Search - Hercules: The Legendary Journeys - Season One on DVD

Double-dip needed? Maybe not...

Howie | Arkansas | 04/10/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Why bother?

Kimberly A. Workman | Parma Heights, OH United States | 04/21/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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."