User reviews

Your average „Highlander"-fan had a hard time deciding whether a series following two sequels to the original movie: having watched the abominable "Highlander: The Sorcerer" and "Highlander: The Quickening", arguably one of the worst movies ever produced, had left scars and had made the fan suspicious.

And how could one not have watched the pilot, knowing that Christopher Lambert would reprise his role as Connor McLeod, introducing the series leading man, Duncan McLeod (Adrian Paul)? The first seasons were slightly tedious, being too TV-ish and, apparently, produced in auto-mode: a few flashbacks in time, Duncan battling (and eventually beheading, though always TV-compatible; no blood, no gore) another immortal; Duncan's relationship with Tessa, etc. Often Adrian Paul's sidekicks, namely Richie (Stan Kirsch) and Amanda (Elizabeth Gracen) would become tedious but casting Adrian Paul – although it's unlikely that the actor will ever score an Oscar – compensating for a lot, him having a similar amiable acting style to the original Highlander, Christopher Lambert. By the end of the second season, story lines became more concrete, interesting and the guest-stars more selected – to name just a few, Roger Daltrey, Kabir Bedi, Werner Stocker, hey, even Roland Gift, singer of the "Fine Young Cannibals", played an immortal.

It may not matter to the general viewer, but what has bothered many-a more 'fanatic' fan, is the fact that the series kept altering the "Highlander"-canon: there are female immortals (not being chauvinistic, but such it was in the original film), the "Quickening" was no longer about the assembling of the last immortals, but simply a prize, which one immortal from each generation could win; the immortals actually died for a while when being 'killed', then returned to life, while the immortals in "Highlander" never died, may they be underwater, having their throats cut or being crushed by elevators. Or take the concept of 'The Watchers', even though Sean Connery assured us that, "no one hash ever known we were among you....until now". But how else to keep a long-running TV-series running, without adding or changing something in the storyline? All in all, one was saddened when the series finally came to an end, having gotten fond of the characters and willing to watch a few more episodes. It was a good seven year run, definitely worth watching, even if you've skipped the last three installments of the "Highlander" movie-franchise.

Overall, a good 7 points from 10.

Back in the late '90s, I used to watch a syndicated episode of HIGHLANDER on USA Network every night before going to sleep. It definitely beat SILK STALKINGS! This engaging, oddly sexy show took my mind off the past day and made me forget about my worries for the coming day.

I recently rediscovered the show on Tubi, and it still has the same effect. It's not high art, just pleasant, enjoyable, escapist television. It's also fun to remember stars of the '70s and '80s, and to see a few of today's stars before they were big names.

It's fun, and I recommend it!

This series is a seamless excerpt from the time line of the Highlander movies. A science fiction fantasy deluxe, the tale of Duncan McLeod, of the klan McLeod, becomes a realistic, believable, secret world hidden within our own. The only "real" sadness is Duncan's eternal loneliness due to the eventual deaths of all he allows near. Mortals are so fragile and, as for immortals, "There can be only one!"

Very easy to get caught up in, my children and I each carried katanas (plastic sword replicas) for many months during the original run of the series. Duplicating sword "riffs" and "taking" heads made for many hours of "immortal" fun.

Try to catch "HIGHLANDER" from the beginning episode and follow Duncan through the centuries of his life (in present day and flashback sequences). He adapts to all "times" and we get to learn perspective on present day and (supposedly) historical events immortals have influenced or shaped.

Too bad it's gone, but you can only save the world so many times before it gets old. There are re-runs though......

I was always a fan of the Highlander films with Christopher Lambert and knew from the start I would feel the same about the series. I really liked how they expanded on the imortals and brought in the watchers, and different villains like the rogue watchers who saw imortals as an abomination to humanity and wanted to kill them.

What annoyed me about the series is every episode seems the same, Mac reminisces about his past, meets an immortal from his past, they do battle, Mac wins and has learned a valuable lesson in life and has closure from an event in his past.

Every episode seems to be about an Immortal which annoys me because if Imortals exist then surely this should open it up for all kinds of possibilities. I think the writers could have really expanded on the Highlander franchise if we saw other kinds of things in it, such as maybe Warlocks, witches and other kinds of supernatural elements.

That been said I did like the Highlander series, Adrian Paul was great as Duncan MacLeod. There were some fantastic sword fighting scenes and some great stories based around past historical events. I like how we got some new characters too such as Amanda, Methos, Richie, and Joe A great series that would have been better if the writers were able to think outside the box.

The idea of immortals isn't new.This show examines the life of "immortals" and examines the answers to question as: What is like surviving your loved ones?Surviving your family?Your hometown?Your country?Your religion?The civilisation whose ideas you carry on?It can be thoughtful.Especialy once you stop thinking about "good"and "evil"immortals and start examining what makes them act the way they do.It's deeper than most modern TV shows and far better than the movies with the same name.The charachters tend to be very interesting.Especially the cynic,dissilusioned immortal Methos the surviver.Five thousand years old and he is sounding like count Fosca from de Beauvoir's "All Men Are Mortal"who is bitter,dissilusioned and hopelessely alone,destined to survive mankind.Other charachters of interest to viewers are1)Amanda the French,manipulative thieves who seems to enjoy her life more than other immortals seem to do.Has she found the meaning of life?2)Duncan McLeodThe star.Noble and thick-headed.He doesn't hunt other immortals.He waits for them to come and they do.How important is he?3)Darius,general and priest.What made him quit the game anyway.4)Kalas,singer and monk.An immortal killer who loves music and plotting.5)Kronos a horseman.He brings anarchy. The show is definitely worth seing.

Season One is ok. Good character interaction and development and story. It builds from the excellent first movie although season one starts kind of slow. The series as a whole does drastically improve past the first season until the last season and half which seems like everyone involved was just phoning it in and didn't know where the story was supposed to go. However, the intervening seasons are excellent. Duncan is outstanding as a character and Adrian Paul plays him beautifully both physically and artistically. The supporting characters that come and go do a good job and sometimes are underrated but definitely add to the overall charm and appeal of this show. Additionally, the guest stars are top notch: Richard Moll, Roger Daltry, Roland Gift, etc. I encourage everyone to check out this series.

It is what the sequels should have been and it gives justice to the original.

The first season is weak. It borrows the antiques dealer riff from the movie and most of the plots are the standard women-in-peril thing that we are probably all sick of. Tess is in danger, Duncan has to save her. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Even then, however, it still had its charm. It picks up when they move the location to Paris and from then on the writers have clearly found their footing.

The Second season starts with a bang that can be heard from the first episode on. They drop the woman in peril thing entirely, they add a protégé for Duncan to train. He swaps the antiques business for a dojo and the story starts to really move along at a breakneck speed.

By season 3 and 4 you should be locked in. The supporting cast has been well developed, everything is chugging along nicely and cemented enough for the plot to really thicken. They aren't reliant on the old tropes anymore and the fat has been trimmed enough for you to get at the real meat.

It doesn't really go down hill until the final, abbreviated, season when it became clear that Highlander did all it wanted to do and they were just out there looking for a spin-off. The series itself wrapped up nicely in Season 5. Season 6 was just an attempt to launch a new show.

Ultimately what you have is 4 stellar seasons, with the first season hit or miss, and the last season clearly not intended to continue the over-all plot of the show.

Only entertaining up until a certain point. Which is too bad. I love ongoing series with a good story line.

I am a big Highlander fan,this show is so wonderful, great cast and crew. Adrian Paul is so wonderful as Duncan MacLeod. The show really does explore the good and bad sides of immortality, Duncan MacLeod is a man of Principle and morals, he was born 400 years ago in the Highlands of Scotland. He has been around the world, made some friends and made enemies too. There are good and evil immortals. The cast consists of Stan Kirsch as Richie Ryan who becomes immortal in season 2, Alexandra Vanderoot as Tessa, MacLeod's girlfriend who knows he's immortal, Jim Byrnes(Wiseguy and Higher Ground) as Joe Dawson, a member of the secret society known as "The Watchers" who know about immortals, the late Werner Stocker as 2000 year old immortal priest, Darius. Peter Wingfield as the oldest immortal, Methos, who is 5000 years old. Duncan MacLeod has fought a lot of evil immortals and defeated them, even the ones who are older that he and more powerful than him, his courage and skills is what it takes to win. My favorite good immortals next to MacLoed are Darius, Methos and Amanda, the 1100 year old immortal, Richie Ryan, Marcus Constatine and Sean Burns. My favorite evil immortals are Kalas, Xavier St. Cloud played by Roland Gift of the 80's pop group "The Fine Young Cannibals", Kronos and Grayson. I also for a good immortal I like Hugh Fitzcairn, played superbly by Roger Daltrey of "The Who". Joan Jett made a guest appearance in the first season episode as immortal Felicia Martens. This show really rocks,they play great songs by Queen, the song "Princes Of The Universe" is the perfect song for the theme music of the show. I give this show 2 thumbs up.

For some months about 20 years ago, this show was my life! I was very unhappy in real life at this time, for various reasons, and I suppose my need for escapism was enormous. And so I happened to watch this series on TV, and it just entered my heart and my soul and my whole being, and exploded... and for some time, I lived quite as much with Duncan and Tessa and Richie in the antique shop, as I lived my real life - which was at that time taking place in a small Austrian town, with a job that I detested, non-empathic colleagues, and hateful flatmates...

Of course Duncan/Adrian was in the center of it all. I admired his dark, masculine, mysterious, handsome looks, and every move of his perfect body. I almost loved him - if it is possible to love someone you have never met in reality...

Now, when I have been re-watching some of the episodes on Youtube, I am not as impressed anymore. The story is VERY confused and muddled, with enormous plot holes, and almost all the episodes follow the same pattern. A new immortal is introduced, Duncan remembers when he met this person before in history and we are shown back-flashes in period costume, and in the end Duncan fights him and wins (of course). This plot is framed by nice homey scenes with Tess and Richie, and spiced up with love-scenes - often containing both sex and nudity... It becomes very repetitive after ten episodes or so.

I would not fall for this series, if I saw it for the first time today, and I would not fall for Adrian/Duncan either. I even do not find him that very attractive anymore - I get a feeling, that without the lines that someone else wrote for him, he would come across as quite stupid... There is too much death, blood, and violence, for one thing. If I got to chose, I would only want to see a sword fight quite occasionally - but spend the time mostly in the homey company of Duncan, Tessa and Richie..! :-)

But still - the show has to have SOMETHING, as so many people all over the world, along with me, were caught up at it then in the 90:s. Queen's spurring music is part of it, and the historical scenes that - as far as I can see - were very well researched and staged with the right costumes and props and everything. If one likes to, one can learn a little history from it.

There can be only one, and that's the first movie! All that came after, movies and series like this one, just suck big time!

This interesting highlander series has a lot more to it than action, fantasy and drama. The characters are well acted, and thought out by the actors and screenwriters, respectively. The plots were excellently written, especially linking Duncan Mcleod's past until now, the current time period. I probably think this because i have always been a fan of time period fantasy dramas such as Highlander (1992-1998), Angel (1999-2004) and Witchblade (2001-2002).

I especially love it when events of the past are explained through such dramas like Highlander. One example of this is within one of my favourite episodes in 19th or 18th century historical England where Mary Shelly, the author of the famous novel called 'Frankenstein', sees one immortal get stabbed and then rise to life again. She goes on to comment that seeing such an event inspired her to write 'Frankenstein'

Thought provoking questions about the series, as some members have already mention, arose such as what was it like for immortals to outlive their loved ones? What was it like to live forever?

Adrian Paul as the lead actor, playing Duncan Mcleod, was excellent. His talents of martial arts and acting skills really shine in this series. Afterall, the series did last for 7 years.

However, the series did have some faults. One of them being how does Duncan beat every immortal he fights, even ones who are much older, wiser and more experienced in combat than he is. I know there is the good old 'smart-aleky' answer of 'because there would be no one else to carry on the show' but it still remains a question unanswered satisfactorily. Other members have brought up even better questions that pick out the faults of this show you can read.

But overall, it is an interesting and good quality series that is worth watching. After a few episodes the characters will grow on you.The interesting plots will also intrigue you. Give it a try! I give it a 4/5

This show followed the adventures of Highlander Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul), his girlfriend Tessa, and Richie, a young punk twenty-something that Duncan takes in after the kid tries to rob his house. Duncan also has to deal with many other Highlanders, violent and benign through the course of the series (and varies era's in flashbacks) as well as a secret cabal of mortals known as Watchers. For the most part this show was pretty good considering it's limited budget and I looked forward to it every week, but sometime it started it's gradual decline in it's 5th season, and the 6th season is virtually unwatchable due to all the episodes that were just searching for a spin-off character that season should be stricken from the records as the mere mention of it makes my blood boil. The spin-off "Raven" show sucked balls as well.

My Overall Grade: C (if the show had stopped when it should have it would've been a much higher grade)

This has to be one of the best made shows EVER on television. They don't make shows like this one anymore. They tried to extend the show with Highlander the Raven with Amanda as the lead character. She wasn't cut out for it. The scripts for this original series with Duncan Macleod were great, and they only got better after the 1st season. The flashbacks are remarkable, putting us in many scenes through Duncan's 400 year history, and some of the histories of other immortals he knows, including Methos from a 5000 year standpoint. To be honest, i wish they would have made the extended series with Methos instead of Amanda, people would have thousands of years of world history to choose where to put him and when to put him. I wish they made more, and i hope the new movie is more like the show. Lets bring it back :)

The show relies heavily on two things ( maybe three). There are almost always martial arts style fights where the hero triumphs over thugs, sometimes armed and sometimes not. Most of the episodes have sword fights followed by a light show that represents the "quickening" which is where one Immortal receives power and more from the one he or she just defeated. You could group those two things together as one and call it fighting. The other (second or third depending on how you reckon) is the history. Almost all, if not all, episodes have flashbacks to a earlier period in history, usually from Duncan's perspective, but occasionally from another Immortal like Amanda or Fitz.

This show is also very chauvinistic even misogynistic. I tried to post a parental warning that many episodes include abuse and mistreatment of women. This includes everything from the emotional and threats, to the physical. Significant female characters are abducted, tied up, drugged, roughed up (usually not drastically unless they are killed), coerced into marriage sometimes tantamount to slavery, enslaved outright, threatened with rap,e and there was at least three episodes were rape occurred or was strongly implied. Certainly men are roughed up, even tortured, and killed, but with the women it is most frequently done in a gender demeaning way. They are also frequently used as bait or leverage.

Despite this, I mostly enjoyed the show when it was at it's best focusing on character development heavily supported by historical flashbacks.

Seasons 2 and 6 where not the show at it's best, although many people will not mind season 2 which revolved around Horton and the mortal Watchers who wanted to kill Immortals just because they were afraid of them. Like many religious zealots, these evil watchers were just that, evil, justifying their actions which including killing many innocent mortals because of the greater goal of eliminating what they considered Abomination. I hated season 2.

Season 6 descended into an even darker place than the earlier seasons and included battles against demonic forces and possession. Many people who were otherwise fans of the show did not like season 6, including myself.

I loved Tessa and Alexandra Vandernoot was excellent. Perhaps it was her and her relationship with Duncan that hooked me to the show so that I did not easily abandon it in harder times. She was able to play contrasting personalities when she doubled as Lisa. Episode 4 of Season 2 goes down in my book as one of the most memorable episodes in a television series of all that I have watched.

Despite her morally questionable ethics, I also loved Amanda and always hoped for more of her, but not as the Raven, but opposite Adrian Paul.

The show dealt with interesting topics especially ones that are neither black or white, but gray. MacCleod has a definite set of principles which are usually heroic, but even he must make difficult choices. Sometimes difficult social issues were addressed and it was common to demonstrate the plight of financially distressed people.

Obviously the show includes bloody violence. It also can be disturbing as so many of the villains are ruthless. At times it seems like unnecessary killing is the first choice even when innocents become collateral damage. In one episode, a father and his cohorts open fire on MacCleod and his companions after refusing to discuss the situation but demanding immediate surrender of the father's baby. This father turned out to be the wronged party, but he was a little too eager to kill to get his way. In the previous episode, another father was willing to storm a house and decisively kill 4 innocents along with the one guilty rapist. This attitude is not isolated in the show.

In the 1990s the Canadian movie sector had not achieved parity with the rest of the world in terms of the basics -- casting, acting, directing, lighting, writing etc. Which is painfully obvious if you try to watch this.

Far superior to the films, for every reason: Better venue for developing the mythos and the characters, better opportunity to explore the nature and implications of immortality, and a far superior leading man for all the reasons we choose them. Adrian Paul (who inspires whole libraries of romance novels) looks magnificent and convincing in any time period and has ALL the right moves. He's also a vastly superior actor to Christopher Lambert. It is easy to see why the producers regretted not having made Duncan MacLeod immortal in an earlier time period; not only would there have been more history to explore and a richer background for Duncan, but it would have provided more visual riches for the audience.

The series jumped the shark after season 5, which I think had some of its best episodes: "Comes a Horseman", "Revelation 6:8", "Duende", "Dramatic License", "Little Tin God". "The Stone of Scone," which has its defects, represents an episode type that this series should have done more of: a complete flashback without 20th C references. The possibilities of such episodes were a missed opportunity.

After seeing the initial film, I was hungry for more and the series came along at the perfect time in my life.

After studying martial arts since I was 15 years old, I longed for well written entertainment that included martial arts. I also became a fencer in college, so sword work really added a flair to the show for me.

I'll come back to this review when I can access my computer as there is no way to see what I am entering until after the fact.

That's what the series was about... seasons and seasons for character development, and audience too... and then we got this friendship of the immortals and a watcher.

Methos, Amanda, Duncan and Joe... and it was incredible, after a lot of pain and suffering and treason and lies of course, that's why it was real and strong on the screen.

There were bad episodes, or incomplete ones. Some foes were really great, others were pathetic and some felt to have been robed of script to shine. But still the series as a whole was great.

Losses felt horrible, triumphs felt vague... complicated for the audience who saw their hero weak, flawed, but also wise, virtuous and caring.

That was great up until then... and then the friends found each other and finally it felt down hill: a reward by the production I believe.

I watched this on satellite t.v. As a kid so I saw a lot of re-runs and missed some episodes.

I recently binge watched the entire series and I think it holds up really well compared to a lot of its contemporaries. The fashion is definitely nineties and the series is formulaic, but that is part of the charm I feel when I watch these shows.

I like the series better than the movies, as there is so much world building and historic plots in the series.

The side characters in the series are all interesting individually and their personal histories are fleshed out very well.

This is a great series to watch if you like sword, fantasy, good guy wins shows.

I loved this show. Adrian Paul is the epitome of a romantic hero - not the greatest actor, but as time goes by, he really inhabits Duncan and becomes totally believable. Duncan Mac Leod might be the most perfect combination of manly sensitivity and chivalric machismo that ever graced a series, especially in the first season with Tessa. I loved the historic aspects of the stories, pleasantly surprised that there were not a ton of anachronisms. I appreciated the mild humor, the wild romance, the tragic moments, even the Big Life Questions that come up regularly.

Some of the acting was stilted and lame, but the main actors were credible and natural for the most part and the characters pretty well fleshed out over time. The eye candy - Adrian Paul, Paris, the various homes of modern MacLeod, the flashback scenery, the costumes and Duncan's contemporary wardrobe - was reason enough to watch. Most of the stories were interesting. Duncan's journey was compelling and made his character heartbreakingly sympathetic and easy to root for.

However, the last season was a waste after the first two episodes, with MacLeod absent from two and barely there for several. Apparently, they were trying out some actors and storylines for a new series featuring a female immortal action figure. The actors chosen for the four potential stars were not good-stiff, affected and trying too hard, kind of like high school drama club denizens- with the exception of Claudia Christian, who's performance was smooth, natural and credible.

Clearly, they caused no excitement in the Highlander universe, which is why the spinoff that did make it to the screen was based on Amanda, a well.established member of the series, played rather engagingly by Elizabeth Gracen.

So, if you want to watch the entire series, don't expect much from season six until the final two episides, but enjoy the hell out of the exciting saga of Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod.