Highlander - Series Season 1 - Reviews

[Diamond9697]

oh my...Duncan agrees to go after a killer...there's a new plot line

How come all these cops are so damn stupid in these shows...and someone comes in and says they have info on a murder and they just brush them off....this trend is massivly annoying

[Highlander II]

Originally posted by Diamond9697
oh my...Duncan agrees to go after a killer...there's a new plot line

How come all these cops are so damn stupid in these shows...and someone comes in and says they have info on a murder and they just brush them off....this trend is massivly annoying

yeah - that was my question too --

--Why is it that only on 'cop' shows are the cops smart enough to solve their own cases?--

i'm sorry, but even MacGyver let the cops do their job -- tho he had some run-ins where the cops were stupid and wouldn't listen to him, but --- they were usually foreign cops who didn't like Americans anyway ----

Duncan cannot be the 'ultimate' investigator -- argh! he is NOT that smart just b/c he's 400+ yrs old --- arghargh!!

[Highlander II]

Band of Brothers

In this episode, we meet Darius for the first time - and a very impressive character he is, tho his part is rather small - hard to be prevalent when you are in Paris and the main storyline is in the States.

Grayson is killing Darius' proteges, and Darius sends Duncan a message to warn him that Grayson is coming. Grayson is 1400 years older than Duncan (making him about 1800 years old). And Duncan says Grayson is 'one of the few Ancient immortals left'. (What exactly this is supposed to mean, we'll never know, b/c Darius is one, the 4 Horsemen are considered such, and I believe there were others, Cassandra....)

Duncan goes to the cabin that we saw in the 1st ep to train for Grayson's arrival. He tells Richie of a legend: Darius killed a Holy Man at the gates of Paris - the oldest living immortal at the time (so, this guy could have been pretty old, and, if alive today, would be older than Methos), and he changed; turned his back on war -- he had been a great warrior until then ---

Richie says something to the effect of 'so, does that mean if a really good immie took the head of a really bad one, would the good immie turn bad?' -- which, i guess, could be a reference to a 'dark quickening' (Doesn't Joe say something like it's never happened?? around the time Duncan gets his DQ?)

Richie and Duncan have a talk about Victor Paulous and Darius, which leads to a flashback where we learn how Duncan met Darius and changed his ways - sort of.

Darius: apparently he has some medical knowledge - herbal medicine or something --

Duncan's sword in the flashback is a basket-hilt Claymore.

Back at the store/apartment --- (okay, is it just me, or is it really odd that both Connor and Duncan work in antique stores that they live above??) -- Duncan and Tessa have sex, which somehow leads to Duncan working out with his katana -- hey - you make the transition ---

Victor Poulous arrives via helicopter and Grayson was going to take him out here, but Duncan interferes, Randi sees him, then questions him later about it; he blows her off - again.

Duncan tells Tessa to go to Paris - and to take Richie with her - and accept the job she'd been offerred, so she'll be out of the way while he deals with Grayson.

What is w/ Randi's mittens?? big fluffy wooly mittens --

Flashback: a man come to rob Darius' church and stabs Darius, then faces-off against Duncan; Darius begs Duncan not to kill the men; then Duncan says he's leaving Darius and going to America -- pretty worthless flashback - except that it shows Duncan leaving his 'teacher' ---

Duncan: "With the Gathering near at hand, what makes you think any of us have a century left." (for a guy who's been around 400 years, he certainly has yet to grasp the proper grammar of the English language - can we say 'subject-verb agreement'?? -- 'any of us has' - singular subject-singular verb! argh!)

anyway - he says this to Grayson when Grayson offers to allow them to be the last two

Grayson -- he's evil, wants to be the last one (who doesn't?), kills innocent people to 'get to' others - in this case Darius - he's trying to draw him off Holy Ground; twisted mind, orchestrates plans to kill mortal students of Darius

Yet again, every perp in town is a martial arts expert, but Duncan's better - and kicks all their butts.

Grayson has some funky British car - how did he get that thing to the states anyway? - and a flamberge style rapier.

They fight at the sulfur mine (which looks a lot like the Cold Lazarus set from Stargate SG-1 - but i guess, acutally, the SG-1 site would look like this one, anyway) and Duncan does some weird over-the-shoulder sword trick to beat Grayson. And, you'd figure someone as old as Grayson would learn how to fight w/ his weaker hand, in case his stronger hand was injured.

Here we also have the very first transition to Paris -- and it's actually a transition - Duncan is going to meet Tessa and Richie who were sent there earlier in the ep. (Later seasons don't do this transition as well - Duncan just 'shows up' in Paris randomly)

okay - this episode isn't too bad - at least it doesn't fall under the 'Duncan's the only one who can solve this case' genre of Highlander eps. The flashbacks could have been better, and there could have been more Darius, but, eh - not too bad.

[Diamond9697]

only thing I liked about this episode was Darius...we got some background on a character...I was shocked....

Oh and if Duncan wasn't the star of this show he'd have gotten his but kicked by better/older immortals like a million times or so..including Grayson.

And they didn't know about Cassandra and The Horseman at this point in the series so maybe we are to assume that they are lumped into the group of truely ancient immortals...besides...the watcher's most likely wouldn't know how old those guys were anyway...

[Highlander II]

oh - toooooo true -- if Dunkie wasn't the big cheese he'd have been gone long ago --- no way could he take out an 'ancient' immie on a whim ----


and -- i agree that the Horsemen and Cassandra were unknown characters at this point, but this just goes back to my whole thing about canon -- and this is DPP canon -- it's not like it's 'movie' canon that they feel free to ditch on a moment's notice --

and 'one of the few' could mean that out of the 2000 immies, only 100 of them are 'ancient' -- i guess, or maybe like 25 -- something like that

[Highlander II]

For Evil's Sake


Le Rialto -- is the name of the restaurant where the 3rd man is shot -- Rialto is the name of the fancy bridge in Venice, Italy - the one everyone recognizes when they see pics -- just an FYI


I want to know how Duncan ended up befriending so many 'influential' people -- Barons, princesses, etc...


Flashback: introduces us to Duncan's past experience with the Absinthe drinking fool, Khlyer. why anyone would want to drink this stuff is beyond me.

This ep marks the 1st appearance of Inspector LeBrun (another noteworthy cop in the annals of the Highlander saga)

Richie has somehow located the ugliest piece of sculpture in the history of the world, aside from Tessa's ridiculous doughnut lookin things, and brought it as a gift to Tessa.

Flashback: Duncan meets Tessa - running from / fighting with Khyler. For some odd reason, Duncan has no sword, so he crashes through a glass door and jumps onto Tessa's conveniently passing tourboat. The two argue over the completion date of Notre Dame-- 1343 or 1345.
Why did Duncan the Great not have his sword? my best guess is - b/c it didn't fit the storyline for him to have it -- he wouldn't have had a way to meet Tessa -- man is this guy hard up for a chic.

Richie has a good line: "Right, the CIA and Intergalactic Space Patrol can't find him, but you, Duncan MacLeod, can." -- this pretty much sums up what we discussed before -- about Duncan being the ultimate cop -- hey - Richie - ya done good!

Khyler would almost be an attractive guy w/o all that stupid make-up on his face. He must have some serious self-esteem issues -

Duncan tracks Khyler via Absinthe - and ugly, green alcoholic beverage that causes insanity. You mean to tell me the cops couldn't have figured this out on their own? Do they not investigate? I'm sure Khyler had to have been sloppy at some point and left a glass behind or something.

Why does Khyler hang out w/ mannequins? We're talking some serious self-esteem issues here.

LeBrun needs to remain fully clothed at all times (ugly man) and not be so arrogant and 'cop' all the time -- Duncan came to help him and he was turned away -- maybe this is why Duncan solves all the cases himself.

Khyler must have been raised in a barn b/c he didn't shut the door very well. (he was leaving the store frome whence he purchased his alcohol). Anyway - he has 2760 mortal kills as an assassin - man this guy needs a hobby. And please answer this - how satisfying can it be to decapitate a mannequin??

Well, Duncan remembers to bring his sword along this time, and his disappears before LeBrun enters the warehouse; then he skirts around LeBrun's questions back at the barge -- that man can never give a straight answer to anything.



well - this episode could have used more plot and better characterization on the part of Khyler, and given Duncan more reason to hate him. Duncan seemed to just not like him only b/c he was an assassin -- hey, it's a job, just like anything else, just not as respectable as say - shovelling horse manure.

This episode really needed more 'meat' to it. And stop making Duncan the 'cop'. Let the police do their job for a change.

[Diamond9697]

one thing I will say about this episode...it does kind of hint at the whole Duncan "boyscout" MacLeod thing that keeps coming up later in the series...cause like you pointed out...the only reason it really gave for him to hate Khlyer is the assasin thing...so he's judge, jury, executioner as usual later on...

[Highlander II]

yeah -- boyscout Duncan stepping up to the plate -

the PTB for this show should have paid more attn to what they were doing -- it's just weird that they're changing the main character for no reason --- more like 'Duncan's gotta face off against an immie this ep, and well, we really can't think up a good reason for him to not like this immie, so we'll make the immie a cold-blooded murderer' -- huh? that's not a good enough reason. and it's not like Khyler killed someone Duncan knew or liked or cared about (yeah, Khlyer killed that Prince or Duke or whatever, but Duncan more 'worked' for that guy than anything else) --- i don't get it -- probably never will --

and ya know the worst part? i never even paid attn to most of this stuff until i started writing these reviews -- i knew there were inconsistencies, just didn't realize how bad they were ----

[Highlander II]

For Tomorrow We Die


Roland Gift - 1st of many musical guest stars (who don't sing, btw) to appear as an immie

the chic in the jewelry store is the same actress who played this woman, on the Family Channel Zorro, in France who met Don Diego when he took his vacation there

Poison gas is used to kill everyone, so the immie can rob the store --> what a nice guy, huh? He even kills his buddies - tells them the gas is gone and to take off their masks - well, they believed him ---

Xavier goes to Darius to confess, knowing Darius cannot tell anyone what Xavier said. LeBrun comes asking questions and Darius won't tell him anything b/c of his vows. Darius takes his job as a priest very seriously; he's very good at what he does.

Flashback: WWI (I think) -> Xavier gasses a group of soldiers; Duncan's in this group and Xavier is ready to take his head, but can't b/c others arrive. Basically - another of those pretty useless flashbacks that doesn't tell us any more than Duncan has seen this guy before. Why bother? There still isn't any reason for Duncan to want to kill Xavier (not at this point anyway -we do learn more about Xavier later).

Richie has a love interest --> Renee, an acquaintance of Tessa's, but this woman is married, and Richie doesn't care. Go figure. Does he ever listen to anyone?

Xavier comes to the barge, offers to help Tessa, offers to lend a sculpture to her museum exhibit.

And, let me just say that I am amazed at the number of people who believe that today's Duncan MacLeod must be the son of Duncan-from-the-past!

Le Picotan Restaurant - it's the same bldg as Le Rialto from the previous episode -- "For Evil's Sake" - they could at least change the coloration or something ---

Xavier always has a can of poison gas on him. Why? Is he always prepared for someone to want to kick his ass?

Tessa and Duncan discuss why Darius respects the rules of being a priest. Tessa doesn't understand why Darius won't tell.

Two cops now, have told Duncan that they will 'have his head' and both times, he responds w/ 'you'll have to wait in line' -- you'd think they'd catch on after a while -- or Duncan would come up w/ a better come-back line.

Darius says maybe it's time to leave his sanctuary --> but he's been a 'holy man' for so long, and on holy ground for so long, how 'practiced' can he be? if he leaves to fight, how well will he do??

Richie and Duncan have a 'guy talk', and Duncan tells Richie that Renee is married.

Xavier sets a bomb to go off during Tessa's party at the museum.

Duncan says he was in King Solomon's mines --> um, how? he could not have been around then, unless the mines were found 300 years ago -- I think someone goofed! King Solomon was BC - around the time the Horsemen were still terrorizing that area - there is NO way Duncan was around then. And, if he meant he's been there during the last 300-400 years - they should have been more specifc - and maybe shown him on an expedition finding the mines - that would have made sense - but not just a random comment -- what is this, Forrest Gump??

Duncan jumps out of a moving car to rush back to the museum to diffuse the bomb w/ no time left - c'mon, even MacGyver had one or two seconds. Does the bomb have to be on zero to be defused??

Xavier fights w/ a scimitar-like blade - it's long and curved, but not as wide as a scimitar.

Duncan cuts Xavier's hand off, this hand will not grow back - so, if you see an immie lose an extremity -- it won't grow back - it'll be gone forever.

Duncan returns to the party (or the barge, don't remember which) looking pretty ragged.

And that's pretty much it for this episode. Honestly, I don't understand the Richie storyline part of this ep. It looked more like just something to toss in to keep Richie onscreen. Why bother? It didn't add to the story, detracted, in fact, and had nothing to do with the rest of the story. I understand that having Richie get involved with a married woman might make for an interesting storyline, but would have been better suited to an episode 'post-Tessa' - where there could have been a parallel story with Duncan. Like I mentioned earlier, why even have Richie on the show if this is the best they can do? Almost as tho the writers don't know what to do with Richie, so they just make up something ridiculously stupid to 'fill' the space between Duncan's scenes. Use the kid, or get rid of him.

[Diamond9697]

I actually liked Xavier as a villian...he was one of the better ones as far as I was concerned. And the Richie thing did get annoying. I like his character but I think that they tended to use him when they shouldn't. The only thing I can think of for this episode was so that Duncan could play the father role or something. oh and Roland Gift wasn't the first musical guest star...Joan Jett from "Free Fall" was.

[Highlander II]

okay - so, change that to 'another of many' ---

forgot about her -- probably b/c that ep was so bad -


Xavier is an okay villain -- but i still didn't understand the flashback -- most of the flashbacks in the 1st season don't make much sense - they just basically do the same thing a one-line piece of dialogue could do -- tell you that Duncan knew the immie after his butt --

and yes - Richie was, again, used where he shouldn't have been - and if they want Duncan to play a 'father figure' role in an ep -- then focus the whole ep on that - not just Richie's ridiculously lousy love-life --- these eps could have been much better if there had been better focus and more depth to the stories - but it's missing - like ppl are only watching the show to see Duncan - okay - maybe some ppl are, but a sexy star can only carry a show for so long -- after a while, strong storylines had better take centre stage, or the show will fall apart -- i'm not sure DPP ever quite understood the logic of this concept -- they don't seem to understand that Duncan, while he is the central character, is not necessarily the main focus of the fans --

where the heck was all my commentary when this show started? oh yeah - i didn't know about Highlander then ----

oh well -- just put me on the staff for the Methos Chronicles and all will be well!! hehe

[Diamond9697]

well I for one never found Duncan to be sexy at all...

[Dru]

Duncan? sexy? thos words just don't go together. Now ya wana talk sexy........ Methos ........... now thats sexy

[Diamond9697]

*grins* calm down dru...we haven't gotten that far yet...we have a thred for drooling over the ROG you know

[Highlander II]

i never said i thought Duncan was sexy -- that's what DPP thinks -

anyway -- no - we're not to Methos yet --- sheesh - gimme a break - we're not even done w/ season 1 yet --- we still have about 8 eps left (maybe 6, forget which # the one i just posted is)

so --- just yak about Duncan and Tessa and Richie and the baddies from season one --


there are spoilers for later seasons in these reviews b/c i mention that we find out about this, or learn about that -- but it's okay - b/c the series is done anyway ----

so ----- i'll post another one tomorrow --

maybe --- depending on how my fic writing goes -----