Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

Xena has her moments. Sadly, the show is mired in telling similar stories over and over again. More than not, Xena gets into a big fight, worries about Gabriel, and espouses some platitudes about giving up fighting and finding her true path through life. Hercules has been very inventive about killing off loved characters and exposing a mostly lay audience to different myths. While his solutions to most dramatic situations seem trite from time to time, it is important to keep one thing in mind: the show is camp and it doesn't have any pretentions about being something it's not. Cartoony sounds are par for the course, if you ask me.

I was an extra for both Hercules and Zena. They were both being filmed in the same area and were sharing base commodities(?) such as the rest area and food tent. It was in NZ up in Waitakere (Lat 36°53'47.23"S Long 174°30'24.19"E) in this general area. A couple of things that I noticed was that Kevin really looked after the workers on site. He took any new actor that came down from the US and basically told them that there were to be no theatrics/hollywoods towards the staff or else they would be on the next plane back. Also for those that didn't know, Kevin is about 6'3" and in the episode "The End Of The Beginning" there is an actress playing the part of Serena called Kara Zediker who looks only 5'0". They had a scene were the two are walking together and they had to dig a trench and build a rise so they were a more 'managable' size ratio. Looked hilarious.

I think that this show is great. I mean, the special effects are really nothing compared to what is being seen now, but we do see some of the earlier work of WETA, who went on to kick major butt in LOTR and KK. The acting was really good, these, to me, were compacted epic movies for free on t.v. The acting was good and it was always fun to see stunt men fly through the air and Hercules beating them down.

All I really have to say is, that the movies were great and the direction the show took was wonderful. Though sadly, slighted by it's cancellation at the end of 8 episodes in the 6th and final season. The show did lack some of the deeper elements found in "Xena: Warrior Princess", but I think it made a good contrast. All in all, watch the movies first, if you like them, watch the show and decide if you like it or not. To each their own and have fun, the show and the movies can be a great laugh.

When fantasy, adventure and comedy collide, they make a great entertaining show that doesn't take itself too seriously. Add to that the stunning performance of the two leads, the beautiful scenery, the highly imaginative plots and the cleverly constructed titles...and you'll have your tasty brew!

This series has been almost completely forgotten but made 90s history together with Xena.

Set in a universe vaguely reminiscent of classical Greece with monster and gods, there is a demigod named Hercules who faces various adventures usually to save himself from the attacks of his stepmother Hera. If you overlook the distortions suffered by classical mythology, the series is not bad.