Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

Follows the adventures of Hercules (Kevin Sorbo), the demigod birthed by "Zeus" - the king of the gods (and a god himself) and a mortal woman Alcmene. Hercules wanders the earth (Greece mostly) along with his friend Iolaus (Michael Hurst) as vagabonds in search for a job, or to save the princess, or to kill a monster ( giants, you name it, or to bring down a nearby tyrant that has subjugated the people and wants more power. Hercules is pretty much the embodiment of justice, honor and strength and he uses all three of those aspects to solve problems. His friend Iolaus who appears on most of the series episodes is not just the funny sidekick; he's also a formidable ally who adheres to his own principles and can stand on his own, which is a pleasant change form a cliche recipe; still he's a "mere" mortal though. Iolaus is in fact often the primary star, he steals the show with his energetic acting. Over the course of the series the producer (the renown Sam Raimi and crew) have utilized Hurst to the max by using him for many other roles as well. I like the duo, they have good chemistry together, I remember reading way back that the actors became friends too, which is great. The terrific duo kills the bad guys, save the day and some times even get the girls. Note that this is a PG show, so don't expect to see much blood, overly frightening or violent scenes or erotic scenes. Make no mistake, the series still has appeal though to adults. Hercules is often tempted and/or trapped by devious opponents sent by the mischievous Hera, "the all powerful Queen of the gods" and Zeus's wife. For all intents and purposes Hera is the principal antagonist. She's both fervently jealous and utterly furious of her husband who often transforms himself into a mortal man plants himself to earth and chases beautiful women (who wouldn't). Hera wants to get rid of Hercules, the spawn of mortal + Zeus, he reminds her more than anything her husband's wretchedness. Hercules does have various interesting encounters in his journey, even other gods, notable mentions are Ares - the god of war (who isn't bent by vengeance to kill all other gods as in the homonymous video game), Aphrodite and others.

Filmed in the exotically beautiful New Zealand, like the similar show "Zena, Warrior Princess". As far as I'm concerned both of these shows belong in the same universe and we even see some episodes co-starring Zena and Hercules together. The series was my guilty pleasure as a kid, I loved every bit of it. It will mostly appeal to children but it has its adult moments from time to time. The acting is campy to decent at times, the dialogue is cheesy, the plot is self existent per one episode or two and it's mostly corny. The show is entertaining, light hearted, often funny and can prove to be educational for teens with regards to Greek mythology. Never take it too seriously though as it is tongue in cheek. There are over 111 episodes. Choreography of the fights is kind of bad but is intended to be funny, not realistic, it's pretty much childish action (picture Bud Spencer and Terence Hill fist fighting); for this reason it's redeemable. Eventually Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) grows on you and you will find yourself asking for more. The visual effects are passable but nothing special, though the sound effects are mostly comical in nature. Last but not least, I have to point out that I love the score and the intro is very well made and sets up a good mood for what's to come. I love the heroic intro music and theme and it has often slipped in my mind as a remembrance. Others might give this one a lower rating, but I don't think it deserves less than a 6; don't forget it's an action, comedy with a light hearted PG tone to it and all aspects of it are just decent, so I can't give it a mediocre score of 5. Maybe I'm biased a bit, since this series was a part of my childhood but I will go with something higher than that, a deserving 6/10. The show has a refreshing charm to it that is lasting. I still watch it every now and again.

Rating: 6/10 - Decent

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.

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!

I'm glad Kevin Sorbo has moved on and has a baby, but I miss him as Hercules. I loved it almost as much as I loved Xena. I'm a great fan of Greek myth, so when I saw this show, I feel for it immediately. It was fun and had it's own spin on things with a modern humor which made it all the more lovable. Michael Hurst was a wonderful actor and was adorable as Iolaus. I loved most of the characters that popped up here and there. Should go down in tv history as groundbreaking.

You mean this show was produced by Sam Raimi? The same horror loving, cheese flaunting, camera angle loving, wire fu abusing, low budget utilizing, Bruce Campbell toting, Ted Raimi killing, Spiderman trilogy directing machine? Yes.

I have to admit, when I first saw this show I thought it was one of the worst shows I had ever seen. It was always on right before the show I would want to see and I would catch glimpses of the cheesy graphics, strange camera angles, insane dialogue, etc. and would laugh at how bad it was. However, the moment I discovered that Sam Raimi produced the show, it was an instant "OOOOH, so the show is SUPPOSED to be that way!" and I gave it a chance. The more I watched the show, the more I realized how amazing the show was. While the cheesy graphics were a result of the times and budget (keep in mind, though, that the same company who did the graphics in the show would go on to produce the award winning graphics for Lord of the Rings), Sam Raimi uses his trademark skills to make this show thoroughly entertaining.

The intentionally over-acted, pun-ridden dialogue, extensively choreographed action scenes, fun costumes, and crazy myth-based story lines make this show a delight, but I think it's the visible enjoyment of the main cast that makes this show really great. Everybody, from the reoccurring characters to the show's main stars are obviously having the time of their lives enjoying every single line and action sequence. It helps that the producers allowed the actors to adlib a lot of the dialogue and physical gags.

As for the show's cast, I couldn't imagine anyone better to play Hercules than 90's Television's straight lead man, Kevin Sorbo. Sure, he oftentimes just stands there with clothes that conveniently reveal his always sweaty muscular chest, but he fit the role to a T. He did a great job playing the almost sickeningly perfect half-mortal Hercules (something they joke about continuously in the series) and obviously enjoyed himself in the fight scenes. Other notable mentions include Bruce Campbell (of course) whose smarmy portrayal of the King of Thieves is priceless (he even directed a number of the best episodes of the show), Kevin Smith (no, not THAT Kevin Smith) who was priceless as Ares, God of War, reveling in over-the-top testosterone and much improvised humor, and Alexandra Tydings as Aphrodite, God of Love, who played the part of a ditsy blonde perfectly.

However, probably THE most talented actor in the Hercules/Xena troupe was Michael Hurst, who portrayed Hercules short and peppy sidekick, Iolaus. In order to be noticed or successful as an actor here IN New Zealand, theater is still the primary form of entertainment. Well before Hercules, Hurst was already a renown New Zealand Shakespearean theater actor, director, producer, dancer, and singer, in addition to a championship fencer and acrobatic stage-fight choreographer. If I could choose anyone to compare this guy to, it'd be Britain's thespian Kenneth Branagh...if he could do gymnastics and was on speed. His energetic talent was so well known in the country that he was literally the first person to be cast in Hercules (BEFORE even Kevin Sorbo got the part as the lead). He stole the show with this energetic and over-the-top acting style for Iolaus and choreographed/performed most of the Hercules/Iolaus fight scenes and stunts. While he never really got a chance to exhibit his true acting prowress due to the light nature of the show, he came close with versatility. Presumably bored with his role, Raimi and the producers found every excuse in the book to allow Hurst to exercise his acting - by the time Hercules ended, he had played about 12 different characters in addition to Iolaus ranging anywhere from a drunken writer to a reoccurring woman dance instructor. There's no question that this show wouldn't have been as successful if Michael Hurst hadn't contributed his talent. I've always been kind of upset that Hurst will never be recognized outside our country (beyond "that short hyper blonde guy from Hercules") due to his extensive involvement with New Zealand theater - this guy could have easily gone on to do Broadway in the States or the Royal Shakespeare Company in Britain. However, I'm pleased to hear he still works on Sam Raimi projects when not doing plays, directing episodes for Legend of the Seeker and, more recently, Spartacus - both of which we get down here, yay! So, in sum, Sam Raimi is insane but incredibly brilliant for producing this show. I highly recommend it for those of you that "get" Raimi's unique direction or if you have any sense of humor whatsoever. It's extremely addictive. Do NOT take it seriously, or you will be disappointed - it's supposed to be campy. If you are a fan of anything Sam Raimi, entertaining fight sequences, Kevin Sorbo or Michael Hurst (if you happen to be from New Zealand), or enjoy watching actors have WAY too much fun for their own good, then this is a show for you.