There Can Be Only One

I borrowed a ridiculous amount of DVDs from Eric - a bunch of tv series with which to occupy my time. (side note: I started with "Eli stone", which I don't think I'd even heard of before, and fell in love with it. it was a brilliant series even though it was only one for two very short seasons.) I am currently watching season 1 of "highlander: the series", which I watched and liked in the early 90's - and oh, how very early 90's it is. the layer of cheese is so thick, it's fantastically valveeta-y. a couple of thoughts, which i will continue to add to as i continue to watch:

• I forgot just how beautiful a man Adrian Paul was. or is. with bone structure like that, I'm sure he's aged really well.
• I learned through imdb that he was actually a dancer and choreographer before coming to the us. which makes sense - he's a graceful man.
• I don't think I actually saw season one - or not to the point I'm at now. I remember the writing and storylines to be fairly decent... but as of now, the writing is... not so much. the directing is super cheesy - overly dramatic music at dramatic moments, long close-up shots on pensive faces before commercial breaks, the whole 9 yards. it's also very clear at the beginning that both Duncan and Connor realize that Ritchie could be an immortal - a fact I never realized; I remember being shocked when he didn't die after he and tess are killed. so I'm thinking I never saw the start.
• oh, the technology! just 20 years ago, and huge brick cell phones - which two whole people own at this time. and the computer systems! or lack thereof. I just watched an episode where a guy actually had photo enhancing software - that took all night to scan and use. and the terminal screen was black with white ms dos scripts running on it. how fantastically primitive it seems because we've come so far so fast.
• I really love Tess as a character. she could easily be weak, but right from the start she's portrayed as strong and resilient, which is cool in a show where most of the strong leads are men. especially for 20 years ago.
• it hurts my head that high school was 20 years ago. EARLY high school, but high school nonetheless.
• a feature of the DVD that absolutely cracks me up is the scene selections for each episode. you can choose from 5 different parts of the episode, OR - if there's an immortal death involved - you can select the "Q" and go straight to the kill shot and the quickening - excellent low-budget electricity fx, for the win!
• oh, the guest stars and their inability to act. vanity, anyone?
• mid-way through season one, and I remember this episode. or parts of it. this may well have been where I came into the series...