Hercules and the Secret Weapon
A Review by Juan F. Lara
I liked the first scenes that established Herc's problems with getting pushed around by everyone else, and the idea of being a god's chosen one. But by Act 2 they were overemphasizing Herc's obedience, culminating in the heavy- handed "Hero Sandwich" song. ( I also hated the cutesy first song the ep opened with. So the ep had two strikes against it just for the songs. ) Instead I wanted to learn more about what these people do when different gods give them conflicting commands. How does polytheism work then? :-) I didn't find anything interesting with the rest of plot, either. I noticed some padding in that as Herc realized his dilemna his friends flew in to blow his cover and turn Ares against him. Just so that the ep could burn off a few minutes with Herc in danger. Phil's failed plans in Act 1 likewise felt like wasting time, with Herc crashing into things becoming monotonous instead of funny. I also didn't like the forced red herring about the box. Oh I suppose I could think of some reasons why the Spartans were being secretive about the box, but that's the writer's job. Paula Poundstone had a cameo as the bow. I laughed at Hephaestus's joke on Ares, but there really was no point in having the bow talk. Poundstone's routine of blabbering on endlessly was meant to be funny in its tediousness, but it was just tedious. How come Ares didn't recognize Herc? Also, no one noted that Ares was a son of Zeus as well. :-) Sunwoo did the animation here. They did good backgrounds, but the characters were drawn sloppily, and painted with flat colors, making for a drab looking ep.
MISCELLANEOUS
Robert Constanza replaced Danny DeVito as Philoctetes, and I thought he did a good job doing Phil's voice mannerisms. Athens and Sparta did have years of war, as chronicled in Thucydides's "History of the Pelopponesian Wars". Athens didn't sound all that great in that book, though, and Sparta ultimately won those wars.
Hephaestus: I call it the Armageddon Bow. Ares: Hmm. Armageddon Bow. Kind of an egghead word, but...
Athena: It is I. Athena. Goddes of Wisdom. Hercules: Wow. What play are you going to? Athena: Hercules, I have chosen you. Philoctetes: Whoa. Sacrifice or mission?
Ares: My secret weapon talks? LIKE A GIRL?!
So a mild thumbs down for this lackluster ep.
- Juan F. Lara http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~jfl/intro.html
Ares: Ah, the old man's still frosty.