Highlander

The idea of immortals isn't new.This show examines the life of "immortals" and examines the answers to question as: What is like surviving your loved ones?Surviving your family?Your hometown?Your country?Your religion?The civilisation whose ideas you carry on?It can be thoughtful.Especialy once you stop thinking about "good"and "evil"immortals and start examining what makes them act the way they do.It's deeper than most modern TV shows and far better than the movies with the same name.The charachters tend to be very interesting.Especially the cynic,dissilusioned immortal Methos the surviver.Five thousand years old and he is sounding like count Fosca from de Beauvoir's "All Men Are Mortal"who is bitter,dissilusioned and hopelessely alone,destined to survive mankind.Other charachters of interest to viewers are1)Amanda the French,manipulative thieves who seems to enjoy her life more than other immortals seem to do.Has she found the meaning of life?2)Duncan McLeodThe star.Noble and thick-headed.He doesn't hunt other immortals.He waits for them to come and they do.How important is he?3)Darius,general and priest.What made him quit the game anyway.4)Kalas,singer and monk.An immortal killer who loves music and plotting.5)Kronos a horseman.He brings anarchy. The show is definitely worth seing.

The quality of the Highlander DVD box sets is a delight through all six releases. Season Five is no exception and contains the same unique special features and great video transfer as the rest. My one major turn off that, unfortunately, seems to be an industry standard is the folding package that takes up the whole coffee table. It doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the series or the special features which were enough in the first two seasons two make me buy the rest, at a premium for my impatience, from the official site (www.highlander-official.com).

As in the previous season, Highlander season 5 begins with a tale of Duncan's childhood. Through present day events and flashbacks, ' Prophecy' shows us a whole new breed of older immortal with powers that certainly would have helped the character of Methos (Peter Wingfield) in earlier seasons, mind control over humans and younger immortals through a powerful form of hypnotic suggestion. We are introduced to the character of Casandra, the first immortal that Duncan (Adrian Paul) ever came into contact with as a child and a fabled witch in his native village. 'Prophecy' as befits its title foreshadows the entire season we later find, even to the point of making minor mention of Connor MacLeod, Duncan's distant cousin and the hero of the original Highlander movie. While some may not see the referencing of the original movie for the first time since the pilot for the series as foreshadowing, to me it stands as a statement from the producers that all bets are off.

It is easy to forget that there is now a 'chosen one' prophecy hanging over Duncan's head as you get into the season. After his failed attempt to kill Richie Ryan (Stan Kirsch) during his 'Dark Quickening' (the 'good guy gone evil through no fault of his own' scenario of the previous season), Duncan must make amends with his former pupil or push him away. Relations are still strained with Joe Dawson, his former Watcher now friend and Methos shows up in enough episodes this season that the producers must have been thinking spin-off.

The penultimate season of Highlander has the usual mix of comedic episodes interspersed with the serious. Highlights of the lighter episodes include the return of Roger Daltrey as Hugh Fitzcairn in an entirely 'historical' episode entitled 'The Stone of Scone' and a 'Bonnie and Clyde' style romp with the spin-off character Amanda (Elisabeth Gracen) and her former partner Cory Raines (Nicolas Lea) making Duncan's life miserable both in present day and the past in 'Money No Object.' The Funniest moments from the season come from an episode entitled 'Dramatic License' in which a female author has published a romance novel about Duncan and an exaggerated account of some of his many exploits.

Foreshadowing plays a huge role in this season and the Prophecy that was told in the opening episode starts to come into play in the darker episodes of the season. In 'Comes a Horseman' and 'Revelation 6:8' we find that Methos has been hiding an a secret of his ancient and evil past that could end up destroying the world. 'Double Jeopardy' uses the Highlander master craft of the flashback to reintroduce us to one of the series original and deadliest villains, who may not be dead after all, Xavier St. Cloud (Roland Gift). Finally, 'Archangel', the finale, introduces the deadliest threat to immortals yet which may very well Satan himself

This has to be one of the best Sci-Fi series out there. Adrian Paul is an excellent actor and fits the part perfect as Duncan. The first season was really over the top with Tessa. Duncan and Tessa made an excellent couple.

All in all, an excellent series. Only thing is, it should have went on for some more seasons, but running as many years as it did is indication enough to tell you it's a great series. Highlander fans will love it.

I always like how Duncan has the 'flashbacks' to previous 'lives'. Just adds to the character and shows what he had to do and go through throughout his immortal life.

This series is a seamless excerpt from the time line of the Highlander movies. A science fiction fantasy deluxe, the tale of Duncan McLeod, of the klan McLeod, becomes a realistic, believable, secret world hidden within our own. The only "real" sadness is Duncan's eternal loneliness due to the eventual deaths of all he allows near. Mortals are so fragile and, as for immortals, "There can be only one!"

Very easy to get caught up in, my children and I each carried katanas (plastic sword replicas) for many months during the original run of the series. Duplicating sword "riffs" and "taking" heads made for many hours of "immortal" fun.

Try to catch "HIGHLANDER" from the beginning episode and follow Duncan through the centuries of his life (in present day and flashback sequences). He adapts to all "times" and we get to learn perspective on present day and (supposedly) historical events immortals have influenced or shaped.

Too bad it's gone, but you can only save the world so many times before it gets old. There are re-runs though......

Far superior to the films, for every reason: Better venue for developing the mythos and the characters, better opportunity to explore the nature and implications of immortality, and a far superior leading man for all the reasons we choose them. Adrian Paul (who inspires whole libraries of romance novels) looks magnificent and convincing in any time period and has ALL the right moves. He's also a vastly superior actor to Christopher Lambert. It is easy to see why the producers regretted not having made Duncan MacLeod immortal in an earlier time period; not only would there have been more history to explore and a richer background for Duncan, but it would have provided more visual riches for the audience.

The series jumped the shark after season 5, which I think had some of its best episodes: "Comes a Horseman", "Revelation 6:8", "Duende", "Dramatic License", "Little Tin God". "The Stone of Scone," which has its defects, represents an episode type that this series should have done more of: a complete flashback without 20th C references. The possibilities of such episodes were a missed opportunity.