"Hercules Returns" is a screen adaptation of the popular Australian live comedy show "Double Take", conceived and performed by Des Mangan with Sally Patience. The "Double Take" show, which began in Sydney in 1986, is part of the "dub parody" genre, in which ostensibly serious films are deliberately re-voiced in a satirical or spoof manner. Well-known examples of this genre include the 1960s Jay Ward TV series "Fractured Flickers" and Woody Allen's "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" (1966). The "Double Take" concept is similar to the Los Angeles-based club show (later transferred to TV) "Mad Movies with the L.A. Connection", which was popular in the US in the 1970s and 1980s, and the long-running Dynasty Dub series found on YouTube.