Probably the best live-action Hercules that there will ever be. Kevin Sorbo and Michael Hurst make the best team, bar-none. I feel absolutely privileged to have watched the magic of Kevin and Michael come alive on my TV screen growing up. I love how the screenwriters explored different mythologies throughout the series, as well, such as Norse mythology and Celtic mythology--those explorations outside of Greek mythology really added something nice to the series overall. I still watch this show on Netflix--my husband and I just finished watching the entire series a couple months ago, and I started watching it again a couple of weeks ago. (Yeah, I love the show THAT MUCH!) I really don't think there will ever be another mythology- based show as good as 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys' ever again, seeing as how no one could ever duplicate the talent of Kevin and Michael.

I'm old enough to have watched and enjoyed the golden age of Hercules movies in the early 60s. Despite having grown up to understand that the acting in those movies were not so great I still hold a special place in my heart for those old flicks.So I was quite excited when I heard in the mid-90s that they were going to make a TV series based on the all powerful demigod. Very excited. Very Very excited. I couldn't wait to see who the new muscle-bound Steve Reeves in loin cloth was going to be.Well, then, they gave me Kevin Sorbo. In pants no less. And in a Greece that looked suspiciously like New Zealand. They didn't even bother to have him grow facial hair as all classic depictions of Hercules require. Excitement balloon instantly punctured. As likable as Mr. Sorbo is he is no Steve Reeves. And pants were not even invented in the time that the (mythical) stories were supposed to have taken place. I made a Herculean effort just to watch a full episode of this series. But I couldn't. Hopefully someone will do it right in the next TV series, if it would ever come.Depicting Hercules in pants and shirt with no facial hair is just as sacrilegious as if they ever tried to create a short, blonde James Bond.Oh, WAIT!!!!!....

Hercules The Legendary Journeys was chalk full of adventure, mythology, and action. Lots of slapstick. Muscle bound Kevin Sorbo did a decent job of playing Hercules. Tho, he was mostly wooden in his acting. He was surrounded by great actors, Michael Hurst, Robert Trebor, Bruce Campbell, Kevin Smith, Alexander Tydings, just to name a few. Michael Hurst in particular brought a lot of fun and humour to the show. Mostly different writers/producers from Xena, quantitative-wise. Xena never took away anything from it. If anything it added to it as a companion show. The complaints to this are usually from a few fans of a certain actor, and by this actor himself as an excuse to explain why Hercules wasn't more popular than Xena. As though saying: "There must be a reason. It can't be that Xena was simply liked better by more people." The ego can't handle that thought I suppose. The irony being that they are the ones that point out that Xena was better then Hercules more then anyone else. Always whining that Hercules was a "lesser" show because "Xena took away." A half empty glass.........Propping by dissing never works. The two shows were very very different even though both take place in the mythological genre. While both may have common fans, it's only logical that each would also appeal to different masses of fans. One was simply going to do better. It only makes sense. There's no way these shows would perform equally. Look at the CSI's for example, they all have different respective ratings. Not equal performance.I might add that Lucy Lawless was a huge factor. There is just something about her. Something special. Furthermore, where there have been countless male heroes on the screen there have been relatively very few female heroes. Thus adding a curiosity factor, an uniqueness, and just plain awesomeness of it all, which helped propel Xena to cult status. Not to mention that Xena is an absolutely wonderful show that has captured the hearts and imaginations of many.Got off track. Sorry. Needless to say, I for one prefer my glass half full. I enjoyed watching this show. Although I found the Hercules character too good to be true. Mr Perfect! Not much depth where he was concerned. He was always right. He never made mistakes. Personally, I prefer shades of grey in my heroes. The stories were too simple. There were never any complex nor thought-provoking stories. It's great for little kids though, and shallow loving people. If you want to see a superior quality show, watch Xena Warrior Princess. 5/10

I think that this show is great. I mean, the special effects are really nothing compared to what is being seen now, but we do see some of the earlier work of WETA, who went on to kick major butt in LOTR and KK. The acting was really good, these, to me, were compacted epic movies for free on t.v. The acting was good and it was always fun to see stunt men fly through the air and Hercules beating them down.All I really have to say is, that the movies were great and the direction the show took was wonderful. Though sadly, slighted by it's cancellation at the end of 8 episodes in the 6th and final season. The show did lack some of the deeper elements found in "Xena: Warrior Princess", but I think it made a good contrast. All in all, watch the movies first, if you like them, watch the show and decide if you like it or not. To each their own and have fun, the show and the movies can be a great laugh.