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Highlander: fangirl bait edition
Certain elements of my flist will be happy to know that I've finally reached 3x16.
But first, there was ...
3x14 - Executioner's Song: So I had assumed from the first few minutes that this was going to be another filler-type episode - friend from Duncan's past shows up, la la la, lots of flashbacks, there's a beheading, etc. Imagine my surprise when it took a sudden 180 into IMPORTANT STORY ARC STUFF. Wait, we're leaving the city and the dojo again? Where are we going now? And most importantly, is Duncan taking his friends with him?
Actually, in general, there is way more plot in this show than I was expecting! Things change. People change. Relationships change. The show doesn't just stay in the same city with the same set of characters for its whole run. I really like that (even though sometimes it's tough watching Duncan's heart getting repeatedly ripped out and stomped on).
3x15 - Star-Crossed: ... or, as the case may be, we could go back to Paris. (Do they actually film this in Paris? Or is it in Canada with occasional stock Paris footage for the long shots?) I was expecting somewhere new, but, hey, Paris is good too.
FITZCAIRN! ;_; Come on, can't Duncan have just ONE of his old friends survive for a change? (I had no idea Fitzcairn was going to die, although I could see the writing on the wall from the time that he left his pipe on the boat. I kept hoping for a reprieve of execution, though, because really, does everyone Duncan cares about have to die? Poor Duncan.)
Also? While I wasn't looking, Richie, um, grew up. And got sexy. XD
3x16 - Methos: HMMM I WONDER WHAT THIS EPISODE IS ABOUT. XDDD
I've had so much anticipation for this, because I've known about Methos for years -- in the sense of "there is this character on Highlander called Methos, and he's apparently everyone's favorite". But I didn't know anything about him, except for the out-of-context clips that I'd seen on fanvids. I couldn't actually tell from the clips if he was an ally or one of the later Big Bads in the series. (In fact, turns out I've been mispronouncing his name in my head all these years, even ... I'd always given it a short "e", like in "methamphetamine".)
ANYWAY. So knowing that most of the fandom fell hard for him, I was wary that it would be all buildup and no payoff. Would the hype be too much, or am I as susceptible to the Methos charm as the entire rest of fandom?
The latter. Very much the latter. OH GOD. He totally had me in his first scene, actually -- the quirky little-kid charm (sitting on the floor!), the weirdly innocent quality with the sudden switches into badassness, the way he seems so sweet and yet you can tell he's hiding a lot under that placid exterior ... um. Yes. I'm sold. SO VERY SOLD. I started grinning when he showed up and JUST DID NOT STOP until the end of the episode! I guess I was expecting him to be sort of evil, at the very least a dark and dangerous character; I absolutely was not expecting him to be cute, charming and sort of a nerd, not to mention not actually all that good at fighting. I can see why this character took the fandom by storm. I WANT MORE.
... it's kind of a huge relief, actually, to know that I'm not out of step with fandom on this. I was a bit stressed about it, because I figured the odds (based on my track record) were about 50/50 for taking the fangirl bait or not! But I LOVE HIM, and can't wait to see more of him, eeeee.
Spoiler alert ETA: Since I know at least one of you (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dossier) is a first-time viewer at about the same place I am, the LJ comments -- specifically my comments thread with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
xparrot -- contain vague references to the one other Highlander spoiler I know that hasn't happened yet. I don't come right out and say it, but I don't know how spoilerphobic you are; you might want to skip that thread if you're worried about figuring out too much from context.
But first, there was ...
3x14 - Executioner's Song: So I had assumed from the first few minutes that this was going to be another filler-type episode - friend from Duncan's past shows up, la la la, lots of flashbacks, there's a beheading, etc. Imagine my surprise when it took a sudden 180 into IMPORTANT STORY ARC STUFF. Wait, we're leaving the city and the dojo again? Where are we going now? And most importantly, is Duncan taking his friends with him?
Actually, in general, there is way more plot in this show than I was expecting! Things change. People change. Relationships change. The show doesn't just stay in the same city with the same set of characters for its whole run. I really like that (even though sometimes it's tough watching Duncan's heart getting repeatedly ripped out and stomped on).
3x15 - Star-Crossed: ... or, as the case may be, we could go back to Paris. (Do they actually film this in Paris? Or is it in Canada with occasional stock Paris footage for the long shots?) I was expecting somewhere new, but, hey, Paris is good too.
FITZCAIRN! ;_; Come on, can't Duncan have just ONE of his old friends survive for a change? (I had no idea Fitzcairn was going to die, although I could see the writing on the wall from the time that he left his pipe on the boat. I kept hoping for a reprieve of execution, though, because really, does everyone Duncan cares about have to die? Poor Duncan.)
Also? While I wasn't looking, Richie, um, grew up. And got sexy. XD
3x16 - Methos: HMMM I WONDER WHAT THIS EPISODE IS ABOUT. XDDD
I've had so much anticipation for this, because I've known about Methos for years -- in the sense of "there is this character on Highlander called Methos, and he's apparently everyone's favorite". But I didn't know anything about him, except for the out-of-context clips that I'd seen on fanvids. I couldn't actually tell from the clips if he was an ally or one of the later Big Bads in the series. (In fact, turns out I've been mispronouncing his name in my head all these years, even ... I'd always given it a short "e", like in "methamphetamine".)
ANYWAY. So knowing that most of the fandom fell hard for him, I was wary that it would be all buildup and no payoff. Would the hype be too much, or am I as susceptible to the Methos charm as the entire rest of fandom?
The latter. Very much the latter. OH GOD. He totally had me in his first scene, actually -- the quirky little-kid charm (sitting on the floor!), the weirdly innocent quality with the sudden switches into badassness, the way he seems so sweet and yet you can tell he's hiding a lot under that placid exterior ... um. Yes. I'm sold. SO VERY SOLD. I started grinning when he showed up and JUST DID NOT STOP until the end of the episode! I guess I was expecting him to be sort of evil, at the very least a dark and dangerous character; I absolutely was not expecting him to be cute, charming and sort of a nerd, not to mention not actually all that good at fighting. I can see why this character took the fandom by storm. I WANT MORE.
... it's kind of a huge relief, actually, to know that I'm not out of step with fandom on this. I was a bit stressed about it, because I figured the odds (based on my track record) were about 50/50 for taking the fangirl bait or not! But I LOVE HIM, and can't wait to see more of him, eeeee.
Spoiler alert ETA: Since I know at least one of you (
dossier) is a first-time viewer at about the same place I am, the LJ comments -- specifically my comments thread with xparrot -- contain vague references to the one other Highlander spoiler I know that hasn't happened yet. I don't come right out and say it, but I don't know how spoilerphobic you are; you might want to skip that thread if you're worried about figuring out too much from context.
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The show really was filmed in Paris for half the year and Vancouver for the other half. One of the cool things about the Paris filming sites that isn't evident from watching the show is that the main ones are all in the same neighborhood — like, I pretend Duncan and Fitz didn't actually drive a car to Darius's church in "The Hunters," because they could have run there in about two minutes.
Here's a website about Darius's church.
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I had initially assumed that they were shooting in Canada (like in Quebec City or someplace that could be mistaken for a European town) but I was increasingly unsure about that as they did more outside shots and scenes! That's really neat that it's actually Paris. Oh, and thank you for the link!
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Wait 'til you get to the eps with [spoiler] about [spoiler]. [Spoilery reaction]
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Your posts make me want to rewatch the series. I only watched sporadically when it first aired here, and gathered some through fandom osmosis and reading the occasional xover, but I never actually watched the whole series in sequence myself.
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I'm a little amazed at how much I love this show. I wasn't expecting to; it was something that I started watching because it didn't take much brainpower -- I could have it playing in the background while I did other stuff. And it was one of those Big Fandom Shows, so it seemed like I should probably watch it at some point. But, wow, it's grabbed me really hard! I just want to make squeaky happy noises about it.
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I had seen 'Methos' sometime in the distant past, so the events of the ep weren't new to me, but I was pleasantly surprised how much context for the characters I had missed! Methos is marvelous, indeed. I won't say more, but I think it just gets a lot better with him there.
I think overall, the quality of the episodes get progressively better and remain that way from Methos forward, with fewer dips. It is possible I feel this way because I have taken to skipping all Anne Lindsay episodes out of hand. :) The focus is tighter on the Immortals & Watchers, with fewer random humans involved.
in re the French production, I did recall the French-Canadian production agreement, so I wasn't terribly surprised to see filmed on location. Mainly because I have been trolling the end credits for Stargate alum--Christine McQuarrie did costuming for 41 of the Vancouver episodes. Still keeping track.
One think that is niggling at me, and I blame the drugs for accidental napping. Didn't Duncan sell the barge in season 2? It was being towed away and he was vowing to move on as it reminded him too much of Tessa and then the next episode is in the dojo in Seacouver... So in season 3 the barge is back?!? Was it just in storage, or did he buy it back? Obviously he has it, so not much of a surprise.
Also, the episode listing that IMDB employs is different than that of Netflix.
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re: the barge - he did sell it. Apparently Maurice re-acquired it for him; there's a brief conversation about that at the beginning of the first Paris episode of season 3. I don't think we got details, but it's mentioned.
Speaking of Maurice, he's about as close as this show comes to a character I actually don't like -- I'm glad that Duncan has friends (especially now that Richie's gone again - just watched 3x18), glad he's friends with a variety of different kinds of people, but Maurice annoys the bejeezus out of me.
I don't dislike Anne, but I'm having trouble warming up to her as much as I have to most of the other characters. I think it's funny how some of the characters just grabbed me immediately -- Dawson, Amanda, METHOS -- but others, like Anne or Charlie, I've had to warm up to gradually. But I do really love that Duncan seems to go for smart women with careers. Awww, Duncan, you're so awesome.
Also, the episode listing that IMDB employs is different than that of Netflix.
I noticed that when I was looking up episode titles in season one (when I accidentally spoiled myself for Darius's death). I would guess that it's probably because of the network moving around airdates; I'm assuming that the Netflix order is probably the order that was intended.
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I was only ever a lurker and reader in HL fandom in its heyday, but from what I can tell based on fic count, it was dominated by Duncan/Methos shippers. I don't know if it was quite to the extent of John/Rodney--McShep always felt like a monolith, but that might be because I didn't know where the het was hiding, whereas HL had one massive archive of all kinds of fic (The Seventh Dimension). HL along with The Sentinel and due South inherited a lot of the old skool slashers who used to watch Starsky & Hutch and The Professionals, so yeah, there's a LOT of slash (not all of it very well written *cough*) but there's still a good amount of gen and het. And threesomes!
I liked Anne more after repeated viewings, but yeah, she didn't grab me the way Tessa or Amanda did. Part of it is the actress, I think, but part of it is the role she plays in Duncan's life--the woman with whom he tries to make it work after losing Tessa, arguably the love of his life. I don't think he was quite ready to be in love again.
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But I'm glad to hear there's at least some variety of fic. I tend to start out with gen in all my fandoms, maybe a favorite canon pairing or two, and then move slowly into a wider range of fic (or leave the fandom, whichever comes first -- some fandoms I never make it to Step 2). I can see myself reading Duncan/Methos if it's recced to me (I get the general impression that quite a few of the Methos fans on my flist are also Duncan/Methos fans, so I am expecting a plethora of links!) but I would like to have other options too!
I'm also somewhat relieved to not be majorly out of step with fandom on the Methos issue! *g* Like I said above, it's about 50/50 for me -- sometimes I go for the fangirl-bait popular characters, and sometimes I don't (... I think I was just about the only person in Buffy fandom who hated Spike, and it took me THREE YEARS in Supernatural to finally give up, follow the path of least resistance and come around on Castiel). And most of my fannish friends who are into Highlander are also majorly into Methos, which would have made the squeeing a bit awkward if I couldn't stand him.
Heeeee!!!
And then, maybe 10 years after my first young love affair with HL, my aforementioned friend (we both being now well-furnished with the amenities of the world wide web) sent me links to fanfic, the firts ever story I think was Wombat's X-files/HL xover with Methos/Mulder. Of course, it went along the usual path from there...
Um, well, actually, I had a point I kind of wanted to make in rambling ... I was really pleasantly surprised to discover that the HL fandom was still there when I found fandom overall in 2004 - and I'm glad Hl is still here now, and I'm kind of immensely gleeful and happy to see someone still discovering this series as new. So, I hope you enjoy!!
(And sorry for butting in like that - I suppose I'm a virtual stranger to you - I've very much enjoyed your SGA stories, but I'm a bad bad lurker who usually needs a strong stimulus to trigger self-expression *g* (something like someone discovering HL, apaprently) - so, um, thank you and sorry for butting in?)
Re: Heeeee!!!
I'm absolutely delighted to find so many people out there -- and not even in fandom at large, but in my own little corner of it, or at least a degree or two removed -- who still remember the show with love and squee, and are still happy to talk about it! I think that my journal will probably be tuned to the All Highlander Squee All The Time channel for some time to come, and when I finish the series I'll be able to talk about ALL of it and not have to worry about spoilers anymore!
Re: Heeeee!!!
Also, you've made me want to drag out my all 6 seasons of Hl and rewatch:)