Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) and his faithful friend Iolaus (Michael Hurst), surprise a band of hoodlums, the Ugly brothers, in the midst of robbing a local innkeeper and his wife. A fierce fight ensues, but Hercules and Iolaus ultimately bring the Uglies to their knees and free the frightened couple.
When Hercules arrives home later that night, his family is sound asleep. As he gazes down at his beautiful wife Deianeira, an enormous ball of fire suddenly bursts through a window into the bedroom and consumes her. In the blink of an eye she is gone. Before he can catch his breath, he hears the same horrifying sound as the fireball rushes into the next room and engulfs his three young children. Out of the silence of his paralyzing anguish and grief, he hers the bloodcurdling cackle of his stepmother Hera. He knows at once that it is she who has destroyed his family and cursed him to a lifetime of loneliness.
Unable to conceive why his father, the great Zeus, has allowed such a thing to happen, Hercules renounces his love for him and sets out on a path of destruction. Possessed by an unbridled hatred, he burns his own home to the ground and turns his back on the pleas of a desperate farmer, Lycus of Ister, to save the men of his village who are being turned to stone by a she-demon. Unbeknownst to Hercules, Iolaus agrees to help Lycus and the two set out for Ister while Hercules pays a visit to his mother and vows to take personal revenge on Hera by destroying each of her seven temples.
After forcing his way into the first of her temples, he interrupts the sacrificial slaying of a beautiful slave girl, Aegina (Clare Carey), and rescues her from imminent doom. After the temple walls tumble in a spectacular battle, Hercules reluctantly agrees to escort Aegina home, to Ister, justifying the good deed by noting that one of Hera's temples is located just east of the town. Aegina challenges Hercules?ath of retribution and suggests that his vengeance is misguided and does not honor his fallen family. Recalling how - in his blind grief - he had refused to help Lycus of Ister, Hercules now agrees to go with her to challenge the she-demon.
Upon reaching the village, Hercules discovers that in his absence, his friend Iolaus attempted to destroy the she-demon and, like the other men who had tried, was turned into a statue of stone. To the disbelief of Aegina and Lycus, Hercules declares he will take on the demon face-to-face.
Entering the darkness of her cave, he is immediately confronted by her sensuous, tantalizing form. Using her demonic charms, she attempts to seduce him into submission. A battle of wits and strength ensues, taxing all of Hercules' powers. Barely avoiding the savage swipes of her deadly tail, he finally outmaneuvers her and the lethal tail whips back on itself, turning her to stone.
With the she-demon safely petrified and her spell now broken, the stone prisoners slowly come back to life. Hercules is greeted by Iolaus and the rest of the grateful town. With a renewed sense of purpose, he bids them farewell and starts down a new path to help others in need.
Starring: Kevin Sorbo (Hercules)
Guest Starring: Michael Hurst (Iolaus), Clare Carey (Aegina), Mick Rose (Lycus), Nicky Mealings (She-Demon), Elizabeth Hawthorne (Alcmene), Martyn Sanderson (Thoas), Eric Gruendemann (High Priest), Tawny Kitaen (Deianeira), Patrick Wilson (Pilgrim #1), John Watson (Pilgrim #2), Gordon Hatfield (Temple Guard), John Dybvig (Tavern Thug)
Written by John Schulian
Directed by Doug Lefler