}Hercules: The Legendary Journeys was an American television series produced from 1995 to 1999, very loosely based on the tales of the classical culture hero Hercules. It ran for six seasons, producing action figures and other memorabilia as it became one of the highest rated syndicated shows in television history.

It had been preceded by several TV movies with the same major characters in 1994 as part of the The Action Pack: in order, Hercules and the Amazon Women, Hercules and the Lost Kingdom, Hercules and the Circle of Fire, Hercules in the Underworld, and Hercules in the Maze of the Minotaur, the last of which served mostly as a "clip show" of the previous movies.

Description

Set in a fantasy version of ancient Greece not precisely located in historic time, the show starred Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and regularly featured Michael Hurst as his sidekick Iolaus. Typical plot lines involved Hercules and Iolaus saving rustic villagers from monsters, evil warlords or the often selfish whims of the gods. In the earlier episodes (and mentioned in the show's opening title) Hercules' main nemesis is his evil stepmother Hera, who seeks to destroy Hercules using various monsters because he is a reminder of her husband Zeus' infidelity. Later in the series, the malicious God of War, Ares, replaces Hera as the show's primary antagonist. Towards the end of the series Ares is himself replaced by the god of evil, Dahak, who is the main villain in the show's fifth season and sets off a story arc that has Hercules traveling to Sumeria, Norseland and Eire. Although Zeus, Hercules' father, is frequently cited by Hercules as a neglectful father, Zeus' love for Hercules is well documented in the show. Indeed, Hercules is often referred to as "the favorite son of Zeus". Zeus makes several appearances on the show, even saving his son's life and restoring his superhuman strength on one occasion when he needed it the most. Hercules, for his own part, was always there for Zeus when his father needed him, and in the end, Hercules reconciled with his father and buried whatever issues he had with the father he had come to understand and love.

The show had a successful spinoff, Xena: Warrior Princess, with which it shared recurring characters such as Ares (Kevin Smith), Autolycus (Bruce Campbell), Salmoneus (Robert Trebor), and Aphrodite (Alexandra Tydings). Both shows, although produced in New Zealand using mostly antipodean actors, who strove for American accents (with varying degrees of success), were syndicated worldwide.

Main characters

* Hercules (Kevin Sorbo, with Ian Bohen as young Hercules)
* Iolaus (Michael Hurst, with Dean O' Gorman as young Iolaus)

Recurring characters

* Apollo (Scott Michaelson)
* Ares (Kevin Smith)
* Aphrodite (Alexandra Tydings)
* Atalanta (Corinna Everson)
* Salmoneous (Robert Trebor)
* Autolycus (Bruce Campbell)
* Hera (Meg Foster)
* Zeus (Roy Dotrice, Peter Vere-Jones, Charles Keating, and Anthony Quinn in the five TV movies)
* Alcmene (Elizabeth Hawthorne, Liddy Holloway)
* Deianeira (Tawny Kitaen)
* Serena (Sam Jenkins, and Kara Zediker)
* Jason (Jeffrey Thomas with Chris Conrad as young Jason)
* Iphicles (Kevin Smith)
* Strife (Joel Tobeck)
* Callisto (Hudson Leick)
* Nemesis (Karen Witter, Teresa Hill, Kimberley Joseph)
* Falafle (Paul Norell)
* Discord (Meighan Desmond)
* Nebula (Gina Torres)
* Morrigan (Tamara Gorski)
* Dahak (Michael Hurst, and Mark Newnham)
* Xena (Lucy Lawless)
* Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor)

International

*In Brazil, the show was previously shown on SBT, and reruns are currently being shown on Rede Record.
*In France, the show was shown on TF1.
*In the United Kingdom, the show was broadcast by subscription service Sky. It was also run by terrestrial Channel 5, but disappeared from their schedules mid-way through the show's run, leaving several seasons unbroadcast.

Deviations from the myth

*Hercules is shown to be a younger half-brother (on the mother's side) to Iphicles when the myth states that Hercules was born a fraternal twin but half-brother to Iphicles since both Zeus and Amphitryon impregnated Alcmene at the same time (superfetation).
*Jason is a lot older than Hercules and marries Alcmene. In the myth, they are almost of the same age.
*Hercules was sent to Persephone by Demeter, not Hermes. In the myth, it was Hermes who was sent to rescue Persephone from Hades.
*Hercules is supposed to be a royal member from the House of Perseus. No mention of Perseus (his legal ancestor and half-brother of so many generations) is ever done in the story.
*Iolaus in the mythology is supposed to be a son of Iphicles.
*Hercules fights the Minotaur in the series. In the myth, it was Theseus who slays the Minotaur.
*Hercules also slays Medusa. It was Perseus who slays Medusa.
*The mythical Hercules killed his first wife, Megara after Hera struck him with madness. In the series, Hercules' first wife is Deianeira, and Hera kills her directly with a fireball which the myth does not state at all. Deinara was his second wife who accidentally tricked him into his death. Hercules was later ascended by Zeus into Mt. Olympus with Hera's consent and married one of his half-sisters Hebe, a daughter of Zeus and Hera.
*Hades looks younger than Zeus when he is supposed to be the older brother of Zeus even before Poseidon. He and Hercules are shown to be allies, when in the myth, Hades never asked any big favor from Hercules aside from that of a framed-up death. Hades never had an alliance with Hercules although the two are not enemies except in some incarnations. Also Hades had his own infidelities with two nymphs whom his niece/wife Persephone turned into plants.
*Aphrodite and Ares' relationship is not very emphasized though their flirtations between them are shown.
*Echidna never turned good nor befriended Hercules in the mythologies. Also she in the myth has the body of a serpent and the head of a woman, not an octopus-like creature. She is also a titan herself.
*The Hydra, Cerberus, Ladon, Medusa, Minotaur are specific, not generic monsters in mythology. Also Hydra, Cereberus, Orthus, Chimera, Nemean Lion, Sphinx and Ladon are siblings to each other, sons and daughters of Echidna and Typhos.
*Typhon is just plain violent in the mythologies and no myth ever has it that Hera locked Typhon.
*There are no accounts in most Greek Myths that Hercules met with Zoroaster, fought with somebody who seems to be Michael (or maybe just an agent of Odin, posing to bring Ragnarok), helped Thor and all. Also Dahak is of Persian myth, the evil god of darkness. The idea of helping Thor came from Marvel comics.
*Ares was also supposed to be rejected by his own refined mother Hera but in here, the two seem to get along and Hera seems to be unrefined like Ares.
*Hera is portrayed to be quite evil in some ways though in the Greek Myth, she only wanted to inflict harm on Hercules and only did nasty things as the last resolve. Also in the myths, Hera asked for Hercules' forgiveness when Hercules saved her from being raped by a titan and performed all labors, thanked her and all that she allowed her daughter Hebe to marry Hercules. After Hercules reunited Zeus and Hera in the television series, Hera stopped hating Hercules, and even helped him stop Zeus from killing Xena's unborn child.

External links

Email this page

About Us | Advertise on This Site | User Agreement | Privacy Policy | Kids' Privacy Policy | Help
About and About.com are registered trademarks of About, Inc. The About logo is a trademark of About, Inc. All rights reserved.
This is the "GNU Free Documentation License" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys: Encyclopedia BETA

Contents