She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Netflix)

[Drunk Monk]

Okay, okay, don't judge. Just don't.

Tara recommended this to me when we last nerded out on what we were watching. I remember watching He-Man & She-Ra back in the day and even have a pic of when I met them both. Srsly, it was publicity junket for the movie, which played at MQ6 back in the day. I even have an autographed Masters of the Universe sword, still tucked in my sword bin. She-Ra put her arm around me for the pic and all the other ushers were jealous. 

The reboot received a lot of critical acclaim so I figured I'd check it out to have something more to chat with my daughter about. It's a clever reimagining, funnier and more topical - I went back and watched some of the original to refresh my memory about what it was about. Karan Fukuhara of The Boys voices glimmer (been marginally following her since Suicide Squad). And Lorraine Toussaint voices Shadow Weaver. I've had dinner with her. She was Cressida on Into the Badlands. We chatted a bit there - she called me out on some random BS comment but then apologized - it was an obtuse way to get my attention, but I was seated next to The Widow and could not be distracted. I regret not taking a pano pic of that table but it just didn't feel appropriate. It was like the whole cast, except for Daniel, in a private room at a classy Dublin restaurant. But I've told y'all of that before. And I will again. Seated next to Emily Beecham, struggling to chat her up but she's got major fanboy deflection skillz. 

Anyway, She-Ra. It borrows a lot from Sailor Moon, especially the Adora>She-Ra transformation. It's also more diverse. The characters aren't all Barbie doll like the original, but more anime caricature. It's funny and sweet, and recycles many classic cartoon tropes, but there is something special about it that I can't quite put my finger on. I think it's the humor.

It's 52 24min eps. Not sure how many I'll watch, but I will likely watch a few more.

[Drunk Monk]

Finished S1. It poached so much from AtLA & Korra. Some of the characters are direct lifts like Bow is Sokka and Mermista is Mai. But it does what Korra was headed towards much better. It’s very lgbtq positive. 

Starting S2.

Don’t judge. It’s very park-my-brain-outside (which desperately I really need nowadays) and gives me something to chat with Tara about.

[Drunk Monk]

Finished S2 but S2 & S3 are really one season. Each season is 13 eps, s2 is 7 and s3 is 6, and there's no resolution at the end of 2. This show is so lgbtq - not even disguised. The new Bow has two dads. 

I'm finding the show perversely funny. Scorpia is a huge sweet dyke. Swift Wind is a vain pegacorn with rainbow wings. It's still lifting so much from AtLA but giving it such a twist that it works. 

There are plenty of sword fights. It's all about Adora's sword. Not DOOM recommended in any way. I confess, I have some weird tastes in entertainment (don't we all?) several of which we don't share with each other. Obvs. 

Hey now, at least it's not being a Broney.

[Drunk Monk]

Finished S3. Wow, what a major level up. The penultimate ep and finale were in this rift in the space time fabric due to a failed dimensional portal that brought the entire series so far together and concluded with the self sacrifice of a major character. It reminded me of the conclusion of one of the Sailor Moon series where all the Sailors died at the end, and then the timeline is reset. 

I also watched the premiere 5 eps of the original She-Ra to get some perspective. Another Saturday morn cartoon that is so bizarre to watch today. 

I need to watch the old Dolph Lundgren Masters of the Universe live action, and then JCVD's Cyborg again.

[Drunk Monk]

Another realization - the original She-Ra: Princess of Power has a painful soundtrack that's played incessantly throughout every episode. It's a wicked earworm, worse than a Ceti eel ear bug. It kept me up last night.

[Drunk Monk]

S4 loses a lot of momentum. Got about 3/4ers of the way through waiting for our farm fresh delivery (Yuki was good to alert me to its arrival on our veranda). The shift in Glimmer’s role after last season’s major death has changed the dynamics and the new take isn’t as funny. It’s very lesbian. Geena Davis plays Huntara, a tatted butch warrior of the waste. Hardly recognized her voice. Swift Wind, She-Ra’s vain and majestic rainbow pegacorn steed remains the funniest. They are lining up a big season finale and I’m a little over an hour away from that so we’ll see if it can regain some velocity.

[Drunk Monk]

S4 leveled up at the very end. Total game changer for s5 (the final season). Curious to see where this will go in the end.

[Drunk Monk]

S5 is the best yet. It's poaching heavily from Star Trek and Star Wars with the hive-mind of Horde Prime and hiding in an asteroid field. The LGBTQ flag is proudly flown but not in a preachy way. It's just normalized like it should be. The Catra Adora relationship finally comes full circle. Hordak's break with the hive mind is hysterical. I'm 8 eps deep so just another 5 to go... There's a few shorts after that, and then maybe the live action film even though She-Ra doesn't appear, plus maybe a few more original eps that were referenced just for perspective. It's been a diverting ride and I so need diversion right now.

[Drunk Monk]

[Drunk Monk]

Finished. Very satisfying, very diverting. So lgbtq, boldly so. It went where Korra wanted to go but got too scared. Funny, poignant, not really for kids unless they are lgbtq (if they are, it's a must see). It poached so much, but that lgbtq perspective kept it fresh and engaging. A lot of redemption and forgiveness themes. The finale love confessions were all predictable and strangely rewarding. 

I watched the shorts too. They were okay. The Swift Wind ones were funny - he was my fav character.



At least it's not bronys. 

Nice bit of escapism. I think I can come back to pandemic hell now.  Maybe not.

[Drunk Monk]

[Greg]

From Kevin Smith, no less.

[Drunk Monk]

From Kevin Smith, no less.

I'm hoping that, like the new She-Ra, there will be an LGBTQ angle.

[Drunk Monk]

From Kevin Smith, no less.

I'm hoping that, like the new She-Ra, there will be an LGBTQ angle.

Because He-Man is clearly gay.

[Drunk Monk]

Sep 13, 2021 9:00am PT
She-Ra Live-Action Series in Early Development at Amazon (EXCLUSIVE)

By Joe Otterson


Netflix
A She-Ra live-action series is in early development at Amazon, Variety has learned exclusively.
As the project is in the very early stages, no writer is currently attached. DreamWorks Animation will serve as an executive producer after recently producing the Netflix animated series “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.” However, the live-action version will be a new, standalone story and will not be connected to the animated show.
Should the project go to series, it would mark the first live-action adaptation of the She-Ra character. She first debuted onscreen in the animated film ” He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword” in 1985 as part of the “Masters of the Universe” franchise before spinning off into her own cartoon series, “She-Ra: Princess of Power.”
In the original animated series, She-Ra’s real name is Princess Adora, the long lost twin sister of Prince Adam, a.k.a He-Man. She was kidnapped as a baby by Hordak of the Evil Horde and taken to the planet Etheria, where she was mind-controlled into serving as a Force Captain of the Horde. He-Man eventually helped her break the mind control and gave her the Sword of Protection, which allows her to transform into She-Ra and grants her incredible power. “She-Ra: Princess of Power” ran for two seasons and nearly 100 episodes between 1985 and 1986.
“She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” removed any connection of the character to He-Man, instead retconning Adora into an orphan who became a willing member of the Horde on Etheria. The show featured her as a teenager who breaks from the Horde after she discovers the Sword of Protection (again allowing her to transform into She-Ra) and takes up the cause of the Rebellion on Etheria. The show ran for five seasons and 52 episodes, with the fifth and final season dropping on Netflix back in May 2020.