Its finally happened. I knew it would. People my age are making toys and drawing cartoons. Do they come bearing new ideas and original stories, a promise I hoped they would make to themselves while in college? No. In fact, what theyve done is bring back all the old eighties icons from our youth. Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears, again fill the girls isles while He-Man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature predominantly next to the Hulk Hands at your local Wal-Mart. What happened? Those shows were great, but seriously, did we need to see them again? Why do we still love He-man? Why are they popular while other toys come and go quicker than they are put out on the shelves? I did some research on why my generation still has a fascination with the eighties and kids shows and found the answers rather quickly.

Im going to let you all in on a deep dark secret about my freshman year; a secret that only few know up until now. I, Randy Shaffer, watched Sesame Street daily for almost an entire semester. I know what youre thinking; Why would you, an adult, do such a thing? As I discovered, most people my age enjoy going back to their pasts. In a confusing, often stressful war torn world, shows like Sesame Street can be just what a growing adult needs, maybe even more than the kids the shows are built for. This phenomenon, however, doesnt just extend to television. During our lovely blackout, some friends and I engaged in a game of kickball. Now, while the game could be best described as Bad New Bears meets Kickball, how we played really wasnt what mattered. It was how much fun we had. We were kids again, if only for a few moments. Thats why these shows are back. They make us feel young again. They arent really for the kids, though the kids seem to enjoy them just the same, they are for us.

People my age seem to be very frightened that once college ends, our worlds will no longer be fun. Our chances for childhood playing will be over. What we seem to forget though, is that we have so many more experiences awaiting us. We get to be married and have children. We get to work on a job that we wanted and we get to be free. I guess Im being a little romantic there, but seriously, there is a lot of fun awaiting us even though, to some of you, those things sounds scary as Hell.

So in this vein, I thought Id check out two of the reworked shows that really struck a cord with my youth; He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to see how they compare to the originals.

It has been nearly fifteen years since we last saw He-Man and lets face it, most of us remember him as portrayed by actor Dolph Lundgren in the hideous live action adaptation. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, on the other hand, has only been absent from our lives for a short time (around eight years). Of the two shows, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the superior. If anyone has read the old comic book (the new show is based solely on it), youll agree. This is one of the most dialogue heavy, plot driven cartoons for kids today. It has all the fun of the old show with interesting characters, better animation and great writing. The show feels more like a major motion picture rather than a Sunday morning cartoon for kids. Even better is that these gems have started popping up in video isles on DVD and VHS.

            Besides a bad opening credits theme, I guess my biggest problem with the show is that these teenage turtles sound more like 30 year old men rather than teens. Raphael sounds like a prison convict and Splinter sounds like a 25 year old American. Both voices are irritating. The show also switches between widescreen and full screen throughout. If a show is shot in widescreen and intended to be seen in widescreen, show it in widescreen, no matter what it is. Watching something in full screen is like taking out ten chapters of your favorite book just so the book can look a certain way. You wouldnt want that, would you?

            Sorry about the ranting, but Im not finished yet. I havent even gotten to the travesty that is He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. I can pretty much sum up my feeling with this: Dragonball He-Man or better yet He-Manime. He-Mans stench has never smelled so bad and its a shame because this show had more potential than Turtles did. Turtles was already established. He-Man could be completely reworked and no one would have cared. Instead, the show imitates the styles of Japanese animationpoorly.

The original show came out in a time when cartoons were shoddily animated and used primarily as an advertising tool for new toys so, of course, the show lacked any real depth or feeling. Now, in a time where our commercials do all the legwork, I thought wed be able to see a show thats much better than this. In truth, the new creators actually achieved something I never thought possible, they took a bad show and made it worse.

Okay, so Ive spilled my secrets out to you. I watched Sesame Street as a freshman, I like He-Man and I love Ninja Turtles. Am I embarrassed? I should be, but Im not. Maybe thats due to the fact that Im not afraid of the future that lies ahead for me, in fact, I welcome it, but until that time arrives, Im fine with sitting back and watching a couple of episodes about walking, talking teenage turtles and a testosterone injected man who cleverly refers to himself as He-Man. And you should be too.