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Mercenary
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The episode bears a strong resemblance to
movie "Tremors" (1990, working title "Land Sharks")
in which small desert town become a dinner table for the 4 Graboids. Underground
worm-like creatures that measure 30 foot long can 'pop up' without warning,
reacting on any sound. Trapped in their town, the town-folk are eaten
up one by one. The only obstacle for the Graboids happens to be hard boulders
and rock. Before people can get to mountain range they have to learn to
act jointly in order to survive.
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| Kevin Sorbo: My favorite episode, that is
tough. One would be "Mercenary", I enjoy that darker side. ((07).97
On-line Chat AOL Live Olds Celebrity Circle) |
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| Robert Tapert (producer): We also want to
do more dramatic stories so Kevin has the chance to do a few more things,
because he's really a fine actor. We also must utilize Michael's talents
more. They both have tremendous range, and Michael will direct an episode,
where in battling a really tough foe, Hercules gets hurt. (09.96
SFX #1) |
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This season Hurst struts his stuff by directing
the series' premiere episode, an unusually dark story called "The
Mercenary." In it, a severely wounded and weakened Herc is stranded
on a sandy island with a cutthroat criminal Derk for his companion as
they're chased by ghoulish pirates and giant flesh-eating sand rays. Hurst
does not appear but does voice the ferocious tones of the bald-headed
pirate. Listen for the epic line, "Tracks, fresh tracks!" Michael
Hurst: "I had hoped to do an Alfred Hitchcock (brief cameo appearance)
in this, but there was no time." (05.10.96 Orange
County Register)
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| Sandrays are stingray-like creatures. They
slither underneath a desert area that our hero wanders with a mercenary
he's towing in to face a murder charge in this episode, which is more somber
than most of the fun-loving segments that mark this mostly cheery, sometimes
cheesy syndicated hit. (08.10.96 Chicago Tribune) |
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| Q: Have there been any really funny bloopers?
-- Kevin Sorbo: Oh, there's bloopers all the time. Michael just finished
directing his first show. It's called "Mercenary". I have this
shell filled with fat from an animal that I had to kill because I was hungry
and I had to eat. I let the fat drip into the shell. I'm smearing the fat
on tree limbs. The bad guy has this ability, like Xena, to pop around and
land on trees and be very acrobatic. I'm trying to protect myself. I'm trying
to set up booby traps around my campsite so I can at least hear him coming.
I come upon a tree that comes out of the ground in a "V". I walk
in there with this oil and I started rubbing it between the V shape. I'm
doing this and my mind starts thinking about it and I just lost it and the
whole crew cracked up. Everybody kept a straight face until I lost it. It
looked like I was getting ready for some sexual position at a mazola margarine
convention. I'm wondering if they could put it on bloopers. It was funny.
They printed it. I went back three more times and couldn't do it. (06.96
Sorbo answering for H:TLJ's Forum) |
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Michael Hurst (director): It wasn't so much
a learning curve for me as a learning perpendicular. It's a darker, more
serious episode, and I was very comfortable getting performances out of
people. I really had to put my money where my mouth was and trust that
my vision would work on-screen. I was delighted that the action sequences
especially worked out really well. This show can bear a lot of extreme,
slapstick, over-the-top comedy, but it can also bear the more tragic or
serious aspects. In fact, 'Mercenary', has almost no humour in it at all.
It's a really serious episode... Hercules gets his arm smashed up right
at the start, so he's carrying a major injury the whole episode. That
was another highlight for me, not just from the directing point of view,
but seeing Kevin move into an area where I saw the kind of real action
star in him. (12.96 SFX #19)
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| Kevin Sorbo: It was gritty and it was dirty.
And I had scenes with Jeremy Roberts, the wonderful actor who played Derk.
I would like to work with more actors like him, and more storylines like
this. I think that the humor in the show is fun. <...> But, man, do
I like something to sink my teeth into! And Michael is a great director.
We know each other well, so it was very comfortable working with him. (Episodeguides.com) |
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| Michael Hurst: It was a dream directing Kevin.
<...> I said to Kevin right at the beginning, I don't want the usual
flip tone. I want to get some really gutsy stuff happening. And those guys
all worked hard. I was in their faces a lot, you know, and Kevin loved it,
and responded really well. (Episodeguides.com) |
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Q: Herc steals a boat and leaves two bad guys
to die on an island with no potable water. Do you think that this behaviour
was out of character or was it just a manifestation of Herc's new "darker"
side? -- Kevin Sorbo: Michael [Hurst] and I both asked that question, that
is something you should ask the writers. We bring that up all the time,
some of these that don't make sense, but we are basically told to say the
words. We do what we can do. I think the writers are great for our shows
but in plotlines... but it is the nature of the beast. ((07).97
On-line Chat AOL Live Olds Celebrity Circle)
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Robert Bielak (writer): Its a ballsy episode,
like the movie "Hell in the Pacific", but with a Herculean twist
to it, including the monsters and the pirates, but basically it's about
these two enemies who realize they're not going to get off this island
alive unless they help each other. (12.97
Legendary Heroes - Starlog special)
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Kevin Sorbo: It's not my absolute favorite,
but I'd put it in my top ten. It's probably my favorite episode of this
season. The writing was great and it was fun to do a darker episode from
an actor's standpoint. It was fun to play a tortured character, he's fun
and heroic, but he's also doing the right thing. It was Michael Hurst's
directorial debut and it's a different type of episode. (03.04
dvd/authority online article)
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Kevin Sorbo: It was a grueling shoot. It
was very physical. It was pretty much myself and one other actor, Jeremy
Roberts, and we played this chain-gang type of thing where he was a mercenary
and we were basically tied up to each other. I remember how exhausting
was shooting it. It was a hot summer day, I think we shot it in January
or February, which is summertime down in New Zealand. I could taste the
sand in my mouth. I really loved that episode, I loved the way Michael
directed it. (30.03.04 TheManRoom online)
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Episode
disclaimer: No flesh-eating sandrays
were harmed during the production of this motion picture.
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Love
Takes a Holiday
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Working title - "Beauty
and the Beast"
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Michael Hurst: Kevin isn't in the episode
we've just finished shooting - "Beauty and the Beast" - at all.
It's been great to explore that action hero thing, but, of course, because
I'm Iolaus, I can't do the things Hercules does, so it's a little more
quirky. (12.96 SFX #19)
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| Alexandra Tydings: "Love
Takes a Holiday" was a blast because I got to do different stuff -
to sort of use my kick boxing. (08.98 Starlog #253) |
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| Alexandra Tydings: I got to have
an archery lesson, because I got to shoot those arrows when I was trying
to take over Artemis's job. I love that kind of thing. It's my ideal job
because it's where I can do the one thing I'm able to do, and do as many
things as possible that are different! It is so much fun to do Aphrodite
and failing miserably!" She laughs at the memory of the 'hot-pants'
version of Kevin Sorbo's costume. "Those guys in the costume department
are just so great. I really wanted them - I don't know if they did it or
not - I really wanted them to take my little Kevin outfit and hang it in
his trailer, so when he came in to work in the morning, he'd have this to
try and wear! "That's a little small..." (07.99
Xpose #36) |
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Episode
disclaimer: No metal panthers
were tarnished during the production of this motion picture. When polishing
your metal animals, remember to use salt and lemon.
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Not
Fade Away
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| Karen Sheperd (Enforcer): I wanted to make
it apparent to the audience that The Enforcer was going through a transition,
as opposed to all of a sudden having her be a good guy for no apparent reason.
I wanted the episode to show a sort of discovery and learning period for
her so that she truly understands what good is and redeems herself before
she dies (again). After reading the script, I realized that the death scene
was coming up flat. It was written that The Enforcer just died in the battle
against Enforcer II. I truly loved this character and had such fun playing
her that I wanted her to go out in a blaze of glory. I wanted her death
to mean something relative to the story and to Hercules. My husband came
up with the idea of tying in the scene where The Enforcer discovers tears
(Hercules' mother crying) with the death scene by finally understanding
that "sometimes people cry when they are happy". My husband, Joe,
mostly wrote the scene. <...> I think it added more meaning to the
story throughout. The way Kevin played it made the scene very touching and
served to flatter his character as well. (03.02 "Lucy
In The Sky" magazine, Sweden) |
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| By the second episode [with Enforcer], ''Not
Fade Away", the director T.J. Scott was writing in a variety of extra
things based upon Karen's movements and what she had created. Karen Sheperd
(Enforcer): "Then the people in the sound department put this cool
sound effect in. Every time I would move my head that would make this water
sloshing kind of noise. It was fun to be involved with something like that
from the ground floor and the producers of the show are so great, so open
minded about anybody bringing great ideas to the show as a team. There were
no attitudes and in fact my husband wrote my death scene and they loved
it!<...> That's what was part of the success of the show and everybody
was that way on that crew including Kevin Sorbo. Very open minded, very
easy to work with." (before
09.00 Behind
The Scenes) |
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Although Hurst enjoys the comedic moments
of H:TLJ, he says the more intense the drama, the better. "We recently
did a sequel to 'The Enforcer', where Iolaus is killed and Hercules has
to deal with it, and I think there's a move now to create more of these
dramatic situations." (12.96 SFX #19)
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Episode
disclaimer: No bootie-kicking,
chop-socking she-monsters from Tartarus were harmed during the production
of this motion picture. If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the temple!
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Prince
Hercules
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Bit of information which has nothing to do
with the episode: Prince Hercules I (1562-1604) ruled the Lordship of
Monaco in the House of Grimaldi.
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TTV: Is Hercules going to get some new clothes
this season? -- Kevin Sorbo: (laughs) Hey, I get new clothes. Actually
I get amnesia and I think I'm a prince. I get to wear some pretty fine
duds, let me tell ya. I'm pretty happy about it. ((12).11.96
Total TV mag)
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Robert Bielak (writer): We're always trying
to find a good reason to dress Kevin up differently, let him do different
character stuff than he's doing every week. It's such a black-and-white
show, and he plays such a hero without any foibles or faults that whenever
we get a chance to get him out of that mode, he likes it, we like it and
the audience likes it too. (12.97 Legendary
Heroes - Starlog special)
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| Kevin Sorbo: Sam Jenkins is the
actress. -- TVG: And this is your real-life girlfriend? -- KS: (coyly) Isn't
that interesting? I met her on episode, in which I get amnesia. She played
a princess. (01.02.97 TV Guide) |
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Sam [Jenkins]-Sorbo: I played a princess.
-- Kevin: I played a prince. Herc had amnesia in that episode, so… --
Q: And did you treat her like a princess? -- Kevin: I sure did. -- Sam:
Absolutely! (09.01.01 WarnerBrothers.com)
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"Hercules Unchained" (1959, aka
"Hercules and the Queen of Lydia") = While plying between the
two armed camps of Polynices and Eteocles, Hercules incautiously drinks
from a spelled spring and is deprived of his memory. The Lydian queen
Omphale, who is accustomed to take amnesiac males as lovers, only to have
them killed later, takes Hercules. Now it comes to his friend Ulysses
to figure out how to keep himself alive, to revive Hercules' memory and
get them out of Omphale's palace.
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Sitcom "I Love Lucy"
-- Episode "Lucy's Italian Movie" (1956) has the classic scene
of grape-stomping Lucy. = Making stay in Italy, Lucy is offered a role in
Italian movie. She decides to learn how to crush grapes in the traditional
Italian fashion - with her feet. She has a messy fight with a local
woman inside the large vat of pressed berries and juice. Lucy returns to
Rome all coloured purple... |
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Episode
disclaimer: Iolaus was not harmed
or permanently stained in the production of this motion picture. In fact,
thanks to the miracle of sandblasting, his skin was restored to its original
color and lustrous sheen.
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Lady
and the Dragon
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| "Flat Earth Top
10 Special Effects" -- "The design of Braxis was one of those
rare moments when enough time was allocated to come up with a solid design
that had all of the bugs worked out," explains Paul Herndon. "All
departments - from full scene prosthetics to CGI - did a really great job
in interpreting the design. Also, the writers gave the character a major
part in the story." Adds Bryan Blevins: "The most complex creature
we've ever done... too bad the voice sucked." (Winter
1998 Herc/Xena Yearbook) |
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Both Kevin and Michael
expressed concern over, but they were ignored. The savage creature, who
has killed warrior and after warrior, speaks in the voice of a cute little
kid. It just seemed totally incongruous. (Based on "Hercules,
the Legendary Journeys: The Offical Companion", 1998)
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Measuring off distance (left)
and light (right)
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Click to open little video
(no sound, sorry) - zipped
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Working and behind-the-scenes
moments
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Episode
disclaimer: No Fire-breathing,
Pre-pubescent, Slightly Sinister dragons were harmed during the production
of this motion picture.
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Surprise
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Callisto: Nice pants.
Q: Is Hercules going to get some new clothes
this season? -- Kevin Sorbo: This is a question people ask all the time,
fans ask all the time. And, really, what it comes down to is that it's
product recognition. You see Superman in his cape. And this is my cape
in a way. An episode we're doing right now is a surprise birthday party
for Hercules and one of the presents he gets (laughs) is a new pair of
pants. It's very funny. He opens it up and says, "Oh, nice pants."
It's a very funny bit to play. I think the audience will really get a
kick out of it. ((12).11.96 Total TV mag)
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Q: When you're fighting have you ever actually
hit someone? -- Hudson Leick (Callisto): Yeah, I hit Kevin Sorbo a lot.
And he didn't even feel it. I swear. He didn't feel anything, nothing.
And it hurt me so much. And I'd be kicking him and he's like a brick wall.
(05.97 Sacramento convention)
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| Hudson Leick (Callisto) said that
it was her idea to kiss Hercules before she struck him in middle section.
She asked Kevin "Can I kiss you?" He answered "With tongue?"
She said "No, not with the tongue." (10.97 Valley
Forge Convention) |
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Hudson Leick (Callisto): With Kevin, I felt
like I didn't know what I could do to get his attention. Everything I
did, as Callisto, I wanted a reaction from him. It was really frustrating,
because he didn't give me that. It's funny, because when I watch the show,
I'm really "out there". I yell a lot and hiss. <...> My
character was written so sassy that I think Kevin felt it took away from
the hero. There's a point where I'm supposed to whack him, and he wouldn't
let me do it. He said "Oh, come on, I'd catch her." I don't
know, I think it would be far more interesting if he had let that go.
There would be more interaction. Not that I don't think Hercules could
stop her from bapping him, but just for the drama. I don't think Kevin
wanted an opponent too equal to him. (11.97 Whoosh!)
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| Information for those who want
to correlate story with "Xena: Warrior Princess" -- at the beginning
of this episode Callisto escapes from Tartarus (where she was in X:WP),
and by the end Hercules traps her in the labyrinth of the gods (from which
Xena releases her later in X:WP). |
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Episode
disclaimer: Herc's party pants
were not harmed during the production of this motion picture.
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Judgement
Day
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| Kevin Sorbo: My favorite episode,
that is tough. One would be "Judgement Day". ((07).97
On-line Chat AOL Live Olds Celebrity Circle) |
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Robert Bielak (writer): It's an interesting
dilemma. If he really loves her, he has to give up his powers, and now
he's just like everybody else and must deal with that. He still has his
heart, which gets him in trouble because he doesn't have the powers to
back him up. He's a big guy and can take care of himself, but without
that extra power, he runs into harm's way without realizing it. We had
some fun with that, and again, it gives Kevin something different to deal
with. (12.97 Legendary Heroes - Starlog special)
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| Kevin Sorbo: It's a three-part
show, so we fall in love, get married, and… stuff happens. All's not going
to be well. The gods say, number one, we're going to make her 100 percent
mortal. And number two, you lose your powers. And Herc becomes a mere mortal.
He doesn't have the strength of a thousand men anymore, just the strength
of a guy who's 6'3", 215 pounds. (01.02.97 TV Guide) |
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"Triumph Of Hercules" (1964, aka
"Hercules and the Ten Avengers") = The super-strong demigod
has serious trouble defeating sorceress and her giant bronze warriors
as Zeus stripped Hercules of his powers.
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| Xena's dirge was composed (and
performed) by Lucy Lawless herself. It was meant to sound like Hebrew, but
is in fact nonsenses. |
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"Judgment Day" -- an important
point in the life of everyone's favourite god-hunk. A superb performance
from Kevin Sorbo shows the pain and loss Hercules feels once again, more
so considering he is being led to believe he murdered Serena and can't
cope with the guilt.
A brilliant example of the kind of man Hercules is, even going up against
Ares with no powers, this is a powerful emotional drama featuring guest
appearances from Xena and Gabrielle and some sterling support from Michael
Hurst as Iolaus, trying to help his friend as best he can. (06.00
Cult Times #57)
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Episode
disclaimer: No
family values were harmed during the production of this Blood Lite Motion
Picture.
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Les
Contempibles
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There is a lot of, ahem, inspirations for
this episode: classical novel "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo,
multiple stories about black-masked caballero Zorro, sworn enemy of all
oppressors, whose name in Spanish means "fox", and movie "The
Black Tulip" with Alain Delon.
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| Q: Have you had any training
for the show? -- Robert Trebor: Yeah, for the French episode. I had two
weeks of swordfighting and it turned out pretty well. A bit of my fighting
is left in the episode. The Peter Bell team - New Zealand Martial arts group
- worked with me and in college I had some training. (20.10.98
Real Hollywood chat) |
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| Danielle Cormack (Marie DeValle--Chartreuse
Fox): It was great fun to work with Michael Hurst and Kevin Sorbo. It was
the first time I had worked with Kevin and Michael, and I just wreaked havoc
on the set. I got to be so over the top! I really liked how my accent on
the first day we shot (keeping in mind we shoot out of sequence) sounded
really German and then I manage to morph into French. I was actually very
multi-lingual that day. (05.06.97 Whoosh!) |
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Robert: One for all, and all for Marie!
<...> -- Jean-Pierre: So, what are we going to call ourselves? --
<...> -- Francois: The four muskrats!
"The Three musketeeres" by Alexandre
Dumas. A sure shot.
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| Q: What was your favorite character?
-- Kevin Sorbo: There was a flashback episode, where Michael and I both
played bumbling French thiefs. That was my all time favorite episode. That
character. I had a blast doing it. (21.04.01 Denver convention) |
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Kevin Sorbo: "Les Contempibles"
was set in 18th century France, and it was just goofball (laughs) but
it was so much fun. (30.03.04
TheManRoom online article)
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| Kevin Sorbo: We had all bad French
accents and we were all in the future for that show, so we had a flashback
of what Hercules really was. Cormack guest starred on it, she played The
Chartreuse Fox. It was fun. (03.04 Phone
Call Conversation, formerly on Apollo's Temple site) |
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Episode
disclaimer: The french accents
depicted in this motion picture are entirely fictitious. Any similarity
to actual accents, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Vive La Revolution!
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War
Bride
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Kevin Sorbo: It's an interesting story. I'm
leading this princess across the country, and she's supposed to get married
to this king, but she doesn't want to. And basically the show goes from
Disneyland to "Blade Runner" in a hurry! It turns into a war
between these two kingdoms, and there's a lot of people that want to keep
the war going. So there's a lot of things that are done to undermine the
wedding: there's a kidnapping, there's a new weapon that's introduced
that's pretty violent in terms of the destruction it can cause on villages.
And Herc has to come in and save the day. The first half is a lot of fun;
there's a lot of good comedy. The second half turns into a full-on war.
Q: How did you get involved in directing?
KS: I hinted at it a couple times. And I may not be qualified to direct;
actually, I'm probably not qualified to direct! But I know this show,
and I think I'm qualified to direct it. I know the show, I know the beats
of the show, I know the characters, I know my crew, my crew knows me,
and they help me out tremendously. They give me an extra twenty percent
when I'm at the director's helm. "The Apple" was an easier episode
to direct than "War Bride" because I had time to get into it.
This last episode I was trying to prep while shooting another Hercules,
and it was tough. This was a grueling last two weeks, and I'm just beat
right now! ((04).97 Net article-MrShowbiz)
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Kevin Sorbo directing the
episode
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Episode
disclaimer: No leather-clad, pointing-breasted,
bouffant-wearing, pillow-smothering, two-faced sisters were harmed during
the production of this motion picture.
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