Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

For the Disney animated series, see Hercules (1998 TV series).

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Opening sequence logo
Genre	Action/Adventure Heroic fantasy Comedy-drama
Created by	Christian Williams Robert Tapert
Starring	Kevin Sorbo Michael Hurst
Theme music composer	Joseph LoDuca
Composer	Joseph LoDuca
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	111 + 5 pilot television movies (list of episodes)
Production
Producers	Sam Raimi Bernadette Joyce
Running time	41–44 minutes
Production company	Renaissance Pictures
Distributors	MCA TV (1995–1997) Universal Television Enterprises (1997-1998) Studios USA Television Distribution (1998–1999)
Original release
Network	Syndication
Release	January 16, 1995 (1995-01-16) – November 22, 1999 (1999-11-22)
Related
Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus Xena: Warrior Princess Young Hercules

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys is an American television series filmed in New Zealand, based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles (Hercules was his Roman analogue). Starring Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and Michael Hurst as Iolaus, it was produced from January 16, 1995 to November 22, 1999. It ran for six seasons, producing action figures and other memorabilia as it became one of the highest-rated syndicated television shows in the world at that time. It has aired on Once Channel, Sky1, five/5, Heroes & Icons, and Horror.

It was preceded by several TV movies with the same major characters in 1994 as part of Universal Media Studios's Action Pack in order of appearance: 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 as a lead up to the series. The show was cancelled midway through filming of the sixth season, and only a total of eight episodes were produced after Sorbo initially declined to renew a three-year extension contract to continue his role as Hercules.

Plot

Kevin Sorbo as Hercules (left) and Michael Hurst as Iolaus (right)

The series is set in a fantasy version of ancient Greece not precisely located in historical time. Although set in ancient Greece, the show also has a mixture of Oriental, Egyptian and Medieval elements in various episodes. The show stars Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and regularly features Michael Hurst as his sidekick Iolaus. Rotating as Hercules' other regular companion, particularly in earlier seasons, is Salmoneus (Robert Trebor), a wheeler-dealer ever looking to make a quick drachma.

Typical plot lines involve Hercules and Iolaus saving rustic villagers from monsters, evil warlords, or the often selfish whims of the gods. There was also comedy and episodes often had "in-jokes" about modern themes.

In the earlier episodes as mentioned in the show's opening title, Hercules' main nemesis is his evil stepmother Hera, the powerful queen of the gods who seeks to destroy Hercules using various monsters and helping her various followers because he is a reminder of her husband Zeus' infidelity. As the series progressed, a wider range of enemies was used; notably Hercules' half-brother, the malicious god of war Ares replaced Hera as the show's primary antagonist. Towards the end of the series, Ares is himself replaced by the evil god 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 Éire. 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 needs it the most. Hercules, for his own part, is always there for Zeus when his father needs him, and in the end, Hercules reconciles with his father and buries whatever issues he has with the father he has come to understand and love.

Cast

Main cast

Main article: List of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess characters

• Hercules (Kevin Sorbo)
• Iolaus (Michael Hurst)

Recurring cast

• Alcmene (Elizabeth Hawthorne, Liddy Holloway, Kim Michalis)
• Aphrodite (Alexandra Tydings)
• Apollo (Scott Michaelson)
• Ares (Kevin Smith)
• Artemis (Rhonda McHardy)
• Atalanta (Cory Everson)
• Autolycus (Bruce Campbell)
• Callisto (Hudson Leick)
• Cassandra (Claudia Black)
• Charon (Michael Hurst)
• Cupid (Karl Urban)
• Dahak (Michael Hurst, Mark Newnham)
• Deianeira (Renee O'Connor (daughter of Ilus, King of Troy; eventually becomes Queen of Troy after Ilus's death), Tawny Kitaen (wife of Hercules))
• Deimos (Joel Tobeck)
• Dirce (Lisa Chappell)
• Discord (Meighan Desmond)
• Falafel (Paul Norell)
• Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor)
• Hades (Erik Thomson, Mark Ferguson)
• Hera (Meg Foster)
• Iphicles (Kevin Smith)
• Jason (Jeffrey Thomas, Chris Conrad)
• Joxer (Ted Raimi)
• Kernunnos (Stuart Devenie)
• Morrígan (Tamara Gorski)
• Nebula (Gina Torres)
• Nemesis (Karen Witter, Teresa Hill, Kimberley Joseph)
• Odin (Peter McCauley)
• Persephone (Andrea Croton)
• Salmoneus (Robert Trebor)
• Serena (Sam Jenkins, Kara Zediker)
• Strife (Joel Tobeck)
• Xena (Lucy Lawless)
• Zeus (Roy Dotrice, Peter Vere-Jones, Charles Keating, Anthony Quinn).

Episodes

Main article: List of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys episodes

List of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys episodes

Spin-offs

The show had two spin-offs, Xena: Warrior Princess and Young Hercules, with which it shared recurring characters such as Ares (Kevin Smith), Autolycus (Bruce Campbell), Salmoneus (Robert Trebor), Aphrodite (Alexandra Tydings), Deimos/Strife (Joel Tobeck) and Callisto (Hudson Leick). Both shows, although produced in New Zealand with mostly local actors using American accents, were syndicated worldwide.

Home media

Anchor Bay Entertainment released all six seasons of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys on DVD in Region 1 for the first time between 2003–2005. As of 2010, these releases have now been discontinued.

On January 12, 2010, Universal Studios Home Entertainment announced that they planned on re-releasing Hercules: The Legendary Journeys on DVD. They have subsequently re-released all six seasons.

In Region 4, Madman Entertainment has released all six seasons on DVD in Australia.

Season	Ep #	Release Dates
		Region 1	Region 4
Season 1	13	June 24, 2003 April 20, 2010 (re-release)	September 9, 2009
Season 2	24	October 21, 2003 March 29, 2011 (re-release)	February 17, 2010
Season 3	22	March 23, 2004 March 13, 2012 (re-release)	June 2, 2010
Season 4	22	July 13, 2004 March 12, 2013 (re-release)	November 3, 2010
Season 5	22	January 11, 2005 July 22, 2014 (re-release)	N/A
Season 6	8	July 12, 2005 September 18, 2018 (re-release)	N/A
Seasons 5 & 6	30	N/A	January 12, 2011

• NOTE: The Season 1 release in both regions 1 & 4 includes the 5 tele-films preceding the series. The region 1 re-release does not include the TV movies.

In other media

Video game

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Developer(s)	Player 1 Titus Interactive Studio (GBC)
Publisher(s)	Titus Interactive
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color
Release	PAL: October 13, 2000 NA: November 16, 2000
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single player

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys is an action adventure video game with beat 'em up elements that was released on the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color, developed by Player 1 and published by Titus Interactive, based on the television series.

Animation

Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus is a 1998 American animated action-adventure direct-to-video film starring the voices of Kevin Sorbo, Lucy Lawless, Michael Hurst, Renee O'Connor, Kevin Smith, and Alexandra Tydings, all reprising their roles from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. It was directed by Lynne Naylor and written by John Loy. It later received a television airing on Fox's Fox Kids block. The movie's plot involved Hercules and Xena joining forces to save the Gods of Olympus from the Titans.

Legacy

The success of the show also saw a number of similar ancient-set series being commissioned, such as The Adventures of Sinbad, Conan the Adventurer, The New Adventures of Robin Hood, BeastMaster, Tarzan: The Epic Adventures, and Jack of All Trades. A sci-fi series, Cleopatra 2525, was also produced as a result of the series' influence. Thirteen years later, Legend of the Seeker was produced by the same team.

See also

• List of Hercules and Xena characters
• Greek mythology in popular culture
• Hercules in popular culture

External links

• Hercules: The Legendary Journeys at the Internet Movie Database
• Hercules: The Legendary Journeys at MobyGames

Template:Renaissance Pictures

Hercules
Heracles • Hercle • Ercole • Hercule • Alcide
Family	Zeus (father) • Alcmene (mother) • Deianira (wife) • Heracleidae (children)
Films	Italian series	Hercules (1957) • Hercules Unchained (1959) • Goliath and the Dragon (1960) • The Loves of Hercules (1960) • Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis (1961) • Hercules in the Haunted World (1961) • Hercules in the Valley of Woe (1961) • The Fury of Hercules (1962) • Hercules, Samson and Ulysses (1963) • Hercules the Invincible (1964) • Hercules Against Rome (1964) • Hercules Against the Sons of the Sun (1964) • Samson and His Mighty Challenge (1964) • Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon (1964) • Hercules and the Princess of Troy (1965) • Hercules the Avenger (1965)
	Other films	The Warrior's Husband (1933) • Herakles (1962) • The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962) • Jason and the Argonauts (1963) • Hercules Against the Moon Men (1964) • Hercules in New York (1970) • Hercules (1983) •The Adventures of Hercules (1985) • Hercules (1997) • The Amazing Feats of Young Hercules (1997) • Hercules: Zero to Hero (1998) • Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus (1998) • Jason and the Argonauts (2000) • Immortals (2011) • The Legend of Hercules (2014) • Hercules (2014)
Television	The Mighty Hercules • The Sons of Hercules (Mole Men Against the Son of Hercules (1961) • Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules (1962) • Ulysses Against the Son of Hercules (1962)) • Hercules (1995) • Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995) (Hercules and the Amazon Women (1994) • Hercules and the Lost Kingdom (1994) • Hercules and the Circle of Fire (1994) • Hercules in the Underworld (1994) • Hercules in the Maze of the Minotaur (1994)) • Hercules: The Animated Series (1998) • Young Hercules (1998) ("Hercules and the Arabian Night" (1999)) • Hercules (2005 miniseries) • Atlantis (2013)
Literature	Poems	Heracles Papyrus • Shield of Heracles • Catalogue of Women • L'Atlàntida
	Plays	Herakles • Women of Trachis
	Other	The Labours of Hercules • Hercules and the Wagoner
Comics	Hercules (Marvel Comics) • Hercules (DC Comics) • Hercules (Radical Comics) • Spiff and Hercules
Games	The Return of Heracles (1983) • Hercules (1984) • Disney's Hercules (1997) • Herc's Adventures (1997) • Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (2000) • Empire Earth (2001) • DragonFable (2006) • Rise of the Argonauts (2008) • Glory of Heracles (2008) • God of War III (2010) • God of War: Ascension (2013)
Opera	Ercole amante (1662) • Alcide (1693) • Ercole su'l Termodonte (1723) • Admeto (1727) • Laßt uns sorgen, laßt uns wachen, BWV 213 (1733) • Hercules (1744) • Le nozze d'Ercole e d'Ebe (1747) • The Choice of Hercules (1750) • Hercule mourant (1761) • Le Rouet d'Omphale (1871) • Déjanire (1911) • Hercules vs. Vampires (2010) • Atlántida
Art	Hercules of the Forum Boarium (2nd century BCE) • Farnese Hercules (216) • The Choice of Hercules (1596) • Hercules the Archer (1909)
Other	Hercules in popular culture • Hercules (Disney franchise) • Labours of Hercules • Pillars of Hercules • Maczuga Herkulesa • Hercules in ancient Rome • Hercules' Club • Xena: Warrior Princess • Shirt of Nessus

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