There is one unique thing about this show -- the way it virtually re-invented itself in Season 5, when most shows would have coasted on sheer inertia. Suddenly it really was about Hercules' journeys, getting him involved in other mythologies -- Gilgamesh and Ishtar in Sumeria, Morgan le Fey in Ireland, Loki and Odin in Norseland. And the first half had a powerful and unifying theme, the search for his best friend's soul, and that in turn gave Hercules' character a melancholy touch that it lacked in previous seasons. Even the standalone episodes seemed improved over their counterparts in earlier seasons. I don't know what happened behind the scenes, but I'm glad it did.
Can't find a movie or TV show? Login to create it.
Want to rate or add this item to a list?
Not a member?
Reply by Stratego!
on March 16, 2017 at 6:51 PM
Meh. I only like the first three seasons of the show, to be honest. After that, it just became sillier (or really dark), it just turned into something else that I didn't like.
Reply by AusFem
on March 16, 2017 at 6:55 PM
This seems to happen to a lot of shows. First few seasons are great, then they go down hill with ridiculous story lines. Why is that? Writers become lazy? or just aren't talented enough to follow through.
Reply by Stratego!
on March 16, 2017 at 7:07 PM
I think it's probably both. And you're right, there are a lot of shows of which I only like the first three seasons or at least consider them to be the best.
Reply by tmdb43737777
on June 27, 2017 at 7:37 AM
I think the reason it went there was due to Dahak coming forth
Reply by CharlesTheBold
on June 27, 2017 at 8:25 AM
They had introduced Dahak on Xena the previous year and he was never defeated there, so they moved him to Hercules. As I said above, I thought this was an improvement because we had a special quest for Hercules ( trying to rescue Iolaus from death) that took him to new settings ( Sumeria, Ireland, Viking land) and involved him in other mythologies. After all, the show was called Hercules' Legendary Journeys and this was the only season where he really journeyed!
Reply by Jan El Señor
on August 30, 2018 at 1:41 PM
Dahak was originally meant to be completed in a big Hercules/Xena crossover. However Kevin Sorbo had his aneurysm and they couldn't do it at the time. Xena moved on to other storylines. By the time Sorbo was well enough to be back on a normal schedule, they felt too much time had passed on Xena to bring her back to the Dahak story, so it just wrapped up on Hercules.