PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *metaphysical, psychological. sociological*
Of the various "Action Packs" offered in 1994-- packs that consisted of three or more telefilms that served as "pilots" for a potential TV-show character-- HERCULES THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS was the only one that proved to have "legs." The HERCULES TV-films were so-so at best, but the abbreviated first season showed producer Sam Raimi successfully channeling his inner peplum-maker.
"The Wrong Path" re-introduces the main story of Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) to any viewers who may not have seen the telefilms. Whereas in Classic myth Heracles performs the Twelve Labors in expiation of his having killed his wife and children after a spell by Hera maddened him, in the series Hera herself slew the hero's relations with a fireball. This catastrophe motivates the bereaved Hercules to undertake an endless series of labors to protect human beings from the menace of the "petty and cruel" Greek deities. This episode also re-introduces Hercules' best friend Iolaus (Michael Hurst) to provide some comic relief for the stoic but likable crusader. The main menace is a Medusa-like "she demon" who changes her victims into stone statues while Hera herself plays no active role in the story.
"Eye of the Beholder"-- the "eye" of the title is a coy reference to a one-eyed Cyclops (Richard Moll) who rides herd on a small Greek village. However, the real "villain" of the story is the prejudice of the villagers, who provoked the giant's unruliness through their bigotry against his kind. Hercules picks up another comedy relief buddy, Salmoneus, and Hera is only loosely tied into the story.
"The Road to Calydon"-- After Hera curses a town, Hercules helps the people escape to a different city where they can be safe. Hera sends some of her warrior minions to stop them, and for good measure the hero must figure out the identity of a thief in the midst of the innocents. Hercules also fights a colossal "Stymphalian Bird" in place of mythology's horde of rapacious raptors.
"The Festival of Dionysus"-- Though the wine-god does not appear in the story, Hercules does mention that he has less of an antipathy for that deity than for most others. The rituals of Dionysus, which are oriented on the potential overthrow of the city's old king for a new one, are being stage-managed by the evil Pentheus in order that he can get rid of his reigning father the king and his brother, Nestor. By so doing, Pentheus will gain the rule of the city from his father and his brother's girlfriend; rather mundane motives compared to those of the villain's namesake from the play THE BACCHAE. Pentheus is also allied to the war-god Ares, marking the show's shift away from Hera and toward Ares as the source of mythic evils.
"Ares"-- Ares here is played only by a disembodied voice and by a huge animated warrior, though he also uses the same possession-skills evinced in "Festival." Hercules seeks out a village to deliver the sad news of a soldier's demise, and ends up helping the soldier's widow and son-- particularly the son, since Ares has already begun sowing the seeds of war-lust in the village's juveniles. Under Ares' spell the boy will accuse Hercules of having killed the boy's father to possess the mother, though of course the noble hero has no such intention, still mourning his lost family. However, as compensation Hercules is pursued by the show's first really powerful female character, blacksmith Atlanta (played by bodybuilder/actress Cory Everson).
"As Darkness Falls"-- Here's a minor shift back to Hera, for she sends a magic club to the centaur Nemis, who wishes to slay the man who killed his brother-- guess who. The hero attends a wedding, but the bride is also coveted by Nemis, which results in the usual bride-theft. A human ally of the bad centaurs named Lyla (Lucy Lawless) slips Hercules a blindness-mickey that complicates his mission.
"Pride Comes Before a Brawl"-- Iolaus feels overshadowed in his own heroic endeavors by the long shadow of his famous best friend. Iolaus strikes out on his own, but Hercules learns from the friendly deity Nemesis that his buddy may be under a death-curse. Hera is briefly referenced and the main menace is a Hydra.
"The March to Freedom"-- In the first of many anti-slavery episodes, Hercules and Iolaus seek to help a young Asian woman (Lucy Liu) captured by slavers. This leads to the heroes being obliged to help her boyfriend as well, and they both get introduced to Asian martial arts by the duo. Hercules' human mother Alcmene makes her first appearance in the TV show.
"The Warrior Princess"-- I assume that the writers already had plans to reform Xena since her other two appearances this season were filmed only two episodes later, but "Princess" shows no sign of her being anything but another ruthless warlord, albeit one more seductive in nature. She seeks to drive a wedge between Hercules and Iolaus by seducing the latter, but she gets plenty of lively fight-scenes as well. If there were references to either Hera or Ares, I must have missed them. Xena's plot is foiled and she escapes for a time.
"Gladiator"-- This was the strongest episode of the first season. In order to liberate a gladiator in a city that honors Hera's godhood, Hercules and Iolaus get themselves sentenced to the gladiatorial games as well. Hercules and Iolaus naturally end up liberating not just their original target, the oddly named "Gladius" (Tony Todd), but also discontinuing the whole practice of the evil games. The scenes with the crowd screaming for blood made me doubt that this reform was likely to take.
"The Vanishing Dead"-- Ares masquerades as a mortal soldier to trick two armies into pointless battle to feed a monstrous myth-hound. The two armies are led by siblings, but in contrast to comparable Greek myths, this time one of the siblings is female. Ares is foiled when Hercules summons the unquiet dead to counsel the living against pointless combat.
"The Gauntlet"-- Xena begins her path to redemption (and her own series) as she parts company from her own soldiers, who have been seduced by the ruthless barbarian Darphus. She gets a chance to show a wider range of emotions when she captures Salmonenus and finds herself amused by his pathetic cajolery. Hercules doesn't initially believe she's changed and they have a good fight, but of course Hercules spares her, and she ends up helping him save a town from Darphus, whom she kills. However, Ares revives Darphus as an undead minion for the concluding episode.
"Unchained Heart"-- Contrary to what I wrote above, one source claims Xena was supposed to die in this episode. I remain suspicious as to why the writers would have put so much work into a character meant to last three episodes. In any case Xena and Hercules find out that Undead Darphus is still killing and maiming, so they go after him, with some help from Salmoneus. For good measure, Iolaus shows up, but though he initially distrusts the warrior princess, he too is soon convinced of her reformation. Hercules has a single love scene with Xena-- his first since his wife's death-- though the two never become a regular "thing" in future crossovers. After the Darphus threat is quelled Xena rides off in search of further redemption.
None of the episodes rate more than fair in terms of mythicity. However, I will say that the show's rousing theme song and its accompanying narration work better than the first-season stories in terms of stirring my love of All Things Legendary.
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