Season 2 also sees changes in Duncan’s “family”.
Tools:
Recommend review to a friend »
As with the first season of the "Highlander" TV series, there are two official DVD box sets for you to consider if you want to buy "Highlander"--Season 2. You can buy the Limited Edition created by Davis-Panzer for the official Highlander website (www.highlander-official.com), or you can buy the commercial release created by Davis-Panzer but distributed by Anchor Bay. For Season 2, the commercial release distributed by Anchor Bay is probably the better purchase of the two releases.
"There can be only one." French actor Christopher Lambert has thundered that line in four big screen outings, but fans of "Highlander" have had to get used to another quote: "There can be only one...except when it comes to the many different home video releases of the movies." :-P
Those of you who have followed the movies´ arrivals on VHS and DVD must have noticed the plethora of "Highlander" offerings, from theatrical cuts to directors´ cuts to special extended cuts to "renegade versions". Fortunately for me, I´ve always liked "Highlander: The Series" much more than any of the movies, and I´m glad to report that Davis-Panzer Productions wisely took the time to prepare properly the show for its DVD debut.
The "Highlander" TV show debuted in the fall of 1992, and it explored the world of Immortals through the eyes of Duncan MacLeod (played by Adrian Paul). An Immortal has to suffer a mortal death first before becoming an Immortal. MacLeod and the other Immortals can not die unless their heads are severed from their bodies. Therefore, they carry swords all the time in case they have to fight for their lives. A beheading releases the Quickening, a lightning extravaganza that gives the winner the loser´s knowledge and power.
The "Highlander" Season 2 DVD Box Set includes the following episodes:
Disc 1--"The Watchers", "Studies in Light", "Turnabout".
Disc 2--"The Darkness", "An Eye for an Eye", "The Zone".
Disc 3--"The Return of Amanda", "Revenge of the Sword", "Run for Your Life".
Disc 4--"Epitaph for Tommy", "The Fighter", "Under Color of Authority".
Disc 5--"Bless the Child", "Unholy Alliance I", "Unholy Alliance II".
Disc 6--"The Vampire", "Warmonger", "Pharaoh´s Daughter".
Disc 7--"Legacy", "Prodigal Son", "Counterfeit I", "Counterfeit II".
Season 2 heralded quite a number of changes. It turns out that The Watchers is a rather large group. There are Watchers everywhere, documenting the lives of Immortals. However, Peter Horton heads a splinter faction within The Watchers, and he wants to destroy Immortals so that it would be impossible for the last Immortal to rule humans. Horton´s actions initiate an internal struggle within The Watchers, and Duncan seems to be the only Immortal with the ability to stop Horton. Duncan and Horton fight for the length of Season 2.
Season 2 also sees changes in Duncan´s "family". Tessa (Alexandra Vandernoot), Duncan´s girlfriend, and Richie (Stan Kirsch) are mugged late at night one day, and the punk who mugs them kills them with a gun. Tessa dies, but Richie happens to be an Immortal like Duncan. Therefore, in the process of mourning Tessa, Duncan trains Richie in sword-fighting techniques. ("Don´t lose your head...") Since he´s distraught, Duncan divides his time between Seacouver and Paris, France. Joe Dawson (Jim Byrnes), Duncan´s Watcher, and Charlie DiSalvo, the former-owner of a martial-arts dojo that Duncan buys after he sells the art gallery that he owned with Tessa, become Duncan´s new friends in his fight against bad dudes.
Overall, Season 2 is much easier to digest than Season 1, and the Duncan-vs.-Horton thread is very intriguing. There are a lot of guest stars who contribute to the show´s "must-see" factor--guest stars like Sheena Easton, Nia Peeples, and Dustin Nguyen (not playing the same character that he did in Season 1). The swordfights are much better staged in Season 2´s episodes than they were in Season 1´s outings. The Quickenings are elaborately staged and rather kinetic (plenty of real light bulbs explode). The scripts even give Duncan chances to reflect on his past--which lead to plenty of flashbacks.
I admit it--I have a fun time watching "Highlander: The Series". I suppose that it must be a guy thing to be fascinated with modern-day sword warriors. Still, lest anyone think that I´ve lost my head, I also have to admit that the show isn´t great art or great thought. "Highlander" has the benefit of having a terrific premise, but it is hampered by a lack of defined rules. Duncan´s always talking about "the time of the Gathering", but if new Immortals like Richie are still appearing, then when does the battle for supremacy really end? Intelligent questions are best left un-asked sometimes, lol.
Average user rating (1-5):
Not yet rated.
Not yet rated.
[release]11087[/release]