Is there any precedent for Hercules being a fat, cowardly buffoon?

by mickster_island

My wife has been watching the BBC children's show Atlantis, which presents Hercules this way.

Granted, the show is a light-hearted mish-mash of Greek mythology and history. (Let's see...Jason is from modern times and his two best friends are Hercules and Pythogoras and they all live happily in Atlantis. And Medusa is Hercules' girlfriend.)

So this TV show for kids is pretty goofy and fun, but I'm wondering if there's any precedent for their characterization of Hercules.

Thanks!

XenophonTheAthenian

Heracles appears to have been a staple character in Old Comedy--he appears in the Birds as basically a stock character. In the Birds he's a fairly stupid oaf who's characterized more by his gluttony than anything else (Heracles' appetite was somewhat notorious in antiquity, as was his lust, at least in comedy). He's not particularly intelligent in the Argonautica either