MovieChat Forums > He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002) Discussion > The Snake Men Storyline killed this show...

The Snake Men Storyline killed this show.

posted 12 years ago by nacham81
4 replies | jump to latest

Having finally seen this show now that it is on Netflix streaming, I am convinced the 90's cliche storyline having to do with King Hiss is the sole reason it failed.

People who watch this show do so for the most part because of a longing for their youth. Eliminating Skeletor from the storyline was an epic failure, just as forgetting about Cobra Commander or Megatron would be. Then he is replaced with what most 80's kids don't even remember as a bad guy in the He-Man universe. He was too omnipotent and I lost interest when he became the villain.

You may disagree but this show was cancelled after these stupid changes. Coincidence? Yeah, No.

[–] LiberaMe 12 years ago

That's ridiculous. King Hiss and the Snake Men storyline was the best thing IN this series, and the only reason I bought the DVD collection at all.

I certainly didn't watch this program for any nostalgia for that worthless '80s TV show, which looked cheap when it was first make and looks even worse today. Skeletor was pathetic in that series, and while this version did improve the Skeletor character somewhat, he was still just a cackling half-crazy villain, and his band was just a bunch of incompetent bumblers.

King Hiss, by contrast, was regal and fascinating, and a far more interesting foe -- as were his race. You could actually take him half-seriously, whereas Skeletor was a joke (or at least his minions were).

I wish the entire series had focussed on the Snake Men vs. He-Man.

[–] Johnator 12 years ago

Skeletor is a WAYYY better villain than King Hiss. The final season really did kill the show.

[–] notaarebe 12 years ago

Lots of revisionist history in this thread, as usual for IMDb. The show wasn't cancelled b/c of ratings (which actually held steady throughout the Snake Men storyline and were on the uptick). The show was cancelled b/c the toys weren't selling.

I would concur with those who said that Season 3 was by far the best season of the series. As for King Hiss vs. Skeletor, I'd rate them about even in terms of personality, maybe giving Skeletor a slight edge.

BUT, King Hiss was a much better opponent for He-Man. The problem with Skeletor was that early on, the show made it quite clear that Skeletor wasn't powerful enough to defeat He-Man on his own, and that his Havoc Staff wasn't strong enough to overcome He-Man's sword.

Ergo, no real threat. No tension.

But time and again, King Hiss is shown to be more powerful than He-Man. Only the unpredictable and undependable Zodac can stop him. That made King Hiss a worthy adversary of the Masters.

You always want your villain to be more powerful than your hero. Otherwise, it's too easy for the hero to win. It was always to easy for He-Man to beat Skeletor. But with King Hiss, the outcome was in doubt: how in the world will He-Man stop him? Can he stop him at all?

And when it came to the rest of the characters, the Snake Men were way more interesting than Skeletor's stupid goons. Skeletor's crew, except for Evil Lynn, was just a bunch of bumbling defectives. There were comic clods. No threat, no menace.

But the Snake Men, on the other hand, were powerful and competent. They seemed like a real threat.

Also, their whole storyline was mythic: an ancient race released from a void, and their whole backstory was amazing. I loved the scenes of Eternia in ages past, when the Snake Men ruled.

Now, it's possible that Hordak would have been the best villain of all. B/c he was more powerful than Skeletor, and at least as powerful as King Hiss, he would have been a worthy opponent of He-Man.

But as it was, Season 3 and the Snake Men were definitely the high point of the show.

[–] DarkEqualizer 12 years ago

Hordak was being set up as more powerful than both Skeletor and King Hiss I think which is why neither wanted the Horde to return