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Episodes
Disc One: “The King Of Thieves”, “All That Glitters”, “What’s In A
Name”, “The Siege At Naxos”
Episodes
Disc Two: “Outcast”, “Under The Broken Sky”, “Mother Of All
Monsters”, “The Other Side”
Episodes
Disc Three: “The Fire Down Below”, “Cast A Giant Shadow”, “Highway To
Hades”, “The Sword Of Veracity”
Episodes
Disc Four: “The Enforcer”, “Once A Hero”, “Heedless Hearts”, “Let
The Games Begin”
Episodes
Disc Five: “The Apple”, “Promises”, “King For A Day”, “Protean
Challenge”
Episodes Disc Six: “The Wedding Of Alcmene”, “The Power”, “Centaur Mentor Journey”, “Cave Of Echoes”
Stars:
Kevin Sorbo and Michael Hurst
Guest
Stars: Tony Blackett, Jon Brazier, Bruce Campbell, Lisa Chappell, Josephine
Dawson, Robert Trebor, Brian Thompson, James Townsend, Kevin Smith, Anthony Ray
Parker, Lucy Lawless, Edward Newborn, Ashley Lawrence, Martin Kov, Bruce
Hopkins, and Rebecca Hobbs
Writers:
Douglas Lefler, Craig Volk, Michael Marks, Darrell Fetty, Robert Bielaki, John
Schullan, Scott Smile Miller, Steven Baum, Nelson Costello, Rob Tapert, Patricia
Manney, and Brian Herskowitz
Directors:
Timothy Bond, Bruce Campbell, James A. Contner, Peter Ellis, Bruce Seth Green,
Charlie Haskell, John T. Kretchmer, Doug Lefler, Stewart Main, Garth Maxwell,
George Medeluk, Stephen L. Posey, Oley Sassone, T.J. Scott, Kevin Sorbo, Robert
G. Tapert, Gus Trikonis, and Anson Williams
Created
By: Christian Williams
Executive
Producers: Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert
Feature
length: 1080 minutes
Extras:
“Actor And Director Bios”, “Trivia
Game”, “Chronicles”, “Screensaver”, “Your Guide To The Gods”,
“What You Didn’t Know About Hercules”, “60 Minute Interview With Rob
Tapert”, “Rob Tapert Interview Including Kevin Sorbo On Regis And Kathie
Lee”, “Blooper Reel”, “Special Effects Reel”, “Costume Designs”
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
N/A
Packaging:
Seven-Disc Digipack Within A Slipcase
Chapter
Stops: 5 Per Episode
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1995-1996/DVD Release: 2003
Home
Video Distributor: Anchor Bay Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
The
second season of “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” was the first full
season of 24 episodes to air in syndication. Previously a series of TV films for
the “Action Pack” that lead to the electrifying first season and spawned the
popular spin-off “Xena: Warrior Princess,” both “Hercules” and
“Xena” were among the highest rated syndicated programs airing in primetime
in the United States as well as a worldwide cult phenomena. The stories mix a
combination of tongue in cheek humor with the characters talking in a far more
contemporary manner then any dramatization of “Hercules” before. In many
ways I think Sam Raimi’s third feature in “The Evil Dead Trilogy” entitled
“Army Of Darkness” was perhaps a part of the inspiration to the formula both
series would follow because of the three features in that trilogy, “Army Of
Darkness” was perhaps the most comedic and bought together a combination of
over-the-top action, characters speaking not too unlike contemporary people, and
certain mix of old fashioned stop motion effects with practical special effects
that called to mind the great work of “Dynamation” master Ray Harryhausen.
By
the time “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” aired on television CGI effects
had fallen to a price that was more affordable for a television budget. Granted
it does not hold up as well as the effects produced by ILM or Weta Digital’s
work on “The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy,” but it still has a charm that
somehow seems appropriate to the light combination of drama, comedy, and
fantasy. Kevin Sorbo would prove to be a great variation on the way
“Hercules” was traditionally portrayed in movies with Michael Hurst as
“Iolaus” providing a good heroic traveling companion. In the end I think one
can see both the heroic adventures “Hercules” and “Xena” series as a
part of the road that would eventually lead filmmakers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert
to producing the lucrative “Spider-Man” feature film franchise for Columbia
TriStar. Even the character of “Ash” from the “Evil Dead Trilogy” would
grow to become an inept, but none the less still an unlikely heroic figure of
sorts. I mean if you are going to be fighting undead demons, you know Ash is the
man to have on your side. Like a Timex watch, he truly takes licking and then
some, but keeps on ticking and lest we forget the “Darkman Trilogy,” which
like all heroes, gives us a character capable of great actions, but struggling
with the affliction of the disfigurement he suffered at the hands of criminals
who left him for dead. Every hero has a cross that he or she bares whether it is
great responsibility for his powers or atonement for past wrongs and that is
what makes them interesting and more human so that us ordinary mortals can
relate with them and learn from them too.
About
the only thing the never really worked for me was using New Zealand as the
setting for Ancient Greece in both “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” and
“Xena: Warrior Princess.” I mean maybe it is just me, but I can totally buy
New Zealand as “Middle Earth” however I tend to think of the settings in
movies like “Jason And Argonauts” to be what I imagine the landscape of
ancient Greece to look like when I think of the Greek and Roman classics.
The
second season of “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” has our demigod take on
Echidna, the half-woman – half serpent monster, Cerberus, the hound of Hades,
and his first encounter with Autolycus (Bruce Campbell), the King of Thieves
while still having time to organize the first Olympiad. All 24 season two
episodes are presented in their original (1.33:1) broadcast aspect ratio and I
was pleasantly surprised by the clarity of the picture. “Hercules: The
Legendary Journeys” to me was the lighter of the two shows when compared to
the overall tone of “Xena: Warrior Princess,” which had a more brooding tone
overall. So I was expecting the lighter nature of the show to yield a brighter
color palette and whatnot, but of all the TV shows I have seen Anchor Bay
Entertainment distribute complete seasons of, “Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys: Season Two” is by far truly the best looking with little visible
grain and no video anomalies. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack
is also quite full in nature with a high fidelity. Unfortunately there are no
Closed Captions for the hearing impaired or Subtitles encoded onto the discs as
options.
There
are a number of extra value features included in this DVD set that include an
animated still photo gallery of season two production shots on disc one (3:04)
and collection of audio and video commentaries for select episodes throughout
the set. I have to admit that I prefer the video commentaries because one can
see the speaker and the reactions to what is being watched, which makes it more
engaging. The video commentaries are also abridged versions of the same
speaker’s thoughts recorded for the episode length audio commentary tracks.
Kevin Sorbo provides both audio and video commentary for “The Other Side” on
disc two (17:35). He reveals anecdotes such as the winter scenes were completely
done using spray foam and plastic because it does not snow in the area of New
Zealand where they were shooting. He also comments on his Co-Star’s ability to
play more than one role on the series, which was something he wishes he could
have done. Hurst plays “Charon” the ferryman who takes people across to the
other side of the Underworld in the episode. At times Sorbo comes off as being a
little glib and he doesn’t always have the best memory when it comes to even
what season the show aired on. He mentions it as being a third season episode
and even seems unsure as to how many seasons “Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys” aired on television, but he is sure that the series will still keep
airing in reruns fifty years from now!
Kevin
Sorbo also provides audio and video commentary tracks for “Cast A Giant
Shadow” (12:37 For Video Commentary) on disc three where he discusses the
forced perspective special effects for the scenes between the giant and normal
mortal beings, the fact that New Zealand has a greater variety of vegetation
than the Amazon, the bruises both Michael Hurst and Sorbo suffered during the
second season of “Hercules” and their guest appearance on “Xena,” which
had begun it’s first season at the time. He mentions that an average episode
took approximately 8 days to shoot with the average day taking between 12 and 14
hours each. He also dates the DVD recording session as August of 2003. Sorbo
also has an audio and video commentary located on disc four for the episode
“Let the Games Begin” where he discusses working with a real life former
Mrs. Olympia and talks about the demon creatures, which look a lot like the orcs
in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy.” The video commentary
track has a running time of 13 ½ minutes long. Finally Kevin Sorbo and
Assistant Director Wayne Rose provide an episode length audio commentary for
“The Apple,” which was Kevin Sorbo’s directorial debut. Sorbo is very
articulate throughout the commentary and while he does dominate the commentary,
he is also generous with Wayne Rose and overall I’d say Sorbo grows more
comfortable with every commentary and does a great job as well. Interestingly,
he will be present at the next Olympics in Athens, Greece.
The
seventh disc in the set is actually a CD-ROM containing Actor and Director Bios,
a Trivia Game, A Guide To The Various Gods, Creatures, and Mortals, Chronicles
detailing a synopsis, credits, and anecdotes for every episodes and a
screensaver. I am not sure if this is in every single box set for the second
season of “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,” but within the set I found a
bonus DVD within an envelope the contains a reflective interview with Executive
Producer Rob Tapert entitled “What You Didn’t Know About Hercules” (69:23)
that also contains footage from Kevin Sorbo’s appearance on “Regis And
Kathie Lee” as well as a blooper reel (25:48), a special effects reel (11:31),
and an animated gallery of costume designs (2:44). Unlike many blooper reels
that tend to only be funny I think if you were a part of the production, there
are actually some funny scenes to be seen here and the effects reel is quite
impressive in how one can see how the actors would fight and react to elements
that would later be added by computer and there is even a comparison with a
completed sequence from the series. Tapert discusses defining both
“Hercules” and “Xena” and finding the appropriate mix for each episode,
which he defines “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” as being more about the
mythology while “Xena: Warrior Princess” would deal with darker storylines
geared for a more adult audience. Eventually the audience and demographics for
both shows revealed that half of people who tuned in to watch “Hercules: The
Legendary Journeys” did not watch “Xena: Warrior Princess” and an audience
that skipped “Hercules” all together never missed “Xena.” Overall these
are a nice bunch of bonus features that truly enhance the value of the box set
as a whole.
The
interactive menus on the discs are all well rendered and easy to navigate.
“Hercules: The Legendary Journeys: Season Two DVD Box Set” is available at
retailers on and offline now from Anchor Bay Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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