Customer Reviews

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys - Season One

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you already own the Anchor Bay (AB from here on out) release of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" - Season 1 you may want to hang onto it.

This release has only the series. The 5 made-for-tv movie "specials" which introduced the character and truly started the series are *not* included. These were on the AB season 1 release. There is no word on whether these will be available separately.

The AB release had the 13 season episodes on 4 disks while this release uses only 3. This indicates there will be more compression, but the jury's still out on whether or not the episodes have been cleaned up beyond what AB did.

On the AB release, the sound was remixed into a 5.1 Dolby Digital while this release is 2.0 (which was the original sound mix). This may or may not be a drawback depending on your outlook.

The primary draw for this release is the use of subtitles which the AB release did not have (the major drawback of the AB release IMHO). A second attraction is the use of a standard keep-case instead of the massive fold-out digipak AB used.

So... better packaging and subtitles appear to be the "extras" for this release.

If you're a fan and don't already own the AB set this is highly recommended even though the price seems a bit high for only 13 episodes. You may want to seek out a AB season 1 set depending on price as it also includes the TV movies.

If you are looking for a true historical take on Hercules, don't start here as the myth is played very loose with many inaccuracies and *lots* of anachronism. But if you're looking for a good clean (although it *does* have its fair share of innuendo) action/adventure series with lots of campy humor, and ninja-like fight scenes... look no further. Yes, it does have some violence and innuendo, but it's fairly innocuous and frankly less than what I've seen on "kids" cartoons lately. Watching a few episodes of Hercules is a great way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon.

4 stars because the 5 made-for-tv movies, which truly belong with season 1, are not included.

While it's great that this is being re-released, without the original 5 made for TV movies that start the series, it seems a waste. Even though the Anchor Bay sets are out of print on Amazon, you can still get all of them on [...] for around $20 per season. Brand new and 100% legitimate. That goes for Xena and Highlander as well (as all these Anchor Bay sets are also out of print on Amazon too). It's the official site of those shows and they keep the dvds in print. The season 1 boxset of Hercules is identical to the Anchor Bay set. It includes the 5 movies and the 13 episodes. why not just buy that? For the same price you get the same episodes, the 5 TV movies, and a CD-ROM of extras. I guess only the official website can sell it because no other online outlet, including Amazon, has it. Try there first.

I was pleased to see the re-releases of Season One of Hercules & Xena, and I've added them both to my collection.

However, in the case of Season 1 of Hercules, there are some elements to consider in making the purchase of this re-release.

Pros: The episodes of Season 1 are in great shape, and well presented. Plus, these DVDs also have captioning for the hard of hearing. This feature was absent in the original Anchor Bay release. Plus, the packaging is also a lot smaller than the Anchor Bay release - a standard size DVD case, with multiple discs inside.

Cons: Unfortunately, this Season 1 release contains only the 13 episodes of Season 1, and none of the 5 movies which preceded them as part of Season 1.

The other cons, although this is more due to Universal/Anchor Bay (whichever), there is no separate product of the five movies. There is a DVD with just the first two movies, and the Hercules action pack only has the first two movies, along with the three episodes from Season 1 which introduced Xena, the animated Hercules & Xena film, and the Young Hercules movie.

A plea to Universal: Release the five films in a separate product if necessary, but please re-release them. And release the full Young Hercules series. It's a great series that deserves equal exposure to Hercules and Xena.

I loved the series when it was on TV and now I get to watch when ever I want.

I real love watch movie "Hercules". I love it. Thanks! Long ago, I watch "Hercules" in tv. Now, I real want my own movie "Hercules." Also, I can't wait buy for Hercules Season 3 and 4 and 5 and 6. I can't wait. Heehee!

received shipment quickly and in great shape. love this series cant wait to buy the next season
cheesy dialogue but great message for kids especially.

This is a good series, I hope we get this in England.We never had a DVD release except the TV movies and the first 3 episodes of the first season.
Only been released on video and only up to a few episodes of season 3.

I don't understand. Is this a re-release of season 1. I purchased Season 1 from Amazon.com. a few years ago.
Can someone tell me why it is being released again on 4/20/10????

Thanks