The plan is to slip a technician into the robotics building and rewrite the robot while Gleanon fighters fly a diversion, and the technician, Dobson, wonders aloud why he had to be a computer programmer. That small bit of reluctance is one of the funniest touches in the script.

Put in plain words, the story is about trust being the real target. The Mutants plan to turn the Mites' gift into a weapon and let Primus welcome it in, while the fleet attacks from outside. The pep rally in the Mutant ranks, with chants of who will rule the galaxy and troops shouting the answer, is a pleasure, and it shows the villains are as sure of themselves as the Primus welcome party. Meanwhile Gleep introduces the Guardians to Cog, and when a pilot reports failing landing gear, Cog and a Guardian help bring the craft down, a demonstration praised as very convincing before anything goes wrong.

The turn is handled with good timing. Cog says he must destroy Levitan; He-Man refuses to let him; and the two fight while the Mutants press the shield from outside. The fight is the standout of the half hour, and it turns when Bimo calls out that Cog is his friend and that these are friends. When the penny drops, the verdict is that someone reprogrammed him, Skeletor no doubt, and Cog is soon asked whether he is up for some Mutant housecleaning. It is a satisfying inversion: the machine meant to break the city helps to defend it.

The weakness is the loose cast. Gleep, Hydron, Spinwit, Dobson, Pell, Bimo and a Gleanon commander all want lines in a plot that mostly runs on Cog and Bimo, and the pep rally and the diversion take time that the resolution could have used. The cure for Cog also arrives quickly once Bimo speaks, a convenience a 22-minute slot invites. The He-Man wiki notes a stray continuity error as well: a Mutant trooper preparing to roll out the red carpet where a Primus trooper should be.

Verdict: a brisk, affectionate adventure that finds a good reason for the Guardians to be glad of an outsider, and which closes on a warm note about helping others. It sits comfortably in the upper middle of the run, mostly because of Cog and Bimo.

Notes of Interest

  1. Continuity: Prince Adam does not appear in this story, per the He-Man wiki.
  2. Edit history: The He-Man wiki lists a continuity error: a Mutant Trooper is seen preparing to roll out the red carpet on Levitan instead of a Primus Trooper.
  3. Continuity: The He-Man wiki also notes that Gleep mentions Sagitar while introducing the Guardians to KOG, although Sagitar is not at the gathering.
  4. Continuity: Ambassador Bimo is listed on the He-Man wiki as a first Jetlag Productions appearance, while Private Dobson is a first and only one.
  5. Voice cast: Ted Cole is credited for Spinwit, Slush Head, Gleep and Vice-President Etor, and Garry Chalk for He-Man, President Pell and Sergeant Krone, per the He-Man wiki cast list.
  6. Voice cast: The He-Man wiki cast list gives Michael Donovan (uncredited) as General Nifel and Doug Parker as both Adam of Grayskull and Hoove.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
Skeletor
Evil

Skeletor
Flogg
Evil

Flogg

Episode screenshots

A mustached mite in orange armor frowns and looks down.
A mustached mite in orange armor frowns and looks down.
The red-haired woman stands behind Niffle as he turns and speaks.
The red-haired woman stands behind Niffle as he turns and speaks.
The red-haired woman and a Gleanon stand in front of a large curved window.
The red-haired woman and a Gleanon stand in front of a large curved window.
Cog, a grey robot with red eyes, punches through a cracked orange rock wall on a monitor.
Cog, a grey robot with red eyes, punches through a cracked orange rock wall on a monitor.
Cog stands among broken rubble, his hands open.
Cog stands among broken rubble, his hands open.
The red-haired woman stands beside Niffle, who glances sideways.
The red-haired woman stands beside Niffle, who glances sideways.
The red-haired woman smiles knowingly, her head tilted.
A green spiked mutant warship drifts near a rocky moonscape.
Flogg sits scowling in his ship's seat while Skeletor stands behind him.
Flogg sits scowling in his ship's seat while Skeletor stands behind him.
The red-haired woman speaks in a dark cabin, her lips parted.
Skeletor glares, his skull face half in orange light.
Skeletor glares, his skull face half in orange light.
Tiny figures cross a dark forest clearing under a glowing dome.
The red-haired woman looks down at Niffle as he stands in the dark woods.
Gleanon troops crouch beside tracked skull-shaped cannons in the forest.
Gleanon troops lie behind skull-mounted weapons in the underbrush.
A starry night sky sits above the dark outline of trees.
A mustached mite in orange armor scowls toward the camera.
A dark-haired woman gestures at a mite ambassador in sunglasses and the mustached mite.
A dark-haired woman stands over the sunglassed mite and the mustached mite as they watch.
A green glowing ball of light blazes in front of a ship on a landing platform.
The red-haired woman stands in the forest beside Niffle and a squad of masked Gleanons.
Two glasses-wearing Gleanons peer from behind green foliage and a blue vehicle.
A Gleanon works at the tip of a spire on a rooftop.
A tiny Gleanon drifts against a starry sky under a curving line.
A Gleanon in a harness floats in the starry dark.
Green hands fasten the buckle on a black belt.
A glass dome roof glows green under a starry sky.
Cog sits wired to cables, his red eyes lit.
A dark-haired woman scowls at the controls of her ship.
A white ship flies beside other ships over dark hills.
Several small ships fly over a dark ridge, a white ship in front.
A dark fighter jet flies close to a cockpit window.
A fighter with orange engine pods flies beside a white cockpit.
A dark-haired woman in a flight harness turns her head to look.
A tiny mite in red armor stands in a large blue hangar.
A glasses-wearing Gleanon floats in space with his arms out.
A dome window shows stars through its angular frames.
A glasses-wearing Gleanon sits on the floor of the hangar, looking up in alarm.
The Gleanon in glasses stares upward with a wary look.
A hand reaches for a tan backpack.
A banded green arm braces against a panel.
Seen from above, a Gleanon sits at the top of a blue pod wrapped in cables.
The Gleanon in glasses frowns, his head ducked low.
A tiny mite in red armor stands at the end of a long blue hallway.
A green Gleanon in glasses clings to a cable with his fist over his head.
The Gleanon in glasses climbs a cable, one arm pointing ahead.
A tiny red-armored figure crosses a white floor.
A small red-armored mite stands on the arm of Cog's seat beside lit antennas.
Cog sits in a large chair while a small red-armored mite stands beside him.
A masked Gleanon peers over the railing of a blue structure.
The red-haired woman holds a microphone beside Niffle as a green skull cannon floats nearby.
Niffle scowls beside the red-haired woman in the dark.
A tall blue tower stands with flags above its entrance.
A man pushes a red roll on a cart past a small robot with a tall head.
An orange ship approaches a space station above a planet.
An orange ship rolls across a landing pad, kicking up dust.
Cog stands beside a small robot and a red-armored mite in front of an orange ship.
A small robot falls over beside Cog's dark legs.
A green spiked mutant warship floats in space, a red eye glowing on its hull.
Flogg clenches his fists, wearing a white jersey and pink cap with the letter M.
Flogg clenches his fists, wearing a white jersey and pink cap with the letter M.
Mutants stand in a row in a ship's cabin.
Skeletor grins wide, his eyes glowing red.
Skeletor grins wide, his eyes glowing red.
Flogg raises his fists in the jersey and cap.
Flogg looks worried beside Skeletor, who glances away.
Cog's head and shoulders fill the frame, his red eyes glowing.
He-Man stands beside Cog in a doorway as a man in blue stands near.
He-Man stands beside Cog in a doorway as a man in blue stands near.
A man in a visored helmet grits his teeth.
A pair of brown boots kicks through the air above a puff of smoke.
Cog stands on a blue ship's wing with a tiny figure beneath.
Skeletor stands beside Flogg, who sits in a chair in the jersey and cap.
A planet sits in the darkness behind the curved edge of a ship's window.
A mutant in a jersey with the letter M waves orange pom-poms against a pink wall.
Two mutants in lettered jerseys stand in front of a brown ship's open door.
Flogg stares ahead as Skeletor glares from the side.
A skull-shaped moon floats in a starry sky.
He-Man and others stand in a control room around Cog, a pink-armored mite and a small robot.
Cog stands with his back to a long-haired elder as a small robot watches.
Two seated figures face a screen with circular scanning lines.
A tall space station rises over a curving pink and blue planet.
A small green robot faces Cog's blue-black head.
A long-haired elder and a boy in yellow stand beside Cog in a doorway.
He-Man shouts, his mouth open and his eyes wide.
He-Man stands between a brown-haired man and a red-haired man in a doorway.
A pair of open hands reach out in front of a cracked blue surface.
A rock wall is cracked around a dark opening.
Flogg glares in his M jersey.
A thin tower stretches up to a disc in the blue sky.
A blue star cluster shines in a field of stars.
He-Man listens as a red-haired man speaks beside him.
The Power Sword points up against a cloudy sky.
He-Man falls through the sky, a trail of motion behind him.
A boy in yellow walks across a wide landing pad.
Cog sits in the cockpit of a white ship.
He-Man grips a large dark blue barrel.
Cog stands on a platform with an open hand in the corner of the frame.
A red-armored mite smiles beside a grey hull.
A man in a visored helmet sits in front of three crew members with headsets.
The red-armored mite smiles with his hands tucked together.
Cog's chest lamp glows as he stands under the clouds.
Three white ships fly through space with their lights on.
A mutant in a jersey hangs from a crane claw by his collar.
Several white ships fly through a glowing blue cloud.
Cog looks out a window as a white ship passes outside.
An orange ship flies among white fighters.
The red-armored mite holds a sack, standing among trees.

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