The Gathering

This may not be the greatest acting by either Christopher Lambert or Adrian Paul, but it got the job done. Christopher Lambert was the mentor to Adrian Paul. They are both from the same clan, but when Tessa asks if they are related, they don't explain how the clan works. Are they distant cousins? Is Lambert (Connor MacLeod) the uncle from three generations earlier? It would have been nice if they just came out and said that they had a bloodline relationship.

Christopher Lambert always has a goofy look on his face, and he was intense in his first roles as Tarzan, and as Connor MacLeod in the original Highlander movie, but later on, he never seemed convincing in any role. Here he is not bad, just his usual self. Duncan MacLeod / Adrian Paul was originally a dancer and a model who was born in the United Kingdom and came to the USA to seek his fortune and fame. His acting is too intense for a guy who has been alive 400 years, but it was a good contrast to Christopher Lambert.

This episode should have been all about the two MacLeod's fighting the evil Slan (played very well by Richard Moll of Night Court TV series). The flashbacks were good, and the story should have focused on the two immortals seeing each other after a hundred years or so.

Unfortunately, the incredibly annoying Richie (Stan Kirsch) is introduced to the series. Richie is a never-ending magnet for trouble. He is a 17 going on 18 young adult with a bad attitude who also manages to make every dumb mistake that is possible, and always gets Duncan into trouble. Richie also seems to attract every evil immortal in town to Duncan MacLeod, who has to fight all the battles that are started by Richie.

Tessa Noel is played by Alexandra Vandermoot as a non-stop nagging harpy who wants to be involved in every moment of Duncan's life, and wants to control every decision he makes. Why is Duncan so insanely in love with her? I guess he likes to be miserable, and that would also explain why he adopts Richie into his life? Tessa and Richie really drag this episode down every time they are in it.

Overall, the combination of Christopher Lambert and Adrian Paul is entertaining, and Richard Moll does a very good job as a menacing evil character.

This show has an interesting idea behind it, but the cinematography is just plain bad. The fight scenes make no sense and the choreography is basically nonexistent. The acting is lackluster at best, and the storytelling makes no sense. I felt my brain rotting with each passing minute. I will continue to give this series a chance to see if it improves with time, but based off of the first episode I'm not impressed.

I decided to watch this show because of the effect it's had on the fandom community (I was a small child when it first came out) and it's both horrendous and perfect. It made me laugh out loud more than many comedy shows manage, and the bad guy seems to have come from the Nicolas Cage school of acting.

I have the 98 Minute long movie version of this episode on VHS. It was made into an actual movie and was intended to be Highlander 3.

I had no idea it actually existed, and it took a bit of digging around on google to even find mention of it. The version I found was manufactured by Hemdale Home Video INC. and is dated 1993.

It's good to see another Highlander movie out there, even if it's on an all but extinct format.

My guess is they produced this as an unedited, extended version for fans and collectors, as it would likely not have been released on television in this length.

Definitely worth a watch if you can ever get your hands on it.

I only recently watched "Highlander" as well as "Highlander 2: The Quickening". "Highlander" is okay...and the sequel is nonsensical and pretty stupid. So, I am obviously not a huge fan of the franchise...at least so far. My problem, especially in the first film, was mostly the acting and some of the dialog...but I though the basic concept was pretty neat...which is why I decided to try the TV series. As for the second film, even like many diehard fans, I'd rather just pretend it didn't happen!

This first episode is a 'handoff'...featuring guest star Christopher Lambert essentially handing off the lead to Adrian Paul, who plays Duncan. And, while Paul is English and not Scottish, his accent is at least remotely like a Scottish one...unlike Lambert (who SHOULD have been cast as a Frenchman...not a Scot).

The story involves much of what you'd expect...a big baddie (in this case, Richard Moll...who seems very similar to the excellent villain in the first film, Clancy Brown. He intends to kill Duncan...but also terrorize and possibly kill Duncan's girlfriend. There is also an annoying teen character...one who I think will be in later episodes but who was the weakest part of this first episode.

Overall, a very watchable show...much of it because Paul was much better cast than Lambert. Interesting enough to make me tune in for more.