Sleepytime Hercules

[Afgncaap5]

So, I've always had a bizarre problem in my continued attempts to view all of MST3K. That problem is known as Hercules.

For some reason that escapes me, I've just never been able to stay awake during the Hercules experiments. There's nothing particularly wrong with the riffing as far as I can tell, and not even anything wrong with the movies (though they have that kind of soft sixties lighting that feels like a drowsy Sunday afternoon to me). I dunno... maybe the lighting is all it is. But every time I attempt a viewing of a Hercules film, it just makes me fall asleep. The closest I've ever come to actually watching one successfully are those times when I'm not actually watching, just kinda having it on in the background while I work on other things.

So... I don't know that I have a question or a thing to discuss here, but has anyone else ever had trouble watching Hercules episodes? From what I hear, they've got a decent level of popularity among MSTies... maybe not a fan favorite, but a favorite for its fans, as it were.

Similarly, any other episodes that you have this issue with, Hercules-related or not?

[Diet Kolos]

I briefly go into this in my reviews of the Herc episodes in my review thread, but I'll go into more detail here.

They're fairly monotonous. And I mean that quite literally. They're all mono-toned. Grey and brown and faded blue.

Some are greyer and browner than others (Herc vs Moonmen), but that's the color palette they're all playing with.

And, well...its pretty boring to watch. Even the action scenes all look like every other scene.

And when it isn't visually interesting...I'm so sleepy I can b barely keep awake, as Herc might say.

The ONLY bit in any of them that's visually striking is the oracle scene in 502. She's wearing a vibrant red robe. And it lasts all of 5 seconds.

The riffing itself is decent throughout most of the Herc episodes (minus "vs Moonmen" and...ugh..."Loves of"), so its not the writers' faults. The movies are just drab and lifeless.

[Mighty Jack]

Everything Kolos said about the movies... but in reverse. I love Herc and the Herc knock-offs. The flicks are lively, silly, cheesy... and the riffing taps into that - aside from Moonmen (which just doesn't make me laugh), Herc Movies and the quips that accompany them always put me in a good mood.

In fact, I just watched the Loves of Hercules and howled with laughter. It wasn't just the jokes that were a blast, but the film itself. I get a kick out of the clothes, the helmets, the set designs, the monsters, the bad acting and dubbing, etc.

One of my favorite Rifftrax is the Sons of Hercules, my fav Film Crew was Giant of Marathon. My only regret is that I never got to see Cinematic Titanic tackle one of these gems. (If I knew then what I know now, I would have flown to San Francisco to see Samson and the Seven Miracles of the World in 2011)