SYNOPSIS:
Synopsis by Marnster.
The first Herc ep of the new year is our favorite current day timeline. The parody of all the behind the scenes people. AND the premise that
'Kevin Sorbo' is the character, Hercules, son of Zeus, portrays.
OK, picture this...a village in ancient Greece. Villagers scared, running for their lives, terror, mayhem, Autolycus and Iolaus trying to defend the villagers from Discord! You see, she had been turned into a chicken and
was now destroying the village. Suddenly, HERCULES arrives! Extreme close
up of the chicken's, uh, I mean Discord's beak...as a hand holding a remote
control freezes the frame of video...
Present day, B.S. is reading Tapert the riot act.
"Let me get this straight Tapert...Hercules, versis a chicken?"
Tapert's defense, "You know that's not fair. It was a giant chicken!"
It's a parady folks, feel free to laugh...
Seems as if B.S. is upset of the lame storylines.
He wonders of Tapert, "This is your idea of quality programming?"
To which the redhead replies, "You know me better than that! I've never cared about quality!"
Well, B.S. wants more action, romance and
"Salmoneous in more episodes!" He gives Tapert 1 week and proceeds to
throw him out of his office.
Tapert crashes through the doors, pushing aside the quiet, yet dangerous
assistant, Melissa and the chain smoking, tight suit wearing, Liz who'd
been listening in. BTW, he lands head first in the rubbish bin.
Let me just take a moment to ask, whose the beautiful blond chick in the
back corner of this scene? It looks like ROC...could it be? Nah. She's
dressed in a light blue suit...skirt up to there...hmm.
Picture this, a bright red, convertable BMW (like the silver one, the most
recent James Bond has) driving down what looks like Beverly Hills...It's
Kevin Sorbo! Hey, what's that little tune he's whistling?
All of a sudden POOF! ARES appears in the passenger seat, holding a little
Herc Dollie. In his highest pitched voice he exclaims,
"Oh my gosh! It's Kevin Sorbo!" Then promptly bites the doll's head off.
Ares and Herc are real, Kevin Sorbo is not. Ares tells Herc of Tapert's
troubles...new storylines by week's end, or the show's over. But our
hero's not worried. In fact his thoughts are elswhere.
"Ares, what do you want?" After a few moments, a sheepish expression
crosses the WarGod's face as he answers,
"Mechandising rights." You see, he deserves a little something,
"For the weekly slander I have to endure!" He tells Herc that some day,
the truth will come out and that everyone will realize, Sorbo's the myth.
At this point, Ares gets pushed out of the car.
We now find ourselves in the back lot of Renaiassence...I mean a Hollywood
backlot...
The large wad of gum chewing, spitting, army-dude wanna be head writer,
JPB, rides up on his harley, at the same time the boozed up, chain smoking,
polyester wearing, loser writer PRC does.
They're instantly joined by the rest of the gang and Tapert tells everyone
"We've all gotta work together!" Big smile..."To be creative in a crunch!
To boost overall moral...BTW Paul, your last script sucked."
The team's last chance lies in a corporate retreat camp! Pack yer bags!
By the time the gang arrives at CampWannaChuck, Paul has changed into his
best shortie shorts, and is wearing tevas with ankle socks. What a site to
behold...look at the trees...the...hey, whose feet are those?
The camera pans up the body of a young lady dressed in her finest
CampWannaChuck scout uniform...complete with patches, little bandanna and a
silver whistle hanging from a silver chain.
"Well howdy all, ya'all! Welcome to CampWannaChuck, where every day you'll
see a sunny day! Cuz, that's my name, Sunny Day!"
What an endearing little southern accent this young girl has! Not to
mention assitant! Her name is Norma Bates, and she loves wearing a really
dirty aprin, and carry around a butcher knife!
Anyway, back to the basis for the retreat...they'll,
"Be combining corporate re-engineering techniques, with ancient Navajo
rituals. To enhance the efficiancy of your overall group dynamic."
I just luvvv accents...
During camp orientation, a disagreement erupts between Tapert and
Ares...I mean, JPB, and as Coyle tries to separate them, Liz and Melissa
try to push them together. But not to worry, our SunnyDay is on the spot
to take care of things...With a blow of the whistle, she breaks up the
fight and we begin our first bonding experience...
Tapert stands with his back to his team. They hold out their arms, and he
falls back into them. You see the group will,
"Catch him in your arms...keep him from breaking his ass."
But we know how this senario plays out. Yep, he breaks his ass.
Tapert has his first vision for the new eps. Kill Iolaus, you know,
spontaneous combustion, or a monster will eat him, or my favorite, the big
ass Acme 1Ton weight falls outta the sky on him. Never mind the fact,
that, as Liz puts it, "We've only killed him twice already."
JOY! Up walks Herc...I mean, SorboReeno! He has a better way to kill off
Iolaus. The Sumarian storyline is seen, where Herc is betrayed by Tony
Todd's, King Gilgamesh character. And Dahok is introduced. Iolaus jumps
infront of the blade meant for Nebula and dies...in Herc's big
old strong arms.
As we come back to real life, big hugs for Kevin as everyon loves the
storyline. Hey, that's a cute Kull button Kev's wearing.
Well now, SunnyDay informs us, it's time for lunch, and as we enter the
mess hall a good question is asked, "Kevin, how'd ya like to wrestle Xena on pay per view?"
Liz smokes her cigs, JPB spits, Coyle hits on Melissa, and what's this?
We see someone's hand pouring poison into the big ass vat of red
sauce/soup/whatever, that's been made for lunch. Poison in the red junk. SunnyDay comes walking
out of CookHouseX...hey, what's that little tune she's whistling?
"Lunch is served!" as the eery Norma looks on from around the corner.
(Norma, btw, looks like a little Irish lass we saw in an earlier Herc ep!)
Unfortunately, Herc knocks over the table, and no one gets to eat lunch.
But SunnyDay is so please as Kev apologizes. Because,
"He wasn't afraid to step forward and say 'I am a screw up!'"
O'well, now we can move onto our next session. A sweathut. As Liz
attempts to become one with the candle flames, the rest of the group tries
getting in touch with their spiritual sides.
Melissa suggest this as a possible ep...Picture Herc, (dressed up like one
of those dudes you usually see at the airport trying to sell little paper
flowers,) wrapped in white sheet with his hair in a little ponytail on top
of his head..."Would you care to make a donation to the church of southern conciousness?"
Kevin suggests a similar idea, and we are transported back in time to Herc
on the beach, being told how he is the chosen one of the Druid priest.
We see his fight with Morgan, how Herc questions his past actions, and how
he must learn to listen to his heart again.
The team loves it! Yeah!
Now Liz suggest Herc in Ireland!
Picture this, Kev...I mean Herc playing the bagpipes, dressed up like Mike
Meyers in the wedding scene from "AX Murderer" with a green...3foot high
Iolaus leprecahn dancing about his feet!
Kevin's two cents turns it into the ep where Morgan is to be executed, and
Herc saves her from this death sentence. Because now, she is one of the
Druids chosen ones. We find she'd been bad, because she needed to protect
her daughter, Bridgette.
Once again Sorbo's ideas are a hit. But, gasp! "What was that?" Did
someone just block the door to the hut with a large piece of wood?
Are they trapped? Gosh, now would be a good time to yell,
"Hey look everyone! It's Mel Torme!" And while everyone looks, Kevin, I
mean Herc, could push the door off it's hinges and save everyone. Then,
they could all walk out in order of ascending salary...
Ahhhh, smores by the fire, as everyone is deep within his or her own
thoughts...wonder what Liz would be thinking...
"How could those b*st*rds cancel Ellen?!"
Well, as Sunny stands with the tray of goodies, Kev proceeds to tell about
the next storyline. We meet Thor, Baldar, and Loki. A God that is
actually worth knowing. Herc must prevent the death of Baldar, prevent
Thor from losing his powers, and make everyone see Loki is the bad guy of
the brothers. Herc learns a lesson about destiny.
"Just because something's written in ink, doesn't mean it's set in stone."
The God who helped Loki, was Dahok. And he's not finished with Herc.
"Pack yer bags folks, cuz we're going home!" Tapert is rather excited
about all the new storylines...BUT wait! SunnyDay! What are you doing, my
little precious one? Why do you have a gun, and why are you forcing our
group deep into a
"Convienently placed, and totally abandoned mine." on such a lightening,
and thunder filled night?
Before we hear the answer, Kevin comes up with another great storyline!
Dahok needed the heart of a warrior, to enter the world right? Well,
Iolaus gave his life to save Nebula, and he was a warrior. Perfect host
body, for a bodyless god!
It's a toughie...The face of one he love so much, but behind it, a force he
hates the most. Morgan, Nebula, and Herc will be a new team. Together
they will defeat Dahok..."Or we die trying."
Meanwhile, back at the cave, our little ray of sunshine still has a gun on
everyone. Just as she says, "Say Syanara, Sorbo." In walks Norma, and
diverts her attention long enough for Kev to grab the gun. A shot is
fired!
Whew! It's ok, the bullet hits the wall, and like Xena's chakram, hits,
there, there, over there and waay over there, before lodging itself into
the wood beams causing them to crack, and create a cave in. AND since
everyone will be busy dodging the falling boulders, no one will see Kev, I
mean Herc, grab a fallen beam, and support the weakend ones with it,
effectively stopping the cave in.
Once composure is regained, Tapert has to know,
"Why'd ya do it, Sunny?" Herc, I mean Kevin knows, "Allow me..."
He says, walking up to the little Miss, whose now being held back by Norma.
And, NO! It can't be! NO NO! ARGH!!!!!! SUNNYDAY!!!!!
She's...not...real! Kevin grabs her hat, hair, and pulling off the face
mask reveals none other than...
Commercial.
Heh, just kidding!
Revels none other than..........B.S. Hollinsfoffer! OH MY GOSH!
But how did Kevin know? "I'm glad you asked!"
Remember in the mess hall, when he'd knocked over the table, well he'd
actually smelled the poison in the slop. Then, on the way to the sweathut
overheard a deep voice-singing, but saw Sunny...
"I thought Sunny was just a tenor!"
BUT how did he finally know it was BS? Well, in the sweathut, Norma handed
him a note. It read, 'Sunny Day is B.S. Hollinsfoffer'
At this point, Tapert has another really good question to ask...
"So, we know who Sunny is...Whose Norma?"
Pulling off the chef's hat,
"Studio security, Sir. We knew we had a traitor on the inside, but I
couldn't move until I was sure!"
I must say, the cute little camp outfit is not so cute on the body of
B.S. Hollinsfoffer! Especially the chest hair sticking out...ew!
OK, story's over right? NOT!
POOF! When what to their wondering eyes did appear, but
Ares, the God of War himself...he's tired of good always winning.
"It's not over, people!" Turning to B.S.
"You will never work in this town again!"
Melissa has the key question to ask this time,
"Doesn't it worry anyone that the God of war is real?!" That must mean,
"That there's a real Hercules out there, too!"
As all eyes turn to Herc, I mean Kevin,
"Don't look at me, I'm just an actor!"
{{{Insert blue eyes looking right into the camera, as eyebrows waggle}}}
.....Circular fade to black......
That's all ffffolks!
TALES OF THE HERCAVERSE
01-31-99. The March '99 issue of STARLOG Magazine contains an interview with Bruce "Autolycus" Campbell. Campbell tells us in said interview: [On directiong FOR THOSE OF YOU JUST JOINING US] " ... . I think what's fun is that the audience sees all the actors they know playing other roles: Renee O'Connor, Hudson Leick, Kevin Smith, Michael Hurst. It's great to see Kevin, an amazingly talented
guy, in a compleyely different role. He's playing a southern hick,
and he's really good at it... Michael can just be this outrageously
drunk character. Hudson, she's pretty intense, even as a person, she's
fun to deal with, she has a lot of kooky ideas. ... " .
01-06-99. From Michelle Frazier. Regarding Sunny Day's demeanor: The voice accent and all was lifted directly from PeeWee's Big Adventure - the tour guide at the Alamo when PeeWee was looking for the basement. She was played by Jan Hooks. I thought it was a coincidence until I heard "Can you say Navajo?" in the same condescending little tone the tour guide used to say "Can you say Tortillas?"
12-31a-98. Taken from the Bruce Campbell website in July 1998. "The sequel to 'Yes, Virginia, There Is A Hercules,' this episode chronicles the continuing escapades of the fools in charge as they brainstorm on ways to add spice to 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.' As in 'Yes, Virginia,' this episode features Herc and Xena regulars portraying the production staff of Renaissance Pictures. Here’s the cast
list: Yours Truly Rob Tapert (Exec Producer), Kevin Sorbo Himself, Hudson Leick Liz (Producer), Michael Hurst Paul (Writer), Kevin Smith Jerry (Head Writer), Robert Trebor BS Hollinsfoffer (Studio Head), Lisa Chappell Melissa (Rob’s Assistant), Renee O’Connor Sunny Day (Camp Counselor). The director is some shemp named Bruce Campbell. Hmmm..."
12-27-98. At the Cherry Hill, NJ Creation Con (08/29-30/98), Hudson Leick stated that she'd be appearing in a sequel to season 4's YES VIRGINIA THERE IS A HERCULES and reprising her role as Liz Friedman. "Liz just gets stranger and stranger as I go along," she added. Appears that there will be big eating involved in the episode.
12-27-98. Hudson Leick's fanclub reported in June 1998 that Leick was flying to New Zealand the first week of July 1998 to film a sequel to YES VIRGINIA THERE IS A HERCULES.
12-27-98. In May of 1998, Laura Sue Dean reported that Robert Trebor was scheduled to fly to New Zealand in early July 1998 to shoot a HTLJ episode.
11-08-98. HTLJ's clip show will be a sequel to YES VIRGINIA THERE IS A HERCULES, called FOR THOSE OF YOU JUST JOINING US. This time around the happy production crew of HTLJ goes to a writing camp under the tutelage of camp counselor Sunny Daye (played by Renee O'Connor). Robert Trebor, Ted Raimi, Hudson Leick, Kevin Smith, and Bruce Campbell will also apppear in FOR THOSE OF YOU.
11-07-98. Ted Raimi is purportedly signed for two HERK episodes this season. We know one will be the YES VIRGINIA sequel, FOR THOSE OF YOU JUST JOINING US. Perhaps the other will be the ex-3D Alternative universe episode to be directed by Bruce Campbell? Raimi also might make some appearances on YOUNG HERCULES as Joxer's grandfather.
11-01-98. Hudson Leick will return as "Liz" in the sequel to YES VIRGINIA THERE IS A HERCULES (74/415). That sequel, FOR THOSE OF YOU JUST JOINING US (90/509), the gang goes to a writers camp in the wilds. The episode is scheduled to ne released after the holiday break on January 4, 1999. Renee O'Connor joins the cast as a new character, Sunny Day, a camp counselor.
08-21-98. Ted Raimi will be reprising his writer character from YES VIRGINIA THERE IS A HERCULES in HTLJ'S FOR THOSE OF YOU JUST JOINING US.
08-21-98. Robert Trebor will reprise his role as a studio suit in FOR THOSE OF YOU JUST JOINING US.
08-21-98. FOR THOSE OF YOU JUST JOINING US will be the sequel to last season's YES VIRGINIA THERE IS A HERCULES. The cast will reprise their rolesas the show's writers, producers, etc. Bruce Campbell will again play Robert Tapert, Hudson Leick will play Liz Friedman, and Ted Raimi, Michael Hurst, and Kevin Smith will play writers. A newcomer will be introduced: Renee O'Connor as Sunny Day, a camp counselor.
07-29-98. Bruce Campbell signed earlier this year to do 11 projects between XENA and HERK. What's the tally so far? Mr. Campbell has done seven out of the 11 so far. Three have aired (HERK's PORKULES, ONE FOWL DAY, and MY FAIR CUPCAKEE), and four are in the can (HERK'S JUST PASSING THROUGH and FOR THOSE OF YOU JUST JOINING US; and XENA's KEY TO THE KINGDOM and TALE OF TWO MUSES). That leaves four more before he has to renegoitate. Also, one of these was to be a pilot with RenPic. We have not heard much about it other than it might involve piracy or pirates.
07-29-98. HERK's fourth season off-the-wall clip show YES VIRGINA, THERE IS A HERCULES, will have a sequel clip show in the upcoming season, and it will be named FOR THOSE OF YOU JUST JOINING US. It is scheduled to air 01/04/99. The usual suspects will reprise their roles (Bruce Campbell IS Robert Tapert; Kevin Sorbo IS Kevin Sorbo; Hudson Leick IS Liz Friedman; Michael Hurst IS Paul Coyle; KEVIN SMITH is Jerry; Robert Trebor IS a suit; Lisa Chappell IS Melissa) and add Renee O'Connor to the hijinks. She will play Sunny Day, a camp counselor [On a really minor piece of trivia, it is mildly interesting to note that the actress Sunny Knox was to get the role of Gabrielle but refused it because she didn't want to leave her boyfriend in California...wow, just think of all the bad career moves made because someone did not want to leave their boyfriend!!!!]. Whereas VIRGINIA was about how the staff dealt with the crisis of a missing KEVIN SORBO, this time around the gang have to brainstorm on how to "spice" up the HERK show. Let's hope they do! Bruce Campbell will be directing.
LINKS:
Here are some graphics from off the Official Hercules Site:
Click here to see Rob Tapert (Bruce Campbell) and Paul Coyle (Michael Hurst) bond.
Click here to see Jerry Brown (Kevin Smith) and Paul Coyle (Michael Hurst) bond.
Click here to see Kevin Sorbo (Kevin Sorbo) and Rob Tapert (Bruce Campbell) bond.
Click here to see whether it is Kevin or Hercules...or both?.
Other Guides
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