Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995)
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys is an American fantasy television series filmed in New Zealand, based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles (Hercules was his Roman analogue). Starring Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and Michael Hurst as Iolaus, it was produced from January 16, 1995, to November 22, 1999. It ran for six seasons, producing action figures and other memorabilia as it became one of the highest-rated syndicated television shows in the world at that time.
It was preceded by five TV movies in 1994, with the same major characters, and was part of Universal Media Studios’s Action Pack. They are, in order of appearance: Hercules and the Amazon Women, Hercules and the Lost Kingdom, Hercules and the Circle of Fire, Hercules in the Underworld, and Hercules in the Maze of the Minotaur, the last of which served mostly as a “clip show” of the previous movies as a lead up to the series.
Plot:
The series is set in a fantasy version of Ancient Greece, not tied to historical times. Various episodes also feature Eastern, Egyptian, and medieval influences. Kevin Sorbo stars as Hercules, and Michael Hirst regularly plays his assistant, Iolaus. Another constant companion of Hercules, especially in the early seasons, is Salmoneus (Robert Trebor), a businessman always looking for easy money. Typical storylines involve Hercules and Iolaus rescuing villagers from monsters.
Comedic moments were also present, and the episodes often included jokes about contemporary themes. In early episodes, as mentioned in the series’ opening, Hercules’ main enemy is his stepmother, Hera, a powerful queen who seeks to destroy Hercules using various monsters and the aid of her followers because he reminds her of the infidelity of her husband, Zeus.