This
week's topic is going to be a fun one because the subject is on a
show that I have not seen in years. I just don't really know just
how many of you will know the subject. The show is celebrating its
fiftieth anniversary this year, and I only remember watching it when
I was a very young boy. Back in those days, cartoons would air
almost non-stop on Saturday afternoons, and one particular channel
would mix the newest cartoons with old-school shows our parents grew
up watching.
That
channel was Global. But, then again, I must have told you this
before. Probably ad nauseum. But hey...it was one of my favourite
channels to watch as a kid (and to be fair, I watch it quite a lot as
an adult too).
Anyway,
there was one television cartoon that aired for years and years on
Global in the afternoon block. And, when I was a kid, I mistakenly
believed that it was a brand new show, as it hadn't aired on any
other networks. It wasn't until the title screen came on, and I saw
that there was a date stamped in Roman Numerals on the very bottom.
When I was really small, I couldn't figure out what those letters
meant until I began school. Once I figured out what the Roman
Numeral for MCMLXIII meant, I was stunned to realize that the show
first aired in 1963! Eighteen years before I was born!
It
was a rather interesting show at that, because the show was based
upon a heroic character found in Greek mythology. He was a person
who could pick up a boulder weighing thousands of tons with the
greatest of ease. He could pick up a rock and squeeze it into a fine
powder. He could battle foes with valiance and strength, and always
found a way to come up on top.
There
was just one catch. In order for his powers to work, he had to have
a particular piece of jewelry...one that he was given in the very
first episode of the series, which aired on September 1, 1963.
I
think most of you know where this is going now, so I'll just play the
theme song for this cartoon right now.
INTERESTING
TRIVIA: The iconic theme song
for “The Mighty Hercules” was Johnny Nash, who you might know as
the singer of this classic early 1970s hit single.
“The
Mighty Hercules” was just one of those shows that I was absolutely
glued to back in the day. I honestly don't know what it was about
the show, but I had to watch it. And, the show was unique in that it
didn't screen just one 22-minute episode. Instead it was similar in
format to “The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show”, in which a series of
five-minute episodes were squeezed into a half-hour.
How
the show began was like this. Hercules ends up competing in some
ancient competition involving wrestling and a footrace. He comes up
the victor against his friend, Theseus. For winning the competition,
Zeus (that's the legendary God of lightning and thunder, for those of
you who don't know) grants Hercules anything he wants.
The
possibilities were endless. He could have a castle in the sky above
Mount Olympus, he could have all the riches in the world, he could
have his own personal brothel...
...well,
okay, this was a kids show. Eighty-six the brothel.
Hercules,
though, was not considered to be a selfish man. His request was
quite simple, as far as he was concerned. He wanted to go to Earth
to fight against injustice and evil. There was just one problem. If
he did go down to Earth, he would lose his godly powers and become a
mere mortal.
Which
some people might see as a GOOD thing, but I digress.
Nevertheless,
Zeus does not go back on his word (I imagine if he did, and this were
modern times, Hercules could sue Zeus for breach of contract, in
which Zeus would french fry Hercules' behind in retaliation with a
big bolt of lightning). He crafts a ring that Hercules can use to
keep his powers while on Earth.
Of
course, Hercules has his allies on Earth who fight alongside him, who
fall in love with him, or are just there to provide moral support.
And,
well, I'll be honest with you. While there were some characters who
I enjoyed watching, there were also some characters that annoyed me
greatly.
Let's
start with Helena. She's a beautiful young lady with blonde hair and
a pink toga, who also happens to be the love interest of Hercules.
We also have Timon, a young man from the kingdom of Caledon, as well
as Dodonis, with his crystal rock of seeing, which warn Hercules of
the dangers that he could face in Caledon.
But,
as I said before, there were some characters who just irked me.
Let's start with Tewt, a satyr who happens to lack the vocal ability
needed to communicate with Hercules...so instead of using his voice,
he used his flute. It was a nice gag for a little while, but after
the twelfth episode, I just wanted to grab his flute and stomp on it.
And,
don't even get me started on that annoying centaur known as Newton!
He HAD to be the one to repeat EVERY FREAKING THING HE SAYS TWICE.
Again, the first episode, that was kind of cute. But by episode
three, I wanted Hercules to “accidentally” drop a boulder on top
of him.
DISCLAIMER:
I am definitely not a man who promotes violence, and I would never
suggest that anyone drop a boulder on anyone. But, if you have ever
watched Newton on “The Mighty Hercules”, you would understand why
I find him grating enough to entertain that possibility.
And,
what cartoon wouldn't be complete without the antagonists mixed in
with the protagonists? After all, “The Mighty Hercules” would be
kind of boring if Hercules was always happy.
Anyway,
the main bad guy was a purple cloaked bearded man named Daedelus
(almost all of the names of the characters were taken from actual
figures in Greek mythology), and his main goal in life was to cause
havoc in Caledon by using his evil wizard powers.
Daedelus
didn't just act alone though. Like Hercules had his own allies, so
did Daedelus. One of them was Wilhelmina, a sea witch, who kind of
physically resembled Helena...if Helena were a chain smoker that wore
drab clothing and hadn't washed her hair in about fifteen years.
We
also had Murtis, a man who proved to be quite the formidable opponent
for Hercules, as Murtis would be rendered invincible whenever he wore
the Mask of Vulcan.
(Which
was basically nothing more than a metal bucket with eye holes, but
hey, we're supposed to believe that makes a person invincible. We
were kids, what did we know, right?
Anyway,
I think that what we should do to close this entry off is watch a
couple of episodes of the series, just so I can jog your memory a
bit. Just a couple of notes about the one entitled “Helena's
Birthday”. One, I'm surprised that they had gift boxes and ribbons
back in the days of ancient Greece. And, secondly, if it's Helena's
birthday, why would Newton sing a song about Hercules?
Silly
centaur.
DAEDELUS PASSES WIND (looking back on it, that is an unfortunate title!)
Hold
on...I think I hear something...
OLYMPIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
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