Kevin Sorbo & Michael Hurst Create An Updated Greek Legend.

Aside from the Tales From The Crypt series, Hercules The Legendary Journeys is one of my most anticipated series to ever show up on DVD. I've been waiting for it ever since I saw that television series' were being packaged nicely on DVD. While moderately expensive, I actually prefer to watch my favorite shows in these nice DVD packages for two main reasons.

1) I can't stand the amount of commercials on television these days. It'll take an amazing show to get me to want to sit through them.

2) My crazy schedule just won't allow me to set time aside once a week to see my favorite shows (and I'm just too danged lazy to set my VCR).

Hercules however, is now defunct and for some strange reason none of the television stations in my area show any reruns. Now, if I was a Star Trek fan that would be another story...sheesh just make a 24 Star Trek channel so I can block it already, enough is enough!

Rambling aside, Hercules was basically a kids show with a lot of hotties on it. Playboy Playmates and big muscled guys we everywhere on this program. Usually I'd have turned it off the second I saw it but something about it grabbed me.

My city never received Hercules until quite a few seasons into it. I suppose perhaps a year or so before the Xena program started up was when it first arrived so I never did get to ever see the first few seasons of it. Well now I have my chance.

Initially the main reasons I really went out of my way to watch Hercules on a regular basis (on T.V.) was because it's a fantasy based show, which at the time was quite rare (heaven forbid the fantasy-saturated television market now!) and because Sam Raimi's name was attached to it. I am a HUGE Sam Raimi fan. I was looking forward to seeing his style of camera angles and the like on Hercules and he didn't disappoint. He fits in many of the tricks and things I'd become a fan of through his Evil Dead series and even brought in Bruce Campbell later on to play the Prince of Thieves as well! Holy cow!

Sam Raimi's familiarity aside, after watching a few episodes I quickly became of fan of the funny swashbuckling adventures of the charismatic leads, Kevin Sorbo and Michael Hurst. As a matter of fact personally I felt Hurst stole the show from Sorbo anyhow, any show without Hurst usually wasn't a good one. That's what made watching this first season for the first time very interesting.

The boxed set includes all these made for television movies:

Hercules and the Amazon Women
Hercules and the Lost Kingdom
Hercules and the Circle of Fire
Hercules in the Underworld
Hercules In The Maze of the Minotaur

While there really isn't any real information on them in any form of booklet or what have you, it's become quite apparent that these approximately ninety minute features were a season unto itself. Raimi and the gang started these films out, they became popular and what the heck, let's make it a regular series next year.

The above listed films obviously had a slightly larger budget than its syndicated television predecessor. Anthony Quinn played a funny and charismatic Zeus, and even ex-Whitesnake video, ex-con Tawny Kitaen played Hercules' wife.

What's neat going through these films is seeing people that will later become regulars later on in the show playing alternate characters. Lucy Lawless played a couple of different characters before taking up the Xena mantle, even her buddy Gabrielle played someone else first too. There are quite a few recognizable faces and it's cool to see them pop up in these early episodes. The only really weird thing was that Michael Hurst obviously was not slated to be a sidekick of Hercules' on a regular basis. It's apparent later in the season that the show's creators quickly figured out what worked and what didn't. The charismatic Hurst obviously did.

That's the main thing about this set. You get to see the show's humble beginnings. While Xena's first season started long after the creators of Hercules had their successful formula down (not too mention a fun cast), one can see the missteps and various areas where through trial and error Hercules eventually became one of the most entertaining shows through the nineties.

One episode in particular is quite amusing because they hadn't found out how the late Kevin Smith would popularize the Ares character later on in the series. The episode in season one called 'Ares' has this huge Muppet-like creature battling Hercules. It looks ridiculous but heck, if Hercules fans really cared about ridiculousness would they even be fans?

Xena fans (how Xena became more popular than Hercules is beyond me) should also enjoy this set due to not only seeing their two favorites play other roles but also that the famous 'Xena Trilogy' is included in on this set. 'The Warrior Princess', 'The Gauntlet', and 'Unchained Heart' are all near the end of the first season and are quite good. It would have been really neat to see how the Hercules-Xena relationship and characters would have developed had Xena not gotten her own show.

I've always been a fan of reading Greek mythology and even though it was comedic, one thing I always loved about the show is how they twisted and had fun with greek myths. Seeing various babe-gods like Nemesis and Aphrodite appear were always a treat for me. It's given me a different perspective when I 'fantasize' about the gods.

Extra features-wise, during the regular season one shows, at least one episode on each DVD has a commentary track by Sorbo or Hurst. There is even a video commentary track on the last disc during one of the episodes which is great to watch. Hurst's kiwi accent is so heavy I could barely recognize his voice! Regardless both guys are as funny talking about the show as when they are in it. They added quite a lot of insightful information fans of the show should enjoy.

Overall the Season One set has given me quite a good value for my entertainment dollar. Those of you who loved the b-television boom of the nineties, (there must be some 'cause this series was popular) will love this set. Heck, for five Hercules movies AND every season one episode including the Xena trilogy it's probably the best buy of any series set. I can't wait for the rest to come out, I just hope I can afford em all.