Tuesday Trainwreck - Go Master Someone Else's Universe

It's Tuesday, and you all know what that means - it's time for a new round of movie, music, and video game releases. So, we here at the Atomic Playground (and by we, I mean me) have decided to start a new feature. No, we're not going to tell you the best new release to spend your hard stolen money on. There are plenty of other, more reputable sites that are willing to do that. Instead, we're going to tell you which one to avoid like the plague. That's right - every week, we'll tell you which piece of trash to pass on, so you can put your cash toward more useful things like smokes and that shampoo to get rid of those crabs. May I present, the Tuesday Trainwreck:

Everyone remembers He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, right? It was a hell of a show. In fact, when I was about four, it was probably my favorite show. Sure, the characters were stupid and the plots as thin as Kate Moss (zing!), but it was a fun show. So why did it get the crown in the first ever Tuesday Trainwreck? See, this is not the original He-Man. This is The New Adventures of He-Man. Yes - the gay one.

At some point, a few big wig execs decided there was still money left in the franchise, and that the defender of Grayskull just need a fresh new image. Enter new He-Man. He's fab-u-lous. What had been a trippy-fun cartoon in the original incarnation just became a lame attempt to push product. These shows were little more than a half hour commercial for an action figure no one wanted. Basically, there were no redeeming qualities at all.

This is Vol. 2 of the DVD release - Vol. 1 came out a few months back. For those of you that were suckered into buying it, you have my condolences. Don't make the same mistake twice with Vol. 2, just to be a completist. Trust me, it's not worth it. Instead, wait for the release of the Cartoon Network series that ran about 6 or 7 years ago. It was actually a decent modern interpretation of the old cartoon, and only suffered due to the lack of marketing knowledge by the folks at Mattel. If anyone can drive a franchise into the ground, it's them.

So Skeletor junkies, resist the temptation and just pop in a DVD from one of the old box sets. You'll enjoy the half hour much more.