Myths in Television

Listed below are the some of the past and present television productions of legendary stories, tall tales and of course, classic mythology. Many have an underlying celestial theme, but all follow the formula of the hero quest in all its variations and tribulations.

HEROES

Heroes tells the story of several people who "thought they were like everyone else... until they woke with incredible abilities" such as telepathy, time travel and flight. These people soon realize they have a role in preventing a catastrophe and saving mankind.

The series loosely follows the writing style of American comics by doing short, multi-episode story arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing arc. Even with small story arcs that move the story forward the seriesd has been mapped out go for the next five seasons.

The first four episodes were dubbed "Ordinary people discovering extraordinary abilities." At the end of the fourth episode, an event occurred which kicked off the current arc: "Save the cheerleader, save the world," which is presumably in reference to Claire Bennet, a high school

cheerleader from Texas with the ability to rapidly heal from injury, and the apocalyptic visions of New York artist Isaac Mendez. As the large ensemble cast slowly discovers their abilities and existence of others like them, they begin to realize the need for them to come together to prevent a catastrophe and save mankind.

BATTLERSTAR GALACTICA

This huge hit is a new version of the 1970's classic SciFi series and it should wake up the networks to the fact that the general public has gotten more sophisticated and intelligent in their viewing habits. Based upon mythological and celestial motifs, Battlestar Galactica is very similar to the biblical exodus of the twelve tribes of Israel.

In the not too distant future, humankind has created robotic servants and workers called Cylons that rebel and attempt to exterminate the human race. They attck and the the human race must flee across space in a fleet of spacecraft and look for sanctuary on a mythical planet called Earth. They follow the stories of the ancients to locate this land of milk and honey.

In the wake of the Cylon sneak attack, the ragtag fleet of human survivors is forced to play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with their pursuers. Every 33 minutes, they make a jump to a new location. And every 33 minutes, the Cylons manage to find them. The pilots are on the brink of exhaustion, relying on artificial stimulants to keep fighting, and the civilians are beginning to doubt the leadership of Commander Adama and President Roslin.

When the Olympic Carrier, a commercial passenger ship, fails to make a jump and then later mysteriously turns up unharmed, Adama the Comander of the Galactica fears it has been infiltrated by the Cylons. His choice: destroy it and the 1,300 souls it might still be carrying, or risk the annihilation of the entire fleet.

This just the beginning of the journey and the life altering events the human race must endure as they search for celestial salvation.

SMALLVILLE

This new interpretation of the enduring Superman mythology and its classic characters blends realism and adventure into an exciting action series. Clark doesn't wear glasses, there's no suit and he can't fly…yet. This version starts many years ago, when a meteor shower burst from the heavens, raining destruction on the unsuspecting citizens of rural region of Kansas. The intervening years have left the areas inhabitants with many scars and secrets. But more than meteors have fallen to earth. A stranger in a strange land, in the form of an orphaned boy brings with him an unrealized story of a planet destroyed. From the ashes of this tragedy, the adopted Clark Kent grows into an awkward teen. While adolescence always brings its challenges, Clark's transition from boyhood to adulthood has been particularly difficult. He must struggle to come to grips with his emerging superpowers - and the effects of kryptonite - while battling the strange things that have plagued this idyllic Midwest hamlet since the meteor shower. Between the boy he thought he was and the man he is destined to become are the stories of Smallville. Someday, he'll master his powers and understand his true calling. For now, he just has to get through adolescence.

STARGATE:SG-1

Based on the 21 episodes produced for the first season of Stargate SG-1, it could be argued that this show is significantly better than the 1994 feature it's derived from. The central conceit of the original Stargate--the existence of an artificially created "wormhole" through which one can travel to different worlds light years away from Earth--was an intriguing one. In seizing on the obvious possibilities for expanding on that premise, series executive producers-writers Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright have smartly retained some of the film's basic elements (its amalgam of myth and theoretical hokum, or the ongoing clash of wills between scientists and soldiers), while adding a variety of fresh ideas (including new characters, new locations, and a welcome dose of humor, much of it supplied by Richard Dean Anderson, MacGyver himself, who replaces Kurt Russell in the central role of Colonel Jack O'Neill). The result is a show with multidimensional heroes and villains and consistently compelling story lines (many of them introduced in the pilot and carried forward through subsequent episodes) balancing excellent special effects and production values. But,if you really want to know what that symbol on Teal'c's forehead means, or why the nasty, parasitic Goa'ulds look a lot like the fledgling stomach monsters in the Alien series, I have no doubt a Web site out there just for you.

The Andromeda Ascendant is a massive starship of the Systems Commonwealth's High Guard that sets out on mostly diplomatic and humanitarian missions. A masterful blend of form and function, the Andromeda Ascendant is not only controlled by a sophisticated artificial intelligence unit, but is also a fully sentient being capable of appearing in human form via holograms generated by computers and processors. The Andromeda finds herself under attack and her only chance for survival is to speed away from the attackers and head into the direction of the black hole. During the crisis, Dylan orders his crew to abandon ship and the ship becomes trapped on the event horizon of the black hole. After three centuries, the Andromeda Ascendant is discovered by a salvage-mining vessel, the Eureka Maru. The ship's captain and her colorful band of crewmembers recover the ship. Meanwhile, on board the now liberated Andromeda, Dylan exits his state of suspended animation, not knowing that 300 years have passed. Andromeda begins to fully re-awaken to her active state. Dylan comes to realize that the entire universe has changed and everyone he once knew has perished.

Beka and her crew board the Andromeda and explains how the Systems Commonwealth fell when the Nietzscheans initiated a war 300 years earlier. Believing some part of it must still exist, Dylan sets out on a mission to recover it. However, everyone is taken by surprise when Gerentex invades the ship with his squad of mercenaries, led by a towering Nietzschean named Tyr. Dylan Hunt forcefully convinces everyone to join his quest to restore the commonwealth with guile and passion.

FARSCAPE

Farscape is genre television at its most ambitious, inspired both by the cult appeal of Babylon 5 and the continuing success of the Star Trek franchise, but taking a visual and conceptual leap beyond those shows. Making extensive use of CGI, prosthetics, and state-of-the-art puppetry, courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, the Farscape concept has a freshness that makes it look and feel completely original. Determined to avoid Scorpius, the villainous leader of a human-like military "Peacekeeper" force, Moya--the sentient Leviathan spaceship that serves as home and transport for Crichton, Aeryn, D'Argo, and the rest of the crew--is forced to abandon her newborn offspring, Talyn, to the devious Peacekeeper, Crais, so that she and her crew can safely navigate the Uncharted Territories of space. As they traverse the galaxy in their quest for a way to their respective home worlds, Moya's crew must deal with the consequences of her decision, as well as encounter many hostile aliens and the dangers they present.

HERCULES: The Legendary Journeys

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys series started as part of Universal Studio's "Action Pack" series of television shows in 1994. In the first episode, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) and his best friend/sidekick Iolaus (Michael Hurst) are asked to help a village that is being attacked by mysterious "Beasts". These "Beasts" turn out to be female "Amazon" warriors. Lead by their Queen Hippolyta played by Roma Downey who is deceived by and later possessed by Hera, Hercules' evil mother and queen of the Greek gods. Hippolyta and her Amazons faithfully obey Hera. The Amazons have separated themselves from the men across the river they were previously their husbands and lovers. Hera has told them basically that Men are Dogs and are only good for procreation. Hercules of course saves the day but at a very high cost, a cost so high he pleads his case to his father Zeus "King of the Gods." Zeus of course... well that would be telling now wouldn't it?

HERNE'S SON: The Legend of Robin Hood

This British series is based upon the ancient tradition that Robin Hood was more than mere mortal. Like many other legendary heroes, Robin Hood is a demigod as he is the son of the Celtic hunter god Herne (Cerne). This makes perfect sense as the legend of Herne is based upon the constellation of Orion the Hunter. Logically, this birthright would make Robin Hood the greatest of all archers and ruler of the forests.

This series takes place when the gods of the ancients were being merged with the gods of Christianity. With this understood, this is a much darker and mythical version of the popular legend so it may not be suitable for everyone, however I recommend it if you can find it. A very well made program which is more mythological in it's approach rather than standard good guys v. bad guys. The acting is excellent throughout and the scenery beautiful. I wish (without much hope) that the entire series would be released in the U.S.

XENA: The Warrior Princess

The series Xena is an addictive and mind blowing series based on mythological motifs. The casting of Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor was phenomenal from day one; Lawless plays a profound, regretful, blue eyed, powerful former warlord who, thanks to help from Hercules, sets out to thoughtfully atone for her past reign of terror. In one of her first attempts at being "good", the warrior princess lays eyes on Gabrielle, a spirited and selfless village girl who, after seeing Xena's heroics, wants to "join up with Xena" and "wants to be a warrior like her" As all fans know, Gabrielle is instrumental in reforming Xena by sharing her unconditional love & showing her how much good there is to be done. Xena, of course, has a renewed purpose & reason to live while gladly ready to die for her. Also, their relationship grows dramatically over the years, and becones more than "friendly." This series holds a special place in the hearts of all mythology fans as the noble beginning of a timeless legend of pursuing the things that matter: love, sacrifice, the greater good, nobility, triumpth, loss, and life.

MYTHQUEST

MythQuest is a high-end series for kids and their families about a teenage brother-sister team of cyber-archeologists who use a computer to cross into a cyberworld of old-world myths in search of their missing archeologist father.

These hour-long dramas feature contemporary teens Alex and Cleo Bellows as they cross into a cyberworld of mythic imagination. Episode by episode, they pit themselves against the epic creatures and dark forces which have driven humankind. In the process, they discover that their fantastic quest to locate their missing father is tied to the fate of civilization as we know it. As viewers young and old experience Alex and Cleo's adventures, they also learn some of the world's greatest myths from Greek, Egyptian, Aztec, Nordic, Celtic, Native American and other civilizations. In a given episode the two might find themselves facing a Minotaur, living out the Egyptian fable of Isis and Osiris, or dropping in the middle of the Arthurian legend of Sir Caradoc.

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