She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

This article about the show is interesting, saying it will be a Nostalgic Reboot Without Nostalgic Problems.

https://www.bustle.com/p/netflixs-she-ra-reboot-is-nostalgic-without-nostalgic-problems-12198346

I do not remember anything personally offensive about the old show, but I think there were a lot of weaknesses regarding how it handled plots and characters and I have grown to despise this type of nerd nostalgia that demands reboots be carbon copies of the original property, I think these creators should be allowed to put their own spin on things, as long as the basic concept for the show is similar to the old one.

I like how Adora's transformation visibly changes her appearance by making her taller and stronger as opposed to just changing her outfit. Much like how the 2003 He-Man series had Adam going from a teenager to a buff adult as opposed to his classic incarnation simply changing his outfit.

Yeah, that definitely helps with the "No one is supposed to know you're He-Man/She-Ra" thing, rather than it being a very thinly-veiled Clark Kent-esque thing.

The former could be like "You can't be He-Man/She-Rah, you're way too short and not nearly as buff!" as opposed to "Hey, you look just like He-Man/She-Ra! Hmmmmmmmmm..."

The original show...problematic? Cheaply animated, sure. Filled with hilarious innuendo? Yeah. But problematic? Lou Scheimer willingly submitted his work to parental groups to avoid offending people, and was said to not have a biased bone in his body. (All the people who discussed Lou in He-Man documentaries said he was a joy to work with). The only thing I can really think of if Frosta being a Clingy Jealous Girl towards He-Man and her losing it when he showed interest in other women.

Well, the parental groups of the day where the type of people that would consider openly LGBT characters in the show a horrific affront to their delicate sensibilities or something. Society Marches On.

Speaking of which this is probably going to be the gayest cartoon of all time just saying.

I don't know man, it has to compete with Steven Universe.

i'd love it to be super gay . I don't why people wanna push this back.

Wouldn't mind it being gay. No show can be gayer than Steven Universe tho

@ Beatman 1, I would say there is nothing that personally offends me about the old She-Ra cartoon, but that's just me, I am willing to be a bit forgiving of works from the past, unless they are really offensive like cartoons from the 30s.

I will say though, I do not think this type of nerd nostalgia that says everything in a reboot has to be an exact copy of the original, with some nerds being mad that this version of She-Ra does not look exactly like the 80s one. Really in terms of plot and characterization, there are tons of areas this reboot can improve upon the original.

The classic series was Fair for Its Day, even downright progressive. But copying it completely would be a very bad idea. Times have changed.

I mean, it wouldn't fly nowadays because it's super formula and lacking in character depth, but I don't recall it ever doing something that would offend people nowadays, even taking into account improvements in civil rights.

I watched She-Ra more than I did He-Man. I thought the fact that in this the good guys were the underdogs, and at some point they were going to have a significant victory and change the status quo. In He-Man though, the good guys were on top and the bad guys always lost. Also, because She-Ra was made after He-Man ended, She-Ra never appeared in He-Man, but He-Man could, and did, show up in She-Ra, and those were the best episodes.

Also, I recall one episode where these two kids lost their father's axe. When asked about what happened they told dad that someone stole the axe so they wouldn't get in trouble. Later it when She-Ra gets called in and helps to find the guy who took the axe, the kids admit that no, in fact they made up the part about the axe getting stolen and we're supposed to learn a lesson about telling the truth. Then when they fess up to what really happened they admit that the axe DID get stolen, just in a different way than what they originally said. This has nothing to do with the reboot, its just that the whole sequence bothers me.

Edited by WillKeaton on Oct 15th 2018 at 8:08:47 AM

I'm adding "Schrodinger's Axe" to the list of magic items my D&D group can find.

The article that people are still talking about doesn't really mention anything specific about She-Ra's old show so the wording was probably meant to apply to nostalgic reboots in general and not her specifically, but I never did watch her show much on account of it being before my time.

I doubt we'll be seeing PSA segments at the end of episodes as well (though the 2002 He-Man reboot DID have the PS As at the end, but that was likely just a nod to the old show). Wouldnt mind having the "find Loo-Kee" part though.

@ Will Keaton, It was a typical by the numbers 80s cartoon for the most part, but it had its moment, they had an episode where the Horde were burning books, that is interesting. That is something the new cartoon should double down on, how dictatorships try to control their subjects. But in terms of setting, She-Ra is kinda more interesting then He-Man.

@ M84 , Yeah, I do not think the 80s cartoon was offensive, but it is dated and really I bet this new cartoon will improve on the basic concept (which is interesting). Really I do not want to bad mouth a cartoon from over 30 years ago, I just dislike nerds who think this cartoon should be a carbon copy of the original (part of the reason some these nerds were saying She-Ra was not feminine enough in this cartoon is this blind hatred of anything that changes things up from the past).

Edited by Overlord on Oct 15th 2018 at 8:57:19 AM

The article brings up one of the problematic bits, which tbf wasn't unique to She-Ra:

Recall that there was some backlash over She-Ra in this series not being as sexy as the classic She-Ra.

That's a design choice. It's not problematic unless that's their sole reason for being. The cartoonish style Stevenson uses is very different from the Filmation style that made heavy use of rotoscoping and realistic models. I don't think you can blame the original cartoon and its methods for all the political nonsense that's occurring now. I gather Scheimer himself would probably disapprove of his creation being used that way. But that's just what I've seen.

That it was a stylistic choice of the time doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't problematic. It just means She-Ra wasn't the sole offender — though it was one of the only ones with a female demographic target audience.

And what exactly do you mean by "political nonsense"?

Edited by M84 on Oct 16th 2018 at 1:53:15 AM

I don’t think the people who made the original show wanted their show to be an argument against liberalism.

...Nobody said it was. The article for instance just brings up the body positivity thing. Hard to see how that is "political nonsense".

Sure, I am not going to be too hard on a kids cartoon from 30 plus years ago, it is a product of its time, but never became truly offensive. She-Ra never had an infamously offensive episode like Transformers did.

What I have a problem is these people who think this show will be bad simply because it is not a carbon copy of the old show and there is a lot sexism in the way She-Ra's design has been criticized.

Edited by Overlord on Oct 16th 2018 at 4:39:05 AM

So, I'm not sure if this was already brought up (it probably was), but not only is He-Man not showing up due to the crew wanting to focus on She-Ra first and foremost, he also CAN'T show up due to there being the one thing his Power Sword can't cleave...

The Dreaded Red Tape of Legality.

But then it hit me: this show was probably being made when the He-Man movie was in development (or rather, was festering) at Sony Pictures, causing the red tape. So, since his movie rights have since lapsed back to Mattel, we may see some vague references come season 2.

...Maybe. Don't quote me on this, I'm just going to enjoy the show as is.

Edited by TargetmasterJoe on Oct 29th 2018 at 12:11:57 PM

Thing is, Hordak was originally a He-Man action figure. He was part of the Masters of the Universe line, not the Princess of Power line. Same with Grizzlor, Leech, Mantenna and Modulok.

The show is now premiering on the 13th instead of the 16th, just a few days earlier. Also, new images and trailer.

Youtube version of the trailer:

That's an AMV.

Happy to hear I'll be able to watch it that much sooner. Really looking forward to this.

Kind of would have preferred it to start the 16th since that's the weekend but it's nice that others get to watch it earlier.