From: 4224_5201@uwovax.uwo.ca
Subject: Higlander: The Series
Organization: University of Western Ont, London
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 19:38:47 GMT


I am a computer science major (second year) at the University of Western
Ontario, and until two weeks ago did not have access to the internet news.
I too was distraught with the possibility that I might not get Highlander
the series, but discovered two stations in the TV guide that carried it.

Channel 20 (Detroit) is a station that the local cable operator does not have,
which is a tragedy because they carry three other Detroit stations. Channel
20 carries Highlander on Saturday evening. They also carry reruns of Battlestar
Galactica on Saturday mornings, a show I like which I can not get on TV.

Channel 43 (WUAB Cleveland) carries a lot of crappy Cannon action movies from
the 80's starring Chuck Norris and Charles Bronson. They also carry some
syndicated shows like Street Justice and the new Renegade show from Steven
J. (a-team) Cannell. They carry Highlander on Sunday evenings. Lucky for me
I do get this channel.

The premier episode introduced a new immortal to the Highlander mythos. His
name is (I think) Duncan McLeod, a cousin of the Lambert character ( I am
Connor McLeod, of the Clan McLeod, born on the shores of Lochshire... blah,
blah, blah). The actor who plays the character is obviously North American and
does a bad Scottish accent. He used to play a paramilitary type on of War of
the Worlds, shot just outside Toronto. He was a friend of the male doctor and
the female doctor and her daughter, on the very depressing second season. One
of the later episodes had Street Legal's Cynthia Dale as a guest star (she
played a humanoid representation of one of the Martians).

On the first episode, Lambert guest stars. His cousin is living in a big city
(LA?), and has a girlfriend who knows all about the immortals. She has a thick
European accent, but I do not know what it is. In the course of the show a
Curgan-clone shows up (Night Court's Richard Moll, who is the voice of the
Bat-computer on Batman the Animated Series). He threatens, steals the
girlfriend and confronts Duncan. She escapes but so does Moll.

The Highlander cousins confront Moll on a bridge. Lambert is thrown into the
river, and his pacifistic cousin finishes the fight. Reluctantly, he cuts off
Moll's head (there can be only one), and Lambert says goodbye to his cousin.
TV special effects show car trunks flying open, bursting headlights, Moll's 
floating corpse, lightning et al. plus one screaming Highlander.

There are flashbacks in this episode. In Scotland Duncan builds a residence
near holy ground so no one can fight him. In North America, they are present
during a massacre of Indians (Duncan's Indian girlfriend dies). Lambert 
(20th century) remarks that Duncan gets all the good women.

There is this kid who witnesses the Highlanders doing a sword fight in a 
warehouse. He rips off hubcaps for a living (punk!) and also saw the 
dismemberment of Moll. Watch for him in upcoming episodes.

This is a French/Italian production. Other crappy European productions include
the horrid Tarzan half-hour show and some show about a vigilante judge. Casting
was done in Vancouver, LA and London. Shooting was done in Vancouver and LA.
Several tracks of Queen's Some Kind OF Magic were remixed in this episode, 
including Who Wants to Live Forever ( for the Indian massacre) and the full-
length version of the Highlander opening music ("I am immortal, I have inside
the blood of kings") was used for the warehouse sword-practice and the end
credits.

This show is a rip-off of the first movie. It is also a prequel to the events
of Highlander I. This show might get better, but probably won't. Note that
Russell Mulcahy, Australian video director and creator of the Highlander 
movies, is not mentioned in the end credits. If you are lucky, you might get
a chance to rent out a movie called Tusks, an Australian low-budget horror 
movie about killer Rhinos. It was also done by Mulcahy.

I look forward to Highlander III. It will probably be better than this.

John P. LaRocque

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