DVDFile

Compared to the relative goofiness of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, Highlander is a bit leaden in its incarnation as a moderately successful TV show from the 1990s. This isn't to say that the show is a complete bust; while the last four Highlander movies have been uneven (to say the least), the fact that Highlander the series has a relative consistency to it makes it more rewarding of a fantasy/action viewing experience.

The long and the short of it is that even in this last season of the series (it's the show at its most figuratively grandiose), the show knows what it does well. It doesn't go out of its way to stage potentially cheesy set pieces and extensive action scenes. Sure, there is more than a bit of staccato motion to the mostly-talky narratives here, but even more than the films, this Highlander seems genuinely happy in its own skin.

Budgets are smaller, scripts are shorter - it's of no matter. Adrian Paul and his on-screen cronies here bring a perfectly legitimate mix of serious fantasy and irreverent witty banter to the show. Yes, it's quite corny, and yes, it's very difficult to take a serious this outlandish as seriously as it seems to want us to, but Highlander remains, at the very least, a moderately engaging form of escapism.

The drag of this season, however, is that the drama and overall aesthetic quality of the show is definitely down a notch from other seasons. One would think that the show's last hurrah would have the series' lion share of excitement, intrigue and mythological heft, but this sixth season is surprisingly limp in all three of those departments.

But fans of the show need completion, and if you've bought the other five seasons, this one is a must-have.

And if you haven't bought any of the Highlander seasons on DVD, I highly recommend the Immortal Edition of the show for a mere $229 (a relative bargain), you get all six seasons of the show as well as a collectible box and a best-of edition.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The transfers here are almost identical in quality to those on previous seasons of Highlander on DVD:

"Each episode is presented in its original 4:3 full screen broadcast aspect ratio, and the results are strong. Colors are represented quite well here, with greens and dark blues benefiting from an especially strong luster. Blacks and contrast are just fine, although detail is sometimes lacking. The show can look a little smeary, with shadow delineation often poor. On the plus side, there is little edginess and only minor artifacting. All in all, these are pretty good transfers."

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Ditto for the 5.1 Dolby Digital and 2.0 Stereo transfers here:

"Kudos to Anchor Bay for coughing up the dough to remix the show in DVD-friendly 5.1 Dolby [Digital]. While the 2-channel mix of the original show is also presented here, the 5.1 is the way to go. Separation is more readily apparent, even expertly realized, on the 5.1 track and dynamic range is noticeably improved. Some of the dialogue still sounds a bit tinny and a lot of the music (especially the obligatory Queen songs that show up every once in a while) are mixed too loud. Low end is better than expected if still not quite up to today's big action spectacle standards."

No subtitles or alternate language tracks are included, but there are closed captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Even more so than in previous DVD incarnations, this sixth season of Highlander boasts a plethora of extra features in the form of documentaries, interviews, commentaries - wow.

First of all, each episode comes with a text feature called "The Watcher Chronicles", which are text-based biographies and histories of characters featured in each episode of this season. For uninitiated Highlander-ites like myself, these were extremely useful.

Disc One houses "Avatar", which comes with interviews (6:00), and some bonus footage ("Avenging Angel" - a look at Adrian Paul doing his exercise thing) and an extended scene, "Where the Heck is Methos?" (TRT: 6:00); "Armageddon", which comes with interviews (10:00), an extended scene, "Where the Heck is Joe?", some bonus footage ("French Fried Father" - a goofy gaffe-oriented short - "Martial Arts Ballet", a look at a fight scene from the episode, "The Last Temptation of Dawson") (TRT: 13:00), and both a video commentary (20:00) and a screen-specific audio commentary with Richard Martin; "Sins of the Father" has interviews (5:00) and bonus footage of Dara Tomanovich's Spin-off audition (4:00); and there is also a photo gallery, a weblink (to www.highlanderdvd.com), and credits for this DVD set here.

Disc two gives us "Diplomatic Immunity", which comes with interviews (9:00), bonus footage of "Bouncing Willie Off the Hood", a cool look at how a stunt man gets bounced off a car (extremely interesting) (1:30), and both a video commentary (19:00) and a screen-specific audio commentary with Richard Martin; and "Patient Number 7" and "Black Tower" come with interviews (7:00), (5:00).

Disc three houses "Unusual Suspects", which comes with interviews (9:00); "Justice", which offers interviews (6:00), some bonus footage of Justina Vail's Spin-off Audition, and both a video commentary (20:00) and screen-specific audio commentary with Richard Martin; and "Deadly Exposure", which comes loaded with interviews (10:00), and bonus footage of Sandra Hess' Spin-off Audition (4:00).

Disc four gives us "Two of Hearts", which comes with interviews (5:00) and bonus footage of Claudia Christian's audition (4:00); and "Indiscretions", which comes with interviews (13:00), some collections of bonus footage called "Acting With Distractions", "DWA: Driving While Acting", "It's a Long, Long Way to Go", and "Did He Say Bonding?", as well as a deleted scene, "Morgan Menaces Amy (some more)", and some behind-the-scenes looks at some complicated shots in the series: "Pretzel Shaped Magic Sword Pocket", "Filming the Swordfight", and "Last Shot for Highlander" (TRT: 14:00). There is also a video commentary (20:00) and a screen-specific audio commentary with Jim Byrnes and Peter Wingfield on this episode.

Disc five offers a deleted scene ("Golf Heaven" (1.15)), as well as some interviews (10:00) along with "To Be", while "Not to Be" has extended scenes of "Tessa the Goddesss" and "Methos and Fitz Share a Beer", "The Two Horsemen of the Apocalypse", and "The Fat Lady Sings", as well as some more interviews (11:00). Also included on this disc is a 30-minute documentary on the swordsmanship of Bob Anderson and his contributions to the "Highlander" legacy.

"Finale Backstage" on disc six is a documentary that looks specifically at the ultimate episode of this wild series (25:00), and "Immortal Memories" is a comprehensive featurette that has members of "Highlander's" cast and crew looking back at notable moments in the "Highlander" legacy (22:00). Then "400 Years: The Journey of Duncan MacLeod" is a featurette posing as a veritable history lesson of sorts, a peek at the development and many journeys of the man at the center of the "Highlander" universe (32:00).

Disc seven brings us "Favorite Quickenings", a 27-minute documentary looking back at the most notable and memorable effects-laden quickenings in the series' history. And for those not immensely familiar with the show, here's a quick definition of "quickening":

'The official definition from the producers is "An Immortal can only be killed by beheading. When an Immortal is killed, the Immortal who killed him receives his power and his essence and his knowledge through a mystical process known as "The Quickening." The power of the Quickening is the equivalent to a major electrical storm hitting -- windows explode, lights short circuit, it is almost as if the victorious Immortal is in the center of a lightning storm." Traditionally 'quickening' is a term used to describe the first discernible movement of a baby in the womb, i.e. when the fetus first shows signs of life. It has been theorized that Greg Widen chose this term do describe the peculiar life force of Immortals. As Adrian Paul describes it, "The Quickening is the receiving of all the power and knowledge another immortal has obtained throughout his/her life. It is like the receiving of a sacrament or a massive orgasm. That's my motivation."'

Also on this disc is a 50-minute documentary about "La Carrera Panamericana", a wild car-race that Adrian Paul participated in a few years ago. It's actually a legitimately intriguing look at a crazy-ass contest and the "Highlander"-ites that populate it. Nice.

And the CD-ROM disc included here is quite comprehensive, giving us each script for the 13 episodes included here, as well as biographies of actors, directors and writers, production notes and representations of the show's shooting schedule.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

We get a simple weblink to www.highlanderdvd.com (a site that was not up and running at the time of this review.

Final Thoughts

If you have the other seasons, you know you want to pick this one up, so go on ahead. Transfers are similar to other releases - that's not exactly a rave review - but the extra features here will provide many hours of enjoyment to even casual "Highlander" fans. Eight discs for $89.98? Not a bad deal...

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