The Third Season

Before the world was introduced to novels, television, movies, and other modern forms of entertainment, there were legends, folklore, and mythology. Some of these tales gave reasoning to unexplainable phenomena, such as the creation of the world. One of these, Greek mythology, has proven to hold a high amount of entertainment value for modern society. As such, the entertainment business has given birth to the stories once told by the ancient Greeks in novels, movies, and television.

In 1994 the world was introduced to Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. This story is based upon a sole figure from Greek mythology, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo). Hercules is a unique individual, being half human and half god. Hercules' father Zeus, the king of the Gods, had lain with a mortal, Alcmene. The result was Hercules, half mortal and half God, with the gift of unsurpassable physical strength and a very big heart. Hercules and his partner in crime (figuratively speaking of course) Iolaus (Michael Hurst) travel the Earth righting wrongs, helping people in need, and fighting for mankind, against the tyranny of the Gods.

While the show is based upon Greek mythology, the stories told deviate from true Greek mythology. Some of the original stories of Hercules' trials are told, but mostly the show creates new stories based upon the universe created in Greek mythology. In addition, Hercules has a much different personality than his original Greek mythology predecessor. Hercules tends to be a very non-sexist and over-do-gooder, which was not a concern of the original Hercules. As well, other supporting characters are introduced and the various Gods in Hercules' world are given unique and catchy personalities.

In season 3, the tales of Hercules as depicted by producers Robert Taper, Christian Williams, Sam Raimi, and a horde of writers produce some good and not so good episodes. Perhaps the most exciting and entertaining episode of season 3, "The End of the Beginning", features the return of Autolycus, the King of Thieves (Bruce Campbell). Autolycus manages to still the Chronos gemstone, a device that gives the holder the ability to manipulate the strands of time! In this episode Hercules chases Autolycus into the past, where they get stuck. In order to return to the future (the present), Autolycus must team up with a five year younger version of himself and steal the Chronos gemstone again. There are also a few comical Army of Darkness references.

Another of the season's entertaining stories spans across three episodes, "Encounter", "When a Man Loves a Woman", and "Judgement Day". This three part story starts off like all the others. Hercules and Iolaus go off on some adventure to stop an evil creature on a murderous rampage. The real excitement in this three part episode is from the change of pace in the story. Hercules is accused of murder, the very thing he tries so dearly to avoid. As well, Hercules is humbled when he gives up his immortality and strength. This three part episode also includes a guest appearance of Xena (Lucy Lawless). It's up to Xena and Iolaus to restore Hercules' good name.

The season also held some pretty bad episodes that really weren't that entertaining. In "A Rock and A Hard Place" a thief, Cassus, is accused of murder. This entire episode focuses upon Hercules causing Cassus to have a change of heart in regards to his life. Cassus then hopes to right his wrongdoings by teaching his son to not follow him in the dodgy path.

Overall, this was not the most exhilarating season of Hercules. Besides the mentioned episodes, there were several other episodes that were a bore and some that tended to be fairly entertaining. The plots of each episode tend to have the same feeling. Hercules and Iolaus go out and fight someone, one of the bad guys realizes how wrong they are and turn good, and of course good prevails evil. Other issues I have with the series in general, the acting is always pretty terrible. Generally, the supporting characters never seem to fill their roles well. Some characters are over or underplayed. Others just don't seem right for the part. As well, Hercules' personality as the always-do-gooder can get fairly annoying, the catchy idioms used in the dialogue aren't very funny, and the integration of elements in modern society into the show doesn't always fit well. In addition, the fight scene choreography never seems to be done well. There are some instances during the fight scenes when it is very apparent that punches and kicks are pulled. As well, Hercules and Iolaus always seem to use the same fighting maneuvers.

Despite the prior negativism in the previous statement, I do enjoy Hercules. My intentions were to point out that Hercules didn't win awards for a reason. The show was never a huge hit, but it was successful enough to run for six seasons. I suppose it's easiest to compare Hercules to an Arnold Schwarzenegger film like Eraser. It's a horrible movie, but can be entertaining for some. Similarly, fans of Hercules will enjoy definitely enjoy season 3, but newcomers should really check out season 1 first.

Episode List
1. Mercenary
2. Doomsday
3. Love Takes A Holiday
4. Mummy Dearest
5. Not Fat Away
6. Monster Child In The Promised Land
7. The Green-Eyed Monster
8. Prince Hercules
9. A Star To Guide Them
10. The Lady And The Dragon
11. Love Live The King
12. Surprise
13. Encounter
14. When A Man Loves A Woman
15. Judgment Day
16. The Lost City
17. Les Contemptibles
18. Reign Of Terror
19. The End Of The Beginning
20. War Bride
21. A Rock And A Hard Place
22. Atlantis

The DVD

Video:
Season 3 of Hercules is presented in its original television aspect of 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The picture has been "remastered" to provide better quality than the original television airing. While the picture quality is better, it's not by much. Most casual viewers will most likely be unable to tell the difference of this feature's picture quality when compared to the original airing. There is a slight grain in the picture and a few minor color defects. However, the picture quality is still fairly good.

Audio:
The audio in season 3 is presented as a "remixed" English 5.1 Dolby digital surround audio track. Spoken dialogue during the feature sounds very clear and crisp, with a natural feeling. There are no subtitles in this feature, but it is closed captioned enabled.

Extras:
The extras for season 3 of Hercules spans across all nine discs. The special features include audio commentaries, interviews with cast and crew, a photo gallery, and some other bonus content found on the bonus CD-ROM (ninth) disc.

Bonus CD-ROM
The Bonus CD-ROM is only viewable on a home computer. It is powered by Macromedia Shockwave and QuickTime Video. I did not need to install any additional software to view the content, even though I do not have QuickTime codecs installed on my computer. You will most likely not need to install any additional software in order to view the bonus CD-ROM content. Simply put the disc in your CD-ROM tray and let it rip! The extras on this bonus disc include four major areas, Chronicles, Biographies, Legends, and a Trivia Game. The first extra, Chronicles, features a variety of information pertaining to season 3. In "Scrolls" you are given a synopsis of each episode. "Mortals" houses a biography of each mortal character, while "Gods" provides a biography of each God. Similarly "Creatures" gives a biography of each creature and monster. The final part of this extra is "Treasures", a biography of each treasure and special item used in season. The extra Biographies lists filmographies for the actors, directors, and writers of season 3. Legends features mythological references to mortals, gods, and creatures from Greek mythology. The final extra of that is included is a Trivia Game. Test your knowledge about events, people, and other occurrences in season 3 by answering ten random multiple choice questions.

Final Thoughts:
In comparison to the previous seasons of Hercules, the breadth of entertainment slightly diminishes. Season 3 provides an ambience that will make hardcore fans happy and slightly disappoint others. This is due to the lack of variety from season 3 to previous seasons. Generally, television shows have a good opportunity to grow and advance as each season passes, but with Hercules, it feels more like one big extension of the previous two seasons. Overall, season 3 just doesn't provide a great deal of variety in terms of entertainment. Fans of the series will definitely want to check out season 3, but for those who are new to the series, I suggest you check out season 1 first. Either way, season 3 is definitely worth a rental.

Be sure to check out DVD Talk's other reviews in the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess series.