In the second half of the nineties, the American television series Hercules The Legendary Journeys was very popular with everyone. His success was so great that during the demonstration of the project two spin-offs were shot for him: “Youth of Hercules” and “Xena - the Queen of Warriors”. Let's look at what was told in this series, who starred there and how the audience related to this project.
Hercules The Legendary Journeys TV Show
Despite the fact that this series (shown on Russian television under the title "The Amazing Wanderings of Hercules") is American, almost all the shooting took place in New Zealand. And although the project was low-budget, this did not prevent him from becoming one of the most successful in the history of television.
In the genre of "Amazing wanderings of Hercules" is an epic adventure thriller in which elements of drama and comedy successfully coexist. Sometimes it is simply referred to as fantasy, but this is too narrow an interpretation for the genre of this series.
How many seasons are in the project?
The release date of "The Wonderful Wanderings of Hercules" is considered January 16, 1995, when the first series of the first season - "The Wrong Way" was shown to the audience. And the last episode ("The Circle Is Closed") appeared on the screens on November 20, 1999.
In total, the series consists of six seasons. In addition, each of them has a different number of episodes. In the first (1995) there were 13 episodes, in the second (1995-1996) - 24, from the third to the fifth (1996-1999) - 22, and in the final (1999) - only 8.
According to the number of episodes, we can conclude that the second, third and fourth seasons were the most successful for the project.
Each of the series lasted an average of 40-45 minutes
Project trial episodes
In 1994, when Hercules The Legendary Journeys was still under development, ten pilot episodes were shot. They described five stories from the life of Heracles and his family.
Unlike the further content of the project, they were closer to the original myths.
In addition, the biography of the protagonist, set out in them, was also different. Here he had a living wife and children. In the future, the story had to be changed, since the happy family man Hercules could not have those numerous love adventures that he had during all seasons.
When the series began to gain popularity, the pilot episodes were processed into full-length films and released under the names: “Hercules and the Amazon Women,” “Hercules and the Lost Kingdom,” “Hercules and the Circle of Fire,” “Hercules in the Kingdom of the Dead,” as well as “Labyrinth” Minotaur. "
Plot
All the adventures of Hercules in the series were based on Greek and Roman myths. In later seasons, interpreted legends of other nations began to be attached to them.
At the center of all events was almost always Hercules (Hercules), the son of the supreme Greek god Zeus and a mortal woman. Endowed from birth not only with inhuman strength, but also with an incredibly kind heart, he constantly helped everyone in need of his help.
At the beginning of the project, its creators “kill” the hero’s family, and now his main goal is to find and avenge the cruel killer for this crime.
The main villain in the series is the stepmother of Hercules - the wife of Zeus, the goddess Hera. It is through the efforts of her followers that she constantly seeks to kill the stepson. However, not only she, but also other gods were not particularly distinguished for caring for mortals. Often they doomed people to suffering for fun.
Hercules and his faithful friend Iolaus are the only ones who were not afraid to challenge them and defend the innocent.
Reviews on "The Wonderful Wanderings of Hercules"
On numerous resources where this project is being discussed, it is mainly praised by those who watched the series in childhood. He causes nostalgia for such spectators, and for this very reason they are sometimes inclined to revise "The Amazing Wanderings of Hercules."
Moreover, many of such an audience honestly admit in their reviews that they would hardly be interested in this project today, even as a child. The reason for this is called too cheap scenery and tricks in the picture, as well as a corny predictable plot.
But for modern children and adolescents (they are the target audience of the series), the project is no longer particularly interesting, since on the Internet they can see many much more entertaining and spectacular paintings.
From the point of view of historical plausibility, "The Wonderful Wanderings of Hercules" do not hold water. So, the series is not able to interest modern viewers even as a teaching aid on the myths and legends of Ancient Greece and Rome.
The lead actor - Kevin Sorbo
Having discussed the content and format of the project, it’s worth talking about the actors of the series “Amazing wanderings of Hercules”.
The protagonist was played by American artist and model Kevin Sorbo. In cinema and on television, he began acting in his late twenties. Before that, Sorbo became more famous as a model in advertising.
In the early nineties, he began to appear quite often on television. At that time, he auditioned for the roles of Superman ("Lois and Clark: New Adventures of Superman") and Agent Mulder ("The X-Files").
When the artist was thirty-five, he began to think that he could not achieve anything in his career. Suddenly, the artist was offered the role of Hercules. Kevin Sorbo immediately agreed, but did not attach much importance to this role, since the project was, frankly, “cheap”.
However, after the first season of "The Amazing Wanderings of Hercules" it turned out that he was loved by the audience, and Sorbo became famous throughout the world.
In addition to filming in the series, the actor played in various television and film projects. The most famous among them are Kull the Conqueror, Andromeda, As Jim said, Two and a Half Men, Saving Adam, Clairvoyant, Acquaintance with the Spartans, Wide Walking 2, 3 etc.
Today, Kevin Sorbo is no longer in demand as in the nineties, but continues to act sometimes. In his spare time, the artist is engaged in charity and plays golf.
Who played Iolaus
Having found out who played the role of the protagonist of the project, it is worth mentioning the names of other actors in the series "Amazing wanderings of Hercules."
First of all, it is worth paying attention to the performer of the role of a close friend of the main character - Iolaus. This character was played by British artist from New Zealand Michael Hurst.
As for Sorbo, for Hirst, participation in this project was the main creative achievement. At the same time, the latter was able to derive great benefits from him than his partner.
The fact is that playing in the series, Michael Hurst simultaneously mastered the profession of director for himself. By the way, his first steps in this field were the fact that he directed the filming of two episodes of "The Amazing Wanderings of Hercules."
Today, Hurst is rarely removed, but he is the director of such popular TV shows as Spartak: Gods of the Arena and Spartak: Blood and Sand.
Aphrodite, Ares, Hera, Salmonaeus, Autolycus - permanent minor characters
Having considered the leading actors of the project, it is worth paying attention to the less noticeable actors of the series "Amazing wanderings of Hercules."
According to the plot, the protagonist’s closest relationship was with his half-sister Aphrodite. This heroine for three years was played by American actress Alexandra Tydings. Later, she left the project, becoming Aphrodite in Xena.
The embodiment of pure evil, Heru, in the series was played by the owner of the most piercing blue eyes on US television Meg Foster. By the way, after the series about Hercules was closed, she starred in Xena - the Warrior Queen for another season.
But with the actor Ares - Kevin Smith - the opposite situation. At first, he played this character in Xena, and later went on to the project Amazing Wanderings of Hercules.
In addition to the cruel gods, the project had several permanent minor mortal characters. This is a resourceful, but cowardly moneylender Salmoni and a clever king of thieves Autolycus. These heroes were played by artists Robert Trebor and Bruce Campbell.
“Xena - the Queen of Warriors” and “Youth of Hercules”
Having dealt with the actors of the series “Amazing wanderings of Hercules”, it is worth paying attention to the spin-offs of this project.
Almost simultaneously with the advent of the series about Hercules, its creators decided to start simultaneously filming his "female" version - "Xena - the Queen of Warriors." Since the action of both projects took place at the same time, in the same world, the main and secondary characters of both series often "came to visit" to each other. The same situation was observed with the scenery and costumes.
When the producers saw that “Xena” and “Hercules” began to run out of steam, they tried to restart the last project in a peculiar way. So there was the "Youth of Hercules." This series tells about the years of study of the son of Zeus and his friend Iolaus at the school of warriors of the centaur Chiron.
Unfortunately, this project lasted only a year on air, confirming that the viewer had lost interest in this topic.