YOUNG HERCULES
(FOX, September 12, 1998-May 14, 1999)
Renaissance Pictures Studios USA
MAIN CAST:
Kevin Smith – Ares, Timor, Bacchus (2nd
time)
In 1994, Christian Williams created a
show that would launch a TV empire. Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys was loosely based on the mythological Greek hero Hercules (Kevin Sorbo), and was produced by Renaissance Pictures;
the production company formed by Evil Dead creators Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert and Bruce Campbell. The show followed
Hercules as he journeyed around a fantasy version of ancient Greece and helped
people along the way against warlords, mercenaries, mythological monsters and
the gods themselves. Occasionally joining him was his best friend, Iolaus (Michael Hurst), and fast-talking con
man, Salmoneus (Robert Trebor), as well as
other allies along the way. The series debuted as a series of five telefilms
before becoming a full one-hour series in 1995. It aired as part of the
syndicated Universal
Action Pack programming block.
 |
| Hercules, Xena and their sidekicks. |
Hercules
became one of the highest-rated syndicated shows at the time, supplanting Baywatch in the
number one spot. The show introduced the character of Xena (Lucy Lawless), a former marauder
who changed her ways and became a heroic figure looking to make up for her dark
past. Initially going to die in her third and final appearance, Xena’s
popularity spared the character and landed her a spin-off show, Xena:
Warrior Princess. The spin-off ended up becoming more popular than Hercules, and both shows ran for six
seasons before their respective cancellations.
 |
| Young Iolaus, Hercules and Jason from The Legendary Journeys. |
During that time, a second spin-off
was created. Hercules had featured
several episodes that explored Hercules’ past adventures from his youth. Ian Bohen portrayed a young
Hercules, with Dean O’Gorman playing Iolaus and Chris Conrad as Jason, of Jason and the Argonauts fame (retconning
the previous establishment of Jason being their elder as played by Jeffrey Thomas). It was soon
decided to expand on these adventures and develop a series around the younger
cast.
Developed by Tapert, Young Hercules saw its beginnings in a
made-for-TV movie written by Tapert, Andrew Dettmann and Daniel Truly and shown in February
of 1998. Hercules was sent by his mother, Alcmene (Rachel Blakely), to train at
the academy run by the centaur Cheiron (Nathaniel Lees). There, he met up with
Iolaus and Jason, as well as a female cadet named Yvenna (Johna Stewart-Bowden). However,
their studies were put on hold when Jason’s father, King Aeson (Mike McGee), was put on his
deathbed, necessitating their questing for the Golden Fleece to save
him. It was all a plot by Hercules’ jealous half-brother, Ares (Kevin Smith),
the God of War, and his underling, Discord (Meighan Desmond), This telefilm,
however, contradicted the accounts of this adventure established just the month
prior in the Hercules episode “Hercules on Trial”.
 |
| Ryan Gosling puts on the gauntlets. |
When Young Hercules went to series, Bohen declined to continue with the
role as it would require him to relocate to New Zealand where it and the other
shows were filmed. He was replaced by an unknown Ryan Gosling, and his costume
and arm makeup were used to make him appear bulkier and more muscular than he
was. The character of Yvenna was also replaced by another cadet, Lilith (Jodie
Rimmer), who was described as the first female cadet ever to train at the
academy. The series also introduced Kora (Angela Marie Dotchin), a barkeep in
the town of Corinth who was secretly a devotee and servant of Artemis (Anna Bernard), goddess of the
hunt, and was revealed to possess powers granted by Artemis. Ares, Discord and
Strife (Joel Tobeck) served as the main antagonists; constantly attempting to
destroy Hercules and his friends with a variety of schemes. Other gods featured
were Hephaestus (Jason Hoyte), the god of
metallurgy; Bacchus (Anthony Ray
Parker & Smith), the god of wine; Hera (Elizabeth Hawthorne), queen of
the gods; and Zeus (John Bach), king of the gods
and Hercules’ father. Along with those reprising their roles, the series shared
many of the same actors that appeared in both Hercules and Xena.
 |
| Powered-up Kora and Hercules on the hunt. |
Young Hercules debuted on FOX on September 12, 1998 as part of the Fox Kids Programming block. At
the time of its airing, it was one of three shows based around the character of
Hercules, along with its parent show and Disney’s Hercules: The Animated Series. It aired on both the weekday and Saturday
versions of the block initially before only being shown on weekdays. Episodes
weren’t aired in any particular order, ignoring both the production order and
series continuity (for instance, an episode where Jason had been crowned king
aired before an episode where he was still a prince). Unlike the other shows in
the franchise, Young Hercules only
ran for a half-hour. The series was written by Mark Edens, Hilary J. Bader, John Loy, Adam Armus, Nora Kay Foster, Jim Fisher, Jim Staahl, Len Uhley, Brooks Wachtel, Shari Goodhartz, Jan Strnad, Steven Melching, Doug Molitor, Michael Edens, Carter Crocker, Michael Reaves, Bob Forward, Paul Sauer, Vanessa Place, Brian Herskowitz, Patrick Phillips, Jessica Scott, Mike Wollaeger, Clark Carlton, and producers
Tapert, Eric Lewald, Julia Lewald and Liz Friedman. Franchise
composer Joseph LoDuca handled the music.
 |
| Ares, god of war, plotting his next scheme. |
The series became a case study in
efficiency in television production. As it only had a $20 million budget in
total, a number of cost-cutting measures were employed. It was filmed in
four-episode blocks with scripts designed to utilize the same sets as much as
possible. Each block was rotated between directors Chris Graves, Charlie Haskell and Andrew Merrifield; with Simon Raby handling a couple of
episodes. They had toyed with the idea of using digital cameras, but after
determining it wasn’t economically viable at the time went with the cheaper
16mm film. Filming in New Zealand also allowed the production to circumvent
costly Screen Actors Guild
regulations. Initially, visual effects were handled by Weta Workshop until they and a good
portion of the crew went to work on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film
trilogy. The other effects were handled by the franchise’s own Flat Earth Productions.
 |
| Hercules and Lilith narrowly escaping death. |
Young
Hercules proved to be a success for FOX, becoming the 2nd
top-rated live-action series on the network just below Power Rangers. It was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in 1999 and a Writers Guild of America Award in
2000. Despite that, however, FOX ultimately chose not to renew the series for a
second season and it ended its run after 50 episodes. The series was given a
bit of a coda in the Hercules episode
“The Academy”
which saw Hercules, Iolaus and Jason travel to the academy to help take it back
from mercenary students currently running the place. It was the first time
Lilith, played by Susan Brady,
was mentioned outside of Young Hercules. Gosling
portrayed the antagonist, Zylus, and Rimmer was Seska, the daughter of Lilith
and Jason from a dalliance during the Young
Hercules years before Lilith went on to become an Amazon. Later that year,
adult Lilith and Seska would make another appearance in the episode “A Wicked Good
Time”. Rimmer, Conrad, O’Gorman and Dotchin would continue to make
guest-appearances in Hercules and Xena, with Dotchin landing a starring
role in another Renaissance production, Jack of All Trades.
 |
| The DVD cover. |
Universal Studios
Home Entertainment released the pilot
film to DVD in 1998, and re-released it again in
2006. In 2015, Shout! Factory released
the complete
series to DVD. The episodes were placed in production order, although the
series’ personal continuity was still inconsistent.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“The
Treasure of Zeus – Part 1” (9/12/98) – Ares has Strife trick Hercules into
stealing Hera’s chalice in an attempt to invalidate Zeus’ protection order on
him.
“Between
Friends (The Treasure of Zeus – Part 2)” (9/16/98) – After they survive
stealing the chalice, Strife frames Iolaus for theft.
“What
a Crockery (The Treasure of Zeus – Part 3)” (9/17/98) – Until the chalice is
returned, Zeus’ protection is lifted and leaves Hercules a target for Ares.
“Herc
and Seek” (9/22/98) – Iolaus’ former gang steals the academy’s tuition money.
“Girl
Trouble” (9/19/98) – Hercues, Jason and Iolaus discover enslaved Amazons on
their ship and free them.
“Teacher’s
Pests” (9/26/98) – Doing chores for punishment, Hercules and Jason cover for
Iolaus so that he can start his new job.
“Inn
Trouble” (10/1/98) – While Kora is on a mission for Artemis, Hercules and his
friends watch her restaurant.
“Keeping
Up with the Jasons” (10/2/98) – Hercules has Hephaestus make him unbeatable
weaponry so that he can defeat Jason.
“Amazing
Grace” (2/4/99) – Hercules invites Amazons to the academy.
“Cyrano
de Hercules” (2/23/99) – Hephaestus builds himself a woman out of metal, but
she ends up falling for Hercules.
“Battle
Lines – Part 1” (11/11/98) – Discord reignites an old hatred between the
centaurs and Amazons.
“Battle
Lines – Part 2” (11/13/98) – Hercules tries to prevent the war between the
centaurs and Amazons.
“Forgery”
(10/10/98) – Tired of being known as “boring”, Hercules uses Hephaestus’ forge
to change himself.
“No
Way Out” (9/25/98) – Trying to keep her from finding out about her surprise
party leads Hercules and Lilith to be trapped in a cave.
“Ares
on Trial” (9/29/98) – Ares is put on trial by the gods when he tries to kill
Hercules.
“Down
and Out in Academy Hills” (10/3/98) – Hercules and his friends rescue an
amnesiac man who fell from the sky.
“Winner
Take All” (10/30/98) – Discovering he has previously unknown brothers, Pollux
and Castor, Hercules forgets about his friends in his excitement.
“A
Serpent’s Tooth” (10/31/98) – Discord and Strife bring a baby monster to
Corinth to destroy the city, but Iolaus ends up coming to love it.
“The
Lure of the Lyre” (11/3/98) – Hercules and his friends have to defeat Bacchus
and keep Lilith from becoming one of his thralls.
“Fame”
(11/4/98) – Orpheus is forced to recruit more Bacchae in order to keep Eurydice
free.
“Lyre,
Liar” (9/18/98) – Eurydice promises to marry Bacchus if he leaves her friends
alone.
“A
Lady in Hades” (10/9/98) – Hercules and Jason head to the Underworld to try and
keep Eurydice out of Tartarus.
“The
Mysteries of Life” (10/7/98) – Hercules and his friends try to free the
formerly baby monster from a freak show.
“Dad
Always Liked Me Best” (9/24/98) – Hercules meets another brother who hunts
Pollux in order to put him to death for the murder of Castor.
“Herc’s
Nemesis” (10/29/98) – Hercules tries to convince Nemesis to defy Hera when
she’s ordered to kill a mortal.
“Cold
Feet” (11/5/98) – Fear over his pending kingship leads Jason to pose as a
farmhand in a small village that he ends up having to free from a warlord.
“Mommy
Dearests” (2/5/99) – Lucius tries to win Zeus’ affections by destroying
everyone Hercules cares about.
“In
Your Dreams” (3/2/99) – Hercules has to face his worst nightmare in order to
free his friends from Morpheus.
“Sisters”
(10/24/98) – Jealous over the attention her sister receives, Kora tries to
emulate her and ends up in trouble.
“The
Golden Bow” (11/6/98) – After Strife has Artemis’ bow stolen, Hercules discovers
Kora is Artemis’ servant and helps her try to retrieve it.
“Home
for the Holidays” (5/11/99) – Hercules brings his friends home only to discover
his mother has fallen in love.
“Cram-Pred”
(11/2/98) – Iolaus’ friends try to help him pass his final exam to keep him out
of prison.
“Con
Ares” (5/10/99) – In order to stop a war, Hercules and his friends have a
farmhand who resembles Ares pose as him.
“Get
Jason” (11/20/98) – The annual tradition of pranking seniors is darkened by a
very real attempt to kill Jason.
“My
Fair Lilith” (2/1/99) – Lilith pretends to be Jason’s wife so that he doesn’t
have to marry a princess sent to be his coronation present.
“Hind
Sight” (11/10/98) – Hercules tries to keep his friends from killing a Golden
Hind, which would result in their being killed by Artemis in turn.
“The
Head That Wears a Crown” (2/2/99) – Hercules and Jason fight over how to deal
with a monster in Corinth.
“Me,
Myself and Eye” (2/25/99) – Iolaus and Jason are cursed in an attempt to get a
future-seeing eye back from Hercules.
“The
Skeptic” (2/3/99) – Strife goes to great lengths to try and convince a skeptic
that the gods do exist.
“Iolaus
Goes Stag” (2/17/99) – Artemis curses Iolaus after he tries to kill the Golden
Hind to impress his uncle.
“Adventures
in the Forbidden Zone” (11/19/98) – A chariot race leads Hercules and new
instructor Theseus into a land where people never return from.
“The
Prize” (11/18/98) – Ares enters a talent contest in order to win the last piece
of the Chronus Stone, which will give him ultimate power.
“The
Beasts Beneath” (11/24/98) – Some of the cadets enter a land known for having
deadly sand sharks.
“Parents’
Day” (2/26/99) – In order to spare himself from his parents’ disappointment,
Iolaus hires actors to pose as them for the academy’s Parents’ Day.
“A
Life for a Life” (2/22/99) – Ares makes Hercules choose between his own life
and that of Chiron’s.
“Under
Siege” (2/24/99) – Hercules has to figure out why they Amazons are attacking
the academy.
“Mila”
(3/8/99) – An Amazon’s dreams lead her to believe her father is a god and she’s
come to find him.
“Apollo”
(5/12/99) – When Hercules tells Apollo that his friends are only friends out of
fear, Apollo attacks the academy in response.
“Ill
Wind” (5/13/99) – Amazon queen Cyane comes to Hercules for help in preventing
her murder.
“Valley
of the Shadow” (5/14/99) – A mysterious old man protects Hercules and his
friends from a monster guarding Hera’s Valley where a hunting trip ends up
taking them.
Film:
“Young
Hercules” (2/17/98) – Hercules is sent to Cheiron’s academy to train and ends
up journeying with Jason to get the Golden Fleece to save his father’s life.
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