Hercules/Xena (Spoilers)

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by kirk55555, Jul 8, 2014.

  1. Timewalker

    Timewalker Cat-lovin', Star Trekkin' Time Lady Premium Member

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    Oh, thanks. Now that song is running through my head and won't leave. :vulcan:

    I'm reminded of a clip I saw once where they filmed the orchestra and singers recording "Joxer the Mighty." Everyone was so professional and dignified, and not one person burst out laughing at the ridiculous lyrics they had to sing. :lol:

    "Gabrielle woke with a jerk." :guffaw:

    Iolaus is my favorite character in Hercules, and while he doesn't get as much character development compared to Gabrielle in Xena, he does get some very interesting episodes that focus on him.

    Autolycus is a fun character, and he does show up some more. :)

    Of the two shows, I prefer Xena. The stories are generally richer and more complex as the seasons go by, and the characters - even the recurring ones like Ares, Aphrodite, Callisto, and Joxer - get some great development.

    Hercules has some great stories too, but one thing to keep in mind: Don't get too far ahead with one or the other series, because there are occasional crossovers, and sometimes what happens in one series has an effect on events in the other.
     
  2. JanewayRulz!

    JanewayRulz! Vice Admiral Admiral

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    "I don't get it." :rofl:

    If you want to get that tune out of your head, start humming Gabrielle's song. "Let me tell you a story about ..." :p

    Timewalker, I searched for that orchestral version and found this parody video.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afc4QEhtqRc

    I know the video isn't right, but is this the music you remember?

    [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afc4QEhtqRc[/yt]
     
  3. Timewalker

    Timewalker Cat-lovin', Star Trekkin' Time Lady Premium Member

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    Yep, that's the music. :)
     
  4. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

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    Callisto has got to have the most interesting character arc of any TV villain, start to finish. And Hudson plays her SO well.
     
  5. kirk55555

    kirk55555 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Dreamworker (Xena) - This was really bad. Gabrielle was insufferable most of the time, and Xena's dream segments were pretty predictable. It also felt like it was hammering in the idea of Gabrielle not fighting way too hard. I spent a good portion of the episode wishing Xena would just give Gabrielle over to the dream god :lol:

    Cradle of Hope (Xena) - This was decent. It had a few problems, but having Pandora's box involved was interesting. Xena's method of entering the castle seemed kind of stupid (how could they not tell who she was, the veil didn't cover her face that well, especially since the guard captain only saw her a few hours ago, and would probably be expecting her to try something). I had the ending predicted less than half way in, but it was still ok. Overall, this wasn't a bad episode, and definitely better than the one right before it. Gabrielle didn't even make me want to break my DVD player this episode.
     
  6. Janeway’s Girl

    Janeway’s Girl Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Xena is my favourite show! She and Gabrielle were the sweetest couple. And who can forget Joxer, Autolycus, Ares, Aphrodite, and Minya! Such great characters.
     
  7. OmahaStar

    OmahaStar Disrespectful of his betters Admiral

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    I hope I'm not giving anything major away here. Gabrielle does start off as the "annoying tagalong teenager" (a description I remember seeing in other reviews), but grows remarkably as a character.

    The first season is absolutely the worst for her. Xena's story, as you've seen so far, is one of redemption. She started out (on screen) as this evil warlord, and is trying to change, to atone for her wicked ways. In much the same way, Gabrielle goes through her own changes.

    It will take time, but the payoff is absolutely worth it. The only downside is that after watching the later episodes, it's almost painful to go back and rewatch the early episodes where she is such a whiny one-dimensional character.

    She gets better.

    You have already seen the actress. She was in one of the Hercules movies, playing another character. So, you've already seen that she does have some range. As with the character, the actress gets better over time too.
     
  8. kirk55555

    kirk55555 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'm hoping she gets better. But, I should say that I knew Renee O'Connor was in a hercules tV movie. She was Deianeira (but not the one who marries Hercules, I have no idea why they used the name) in Hercules and the Lost Kingdom, which wasn't very good. I hated her there too, and thinking about it she was basically just playing Gabrielle under a different name. She was a stubborn, annoying sidekick who was basically useless and got in the way. By the end of the movie, I was cheering for Hera to take her :lol:

    I'm not anywhere close to giving up on the show. I like Xena, and I'll cling to hope that Gabrielle gets better. A lot of shows have rough first seasons, so right now I just consider Gabrielle one of the things that will hopefully grow a bit as the show goes on.
     
  9. JanewayRulz!

    JanewayRulz! Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Actually both Lucy and Renee played other characters in the Hercules telemovies before Xena:WP was even planned. It was one of the reasons why TPTB didn't want Lucy in the first place since she had "just" been seen as another character.

    Not every one loves Gabrielle, but those of us who do are quite boisterous in our praise of the character.

    I actually like the season 1's annoying tagalong version because it shows just how far her character has jouneyed from the pilot to the finale.
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2014
  10. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

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    Not only a fine actress, but I was especially impressed with Renee's obvious devotion to becoming as good a martial artist as she could for the role in later seasons.
     
  11. kirk55555

    kirk55555 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    All That Glitters (Hercules) - This wasn't very good. I liked seeing Salmoneus, but all the casino stuff wasn't very original and the whole story was predictable. Not bad, but for an episode with King Midas owning casino I expected something a bit more interesting.
     
  12. wulfio

    wulfio Captain Captain

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    I think xena and callisto would have made a more intriguing show than xena and gabrielle.
     
  13. kirk55555

    kirk55555 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The Path Not Taken (Xena) - This was a decent episode. In order to save a kidnapped princess, Xena has to pretend to be her old evil self to infiltrate the weapons dealer that stole the princess. The stuff with Xena pretending to be bad was interesting, and Gabrielle barely got any screen time, which was nice. Her former love interest was a decent character. Overall, this was ok.

    What's In a Name (Hercules) - This was a good episode. Hercules had Iolaus go to find an imposter who has been using hercules's name, and it turns out its Hercules's half brother Iphicles. The stuff between Iphicles and his love interest was pretty standard, but the episode was still entertaining. The CG lizard Hercules fights looked better than the CG dog he fought. I also liked the character of Iphicles, Hercules having a half brother from his mother is interesting.
     
  14. kirk55555

    kirk55555 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Siege at Naxos (Hercules) - This was a pretty good episode. Hercules and Iolaus have to get a captured barbarian named Goth to Athens to stand trial, but his brother and his gang trap them in an old fort. The fight at the fort was pretty good. The only real flaw was having a woman they meet at the fort coincidentally be the warlord's old girlfriend, who temporarily sides with him until she realises he's completely evil. Overall, this was an entertaining episode.

    Outcast (Hercules) - We see the surviving centaur from season 1 again, along with his wife and kid getting harrased by people (his wife gets killed by them in the very beginning). I liked how Hercules and Salmoneus joke that the wife, Lyla, looks like Xena, because they're both played by Lucy Lawless. The episode itself was ok, with the anti-centaur people being defeated. The ending was complete BS. Zeus (who we don't see) just brings Lyla back to life, and to make sure the whole show isn't undermined, Hercules says a line about Zeus being able to fix the evil of man, but not gods, to exp,lain why Lyla can be brought back by Zeus, but not his family. That doesn't explain why he can't bring back Hercules's family (why would Hera killing people be different than a human killing someone?), and it just seemed like a cop out ending anyway. Still, the episode was ok.
     
  15. Liet

    Liet Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I couldn't agree with this more. Xena was the far superior show. Infinitely better lead acting, and just better storytelling overall. I rewatched Xena a couple of years ago and was surprised by how well it stands up; I then tried to rewatch Hercules but quickly gave up on everything that wasn't a cross-over.
     
  16. wulfio

    wulfio Captain Captain

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    if you watch Hercules ironically, it's fantastic. The crappy fight choreo, the colour of life moments, and the after school special lessons. It's a barrel of laughs.
     
  17. Kelthaz

    Kelthaz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Hercules was 66% cheesy fun and 33% quality drama.
    Xena was 33% cheesy fun and 66% quality drama.

    Hercules had fewer quality dramatic episodes than Xena, but the ones they did have were just as good. Hercules Season 5 is a great example of the show truly embracing the darker stories that made Xena so much more popular. Season 6 was also supposed to be another very dark season, but Kevin Sorbo decided to call it quits. The show was finally realizing it's potential, and then it ended. What a shame.
     
  18. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I'm even more curious to check out Xena after hearing it is actually darker and more dramatic than Hercules.
     
  19. JanewayRulz!

    JanewayRulz! Vice Admiral Admiral

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    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpzhZ-bES2o

    [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpzhZ-bES2o[/yt]
     
  20. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

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    I made my own boxed set of the Callisto and Hope arcs (they intersect at some points), including both the Xena and Herc eps in the storyline. Burned the episodes onto DVDs and made a nice little set. Someday I'll actually watch it. :lol: I think it totaled 20 episodes.