Well, Highlander started as a movie in 1985. The movie starred Christopher Lambert as a Connor MacLeod, a member of a race of people who can only die when their heads are cut off. They all carry swords and battle one-on-one until only one is left. A little strange, perhaps, but a good movie anyway. It depicts his journey through time, the sadness of immortality, and his battle for the Prize, the mystical reward for the last immortal left. Two sequels were made, but I like to think they were just dreams (yeah, they were that bad).
Cut to 1992. A new series, based on the movies emerges. This time it stars Adrian Paul as Duncan MacLeod, younger clansman of Connor. No, not all immortals are Scottish. The series does an excellent job portraying the sadness of the immortals who have to live on as their loved ones die. It also shows the friendships between immortals, and deals with complex moral issues. The thing that really set it apart from the movies, I think, was the introduction of the Watchers, a secret society of people who have observed and recorded the lives of the immortals for centuries. Suddenly we have a new ballgame. Can a Watcher be friends with an immortal without interfering. DUH! Of course not. The friendship between Watcher Joe Dawson and Duncan MacLeod is played out expertly by Adrian Paul and Jim Byrnes. Great show, great issues, great lines, great acting! You gotta love it.
Cut to 1998. "Highlander: the Series" comes to a close after five wonderful years, and one not so wonderful year. But, the appetite for "Highlander" isn't satiated yet, so the producers come up with something new....do I hear SPINOFF?!? That's right, the new series is called "Highlander: The Raven", and it stars Our Lady of the Light Fingers, Amanda. Unfortunately, the series is cancelled after only one season, after showing glimmers of "Highlander"'s former glory.
For more information, see the links below:
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Highlander: the Series
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Highlander: the Raven
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One more link I'd like to throw in here is to my favorite reviews site. No, it's not MY site! Kieth DeCandido has done a reviews overview of Highlander: the Series that no one should pass up. On a few episodes, I find he's missed the point, but for the most part he simply rocks. Here's the link:
Of course, I'm not trying to give an all-encompassing list here. For more links, check out one of the following sites:
One of my favorite hangouts on the Web is The Highlander Forum. It's a place where other HL-obsessed people gather to discuss episodes, themes, and generally mull around issues that the writers probably never think of. If all were right with the world, the Forumites would be on the writing staff. I've made some good friends there, and they always welcome new faces, er, whatever it is in cyberspace.
"The Raven" also has it's own Forum, if you're so inclined.
On the Forum, I'm a member of the Clan MacSpam. They're another subset of good Forum people. Check us out.
Characters don't go away just because a series is cancelled. In the case of Highlander, an extremely character-driven show, the characters live on, so to speak, in the minds and pens of fandom. Fan-generated fiction abounds....some good, some bad. I've penned a few stories of my own, and I've played Mr. HTML to a few needy authors. However, in starting two of my beloved sisters down the Highlander road, I've created a monster....well, two actually. They've far exceeded me in output. I used to link all stories from this page, but I've been forced to created a dedicated page. So, pop in to Alaska Man's Fanfic Page. If you don't read at least one HonorH or AlaskaChick story in your life, you'll be the worse for it.
Before I even start in here, I'd like to point out that Quink has started a Highlander website review page, and has chosen HAM Reviews as the inaugural review. Kewl, huh? A review of a review site! Click on the image to go to her review. Now, I wonder if I'd be linking this if she'd panned us....
Anyway, back to business. Another Forumite and I have teamed up and created Harmony and Alaska Man's Review Page. Harmony and I have teamed up to shed a little light on a couple of episodes each week. She and I will each pick one (not necessarily the same one) and review it. Also, the current episodes will be reviewed by each of us, so we can each have a stab at the new stuff. Enjoy!
The newest addition to HAM is the Reviews Overview/Mini-Reviews section, where each and every episode of the show is listed out by season, given a summary and a few sentences of praise or venom by each of us, and posted for the world to see. Also, there is a form for submitting your take on any episode. We're hoping that this section will make HAM into something that has opinions and reviews from dozens of people. Help us make it great!
Just a little about me. My name is Seth, I'm 27 years old, and I live in Oregon with my wife Elaine. I'm a semi-serious gamer (QuakeII-III, Half-Life), and I'm known for my memory for useless facts (movie lines in particular). If you have any questions or comments for me, click my pic and shoot me an email.
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to hit this page. That entitles you to one free use of my Guestbook. Thanks for dropping by.
Can you believe it? This site won a Links2Go Key Resource (Topic of Highlander) award! Also, I'm in the Forumland Webring.
