Hercules and the Circle of Fire (4 Stars)

Yesterday I heard that the beautiful actress Tawny Kitaen passed away on 7th May at the age of 59. The cause of death hasn't yet been made public. All I can say it's that it's a tragic loss. She wasn't a very prolific actress, but whenever she appeared in a film or television series she was amazing. She's best known for her recurring role as Deianeira, Hercules' wife, in the early episodes of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys". She also appeared in Whitesnake's music videos, including "Here I go again" (1982), "Still of the Night" (1987) and "Is this love?" (1987).

The Hercules series was originally planned as a super-sized series with 90 minute episodes. After five episodes it was reformatted as a standard sized series with 45 minute episodes. Due to the length of the first five episodes, they're sometimes referred to as television movies. That's how they're described in IMDB. It's all a matter of definition. What's important is that they're within the same continuity. We have Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and his trusty companion Iolaus, played by Michael Hurst. The only difference is that we see Zeus in the first five episodes, played by the Oscar winning actor Anthony Quinn. I didn't start watching "Hercules" (I'll shorten the title) until the third season. I returned to the early episodes 10 years later, and I was surprised to see an actor of his stature in the series. It's understandable that he dropped out. He didn't want to commit himself to a weekly television series. As is often said, television series mean more work and less pay than films.

Zeus has a father-son talk with Hercules.

Zeus admires Deianeira's attributes. I'd take a look as well. The difference is that Zeus is allowed to do it because he's the king of the Gods.

This is the third of the five Hercules television movies. I've skipped the first two, because this film (or television episode) is the first appearance of Deianeira. Hercules is in Thebes visiting his friend and former teacher Cheiron. While they sit together the fire goes out, and they realise that the fire has gone out in every house in the city, except for the Temple of Hera. Deianeira lives in the city, so she goes to the temple to ask if the priests will share their flames. They refuse, even when Hercules adds his muscle to the request.

Zeus tells Hercules that Hera has stolen the Eternal Flame of Prometheus. Without this flame, all fire on the Earth will go out, and mankind will perish in the cold. Hercules sets out on a quest to find the Eternal Flame and return it to Prometheus. He wants to travel alone – Iolaus isn't with him in this film – but Deineira insists on accompanying him. In the following adventure her wisdom repeatedly saves Hercules' life.

It takes a while for people to freeze to death. The first result of the cold is hard nipples. Living in ancient Greece was a happy time before bras were invented.

These are the early days before Hercules and Deianeira get married. The furthest they go is a passionate kiss. Is that what the Americans call first base?

With passion like this, who needs fire?

Fans of the Hercules TV series have seen Tawny Kitaen many, many times without realising it. After the five television movies there were six seasons with 111 episodes. The opening credits scene remained unchanged throughout the series. It included a brief scene where Hercules looks up in surprise as a woman removes her clothes. We don't see the woman's face, but it's Tawny Kitaen. That means she appears briefly, anonymously, in every episode in the series.

This is Tawny Kitaen's knee.

This is Tawny Kitaen's ankle.

I'll probably watch the next two Hercules television movies. It's been a long time since I watched them, probably 2009, so they're worth watching again.