80s Month: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Diamond Ray of Disappearance

Happy Labor Day weekend everyone! I hope everyone had a great and safe summer. Now we approach the last quarter of the year, which is by far the busiest, but in other ways also the most fun; Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are not too far behind. Before then, however, we have September. It's kind of a "blah" month, between going back to school and getting serious at work again. It's easy to get a little down. You know what I like to do when I feel down?

Think abut the 80s!

Yes, as a card-carrying Gen-Xer, I have fond memories of being a child in and of the 80s. Simply take a look at several topics on the blog and that's clear to see. Why devote September to this decade? For two reasons: 1) I love the 80s, and 2) honestly, I've been stumped for good blog topics lately, and having a theme will help keep me focused. I can't promise that every post in September will be 80s related--if something else inspires me to blog strongly enough, I'll go with it. And if you're not a fan of the 80s, please bear with me, and a post more to your taste will come your way. So, without further ado, let's hit it!

First up is an episode of one of my all-time favorite cartoon series, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. I won't go into detail into explaining the series of the toy line it sprang from, as you likely already know if you've gotten this far in the article already. Suffice it to say, I loved the toys, I loved the cartoon, and I'm thrilled to present this episode courtesy of Hulu. This episode, "The Diamond Ray of Disappearance," was the first episode produced for the series, although oddly not the first one aired. It sets up the major characters and their conflicts well, so even if you haven't seen it before, you can jump onboard right here.



I was inspired to post about this because of the gang at the site Sugary Serials, which hosts a podcast focusing on 80s pop culture goodness and feature an episode about this series and installment. Their article has great links for learning more about the series and its creators. Please check it out, it's awesome--totally (how's that for an 80s-ism?). One of the podcast's members is Shawn Robare of Branded in the 80s, a fantastic site for all things 80s. Thanks for once again letting me crib from you, Shawn!

Here is a bonus: the first He-Man toy commercial I remember seeing, and likely the first one to air, about two years before the cartoon series. Enjoy, and see you in the 80s!