The WORST episodes of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Every episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys!
This is the story of a time long ago, A time of myth and legend, when the Earth was still young. The ancient gods were petty and cruel, and they plagued mankind with suffering and beseiged them with terrors. For centuries the people had nowhere to turn, no one to look to for help. Until he arrived. He was a man like no other. Born of a beautiful mortal woman, but fathered by Zeus, king of the gods. Hercules possessed a strength the world had never seen, a strength surpassed only by the power of his heart....No matter what obstacle, as long as there were people crying for help, there was one man who would never rest --- Hercules
#1 - Yes, Virginia, There is a Hercules
Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/7/1998
After an earthquake shook Los Angeles, the writers and producers of Hercules discovered their star, Kevin Sorbo, had disappeared. An emergency staff meeting was called in the show's production offices. Many solutions to the problem were suggested and rejected. Unable to find a suitable replacement to play Hercules, the writers and producers got into a brawl. Then Ares and Strife appeared, pleased at the pandemonium their earthquake had caused. Just before the show could be cancelled, Kevin Sorbo showed up, fresh from rescuing people throughout the area. Sorbo was in fact Hercules, just pretending to be a mortal actor.
#2 - Porkules (1)
Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/28/1998
Discord shot Hercules with Artemis' bow, turning him into a pig. Then she sent the hunter Colchis after Hercules, but the pig jumped from Iolaus' arms and ran off. After a butcher caught him and threw him into a meat wagon, Hercules was befriended by a female pig, Katherine. Autolycus and Iolaus rescued the two pigs from a slaughterhouse, where Hercules communicated with his friends through Fleevio the parrot. Retreating to Alcmene's home, they eventually got the drop on Discord. Iolaus shot the mischievous goddess with Artemis' bow, turning her into a chicken, and Hercules returned to normal.
#3 - One Fowl Day (2)
Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/4/1998
The pig Katherine, who had fallen in love with Hercules, told him of her deisre to become human. Hearing this, Aphrodite turned Katherine into a woman in her own image. The human Katherine happily stripped off all her clothes to roll in the mud. Meanwhile, Ares punished Autolycus and Iolaus for turning Discord into a chicken. Mistaken for the big-footed, two-headed Forest People of legend, the pair was on display at a circus when Hercules rescued them. In the end, Aphrodite turned Katherine back into a pig, and the animal was happy to rejoin her family.
#4 - ...And Fancy Free
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/29/1997
Ever since she was a little girl, Althea wanted to be a dancer. The awkward young woman endured taunts from the graceful Oena because she wanted to compete in the Panathenia ballroom dance competition. Then Hercules volunteered to be her dance partner. Anxious to make sure the duo would not defeat his niece Oena, Asterius tried to have them killed. But they thwarted his paln and took lessons from the widow Twanky. After fighting off an attack by Asterius' henchmen, Hercules and Althea arrived at the Panathenian just in time and performed the dance of their lives to thunderous applause.
#5 - Men in Pink
Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/14/1998
When Salmoneus and Autolycus were mistaken for the murderers of King Pholus, they disguised themselves as performers in the widow Twanky's all girl dance troupe. Autolycus promptly fell for the voluptuous Cupcake, while Salmoneus earned the unwanted affections of their pursuer, the late king's greedy brother Gekkus. Things got worse when the two men were forced to perform the Hootchi-Coochie-Jiggle-Wiggle in the buff, although Twanky was thrilled. The final showdown with Gekkus on stage was perceived by the audience as part of the show, Cupcake helped Autolycus and Salmoneus overcome Gekkus, who was hauled away as the king's killer.
#6 - Darkness Visible
Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/30/1999
Hercules and Iolaus answered Vlad's call for help to defend his kingdom against vampires. Arriving in Dacia, they were joined by Galen, whose sister Nadia had gone to Vlad's castle and never returned. Soon they discovered the horrifying truth: Vlad was a vampire, and Nadia had long since joined the undead. Nadia managed to turn both Galen and Iolaus into vampires. In a clever move to save his friends, Hercules ate hemlock and gave his tainted blood to the vampires. Thus weakened, Vlad was no match for Hercules. Upon Vlad's death, the others returned to normal.
#7 - Web of Desire
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/1/1997
The pirate captain Nebula tried to bury her stolen trunk of jewels in a seaside cave. But the horrifying Arachne, half spider and half woman attacked her. When Hercules and Iolaus showed up, they joined forces with Nebula to try and destroy Arachne before she could destroy them. Arachne swooped down from the ceiling of the cave and snatched Iolaus. Finding his friend wrapped in a cocoon, Hercules took on the spider-woman. During the fight he held up a reflective shield, and when Arachne saw her own image, she backed away in horror, right into a flaming cocoon.
#8 - A Star to Guide Them
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/9/1996
A dream convinced Iolaus to travel north, joining others equally compelled. Meanwhile, King Polonius and Queen Maliphone attempted to round up all the male children in the province to make sure their own child would inherit the throne. When Hercules interfered, Hera sent her Death Squad to destroy him, but Hercules and his friends vanquished the soldiers. The king was killed and the queen exiled, leaving the people free to elect their next ruler. Finally, Iolaus and the others followed a shining star to a stable, where a man and woman bent over a tiny cradle.
#9 - Hercules on Trial
Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/31/1998
Hercules' good deeds landed him on trial when Kazankis, a Hercules impersonator, was killed. Charged with manslaughter, sedition and undermining the authority of the gods, Hercules pleaded innocent on all counts. But Spencius, the government prosecutor, showed how Hercules' acts of heroism caused Kazankis and others to emulate his actions, putting themselves and their families at risk. Although Hercules began to doubt himself, he told the court that society needs heroes who are not afraid to risk their lives for others. The case was ultimately dismissed, and Hercules was freed.
#10 - Les Contemptibles
Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/7/1997
The year was 1789, Count Francois Demarigny was not interested in joining the French Revolution, he just wanted the lady Marie deValle's money. He pretended to be the Chartreuse Fox, and his comrades Jean-Pierre and Robert pretended to be highwaymen. But the Lady Marie outsmarted them, for she herself was the Chartreuse Fox. When she was captured by the French police and taken to the guillotine, tales of Hercules - champion of the common man - inspired Robert and his friends to take action. They freed Marie, gave strength to the peasants and vowed to continue fighting injustice.
#11 - Medea Culpa
Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/7/1998
When they were teenagers, Hercules, Iolaus and Jason banded together to kill the Ghidra, one of Hera's deadly pets. On their journey they met the beautiful young Medea, who decided to join their quest. Soon a love triangle developed in which Medea fell for Hercules while Jason was smitten with Medea. Their jealousies temporarily drove the friends apart, which was Hera's plan all along. But Medea wanted no part of Hera when the angry goddess struck down Jason. Medea healed Jason with her own powers and helped the three friends defeat the hideous, two-headed Ghidra in its lair.
#12 - Once a Hero
Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/29/1996
Hercules and Iolaus traveled to Corith to attend a reunion of Jason and the Argonauts. To their surprise, King Jason had lost his heroic spirit and become a drunk. He had left Medea for Glauce, and Medea took revenge by murdering Glauce and Jason's children. The worshipers of Hera called the Blood-Eyes, attacked and their leader, a masked demon, stole the Golden Fleece. Hercules accompanied Jason and the Argonauts as they pursued the Blood-Eyes to an isolated island and back, finally defeating the traitor Castor and nine skeleton warriors. They retrieved the Golden Fleece and were united in victory.
#13 - Doomsday
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/14/1996
Daedalus the inventor was consumed with guilt over the death of his son, Icarus, who had flown too close to the sun. When Hercules found his longtime friend in Euboea, the unhappy Daedalus was inventing weapons of mass destruction for the cruel King Nikolos. Hercules knew the king was taking advantage of his friend's grief. Nikolos tried to kill Hercules with Daedalus' latest creation, the Megalith, but Hercules outsmarted the king, destroying the machine and Nikolos with it. Daedalus burned his blueprints for weapons and vowed to create only things that would help mankind.
#14 - Rebel with a Cause
Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/16/1999
Hercules was not happy to find that Creon had taken the throne of Thebes from Oedipus. But Hercules had his hands full with Oedipus' daughter, Princess Antigone -- a brash drunk. As Hercules tried to restore her confidence, Creon and his defense minister plotted to destroy them both. When Antigone was captured by Creon, Hercules raced through a minefield to save her from being executed. Assisted by a group of rebels, Hercules drove off Creon, who fled -- only to be blown up by his own bomb. Reunited with Oedipus, Antigone took her rightful position as Queen of Thebes.
#15 - All That Glitters
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/11/1995
The beautiful Voluptua persuaded the legendary King Midas to create the Touch of Gold gambling palace. Hercules and Salmoneus visited the palace, where they discovered corruption and avarice. Hercules was even tricked into fighting soldiers as part of a show. When Midas had an ethical change of heart, Voluptua's henchman Segallus roughed him up and incarcerated him. To free the king and his daughter, Flaxen, Hercules beat a succession of adversaries in the boxing arena and defeated Segallus as well. Inspired, the townspeople revolted against Voluptua and destroyed the palace.
#16 - If I Had a Hammer...
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/24/1998
Hercules reluctantly agreed to pose nude for King Armand's new museum centerpiece in exchange for the King's donation to the war orphans' fund. Meanwhile, the blacksmith, Atalanta, feeling lonely and frustrated, turned a pile of scrap metal into the towering , magnificent man of her dreams. But she didn't expect Hephaestus to bring the sculpture to life as a newborn Hercules. The evil goddess Discord prompted the impressionable ""Herc"" to commit murder, thus framing Hercules. In a final confrontation, Herc turned over a new leaf, helping Hercules save Atalanta's life. Herc was crushed in the process, his body reverting to scrap.
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#17 - Atlantis
Season 3 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/12/1997
After his transport ship went down at sea, Hercules found himself on the shores of Atlantis. There he met Cassandra, a beautiful woman whose premonitions told her Atlantis was doomed. But King Panthius, scorning Cassandra's warnings, arrested the young woman and her new friend Hercules. Soon they learned Panthius' crystal-powered cannon had caused Hercules' shipwreck, and enslaved sailors worked the kings crystal mines. Escaping the torture chamber, Hercules freed the sailors and came back for Cassandra. They soared away to safety in a glider as the foundation of Atlantis crumbled, destroying the island city.
#18 - Fade Out
Season 5 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/8/1999
The Rock of Arges was cursed by Zeus. Villagers who handled it began to fade out of existance, so Hercules saved them by crushing it. Unfortunately, this caused the curse to transfer to Hercules -- which was exactly what Ares, Deimos and Discord had planned. But Hercules slowed his disappearance through sheer force of will, so Ares sent Deimos to finish the job. Feeling jealous, Discord decided to help Iolaus 2 and Hercules find the remaining two stones. When Deimos and Ares inadvertenly broke the stones, the spell was broken. Hercules returned to normal while Ares was sucked into oblivion.
#19 - Two Men and a Baby
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/15/1997
Fleeing from Ares' soldiers, Nemesis burst into Hercules' campsite and proclaimed him the father of her sixpmonth-old son, Evander. Then she slipped away, leaving Hercules and Iolaus with the child, who soon demonstrated god-like powers. When they found her again, Nemesis revealed that the child was the son of Ares. The goddess Discord was consumed by jealousy and tried to make off with the baby, but Evander dispatched her over a tower wall. The powerful infant returned himself to the arms of his mother, and after a vicious battle with Hercules, Ares gave up his struggle for the baby.
#20 - Not Fade Away
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/28/1996
When word of a female killing machine on the loose reached Iolaus, he expected to find the Enforcer. Instead he encountered the Enforcer II, a new and improved version of Hera's assassin. She mortally wounded Iolaus, whose last act was to warn Hercules. Hades sent the original Enforcer with Hercules to defeat the new assassin, but the Enforcer II complicated matters by abducting Hercules' mother. The original Enforcer fought an epic battle with her successor and lost, but Hercules managed to incinerate the new Enforcer with one of her own fireballs. Her destruction returned Iolaus to life.
#21 - Protean Challenge
Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/22/1996
Hercules' sculptor friend Thanis was framed for robbery and faced cruel punishment: the loss of both hands. When Iolaus and Hercules set out to prove their friend's innocence, they learned that the deformed god Proteus, who could change his form at will, had committed the crime. He was taking revenge on the village because Thanis' daughter, Daniela, had fled from him after seeing his real reflection. Forced to battle "himself", Hercules made Proteus look upon his own reflection, and the ashamed god gave up the fight. All he ever wanted was Daniela's love.
#22 - Full Circle
Season 6 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/27/1999
Evander, son of Ares, had the power to create anything he could imagine. Zeus, wishing to make amends with Hera, used the boy to free his former love from the Abyss of Tartarus. Unfortunately, the Titans were released, too. Helios and Oceanus tried to destroy Hercules and Iolaus but succeeded only in destroying each other. Meanwhile, the third Titan, Atlas, attacked Olympus. But Hera turned him into stone, condemning Atlas to hold the weight of the world on his shoulders forever. Hercules and Iolaus took Evander home to Nemesis, while Zeus and Hera began their reconciliation.
#23 - Highway to Hades
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/20/1995
The innocent Timuron awaited punishment in the Underworld, and Hades wanted the real wrongdoer, King Sisyphus of Corinth, to take his place. Hades demanded that Hercules apprehend Sisyphus and bring him to the Underworld. It turned out that Queen Karis was unable to have children, and the King wanted Timuron's widow, Daphne, to bear him an heir. With help from Timuron, whose ghostly image scared away the palace guards, Hercules thwarted the king's plan and brought Sisyphus to the Underworld. In turn, Hades allowed Timuron and Daphne to enjoy one night together before saying goodbye.
#24 - King for a Day
Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/18/1996
Iolaus agrees to stand in for his royal look-alike Prince Orestes on the day of the prince's coronation and marriage to the beautiful Niobe in order to prevent Orestes' brother Minos from usurping the throne.
#25 - The Cave of Echoes
Season 2 - Episode 24 - Aired 6/24/1996
No one ever came out of the Cave of Echoes. But Hercules and Iolaus were determined to rescue young Melina, who had disappeared inside the cave. Parentheses, a young writer whom they had recently befriended, joined them in the rescue effort. At first eager, Parentheses became more and more frightened by the bloodcurdling roars from deep within the cave. But he overcame his fear when Hercules sent him down into the pit to save the girl. Fortunately, there was no monster - only a tree root - but the adventure was enough to fortify Parentheses, who walked off arm-in-arm with Melina.