Summary[]
The year is 1789 and a coach rides by. Two people, Lady Marie DeValle (Ephiny) and Francois (Salmoneus) are in it, flirting. Francois hands Marie a yellow rose, the calling card of The Chartreuse Fox. Capitan Gerrard stops the coach, looking for the Chartreuse Faux; but Marie fools him in thinking she was with her father. Francois talks about making pesants into heroes, and Marie makes a bet that he could do it. When they flirt some more, two "highway men" come by demanding money. The two men are Robert (Hercules) and Jean-Pierre (Iolaus).
Robert and Jean Pierre are tied up while Marie and Francois talk about the Ancient Greeks, and the legendary journeys of Hercules. Meanwhile, Captain Gerrard is still hunting down The Fox. He swears that he will kill him.
The four french people are walking around the town, looking for something to eat. They run into Croissant (Falafel), selling icky food. More flashbacks of Hercules pop up, but when they are over, disaster strikes. The police come looking for The Chartreuse Fox. Robert and Jean Pierre beat them up with fish, but they end up hiding in barrels.
At dinner, Robert and Jean Pierre demand money before they become heroes. Marie goes to her coach to get her bag. Jean Pierre, Robert, and Francois are very pleased with themselves because they convinced her that Francois was The Chartreuse Fox. She comes back with coach. Robert will become a hero for the lady, and Francois talks about love and Serena, the last of the Golden Hinds (Hind trilogy clips pop up).
The police show up and Marie hides the men in a truck until it's safe. Once the guys get out of the trunk, they find their money is gone and a yellow rose on the table.
Marie thinks she has a clean get away, playing with Francois' money, but Captain Gerrard stops, her having deduced that she is the real Chartreuse Fox, and places her under arrest.
The trio is watching Marie when she's about to get sent to be beheaded at the guillotine. She preaches before she goes: "Vive la Fraunce. Vive la revolution!" Robert convinces the others that they should help her. They do. Big long French fight scene breaks out. Robert saves Marie, several times, and when he frees her, she kisses his cheeks. Marie has her dual with Captain Gerrard, leaving his undies shown with a yellow rose in his shirt.
The men decide to join Marie on her revolutionary journeys, with Francois suggesting some names for the group.
Disclaimer[]
"The French accents depicted in this motion picture are entirely fictitious. Any similarity to actual accents, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Vive La Revolution!"
Gallery[]
Background Information[]
- This is HTLJ's second clip show – the first was "The Cave of Echoes". In order to save on budget, approximately one third of the episode is made up of clips from previous series episodes, plus a couple of unrelated movies: Conan the Barbarian, Spartacus, "Gladiator", "Encounter", "Hercules and the Lost Kingdom", "The Cave of Echoes", "The Gauntlet", "Centaur Mentor Journey", "Not Fade Away", "Eye of the Beholder", "Doomsday", "Once a Hero", "The King of Thieves", "The Wedding of Alcmene", "Mummy Dearest", "When a Man Loves a Woman"
- Coming on the heels of "The Lost City," this is the second consecutive episode to feature an interaction between Michael Hurst and Robert Trebor, a rare occurrence regardless of which characters they are playing.
- The title "Les Contemptibles" is based on the 1862 epic novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. At one point, Jean-Pierre says "We are more or less miserable," pronouncing the final word in French.
- The Chartreuse Fox appears to be a mashup of The Scarlet Pimpernel (who left behind a color-coded flower at the site of his accomplishments) and El Zorro (whose Spanish name means Fox).
- When the new foursome tries to think of a name for their group, Jean-Pierre proposes, "The Powerful Rangers" – a nod to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. When the Power Rangers franchise moved to New Zealand years later, various Xenaverse actors and actresses obtained different live or voice roles, including Michael Hurst and Rose McIver, who played the Yellow Ranger in Power Rangers RPM
- Francois proposes "The Four Muskrats" as a name for the group – a nod to the Three Musketeers.
- Not counting the clips, this is the first episode in which neither Hercules nor Iolaus appears.
- This is the only "uber" episode of HTLJ which does not feature an immortal Hercules. For that matter, it is the only "uber" episode of the entire franchise where none of the future characters have a personal connection to ancient characters. Although it is possible that Jean-Pierre, Francois, and Lady Marie are descendants and/or reincarnations of Iolaus, Salmoneus, and Ephiny, the concept is not explored. Robert cannot be the reincarnation of Hercules, since Hercules is revealed to be immortal in "Yes, Virginia, There is a Hercules".
Links and References[]
Stars[]
- Kevin Sorbo as Hercules (archival) and Robert
- Michael Hurst as Iolaus (archival) and Jean-Pierre
Guest Stars[]
- Danielle Cormack as Lady Marie DeValle
- Robert Trebor as Francois
Other Cast[]
- Patrick Wilson as Captain Gerrard
- Paul Norell as Croissant
- Mark Perrett as Coachman
- Campbell Rousselle as Sergeant
- Robert Lee as Guy
References[]
[]
| << Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 >> | ||||||
| #01 | Mercenary | #09 | A Star to Guide Them | #17 | Les Contemptibles | |||
| #02 | Doomsday | #10 | The Lady and the Dragon | #18 | Reign of Terror | |||
| #03 | Love Takes a Holiday | #11 | Long Live the King | #19 | The End of the Beginning | |||
| #04 | Mummy Dearest | #12 | Surprise | #20 | War Bride | |||
| #05 | Not Fade Away | #13 | Encounter | #21 | A Rock and a Hard Place | |||
| #06 | Monster Child in the Promised Land | #14 | When a Man Loves a Woman | #22 | Atlantis | |||
| #07 | The Green-Eyed Monster | #15 | Judgment Day | |||||
| #08 | Prince Hercules | #16 | The Lost City | |||||