Run Time: 14 Hours 24 Minutes

For those not familiar with Highlander - The Series, this show is a television adaptation of Hollywood feature film, Highlander. The television series stars Adrian Paul as Duncan MacLeod. He is an immortal who has been given the gift of eternal life. The series revolves around the life of MacLeod in the 90s, detailing his interactions with friends, enemies, and his past. For the most part, in each episode MacLeod faces another immortal in a battle to the death and it happens because MacLeod is trying to rectify some wrongdoing. While in previous seasons this approach was entertaining, it begins to get a little old in the fifth season. As a result, the fifth season as a whole isn't extremely entertaining.

The major problem with season five of Highlander is the presentation of the entire season. Each episode provides a new and somewhat "different" story, with very little reference to previous stories. In other words, season five lacks a really any kind of story building. While some television shows like Will & Grace or Law & Order do not require this, the fifth season of Highlander just doesn't do very well without it. The dramatic appeal of the series requires it. It's the fundamental aspect that makes you want to see more. The reason that I state that the fifth season of Highlander needed this is because the individual stories in season five are pretty dry. There's more than one episode that feels a little too much like the last. For instance, there are a few occurrences when MacLeod must choose between a pair of his friends. In these episodes, two friends of MacLeod want each other's head and MacLeod must determine who's right and who's wrong or find a way for them to make peace. Overall the fifth season just doesn't have a lot of entertaining stories.

One of these exceptions is the very last episode of the season, "Archangel". Unlike season four, this episode ends with a big cliffhanger. After MacLeod loses his sanity (or at least appears too), one of MacLeod's closest friends makes his final appearance in the series. It's a really entertaining episode because it leaves you wanting to see more, to know what happens next. However, it was a pretty dramatic change to the series. I know a lot of fans weren't happy. If you watch the special feature "The Time of Gathering: Highlander's 1998 Convention", you'll hear all about it. This brings me back to my criticism of this season. The season ended with a very strong episode. While this is great, it poses a problem because the rest of the season just wasn't that exciting. The intense drama and the desire to know what happens next just didn't occur. The fact of the matter is that this season isn't gripping and it's hard to really enjoy.

On a positive note, this season did very well with character development. While all of the main characters have been defined in previous seasons, some of the episodes in season five did a fairly good job taking these characters to another level. In the two part episode, "Comes a Horseman" and "Revelation 6:8" there is quite a lot of development for my favorite character, Methos (Peter Wingfield). His past is revealed and it's filled with hatred, deceit, and outright evil. Furthermore, in episodes like "Forgive Us Our Trespasses" we get a chance to see MacLeod, an overly good guy, realize that maybe he's not really that good. The question becomes, what of MacLeod's nature allows him to be a good guy? When he kills, how is it any different than when a "bad" guy kills? In the beginning of the season, "End of Innocence", MacLeod's protege Richie Ryan (Stan Kirsch) changes from a brash and naive into untrusting and hate-driven punk. In the end, the character Ryan gets a chance to grow a little bit more.

However, despite this positive aspect of the season, it doesn't make it truly entertaining. The fact of the matter is the fifth season as a whole isn't very good. On an individual episode-by-episode basis it's another story. Because of the lack of a long running story that trickles throughout the entire season (or even part of), alone each episode can be fairly entertaining. But most of these episodes are good for one and only one viewing. After you've seen it, you probably won't want to watch it again in the future. Fans should be pretty interested in this DVD release, but casual viewers and newcomers to the series, this season really isn't Highlander in all of its glory.

The DVD

Video:
The fifth season of Highlander is presented in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. The picture quality seems to vary in each episode. Some portions of are filmed under different lighting with different equipment, which results in a very some non-streamline quality. Overall, it does not feel much better than what you would witness from broadcast or cable television. There is a very distinct grain in the picture and sometimes it is very noticeable. In regards to viewing pleasure, it shouldn't hinder your experience, but it definitely won't make it better.

Sound:
While there wasn't a great improvement with video quality, the sound quality seems to have received a little more attention. In addition to a standard 2.0 Dolby digital stereo audio track, Anchor Bay included a 5.1 Dolby digital stereo audio track. The 2.0 track sounds fairly decent, but a little too flat. The remastered 5.1 track sounds much better. There is a significant improvement, providing rich and vibrant sound. Still both audio tracks are not superb, as they both have a slight overheard. It's nearly inaudible, but the noise distortion can be recognized at very high volumes.

Extras:
This DVD release has a lot of special features. The majority of special features are on the first six discs and include audio commentaries, video commentaries, and bonus footage: deleted & alternative scenes. Each of the 18 episodes in this release has at least one of the three extras and sometimes, all three. The commentaries include cast & crew: Adrian Paul, Peter Wingfield, Jim Byrnes, Stan kirsch, David Abramowitz, Bill Panzer, Peter Ellis, Don Paonessa, Richard Martin, Anthony Delongis, and Gillian Horvath. These extras are pretty impressive, with more than enough entertainment to keep the fans at bay for hours. The extras don't stop there, as plenty more is included. Additionally, "The Watcher Chronicles" are supplied for each episode. It contains a breakdown of significant mortals, immortals, places, weapons, and events of each episode.

On Disc 7, there are two alternative cuts of episodes "Comes a Horseman" and "Revelations 6:8". These two alternative cuts also come equipped with audio commentaries. This is pretty cool, except the picture quality is crap and the sound quality isn't very good either. Next we have a bloopers reel, which is my favorite extra. It opens with a hilarious song and Jim Byrnes giving a comical monologue. There are also two featurettes: "Duels", which features various scenes of MacLeod in combat, and "The Romances of Duncan MacLeod", which shows MacLeod with the numerous women he's loved.

The extras on Disc 8 include two featurettes. The first featurette is "The Time of Gathering: Highlander's 1998 Convention". Believe it or not, it's exactly what it says. An hour and eight minute documentary covering parts of the convention and brief words from a lot of diehard Highlander fans. I didn't find this to be very entertaining. There are a few moments that provide some interesting comments and a little humor, but it doesn't happen a lot. The second featurette is "Peter Wingfield: The Man Who Became Methos", which is 39 minutes of Wingfield talking about his life leading up to his role in Highlander. Fans of Wingfield will get a kick out of this, but unless you're really interested in him, this probably won't be that exciting.

The last set of extras is found on the bonus CD-ROM (Disc 9). It contains scripts for each episode, production notes & drawings, storyboards, cast & crew biographies, and a trivia game.

Final Thoughts:
While I enjoyed watching Highlander - The Series Season Four, season five just wasn't as exciting. There were too many slow episodes to really enjoy it. On a purely episode-by-episode basis watching an episode here and there can be entertaining. On the other hand, the season as whole doesn't prove to be truly remarkable. It comes off pretty dry and lacks really strong entertain value. Season five makes for good casual viewing. In other words, it's a good rental for a rainy day.