Hercules 6 - Why so short a season?
SFTV_troy
that the 6th season was only a few episodes long rather than the usual
22. Why so short? At first I thought the extra episodes would wrap-
up the overall story, but they were no different from any other
episodes. Season 6 almost felt like a throw-away: "Here's some extra
cash we found laying around - burn it off and then we're done."
Also:
Kevin Sorbo commented that he loved doing Hercules. How did he feel
about doing five years of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda? I can't
imagine he liked it very much (too serious).
writerpatrick.webs.com
"SFTV_troy" <SFTV...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:053a1479-8cbc-4ac9...@n11g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
> I just finished watching all of Hercules, and I thought it was strange
> that the 6th season was only a few episodes long rather than the usual
> 22. Why so short? At first I thought the extra episodes would wrap-
> up the overall story, but they were no different from any other
> episodes. Season 6 almost felt like a throw-away: "Here's some extra
> cash we found laying around - burn it off and then we're done."
>
Hercules didn't really run in proper seasons. It was a syndicated show and
just ran continuously with repeats thrown in with new episodes.
One also has to remember that Xena was also airing strongly by the time
Hercules finished, and by that time beating Hercules in the ratings. Since
they had done over 100 episodes they likely felt it was time to wrap it up.
If anything, the last season episodes were a bonus and there to wrap up the
storylines.
Also consider that these shows started around the time that UPN and WB were
starting and there was still a lot of space on the programming schedule of
many stations for syndicated material. (The 90s was a golden age for
syndicated shows.) Unfortunately today just about all the independent
stations have been swallowed by networks so there isn't prime time space for
syndicated shows.
About the only really notable syndicated show right now is Legend of the
Seeker, also from Sam Raimi.
> Also:
>
> Kevin Sorbo commented that he loved doing Hercules. How did he feel
> about doing five years of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda? I can't
> imagine he liked it very much (too serious).
If he didn't enjoy it he wouldn't have done it for five years.
--
Patrick McNamara
E-mail: patjmc...@gmail.com
Central Hub (Access to podcasts, blog and web stores):
http://writerpatrick.webs.com
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aemeijers
>>
>> Kevin Sorbo commented that he loved doing Hercules. How did he feel
>> about doing five years of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda? I can't
>> imagine he liked it very much (too serious).
>
> If he didn't enjoy it he wouldn't have done it for five years.
>
Oh, those great steaming piles of cash prolly had something to do with
it. Not like he has had a whole lot of other offers....
--
aem sends...
SFTV_troy
<writerpatr...@netzero.net> wrote:
> "SFTV_troy" <SFTV_t...@yahoo.com>
>
> > I just finished watching all of Hercules, and I thought it was strange
> > that the 6th season was only a few episodes long rather than the usual
> > cash we found laying around - burn it off and then we're done."
>
> Hercules didn't really run in proper seasons. It was a syndicated show and
> just ran continuously with repeats thrown in with new episodes.
False. I checked tv.com for the dates, and Hercules (and Xena and
Star Trek and Babylon 5) ran a normal season from September to May,
just like every other show on broadcast television. The fact they
were syndicated did not change that traditional model.
Was Season 6 cut short because Sorbo wanted to do Andromeda, and
therefore needed to be "free" to move over to the new show?
> If anything, the last season episodes were a bonus and
> there to wrap up the storylines.
Which they did not do. The finale provided a nice conclusion, but
episodes 601-607 were all standalone short stories, with some
introducing entirely new concepts (like vampires).
I don't know. It just seems odd, because most shows end with a full
season, unless prematurely canceled (seaQuest).
> Unfortunately today just about all the independent stations have
> been swallowed by networks so there isn't prime time
> space for syndicated shows.
Well now that sub-channels exist, there's lots of room for syndicated
programming. My local CBS channel is showing reruns on its X-2
channel for lack of anything else to air.
> > Kevin Sorbo commented that he loved doing Hercules. How did he feel
> > about doing five years of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda? I can't
> > imagine he liked it very much (too serious).
>
> If he didn't enjoy it he wouldn't have done it for five years.
That's a really big assumption. Lots of people do shows they don't
enjoy, simply because it's a job. David Duchovny comes to mind. He
never really liked the X-Files, and commented during the show,
"There's got to be a better way to make a living than spewing
nonsense." It's why he quit after 6 years.
Sorbo might have felt the same way, even though his work ethic
demanded he stay the full 5-yr-plotline. (shrug)
Audie Murphy's Ghost
writerpatrick.webs.com <writer...@netzero.net> wrote:
> "SFTV_troy" <SFTV...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:053a1479-8cbc-4ac9...@n11g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
> > I just finished watching all of Hercules, and I thought it was strange
> > that the 6th season was only a few episodes long rather than the usual
> > 22. Why so short? At first I thought the extra episodes would wrap-
> > up the overall story, but they were no different from any other
> > episodes. Season 6 almost felt like a throw-away: "Here's some extra
> > cash we found laying around - burn it off and then we're done."
> >
>
> Hercules didn't really run in proper seasons. It was a syndicated show and
> just ran continuously with repeats thrown in with new episodes.
They shot episodes in season-sized batches, so if there's a difference,
it's one that really makes no difference. They also routinely
advertised season premieres, cliffhanger resolutions, and finales.
> One also has to remember that Xena was also airing strongly by the time
> Hercules finished, and by that time beating Hercules in the ratings. Since
> they had done over 100 episodes they likely felt it was time to wrap it up.
> If anything, the last season episodes were a bonus and there to wrap up the
> storylines.
They actually ended Hercules early. The producers had screwed up and
signed Kevin Sorbo to a short contract that included what Sorbo has no
problem calling the show's final season. Sorbo was signed for only
eight episodes instead of 22. He says he offered to finish the
remaining 14 over the eight months between the end of Hercules and the
start of Andromeda, but Sam Raimi and his people wanted Sorbo to sign
for another three years. Sorbo said he was burned out and turned them
down -- and, besides, he really wanted to do Andromeda -- and, without
a contract, there was nothing to hold him to Hercules. That's why the
show ended early.
> > Kevin Sorbo commented that he loved doing Hercules. How did he feel
> > about doing five years of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda? I can't
> > imagine he liked it very much (too serious).
>
> If he didn't enjoy it he wouldn't have done it for five years.
People sometimes work because they need the money. I've never seen
anything particularly positive or negative from Sorbo about the later
seasons of Andromeda, which suggests restraint. He's often said he
loved doing the first two seasons, when Robert Hewitt Wolfe was the
showrunner.
SFTV_troy
>
> Sorbo was signed for only
> eight episodes instead of 22. He says he offered to finish the
> remaining 14 over the eight months between the end of Hercules and the
> start of Andromeda, but Sam Raimi and his people wanted Sorbo to sign
> for another three years. Sorbo said he was burned out and turned them
> down -- and, besides, he really wanted to do Andromeda --
That explanation makes a lot of sense. I'm still surprised that Raimi
didn't take Sorbo's offer to work the remaining episodes, and thereby
fill in their empty schedule from December to May 2000. Oh well.
> I've never seen anything particularly positive or negative
> from Sorbo about the later seasons of Andromeda,
> which suggests restraint. He's often said he loved
> doing the first two seasons when Robert Wolfe was showrunner.
Interesting. I've always heard that it was Sorbo he forced Wolfe to
quit, but now you're suggesting that's not true - that Sorbo like
Wolfe's story-telling.
Podkayne Fries
>
> People sometimes work because they need the money. I've never seen
> anything particularly positive or negative from Sorbo about the later
> seasons of Andromeda, which suggests restraint. He's often said he
> loved doing the first two seasons, when Robert Hewitt Wolfe was the
> showrunner.
Sadly, the lovely and talented Robert Hewitt Wolfe was given the bum's
rush because Sorbet was unable to understand scripts that had words of
more than two syllables.
--
"You know what I do when I feel really down?
I get up, I get dressed. I go out and I do something
really vile to someone." - Diana Trent, WAITING FOR GOD
AC
"SFTV_troy" <SFTV...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:053a1479-8cbc-4ac9...@n11g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
Sorbo ruined Andromeda. You only have to read "Coda" to see what it should
have been before numb nuts ego saw off all the talent.
So, he got the show he wanted, is he must have loved every second of it.
AC
SFTV_troy
>
> Sorbo ruined Andromeda. You only have to read "Coda" to see what it
> should have been before numb nuts ego saw off all the talent.
I've read RHW's Coda, and it didn't seem any better storywise. It
sounded like the original plot was a mess of incomprehension... i.e.
no better than what we got on screen.
writerpatrick.webs.com
"SFTV_troy" <SFTV...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:a52305ab-f2cb-4de3...@a7g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...
Andromeda was a reworking of a couple failed pilots, Genesis II and Planet
Earth. Although those stories were based on Earth. Putting the story in
space actually saved it but changed it dramatically. So Sorbo's changes
might have helped the series.
It might have been interesting to see a successful future Earth story.
Logan's Run (the TV series) and Buck Rogers (which also used the idea of a
man frozen in time) are about the only attempts I can think of to actually
make it to series. And even at that, Logan's Run is about the only one that
actually spent time exploring the Earth.
erilar
"writerpatrick.webs.com" <writer...@netzero.net> wrote:
> It might have been interesting to see a successful future Earth story.
> Logan's Run (the TV series) and Buck Rogers (which also used the idea of a
> man frozen in time) are about the only attempts I can think of to actually
> make it to series. And even at that, Logan's Run is about the only one that
> actually spent time exploring the Earth.
I never saw the former(there were some long stretches when I could only
watch a very limited selection of TV channels), but I did enjoy Buck
Rogers--it was fun 8-) Hercules and Xena were also fun. Andromeda was
never fun.
--
Mary Loomer Oliver (aka Erilar)
You can't reason with someone whose first line of argument is
that reason doesn't count. --Isaac Asimov
Erilar's Cave Annex: http://www.chibardun.net/~erilarlo�
trag
wrote:
> He says he offered to finish the
> remaining 14 over the eight months between the end of Hercules and the
> start of Andromeda, but Sam Raimi and his people wanted Sorbo to sign
> for another three years. Sorbo said he was burned out and turned them
> down -- and, besides, he really wanted to do Andromeda -- and, without
> a contract, there was nothing to hold him to Hercules. That's why the
> show ended early.
If only they had signed him for the full 22 instead of 8 at the
beginning of that season. Perhaps, then, we would have gotten some
other actor for Andromeda and the show might not have been made to
suck so horribly...
Jim Gysin
SFTV_troy sent the following on 7/5/2009 4:29 PM:
> Lots of people do shows they don't
> enjoy, simply because it's a job. David Duchovny comes to mind. He
> never really liked the X-Files, and commented during the show,
> "There's got to be a better way to make a living than spewing
> nonsense." It's why he quit after 6 years.
Cite? I ask for two reasons. (1) I Googled the quote (and you used
quotation marks, meaning that you weren't paraphrasing) and got no
complete hits, let along anything attributable to DD; and (2) I already
know that you're factually challenged based on your "he quit after 6
years" nonsense, given that (a) DD was a series regular for *seven*
seasons and (b) DD continued to make appearances during seasons eight
and nine.
So... again, got a cite for the quote?
--
Jim Gysin
Waukesha, WI
AC
I'd say it was.
After RHW went, the plot just got lost completely. He had a plan, or arc
worked out, which we saw the beginnings of in the early seasons. That just
went leaving the beginning lost and the ending pointless.
I would rather have seen something coherent and sense making, than the mess
we ended up with.
AC
SFTV_troy
>
> After RHW went, the plot just got lost completely.
> than the mess we ended up with.
Well you know how many people say Babylon 5's final season was poor?
That was my impression of Robert Hewitt Wolfe's "Coda". (Heck even
Earth Final Conflict had a better story than "Coda" did.)
Ubiquitous
>I just finished watching all of Hercules, and I thought it was strange
>that the 6th season was only a few episodes long rather than the usual
>22. Why so short? At first I thought the extra episodes would wrap-
>up the overall story, but they were no different from any other
>episodes. Season 6 almost felt like a throw-away: "Here's some extra
>cash we found laying around - burn it off and then we're done."
I never knew that before now, but by that point, I think I had lost
interest. When was that in relation to the replacement sidekick from
a parallel dimension and the "death of the gawds"?
>Also:
>Kevin Sorbo commented that he loved doing Hercules. How did he feel
>about doing five years of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda? I can't
>imagine he liked it very much (too serious).
I imagine he liked Andromeda after replacing the original producer
and morphing it into the "Kircules Show".
--
It is simply breathtaking to watch the glee and abandon with which
the liberal media and the Angry Left have been attempting to turn
our military victory in Iraq into a second Vietnam quagmire. Too bad
for them, it's failing.
Anim8rFSK
Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
> SFTV...@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> >I just finished watching all of Hercules, and I thought it was strange
> >that the 6th season was only a few episodes long rather than the usual
> >22. Why so short? At first I thought the extra episodes would wrap-
> >up the overall story, but they were no different from any other
> >episodes. Season 6 almost felt like a throw-away: "Here's some extra
> >cash we found laying around - burn it off and then we're done."
>
> I never knew that before now, but by that point, I think I had lost
> interest. When was that in relation to the replacement sidekick from
> a parallel dimension and the "death of the gawds"?
>
> >Also:
> >Kevin Sorbo commented that he loved doing Hercules. How did he feel
> >about doing five years of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda? I can't
> >imagine he liked it very much (too serious).
>
> I imagine he liked Andromeda
So *he's* the one.
--
Uncle Jack: "Will, you're invisible!"
Will: "Invisible? I can't be! I can touch myself!"
--actual dialog from third season LAND OF THE LOST
SFTV_troy
> SFTV_t...@yahoo.com wrote:
> >
> >Season 6 almost felt like a throw-away: "Here's some extra
> >cash we found laying around - burn it off and then we're done."
>
> I never knew that before now, but by that point, I think I had lost
> interest. When was that in relation to the replacement sidekick from
> a parallel dimension and the "death of the gawds"?
Actually the death of the Greek gods happened in Xena after Hercules
was canceled. Hercules Season 5 was the best year (imho), and it's
when they killed-off Iolous (sp?). The depressed Hercules wandered
off to Ireland, then Norway, then Sumeria, and finally back to
Greece.
Once back home, the writers pulled the Jokester Iolous from the
alternate dimension. The jokester hung-around for a couple episodes
until he married a woman and left, which gave the writers a chance to
bring back the Real Iolous from the afterlife. That was the season 5
finale.
Season 6 was eight episodes long and only ran from Septermber to
November. There were no episodes worthy of mention except the final
one - that's where Hercules, Zeus, and Hera finally put aside their
differences in order to raise their new grandchild.
SFTV_troy
> SFTV_troy sent the following on 7/5/2009 4:29 PM:
>
> > Lots of people do shows they don't
> > enjoy, simply because it's a job. David Duchovny comes to mind. He
> > never really liked the X-Files, and commented during the show,
> > "There's got to be a better way to make a living than spewing
> > nonsense." It's why he quit after 6 years.
>
> Cite? I ask for two reasons. (1) I Googled the quote (and you used
> quotation marks, meaning that you weren't paraphrasing)
Actually it was a paraphrase, which came off an old videotape, circa
1996 behind-the-scenes interview. I'm not surprised you can't find it
online due to the extreme age. Do you want me to mail you the tape?
That will be 20 dollars please. ;-)
Duchovny first petitioned fo move the show from Canada to California
(or he would quit). Then a year later, even though he was now working
from home in California, he followed-up on his threat and left. He
made a few more guest appearances, but for all practical purposes he
was no longer fully employed to FOX.
> know that you're factually challenged based on your "he quit after 6
> years" nonsense, given that (a) DD was a series regular for *seven*
> seasons
Oh noes! The world is going to collapse because I was off by one
digit. The horror; the horror. (rolls eyes). Don't be so anal.
This is just a casual conversation not a college term paper.
Ubiquitous
>> I never knew that before now, but by that point, I think I had lost
>> interest. When was that in relation to the replacement sidekick from
>> a parallel dimension and the "death of the gawds"?
>
>Actually the death of the Greek gods happened in Xena after Hercules
>was canceled.
Hmm, I was sure Hercules was involved; perhaps I am thinking of a guest
appearance on Xena...
>Hercules Season 5 was the best year (imho), and it's
>when they killed-off Iolous (sp?). The depressed Hercules wandered
>off to Ireland, then Norway, then Sumeria, and finally back to
>Greece.
Oh yes, I remember those!
>Season 6 was eight episodes long and only ran from Septermber to
>November. There were no episodes worthy of mention except the final
>one - that's where Hercules, Zeus, and Hera finally put aside their
>differences in order to raise their new grandchild.
Too bad they died shortly after.
Anim8rFSK
Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
> SFTV...@yahoo.com wrote:
> >On Jul 8, 4:50�am, Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
>
> >> I never knew that before now, but by that point, I think I had lost
> >> interest. When was that in relation to the replacement sidekick from
> >> a parallel dimension and the "death of the gawds"?
> >
> >Actually the death of the Greek gods happened in Xena after Hercules
> >was canceled.
>
> Hmm, I was sure Hercules was involved; perhaps I am thinking of a guest
> appearance on Xena...
>
> >Hercules Season 5 was the best year (imho), and it's
> >when they killed-off Iolous (sp?). The depressed Hercules wandered
> >off to Ireland, then Norway, then Sumeria, and finally back to
> >Greece.
>
> Oh yes, I remember those!
Including the worst eps of all, with Thor, written by Gerry "I'm a hack
with 2 stupid tricks; kill the character and hit the reset button and
use them both every time because I don't have one damn thought in my
head and I'm the one that ruined comic books" Conway.
Jim Gysin
SFTV_troy sent the following on 7/8/2009 4:10 PM:
> On Jul 6, 3:58 pm, Jim Gysin <jimgy...@geemail.com> wrote:
>> SFTV_troy sent the following on 7/5/2009 4:29 PM:
>>
>>> Lots of people do shows they don't
>>> enjoy, simply because it's a job. David Duchovny comes to mind. He
>>> never really liked the X-Files, and commented during the show,
>>> "There's got to be a better way to make a living than spewing
>>> nonsense." It's why he quit after 6 years.
>> Cite? I ask for two reasons. (1) I Googled the quote (and you used
>> quotation marks, meaning that you weren't paraphrasing)
>
>
> Actually it was a paraphrase,
Most honest people don't put quotation marks around a paraphrase.
> which came off an old videotape, circa
> 1996 behind-the-scenes interview. I'm not surprised you can't find it
> online due to the extreme age. Do you want me to mail you the tape?
> That will be 20 dollars please. ;-)
Nah, but if you've got the name of the tape, I'd be interested in that
much, at least. Fans were already transcribing all sorts of mundane
things and digitizing them by the mid-90s, so I'm confident that someone
*somewhere* would have done his fanboy duty by documenting this obscure
interview for future generations. :)
> Duchovny first petitioned fo move the show from Canada to California
> (or he would quit).
Yep.
> Then a year later, even though he was now working
> from home in California, he followed-up on his threat and left.
No, he didn't; you're wrong on at least two counts--and at least one
where I already corrected you. First of all, he never "left." And
secondly, he didn't even cut back until the *eighth* season. And even
then, he retained top billing as a series regular for eight of the
show's nine seasons. I doubt that they would have done that for him if
he had "left" the show a year after they moved production back to L.A.
> He
> made a few more guest appearances, but for all practical purposes he
> was no longer fully employed to FOX.
They wouldn't have continued to give him top billing if he was only
making a few random "guest appearances."
>> know that you're factually challenged based on your "he quit after 6
>> years" nonsense, given that (a) DD was a series regular for *seven*
>> seasons
>
> Oh noes! The world is going to collapse because I was off by one
> digit. The horror; the horror. (rolls eyes). Don't be so anal.
We're not talking just one mistake here; you made a whole series of them.
> This is just a casual conversation not a college term paper.
Even in casual conversation, facts are still facts, and false "facts"
are still unfair when they paint someone in a bad light. But more than
that, the bit with the quotation marks for what you now admit is, at
best, something like a 13-year-old paraphrase is borderline sleazy in
that it puts words into a person's mouth that were probably never said
by that person in the first place. Based on the above, for example, I'm
guessing that you might not like it if I went around telling people that
you said, "It's okay to make things up if it's only part of a casual
conversation."
SFTV_troy
> Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
> > SFTV_t...@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> > >off to Ireland, then Norway, then Sumeria...
>
> > Oh yes, I remember those!
>
> Including the worst eps of all, with Thor, written by Gerry "I'm a hack
> with 2 stupid tricks; kill the character and hit the reset button and
> use them both every time because I don't have one damn thought in my
> head and I'm the one that ruined comic books" Conway.
I liked that episode. The solution was very Star Trekkie. How many
times have we seen on TNG, DS9 or VOY where the characters are killed-
off, only to be revived by a reset.
And this is Hercules. It's not meant to be taken seriously. It's
more comedy than drama. Xena was the show that focused more on drama
(especially the later seasons).
SFTV_troy
On Jul 8, 11:02 pm, Jim Gysin <jimgy...@geemail.com> wrote:
>
>
> >>> "There's got to be a better way to make a living than spewing
> >>> nonsense."
>
> > Actually it was a paraphrase,
>
> Most honest people don't put quotation marks around a paraphrase.
I'm not dishonest. I just don't give a shit. This is usenet - a
casual conversation. And even if I wasted an hour of my life cueing-
up the old tape, and quoting Duchovny word-for-word, the meaning is
not going to change. He said what he said.
> if you've got the name of the tape, I'd be interested in that
> much, at least.
Blooper Reel + Cast Interviews + Upcoming Season Previews from
SciFiCon circa 1996. Sorry that's all I know. The original cameraman
was an old friend from Canada who I've lost contact with.
Please read my other message for my comments about Duchovy "leaving".
In brief, I consider dropping from 26 episodes to 3-4 episodes the
same as leaving. Sure he came back to his X-files "alma mater" to
visit once in a while (about thrice a year), but he was no longer a
regular daily employee.