For those who are unfamiliar with Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, it is a television series that is loosely based on the mythological half-god Hercules (Kevin Sorbo). In earlier seasons, the stories revolved around actual stories from Greek Mythology. However, as the series has progressed, it's had less and less material to work with. As such, new material has been introduced. This fifth season no longer tells the (very loose) stories of the true Hercules from Greek Mythology. Instead, its only relation is the characters and setting. Like always, joining Hercules is his good friend Iolas (Michael Hurst). The two courageously travel the bounds of the world righting wrongdoings. Unfortunately, this season comes off less entertaining than previous ones. The stories told are decent at best.

The majority of the episodes in season five are used to tell one story. It follows one central theme, where Hercules undergoes a dramatic life changing event and doesn't end up the same person. After the death of a very close friend, he loses his desire to help others. Instead, Hercules broods and his character becomes slightly dark. At first, this approach holds great intrigue, because it isn't everyday that we get to see the overly altruistic hero in a dark fashion. The concept is similar to the two part episode "Something Wicked" and "Deliverance" in Highlander: The Series - Season Four, where the main character MacLeod drops the good guy bravado and puts on bad guy pants. In Highlander: The Series, the concept is played out very well, simply because the good guy turned bad guy is done so well. The main character MacLeod actually becomes evil, murdering his friends and such. However, this isn't necessarily the case for Hercules. Instead, Hercules just mopes around and acts like a little whining baby. Of course, he still manages to help those in need, despite that he claims he'll be of no use to the needy. I felt that this sole portrayal of good guy turned bad, just wasn't very good. I think that the season could have been a lot stronger, if Hercules had actually turned to the dark side.

However, the central theme isn't about Hercules finding his "dark side", but rather Hercules finding the true dark nature of the universe through a monstrous force known as Dahak. Through the rest of the season, Hercules encounters and battles this true force of evil. This concept is much different from previous seasons, because Hercules always fought against the Greek Gods. The while the Gods did "bad" things to mankind, they were never truly evil. Rather, they were selfish. This new form of evil gives a different kind of bad guy for Hercules. Unfortunately, the manner in which it's presented isn't really entertaining.

On a positive note, this season does well because it includes some interesting twists. The stories in this season have Hercules traveling all around the globe (well, not literally). He ventures into various regions and interacts with other Gods. I felt that this was an interesting approach to explain the existence of Gods in various mythologies coexisting. Some of the interesting places Hercules travels are to ancient Sumeria, Ireland, and Scandinavia, where he interacts with Gods from Irish and Norse Mythology.

However, the grass isn't always green. While the concepts are interesting, the stories themselves aren't always that entertaining. The episodes feel a little over the top, with acting that usually tends to be a little too dramatic or too corny. Sure there are some very funny moments, but at the same time, there seems to be far more moments that will leave you rolling your eyes in disgust. In addition, the stories themselves tend to go wayward with a few aspects that are beyond reality of the fantasy world that Hercules exists in. For instance, there is an evil version of the heroic King Arthur that pays Hercules a visit and Hercules travels into an alternative dimension and brings back a friend. While some of these concepts (i.e. time travel) have appeared in previous episodes, they just feel out of context. Finally, the season itself concludes fairly poorly. There is no cliffhanger and the major story arc of the season ends in a very predictable and far too convenient manner. In the end, it leaves you feeling slightly disappointed.

Similar to previous seasons in the series, there are a couple of playful and fun episodes sprinkled throughout the season. They provide some nice (and not so nice) diversions from the major story arc. The first is "Genies and Grecians and Geeks, Oh My", which stars two of the series' best guest stars Bruce Campbell as Autolycus and Robert Trebor as Salmoneus. It's a pretty fun episode, but it feels completely out place in the beginning of the very season. We open with the introduction of the major story arc and then poof, an hour of unrelated material. The episode "For Those Of You Just Joining Us" is a perfect example of the fun episodes that come off boring. It's a very silly episode that is used to explain what has occurred in the season so far. The problem I had with the episode is that it feels completely out of place and adds absolutely nothing. Sure it does well to get you up to speed in case you missed the first third of the season five. Additionally, there a few episodes that are tied into the main story arc, which add nothing to the overall story. For instance in "Greece Is Burning", Hercules helps Althea put on a fashion show. In season four, he helped her win a dance contest.

Season five is clearly not Hercules at its best. The season has a fairly interesting story to tell, but at the same time it's not very gripping. The episodes, as they are, fail to grab the viewer's attention making them want more. Overall, this season is a little shaky in its entertainment and replay value. It offers very little in both categories, which makes this season release best suited for a rental.

Episode Guide
1. Faith
2. Descent
3. Resurrection
4. Genies And Grecians And Geeks, Oh My!
5. Render Unto Caesar
6. Norse By Northwest
7. Somewhere Over The Rainbow Bridge
8. Darkness Rising
9. For Those Of You Just Joining Us
10. Let There Be Light
11. Redemption
12. Sky High
13. Stranger And Stranger
14. Just Passing Through
15. Greece Is Burning
16. We'll Always Have Cypress
17. The Academy
18. Love On The Rocks
19. Once Upon A Future King
20. Fade Out
21. My Best Girl's Wedding
22. Revelations

The DVD

Video:
The video is given 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 broadcast. 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 is given as a "remixed" English 5.1 Dolby digital surround audio track. The audio track is primarily dialogue driven and sounds pretty good. However, the surround sound capability is taken advantage of very little, with very little distinction between channels. However, the audio track does well in providing sound effects and music in a fairly rich and vibrant form. There are no subtitles in this feature, but it is closed captioned enabled.

Extras:
The special features that are included in this season release are very similar to previous releases. They include a variety of audio commentaries, video interviews, featurettes, and a bonus CD-ROM disc. The audio commentaries are for episodes "Faith", "For Those Of You Just Joining Us", and "Stranger And Stranger". The video interviews are for episodes "Resurrection", "Norse By Northwest", "Darkness Rising", "Redemption", "Just Passing Through", "We'll Always Have Cypress", "My Best Girl's Wedding", and "Revelations". They all provide comments from various cast and crew members like Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst, Bruce Campbell, Rob Tapert, Gene O'Neill, and more. For the most part, they tend to be pretty dry and probably will only appeal to the diehard fans. As for the featurettes, there are two. The first is "Bringing Monsters to Life at K.N.B. EFX Group Part 2", which like the season four featurette continues to discuss special effects make-up and about the various "monsters" used in the series. The next featurette, "On Set Interviews with Kevin Sorbo & Anthony Quinn", would have been better suited for the first season. Anthony Quinn played Zeus in the five Hercules made-for-TV movies, which were packaged with the first season.

There's also a bonus CD-ROM disc that contains a variety of fanfare. It's similar to the bonus disc found in other DVD releases from Hercules, Xena, and Highlander: The Series. It contains background information on Greek mythology, cast & crew biographies, character biographies, episode synopsis's, and a trivia game. Also, like previous releases, there is a photo gallery on disc one.

Final Thoughts:
While the stories told in this season can be fairly entertaining, they aren't very gripping. Despite that the majority of the content follows a major story arc, the episodes never seem to end with you wanting to know what happens next. This season does a poor job uncovering new and exciting stories. Instead, it produces remotely intriguing stories that will most likely appeal to the diehard fans. Still, there is enough entertaining material in this release that it makes for a good rental. If you're looking for some terrible action, corny dialogue, and somewhat entertaining stories, Hercules should suit you fine.