manicmyk

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