Zadoc Angell's original banner created in 1998
THE HE-MAN AND SHE-RA
EPISODE REVIEW WEBSITE:
A RETROSPECTIVE
by James Eatock - 1st August 2017
Here I take a look back at the website that, for five years (August 1st 1997 - August 18th 2002), became a destination for many He-Man and She-Ra fans every Saturday morning...
Zadoc Angell's original banner created in 1998
IN THE BEGINNING...
In late 1995 I discovered the Internet, immediately chose the pseudonym "Busta
Toons", and searched for "He-Man". Much to my surprise I was
not the only He-Man fan in existence. There were at least two others!
The two individuals were Kevin Herbert, who had created a small website detailing
his memories of the action figures; and Adam Tyner, who operated a website,
which was more of a meeting place for the fans (and would later evolve into
He-Man.org). For me, the cartoon had always been the most enjoyable aspect of
He-Man and She-Ra. Sadly, at the time, we fans had no clue
as to how many episodes had been produced. It was a mystery. The Internet was
a very different place back then and this kind of information was simply not
available.
Months later I began compiling a list of the episodes that I could remember
having watched in my youth. As I had no titles to work with I listed descriptions
such as, "Yellow robot attacks Eternia", and "Fisto
battles Spikor in a competition" (I'll let you work out for yourselves
which two episodes those are). In earlier exchanges with Adam Tyner we had both
been told of an episode where He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe,
surrenders his powers; believing that he has actually killed someone. I distinctly
recall Adam Tyner and I scoffing at the idea that Filmation would have made
such an episode.
At the start of 1996 a fan named Scott White contacted me, revealing that he
had recorded many episodes from the re-runs shown on the USA Network. With Scott's
help I was able to create a more defined episode list. One of the first things
he confirmed was the existence of "The Problem With Power"; the episode
in which He-Man believes that he has killed someone. He sent over a bunch of
WAV files which featured moments from the episode. A short while later, out
of the kindness of his heart, Scott White sent over a VHS tape loaded with 15
episodes that I had not seen in close to a decade. I still have that tape. Bizarrely,
I consider it one of my collectibles.
Up until 1996 I had never seen "The Problem With Power"
and did not believe it actually existed
By mid-1996 I had assembled a list of
125 episodes, and been told by Larry DiTillio that there were 130 in total.
People began to appear on the He-Man mailing list in 1996 and 1997,
and with them came some missing episode titles. Robbie Beiswenger appeared with
"The Bitter Rose", Rod Hannah gave us the incredibly hard-to-find
"Reign of the Monster", and Zadoc Angell (I'll be talking about him
some more) popped up with "Hunt for He Man". We now had a list of
128 episodes, but the last two eluded us for quite some time. In 1997 a guy
named Owen Sharp contacted the mailing list and informed us that, as part of
a writing project he did in the eighties, he had listed every single episode
of He-Man and She-Ra! Not only did we learn that the missing
two episodes were titled "The Once and Future Duke" and "Trouble's
Middle Name", but we also learned that She-Ra's second season
was not a mere 14 episodes as we had been led to believe, but that it actually
consisted of 28 episodes! It's hard to convey the sheer joy that a group of
us had back then, as we slowly assembled 223 episodes of He-Man and
She-Ra! One of the more unique moments occurred when Zadoc secured
a deal in which an individual copied him all 28 episodes from She-Ra's season
two. As we had only seen a few of those episodes up until that point, Zadoc
would message me on a daily basis, informing me of the episodes, their plot,
and his opinion of them. The most memorable was his description of "Day
Of The Flowers" in which he detailed the first half of the episode before
declaring, "And it's all downhill from there, both figuratively and literally!"
Throughout this time I had created a simple He-Man and She-Ra
website, which had a page which listed the episode titles as and when we learned
them, as well as some random articles such as "Orko's on drugs!",
in which I highlighted the more unique pieces of Orko animation found in the
He-Man series. I had also purchased a video capture card that year
and was snapping images not only for my own website, but for the websites of
others. One of the most well-known video capture images I snapped was used on
He-Man.org's front page for a good few years, and, to this day, should be instantly
recognizable to those that visited the website around that time!
This image, for many years, was synonymous with He-Man.org
THE ARRIVAL
OF ZADOC ANGELL
As mentioned above, during the tape trading days (as we called it) a fellow
named Zadoc Angell arrived on the scene. He was a very polite young man from
the wonderfully peaceful town of South Otselic in New York. When he first made
contact, given his name, I assumed he was simply a fan of the characters Zodac
and Queen Angella, until he stated that Zadoc Angell was his actual name! After
many months of communication, Zadoc pitched to me the idea of creating a He-Man
and She-Ra website; one that would feature episode reviews each and
every week. Initially, I was not too keen on the idea, as the very thought of
writing about every episode of the series filled me with dread. Given that I
failed to hide my disinterest, Zadoc really pushed for me to work on this website
with him, and eventually I begrudgingly agreed to help. Once we started work
on the website I actually found myself enjoying the experience, creating graphics
on Paint Shop Pro, and coding the website from scratch using Netscape Gold.
Fun fact: those two programs served the website until its demise in 2002. Yes,
I'm very much a creature of habit! I still wasn't too keen on the writing aspect
of the website, but I did my best, which was tough given the calibre of Zadoc's
writing. Even in his mid-teens Zadoc was an incredibly skilled writer. He loved
writing, and he would soon be heading to Harvard! Me, on the other hand, whilst
I had been highly proficient (and creative) when writing during my school years,
art had always been my favorite subject, and so I had put writing very much
to one side. As an example of the verbal chasm between Zadoc and I, when reviewing
"The Cat and the Spider" I summed it up with, "This is easily
one of the best episodes of the 1984 season." Zadoc, on the other hand,
would beautifully summarise, ""The Cat and the Spider" proves
itself to be a solid and enjoyable story that is well told. It may seem like
an average instalment, but that is a deceptive notion. This episode is absolutely
irresistible." With each and every review I would see Zadoc wax lyrical
with such grace, which, unbeknownst to me, taught me a great deal about writing!
Prior to Zadoc and I meeting for the first time we had sent one another VHS
home movies on each other's birthdays (starting in 1998). There was no Skype
back then! These videos would show our respective houses, geeky collections,
favorite clips from other shows, and (most importantly) each other's lives.
It was pretty wonderful to "meet" the person that I had been communicating
with for two years by that point! On one of the VHS tapes Zadoc sent me he filmed
himself reviewing "Of Shadows and Skulls", whilst addressing me (the
audience) at the same time. It was fascinating to see how he would break down
the episode first with notes, begin writing in chunks, edit the text, and pull
it all together at the very end. Plus, rather annoyingly, he seemed to be having
much fun whilst writing. One of the things Zadoc would eventually teach me was
how to enjoy writing, but not being scared of the rules of grammar, but by embracing
them and using them in creative ways. Kind of like what Tom Tataranowicz would
do with the stock animation system at Filmation! As the years progressed I would
come to love writing. And I owe that all to Zadoc.
AUGUST 1st
1997
On August 1st 1997, the He-Man and She-Ra Episode Review Website launched!
We featured 10 reviews, which you can see below. In hindsight we may have tackled
some of the very best episodes, and definitive episodes of the series, far too
soon. Not only did we review both "The Problem With Power" and "The
Price of Freedom" (which we deemed to be the best of their respective series),
but we also reviewed the first episodes produced for both shows in "Diamond
Ray of Disappearance" and "Into Etheria"! Over the course of
the website's existence there were still plenty of episodes to wax lyrical about.
It just seems odd that looking at these first 10 reviews, 4 of the episodes
would eventually enter our website's Hall of Fame! Creating the picture links
to the episodes (or "pic links" as we liked to call them) was a great
deal of fun. With these images we would try and create something "alluring",
with the text somewhat hinting at our opinion of the episode. With certain picture
links, we could not hide our disdain for certain episodes ("Trouble's Middle
Name"). Fortunately, none of those are featured below.
The first ten reviews that appeared on the website
CREATING A
REVIEW
Although it became daunting as time went by (due
to the eventual size of the reviews), for the first few years, creating the
episode reviews themselves was a great deal of fun! We had a relatively straightforward
process in place. First, via email, Zadoc and I would discuss which episode
of He-Man or She-Ra to review. When the episode was decided
upon we'd each go off and write the text, rarely giving our opinion to one another
up front in order to not influence our respective opinions. Due to our writing
styles being very different my reviews were titled as "commentaries",
as I would work my way through the episode from start to finish, culminating
with a paragraph in which I gave my opinion on the episode. Zadoc's reviews
were titled as "critiques", as he would break down each review in
a variety of ways and present it as a dissertation of sorts. The difference
in our individual review styles made digesting one of our reviews a rather unique
experience for the visitors of our website. Once the text was completed, I would
then source many images and audio clips from the episode (more than we needed).
Zadoc would put the reviews together from scratch, selecting which images and
audio clips to accompany each review. The end result was always a rewarding
experience, especially as some people had not seen these episodes in years.
Which brings me to another (brief) point. Over the years people have said to
me that when they were reading our reviews it was often the case they had not
seen a particular episode in over a decade...or in some cases at all! It's interesting
to think that our reviews were a way in which people were discovering certain
episodes of the series for the first time!
QUALITY
One of the challenges that became evident very early on was the quality of images
on the website. Whilst we had all of the episodes to hand thanks to our tape
trading days, some episodes fared better visually than others. A factor that
played a role in the quality of episodes was the different recording speeds
around the world. Extended Play (which would turn a 2 hour tape into a 6 hour
one), which was occasionally used, resulted in the image on screen being highly
unstable and the audio being somewhat muted. Other issues were a result of the
way in which the episode was broadcast, and the age of the tape that the fan(s)
had recorded it on. At that point some of my VHS tapes were over 10 years old!
The best quality images that were featured on the website often came from the
UK VHS releases, as PAL had a higher picture quality and definition. Most of
the second season She-Ra episodes were incredibly hard to watch, and,
as a result, incredibly hard to feature in reviews.
Even though we had all the episodes, I was always on the lookout for better
quality images for the reviews. Thus, whenever a better-looking episode would
turn up in the community, I would obtain a copy and re-capture all of the images,
replacing the ones already in the episode review. The website was an ever-evolving
creature. Had it still been around to this day, there's no doubt we would surely
have DVD quality images in place of all those VHS-sourced images. If you're
reading this, don't get any ideas, Zadoc!
"Sweet Bee's Home" was one of the 28 season two
She-Ra episodes that was hard to showcase on the website...
...if only DVD had been available!
CAPACITY
Having a graphics/audio heavy website back in 1997 was quite the ordeal. The
plan was to have four different episodes on the main page each and every week,
with a new review thrown in every few weeks. However, due to incredibly limited
website capacity, every Saturday morning I would have to remove the four reviews
(text, pictures, and audio) from the website, and upload the next four reviews.
Before you think uploading 5 megabytes was easy, just remember, these were the
days of the dial-up modem, with a 56 kilobyte transfer rate! My Saturday mornings
often fell by the wayside, as I sat in front of my computer watching each and
every file upload! And then there were those weekends when the Internet connection
would simply not work. Those days were no fun at all...
THEMES
One of the more fun ideas that Zadoc came up with was to have a themed week
on the website every once in a while. The "Theme Week" as they came
to be known would highlight four episodes with a specific connection. "Snow
Week" was the first of the themed weeks (featuring episodes that took place
in the chilly parts of Eternia and Etheria) and debuted on January 10th 1998.
Over the years we had "Desert Week", which featured episodes that
took place in the Sands of Time; "Trolla Week" focused on Orko and
his numerous Trollan friends and family; we even had "Widget Week",
which featured, you guessed it, everyone's favorite characters from the He-Man
series, the Widgets! Not only would we have four specific episodes, but a banner
would be created by either Zadoc or myself to celebrate the event, and a unique
background would be used on the main page in order to "sell" the themed
week to the visitors. I had a great deal of fun creating the banner for "Widget
Week", as I had recently watched The Usual Suspects, and decided
to replicate the movie's iconic cover. Do not ask me what the connection was,
because I have no idea! Those specific themed weeks were planned in advance,
and a great deal of fun to put together.
On January 31st 1998 I redesigned the website to make it more informative, adding
sections that listed the episodes by season (at this point we did not know the
production numbers, and thus did not know the correct order), as well as listing
the episodes worked on by each and every writer and director. I was a huge fan
of breaking down information and presenting it in a variety of ways that would
enable the fans to see the specific talents of the Filmation staff.
The themed weeks proved to be a nice way to keep the website
fresh
RAW BLAM
August 1st 1998 marked the first anniversary of the Episode Review Website.
We had built up quite the audience, and, according to the counter on our website
(remember those?) we were receiving over 1,000 individual visitors per week,
which made us feel like our contribution to the He-Man and She-Ra
community was worthwhile. However, things were about to get far more interesting...
Whilst on holiday in Canada with my parents in September of 1998 I received
an email from Zadoc, which opened with the line, "You'll never believe
who I just received an email from!" I went on to read the forwarded email
and right there was a lovely message full of praise for our website from Robert
Lamb, writer and storyboard artist on He-Man, She-Ra and numerous
other Filmation shows! Robert had seen our review of "Into the Abyss",
as well as the high level of praise (rightly so) that we had placed upon it!
Robert has since stated in recent years, "I remember my astonishment that
a show I wrote fourteen years earlier was the subject of a lengthy dissertation
lavishing praise on the merits of my writing." Months went by as we conversed;
Robert was able to provide many stories, anecdotes, and incredibly interesting
facts about his time at Filmation. He remembered the specifics; such as Filmation
playing a marvellous prank on Lou Scheimer, which saw a purposely mistake-filled
scene of She-Ra in which Fat Albert characters randomly appeared;
as well his memories of having seen the animation rushes for "Sweet Bee's
Home". Robert had clearly loved his time at Filmation, as many others had.
With his numerous stories he was able to make us feel as if we had actually
been present for many of the situations. A short while later he was kind enough
to send over a package of contents which contained a wealth of unseen production
material, including the never-before-seen He-Man and the Masters of the
Universe series bible written by Michael Halperin, scripts, storyboards,
and wonderful gags that Filmation storyboard artists had illustrated to pass
the time. Robert was more than happy for us to put this content on-line. On
a personal level, having now looked behind the curtain at the production of
He-Man and She-Ra, I realized that I wanted to know even more
about what had gone into the making of each and every single episode!
We actually waited until the second anniversary of our website (August 1st 1999)
to showcase the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series bible.
When that feature debuted on our website, even though social media was not a
thing, there was a lot of buzz (and many more visitors) to our website. Not
only did we scan the series bible pages so that fans could read this rather
important piece of He-Man history in all its glory, but we also transcribe
the entirety of the mighty tome for the website, which, as you can imagine,
took ages! To this day, fans talk about the content of the series bible, and
it was thanks to Robert Lamb and the Episode Review Website that we
were all able to enjoy its content.
IMPROVEMENTS
As my Paint Shop Pro skills increased (stop laughing), the website began to
look a great deal more professional and streamlined. I was always attempting
to replicate the Filmation feel across all aspects of the website. Back then
we were not familiar with the font used on He-Man and She-Ra
branding, and so we utilized a font that we believed, at the time, to be close.
The background of the website would change from a generic teal, to a blue and
purple background, in an attempt to echo the memorable Eternian and Etherian
night sky. On November 21st 1998 I created three new sections, which enabled
us to categorize many of the special features that had randomly appeared on
the website up until that point. The banners for these three sections are still
remembered fondly to this day by some fans! I always enjoyed creating graphics
for the website, because it was a challenge to utilize Filmation's stock poses
in certain ways in order to have characters interact. The more behind the scenes
artwork and animation cels that I acquired, the more I began to incorporate
those elements into the graphical content of the website.
This was 1998, so of course they had to be some lens flare!
A FRIEND IN
LEE
From 1997 onwards I had begun collecting animation art from the He-Man
and She-Ra shows. Animation art was incredibly hard to come by back
then. What little art I had, I not only treasured, but also scanned and featured
on the website. In the very same section I explained animation process; something
I had actually picked up as a kid having watched a documentary about the making
of The Real Ghostbusters! A few years later I received an email from
a fan named Lee Clevenger who had noticed my very small collection of animation
cels and decided to message me. Lee stated that he could probably obtain any
animation cel I wanted from the series, as he had access to the Filmation warehouse,
which was located a short drive from his home. He also stated that he was friends
with Lou Scheimer and had actually walked around Filmation as they were closing
down back in 1989. These bold claims all turned out to be 100% true! Lee sent
me photos of the cels he owned from "The Problem With Power", at which
point my jaw hit the ground! A few months into our communication, true to his
word, Lee acquired and shipped to me the animation cels that I could only have
dreamed of getting my hands on. Lee and I would collect animation art for another
15-20 years after that initial piece of correspondence, with me somewhat inadvertently
acquiring over 20,000 pieces before I threw in the towel!
Another thing Lee brought to the table was a beautiful image he had composed
from two different productions. He had a cel of He-Man and She-Ra in silhouette
atop a mountain, with their swords raised, from the rarely seen "I Have
The Power" music video, and had placed it on top of the original background
artwork of the iconic moons as seen in "Into the Abyss". The resulting
image was stunning! I used Lee's composed image when celebrating the Episode
Review Website's third anniversary. A few years later I took the basic
concept and added the heroes and villains either side of the mountaintop. The
image became such a memorable aspect of the Episode Review Website
that when I came to design an image for the back cover of Dark Horse's He-Man
and She-Ra: A Complete Guide to the Classic Animated Adventures book, I
painstakingly recreated the image! I also hid my name, Zadoc's name, and Lee's
name in the mountaintop, but you'll never be able to find them!
The moon/mountaintop image was first created in 2000, and
most recently recreated in 2016 for Dark Horse
HE-RO: SON
OF HE-MAN?!
Another groundbreaking moment for our website occurred on January 27th 2001
when we debuted the never-before-seen (or even heard of) He-Ro: Son of He-Man
and the Masters of the Universe series bible created by Lou Scheimer Productions
in 1996! Lee Clevenger had purchased the series bible from Lou Scheimer himself,
who had detailed all of the background information on what it was, and why it
never came to pass. From what we've been able to understand over the years,
not even Mattel were aware of this bible, as it was only ever seen by those
at Lou Scheimer Productions, and DIC, the animation company to whom the show
was pitched. The fact that it has since become an infamous part of the Masters
of the Universe Classics canon...well, you can blame Zadoc and I for putting
it on-line, and Lee for bringing it to light in the first place! At the time,
it was a pretty amazing find...
The He-Ro: Son of He-Man and the Masters
of the Universe series bible from Lou Scheimer Productions was revealed on the
website, much to the shock of everyone.
APPROACHING
THE END
By mid-2001 Zadoc and I were utterly exhausted from the weekly updates and the
pressure we placed upon ourselves to write new reviews, especially as the reviews
by that point were monstrous in length! The website had gone from being a fun
adventure of discovery, to a chore like no other. That same year, in August,
I visited America for the first time, Los Angeles to be specific, in order to
meet Zadoc and hang out with both he and Lee in the two weeks that I was there.
A time to celebrate and recharge the batteries, right? Wrong. Much to our surprise,
what should have been a time for celebration turned out to be something completely
different. During those two weeks Zadoc Angell and I fell out! It was a shock
to both of us that we actually failed to get on. Here we were, these two guys
that had exchanged a legitimate daily email for over five years, and for some
reason, in person, we continuously butted heads, even though we felt that we
knew one another like brothers. It was baffling to us both that we did not see
eye to eye. Don't get me wrong, it was a fun trip and Zadoc, myself, and Lee
spent most days together. But when it was just Zadoc and I, there was a tension
in the air that we've both since admitted. In retrospect it was clearly a case
that our frustration with the Episode Review Website, something we
had once felt so passionately about, had boiled over into a sort of bizarre
subconscious resentment towards one another. Not only that, but both Zadoc and
I were going through some pretty big changes in our respective lives. I had
just quit my day job (the thing they tell you never to do) and was attempting
to work in the animation industry, and Zadoc was knee-deep in Harvard around
that time. Whilst in Universal Studios, on my 24th birthday, Zadoc and I sat
there talking about the situation. I distinctly remember saying despondently
that sometimes in life, people just don't get on, no matter what their shared
interest may be. We agreed right there and then that neither of us could dedicate
time to the website, and that, for our sanity, we had to end it. The theme of
the Episode Review Website during my visit to Los Angeles was "Busta
meets Zadoc Week"; an event which ironically resulted in the end of the
website! In short, life had caught up with us both.
A somewhat amusing side note is that a few months after we had agreed to end
the website, Mattel got in touch with the pair of us and employed us to write
a length encyclopedic guide to the Filmation show for the writers of the (then-new)
2002 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon from Mike Young
Productions. To quote Godfather III, "Just when I thought I was
out, they pull me back in!"
AUGUST 18th 2002
The website would continue for nearly one more year with no new reviews, and
minor updates to numerous sections. But that point it was a solo effort, as
Zadoc had understandably moved on. On Sunday 18th August 2002 the He-Man
and She-Ra Episode Review Website offiially came to an end. Shortly after,
Zadoc and I pretty much went our separate ways, as our lives progressed in very
different directions. I continued to work on and off the He-Man and
She-Ra brands officially, and Zadoc realized his dream of working in
the film and TV industry of Hollywood as both and agent and Executive Producer.
Trust me, that boy has done good. Very good!
The end of the Episode Review Website was a sombre affair
REUNITED
Over the years Zadoc and I would maybe speak once a year. Not because we didn't
want to, but because we had kind of grown apart. That happens in life sometimes,
and it doesn't always need to be seen as a bad thing. It wouldn't be until the
first Power-Con in 2011 that Zadoc and I would come face to face for the first
time in just over ten years! I'll never forget standing on the convention floor,
talking to Lee in front of my table, turning to my left, and seeing Zadoc stood
just by the Mattel booth. You've all seen those scenes in which two people run
towards one another through a sea of flowers? Dare I say it was kind of like
that! Here was someone who had once been an incredibly dear friend, someone
who, even though they were on the other side of the world, shared my frustrations
with life, people, and work. In those first few moments that we reunited, aside
from the awesomely big hug, it was as if the last ten years had never happened.
Here was my creative buddy from the days of the Episode Review Website.
The memories of how our friendship had drifted apart were immediately replaced
with the realization of how far we had come in life. We both remembered a time
when two teenagers created a little website that we hoped people would like.
The more we talked that day the more we realized that two guys from two different
countries had created something very special, and never really ever acknowledged
the fact. We were always proud of the Episode Review Website, but it
had ended on such a sad note, that, for us, the lasting memory had been a negative
one. Zadoc and I parted that day as friends once again, and although we may
not email each other on a daily basis, we know that the friendship that we had
originally established all those years ago was still very present.
To this day, whenever Zadoc turns up at an event like Power-Con, or the San
Diego Comic Con, I always love seeing the joy in his face that he has for me,
seeing that I've achieved the things that I set out to accomplish all those
many years ago! From working for Mattel, to MV Creations, to the numerous DVD
releases from Contender, BCI, and Mill Creek, as well as the YouTube channel
for Classic Media, and most recently being employed to work on all of the He-Man/She-Ra
books for Dark Horse, and realizing my dream of writing the definitive guide
to the He-Man and She-Ra cartoons. Zadoc was someone that
creatively changed my life. And to think, all of the above accomplishments were
possible because a teenager from the small town of South Otselic had an idea
for a He-Man and She-Ra website, and wouldn't take no for
an answer! Alongside my parents who supported my (then-fictional) dream of working
on He-Man and She-Ra, Zadoc was someone that creatively changed
my life. And for that, I am eternally grateful.
LEGACY
In the five years that the He-Man and She-Ra Episode Review Website
existed it brought us more than we could have ever imagined: a devoted following
that actually read our ever-evolving reviews, friendships with those that had
actually worked on the cartoons, an exponential increase in knowledge as to
the production of each and every episode, and the unexpected respect of our
fellow He-Man and She-Ra fans, some of which still refer to
waking up on Saturday mornings and checking out the latest update on the Episode
Review Website. At conventions people will approach me and, every once
in a while, heap praise on the days of the Episode Review Website.
People sometimes ask me to bring the website back. However, the Internet is
a very different place these days and the website would not really fit in today's
world. The He-Man and She-Ra Episode Review Website was very much of
its time. It was a website that started with a paltry ten reviews blossomed
into a library of 139 in-depth reviews, featured a wealth of rare and wonderful
archival material, and formed a good many long-standing friendships.
In the end, I guess this retrospect is a THANK YOU to each and every person
who contributed, emailed us, advised us, argued with us, and visited our website
throughout those five years.
James Eatock and Zadoc Angell trying to take a serious photo
in 2016...
©copyright 2017 James Eatock
COMMENTS/MEMORIES
(29
comments)
Any nice comments made on social media
about this article, or your memories of the Episode Review Website days, I shall
cut and paste them here, crediting you, of course! :)
Mark Boomer - August 1st
at 6:20pm
This was awesome to read. This was all we had to sustain us before the days
when all these old shows became widely available again. I've lamented the death
of this site since the day it went away. I remember you guys tried to join up
with He-Man.org, but it never really seemed to come to fruition. The story of
your guys' falling out reminds me of the relationship between Adam Savage and
Jamie Hyneman from Mythbusters. They had excellent on-screen chemistry, but
they're not friends and they never see each other outside of work.
---
Norbert Franz - August 1st
at 6:22pm
Dang! I remember that website. It was probably among the first five websites
I ever went to back when I got my first AOL account and Internet access in 1999.
---
Dustin Balor - August 1st
at 6:42pm
James Eatock that was such a fantastic read! It really took me back in time.
I loved even seeing the old VHS screen caps and background! That was my personal
favorite version haha. It reminded me of how I'd dedicate time each weekend
that you guys would update it to read each review by both of you. I only owned
a few VHS tapes of the series, so your site was something that really connected
me to my much loved show. Getting the dvds in 2005/6 I remembered your website
and which episodes I wanted to see based on those reviews. That was the order
I watched the dvds in! Thanks to you both for everything you've done for the
series and fandom. It probably means more to the rest of us than you'll ever
truly realize.
---
Streamside (via He-Man.org) -
August 1st at 6:48pm
Thanks for this retrospective, James, and thanks for all your contributions
and work and keeping this fandom lively for so long. Ad multos annos.
---
Michael Bell - August 1st
at 6:51pm
I used your site and castlegrayskull.org so much. The Grayskull site used to
have a piece of He-Man theme music with She-Ra saying For the Honour of Grayskull.
Back then I recorded it and used it from that day as my ringtone. It was really
exciting in those early days to see He-Man and She-Ra revived through the internet
and followed by those DVD releases that you were involved in. It was one of
my dreams that came true, seeing He-Man on DVD and toys out in shops.
---
Robert Lamb - August 1st
at 6:57pm
James, you've done it again! I enjoyed reading every bit of your tribute to
what once was. It will be 20 years for us next year. I can think of no better
way to celebrate than to see you again at the 2018 Power-Con!
---
Brett King-Ruley - August
1st at 7:05pm
Thank you for sharing this history, my friend. I am one of those who would wake
up every Saturday morning to see what new tales you all would review, and I
think many of us who were searching for MOTU/POP info in those earlier days
of internetting can credit the work that you two put into nurturing our rediscovery.
And while I have no personal involvement in the friendship that you shared,
as someone who has long admired both of you I am thrilled to read that--in a
manner reflective of the morals imparted by these Filmation properties--you
tackled your relationship's ebbs and flows with an honesty, gratitude, and adultness
that ensured its evolution rather than destruction.
---
Katy Cartee Haile - August
1st at 7:06pm
What a trip down memory lane! As my own website also turned 20 this summer,
I've been thinking a lot about the "good old days" when the internet
was in its infancy. I still have two VHS tapes from those magnificent tape trades
and absolutely consider them priceless collectibles. I was incredibly lucky
to have gotten online as early as I did and am incredibly thankful that sites
like yours and Adam Tyner's were there to greet me. That iconic image you snapped
for He-Man.org? I remember printing it out (in color!), framing it and hanging
it on my wall in 1997. My favorite part of the Episode Review Website was always
the art. But how freaking AWESOME is it that you went on to work for companies
like Mattel, BCI, Dark Horse, etc?!? Not only were you there to spur the He-Man
fandom in its babyhood, you continue to help keep the brand alive today. That
is something that you and Zadoc should always be proud of. There is no telling
where He-Man and She-Ra would be today without your contributions. And I haven't
even mentioned yet the friendships you helped foster that I still hold dear
- including yours! What an epic 20 years it's been. I can't wait to see what
the next 20 hold! (And no one can laugh at you for using Paint Shop Pro. I still
do to this day...version 6...LOL!)
---
Alex Hawkey - August 1st
at 7:39pm
Dude. Genuinely teared up at that last bit! What a fantastic article and a testament
to the effect you've both had on each others' lives. The ERW (along with Alex
and Sherry's She-Ra site - remember that?!) was not only my reintroduction to
He-Man and She-Ra but also my introduction to the internet itself. Waiting around
in my allotted 1 hour of internet time a day (I kid you not) to see what episode
review would spring up was tantamount to rising on Saturday mornings in the
80s to watch the shows in their heyday. Those days had a really warm, almost
romantic feel to them, which I will never forget.
The excitement of seeing new images of She-Ra episodes I'd never heard of was
tantalizing and made me begin my own investment in the series. (And it's thanks
to you James that I got my name on some official products too - talk about riding
the wave of your success!!). Entering the world of tape trading with you brought
about a nostalgia of my childhood that couldn't have been realised elsewhere.
And while I hid it from my parents initially and was more than a little embarrassed
when my dad found me secretly watching 'Troll's Dream', I've come to embrace
it as a fundamental and important part of who I am. She-Ra and He-Man have made
me a better writer, a better observer and, dare I say it, a better person; at
times giving me a moral code for life in a WWSRD (What Would She-Ra Do) type
fashion.
Your relationship with Zadoc is precious. One in a million. And is rightfully
treasured because those kind of friendships don't come along every day and certainly
don't weather the storms you have over the years. Your importance to the He-Man
and She-Ra community is known, but to those who were part of your journey back
in the 90s you are particularly special. It's been an exciting part of my journey
to experience some of that with you. Thank you my friend.
---
Darah Vater Herron - August
1st at 7:42pm
I remember stumbling on your site in the early 2000's and finding the .wav files
of Orko and Man-at-Arms discussing weed. We still joke about them at my house!
---
Adam Tyner - August 1st at
7:48pm
Wow! That one vid cap certainly is forever seared into my brain! I immensely
enjoyed reading this, and I'm so proud of everything you and Zadoc have accomplished!
I can't wait to see you both in person next month!
---
Paul C. Stricker - August
1st at 8:34pm
A wonderful tribute to an even more wonderful page, James, but, begging your
pardon, sir, you used the wrong "R" word. Retrospective. What you
need to use is "Reboot", "Redux", "Resurrection"
"Revival", "Return" :)
---
Jack P. Starro
- August 2nd at 1:10am
What an epic roller coaster of a story. Thank you for sharing, James.
---
P.J. Gathergood - August
2nd at 1:23am
Great write-up, I remember excitingly loading up each Saturday morning to see
the latest reviews. I remember that first time "on the internet" too
and finding that hey, there are other fans out there too! I know what you mean
about your love for that first blurry VHS tape of old episodes - even in this
DVD/digital download age of "complete series" (well, ish, odd copyright
and mastertape damages allowing) of various old series, I still do have my original
VHS recordings which in some cases I love just as much as the crystal clear
versions.
---
Fandabidozi (via He-Man.org)
- August 2nd at 1:30am
I spent many a lunch time at work reading and re reading the reviews. It's difficult
to imagine now that it was kinda mind blowing seeing actual images from the
series on the computer screen.
Who could imagine that I could have every episode at the touch of a button on
an iPad or that I'd have a huge collection of new MOTU figures filling out the
house years later.
Thanks guys for all the hard work you put into the website. Just a small ask
that you consider putting the website back up (I couldn't help it!)
---
JVS3 (via He-Man.org) - August
2nd 1:41am
Ahhhhh... Those were the days! It was always great when a new review or factoid
would show up on the ERW.
---
Novel Tee - August 2nd at
2:38am
I was so sad when the site ended. I remember updates day was the highlight of
my week.
---
Dani Oliveira - August 2nd
at 4:09am
As I told you over email, you hit the nostalgia button hard with this my friend.
Reading the article, looking at those grainy VHS images, and the font &
background took me right back to those days and made me feel a little wistful.
Like you, the first thing I looked up on the web was "He-Man." I joined
the GoG mailing list from '96-'98, and got some tapes from Robbie Beiswenger
(I might still have them somewhere). I remember frequently looking at both the
ERW and Adam's page (and even the alt.fan.he-man-she-ra and rec.toys.misc newsgroups)
when I was at UMass Dartmouth on the university library computers. After I graduated,
before I finally got my own computer, I'd go to the university just to use the
computers there. I only had a few of the eps I got from Robbie and some I found
at the local video store, so it was always a great thrill to relive and remember
those awesome shows, thanks to you and Zadoc. I'm grateful for all you guys
did (and all you still do) to keep He-Man and She-Ra alive when nobody else
seemed to care. XO
---
He-Manis007 (via He-Man.org)
- August 2nd at 5:30am
When I first got online in late 1998, I remember looking around to see what
info I could find on any of the screwy old shows only I seemed to remember or
care about... Doctor WHO, Transformers, The Avengers (Steed & Peel version,
thank you) and He-Man. And there was this huge review site... well, at that
point anything more than a couple of pages seemed huge to me! And I read it
all eagerly. Felt like I was getting to talk about a show with old friends who
had the same secret love for it I did.
---
Lee Clevenger - August 2nd at
6:04am
I've just finished reading your retrospective on the episode review website,
and on 20 years of life. It honestly brought a tear to my eye. Thank you SO
much for including me and for sharing so much life with me these last many years.
I'm very proud of you in all that you've achieved, and I'm very grateful looking
back over it all to see how the threads our relationship stand out in the tapestry
of our lives. You are my brother and I love you very much. See you soon.
---
OwenMorton (via He-Man.org) -
August 2nd at 8:30am
I remember coming across your site sometime in 1998 or 1999; I'd just found
a VHS cassette in the cupboard which had A Trip to Morainia on it, though it
started about a minute in so I didn't know what the episode was called. I remember
emailing you with a short summary of the plot and asking if you had written
a review for it, and you replied almost immediately. As you say in your retrospective,
it was really interesting to know that there were other people out there who
remembered and enjoyed He-Man. Thanks for all the work you and Zadoc put in
for all those years; I read it every week after I'd found it, and was genuinely
sad when it closed down.
---
Aidan Cross - August 3rd
at 12:23am
I have some totally fantastic memories of the old Episode Review Website. During
the summer of 1998 I was exhilarated to find that there were so many others
who still loved MOTU as much as me when I'd believed for years I was the only
person who still cared about it, and I found myself totally rediscovering the
Filmation series through your site. Although I'd watched it religiously as a
kid, the cartoon series was a relative mystery to me in my teens, because I
had been far too young at the time to really remember it in that much detail
and had only a handful of episodes on video; my main MOTU medium was the UK
Comics and I knew relatively little about the show even through it had been
my introduction to He-Man. So your website was instrumental in me rediscovering
the show and finding the answers to many mysteries that had bugged me for years
(i.e. did Multi-Bot ever appear in a normal episode or just the Xmas Special,
what was the name of such-and-such an episode, did the Snake Men ever appear
etc) and it really was like being a kid again in front of Children's ITV every
week. I would await every Saturday with the utmost excitement to see which episode
you were reviewing, and 99% of the time it would be one I had little or no memory
of, so it felt just like watching the episode for the first time as I savoured
the screen caps and played the sound files that went with it (which answered
another lifelong mystery for me - what the heck did Jitsu's voice sound like!).
And in the rare instances where it was one of the few episodes I knew well,
it was thrilling to read yours and Zadoc's analysis and see whether or not you
shared my opinions. I had been very excited to see "The Shadow of Skeletor"
reviewed as it was my favourite episode at the time and I think my first ever
correspondence with you was my email to you through the site asking you to review
that episode. Eventually you reviewed it, on the weekend when I first pulled
a girl, so that was a special occasion! ;-) Likewise I was very thrilled to
see my worst episode reviewed - "Monster on the Mountain", as I knew
you'd rip it to shreds just like I always had! I had a great laugh reading that
review and emailed both you and Zadoc about it immediately afterwards sharing
my views on the episode. I never would have thought that one email would have
such a lasting effect - by joining you in the ridicule of the characters of
Ruxtown, not only did that cement our friendship as we engaged in mutual mocking
of the episode, but later resulted in me writing the article for cereal:geek
about that episode, and we still regularly have a laugh about Ruxtown to this
day, and you bore witness to my first meeting with writer Rowby Goren himself
at Power-Con 2013 where I finally grovelled to him after having ripped apart
his episodes for so many years online! (Rowby is now a personal friend of us
both and a really lovely guy!)
Of course, thanks to your good self I acquired all 223 episodes of He-Man and
She-Ra in the next few years after joining the online community, and became
myself an expert on the Filmation MOTU show largely through you educating me!
I remember we had a good chat about "The Ancient Mirror of Avathar",
which had confused me as a kid because it seemed so unfinished, and it was you
who told me this was because it was intended as a 2-parter, the second half
of which was never written (I later had a very good chat about that with the
writer Robert Lamb himself at Power-Con)! And as my episode collection increased,
it came to the point where I had seen most of the episodes you were reviewing,
and I became increasingly fascinated by yours and Zadoc's opinions. Sometimes
I agreed with you outright, occasionally completely disagreed, and a lot of
the time you pointed out heavy flaws in episodes I liked, or strengths in episodes
I considered poor, and each time it would make me view them in a different light.
That was one of the reasons your site was so popular I think - you really went
to great lengths to consider the quality of the writing and the logic behind
the plots of each episode. MOTU and POP were always more than just kids' shows
to us; the universe they created felt very real to us, and your site really
reflected that and built upon that fascination.
When I think back to those days it feels all the more amazing that not only
did you reacquaint me with my favourite childhood cartoon, but that we later
became such good friends in person and have had the pleasure of working together
on numerous projects, both personal and official. I'm sure it happened to us
all that we reached that age, 12 or 13 or whatever, and our parents said to
us, "Isn't it about time we sold your He-Man figures and taped over the
cartoons?" Time has proven our parents wrong... by holding onto our love
of MOTU, we've not only formed friendships that have lasted throughout the decades,
we've made it part of our careers! :-)
---
Jessica Thomas Clenshaw - August
3rd at 10:32pm
Wow, I can't believe it was all that long ago! ?? In my head the site was up
much longer than that... it was legendary, worth waiting for dial-up for. Those
early Internet days... forums, fan sites... it was a whole new world!
---
DisneyBoy (via He-Man.org) -
August 5th at 6:57am
So...there was an episode about Shadow Weaver's origins? And the Sorceress'
origins? And Sea Hawk had a father?? Shut up. No way! Ahhh...the discoveries
that were made perusing your site. Nicely done mates!
---
GoPenguins (via He-Man.org) -
August 7th at 3:36am
The Episode Review website rekindled my interest in MOTU and POP. I held onto
my toys, books and comics from my childhood. But they were boxed up in the garage,
along with some old VHS tapes with poor quality copies of the cartoons. Years
ago I came up with a list of 128 MOTU shows, but had never seen "A Bird
in the Hand" or the infamous "Greatest Show on Eternia", and
never knew they existed until the episode list came out on the website. And,
like most fans, never saw most of the 2nd season of POP. But reading about these
adventures reminded me how much I loved the show. I remember the snow-themed
week and Widget week. Wasn't there a water week also? (My memory gets fuzzy
as I get older, so I could be wrong on that one.) I looked forward to Saturdays
when the new reviews came out. And all the fun tidbits of information - if I
remember right, one of the images on the website showed Hordak's screen with
the words "Die! Die!" on it. (Missed that one as a kid!) I appreciate
all the hard work that went in to making the website, it was a treat for us
fans!
---
Manny Gonzalez - August 10th
at 9:24pm
I have to say that I to used to go here read up on the episodes. Check out the
multimedia stuff as well w clips and audio. I def liked seeing your take on
the reviews on the episodes even if we didn't agree on the views it was cool
to see. Thanks James for giving the behind the scenes and even putting up with
my thoughts as well!
---
David Monid - August 11th
at 1:33am
I remember when me and several friends from my old secondary school would often
go onto your website and enjoyed seeing the pictures and listening to the audio
files. I would also do that back in the days when I had dial up internet and
was really getting back into these shows, thanks to the internet and sites like
yours. I thank you whole heartedly James for all you and Zodac have done to
keep this fandom alive.
---
Java (via He-Man.org) - August
14th at 06:46pm
The Episode Review Website at that time was like "He-Man and She-Ra"
back again for me. I still have every review by you Busta and Zadoc on a CD!
Time to time I watch those pages. It could be an amazing mega-book!! Thank you
very much for everything you've done and you do with He-Man and She-Ra.
---
Kevin Martinell - August
23rd at 10:04 AM
One of the greatest elements to the He-Man and She-Ra Episode Review Website,
for me, was getting to look at stills of the different characters and scenarios
from the various episodes and James did a topnotch job of capturing and presenting
viewers with the most memorable shots from each episode! Before the DVDs were
released from each series, I used to download each image from the different
episodes and place two or three on a file in Photoshop and print them out in
the computer lab at the university where I did my studies. I would print them
out on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper, IN BLACK AND WHITE, but the images still looked
clear. Then in my spare time, while listening to one of my favorite bands, Blur,
I would flip through each of the pages and admire the images while hoping and
praying that each of the episodes would one day be released to DVD! At that
time, the images were the closest thing I had to getting to experience the actual
episodes again, especially of the episodes I had not seen since childhood. Sincere
thanks to you for helping me rekindle my interest in the He-Man and She-Ra series
once again, and for making sure that the best images from each episode were
featured on your website!