Olympus
Season 1 Episode 1: “The Temple of Gaia”
Created by Nick Willing
Starring Tom York, Sonita Henry, Sonya Cassidy, Wayne Burns, Graham Shiels, Matt Frewer, Cas Anvar, and John Emmet Tracy
Syfy
Air Date: Thursday, April 2nd, 2015, 10pm

A series set in Greek mythology…already intrigues me. There will be some spoilers, so be careful!

Olympus 1.1 “The Temple of Gaia” is a visual overload of oversized statues and gore usually reserved for premium cable. It is campy, much what you’d expect from a Syfy show — the acting is more than life and the effects are good, but you can tell it’s from a brand new television show on a network that is still trying to prove itself (it is getting there), with no major stars.

Still, the episode was a lot of fun — that’s where the campiness shined. I giggled quite a bit from some of the ridiculousness. The show does not take itself too seriously. We meet Hero (Tom York). At least, that’s the name he is cast as. We find out that nobody can utter his name or they will be turned to stone. His legs are locked in some sort of vise, and there are feet littered all around the Cyclops lair. Props to whomever designed the Cyclops. I have not seen many other versions, but this is undoubtedly the best (and by best I mean creepiest) Cyclops ever made. Hero rescues the Oracle of Gaia (Sonya Cassidy), who really does not want to be rescued, and has quite the smart mouth, which is awesome.

Medea (Sonita Henry), who is mother of the year in every incarnation, is bloodletting her own son in an attempt to solve the riddle of the Lexicon. They do not explain exactly what the significance of this thing is, but buzz about the show has it being the key to entering the realm of the gods. She is married to King Aegeus (Graham Shiels), who is in a war with King Minos. There is a sick battle scene and the most disgusting wounds happen in slow motion. As can be expected, Medea is the real ruler. Pallas (John Emmet Tracy), the king’s brother (who reminds me so much of Eric Bana in Troy), skulks around suspiciously.

Hero is handy with whips and chains. Hubba hubba.

One other thing I really like about Hero’s character is that he shows fear, quite a lot of it, and screams with real raw emotion when fighting and killing. It’s refreshing.

Olympus airs Thursday nights at 10pm on Syfy.

Syfy’s press release:

Syfy transports viewers back to ancient Greece – and an action-packed world where Humans, Gods and Monsters clash — in the channel’s newest acquired series Olympus. The 13-part mythological drama premieres on Syfy Thursday, April 2 at 10PM (ET/PT).

Starring Matt Frewer (Max Headroom, Orphan Black), Cas Anvar (The Expanse, Argo), Sonita Henry (Star Trek, The Fifth Element),) and Graham Shiels (Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Dark World), the gripping series captures the dangerous courage of a few brave men and women who banished the Gods to the realm of the unconscious – a place they called the Underworld or the Kingdom of Hades. Not a place the Gods would like to call home.

OLYMPUS Premieres Syfy April 2 at 10 9c HD

A young man’s mythical quest to solve the riddle of the Gods, unlock the doors to Olympus and become an immortal. Hero’s epic journey leads him through the darkest realms of Ancient Greece accompanied by the beautiful, but twisted Oracle of Gaia, the powerful sorceress Medea and genius inventor Daedalus. Hero battles trickster gods, vicious monsters, seductive nymphs, kings and despots, as he transforms from fresh-faced naive into a ruthless, coldhearted killer, and match for the gods themselves.