I’ve mentioned over and over again in the past how much of a fan of Sam Raimi I am. One would think I’d sit down and watch everything Raimi had a hand in. Yet, somehow I committed the ultimate travesty and skipped “Hercules, The Legendary Journeys”, and it’s sister show, “Xena” when they originally aired. Because of my crime, many of my “Evil Dead” friends snubbed me, called me names and wouldn’t let me join in any of their “Evil Dead” games. But then one foggy August Eve 2003, the DVD set of the 1st season dropped on my doorstep and I was finally able to right that wrong and within a few short days, I was allowed back into the “Evil Dead” fold. “Hercules, The Legendary Journeys” turned out to have all of the signature camp humor normally present in Raimi’s productions. He might not have directed the series, but as producer, his influence was all over it. Sure there are times you can’t help but roll your eyes.

Sometimes the special effects are a little questionable, or the over-the-top fighting sequences are a bit, well…over-the-top. Even the highly anachronistic dialogue is sometimes cringe-inducing. BUT, what you cannot deny is the series has an inherent charm oozing out of its pure fantasy escapism.

Now that a little bit of time has passed, we’ve made our way through the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th seasons and have finally settled in to watch the 6th and final season. The first thing hat really impresses me about Anchor Bay’s releases of these series in the past has been the sheer size of the product. Each set was an 8-9 disc affair that contained not only each full season, but also a ton of extra features (more on those later). The packaging on the Hercules and Xena sets is similar, and come in multifold disc-holders that are housed in a single slipcover. The holder folds out, and out, and out to show off all the discs. The main difference between the packaging after the 3rd season was that each of the panels had two discs that overlap in an attempt to make the set a bit smaller. I’m not a really big fan of this, but only because it is a nuisance having to take one disc out before you can take out the next (or put it back in). Since the 6th season only has eight episodes and 5 discs, they went back to the single panel holders, which works just fine.

The 6th season of “Hercules, The Legendary Journeys” did not disappoint in any way, with the possible exception of that shortage of episodes. By this point, Sorbo had pretty much had his fill of the character and wanted to branch out into other genres in an effort to keep from being typecast. As it turned out, he teamed up with Gene Roddenberry’s widow, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, and turned one of his ideas for a sci-fi show into the certified hit, “Andromeda.”

Aside from the lack of episodes, the stories continued to be entertaining, even as they became more outlandish. What was great was that these last eight episodes very nicely tied up the adventures, without the rather sad ending that befell “Xena.” It went out on a high note, and admittedly I’m going to miss the characters.

There were so many things we loved about this series, but one of the biggest was the character Autolycus. Unfortunately, he only shows up in one episode in the final season. Autolycus was originally introduced at the beginning of the 2nd season, and has even crossed over into “Xena” territory. What is so great about this character that I have to mention him you may ask? Go ahead…ask! Could it be because he’s the King of Thieves? Maybe. Could it be his signature yell when he swings off into the distance? Could be. Might it perhaps be the fact that he is played by Bruce Campbell? Definitely.

If you don’t recognize the name, please… please… stop reading now. If YOU have any “Evil Dead” friends, I guarantee you won’t be joining in their aforementioned “Evil Dead” games. Those of us who hail Campbell as the King of B-movie Actors know the name, the face, the chin and the hysterically sarcastic nature that is Bruce Campbell. His presence on the show definitely elevated its appeal for me, and I was glad to see he wasn’t just a one shot character, and his return is always a welcome one. While Autolycus only made the one appearance in the final season, Bruce Campbell was also allowed to leave his mark by directing the Series Finale “Full Circle.” Easily the best episode of the season, it allows fans and friends of the series to say good-bye in a positive way.

(If you would like help getting in good with your “Evil Dead” friends, just watch the trilogy of “Evil Dead” films, and then check out both the “Briscoe County Jr.” and “Jack of All Trades” TV series. That should get you started. After that you might take a look at the IMDB.com website to find out where else you can see him, and I guarantee you’ll want to. Then for extra credit, read his books, “If Chins Could Kill” and “Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way.” Once you’ve done these things, you might even get to LEAD all the “Evil Dead” games.)

Getting back to the DVD set itself; Anchor Bay prides itself on knowing what the fans want. As much as it has become a standard to include extra features on DVDs these days, this particular studio seems to pull out all the stops in terms of content. Especially it seems on the sets they release for “Highlander: The Series”, “Xena”, and “Hercules, The Legendary Journeys.”

This time around you’ll find commentaries on two of the episodes, while a couple of the other episodes have video interviews with assorted members of the cast and crew. The final CD-Rom has assorted background information on many of the characters, as well as the actors. They’ve included a ton of biographical information. There’s even a little Trivia game that I don’t suggest playing until after you’ve watched the season. One small change I was glad to see was in the envelope used to hold the CD-Rom. In the first two seasons they used a sealed envelope that was difficult to open with tearing. In the 3rd season, they used an envelope that wasn’t sealed and could be re-closed, and after the 3rd season, they did away with the envelope altogether. Instead they opted to set it in one of the disc holder slots.

The fifth disc of the 6th season set also offers up a “Part 3” of an inside look at the KNB Effects studio that began in the previous set. Hosted by Howard Berger (the ‘B’ in KNB), we get to see how a lot of the costumes and creatures are created for the series. For my money, these guys have long been amongst the best in the business and I always enjoy a seeing how they do what they do. You’ll also find a look behind the scenes on the making of the final episode, as well as some great footage from the ‘Wrap Party.’ Finally, there is a look at some unused main titles sequences for the series.

One little side note that I’d like to mention is that for those who miss it, be sure to read the credits all the way through to the end. They tend to include little ‘disclaimers’ that are often quite funny. Be sure to check them out on both “Hercules” and “Xena” sets.

There are many who consider “Hercules, The Legendary Journeys” can be somewhat of a silly show. And for the most part they might be right. There are a lot of times that the show exudes a level of cheesiness that is hard for some people to take. However, this is a show that was created for those with an imagination and sense for fantasy adventure, and it is for those audiences I recommend it.

Episodes:
Be Deviled
Love Amazon Style
Rebel With a Cause
Darkness Visible
Hercules, Tramps and Thieves
City of the Dead
A Wicked Good Time
Full Circle

Starring: Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst
Extras: Audio Commentaries and Interviews with Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst, Paul Robert Coyle and Other Cast and Crew Members, “Bringing Monsters to Life at K.N.B. EFX Group - Part 3”, Photo Gallery, “It’s a Wrap” – Wrap Party, Final Episode – “Behind the Scenes”, Hercules Main Titles – Alternate/Never Used Titles. CD-Rom: Hercules Chronicles, Actor, Director and Writer Bios, Series Trivia, Mythology
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Anchor Bay
Release Date: 7/12/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Hercules, The Legendary Journeys: Season 6 an A.