Highlander S01E01 - The Gathering FULL REACTION

So...I'm 3 years late to this reaction...but the new website does make it a LOT easier to find things I never knew you had here. Connor Macloed was the main character in the Highlander movie.. well at least the first few movies (there were like ... 5 movies I think), but the actor did not want to do TV so they got a different actor and created a new character and made him just a little bit younger but part of the same Scottish clan...and they got the actor from the movie to make a cameo in this first episode...I guess as sort of a hand off to the new guy! And that scene near the end...yes, he didn't fall, he deliberately went over the bridge to fall in the water. I feel if you had seen the movie first (maybe the first 3 movies... i think it was 3 movies before the tv series came out) then you would understand why. You see, they can and do die...all the time, but it's temporary. They always come back to life...within minutes or sometimes longer (even hours sometimes)... but if their head is cut off they die for ever. So he was hit in the chest with something that was going to kill him temporarily...but while he's temp dead the other guy would have cut his head off

ar47yrr4p

I’m so far behind on watching reactions but I wanted to say, this show is very like Buffy, hard to get into at first, but gets so much better. When you finish Buffy, it might be worth adding this or Xena. In case you didn’t pick it up in the pilot, immortals are not supposed to fight on holy ground. Also, this show eventually became so popular, it had a spin off, I won’t say which character. But it’s worth watching.

Richard Lucas

Keeping all the Queen music from the movie soundtrack was definitely a smart decision. The timing for watching this feels extra appropriate too(Literally just watched the “Bohemian Rhapsody” movie earlier in the week). I never really watched the tv series, but I always liked the movie when I was a kid and had a VHS copy in widescreen(it got more common after dvd’s came out and widescreen HD tv’s, but they were rare/hard to find in the 90’s).

Todd “Canuck” Schmuck

Not cgi animation it was done with ink just like in the Highlander movie from 1985 .i think all of the quickenings were done this way but don’t quote me on that, at this point cgi was very new and expensive they did not have the budget for it and the first production that used it extensively was Jurassic park with some of the dinosaurs and the face swap when the stunt person for Alex was dangling from the air vent they put the face of the actress on her body and if I remember correctly that came out in 94.

Erock 1211

I think that you are right about the show taking some time to hit its stride.... I personally think it started to really be good at the beginning of season 2, but some of season 1 was pretty good too.

Dennis Bryant

I agree, most of season 1 is awful, but not all of it. I'd never skip Band of Brothers, Lady and the Tiger or The Hunters. Also, The Darkness doesn't have nearly the same impact if someone had skipped most of season 1. Despite the badness of season 1, Highlander is one of my all time favorite shows. I even went to a few Highlander conventions and helped run one back a couple decades ago.

peggin

This show aired when i was about 7yrs old... I loved it then and i may love it now if i start re-watching it. Yes the graphic, cgi and acting is crap, but the story still has a place in my heart. Highlander is about a man who lives hundreds of yrs as an immortal, but it's not just him... There are lots of immortals out there, but in the end ther can be ONLY ONE. Whenever an immortal crosses paths with another they are bound to kill the other in order to get the immortality of the one they kill, they vmcan only kill another immortal by cutting off their head, that is the ONLY way an immortal can die... Not from a gun or sword through the chest, not by falling into a river and drowning and not by a bomb, unless the bomb severts the head I suppose. They heal fast, like Wolverine or Deadpool for example. Dunkin and Conner are friends, but if they are the last two they HAVE to fight to the death... Not saying it ever happens or anything, but that it why they don't kill each other now... They are best bud and plan to be till the end... They're like brothers... I really enjoyed Highlander, makes me qant to watchbit again.

Tammy L. Faulkner

The concept of the show would make a lot more sense if you'd seen the movies. Yes, there's a lot of cheese and the effects are dated. But hey, Christopher Lambert was in the pilot, so that's a win in and of itself.

Brandon Wiesner

I was a big fan of this show. I loved the movies, so when I got around to watching the series, I was so happy to see the saga continue in a different format.

Chip

Oh, Lord, this show. I loved it for a couple of seasons (not this one), then for some reason I don't remember, I stopped. But God, the random cheesecake shots, the pretend tough guy with Richie, the forced dialogue... cheesy!

FernWithy

I couldn't stop laugh throughout this.

Emma goldsbrough

This is a really good series. Definitely reminds me of Buffy, but more sophisticated and grown-up. I like how they used the rules of this universe they created to the fullest. It's not just two guys with swords fighting each other once a week. What's it like to meet a someone who is THOUSANDS of years, or what do humans think of all this or what if you fight with modern weapons or can an Immortal go insane, what happens if Immortals do fight on holy ground, can a human be made into an Immortal, what about kids, ect?

Scarlett Monrow

I agree. Highlander needs a proper chance. It gets better. Have always loved this show. I watched the DVD's while in Iraq. The Queen soundtrack xoxo.

Collete L

Ah, harken back to the early 90s where the only shows that got budgets of any kind were doctor dramas, cop dramas, and any other kind of drama based thoroughly in reality. That being said, this is with Buffy and Angel on my top 5 favorite shows list. I agree with a lot of what was said. The first season was coming off of the Highlander movies, which starred Connor Macleod (Christopher Lambert) and the creators had no idea what they wanted to do with it. Should we have him fight an immortal every week? Should it be more about his day to day life, with immortals popping up a couple times a season? And it really showed in the first season, which is where I think some of the acting and story struggles came from. I hope that whether you do reactions to it or not (I really hope that you do), that you give it a chance and watch more of it. They are right, the second season will hook you and won't let you go until season 6 (the last season). This show has so much poetry and beauty to it. Thanks for this reaction and all of your other awesome reactions.

The Movie Guru

Starting this comment before watching, hoping Shan rocks out to the brilliant Queen soundtrack... ...NOT disappointed!!

MittenCrab

In highlander beheading is the only way to kill immortals.

I agree on alot of what Singh said above - this show needed til mid-season-2 to grasp what it was doing, make it palatable. Then, suddenly , the characters stopped being charicatures and became real, 3 dimesional characters like Buffy Characters did. Then, I started to care when things happened, when people matured, when turns came. In many ways, it's later years became a one-of-a-kind show in terms of being able to tackle the subject material of how people have to change and evolve through hundreds of years of life. (And there are times it does NOT handle it well, too.) I agree with Singh again - It's alot like Buffy, if you skipped all episodes til Season 1's finale, you'd miss virtually nothing, then skip again to "Darkness" in Season 2, you'd suddenly understand "oh, this is why the show is cool! Oh wow!" And be into it. But you've got enough on your plate I doubt that'll ever happen. Still, I'd love to hear your opinion on the show once it evolves, because lord, lord, lord that was a *bad* first season. This ep reminded me of all the bad things they had to tune out to make the show *work*.

Chaeron Styx

Highlander is my Charmed. It portrays male friendship, bonding, masculine development and struggle, all held together in a multigenerational romantic sword buckling fantasy like few other shows :) It has its OBVIOUS flaws but makes up for them in charm and earnest fun and surprising great storytelling as it goes on. Much like Buffy the first season is a hurdle for many [it was for me, I watched it in 2009 for the first time], it’s not until the middle of season 2 that it figures out fully how to do what it wants, but when it does it’s genuinely great. Season 3 to 5 are some of my favorite seasons to rewatch. It gets to a point where it can do multiple time period thematically interconnected storytelling in one episode better than anything I can recall. Some of the Angel and TVD episodes which try that remind me a lot of Highlander but honestly Highlander is much better at it[see episode 3.1 “the samurai” as a standalone example for anyone who finds it hard to believe]. Also love the theme song, it fits so well. Another way I look at this show’s unique appeal is that much like many Disney films capture a traditional princess fairytale, Highlander is a male prince fairytale with some dark overtones [More Japanese folktale then Disney fairytale]. The cheesy voice over opening explaining the premise of the show reminds me of Buffy’s similar voiceover in season 1: they were both so afraid people would have no idea what was happening early on, luckily both shows lost that quality and began to trust their audience a lot more as the shows went on. Unfortunately the pilot does not capture what will come, but it has charm on rewatches for me.

Shashank

Here we are... born to be Kings!