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MediaWeek Magazine
29 April 1996
Mything in action.
MCA TV's television shows The Journeys of Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess gain in popularity
MCA TV's tongue-in-cheek action/adventure television series are gaining in popularity. The Journeys of Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess feature loincloth-clad characters and colloquial dialogue. They are almost as popular as syndicated competitors Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Baywatch.
Heroes and heroines of Greek mythology have never inspired the same level of fervor among network TV audiences as cops or cowboys. Perhaps that's why the anything-goes syndication battlefield is turning into suprisingly fertile soil for MCA TV's The Journeys of Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess, which are drawing legions of viewers with their mix of funky contemporary humor and old-fashioned action. Filmmaker-turned-TV producer Sam Raimi has banished the long-winded soliloquies typically found in B movies featuring mythical figures in favor of a popculture take on classic Hercules tales. A sampling of dialogue from any episode of Hercules and its Xena spin-off is a sure tip-off that this is no Masterpiece Theatre:
Propositioned by an evil knight, Xena's similarly loin-cloth-clad sidekick Gabrielle retorts: "Just because we're well-betrothed doesn't mean you can boss me around."
Hercules (Kevin Sorbo), upon being captured by a legion of warriors, offers a tart response to an evil empiress' overtures: "I would rather sleep in a dungeon full of rats than spend the night with a viper."
Much of the show's tongue-in-cheek humor includes references to modem culture. While searching a treasure chest full of pots, pans and Hercules "gift dolls" the muscle-bound hero turns to his companions and says, "Now Bruce and I can open that gift shop we've always dreamed about."
At a time when the TV business is under intense pressure to tone down the violence in series, Raimi (director/writer of movies including The Evil Dead and Darkman) and fellow executive producer Ron Tapert are gaining acceptance from the so-called "all-family" demographic groups.
Hercules, now in its second season, and the freshman Xena (starring Lucy Lawless) are gaining quickly on Paramount Domestic Television's Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the top-rated weekly action series in syndication. DS9 is averaging a 7.0 rating in households this season (NSS, Sept. 4, 1995-April 7, 1996), while Hercules and Xena are at 6.4 and 5.6 rating averages, respectively. Across the adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 demo groups, Hercules (4.1) and Xena (4.9) are within a rating point of DS9's (5.1) rating averages this season. In the first quarter, Hercules (6.6) and Xena (5.8) both moved up 5 percent from their fourth-quarter averages, while DS9 dropped 9 percent to a 6.7 rating average.
"Hercules and Xena are clearly riding an upswing with the audience, while Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Baywatch [from All American Television] are starting to tire," claims Shelly Schwab, MCA TV president of syndication. "When you can reach the right mix of adult and teen/kid demos, this kind of appointment viewing by families is why advertisers are bullish on Hercules and Xena for the [upcoming] upfront market."
Per usual in the TV industry, the success of Hercules and Xena has inspired All American Television (Sinbad) and SeaGull Entertainment (Tarzan) to create shows about other mythological characters for this fall. MCA is looking to replicate its own winning formula with the two-hour "back-door" pilot, Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus (airing May 13-26).
"The [success] of Hercules and Xena is an offshoot of the Power Rangers phenomenon," says Bill Carroll of the station rep group Katz Communications. "Most younger viewers didn't ever see those campy Godzilla movies, and Power Rangers took something old and made it something new to that market. This is the same sort of thing that made [Hercules and Xena] stand out. But who knows if these other period pieces will kill the golden goose."