Hercules and the River Styx
Review by Juan F. Lara
GOOD POINTS
The ep started with a couple of scenes setting up its message. Then it promptly ditched the message until the end in favor of some real fun. :-) Two real fun sequences in particular.: I laughed all through the "My Town" production number with its unexpected running gag of New York references. This great number was notable in casting the Muses against type. I laughed at every gag taken at their expense, and they played good backup to James Woods's great lead singing. Also, Act 2 was spent on Hades's torments of the students. Particularly funny was Cassandra's doom to the second production number, which had Melissa Manchester singing the virtues of the old concept of the housewife. The other torments I'll deal with below. Winfield seemed cautious about preventing plotholes in this script. If you wondered where was Poseidon and Athena during Hades's takeover, you didn't have to worry. :-) Likewise you might've thought that Herc could fix the Styx with Poseidon's trident. Act 3 dealt with that option, and found a believable way to reject that option that both enhanced the message and raised the threat Hades had imposed. This ep seemed to flow a lot more smoothly than "Big Kiss" did. All of last week I found Icarus mostly annoying. But he had great characterization in this ep. His running gag about fighting Herc made an funny relief to Herc's failing to save Athens with the trident. The gag also endeared him to me by having him ignore Hercules's strength and just care about defending his father. I also laughed at the villains' dismay over their torment backfiring, which very effectively illustrated people's notion of Icarus as a weirdo. It was nice to hear Jason Alexander again. Winfield made Poseidon appealing by making him out as whimsical and upbeat, and Alexander read his lines vividly. David Hyde Pierce tended to overact. But Daedalus also turned out a well-written character. Especially in Act 2, where Daedalus showed that he could be cunning and willing to put aside personal dislikes in order to solve a problem, but still kept his zany personality. And actually, the message turned out to fit well into the story. A running gag in the series has been Herc's poor control of his strength. So it seemed natural for him to have particular trouble with a workshop class. I mentioned that Daedalus, the representation of the message, turned out a likeable character. I also said that I liked the lead-up to Herc's use of the shop class to save Athens. Those points made the message work for me.
MISCELLANEOUS
Jodi Benson made her debut in a very cameo of Helen of Troy. I noticed that she made her voice squeekier than Ariel's. I'm eager to see an ep that focuses on Helen. Sun Min regrettably did as drab an animation job that Plus One did Friday. Act 1 was all a blue monotone, and movement was jerky in Act 3. This good script could've really benefited from a quality level that "King of Thessaly" got. "Uh, just who are these 'some' people?"
Poseidon: Say, brother. Did I ever tell you about when I invented the marine mammal? Hades: Uh, yeah, Poseidon. About a zillion times... Poseidon: 'Course, the first few drowned. You know, uh, mammals. Then it hit me. BLOWHOLE.
DYN1: The steam that came from their handshake. Icarus: But wait. There's more. His self-sacrificing sheep. [ I loved how they used that sheep as a plot connection to the next scene. ]
Hades: Your punishment is him, and his punishment is you.
Athena: It's either that, or stay chained next to me for all eternity. [ Heh. Clever dig on Athena's less than appealing personality. ]
"Oh, yes. That's right. Make those dishes shine. That's the way to get a man."
DYN2: The obvious reference to a Disney theme park commercial.
So I really enjoyed this episode for its outstanding characterization and plotting.
- Juan F. Lara http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~jfl/intro.html
Hades: The Parthenon, that crowning jewel Could use my plan for urban renewel.