THE ENFORCER
aka Un-Natural Killers

GUEST STARS, CAST & CREDITS
TV GUIDE PROMO
AIRING AND RATING INFORMATION
SYNOPSIS by CR
MUSIC USED
TALES OF THE HERCAVERSE
TRANSCRIPT
DISCLAIMER

TV GUIDE PROMO

Hercules' good time at a harvest festival is interrupted by the arrival of an assassin sent by his vindictive stepmother.

Hera's old hit woman, Nemesis, is on Herc's side when Hera sends a new hit woman, who's known as the Enforcer, to do in Our Hero.

Hera creates an inhuman water woman for just one purpose: to destroy Hercules.

AIRING AND RATING INFORMATION
1st release: 01/15/96
An AA average of 7.5
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) HERCULES 5th with 7.5
(2) XENA 12th with 6.1
(3) STAR TREK DS9 16th with 5.2

2nd release: 07/01/96
An AA average of 5.6
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) HERCULES 8thwith 5.6
(2) XENA 12th with 4.9
(3) STAR TREK DS9 14th with 4.5

3rd release: 03/03/97
An AA average of 6.2
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) HERCULES 8th with 6.2
(2) XENA 10TH WITH 5.8
(3) STAR TREK DS9 13th with 5.4
(4) BAYWATCH 21st

SYNOPSIS:

Synopsis by CR.

A group of men are planning an ambush on Hercules & Iolaus, trying to kill them on Hera's orders. Herc & Io fight them off; Gnatius, the hanger-on they hired to hold the horses, flees.

Nemesis is standing on a hilltop; Hera punishes her for refusing to kill Hercules by making her mortal.

Worshippers are gathered at the seaside, asking favours of Hera. Gnatius moves among them begging. One of the worshippers throws a dinar into the sea and a creature of water walks out of the sea, turning into flesh as she does so. The worshipper thinks she's been sent as an answer to his prayer; wrong, dead wrong. Or just, in his case, dead. The Enforcer takes his coat and stalks off; Gnatius, looting the body, decides to tag along for any pickings that are going. The Enforcer asks 'Where is Hercules? Must kill Hercules'.

Herc and Iolaus are helping at a village festival. Iolaus is grumbling about the work until he notices that Hercules' lifting heavy weights impresses the heck out of the ladies. Seems like Iolaus needs female company badly, as always.

The Enforcer meets some leather-clad men and women on the trail (no clues why they're dressed that way - female soldiers? Hardly likely. Xenafans on their way to a convention in their undies?), flattens two of the men with a punch from each hand, lifts the nearest woman into the air and says 'Give me your clothes'. (Don't know why she did that, she looked better dressed in the unfortunate deceased's cloak.)

Gnatius tags along, trying to persuade her to kill various people they meet so he can loot their bodies - about the sleaziest character we've encountered in HTLJ so far.

In an inn, Nemesis is eating up large, not being used to being mortal. The innkeeper warns her he'll want paying for the food; a ruffianly man in a fur hat offers to 'protect' her. She challenges him to an archery contest - if she wins, she gets the bow; if he wins, she gives him what he wants. Nemesis fires at a chain on the wall - 'if I hit the bottom link dead centre, I win'. She misses by half an inch, much to her dismay ("I have never missed that badly"), but still wins the contest and walks out carrrying the bow.

Gnatius walks into the inn with the Enforcer. On finding that ale is mostly water, she demands jug after jug of it. Fur Hat comes up and tries to make some moves on her; she twists his arm, Fur Hat's friend swings with a knife and cuts her arm, which bleeds water for a moment then heals up, she throws the friend through the tavern wall and dumps Fur Hat on the floor. Fur Hat's friend comes back and hits the Enforcer with a massive club; she throws him through another wall. All in all, Fur Hat and his friend aren't having much luck with women today.

At the festival, a dove alights on an arrow hanging on a target, reminding Herc of a woman he used to know - his first love. Then Nemesis herself walks up and they kiss hello. Nemesis asks Herc if she looks different. Herc says she looks as beuatiful as ever. One of the merchants, Clytus, thanks Hercules for his help with the festival and says he'll set aside his best wares for Herc and his lady friend to try out. Herc realises Clytus can see Nemesis, which only her victims can do, and thinks Nemesis is going to kill Clytus (this guy is slow, I tell ya). She tells Herc how Hera robbed her of her immortality because she wouldn't kill him, but Hera has now created someone to replace her - an Enforcer.

Herc interrupts Iolaus' pursuit of the local women long enough to introduce him to Nemesis, who at first refuses to believe she's the real Nemesis, then draws all the same wrong conclusions from the fact that he can see her and runs off, pursued by Herc who drags him back. Iolaus has this absurd prejudice against Nemesis, just because she once went to kill him, and anyway Herc prevented it. Nemesis persuades Iolaus she is no longer on his trail, and Iolaus relents (probably the fact that she's one of the most attractive women in the place helps, too).

Hercules stops a woman driving a wagon madly towards the village, she tells him she saw a monster tearing men apart with her bare hands, and looking for Hercules.

Hercules and the Enforcer meet on a cliff top. Herc's reservations about fighting a woman are quickly overcome - by about her second punch. The two trade punches and kicks until the Enforcer falls off the cliff, hits the rocks below and bursts in a shower of spray.

Herc returns to the village where Nemesis and Io are getting to know each other and tells them the Enforcer is dead.

Gnatius is sitting on the shore when The Enforcer walks out of the sea again. After disposing of a robber who foolishly attacks them, the Enforcer throws Gnatius into a tree. Anyone who does that can't be all bad, but why didn't she do it way back?

Nemesis and Hercules enjoy the rustic delights of the village fair. Romance blossoms. Again.

The Enforcer walks through a sword-makers forge (odd thing to find in a peaceful village) and is told Hercules is at the inn. Iolaus and a friend are leaning at the bar, watching girls go by and (presumably) reflecting on their lack of success, when the Enforcer appears. Iolaus' companion says 'let me try this one', but his lines are so corny Iolaus gives a grimace of disgust and walks up to try his luck. He realises this is the Enforcer, and tries to stop her, but she throws him around a bit, in the course of the fight getting a chair leg impaled through her midriff, which she contemptuously pulls out. Having knocked Iolaus unconscious, she ignores him, and sets off to find Hercules again.

Hercules and Nemesis are in bed, it appears to be next morning, so they must have hidden out somewhere other than the inn. Their romantic interlude is interrupted by Iolaus, who staggers in somewhat battered with the news that the Enforcer is alive and apparently made of water. The Enforcer, meanwhile, is creating a little mayhem in the village square. Hercules, Nemesis and Iolaus discuss what to do about the Enforcer. Nemesis offers to help but Herc forbids it, as a mortal she could be killed. A few moments later Herc realises Nemesis has sneaked out.

The Enforcer is asking her usual question - 'Where is Hercules?' - when an arrow hits her. "I thought that would get your attention" says Nemesis, stringing another arrow. "You want Hercules, follow me", running into the forge. Nemesis lines up another arrow, but the Enforcer hurls a sword at the plank Nemesis is standing on, dropping her to the ground. The Enforcer is standing over Nemesis when Herc walks in. The two have a rousing fight, which ends when a piece of floor gives way under the Enforcer, dropping her into a bed of coals and turning her to steam.

Herc and Nemesis kiss goodbye, Nemesis wants some time alone to figure out where she should go next. Iolaus compliments Herc on his style in goodbye kisses. Like he'd know, did he read this in a book somewhere?

MUSIC USED

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys - Original Television Soundtrack. Joseph LoDuca. Uni/Varese Sarabande; ASIN: B0000014XJ.

(11) The Enforcer

TALES OF THE HERCAVERSE

06-06-01. From CR. The Enforcer is well-muscled, handsome and (with the dead black eyes - contact lenses?) quite spooky. In fact she was such an interesting character, it was pleasing to see that Hercstaff brought her back (as a good Enforcer to battle the evil Enforcer Mk II) in Not Fade Away. (Just like Arnie in Terminator 2).

06-06-01. From CR. Some clever camera work on her first appearance, when the camera pans from her feet up one leg, across her well-muscled midriff, and up the other arm - she is undoubtedly completely naked. They've managed to do a full frontal nude without showing any 'censorable' bits. Very ingenious.

06-06-01. From CR. Another reference to Terminator - when she said 'Give me your clothes' to the woman she met on the road. And her final end in the forge (the 'factory' of the day?) is a loose parallel to the Terminator's end when only a massive factory press could 'kill' it.

06-06-01. From CR. Now who really thinks Nemesis was going to give Fur Hat 'what he wanted', even if she lost? In his dreams. One could almost feel sorry for Fur Hat - first he tries to score with Nemesis, then he tries to score with the Enforcer. This is just not his day.

06-06-01. From CR. Nemesis was also too good to lose from the series. She reappeared in Two Men and a Baby, though played by a different actress. I do feel, though, that the 'real' Nemesis should've been someone a bit more sinister - someone more like, say, Xena.

06-06-01. From CR. Once again, as in the last Nemesis ep, The Fire Down Below, there are plenty of good- looking women. Last time it was Salmoneus who attracted them all; this time it's Iolaus who can't get his mind off them. Howcome Iolaus never ever has any luck in that direction? He's young, not bad-looking, nice personality if a little brash. My theory is he's trying too hard, girls sense that. Relax, Iolaus. Stop trying to impress them. Try to take it easy and be natural. Well, try, anyway.

TRANSCRIPT

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DISCLAIMER

[No humorous disclaimer]