SYNOPSIS:
Synopsis by Kent Simmons.
A woman named Cassandra is having a nightmare about falling into a hole but Hercules saves her and she awakes and says "He's Coming" as a ship with Hercules and sevral sailors is sailing somewhere. Fire strikes there ship and Hercs friend Demetrius tells the sailors to watch everything. Everyone jumps into the water and Hercules awakes on an island at dusk. Cassandra greats him and tells him he is on Atlantis. She takes him to her house in the woods and explains that Atlantis will be destroyed, according to her visions and dreams. She says that she keeps seeing things and after she saw Hercules save her in her dream, she knew he would arrive. Since Herc is the only survivor, he agrees to help Cassandra if she tells council what she knows, which is hard since the people of Atlantis don't like Cassandra because shes not as advanced in the way she lives and acts at times. Hercules and Cassandra arrive at the city of Atlantis which is filled with airplane like gliders flying around the city and tall tower like buildings. Hercules must wear a golden toga because anyone thats not a citizen will be punished if caught in Atlantis. Hercules walks through the city finding people dressed in togas and crystal powered lights, which Cassandra explains as being the main source of light for the island. EVERYTHING runs on Crystals mined below the city and forest. Hercules is stopped by a merchant selling crystal wave ovens and shows Hercules how it works but throws him away when he sees Cassandra with him. Cassandra and Herc talk to King Panthius, who just agreed to start building skyscrapers. Cassandra tells him off what she sees in her visions and that Atlantis will be destroyed. Panthius and the people bash her and says shes trying to scare the children. Hercules pleads that shes right but there told to go. Cassandra sees fire in her vision that night and sevral citizens burn her house. Hercules throws Cassandra to the sky and leaps over the fire and to the outside where he catches Cassandra and scares the people off. Herc moarns with Cassandra over her loss and she feels bad because she cant help anyone. Herc feels shes the only sane person on the island.
Herc and Cassandra head back to the city and are captured by two guards who fly in on gliders. One shoots a laser gun at Hercules when he blocks Cassandra from the laserlight. Panthius puts Hercules in a prison room with laser lights and ties Cassandra to an electric type shockchair, after showing Herc a giant lasergun which blew up Hercules ship 2 days before. Hercules escapes the prison by letting the lasers blow a hole in the wall and finds Demetrius and the others in a mine that is going down because of all the crystal mined, which is loosing to foundation and making the island sink into the sea. Cassandra is offered a seat on council but refuses and is given shock treat-ment by Panthius. She does not know how the island will go down so gets more. Hercules defeats the prison guards and tells Demetrius to leave without him if the island goes. Panthius meanwhile explains the fire incident at Cassandras house as a parlor trick done with mirros and creates his own illusion to prove himself right, although he is wrong in the long run.
Demetrius gets another ship and waits. Hercules is chased by two gliders which crash into each other after a incredible chase and some cool effects and laser light blasts. Herc rushes threw the falling city and fights Panthius, who falls into a falling monument, which falls on him and kills him. The city keeps crumbling and people scream and moan. Herc saves Cassandra from falling in a hole near the throne room and they run to a glider. As the island sinks into the sea, Herc and Cassandra fly to glider to the ship and Cassandra says Herc knows how to wipe a girl off her feet. They land on Demterius's ship and Cassandra kisses and thanks Herc for believing in her. Herc says they will be friends for a long time and the show fades out with dusk coming in and the ship sailing west, towards the mainland.
COMMENTARY:
This commentary is by Kent Simmons.
Universal created "Escape from Atlantis" which was a movie about a family from Chicago [My Home Town] going to the fantasy land of Atlantis. It was not that great however Universal made up for that in the season 3 final episode of HTLJ entitled "Atlantis". The episode was probally one of the best made in season 3 and was not dark nor comical. It was an adventure episode with a little of everything. Unlike XWP's Comedy of Eros which was a combo of comedy and some drama, Atlantis had its laughing momments but was an adventure episode, which we dont seem to get many of in season 4. XWP has had dark episodes combined with adventures in such shows as Deliverer, Dirty Half Dozen, and The Debt episodes. HTLJ had some good adventure/dark episodes in Web of Desire, and Armageddon [Coming in Feb 1998] but nothing like Atlantis. Maybe its good because it makes Atlantis a special episode. I liked Atlantis because it was like watching a motion picture. It also had good writing, drama, suspense, and a perfect villan.
Panthius was the evil king of Atlantis and was a version of a dictator, much like one that almost destroyed the world in WWII. Panthius was someone who wanted power and used his people to get his way and would do anything to stop his people from actully believing something happened, that Panthius did not want to happen. When the villagers burned Cassandras house, Herc leaped through the fire to catch a falling Cassandra and the people could not believe it so they went to Panthius and told him what they saw. Panthius knew that Hercules did not apply a trick and did it for real but he feared that his people would maybe believe what Cassandra said and might leave the island, leaving behind Panthius and his dreams to have more power. Thus the crooked king created an illusion to trick the people and thus won them over. Panthius was one of the mot sinister villans and was truely a dictator that had power and died because he refused to listen to reason because his little world was all that matter to him. Perhaps if he left the crystal wave oven to the future, he might still have a kingdom to run and a life. Im sure Hades would not be easy on Panthius since he did not respect and believe in the gods.
Atlantis was an island, that was not Corinth or Athens. It was like the distant future and was a island near Greece that defined the dreams of the ancient people. Crystal wave ovens where much like microwave ovens except they ran on crystals. The gliders where like the early airplanes of the 20th century and where perhaps the most unqiue creation on HTLJ in season 3, except for the Golden Hind and maybe the Fire Enforcer. The people of Atlantis where free to explore what they wished too, as long as it benifited the king and the city. People who liked outside the city where outcasts and considered beasts or barbariens. Cassandra, a normal woman and good person, was an outcast and beast because she did not like the inventions and creations of like in the big city. Perhaps the most mystical secret of Atlantis was the crystal powered lasers that where shot from a giant gun. They not only destroyed Hercs ship and another nearby island, whichw as possibly controlled by innocent people, or perhaps nobody. It showed that Panthius wanted the stuff for himself and would destroy anyone who even passed the island. He also had sevral ships near the island in case he needed to flee, proving he knew about other places and would leave with his stuff and army if the people learned of his plans and ways. The electric shock chair perhaps was equal to the punishment of a wooden yoke placed over Xenas head in "The Debt II" episode during season 3 of XWP while Xena was in a watery dungeon. The chair simply shocked a person and did not kill them but could easily make you tell a secret in a second.
Demterius was one of Hercules best friends from how it seemed. It would be intresting to see if he pops up next time Hercules takes a long trip on the sea. My guess is he may have been a member of the Argonauts crew [not the main crew but one of the workers] or possibly a member of the early Herc team of Young Herc, Iolaus, and Jason. Perhaps he only joined Herc on this mission but from the chat they had near the end of the episode, its unlikley they just became friends days before they landed at the island or set sail. Cassandra was also an intresting character and it seems Hercules finally found a female traveling companion that will not be his love. Perhaps she will be like a mortal sister to him. I doubt the two will fall in love but it would make an intresting storyline fro several episodes possibly.
All in all, Atlantis was a superb episode with a good storyline and good characters. The acting was good and the island of Atlantis was one of the most unique things done in the series. They did something diffrent to the story of Atlantis, instead of making it some ancient deadly island with the same stuff as we see every week. I give it 5 out of 5 episodes. Its for everybody in the family.
TALES OF THE HERCAVERSE
06-06-98. From KSZoneW. In Armageddon II, the music used when Iolaus arrives in Corinth [Xena's Corinth] was used in "Mercenary" and "Atlantis" and in the scene where Hercules awoke on the islands. It was also used in "Lady and the Dragon" and "Web of Desire". All are HTLJ episodes.
THINGS TO LOOK FOR
These things are by KSZoneW
Cassandra's house was the same one shown in sevral episodes. In HTLJ's "Judgement Day" it was Serenas house. In XWP's "Destiny" it was Niklios Healing House. It was also in HTLJ's "Beanstalks and Bad Eggs" as the house of Alyssa. It was also used in HTLJ's "And Fancy Free" as the house of the digruntled father of Althea.
The Giant Eye that appeared in Ares Tomb during "Xena Scrolls" was used in Panthius palace behind the throne [The eye of Hephaestus!]
The gliders where very cool and the special effects with the fire, laser lights, and falling city where incredible and worth watching the episode just to see them.
This was the best choice for the season finale.
Cassandra returns in season 4 to help Hercules when he is put on trial. That episode will be called "Hercules on Trial and airs as the second new episode in January 1998.
TRANSCRIPT
Click here to read a transcript of ATLANTIS.
DISCLAIMER
WARNING: Crystal-waves were used during the production of this motion picture. Pregnant women should leave the room immediately.
