Customer Reviews

Highlander The Series - Season 5

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The quality of the Highlander DVD box sets is a delight through all six releases. Season Five is no exception and contains the same unique special features and great video transfer as the rest. My one major turn off that, unfortunately, seems to be an industry standard is the folding package that takes up the whole coffee table. It doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the series or the special features which were enough in the first two seasons two make me buy the rest, at a premium for my impatience, from the official site (www.highlander-official.com).

As in the previous season, Highlander season 5 begins with a tale of Duncan's childhood. Through present day events and flashbacks, " Prophecy" shows us a whole new breed of older immortal with powers that certainly would have helped the character of Methos (Peter Wingfield) in earlier seasons, mind control over humans and younger immortals through a powerful form of hypnotic suggestion. We are introduced to the character of Casandra, the first immortal that Duncan (Adrian Paul) ever came into contact with as a child and a fabled witch in his native village. "Prophecy" as befits its title foreshadows the entire season we later find, even to the point of making minor mention of Connor MacLeod, Duncan's distant cousin and the hero of the original Highlander movie. While some may not see the referencing of the original movie for the first time since the pilot for the series as foreshadowing, to me it stands as a statement from the producers that all bets are off.

It is easy to forget that there is now a "chosen one" prophecy hanging over Duncan's head as you get into the season. After his failed attempt to kill Richie Ryan (Stan Kirsch) during his "Dark Quickening" (the "good guy gone evil through no fault of his own" scenario of the previous season), Duncan must make amends with his former pupil or push him away. Relations are still strained with Joe Dawson, his former Watcher now friend and Methos shows up in enough episodes this season that the producers must have been thinking spin-off.

The penultimate season of Highlander has the usual mix of comedic episodes interspersed with the serious. Highlights of the lighter episodes include the return of Roger Daltrey as Hugh Fitzcairn in an entirely "historical" episode entitled "The Stone of Scone" and a "Bonnie and Clyde" style romp with the spin-off character Amanda (Elisabeth Gracen) and her former partner Cory Raines (Nicolas Lea) making Duncan's life miserable both in present day and the past in "Money No Object." The Funniest moments from the season come from an episode entitled "Dramatic License" in which a female author has published a romance novel about Duncan and an exaggerated account of some of his many exploits.

Foreshadowing plays a huge role in this season and the Prophecy that was told in the opening episode starts to come into play in the darker episodes of the season. In "Comes a Horseman" and "Revelation 6:8" we find that Methos has been hiding an a secret of his ancient and evil past that could end up destroying the world. "Double Jeopardy" uses the Highlander master craft of the flashback to reintroduce us to one of the series original and deadliest villains, who may not be dead after all, Xavier St. Cloud (Roland Gift). Finally, "Archangel", the finale, introduces the deadliest threat to immortals yet which may very well Satan himself.

Many fans consider this season to be the last true season of "Highlander" before the series spiraled towards oblivion with season six. Many fans also consider this to be the show's best season. No matter what you say, it's indisputable that the fifth season holds some of the show's finest episodes.

One of the lesser points of the show's later years was that it delved deeper into the realm of fantasy, bringing in witches and even a Zoroastrian space demon (!). Season five begins with one such episode, entitled "Prophecy", which introduced the character of Cassandra (played by Tracy Scoggins), a five-hundred-year-old witch whom MacLeod briefly met as a child. We explore the after-effects of MacLeod's Dark Quickening (from the season four episode "Something Wicked") in "The End of Innocence", a great episode that shows Richie's loss of trust in Duncan. Carl Robinson, the character from season two's "Run For Your Life", returns in "Manhunt" (as well as a young Eric McCormack), while - naturally - Amanda returns for many an episode. The high point of the season is undoubtedly the two-parter which delved into Methos' dark past, beginning with "Comes a Horseman" and ending with "Revelation 6:8". These two episodes are often thought to be the best of the whole show, and I must say I agree. These are just a few of the great episodes in this season, which also includes the entirely flashback episode "Stone of Scone", as well as the beautiful "Duende", and intriguing "Modern Prometheus". We're left with a cliffhanger for the season - "Archangel", the first of the Ahriman trilogy, which forsees the coming of a space demon whom Duncan alone can defeat. If it sounds horrible, it's because it is.

One of the best parts of season five is not simply the jump forwards in script quality, but the evolution of the characters. They seem much more three-dimensional in this season, and are also placed in difficult situations which makes us think, "What would I do in this situation?"

Of course, the real reason to love this season is the many appearances of Methos. (Wink wink.)

If you were introduced to the show through the DVDs, you're in for a real treat with this season. For you longtime "Highlander" fans out there, sit back and enjoy what may be the best season of the entire show.

Season five of Highlander is another great 22 episodes. This season starts off in a similar fashion as season four did. `Prophecy' takes us back to the Highlands of Scotland when Duncan was only 13 years old; we got to see him in close contact with his cousin Robert, with whom he had to confront in season four's opener `Homeland'. This season also brings home Ritchie, now an immortal with no false belief that Duncan will protect him and watch out for him; he is ready to take care of himself. There are episodes with Huge Fitzcairn, played by the great Rodger Daltrey, and Amanda, and Methos. My favorite episodes in the series `Comes a Horseman' and `Revelations 6:8' are in this season, with additional director's cuts versions of both episodes. This season is great enough on its own, but the DVD set comes packed with interviews and deleted scenes. The interviews are long, and most of them are great to watch. The deleted scenes are fun as well; they show with great detail how much work went in to filming the sword fights. This DVD set is well worth the time and the money. I highly recommend this set for all who enjoy great TV; there is enough action, comedy, science fiction, and drama for any fan.

The episodes - "One Minute To Midnight" and "Double Jeopardy" are in the Season 4 Box set.

Those episodes were filmed during season 4 but didn't air in the US until season 5, hence the confusion.

Following the advice of another reviewer, I went to the official HL website and found they are indeed selling the sets for half of what other retailers are charging. However - caveat emptor - the Season 5 set that the HL Store sent me has 8 discs, not 9, and seems to be missing two vital (to me, anyway) bonus features - "Peter Wingfield: The Man Who Became Methos" and "The Time of the Gathering: Highlander's 1998 Convention" (which I attended). After getting no response to two separate emails, I took time out of my workday to call the HL Store (they only answer the phone 8:30-5 PST, M-F). The operator I talked to said that the sets they have are the "European" versions of the sets, but they're the same as Anchor Bay's sets. When I told her this wasn't the case, we both took our computers online to Sam Goody, which lists the bonus features (why is Amazon not doing that for Season 5, anyway?). Because her computer was glitching, she asked me to print out the webpage that listed the bonus features and fax it to her. That was the last I heard, and - quite frankly - I don't know if they're planning to do anything about it besides say, "Oh, well." Perhaps I should call again... The practical upshot of all this is, if Methos and/or the 1998 convention hold any importance to you (and who doesn't hold Methos as important?), be careful about buying Season 5 at the Highlander site.

Just as the previous four season have been stunning with great character development. Season five continues the great saga that is Highlander. Season five contains great stories of "4 Horseman of the Apocalypse" and the great Evil that comes every 1,000 years. Of course there will be great commentary interviews and add clips of writers/directors/cast adding background insight about filming the episodes.

I have to agree with the other reviewers, this season was by far the strongest of all of them. Nearly every episode was good, even the weaker ones.

We see more of Duncan's past as characters such as Cassandra and Melvin Korin, otherwise known as Kronus (more on him later), reappear in Duncan's life. We see a change in the relationship between Duncan Macleod and Richie Ryan. We find out more about Methos (more on that later too) and we get some new interesting characters!

There were two comedy episodes that I just loved. Both involved Adrian Paul and Elizabeth Gracen. While "Dramatic License" was a good one, the duo is even funnier when they have Roger Daltry with them as Hugh Fitzcain in "The Stone Of Scone."

Back to Methos and Kronus, they made a huge impact in the Highlander universe when Duncan discovers from his friend/lover Cassandra that Methos was a murderer, rapist, killer, etc. over 5,000 years ago along side Kronus as part of The Four Horsemen in the episodes "Comes A Horsemen" and "Revelations 6:8." Duncan must now stop this band of immortals while deciding whether or not to kill Methos in order to prevent their evil from walking the earth again!

Personal Note: I hope I am not the only one that feels this way but those two episodes should've been a feature film! Had it had been, it could've rivaled even the original Highlander as the best film of the franchise!

Back to Season 5, the relationship between Duncan and Richie comes to a shocking and tragic end in the final episode called "Archangel." The ramifications are felt throughout Season 6.

Overall, this is (in my view) the best season of Highlander! Just for the Horsemen episodes, its worth the money alone and may be the ONLY season I would pay more than $40 for! To quote an earlier reviewer, if you buy only one season of Highlander, this is the one to buy! Highly recommended!

Without a doubt the best season yet. Season five combines an entirely thrilling set of characters including, Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul), Richie Ryan (Stan Kirsch), Methos (Peter Wingfield), Amanada (Elizabeth Gracen) and Joe Dawson (Jim Byrnes) and let's not forget our comic relief character who continually seems to be popping up from the past, Fitzcairn.

The season exceeds the other before (and after) it mostly because of the script. There are some absolutely brilliant lines in a few episodes that just take your breath away. The character of Methos is really devloped in a most astonishingly and heartily genius manner.

The episodes that really got the limelight from me were 'Comes a Horseman' and it's continuiation, 'Revelations 6:8' mainly starring Methos. It's the first time we get flashbacks from his character and it's really an amazingly well done piece of work. The effort both the actor and the writers put into the character is very noticable and very much appreciated. If only Highlander had known that 5,000 year old immortal from season one.

The opening episode of season five introduces a new character to the screen, Cassandra. A 3,000 year old immmortal whom Duncan met in his childhood. She appears once more later on in the season.

A shocking finale to the season involves a heavy plotline involving Richie and Duncan, with Methos and Joe involved as a backset. A menacing evil has appeared and the ancient prophecy, which started up at the beginning of the season, is now being played out. The last episode ends as a cliffhanger making fans rush to buy the last season, num. 6.

I have seasons 1 through 4 on DVD and will get this one as soon as it comes out. It will be a must buy for every Highlander fan as we find out what happens to Richie after the encounter with Duncan following the dark quickening from season 4, and of course the main point from season 5 comes as we learn more and more about the character of Methos and his affiliation with the 4 Horseman. Can't wait 'till this one comes out.

I think as this series progressed it just got better and better. The flashbacks are an important part of the show and are always done well. The special effects also became better. For anyone who loves a bit of sword play with a good story, and some pathos then this is the show for you.