Highlander - Series Season 1 - Reviews

[markpud]

Originally posted by Highlander II

Um, need i say more than shirtless Duncan and his Baywatch bouncing man-boobs?? (as he runs across the river)

hehehe! another eppy i saw once, a while ago, but the way you describe it sounds about right...

(not much use for episode rating am i? )

[Highlander II]

don't worry about the ratings -- i haven't really been using them anyway ---

i was just talking about something while waiting for ppl to catch up!

[Highlander II]

Deadly Medicine

Okay i'll just start this one off really nicely by saying, i didn't like this episode much, mostly b/c Joe Pantoliano is in it; and tho he's wonderful as the other Fratelli brother in "The Goonies" (w/ Robert Davi who sings wonderfully in Italian), he plays an annoying little **** in a movie w/ RDA and he bugged me, so i didn't like him and thus didn't like his character, instantly, in this ep.

Now - on w/ the rest of the show....


Duncan's hit by a car. Okay, i can see that happening, weird things happen, and of course, someone's gonna see it - usually, except on L&O when they actually need to find the killer, but that's a whole other thread/story - and the car speeds off w/o stopping. This twisted doctor (who is already a whacko b4 he sees Duncan) witnesses Duncan's 'miraculous recovery' and carts him off to his little lab for experimentation.

Randi McFarlane (who disappears in about 2 or 3 eps) discovers that Duncan has no medical records of any kind (ya know they didn't keep records like that in the 1500's) and she rushes to give this info to the doctor, who brushes her off, but finds the info very intriguing for his research.

The doctor's lover begins to question him and threatens to go to the disciplinary board, so, what happens? he kills her. What a guy!

We now know that immortals are affected by drugs and suffer memory lapses as a result, it that's one of the side-effects (whether Duncan's memory lapse was a result of the drugs or his head injury is hard to tell from the ep).

This fits with the stuff about whether immies can breathe underwater or not -- Duncan wears a wetsuit, but no breathing apparatus and dives to 18 feet, and there's no way to know exactly how long he was underwater searching for that camera. So, i STILL don't know if immies can breathe underwater or not.

The dark room - developing the film - there is WAY!!! too much light in that room for pulling the film out of the canister and rolling it onto the spindle for processing. When you develop film, absolutely NO light can touch the film or it gets overexposed and you have problems (like no picture). The red light is okay for printing the photos (x-ferring image to photo paper) but not for the processing part. (studied some photography too, this is a HUGE peeve of mine!)

The ring in the photo --> Duncan says the ingraving is the Greek letter Omicron. where did that come from? just b/c it looks like the letter "O" is must be Omicron? that was a wild hair out of no where.

Oh, and just love the old Tandy-looking computer system. Doesn't this series take place in the 1990's?? That computer looked older than the ones on MacGyver!

And how convenient was it that there was only one organisation in the whole COUNTRY that used Omicron as it's first letter? Somehow I just don't see that being the case!

And, how easy was it for Tessa to get that doctor's address? She just walked in and told the nurse that she was an old friend and couldn't remember the address? Huh? aren't hospitals supposed to 'protect' private info? even for the doctors and such?? what if Tessa was really a suave serial killer?

Like I said, not a great episode. Some plot holes and some weird things that were too easy and didn't make sense. I understand the pull to do an ep where someone wants to figure out how immortals live forever, but there wasn't really a lot of focus on the experimentation stuff - more on 'oh dear, how do we get Duncan out of this mess?' - I know Duncan is the focus of the show, but sometimes it's just TOO Duncan-centered -- shift away from him a little every now-and-then (even in the 1st season) and focus on story.

[Highlander II]

The Sea Witch

Richie is helping his friend and her daughter, and he runs into some heavy duty drug dealers who are associated wtih Alexei Voshin - an immortal.

Well, see, Richie's friend stole drugs and money from the drug dealers and the dealers, see, they want it back, so they're looking for her. Well, Duncan, the goody-two-shoes makes like MacGyver and dumps it in the sink.

Richie's friend decides to leave her daughter, Belinda, behind w/ Tessa and Duncan, then she's taken hostage by the drug dealers, who don't believe her when she tells them Duncan flushed the drugs.

Belinda replaced the money in the bag w/ socks, smart kid!

Hair - there was lots of bad hair in this ep! Marco, one of Alexei's goons, had some really bad hair, and Duncan's was pretty gross too.

Knives - why does everyone feel the need to use a stilleto/switch-blade style knife? (or a butterfly - equally as useless) One guy had a stilleto and one guy had some dorky thing w/ no real handle -- well, no grip on it anyway.

Alexei - big dork - names his new ship after his old ship - this one's the "Sea Witch II" - no way Duncan would have EVER figured out that was him! man - this guys just sharp as a tack.

Accents - Alexei's isn't too bad -- but Duncan? boy did his suck!

More on that whole 'can immies breathe underwater thing' -- Duncan jumps into the water (in the flashback) and stays under for a very long time. I'm still confused on this question tho -- can they or can't they?

The fight between Alexei and Duncan is pretty cool - good, fair fight -- no major weird tricks - just Alexei is dumped into the ocean.

Oh - if Tessa will 'always remember' Belinda, they why is the girl never mentioned again? If they had at least had the little girl send a letter or something - it ties bits and pieces of the show together --- makes the characters lives seem more 'real' if stuff like that is done - ya know??

[Diamond9697]

okay...this eppy was posted a bit ago but I have a question....what was up with Richie's polka dotted shirt in "Free Fall" *shudders*

[Highlander II]

dunno - probably the same thing that was up w/ his whole outfit in "The Gathering"

[Highlander II]

Just thought I'd use my 3000 post to send you another review...
Revenge Is Sweet

There is a flashback at the beginning of the episode to New Year's Eve 1991 or 1992 (forgot which), where we see Duncan fighting w/ another immie, who falls over the balcony and into the water. On his way back to the party, Duncan hides his sword in a planter. Why? If he can normally carry it under that short coat, why can't he carry it under his tux jacket??

Tessa calls Duncan 'Mac' a lot in the first season (i think she stops in season 2).

Vanity's character -- Rebecca -- is rude and overbearing; and she does some weird hand-waving thing w/ her sword (it leads into a flashback sequence -- a stupid flashback). The flashback shows Duncan w/ a very bad accent facing off, sort of, w/ Walter. The only thing it shows us is that he's met the guy before. woohoo - why do we care? he didn't do anything to Duncan, so aside from the fact that he's 'headhunting' why is Duncan so set on killing him??

Oh, this is the episode w/ Tessa's weird, doughnut sculptures, and where Richie is a used car salesman -- at a dealership w/ one heck of a markup -- $10,000 for that convertible his friend buys? what is that? esp if it's used and knocks like it does - the thing is probably about 5 years old (anyone who knows more about cars and wants to fill in, please do) - so there's no way it would sell used for $10,000 -- so, either Richie's friend has plenty of money, or she's an idiot! and so is Richie for selling her the car. Remind me NOT to buy a car from Richie!

Question: What is w/ Vanity's hair? It's really 80's looking and weird.

Duncan's computer skills - or, should i say, lack of them - well, until he goes back to Paris - what is that about? In this ep he couldn't get the computer to work if given step-by-step instructions, yet 2 eps later he's a wiz? what is w/ that? (Big continuity problem here! argh!). Oh, and since he's using the computer anyway - why does he send Richie to the library? Could they not find something better for Richie to do in this ep? Duncan could have used the internet to find the same info Richie was digging up at the library. Writers need to find something better to do w/ Richie if he's gonna be on the show.

When Tessa's ugly sculpture is vandalized, she and Duncan fight over who is responsible - Rebecca or Reinhart (Walter).

Explain to me how Tessa can have a different outfit for each day, and poor ole Richie only has one suit? Speaking of clothing -- the poison dress - does Duncan have the best timing or what? He comes in just in time to save Tessa! Wow! wish it was really like that! And, Rebecca - she has some awful clothing - ick!

Oh - and Duncan knows the only doctor in the free world who still makes house calls. The last time i saw that was in Gone w/ The Wind. (okay, that's probably not true, but you get the idea.)

How does Duncan know that Reinhart has Richie just b/c Richie says 'Mr. MacLeod'?

More inexplicables: Rebecca's logic: There was a list of names in Reinhart's things; Duncan's name was on it; everyone else on the list was dead - killed w/ a sword; Duncan had the sword (which Rebecca stole, btw), so Duncan must have killed Reinhart.
hmm - let's think a minute, did the list have a label? 'ppl i'm gonna kill so they don't kill me first'?? or 'if any of these ppl are still alive after you think i'm dead, and has my sword, that's the one who killed me'?? um - no -- so how did she even know what the list was? maybe it was Reinhart's christmas card list or his list of ppl who owed him money - who knows - but just b/c everyone else on the list was dead and Duncan had the sword doesn't mean Duncan killed him (esp since he wasn't dead anyway). Next: Duncan had the sword - so what? Doesn't mean he killed Reinhart. There are a number of ways he could have gotten the sword: bought it, gift, found it, sold to him by a customer. So, her logic is skewed - just a bit.

Okay - this is also the other episode on the tape w/ the Gathering if you rent it at Blockbuster or something -- don't know why they picked this one to go w/ it - but they did.

This episode? Eh - not nearly as bad as Free Fall, but I didn't like this one much. This chic is out for revenge w/ NO information except that Duncan has the sword of her ex-fiance, whom she believes to be dead b/c he's a butthead. If he really loved her he would have come back and told her what happened - actually, he could have come back anyway - she didn't know he had fought w/ Duncan and wouldn't have known if he didn't tell her. But, he just wanted her to go after Duncan so he could kill Duncan instead. Moron. Whatever. Watch "The Gathering" again to get out of the bad ep funk.

[Diamond9697]

now I only really watched the first couple of season's episodes one time...since it was Methos that made me really start watching the show...however I do remember that this episode made no sense whatsoever to me...it was a little strange and the clothes were really bad...and I thought Rebecca was extrodinarily stupid too..

[Highlander II]

yeah - well, given the chance - i wouldn't watch this one again -

i think i kinda liked it the first time, but when i sat down and REALLY watched it to do this review - i found so many plot holes it wasn't funny! I mean, we're talking holes big enough to fly a goa'uld mothership through here! argh!

don't know who wrote this ep, but they needed a lesson in 'connect the dots' -- continuity and Highlander!! oh - logic wouldn't have hurt either ---

i'll do the next review in a bit ---

[Highlander II]

See No Evil

Tessa and Duncan are going to see one of Tessa's old friends from the Sorbonne, about putting some of Tessa's art in the entryway of the new stadium. Duncan asks if he can get tickets on the 50-yrd-line, but the arena they're in, looks nothing like a big football stadium, it looks like the type of arena that would house a hockey or basketball team - there is NO way a football field would fit in there.

The Scalper Copy Cat: his kife has a wide blade w/ a bone handle, fixed blade knife, and he wears this weird motorcycle outfit from the '20's.

I don't understand the use of the still-looking, grainy shots when the scalper is moving in on Natalie - it looks weird.

Duncan gets beat up by the scalper, some big, bad, tough guy HE is! And, why does Duncan always step in to solve these cases for the police (apparently wherever Duncan lives, there must also reside the most ignorant police force on the planet), but then wants no other involvement? no recognition? He's odd.

Flashback: Marcus Korolus uses either a short sword, or a longer knife on his victims (that the copy cat does), also bone handled. He has a very ornate sword (long sword) w/ etchings on the blade. Oh - and Duncan has a severe panty-line going on here - well, brief-line (the man ain't wearing boxers). And the quickening - bad, AP's acting was bad, the whole thing was bad.

Randi McFarlane - why is this chic always all over Duncan? What is with her?? I know, she's a reporter, but she's really pushy.

Oh, and Duncan is the best cop on the planet apparently - he solves cases that the police SHOULD be able to solve w/ little or no problem --- the guys on L&O would have NO problems with some of the cases the "Seacouver" and "Paris" police have to work on.

By his next attack, the Scalper Copy Cat has a new knife - longer with a blood groove in the blade (this is so the knife doesn't get stuck when you stab someone). And, he rides and Indian motorcycle.

Trivia bit: The $100.00 bill that Duncan hands the guy at the motorcycle shop was printed in Minneapolis, MN (you can tell by the letter coded on the bill) -- US Mint doesn't use these letter id's anymore --- not as far as i can tell, anyway, not since they switched to the new design.

Richie had a major wipe-out! And Duncan gives him one of those 'Dad' talks about going after the guy on his own.

Why does everyone always ask Duncan if he's a cop or something?

Duncan comes up w/ the 'trap' and uses Randi as part of his plan.

Richie tries to sabatoge the Indian, and Tessa hits the Scalper Copy Cat w/ the car. She feels really bad about it too - after all, she deliberately hurt this guy - that 'mixed emotion' thing. She is human after all.

This episode, well, it's kinda weird, and aside from Duncan turning into the best investigator on the planet, it's not bad. The fact that the writers have Duncan solve all these cases and such is just really irritating after about the 2nd time.

[Diamond9697]

hmmmm...I don't recall ever watching this episode...wonder if I have it on tape somewhere....

[Highlander II]

don't really know how to describe it --

just there's a guy copy-catting an old serial killer (old one was an immie, played by John Hertzler) -- and he only kills blonds -- b/c a blond woman in the original serial killer's past 'wronged' him -- and he wants to get back at her for it ---- guy's a nutball --

[Diamond9697]

serial killers generally are...look at Caspian

[Highlander II]

yeah - well, i thought that was a given --- serial killer = nutball

but - ya know -- just to emphasize the point ----

[Highlander II]

Eyewitness


Okay - this episode doesn't really have much going for it. Tessa witnesses, well, sort of, a murder. The problem is she didn't witness the 'act' of the murder - just the before and after.

On with the ep --

Richie can't park worth a ****. and why is he driving Tessa's car anyway? Oh, and he just happens to have sticky notes on him, in case he doesn't have enough change for the parking meter. Sure.

Question regarding Tessa's wardrobe: does she EVER wear a skirt that is longer than the accompanying jacket?

We're told that Duncan is out of town, and Tessa's attending a show of her sculpture where she meets and speaks with a woman who admires her work, but it later the victim of the afore mentioned murder.

Richie hooks up with some chic - and all b/c he doesn't know squat about art.

The police don't believe Tessa (why am i NOT surprised), so Duncan agrees to help find the killer, Richie actually offers something of substance -- says to check the guestbook for the woman's name.

The immie who killed Anne Wheeler (the woman who talked to Tessa at the art show), comes to the antique shop and spars w/ Duncan - not exactly sure why - maybe he tracked Tessa and is gonna fight Duncan b/c he can't get to Tessa. I don't know.

Randi questions Tessa, and the two have a sparring of words b/c no one believes Tessa saw what she says she saw.

Cops are staying out of the investigation b/c the police chief is the one who killed Anne Wheeler - kinda interrupts the investigative process.

Immie goes after Tessa b/c she was the witness and Duncan takes about 3 bullets, then claims he was only nicked, tho there's a good amount of blood in the car.

Duncan, with his pocketwatch in hand, saves everyone from a bomb at the safehouse. Yeah, i'd feel really safe there.

Cops solve the murder of Anne Wheeler - they find out it's the police chief, Andrew Ballion (spelling on his name could be off).

Not a great episode, but not quite Free Fall either. How could this have been improved? Um- how about not having Duncan do all the work and solve all the crimes? How about actually letting the police do their job? I have a hard time believing that the police force could be that moronic that they couldn't solve at least one or two of these crimes. I understand that sometimes Duncan doesn't want them to solve it b/c he needs to kill the immie, but some of these things, the police COULD do! Give me a BREAK!!