The Mighty Hercules

The Mighty Hercules
Format	Animated series
Created by	Adventure Cartoon Productions
Voices of	Gerry Bascombe Jimmy Tapp Helene Nickerson
Country of origin	Canada, USA
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	128
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	first-run syndication
Original run	September 1, 1963 – May 1, 1966

The Mighty Hercules was an animated series based loosely on the Greek mythological character of Heracles, under his Roman Mythology name, Hercules. It was created in 1962 and then debuted on TV in 1963 and ran until 1966 coinciding with the sword and sandal genre of films popular at the time.

Summary

The cartoon features Hercules, the legendary hero, who dwells on Mount Olympus. When villains threaten the people of ancient Greece, often in the fictional kingdom of Caledon, Hercules comes to the rescue of the Kingdom or whom ever may be in trouble. When in serious danger, Hercules puts on his magic ring from which he gets his superpowers. Once wearing the ring and raising his fist, the ring is struck by flashes of lightning (referred to as the Thunder of Zeus in several episodes). Hercules is then endowed with super-strength, and goes forth for several brief episodes to do battle with nemeses such as Daedalus, an evil wizard who is the chief villain (sometimes accompanied by his pet cat Dydo); as well as others such as Wilhemine the Sea Witch (accompanied by her pet bird Elvira); and Murtis (aka The Mask of Vulcan), who was invulnerable due to his wearing of an iron helmet, itself known as the Mask of Vulcan.

Hercules' friends and allies are his main sidekick, Newton; the helpful boy centaur who has a bothersome habit of repeating himself every time he spoke; Helena^{[disambiguation needed ]}, Hercules' girlfriend; Prince (later King) Dorian of Caledon; Tewt, a small satyr who "spoke" only by playing his panpipes; Timon, a young human from Caledon and Pegasus, Hercules' winged steed. Also featured atop Mount Olympus are Hercules' father Zeus and Dodonis with his crystal rock of seeing; both often warn Hercules of the troubles going on down below in and around the Kingdom of Caledon or deep in the Lernaean Forest.

In the original episode, Hercules beats his friend Theseus in a footrace and a wrestling match, and for his victory is granted any request by Zeus as a reward. Hercules wishes to go to Earth to fight evil and injustice, but Zeus reminds him that going to Earth would cause him to lose his godly powers and become a mortal. Zeus then creates a magic ring that allows Hercules to access his godly strength while on Earth. The rest of the cartoon involves Hercules meeting Helena and fighting a giant named Cacus and the giant's pet dragon. None of the other familiar characters make an appearance in this episode, and it features different character designs for Hercules (who in this one short has a yellow belt and wristbands, with a black H in block lettering on the belt; the ring is of similar design, large and yellow, with a black H in a giant sunburst) and Helena (who has a different hairstyle, a silver necklace, and more makeup than her later versions).

The show generally used real Greek myths for their inspiration, but used the influences oddly. Daedalus, the evil wizard who is Hercules' most frequent foe, is named for Daedalus, mythological artificer who wasn't a villain at all, and Cacus, the giant in the first episode, is based on the mythological monster Cacus. Other recurring creatures like the Nemean Lion, the Lernaean Hydra, the Erymanthian Boar, and the Stymphalian Birds were taken directly from Hercules' Twelve Labors, but most weren't presented as trials for him to overcome. (For example, Hercules defeats the Lion in one punch before Murtis gives it a Mask of Vulcan to help it, and the Boar is already bound by a silver chain, with Hercules stopping first Murtis and later Dedaelus from freeing it).

In addition to the ring, later episodes added new equipment for Hercules and his friends to use: a "moon stone" beam in his belt (and a matching belt that Newton frequently wore) that could be used to summon him from Mount Olympus, an invulnerable sword and shield (both with the same "H" symbol as his ring and belt), and a set of pipes to summon Pegasus, his winged steed. (Hercules was not paired with Pegasus in the original myths, but this concept of the two together was also included thirty years later in Disney's animated version of Hercules).

Background

128 episodes of approximately 5 minutes each were produced. Adventure Cartoon Productions made the series in connection with Trans-Lux Television, the same people who later brought the anime series Speed Racer to U.S. audiences. Many of the animators were veterans of the New York animation scene, including Grim Natwick, Frank Endres, John Gentilella, George Germanetti, Reuben Grossman, and George Rufle.

The show also featured two different sets of voices for the characters (there was no gradual change - most of the early episodes had one set of voices, the rest have the second set). The most noticeably different voice was Newton: in the "older" voice style he sounds like he'd just hit puberty, with his voice constantly cracking, while the later episodes give him a high-pitched Mickey Mouse-like voice. The animation for the "putting on and charging up the ring" sequence also subtly changed with the voices. For an example of the former style and voices, watch the episodes "The Minotaur" or "The Chair Of Forgetfulness"; for an example of the latter, watch "The Nemean Lion" or "The Chameleon Creature".

Hercules's voice actor was Jimmy Tapp. Daedalus' voice actor was Gerry Bascombe. The series also featured a memorable theme song sung by a relative unknown at the time, Johnny Nash. The theme song was covered in 2009 by Canadian jazz musician John Stetch on his album TV Trio.^[1]

In 2005, the series was re-issued to television in a newly remastered version and was reformatted, and in the process, replacing Johnny Nash's familiar theme music with new title music by an unknown singer.

Episode list

Episodes 1. Hercules Comes To Earth 2. Hercules Vs. The Hydra 3. Hercules And The Stolen Ring 4. Hercules And The Magic Arrows 5. Daedalius Kidnaps Helena 6. Theft Of The Magic Seal 7. Double Trouble 8. Hercules Rescues Timon 9. The Chair Of Forgetfulness 10. The Strength Potion 11. Hercules Vs. The Hideous Bird Beast 12. Pegasus Kidnapped 13. The Invisible Potion 14. Medusa's Scepter 15. Search For The Golden Apple 16. The Thieving Bird Hoard 17. Daedalius Becomes A Giant 18. The Stolen Treasure 19. The Cure 20. The Thunderbolt Disc 21. Sun Diamond Of Helios 22. Hercules Lends A Hand 23. The Defiant Mask Of Vulcan 24. The Golden Goblet 25. The Lexas Lagoon 26. Guarding Of The Olympic Torch 27. Helena Cries Wolf 28. Hercules Saves The Villagers 29. Hercules And The Magic Arrows 30. Hercules Battles The Krudes Beast 31. The Cave Of Death 32. Medusa's Sceptre 33. The Bewitch Birds 34. The Enchanted Pool 35. The Endless Chasm 36. Hercules Protects Helena And Newton 37. Hercules Helps King Neptune 38. The Return Of The Mask 39. Hercules Saves Helena 40. The Magnetic Stone 41. The Magic Rod 42. The Minotaur 43. Hercules And The Eternal Sleep

Episodes 44. The Clutching Clay Pool 45. Princess Rhea 46. The Valley Of Whirlwinds 47. The Wild Boar 48. The Magic Belt Of Hercules 49. The Errand Of Mercy 50. The Neamean Legion 51. The Magician 52. Dorian's Wreath 53. The Unicorns 54. Wilamene 55. The Witch And The Magic Ring 56. Diomedes' Evil Plot 57. Hercules' Unwanted Powers 58. The Enchanted Wolf 59. Hercules And His Two Rivals 60. Hercules Saves The King 61. The Thracian Army 62. The Gems Of Venus 63. The Golden Torch 64. Hercules Vs. Teron, The Evil Spirit 65. Hercules Saves The Kingdom 66. Kidnapped By Wilamene 67. The Chameleon Creature 68. Earthquake Valley 69. Newton The Centaur 70. Helena Kidnapped - Hercules To The Rescue 71. Hercules And His Friends 72. The Magic Sword 73. Timon's Grandfather And Hercules 74. Hercules Loses His Memory 75. The Hall Of Justice 76. The Cave Of Callisto 77. The Powerless Hercules 78. Omar,The Sultan's Champion 79. Sandals Of Electra 80. The Sea Witch 81. The Giant 82. Helena's Beauty 83. The Island Of The Miros Monster 84. Hercules And The Fireball 85. Hercules Outwits The Magician 86. The Evil Weapon

Episodes 87. The Giant Ruby 88. The Owl Man 89. The Chameleon Man 90. Hercules Foils The Mask Of Vulcan 91. The Exploding Diamond 92. Hercules And The Sea Witch 93. The Magic Lamp 94. The Owl-Man Of Panssus 95. The Eruption Of Mount Sirus 96. The Deadly Gift 97. The Thesian Thunderhorn 98. The Dreaded Beast Of Charon 99. Hercules, Newton, And The Evil Magician 100. The Fiery Abyss 101. The Giant Dragonfly 102. Tewt's Magic Wand Trouble 103. The Wings Of Mercury 104. The Sea Beast 105. Prometheus In Dire Danger 106. The Crafty Chameleon 107. Kingdom Under The Glass Dome 108. The Fantus Beast 109. The Lyssidian Locusts 110. Hercules Saves Calydon 111. Helena's Jinx 112. The Sinister Statue 113. Friend Or Foe Of Centaur 114. The Young Olympians 115. The Feast Of Calydon 116. The Lava Flow 117. The Dreaded Draught 118. Underwater Battle 119. The Sidian Illusion Stone 120. Timon To the Aid Of Hercules 121. The Fiery Pits of Pyros 122. The Clovis Creature 123. The Valley Of Storms 124. The Centaur On Mischief Day 125. The Throne Of Calydon 126. Battle Of the Magic Rings 127. Diomedes And His Warriors 128. King For A Day

DVD release

On October 4, 2011, Classic Media will release a single disc best-of collection entitled The Mighty Hercules on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.^[2]

References

1. ^ "TV Tunes swing on new CD". The Tucson Citizen, February 10, 2009.
2. ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Mighty-Hercules-DVDs-Announced/15647

External links

• The Mighty Hercules at the Internet Movie Database
• The Mighty Hercules at TV.com
• Lyrics to the Mighty Hercules theme song