As a one season effort in 1977, Filmation's, "The Space Sentinels", (originally called "The Young Sentinentals" because the characters were immortal), was actually very enjoyable. It made quite a bit of buzz around the ASU campus that year.

Unfortunately, the show was not renewed for a second season, but it left a lasting impression on many who saw it. The superhero characters had good chemistry and some interesting story ideas made the show unique on Saturday mornings.

When Mattel was shopping around for a studio to bring their toyline to a SatAM animated show - Filmation quickly adapted the "Space Sentinental" storyboard to new characters with a much more developed world as a setting for new stories and adventures.

I always considered Prince Adam/He-Man a knockoff of Hercules, but side by side I think enough effort was applied to make the characters look different. Thematically, He-Man and Hercules occupy the same space, but "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" have a whole new amazing world in which to engage audiences - quite diffrernt from the more limited pallet surrounding "The Space Sentinels".

My favorite episode of "The Young Sentinels" envolves Anubis, the Egyptian ruler of the underworld. I like an antagonist with a quirky demeanor and Anubis seems strangely interested in the Space Sentinels rather than simply wanting to destroy them.

Let me know your thoughts on this episode and do you see the makings of a future He-Man in this version of Hercules?

He-Man as Hercules? Absolutely! After seeing the whole 80s MOTU series last year, I'm beginning to wonder why they never did a story.

He-Man gets most of his inspiration from Conan. His first iteration looked very much like Conan. But he was changed to avoid confusion and possible lawsuits.

Great storytelling is like a formula, and the best stories always manage to pick the top ingredients from multiple characters. Personally, I like He-Man because he combines elements of Conan, the Beastmaster, and Hercules - but only the best qualities of each.

Mattel Toys got a lot more than they bargained for because the dual-personality hero for Prince Adam/He-Man is right out of Clark Kent/Superman. Yet Prince Adam is a fully-vetted character all the equal of He-Man as applied to stories from Eternia.

Planet Eternia is as much a character itself and plays a big part in making the series so enjoyable. The entire cast of characters play well against each other with Skeletor as one of the best antagonist in animation. Skeletor looks cool and acts even cooler. Scenes with Skeletor are a win-win for fans!

"The Space Sentinels", by comparison, never had a lively/dynamic backdrop on which to wow viewers. The stories always felt kinda flat to me and they never caught the hearts of viewers. Guess that's a good reason the show never got a second season.