Tuesday, October 12, 2021

1996 Topps Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

Greetings!

Hope everyone is doing well.  Today is a momentous day at APTBNL.  10 years ago today Ol' Jafronius published his first post here.  Unfortunately, there's still no one in the APTBNL offices to celebrate this occasion.  Thanks, Covid.

Anyway, since my anniversary post always veers away from sports, here's a pack from the LCS big green bin:


You younger readers may know Kevin Sorbo as that guy who appears in Christian faith-based movies, but kids my age will fondly remember Sorbo as a syndicated sci-fi hero, appearing as the titular Hercules in the mid-90's and then moving onto Andromeda in the early 2000's.  These shows weren't the greatest in quality, and the effects used then would be laughable now, but he was a solid weekend presence on a couple of overall fun shows for over a decade, and that's not shabby.

I saw a pack of this in the big green bin and grabbed it for the site.  9 cards in a pack, here's what I got:


#19 - Cheiron The Satyr
#35 - Ares

Hercules aired from 1995 through 1999, lasting 6 seasons and 111 episodes.  5 made for TV movies aired in 1994, before the series began.  Sam Raimi was one of the executive producers, meaning this fantasy series didn't always take itself too seriously, and his buddy Bruce Campbell ("Hail to the King, baby!") made guest appearances throughout the show's run.


#43 - Gladiator
#47 - A Warrior's Journey: Xena

Woo, Xena-Mojo!  Xena: Warrior Princess was spun off from Hercules when the character was proven to be very popular with viewers.  Lucy Lawless's show then turned out to be more popular than Sorbo's, which upset the actor, according to some accounts.


#55 - Hercules and the Circle of Fire
#70 - Eye of the Beholder

Yes, that's Anthony Quinn on a Hercules card...Anthony Quinn Rookie Card?  He played Zeus in the 5 TV movies.  

The skeleton is an example of the (now) cheesy special effects, but back then, it was, um, kinda cheesy?  It was passable for 90's syndication.


#9 - The Seer
#73 - Hercules vs. The Hydra
#85 - Rose morphing to The Hydra

Don't mess with that kid!

The 90 card set covered the TV movie and Season 1 episodes, as well as character info.  If you want to see the checklist, go here.

Here's some backs including that Anthony Quinn RC!


Anyway, that's the pack.  There's no intention to try to complete the set, but it was worth the nostalgia getting the pack to show you all.  Hope some of you had some fun too.  Thanks for tolerating my 229 posts and for reading these past 10 years!

1 comment:

Bulldog said...

Good pack. Liked the show back in the day. Wouldn't say it was ground breaking but it was different from much of what was on TV at the time. Love seeing Xena in the pack. Fun post.