During the first few minutes of this story, I expected to sit through a boring episode. But it turned out to be one of the best in quite a while.
In the first half of the story, Kevin Sorbo is once again absent due to health problems, as he takes an injured man to a nearby temple and is notably absent from most of the first act. However, later on he returns, and this turns out to be the most that Sorbo has featured in an episode for quite a few episodes.
The episode also marks the return of Gina Torres as pirate Nebula (first seen earlier in the season in 'Web of Desire'), establishing her as a recurring character. Nebula makes a good supporting character, and I look forward to seeing her again in future episodes.
The disgruntled war veterans of the episode, headed by Hercules' old friend Ajax (another old friend that has never previously even been mentioned!), have strong parallels to the way Vietnam veterans and the way many of them war treated after the war had finished. Thankfully, this being television, all of the feuds are wrapped up in 45 minutes.
As I said above, during the early stages of this story, I wasn't really taken in and thought we were in for a boring episode. But when things move to the prison on the island, things really start to liven up, and makes for one of the most exciting and most enjoyable stories in ages.
The sand-sharks are very similar to the creatures that Hercules encountered in the great third season episode 'Mercenary'. On both occasions we only get brief glimpses of the creatures, as they live beneath the sand. In this episode they are referred to as "sand-sharks", and indeed to have fins that stick out of the sand as they travel along. Maybe they are a different variety of the same species.
Either way, the sand-sharks make for a great threat, and it has been quite a time since we have seen some real monsters for Hercules and Iolaus to battle.
All-in-all, this is definitely one of the best episodes this end of the season. In fact, I may go further and say it is amongst the best of the season overall. And it's nice to see Kevin Sorbo back in action a bit more.moreless
Episode Summary
EDIT
Hercules' brother, King Iphicles of Corinth, was not with his wife when she died -- he was out controlling rioting soldiers. For this he blamed the veteran warriors led by Ajax and demanded they leave Corinth without dedicating a statue. Hercules and Iolaus, friends of Ajax, tried to intervene. But deadly battles broke out when Iphicles killed Phidias, the statue's designer. Ajax tried to kill Iphicles as retribution, but he ended up devoured by giant sand worms. Tired of the madness, Iphicles relented by officiating at the dedication of Phidias' statue and extending land to the veterans.moreless
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GUEST STAR
Peter McCauleyAjax
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GUEST STAR
Warren CarlKazon
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GUEST STAR
Antonio Te MaiohaBoraxis
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Kevin Sorbo
Hercules
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Michael Hurst O.N.Z.M.
Iolaus
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
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TRIVIA (2)
ADD TRIVIA-
Although Rena gets a mention this time (unlike "Surprise"), no mention is made, again, of the child she and Iphicles were expecting in "Love Takes a Holiday".
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Although he was crowned two seasons earlier (and appeared in "Surprise"), this is the only time Iphicles is seen acting as king on the series.
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QUOTES (2)
ADD QUOTES-
Iolaus: (on Nebula's ship) Listen, if this thing works out, we're going to have to evacute a lot of men off that island. Would you..? Nebula: Sure. Sure. But you'll owe me one. Iolaus: What are you gonna do? Place me in servitude? Hold me in bondage for how long?! Nebula: We'll negotiate. But don't sweat it. Bondage gets a bad rap!
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Nebula: (finding the tunnel ending in a stone wall) I don't understand. It wasn't like this before. Hercules: (breaking through the wall with one punch) Like this? Nebula: (looking at the new hole in the wall) No. Bigger. Hercules: They always want bigger.
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NOTES (2)
ADD NOTES-
This is Kevin Smith's final appearance as Iphicles.
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Disclaimer: Any resemblance between King Iphicles, Hercules' half-brother, and Ares, God of War, Hercules' other half-brother, is totally unavoidable.
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ALLUSIONS (2)
ADD ALLUSIONS-
Ajax Ajax was a Greek hero, one of the most valuable warriors in Agamemnon's army in the Trojan War. He was known for his great bravery and strength, but was also hot tempered, arrogant and less intellectually gifted than his fellow Greek leaders.
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Phidias was a renowned sculptor in ancient Greece, responsible for the statue of Athena in the Parthenon and the statue of Zeus at Olympia, among others.
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