Customer Reviews

Highlander: The Raven - The Complete Series

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Reality fans will love this one - except fans of the Highlander franchise tend to prefer fantasy over reality, so the final verdict is a tad mixed. Included on each of the eight discs is a ten minute segment of a featurette entitled "Highlander Confidential: The Unraveling of a Series". Unlike most commentary, where behind-the-scenes conflicts are downplayed or quietly ignored, these interviews are basically a sounding board for the creative forces behind this series to boldly complain about "what went wrong". Blame is abundant and, shotgun-like, hits everyone. The producers blame the actors, the directors and writers blame the producers, the actors, with well-performed hubris, blame themselves...and others. So much vitriol is spewed that it could leave a bitter taste for those who enjoyed the series. Among the reasons given for the series failure are Elizabeth Gracen's hair color, her "crazy" boyfriend at the time and the hugely unfortunate timing of the Clinton investigations. Only David Abramowitz (head writer, listed here as "Creative Consultant"), in my mind, seems to come close to the truth of the matter. He correctly states that "spin-offs rarely succeed". He is correct. I would go further and say that the original series with Adrian Paul had begun to decline in the fifth season and hit the skids in the sixth, so launching a spin-off was probably unwise to begin with. Given that this show was in syndication, the Panzer-Davis production team had to know that the declining ratings would result in poor timeslots (in my market, one had to search the post-midnight hours to find airings for it). Lastly, Buffy & Xena aside, going with a female lead in a franchise known for their beefy male "immortals" was a critical mistake that cost them a good chunk of the female audience (can anyone say "Lost opportunity with Peter Wingfield?") When all was said and done, the actual show wasn't bad. Much like the original series, there were some clunky inconsistencies, but overall they did what the fans enjoyed: Very beautiful people who live a long time making love, spouting philosophy and hacking off heads with pretty swords. An extra shout-out for the historical flashbacks, always done with great eye and skill, despite the teensy budget. For Panzer-Davis - take a Midol. For the very gorgeous Paul Johannson, congrats on "One Tree Hill" (oh, for a better vehicle). And to Elizabeth Gracen - take a cue from your character, Amanda, and get a backbone when it comes to men.

In spite of all the negative reviews, I LIKE THIS SERIES!!! Elizabeth Gracen is pert, sassy, sexy and Tres Chic! Paul Johansson is a hunky, sexy, gorgeous man! Yes, the series is inconsistent, with many starts in many directions, but to me that adds to the fun and variety. The stories are interesting and fun, and the humour gives the show a whole new dimension. I am disappointed that the whole interview bonus seems to focus on the negative. Only one of the producers came out and said that good things were done and the series did merit a second season. I agree that the final episode left us with hope for many new adventures for our now immortal "couple" as they proceed into the future together. This series was really much better than a lot of people wanted it to be, and it deserves a lot more attention than it got. Kudos to Elizabeth and Paul!

Of course I loved the series when it first aired so it's no surprised I loved the DVD too.

I really enjoy the lead character, Amanda! She is beautiful, elegant, dangerous, and more than a little eccentric!

I also liked the variation on the Highlander theme, of using an immortal female as the lead. And I thought she looked great during the sword fighting. ( I just wished there was a little more of that)

I enjoyed the whole romance thing they've added with Nick Wolf, a mortal man. But then I'm a sucker for romance.

I totally disagree with the above review that claims there was no chemistry between the leads. I felt and saw a connection on screen - which I guess means they were professional actors in spite of the fact they didn't get along off camera.

And lets remember extreme dislike creates heat too.

I thought the interviews were a total hoot! I absolutely loved them!

You listen with your jaw on the floor, you really do!

I couldn't believe how honest everyone was about how bad the atomsphere was on the set. I don't think I've ever heard anything quite like it!

The interveiws made this worth the purchase price for me!

But I loved the series and I really wish they could have had at least one season more...

There IS a big reveal in the last episode and I would have loved to see what a new season would bring to the characters Amanda and Nick.

But the actors would have killed each other if it had!

I bought this set recently. The first thing on the Disc One menu isn't the first episode. It's a behind the scenes series of interviews, which are titled, "Highlander: The Raven The Unraveling of a Show".
When I watched the show during its orginial broadcast run in 1998, I thought it was a funny, action-oriented series with three or four well developed characters. When the show was cancelled at the end of its first season, I figured some network suit had decided that another "Friends" like sitcom or one more knockoff of the home-video shows that depict stupid human tricks would get higher ratings and/or cost less to make.
I didn't know how much Hollywood BS had gone on. How Elizabeth Gracen and Paul Johansson despised each other. How the creative team had had no idea where to take the show after the initial episodes. How the money dried up in mid-season.
I have watched the first five DVDs, and there has to be about an hour of the interviews I mentioned. I suppose a better title for these vignettes would be "Elizabeth Gracen and her enablers". She went well out of her way to give Johansson a hard way to go, even demanding of the show's brass that one script's ending be changed. This ending did not directly involve Amanda's character, but did involve Nick's.
Personally, I find the conversations on these discs surprising. What is depicted is pretty much How Not to Make a Succesful Show. "The Raven" suffered as a result, and something that could have been very good was cut short after 22 only episodes.

Incidentally, the episodes themselves are pretty good. Well written, and for the most part well acted. Lucy and Bert Myers are excellent supporting chracters in what is pretty much a cop show.

Back in 1998 when the series Aired, I recall first seeing Highlander The Raven and how I was taken with it. I liked the sophistication, the sexy banter, mixed with the Highlander Themes (I was never a fan of the Highlander Franchise, but I had seen the first movie and liked it). It was on very late at night in my area, and I was only able to catch it a few times. When the show disapeared I was sourly disapointed.

Fast forward 10 years. In a moment of Nostalgia I find this here on Amazing and make the purchase. My memories are there and the over all story line is still compelling... A thief who can't die, and a man of integrity trying to influence her to do good.

What I can say abouut this series is first, I must have seen all the good episodes back in 1998, and missed the bad. Watching the series from start to finish was a confusing and somewhat irritating experience. There's still that hint of sophistication, and some of the stories are well thought out and written. The cast, whatever thier personal feelings for each other in real life, play well together and the acting is good. THe chemistry between the love interests is a little sparce, but could be over looked.

My main issue with the series is that after the first few episodes, flip... The who feel changes. Then again later on. It's like the series could never find it's identity... or at least the writers didn't seem to know how to hold an essence of where they wanted this to go or feel. I have watched the commentary on the DVD, and there was a lot of behind the scenes b.s. that didn't seem to help matters. One thing that is dumbfounding for me is how they couldn't pay to keep the side kick charecter Lucy, but were able to pay to transport everyone to France. Also one minute showing Amanda as the witty, smart, thief with a taste for the High Life, and suddenly we're trying to make her a virginal savior who was some sort of female Robinhood / Florence Nightengale.

In looking back you can truly see how much potential this series seriously had. Moreover the fan base was already there from the Highlander Series. It's really sad to see how politics and mishandling killed Highlander The Raven. Buy it used, it's worth seeing... well, at least half the episodes. My other advice is if you even like the show a little... don't watch the last episode. It's a mess. Seriously. What enjoyment I had for the series by the end all went down the toilet watching it. No spoliers, but you've been warned.

The Raven series is very enjoyable. It's a lot different from highlander since it has a lighter mood to it. It would have been nice to see Methos show up in an episode. I was surprised that they didn't show more female immortals coming after Amanda. Bottom line is that regardless of what the behind the scenes interviewers opinionate, this was a excellent show and it was getting better every episode.

Lots of action, good stories, and engaging characters. And,the commentaries are as entertaining as the episodes: Elizabeth Gracen sounds like a nutty paranoic and the rest seem clinically depressed---Sumptuously entertaining!

I recently purchased and viewed the entire Highlander series. I vaguely remembered this show and always thought Elizabeth Ward Gracen was a babe, so I purchased this. Boy, was I disappointed. It was even worse than I eventually remembered.

At the core, the setup is cheesy, there is little chemistry between the stars*, Paul Johansson isn't a very good actor and the immortal mythology is treated as a side-gimmick rather than central to the show (the episodes of Highlander that did this tended to be the worse ones as well.)

*The Gracen and Johansson apparently hated each other, which partly explains the lack of chemistry, though bad writing didn't help.

It's also quite obvious that the producers lost some of their best writers and production staff. Using Montreal surely didn't help.

Fortunately, someone on eBay wanted it.

The premise is good, the actors well Paul I thought was quite good the other supporting folks also quite good. What shocked and disapointed me was that unlike it's predecessor the lead couldn't carry off her end of the deal.
I had thought an Amanda show would be fabulous, I loved Amanda in the original seires and in fact prefered her and much of the supporting cast over Adrian Paul for the most part. But what Adrian had that Elizabeth didn't was the strengh and skill to carry an entire episode/series.
It shocked me very much I was soo looking forward to this show and as each episode aired and I got more and more disapointed I finally just gave up caring.
I liked Paul I thought what they did with his character was so damn stupid and cheap, taken straight from Highlander and unoriginal.
I do not know if I want this set I KNOW I don't want to hear them all snipe about who messed up, sorry folks you all blew it!

I watched this show when it first aired and felt that even though you can't compare it to the original, it was still worth having in my collection for one reason. The actor who plays Nick Wolfe. Not saying that Elizabeth Gracen isn't a good actress but that I don't like her character. She's an immortal. She cuts off peoples heads for crying out loud. Then she has these little tea time moments. The sense of humor that she has most the time makes it hard to believe she can even get into a serious mode. Paul Johannson on the other hand is an intense actor and he does a really good job with this character. The interviews that are on the dvd are interesting.