Hercules is running. Boy, he looks scared. It's no monster chasing him, though, it's a band of women. No, they're not angry Amazons. They're the fifty daughters of King Thespius, and they want to bear his children. Taking refuge in a tavern, Hercules can't quite get the barkkeep to see why this is a problem for him. A local drunkard asks Hercules what he's planning to do about the cyclops terrorizing Trachis. Apparently the cyclops is the guardian of Hera's vinyard. Hercules figures that dealing with one cyclops will be a lot easier than dealing with 50 women and heads off to investigate.
Meanwhile a "humble peddlar" is challenged by the cyclops. The cyclops refuses to let him pass, the peddlar protests that this is the only way to Trachis. The cyclops promptly picks him up and kicks him all the way across the vineyard. The peddlar is left hanging from a tree. Hercules finds him there just as the peddlar falls from the tree into a mudhole. After establishing that he's not hurt, Hercules asks him what happened. He asks where he can find the cyclops and the peddlar thinks he's crazy ("Do tell! Who do you think you are -- Hercules?" "Well, as a matter of fact...") until he convinces him that he's Hercules. The peddlar, who introduces himself as Salmoneus, can't wait to see Herc give the cyclops a good pounding. Meanwhile, however, he tries to interest Hercules in buying one of his togas. Hercules doesn't even know what a toga is.
Three villagers are working to put the river back on course (it's blocked by a huge boulder) when the cyclops appears. One of them challenges the cyclops, calling him "one-eyed freak", and is killed. The other tow flee. They run into Hercules and Salmoneus (Sal having given up on trying to sell to Hercules now wants to use his name for advertising). Atreus explains to Hercules that the cyclops diverted the river to irrigate Hera's vineyard: they were just trying to set it back on course. Hercules says he'll help them deal with the cyclops.
That night the villagers throw a party to welcome Hercules. Hercules tells Salmoneus he'd rather be fighting monsters. The party is interrupted by the daughters of Thespius, who have finally tracked Hercules there. Hercules promptly hides. Salmoneus, thinking quickly, tells them our hero is on his way to Athens.
At dawn, Scilla, one of the village women, is out gathering flowers. The cyclops appears. She protests that she's nowhere near the vineyard, but he frightens her off anyway. As she runs away she loses her scarf. Meanwhile, Salmoneus is telling Hercules how impressed he is if Hercules can attract so many beautiful women. "All they want is my body!" Hercules protests. Scilla returns to the village at a run: her story angers the villagers and one of then accuses Hercules of cowardice because he hasn't killed the cyclops yet. Herc is forced to fight him. Then he goes after the cyclops.
Castor, the man who supervises Hera's vineyard, is warned by one of his spies that Hercules is coming. Predictably, he is pleased by this news: "his" cyclops will kill Hercules and Castor can present his head to Hera at the upcoming festival. Castor goes to the cyclops to tell him to get ready for a fight. The cyclops doesn't seem keen on going up against Hercules. Castor sees Scilla's scarf in the cyclops' pocket and teases him about it, provoking him to anger.
Salmoneus has followed Hercules from the village: he is determined to witness what Hercules does to the cyclops. Reluctantly, Hercules lets him tag along. Then they come across those 50 sisters again. They do not look pleased. "Run," Hercules advises, taking his own advice. The sisters give chase, but Salmoneus isn't fit enough to run for long. "Don't worry -- they won't hurt you," Hercules tells him, still running. The women catch Salmoneus, and prescribe "the treatment" as punishment for his lying to them.
Castor is praying to Hera, promising her Hercules' head. He is interrupted by a man in black armor. This man is not impressed by Castor's boasts: apparently Hera has sent him to be sure Hercules dies. Should the cyclops fail, this man has the power to summon Hera's executioners. This threat terrifies Castor.
Poor Hercules is still running -- straight into the cyclops. The cyclops attacks him. Left with no option but to fight, Hercules attacks from the side (having only one eye, the cyclops has no peripheral vision) and knocks him down. Defeated, the cyclops tells him to finish it. But Hercules wants to talk. The cyclops reveals that the villagers have taunted him and called him names all his life, even stoned him, merely because he's ugly. Castor is the only one who has treated him with any respect: hence the cyclops works for him. Hercules points out that that's going to change when castor learns the cyclops didn't kill him and tries to persuade him to fight for the villagers. The cyclops refuses.
On his way back to Trachis, Hercules meets Salmoneus -- naked. Can't help laughing. Salmoneus want to know the details of Hercules' battle with the cyclops: "Did ya beat him?" "You could say that..." Hercules answers, and Salmoneus, assuming Hercules is being modest, fills in the details with his own imagination. At the village, Salmoneus tells his imaginary version of the battle, giving the villagers the impression that the cyclops is dead. When Hercules denies this, Atreus is angry, telling Hercules he should have killed the "freak". Scilla seems to be the only one who understand the cyclops' resentment. Despite the villagers' attitude, Hercules offers to help them re-divert the river ("I like the idea of Hera's grapes dying on the vine.").
The following morning, Hercules is once again confronted by the daughters of Thespius. This time instead of running he talks to them, explaining that he has no intention of fathering a child with any woman he's not in love with. Then he walks away -- they don't follow. Castor is furious with the cyclops for -- as he sees it -- betraying him and abandoning him to Hera's executioners. In his anger, Castor reveal s his contempt for the cyclops, which makes the cyclops realize that it be worth helping the villagers after all: he remembers Scilla, who treated him as a person before he scared her away. While the villagers (even Salmoneus, eventually) work together to divert the river, the cyclops appears. The villagers won't give him a chance, stoning his and refusing to listen, even when both Hercules and Scilla try to defend the cyclops. Disgusted by Atreus' behavior, Scilla follows the cyclops. Hercules tells the villagers she'll be fine: the cyclops won't harm her. He's angry with them himself, and tells them that they caused their own problem with their mistreatment of the cyclops. Scilla's understanding wins the cyclops over and he warns her and Hercules that Hera has loosed her executioners.
Hercules and the cyclops work together to defeat the executioners while a group of the villagers watch. Afterwards, Scilla persuades the villagers to give the cyclops a chance, and he offers to help protect the village as long as they treat him with respect.
Leaving Trachis behind, Salmoneus complains to Hercules that he hasn't sold a single toga. Apparently Salmoneus is going to stick to Hercules like glue...until the daughters of Thespius appear on the road again. Hercules gets ready to run. But this time they're not interested in him. It seems they've decided that Salmoneus will do instead. Salmoneus is very happy to oblige, and an amused (and no doubt relieved) Hercules continues his journey alone.
Starring: Kevin Sorbo (Hercules)
Guest Starring: Robert Trebor (Salmoneus), Kim Michalis (Scilla), Richard Moll (Cyclops), Ken Blackburn (Atreus), Jim McLarty (Myles), Donald Baigent (Evander), Michael Mizrahi (Castor), Derek Ward (The Ferret), David Press (Glaucus), Ray Woolf (Chief Executioner), Nancy Schroder (Head Sister), Ian Watkin (Inn Keeper), Arch Goodfellow (Lout)
Written by John Schulian
Directed by John Kretchmer