Hercules

I watched this show along with Xena when I was a kid and I was always a bigger fan of Xena but watching the reruns now I have come to appreciate Hercules in whole new light. For one thing the show was a lot more cleverer than I remember, though maybe it's because I grew up and now understand the adult situations better. But I love how they took contemporary society issues and placed them in ancient Greece, and they treated the characters like as if they were a character set in modern times, makes them so easily relatable. Also I love it's sheer positivity. Today in most media our heroes are so jaded and as much as that darkness and complexity is fascinating it is a little demoralizing. Sorbo's Hercules in today's media is almost a breath of fresh air as a character who despite his own tragedies and what he has seen still believes in good and goes out of his ways to not compromise his values.

On a note about mythological accuracy. Most Greek Myths have alternate versions as it is so what would constitute an accurate portrayal? Not to mention that many Greek myths mirror Mesopotamia myths which in turn were practically rewritten by the Romans just replacing Greek names with Roman ones. If you ask me the writers of Hercules were honoring the spirit of mythology by rewriting myths to suit our own society.

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.

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.

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.

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!