# Young Hercules

Young Hercules is a prequel series to the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys that originally aired on Fox Kids Network. After a pilot film aired on Feb. 17, 1998, the series premiered on September 12, 1998 and ended on May 14, 1999, with a total of 50 episodes over the course of 1 season. It stars Ryan Gosling in the title role, who took over from Ian Bohen who starred in the pilot movie and four episodes of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. The series was inspired by the Greek myths of Heracles.

## Plot

   "In an age of light and darkness, Zeus, king of the gods, ruled the universe. He had a son: Young Hercules. Half-god, Half-man, Young Hercules longs to find his place in the world, the father he's never known, and what it means to be a hero. Before the man became legend, before the legend became myth came the greatest adventure of all!"
The show features the efforts of Ares, the god of war, played by Kevin Tod Smith, who attempts often to destroy his younger half-brother to win over Zeus' good graces. Among his group is his nephew Strife (Joel Tobeck), who is the rather weaker member of the team. Strife's mother is Discord, goddess of retribution (Meighan Desmond), who acts more level-headed and power hungry than her counterpart on more than one occasion. The series has two other villains: Hera, queen of the gods and Hercules' stepmother; and Apollo, god of the sun and Hercules' half-brother.
The series follows Hercules (Ryan Gosling) as he attends Cheiron's Academy to train in the arts of the warrior under the wise headmaster Cheiron the Centaur (Nathaniel Lees). He makes friends with the future king of Corinth, Prince Jason (Chris Conrad) and a thieving former member of a bandit group named Iolaus (Dean O'Gorman), who was sentenced to train at the academy as an alternative to prison for his crimes. Hercules also meets the academy's first female cadet, Lilith (Jodie Rimmer). Other characters of interest include Kora, the innkeeper who (unknown to Hercules and his friends) is a devotee of Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt. As the series develops, Kora is revealed to have special powers which allow her to do Artemis' bidding. There are hints of romance between Hercules and Kora, although their friendship keeps it all innocent.

## Cast
### Main

* Ian Bohen as Hercules (pilot only)
* Ryan Gosling as Hercules
* Dean O'Gorman as Iolaus
* Chris Conrad as Jason

### Supporting

* Jodie Rimmer as Lilith
* Mfundo Morrison as Theseus
* Nathaniel Lees as Cheiron
* Angela Marie Dotchin as Kora
* Kevin Smith as Ares
* Joel Tobeck as Strife
* Meighan Desmond as Discord
* Katrina Browne as Cyane, an Amazon
* Jason Hoyte as Hephaestus, god of metallurgy
* Sharon Tyrell as Alcmene
* Alison Bruce as Simula
* Elizabeth Hawthorne as Hera
* Jay Ryan as Cadet
* John Bach as Zeus

## Production

Young Hercules' executive producers were Robert Tapert and Sam Raimi. Liz Friedman and Eric Gruendemann were co-executive producers, and former MTV producer Cynthia Hsiung was producer of the series. Eric Lewald and Julia Lewald were head writers. In New Zealand, where principal photography was shot, Janine Dickins held down the fort as the New Zealand producer while three series directors took turns shooting the episodes in blocks of four along with a fourth director for second unit. Chris Graves, Charlie Haskell and Andrew Merrifield shot principal photography and Simon Rabbi shot second unit. Later in the series, Simon Rabbi shot principal photography for the 50th episode, "Valley of the Shadow."
The series has been used in case studies of how to shoot television series efficiently. Traditional television series are shot one episode at a time. Young Hercules was shot in blocks of four episodes at a time. The three main directors of the series were on a rotation, one director for each four episode block. The four would be written with this in mind, keeping sets, locations, and actors similar in all four episodes even if story and plot lines might not interrelate. This saved tremendous amounts of money and time allowing the series to be shot on a shoestring budget, but with maximum on-screen dollars. The 50 episodes had a budget of roughly $20 million which includes above and below the line costs. Shooting in New Zealand also allowed the series to circumvent considerable Guild regulations for further savings. Additional money was saved shooting the series on 16 mm film. Early research was done to see if digital cameras could be used, but it was determined that technology was not adequate at the time to make digital filming economically viable.
Principal photography took place in New Zealand while post-production elements including visual effects and music were all edited and integrated together in Los Angeles. Ian Bohen played Young Hercules in the pilot movie and was offered the part, but opted not to move to New Zealand where the series would shoot principal photography. Early on in the series, special visual effects were conceived by Richard Taylor's Weta Workshop, the then little known visual effects company that went on to win several Academy Awards for their work on The Lord of the Rings. Weta and Richard Taylor stepped off Young Hercules early on to work on Lord of the Rings. In fact, the early production days of Young Hercules saw many of its crew leave to work on the then little known Peter Jackson sensation, Lord of the Rings.
Ryan Gosling was only 17 when he was cast in the lead role. To train for the role, Ryan took intense martial arts classes by the same trainer who taught Lucy Lawless and Kevin Sorbo. He was so tall and thin that his costume had to be reworked to minimize the look of how thin he was. Original costume sketches showed a darker upper body costume. When Gosling was cast, the costume designers made the upper body of his costume lighter in color and broader in the chest to help create a more bulky look. Makeup was used on Gosling's arms to help add muscle contours. Similar tricks were used for both Sorbo and Lawless for their characters.
It was known to be only superficially faithful to Greek mythology, as was its predecessor; it uses similar characters, but in a variety of stories, some of which contain anachronisms.

### Location

The series was filmed entirely in New Zealand, at Studio West in West Auckland.

## Episodes

The series was aired out of order. The episodes are listed below, as presented on DVD, in the order of their production codes. Despite this, the episodes list is not completely correct chronologically. For example, in "The Head That Wears the Crown" Jason is crowned king, yet in several following episodes, such as "Winner Take All", he is still a prince. Similarly, even though Lilith visits Hercules' mother in "Mommy Dearests", they later appear to meet for the first time in "Home for the Holidays".
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "The Treasure of Zeus - Part 1" | Chris Graves | Story by : Rob Tapert & Liz Friedman Teleplay by : Mark Edens | September 12, 1998 (1998-09-12) |
| Hercules sets out to retrieve a chalice belonging to Hera, unaware it's all a trap set by Ares and Strife. |||||
| 2 | "Between Friends (The Treasure Of Zeus - Part 2)" | Chris Graves | Story by : Rob Tapert & Liz Friedman Teleplay by : Michael Edens | September 16, 1998 (1998-09-16) |
| Having failed to kill Hercules with the Phoenix that guards the chalice, Strife targets his friends by framing Iolaus for theft. |||||
| 3 | "What a Crockery (The Treasure Of Zeus - Part 3)" | Chris Graves | Story by : Rob Tapert & Liz Friedman Teleplay by : Hilary J. Bader | September 17, 1998 (1998-09-17) |
| Ares learns from Hera that by taking the chalice, Hercules has lost his father's protection. |||||
| 4 | "Herc and Seek" | Chris Graves | John Loy | September 22, 1998 (1998-09-22) |
| Hercules must save Iolaus from his old gang after they break into the academy and take him hostage. |||||
| 5 | "Girl Trouble" | Charlie Haskell | Adam Armus & Nora Kay Foster | September 19, 1998 (1998-09-19) |
| Herc and his friends travel to Athens to hire a new cook for the academy and try to help a tribe of Amazons escape an evil sea captain who has enslaved them. |||||
| 6 | "Teacher's Pests" | Charlie Haskell | Jim Fisher & Jim Staahl | September 26, 1998 (1998-09-26) |
| When the boys are given detention under the strict Fiducious, Herc and Jason try to cover for Iolaus while he starts his new job at the inn. |||||
| 7 | "Inn Trouble" | Charlie Haskell | Len Uhley | October 1, 1998 (1998-10-01) |
| Kora leaves Hercules and his friends in charge of her Inn, where Discord and Strife set a trap involving rowdy Satyrs and a sacred feast. |||||
| 8 | "Keeping Up with the Jasons" | Charlie Haskell | Brooks Wachtel | October 2, 1998 (1998-10-02) |
| Feeling jealous of Jason's new sword and shield, Hercules goes to Hephaestus, who gives him special weapons. However, his new weapons go to his head. |||||
| 9 | "Amazon Grace" | Andrew Merrifield | Shari Goodhartz | February 4, 1999 (1999-02-04) |
| Hercules is reunited with Cyane, the Amazon leader, and her tribe. Things get complicated when he tries to tell her his father is Zeus, who Cyane hates. The King of Athens tries to claim the Amazons as slaves. |||||
| 10 | "Cyrano de Hercules" | Andrew Merrifield | Jan Strnad | February 23, 1999 (1999-02-23) |
| Feeling lonely, Hephaestus crafts the perfect woman, Galatea. However, when she falls for Hercules, Hephaestus makes her hate Hercules, to the point of wanting him dead. |||||
| 11 | "Battle Lines - Part 1" | Charlie Haskell | Steven Melching | November 11, 1998 (1998-11-11) |
| Hercules and Iolaus become caught between loyalties when Cheiron and the Centaurs are in conflict with Cyane and her Amazons, not knowing it is all a plot by Discord and Strife. |||||
| 12 | "Battle Lines - Part 2" | Charlie Haskell | Doug Molitor & Eric Lewald | November 13, 1998 (1998-11-13) |
| Hercules tries to avert war between the Centaurs and Amazons by finding the ones fanning the flames of anger. |||||
| 13 | "Forgery" | Andrew Merrifield | Michael Edens | October 10, 1998 (1998-10-10) |
| Tired of being considered a wet blanket, Hercules uses Hephaestus' forge to change his heart and give him the "fire inside". But the fire soon burns out of control. |||||
| 14 | "No Way Out" | Andrew Merrifield | Jim Fisher & Jim Staahl | September 25, 1998 (1998-09-25) |
| Lilith gets trapped in a cave with Hercules, while their friends plan a surprise birthday party for her. |||||
| 15 | "Ares on Trial" | Andrew Merrifield | Carter Crocker | September 29, 1998 (1998-09-29) |
| Another attempt on Hercules’s life lands Ares in hot water with his fellow gods, who put him on trial for his actions. |||||
| 16 | "Down and Out in Academy Hills" | Andrew Merrifield | Mark Edens | October 3, 1998 (1998-10-03) |
| Hercules meets an amnesiac who literally fell from the sky and takes him to the academy, unaware he is actually related to him. |||||
| 17 | "Winner Take All" | Chris Graves | Michael Reaves | October 30, 1998 (1998-10-30) |
| Hercules meets his two half-brothers, Castor and Pollux, but starts neglecting his friends. |||||
| 18 | "A Serpent's Tooth" | Chris Graves | Bob Forward | October 31, 1998 (1998-10-31) |
| Iolaus bonds with a mysterious baby creature that was given as a gift to Jason, unaware it's a fire breathing basilisk that came from Strife and Discord. |||||
| 19 | "The Lure of the Lyre" | Chris Graves | Len Uhley | November 3, 1998 (1998-11-03) |
| A new friend, the musician Orpheus, introduces Hercules to Bacchus, who tries to lure him and his friends into his evil cult of Bacchai. |||||
| 20 | "Fame" | Chris Graves | Paul Sauer | November 4, 1998 (1998-11-04) |
| Hercules is reunited with Orpheus and Euridice who have become great musicians, though she doesn't know that Orpheus is using Bacchus' magic lyre to recruit more Bacchai. |||||
| 21 | "Lyre, Liar" | Charlie Haskell | Jim Fisher & Jim Staahl | September 18, 1998 (1998-09-18) |
| Orpheus still possesses Bacchus' magic lyre, and Bacchus wants it and Euridice back. |||||
| 22 | "A Lady in Hades" | Charlie Haskell | John Loy | October 9, 1998 (1998-10-09) |
| Hercules and Jason descend into Underworld to rescue Euridice, who died saving Hercules' life. |||||
| 23 | "The Mysteries of Life" | Charlie Haskell | Adam Armus & Nora Kay Foster | October 7, 1998 (1998-10-07) |
| Iolaus tries to rescue Ruff, the basilisk he bonded with when it was a baby, from a cruel sideshow owner who captured him. |||||
| 24 | "Dad Always Liked Me Best" | Charlie Haskell | Mark Edens | September 24, 1998 (1998-09-24) |
| Hercules meets another half-brother, Lucius, who’s tracking Pollux for the murder of Castor. But things aren’t quite as they appear... |||||
| 25 | "Herc's Nemesis" | Andrew Merrifield | Mark Edens | October 29, 1998 (1998-10-29) |
| Hercules incurs the wrath of his stepmother, Hera, when he convinces Nemesis to defy Hera’s orders. |||||
| 26 | "Cold Feet" | Andrew Merrifield | John Loy | November 5, 1998 (1998-11-05) |
| Jason begins to feel doubt about his future role as king, until he meets a farmer and his daughter who are under threat from a marauder. |||||
| 27 | "Mommy Dearests" | Charlie Haskell | Michael Edens | February 5, 1999 (1999-02-05) |
| Lucius returns, with an even more diabolic plan to kill Hercules. |||||
| 28 | "In Your Dreams" | Charlie Haskell | Adam Armus & Nora Kay Foster | March 2, 1999 (1999-03-02) |
| Ares enlists the god of dreams in his latest scheme to get rid of Hercules by trapping him in a deadly nightmare. |||||
| 29 | "Sisters" | Andrew Merrifield | Michael Edens | October 24, 1998 (1998-10-24) |
| Kora becomes jealous when her sister Cleo arrives and quickly becomes more popular than her, so she tries to emulate Cleo. |||||
| 30 | "The Golden Bow" | Andrew Merrifield | Liz Friedman & Vanessa Place | November 6, 1998 (1998-11-06) |
| Kora enters an archery tournament in hopes of giving the prize to Artemis in exchange for her release from service. |||||
| 31 | "Home for the Holidays" | Chris Graves | Story by : Brooks Wachtel Teleplay by : Hilary J. Bader | May 11, 1999 (1999-05-11) |
| A trip home for a holiday brings a surprise to Hercules when he meets his mother's new boyfriend. |||||
| 32 | "Cram-Ped" | Charlie Haskell | Brian Herskowitz | November 12, 1998 (1998-11-12) |
| Iolaus will be sent back to prison unless he can pass a test, so his friends help him study with an all night cramming session. |||||
| 33 | "Con Ares" | Andrew Merrifield | Michael Edens & Julia Lewald | May 10, 1999 (1999-05-10) |
| Hercules and his friends meet a mortal farmer with an uncanny resemblance to Ares and hope to use him to avert a war between Sparta and Thebes. |||||
| 34 | "Get Jason" | Chris Graves | John Loy | November 20, 1998 (1998-11-20) |
| An annual prank war at the academy covers an assassin's attempts on Jason's life. |||||
| 35 | "My Fair Lilith" | Andrew Merrifield | Len Uhley | February 1, 1999 (1999-02-01) |
| In an attempt to get out of an arranged marriage, Jason begs Lilith to pretend to be his wife. |||||
| 36 | "Hind Sight" | Charlie Haskell | Jim Fisher & Jim Staahl | November 10, 1998 (1998-11-10) |
| Hercules and Kora try to protect the Golden Hind, a mystical half-human half-deer that is sacred to Artemis, from hunters. |||||
| 37 | "The Head That Wears the Crown" | Andrew Merrifield | Jim Fisher & Jim Staahl | February 2, 1999 (1999-02-02) |
| While Jason is being crowned king, Hercules wants to save his mother's midwife Galinthia from getting executed in Corinth. |||||
| 38 | "Me, Myself and Eye" | Chris Graves | Story by : Michael Edens Teleplay by : Julia Lewald | February 25, 1999 (1999-02-25) |
| Hercules comes into possession of an eye that can foretell the future, but the blind witches that own it curse his friends to get it back. |||||
| 39 | "The Skeptic" | Charlie Haskell | Vanessa Place | February 3, 1999 (1999-02-03) |
| A new student at the Academy incurs the wrath of Strife by claiming not to believe in the gods. |||||
| 40 | "Iolaus Goes Stag" | Charlie Haskell | Patrick Phillips | February 17, 1999 (1999-02-17) |
| Iolaus gets on the bad side of Artemis when he attempts to impress his uncle by going after the Golden Hind. |||||
| 41 | "Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" | Chris Graves | Mark Edens | November 19, 1998 (1998-11-19) |
| Hercules and Theseus become rivals and they challenge each other to a chariot race, but they crash into the Forbidden Zone and have to fight for survival. |||||
| 42 | "The Prize" | Chris Graves | John Loy | November 18, 1998 (1998-11-18) |
| A talent contest at Kora's inn draws an unusual contestant, Ares, who wants the first prize, the last fragment of the Chronos Stone which will make him stronger than Zeus and can only be given to him freely. |||||
| 43 | "The Beasts Beneath" | Chris Graves | Hilary J. Bader | November 24, 1998 (1998-11-24) |
| Hercules and Theseus try to track down their friends, who have gotten lost in a desert full of quicksand and monsters. |||||
| 44 | "Parents' Day" | Andrew Merrifield | Jessica Scott & Mike Wollaeger | February 26, 1999 (1999-02-26) |
| Iolaus hires actors to play his parents at the academy's parents day, unaware they're actually thieves. |||||
| 45 | "A Life for a Life" | Chris Graves | Mark Edens | February 22, 1999 (1999-02-22) |
| Ares kidnaps Chiron and leaves clues for Hercules and his friends to follow, believing Hercules will willingly sacrifice his life to save Chiron. |||||
| 46 | "Under Siege" | Chris Graves | John Loy | February 24, 1999 (1999-02-24) |
| Ares controls Cyane to attack the academy and tricks Hephaestus to make new weapons for the job. |||||
| 47 | "Mila" | Andrew Merrifield | Jim Fisher & Jim Staahl | March 8, 1999 (1999-03-08) |
| Hercules meets Mila, an Amazon warrior searching for her father, unaware that Ares has a plan to use her. |||||
| 48 | "Apollo" | Andrew Merrifield | Clark Carlton & John Loy | May 12, 1999 (1999-05-12) |
| Hercules meets his half-brother Apollo, and incurs his wrath after becoming more popular with his followers. |||||
| 49 | "Ill Wind" | Simon Raby | Jim Fisher & Jim Staahl | May 13, 1999 (1999-05-13) |
| Cyane becomes sick and tries to communicate with Hercules how to cure her by sharing memories with him. |||||
| 50 | "Valley of the Shadow" | Simon Raby | Story by : Mark Edens Teleplay by : Vanessa Place | May 14, 1999 (1999-05-14) |
| Hercules, Iolaus, and Theseus go hunting and an old man advises them to try out a valley that turns out to have a monster. |||||

## Reception

The series aired on the Fox Kids Network at first on Monday through Friday at 4:30 p.m. PST and Saturday mornings at 8:30 a.m. PST. Later in the year, the series aired Monday through Friday only at 3:30 p.m. PST. Although ratings on Fox Kids were strong for the season (2nd top-rated live-action series below Power Rangers), Young Hercules was not renewed.

### Daytime Emmy Award

| Year | Recipient | Category | Result |
| 1999 | George Haddad (post sound supervisor) Tim Isle (music editor) | Outstanding sound editing | Nominated |

### Writers Guild of America Award

| Year | Recipient | Category | Result |
| 2000 | Shari Goodhartz (writer; for episode 36: Hind Sight) | Outstanding children's script | Nominated |

## Home media

On June 23, 2015, Shout! Factory released Young Hercules- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.