01. Hercules and the Amazon Women

HERCULES EPISODE 01
SEASON TELEMOVIES, EPISODE 1


Episode credits and cast

Episode synopsis

Credits:

Writers... Julie Selbo, Andrew Dettmann, and Daniel Truly
Editor... Steve Polivka
Director... Bill L. Norton
Original Air Date... Apr. 25, 1994

Cast:

Hercules... Kevin Sorbo
Zeus... Anthony Quinn
Hippolyta/Hera-Hippolyta... Roma Downey
Iolaus... Michael Hurst
Pithus... Lloyd Scott
Lysia... Lucy Lawless
Lethan... Christopher Brougham
Ilus... Tim Lee
Young Alcmene.... Kim Michalis
Young Mother... Maggie Tarver
Village Boy... John Steemson
Village Girl... Helen Steemson
Girl (Hydra)... Rose McIver
Alcmene... Jennifer Ludlam
Village Heckler... Nick Kemplen
Girl Being Heckled... Heidi Anderson
Ania... Jill Sayre
Tiber... Murray Keane
Kurion... Andrew Thurtell
Hector... Mick Rose
Franco... David Taylor
Chilla... Nina Sosanya
Old Amazon Woman... Vicky Burrett
Lucina... Kristin Darragh
Lucina... Tamara Waugh
Illa... Fiona Mogridge
Baby Hercules... Jacques Dupeyroux
Young Hercules... Peter Malloch
Young Iolaus... Daniel James
Echetus... Jeff Boyd
Jana... Simone Kessell

Synopsis:

Three men travel through dense brush, trying to get help. They argue on whether to go on or go back. Something leaps through the air and knocks one man behind a bush. He screams for a bit, then is heard no more. The other two run, but one falls into a pit. The third man tries to help him, but the second man is dragged under the ground. From the unseen being's point of view, we see it chase the third man until he reaches the end of the brush and runs on to safety.


A young boy finds Iolaus, and tells him that whoever he is looking for is here. Iolaus gets up, takes a staff, and tries to attack the stranger. The stranger shoves Iolaus to the ground. From Iolaus' point of view, Hercules (obviously Iolaus' opponent) comes into the frame. Hercules then proceeds to lift Iolaus over his head. Iolaus tells Hercules it's bad luck to kill the groom before the wedding; Hercules tells Iolaus he'll wait till the wedding's over, and puts him back down. Hercules mentions that he is going to his mother's house, and Iolaus decides to join him.


Along the way, Hercules asks what Iolaus sees in his bride-to-be, Ania. Iolaus confesses that Ania can't cook, sew, or look after livestock, but he says that she's so beautiful, he could just sit and look at her all day. Hercules asks Iolaus what happened to his old self. Iolaus says that love changed him, and it'll happen to Hercules eventually, which Hercules denies.


A little girl is crying in front of an altar to Hera. Hercules asks what happened, and she says a monster ate her father while they were praying to Hera. One of her arms morphs into a tentacle, and she/it chokes Hercules. Hercules gets free, but the child/it disappears into her/it's clothing. Hercules remarks that whatever this is, it's gonna be ugly, and then a Hydra pops up. Hercules tells Iolaus not to provoke it, but it attacks, and Hercules uses Iolaus' sword to chop off it's head. The Hydra slithers around a little, then grows two more heads. The heads charge Hercules, and he chops off another one. Two more grow back (there's now three heads), and Hercules tells Iolaus to grab a torch off Hera's altar. Hercules meanwhile punches the attacking heads. One of the heads turns its sights on Iolaus, and starts chewing his shoulder. Hercules sees this, dodges the Hydra's spiked tail, and chops off the head. He then picks up the torch Iolaus dropped, and sets the Hydra on fire. It burns for a second, then turns into dust. Hercules sees a peacock feather left behind (Hera's marker), and he says Hera is a perfect example of a woman with too much power. He destroys Hera's altar, and he and Iolaus move on.


Arriving at Alcmene's, Hercules surprises her by grabbing her from behind. Iolaus invites the two to dinner, then leaves. Alcmene is concerned about a gash on Hercules' arm. He says it's from the fight with Hera's Hydra. Alcmene sums up her opinion of Hera in two words: "That b*tch!" She leaves to find some items for the cut on his arm.


Zeus shows up, and Hercules tells him to keep Hera under control. Zeus replies that he can't change Hera because she doesn't want to change. Hercules doesn't want Zeus to interfere with Alcmene. Alcmene enters the room, and is surprised by Zeus' presence. Alcmene says he hasn't changed a bit; Zeus says she's as beautiful as ever. Alcmene invites Zeus to dinner, but Zeus declines, saying he just dropped in to see how Hercules was doing, and then leaves.


Ania talks with Iolaus in the kitchen until Alcmene chases him out. At dinner, Hercules tries Ania's cooking, and manages a not-so-realistic sounding, "It's great." Ania sees a man in the window, and Hercules gets up to investigate. He opens the door, hitting the man Ania saw. Hercules picks him up, and the the man (the one who escaped at the beginning of the movie) says his name is Pithus, and he is from Gargarensia. His village is under attack by beasts, and he's worried that they can't survive another attack. Pithus says that they sent their warriors for help, but they failed. The only men left now are farmers and fishermen. Hercules agrees, saying they'll leave at first light.


Iolaus begs Hercules to take him. Hercules denies his reqest, saying that Iolaus will be married by next week. Iolaus pleads with Hercules, saying he wants to go for old time's sake. Hercules agrees, and Iolaus gets permission from Ania by saying that Hercules begged him to go.


Hercules, Iolaus, and Pithus reach Gargarensia, and Hercules and Iolaus realize that only men and boys live here. Hercules asks what happened to the women, and Pithus and a couple of men say the beasts stole them a long time ago. When asked about where the boys came from, Pithus tells Hercules that they were left on the riverbank. Hercules and Iolaus aren't convinced, and set off to find the beasts.


While in the woods, Hercules and Iolaus are confronted by a group of humanoid beings wearing animal masks; these are the "beasts." Hercules and Iolaus position themselves back-to-back, and they fight off the attackers. Hercules warns Iolaus to be careful; Iolaus replies, "Careful dies, reckless kills!" During the fight, Iolaus is cut below his eye. Pride stung, he sets off after the "beast" that wounded him. After a brief struggle, he pulls off the mask to reveal a woman. He hesitates, surprised, and the woman draws a dagger, stabs Iolaus, and runs. Hercules sees Iolaus get stabbed, and runs over to his friend's side. He begs Iolaus to hold on, but Iolaus says he can't, adds, "Tell Ania how much I wanted to be her husband," and then dies. A group of attackers surrounds Hercules, but an attacker on horseback, Lysia, unmasks herself and tells them to take Hercules to the queen.


Inside the queen's residence in the City of Amazons, the queen, Hippolyta, tells Hercules that her women are not "beasts" as the men of Gargarensia imply. They are simply fighting for their own way of life and freedom of being treated as goods by men. Hercules replies that men don't dominate women, they protect them, since women are weaker. Hippolyta and the other Amazons in the room have a good chuckle at Hercules' response. She tells Hercules he cannot understand what makes a woman, and Hercules remarks that she doesn't know what makes a man. To prove her point, Hippolyta brings forth a magic candle, blows on it, and sends Hercules back to relive his life again. Hercules is transformed into a newborn baby.


As a baby, Hercules remembers his father, Zeus, telling him that the world will be good to him. Zeus also adds that women are the sweetest journey he'll ever take in a life, and to take a lot of them.


Hippolyta says that all fathers tell their sons this on the day they are born. She then tells Hercules, who is now a boy, that this doesn't change as his life goes on.


Hercules finds himself training in the arts of war with young Iolaus and other boys. The teacher tells the boys that emotions are for the weak, the girls. He goes on to say that you fight to the death, and you are known by the enemies you make, so make good ones. Hercules talks to Iolaus about always fighting back-to-back, and dying as battlefield heroes.


Hippolyta tells Hercules that in his world, women are polluted by emotion. She tells him as well that men bring nothing but death.


Hercules relives Iolaus' death again, and remembers Iolaus saying, "Careful dies, reckless kills!"


Hercules wakes up naked on the floor. Hippolyta drops some clothes on him, saying that maliciousness isn't a female trait. She senses that despite everything he's been taught, Hercules still has humanity left inside of him. She asks him if he could love a woman as much as he loved Iolaus. Hercules replies he loved Iolaus so much since he was his best friend, but loving a woman is different. Hippolyta counters him by saying that women need respect, too. Hercules says he learned to be the way he is, so he could learn another way. Hippolyta disagrees with him, and Hercules tells her that's because she's become exactly like the men she hates. Hippolyta has had enough of this conversation, and releases a rope that drops a cage on Hercules, and leaves.


That night, two women and a girl come in to see Hercules. One woman says the girl has never seen a man before. The same woman says she has heard the older women talking at night about places where men and women co-exist. The other woman asks Hercules about a boy at the village. Hercules realizes the woman is the boy's mother, and asks her if she is, which she denies. Lysia comes in, chases the women away, and tells Hercules, "If it was up to me, you wouldn't be caged. You'd be buried," and walks away.


Zeus appears, and tells Hercules that this cage couldn't hold him. Hercules knows this, but admits there's something about Hippolyta that intrigues him. He asks Zeus about women, but Zeus admits that he's confounded by them. He says, "They're full of feelings and insticts, and they can always outguess you." Hercules tells Zeus that he thinks Zeus' view of women is wrong. Zeus sighs, and warns him saying the Amazons are favorites of Hera.


Hippolyta speaks to Hera via a glass mirror. Hera asks why Hercules isn't dead, and Hippolyta thinks that Hercules isn't like other men. Hera says Hercules is the worst of them all. She commands Hippolyta to kill Hercules and then launch an attack against the Gargarensians.


Hercules overhears Hippolyta giving orders to Lysia about the attack on Gargarensia, and escapes to warn the men. He returns to the village, warns them about the attack, and learns the true nature of the Amazon attack. When the Amazons roll in, they find that the men are not afraid of them, but are listening to them.


Romance blossoms between the Amazons and the men, which Hippolyta doesn't like. She threatens to blow the horn to end the attack, but Hercules convinces her to drop her plans and love shows itself here as well.


Next morning, Hippolyta thinks she lost her senses last night, and blows the horn. The Amazons ride away, and the men are very happy about what happened last night. They think the women will come back, and everything will be back to normal. Hercules tells them that this attitude started the whole problem in the first place.


In the City of Amazons, the Amazons are pleased about last night as well. Hippolyta talks to Hera, and Hera tells her that this was all a trick to destroy the loyalty of her women. Hippolyta denies this. Hera orders her to go to Gargarensia and kill every last man. Hippolyta says she will have no part in it. The mirror shatters, and Hippolyta's body is possessed by Hera. Hera-Hippolyta goes outside, and announces that the Amazons will attack Gargarensia, and no man is to be left standing.


A man sees the Amazons coming, and they prepare themselves for their arrival. However, the Amazons draw weapons, and the men scatter. When Hera-Hippolyta arrives, Hercules, believing he's talking to Hippolyta, tries to convince her not to do this. He realizes then that Hera has possessed Hippolyta's body. Hercules hightails it out of town, with Hera-Hippolyta on his trail. Outside Gargarensia, Zeus tells Hercules to leave and let Hera have her way. Hercules replies that he can't do that.


In the dense brush surrounding Gargarensia, Hercules is attacked by Hera-Hippolyta. He refuses to attack her, since it could do permanent damage to Hippolyta's body. Hera-Hippolyta knocks quite a bit of stuffing out of Hercules, and almost kills him when Pithus tries to stop her. Hera-Hippolyta goes over to him, holds his head back, and draws a dagger. Hercules pleads for Pithus' life, but Hera-Hippolyta tells him that all men must die, and slits Pithus' throat. When she attacks Hercules again, he tells Hera-Hippolyta he will not hurt Hippolyta's body, and runs.


Hercules meets Hera-Hippolyta again by a broken bridge. She tells him he has to fight her now, but Hercules refuses. Hera-Hippolyta promises that she won't let both of them live. Hercules tells Hera-Hippolyta to kill him, since living with Hippolyta would be too much to bear. Hera-Hippolyta tells Hercules to live without her, and throws herself off the bridge.


Hercules brings Hippolyta's lifeless body back to Gargarensia. He then departs for Hippolyta's residence in the City of Amazons. He takes the magic candle along with Hippolyta's horn, but Zeus appears and tells Hercules what he's thinking is impossible. Hercules says that Zeus could make it so. Hercules convinces Zeus, and Zeus blows out the candle.


With the whole adventure undone, Hercules finds himself eating Ania's stew at dinner again. Ania sees Pithus through the window. Hercules answers the door, and tells Pithus how to solve his problem in Gargarensia is by respecting the women. Hercules gives Pithus Hippolyta's horn, and sends him on his way.


Hercules and Alcmene watch Iolaus and Ania fawn over each other. Alcmene asks if there's a woman like that for Hercules out there. With a heavy heart, Hercules replies that there is.


Next -- 02. Hercules and the Lost Kingdom

Hercules Episode Guide Index