1,639
edits
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Season 2: Difference between revisions
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Season 2 (view source)
Revision as of 22:25, 2 April 2026
, 2 Aprilno edit summary
JoshuaJSlone (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
JoshuaJSlone (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| (14 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
|epnum = 201 | |epnum = 201 | ||
|epname = The King of Thieves | |epname = The King of Thieves | ||
|epdate = 1995-09- | |epdate = 1995-09-04 | ||
|firstwatched = 2025-03-24 | |firstwatched = 2025-03-24 | ||
|thoughts = Guest starring [[Bruce Campbell]] as... more or less a mixture of Bruce Campbell and Robin Hood. Fun character, glad to know he'll be back. | |thoughts = Guest starring [[Bruce Campbell]] as... more or less a mixture of Bruce Campbell and Robin Hood. Fun character, glad to know he'll be back. | ||
| Line 17: | Line 17: | ||
|epnum = 202 | |epnum = 202 | ||
|epname = All That Glitters | |epname = All That Glitters | ||
|epdate = 1995-09- | |epdate = 1995-09-11 | ||
|firstwatched = 2025-03-31 | |firstwatched = 2025-03-31 | ||
|thoughts = Las Vegas B.C. | |thoughts = Las Vegas B.C. | ||
| Line 25: | Line 25: | ||
|epnum = 203 | |epnum = 203 | ||
|epname = What's in a Name? | |epname = What's in a Name? | ||
|epdate = 1995-09- | |epdate = 1995-09-18 | ||
|firstwatched = 2025-04-01 | |firstwatched = 2025-04-01 | ||
|thoughts = When I saw an upcoming episode had a false Hercules played by Kevin Smith, I thought it would lean heavily to comedy. But... I was thinking ''Silent Bob'' Kevin Smith, rather than just another beefy guy who shares his name. | |thoughts = When I saw an upcoming episode had a false Hercules played by Kevin Smith, I thought it would lean heavily to comedy. But... I was thinking ''Silent Bob'' Kevin Smith, rather than just another beefy guy who shares his name. | ||
| Line 33: | Line 33: | ||
|epnum = 204 | |epnum = 204 | ||
|epname = Siege at Naxos | |epname = Siege at Naxos | ||
|epdate = 1995- | |epdate = 1995-09-25 | ||
|firstwatched = 2025-04-13 | |firstwatched = 2025-04-13 | ||
|thoughts = I thought the guy who played Goth looked familiar, but I wasn't sure if he just had a very typical baddie look. As it turns out it was kind of both ways. He looked familiar because I've probably seen him in such roles dozens of times, just in bits small enough I didn't recognize him as one actor. But he's [[Brian Thompson]]. | |thoughts = I thought the guy who played Goth looked familiar, but I wasn't sure if he just had a very typical baddie look. As it turns out it was kind of both ways. He looked familiar because I've probably seen him in such roles dozens of times, just in bits small enough I didn't recognize him as one actor. But he's [[Brian Thompson]]. | ||
| Line 43: | Line 43: | ||
|epnum = 205 | |epnum = 205 | ||
|epname = Outcast | |epname = Outcast | ||
|epdate = 1995-10- | |epdate = 1995-10-02 | ||
|firstwatched = 2025-05-01 | |firstwatched = 2025-05-01 | ||
|thoughts = Return of some characters seen last season, including one of [[Lucy Lawless]]'s earlier characters. They even lampshade it. | |thoughts = Return of some characters seen last season, including one of [[Lucy Lawless]]'s earlier characters. They even lampshade it. | ||
| Line 60: | Line 60: | ||
|epnum = 206 | |epnum = 206 | ||
|epname = Under the Broken Sky | |epname = Under the Broken Sky | ||
|epdate = 1995-10- | |epdate = 1995-10-09 | ||
|firstwatched = 2025-05-13 | |firstwatched = 2025-05-13 | ||
|thoughts = Salmoneus with a fez? 👍 | |thoughts = Salmoneus with a fez? 👍 | ||
| Line 70: | Line 70: | ||
|epnum = 207 | |epnum = 207 | ||
|epname = The Mother of All Monsters | |epname = The Mother of All Monsters | ||
|epdate = 1995-10- | |epdate = 1995-10-16 | ||
|firstwatched = 2025-05-30 | |firstwatched = 2025-05-30 | ||
|thoughts = Just rewatching the last few episodes of [[Cobra Kai]] over the last few days, then this... I guess I can't escape [[Martin Kove]]. These shows really are a treasure trove of lower-budget 80s/90s actors. | |thoughts = Just rewatching the last few episodes of [[Cobra Kai]] over the last few days, then this... I guess I can't escape [[Martin Kove]]. These shows really are a treasure trove of lower-budget 80s/90s actors. | ||
| Line 82: | Line 82: | ||
|epnum = 208 | |epnum = 208 | ||
|epname = The Other Side | |epname = The Other Side | ||
|epdate = 1995- | |epdate = 1995-10-30 | ||
|firstwatched = 2025-06-05 | |firstwatched = 2025-06-05 | ||
|thoughts = I liked this episode. At times I was wondering: Is the show getting better? Or by now have I just appropriately set my expectations for the show so now the same things land better? Anyway. | |thoughts = I liked this episode. At times I was wondering: Is the show getting better? Or by now have I just appropriately set my expectations for the show so now the same things land better? Anyway. | ||
| Line 90: | Line 90: | ||
|epnum = 209 | |epnum = 209 | ||
|epname = The Fire Down Below | |epname = The Fire Down Below | ||
|epdate = 1995-11- | |epdate = 1995-11-06 | ||
|firstwatched = 2025-06-21 | |firstwatched = 2025-06-21 | ||
|thoughts = This show likes to have recurring characters, but it also likes to recast everyone. I didn't realize Nemesis WAS Nemesis until Hercules said so. | |thoughts = This show likes to have recurring characters, but it also likes to recast everyone. I didn't realize Nemesis WAS Nemesis until Hercules said so. | ||
| Line 100: | Line 100: | ||
|epnum = 210 | |epnum = 210 | ||
|epname = Cast a Giant Shadow | |epname = Cast a Giant Shadow | ||
|epdate = 1995-11- | |epdate = 1995-11-13 | ||
|firstwatched = 2025-06-23 | |firstwatched = 2025-06-23 | ||
|thoughts = The... basic plight of Typhon I find strains my suspension of disbelief. 1) He's stuck there for a hundred years, and not starved to death? 2) He's relatively close to both Echidna's lair and Hercules's hometown (previously established as nearish Echidna's lair), and neither Echidna nor Hercules heard any stories of a giant trapped by the road? Hercules in particular seems to spend most of his time wandering around, so how unlucky to have apparently just missed this road in his region for his entire life. | |thoughts = The... basic plight of Typhon I find strains my suspension of disbelief. 1) He's stuck there for a hundred years, and not starved to death? 2) He's relatively close to both Echidna's lair and Hercules's hometown (previously established as nearish Echidna's lair), and neither Echidna nor Hercules heard any stories of a giant trapped by the road? Hercules in particular seems to spend most of his time wandering around, so how unlucky to have apparently just missed this road in his region for his entire life. | ||
| Line 110: | Line 110: | ||
|epnum = 211 | |epnum = 211 | ||
|epname = Highway to Hades | |epname = Highway to Hades | ||
|epdate = 1995- | |epdate = 1995-11-20 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-06-25 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Almost a direct followup to the most recent episode of [[Xena: Warrior Princess Season 1|Xena]], "Death in Chains". Sisyphus was supposed to die at the end of that one but wasn't because uhh... Death was distracted by another dying guy and can't multitask, apparently? | ||
I wonder how much of stuff like this was arranged for cost savings/ease of production. Like, could they get all of Hades's scenes for both episodes filmed in one day and save the trouble of costuming him again? Reuse of the castle sets means no need to knock them down or build new ones. Sisyphus already has his wardrobe. Etc. BUT it's the kind of interconnectivity I enjoy in Franchise. Though in-universe it raises some questions for me. Like, why didn't Hades go to Xena for help again? Did he figure she'd earned a day off? | |||
Michael Hurst playing double duty as both Iolaus and Charon. | |||
Kind of funny how much time in the episode is spent with one character trying to hint to another in not so many words "It's a shame these newlyweds didn't get to do it before the husband got killed."}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 212 | |epnum = 212 | ||
|epname = The Sword of Veracity | |epname = The Sword of Veracity | ||
|epdate = 1996-01- | |epdate = 1996-01-08 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-08 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Iolaus go one episode without thinking he's met the new love of his life challenged FAILED. | ||
I didn't really get Amphion's motivation for most of the episode. He seemed to think that by letting himself be killed he'd become a martyr and help end the reign of Trachis... but he was letting himself be killed by accepting a murder sentence without defense. That's not going to create a martyr, that's going to create the effect of "That guy we were looking up to was accused of murder and didn't even deny it! Guess it's a good thing we're not following his ideas anymore." | |||
I like that the credits included "Minotaur" and "Assistant Minotaur".}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 213 | |epnum = 213 | ||
|epname = The Enforcer | |epname = The Enforcer | ||
|epdate = 1996-01- | |epdate = 1996-01-15 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-12 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = This was probably the most cartoony episode yet. Chariot wheels spinning and smoking, the sharp outline of guys who have been thrown through walls. And though not exactly a cartoon, the Enforcer being 100% inspired by the Terminator is a pretty odd fit for mythical times as well. I say all this in a good way--goofy fun is something this show can do well. | ||
I wasn't really sold by the Enforcer's defeat. Smashing her up didn't work because the water could just reform. But changing her to steam... works? Wouldn't it just soon enough condense and then back to square one? | |||
When Nemesis was asking Hercules if anything looked different about her... they should've saved that line for one of the times they recast her with a different actress.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 214 | |epnum = 214 | ||
|epname = Once a Hero | |epname = Once a Hero | ||
|epdate = 1996- | |epdate = 1996-01-29 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-15 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Taking some obvious inspiration from the old Jason and the Argonauts movie, as they make explicit in the credits. Fighting skeletons done with CG rather than stop motion, and considering the usual state of CG on this show I feel like it was done pretty well. | ||
They mention the quest for the golden fleece being 10 years ago... so would that be about the time of the movies? A timeline for these characters would be useful, but also probably doomed to inconsistency.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 215 | |epnum = 215 | ||
|epname = Heedless Hearts | |epname = Heedless Hearts | ||
|epdate = 1996-02- | |epdate = 1996-02-05 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-20 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Kind of a weird episode. The "Iolaus seeing the future" and "stopping another bad ruler" stories didn't have much to do with each other, but I guess they didn't think either was enough to fill an episode. | ||
The Iolaus stuff was all pretty vague. Was it actually something supernatural or just bad luck striking him with lightning? Were his visions intentional or a fluke? All very cartoony, too, like the way he appeared after being zapped and how his premonitions stopped after a bonk on the head. I did like how he seemed early on to describe skyscrapers and planes. | |||
For a guy who's got a wife waiting for him in the underworld, Hercules keeps picking up a lot of ~girlfriends in the world.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 216 | |epnum = 216 | ||
|epname = Let the Games Begin | |epname = Let the Games Begin | ||
|epdate = 1996-02- | |epdate = 1996-02-12 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-21 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Aaand the origin story of the Olympic games. Competition so friendly it turns even some crazy warriors friendly. | ||
Salmoneus is back and again down on his luck. I guess he blew it with that other woman who was interested in him. I did like that he was trying to be incognito by using the name Psoriasis. He did a pretty good job helping with the games, though. Coming up with the name, coming up with the torch imagery. | |||
More cartooniness: straight up awooga horn sound effect when a boy sees his... aunt... in skimpy clothing.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 217 | |epnum = 217 | ||
|epname = The Apple | |epname = The Apple | ||
|epdate = 1996- | |epdate = 1996-02-19 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-21 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Bitchin'. The series is fully a cartoon now, so Iolaus surfing on a piece of wood and Aphrodite surfing on a shell and using surfer slang is no longer strange in this world. Some random kids also accidentally discovering surfing... that starts to seem unlikely. Must happen every day? Like, mankind would be unable to avoid surfing, just as they were unable to avoid fire. | ||
For the Xenaverse's purposes, they've really chopped the hell out of the Trojan War storyline. This apple contest was in myths what ended up starting that war, but we've already seen that war finished recently. A war that had several of its notable combatants missing because in even earlier episodes they were already considered dead. | |||
Hercules's end solution using the apple to bring together warring sides... well, seems more easily done than it should be. I mean, the rule was that two people holding the apple together would be soulmates, right? So how is is that it ONLY activated then? Not when Hercules grabbed the first guy, nor when all three were holding it did Hercules become part of this soul bromance.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 218 | |epnum = 218 | ||
|epname = Promises | |epname = Promises | ||
|epdate = 1996-03- | |epdate = 1996-03-04 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-26 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = In this world, monarchy is pretty common. But in this world, monarchy kind of means "The king rules, unless he does stuff Hercules doesn't like." | ||
The most interesting thing in this episode I thought, were the Primords. Not exactly ape men, but some kind of beast men... and despite them being presented as uncivilized, they also seemed to know martial arts. Do they have dealing with the east, too?}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 219 | |epnum = 219 | ||
|epname = King for a Day | |epname = King for a Day | ||
|epdate = 1996-03- | |epdate = 1996-03-18 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-27 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = That was a pretty good episode. Recently on Xena there was an episode with Gabrielle off by herself, and this is similarly an Iolaus off by himself episode, but their situations are quite different. Iolaus is still an experienced and skilled warrior, just without the Zeus genes making him so unbeatable. | ||
In this case we have the uncommon TV trope of the identical twin cousins. Iolaus has to impersonate his king cousin when he's poisoned and later kidnapped due to palace intrigue, and both of them grow from these new experiences. | |||
Enjoyed the names of the king's ancestors: Xenophobius, Agoraphobius, Arachnophobius.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 220 | |epnum = 220 | ||
|epname = Protean Challenge | |epname = Protean Challenge | ||
|epdate = 1996- | |epdate = 1996-04-22 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-30 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = At first when Iolaus left Hercules digging a hole, I thought "Another Hercules-lite episode in a row? Was Sorbo sick?", but no, regular episode. | ||
So Hercules said he knew Proteus when they were kids. So like... did Hercules go to the elementary school of the gods? Also, everyone seems to know about the god Proteus, even though he's apparently relatively new on the scene. Do people follow news of new gods like people in our world pay attention to the British royal family? | |||
Guest starring 2025 Kevin Sorbo as Proteus.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 221 | |epnum = 221 | ||
|epname = The Wedding of Alcmene | |epname = The Wedding of Alcmene | ||
|epdate = 1996- | |epdate = 1996-04-29 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-08-04 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = If you'd told me this was a season-ender I'd have believed it. Big story for Hercules personally, and a LOT of returning guest characters for just small moments. Including Salmoneus for just a few seconds at the end. He was probably already filming a Xena episode a mile down the road or whatever, so it was no biggie to get him there. | ||
So Jason and Alcmene have unbeknownst to Hercules been an item for years... but a few months ago she almost married John Kreese. They must've been on a break while Jason was drunk and seeing demons. | |||
Partway through the episode the guy wanting the throne said something about when he was in command he'd go north to where Hercules's brother ruled and conquer it. This... seems strange. We didn't know of him ruling anyplace, and considering later in the episode he was revealed as Jason's secret successor, it doesn't seem like he had a job he couldn't drop at a moment's notice. | |||
Maybe I just underestimate the classical world, but the place where they had the wedding seemed a bit too clean-cut and modern. Or maybe it's that I believe such things were possible thousands of years ago, but that's not the kind of place we ever see on this show. Even royalty lives in kind of dingy castles surrounded by dirt roads.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 222 | |epnum = 222 | ||
|epname = The Power | |epname = The Power | ||
|epdate = 1996-05- | |epdate = 1996-05-06 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-08-08 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Horny as the gods seem, it makes sense there'd be more demigods out there for Hercules to stumble onto. Not a bad take on it, a young man struggling with a reality he didn't know about. Excitement about having powers, confusion about his father lying about it for so long, worry over how to use the power without overstepping bounds... | ||
The beginning of the episode was a bit out there. Bandits using what almost seemed like Mad Max style vehicles, but they're... sail cars? Must only ever be useful on that stretch of beach, I guess?}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 223 | |epnum = 223 | ||
|epname = Centaur Mentor Journey | |epname = Centaur Mentor Journey | ||
|epdate = 1996-05- | |epdate = 1996-05-13 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-08-09 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = They've touched on prejudice against centaurs before, but I don't think they ever made such an obvious metaphor to the civil rights movement of the 60s. Like, centaurs not allowed to drink from the same fountain as humans. Disagreements over whether a march should be violent or peaceful. | ||
I know we can't take this show too literally... but Salmoneus is really not possible, is he? I mean he's got some entirely new business venture every other week, even when just [[Xena: Warrior Princess Season 1|recently on Xena]] he seemed like he was quite successful as Lord Seltzer. And no matter what he's up to, he's likely to end up in the same place as Hercules.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|end = 1 | |end = 1 | ||
|epnum = 224 | |epnum = 224 | ||
|epname = The Cave of Echoes | |epname = The Cave of Echoes | ||
|epdate = 1996- | |epdate = 1996-06-24 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-08-11 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Cave of Echoes? Echoes of past episodes more like. I was curious what kind of big sendoff they'd give the season, and the answer is... clip show! What is this, [[Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2|Shades of Gray]]? Though I'll admit, the bit where they showed clips for how often rocks fall down on them was pretty funny. | ||
Parentheses, another great name.}} | |||
[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Season 3]] | [[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Season 3]] | ||
[[Category:Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Seasons]] | [[Category:Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Seasons]] | ||
[[Category:1995 Television Seasons]] | |||
[[Category:1996 Television Seasons]] | |||