I admit that it has been awhile since I posted anything on the Hercules: the Legendary Journeys franchise. Young Hercules (Keep) was based on Hercules’ early years. It’s interesting to see how Hercules (Ian Bohen) grew up to become the hero we all know so well. He went to an academy, where he met Iolaus (Dean O’Gorman) and Jason (Chris Conrad) of the Argonauts. They all trained in combat together by Cheiron (Nathaniel Lees), a wise centaur instructor.

Soon Jason finds out that his father is dying. In order to save him, Jason, Hercules, and Iolaus gather a team together and head off on a quest to find the Golden Fleece.

There were a few different cartoon shows that had an episode with the Golden Fleece as part of the story line. It wasn’t until I saw this movie when I finally understood the actual story behind it. The Golden Fleece is a magic ram skin that can heal anyone by being wrapped in it. Now that’s amazing.

On their way over, the wicked goddess Discord (Meighan Desmond), as a siren, lures Hercules and his friends onto an island, which by the way is a terrific idea as part of a story about sea travel as well as the cliché of struggling through a bad storm.

It becomes more exciting later on when Hercules and Ares (Kevin Smith) battle it out in a stick fight over fire, much like what Hercules was trained to do, only with fancier moves. It was incredible.

This movie was only the beginning. Shortly afterward, Young Hercules was a TV series, which starred Ryan Gosling instead of Ian Bohen as the lead. Unfortunately, it only lasted from 1998-1999.

I think this version was just as well made as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. After seeing this film, I have a different outlook on that series. I’ll tell ya, it’s definitely been a long road Hercules has been on as a hero.

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Hercules Seasons 1-6Hercules The Legendary Journeys – Seasons 1-6 Bundle (1995-1999) was a well made series.  Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) shows amazing strength. Especially during the battle scenes when one single hand swipe sends an enemy flying.  It was even more incredible when he fought that group of enemies while juggling a woman.  But what really works is that there’s a lot of action, but not a lot of gore.

 Although Iolaus (Michael Hurst) was never mentioned in the actual Greek Myths like Hercules and Jason of the Argonauts, I thought it was a great idea for Hercules to have a sidekick.  Iolaus isn’t with Hercules on every adventure, like Gabrielle is with Xena.  Yet he made a big difference fighting by Hercules’ side.  That would explain why Iolaus was brought back from the dead… several times.

Bruce Campbell was one of my favorites after seeing him in Army of Darkness.  On this show, he played Autolycus the king of thieves.  This role was just as memorable to me.  I wonder if he did any of his own stunts.  Other classic characters include Salmoneus (Robert Trebor) the fast-talking salesman and Falafel (Paul Norell) the chef, who makes food that’s highly popular in the modern age like hotdogs, tacos, and of course, falafel.

Some of the characters based on the Gods of Olympus, like Ares (Kevin Smith) and Aphrodite (Alexandra Tydings) , were cleverly portrayed as humans who are immortal and powerful.  Others, like Poseidon and Hera, are merely computer animated, but just as good.

I’m glad that I go to meet Hercules star, Kevin Sorbo at Dragon-Con in 2008.  It was amazing to find that he was close to the same height as me.  Most actors I meet are much shorter.

Overall this was a great series.  Whoever thought that Greek Mythology would be so fun to learn.

Kevin Sorbo crop

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