The Sad Peace

I love writing with a passion, and most people I know are aware of this weird quirk in my personality. Even so, though, I find it's wisest not to tell too many people that I've tried writing scripts for "He-Man". Those who have heard about it prior to now have tended to look at me a little oddly. Writing novels, editorials, short stories, and such? That's dignified. Trying your hand at a screenplay? That's a difficult field to establish yourself in, but then, it's a contribution to modern culture. But write for a kids' cartoon? On speculation? Because you actually liked the show? I tell you, admitting to something like armed robbery gets you more favorable reactions.

Nonetheless, it's true, and I'll admit it here: I wrote two episodes of "He-Man", on speculation, in the hopes that Filmation would like them enough to bring them into production (or, at least, be interested enough in my work to read other scripts from me later).

Unfortunately, I'll never know whether or not the stories would have been accepted. My timing was off. After completing the scripts, I wrote to Filmation in early 1985 to submit them for review... only to be informed that they had just completed their second season's production, and that they had no plans for a third. Needless to say, I was annoyed - and disappointed. The scripts went into a file-cabinet and have sat there for the last twelve years... words without an audience, purposeless and mute.

It appears, however, that this "He-Man" page of mine has attracted more attention than I expected... and so now, over a decade later, the words may have a purpose in life again. They may still be unproduced, but at least now they can be read and enjoyed. What more could a writer ask for? :)

Part One: "The Sad Peace Begins..."
Part Two: "...The Sad Peace Ends"
Notes On Part One / Notes On Part Two

A note on the format: The scripts were written in a standard screenplay format. I wasn't sure if Filmation was using a standard format, if they had some sort of nonstandard script format, or indeed if the "writers" might have been working directly to storyboards, so woking with a standard screenplay format seemed safest. Standard screenplay format doesn't always convert to HTML very easily, however, so the scripts given here contain some nonstandard margins and features.

If you're unfamiliar with script format, don't worry; it's an easy format to pick up and read. The only thing you need to be aware of is that sometimes it takes longer to read a script than it does to watch an episode made from it... so the episodes might seem longer than they actually are. If you want to learn more about script formats, one book worth reading is The Complete Book of Scriptwriting by J. Michael Straczynski.


Part One / Notes On Part One
Part Two / Notes On Part Two
Back to the He-Man Page
"What more could a writer ask for"? Writers' Guild minimum payments, I suppose...