If you watch the extras from the season five box set of Highlander, then you'll know that for some of the diehard fans from "The Time of Gathering: Highlander's 1998 Convention" (bonus featurette) the sixth and final season of Highlander doesn't exist. The reason they reject this season is because of the way season five ended. They also didn't seem to hip on the actual content in sixth season. While I do not entirely agree with their justification, the underlying thought is not without merit. This final season is easily the worst that the series has to offer.

For those not familiar with Highlander, this series 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. The series' basic outline is pretty generic. In most episodes, MacLeod faces another immortal in a battle to the death, which is because MacLeod is trying to rectify some wrongdoing. In this final season, there are only thirteen episodes and a few stray away from the generic format. Overall, the season is not really very exciting, but it does have its moments.

Season five wasn't a really great season, but at the same time, it wasn't entirely bad. It had a few good episodes and story arcs in it. However, I did really enjoy the last episode, which ends with a tremendous cliffhanger and a dramatic change for the series. Season six continues where season five left off with a two part episode that occurs a year after the events in season five's last episode. The episode left me with a mix of emotions. I thought that the story was developed well, but it ended with an awfully corny and abrupt ending that left me feeling cheated.

Afterwards, the rest of the season returns to the normal episodic format that we've come to expect from Highlander. The unfortunate part is that the episodes tend to be lackluster. The reoccurring characters like Methos (Peter Wingfield) and Amanda (Elizabeth Gracen) never make an appearance (except at the very end of the season). I thought that this hurt the season, because their personalities always added a nice balance to MacLeod's do-gooder likeness. There's even an episode where the main character doesn't show his face or even gets mentioned. All and in all, each episode just felt like one big disappointment after the other. However, the two part series finale is an exception. The story is entertaining and shows a world without MacLeod. I also enjoyed how the episode gave viewers closure with the character Duncan MacLeod.

Overall, I feel that Highlander's final season is easily the series' worst. The entertaining factor that comes from watching Duncan MacLeod save innocents from evil immortals isn't as exciting in some of the earlier seasons. The few large story arcs that cross this season are pretty entertaining, with the series finale offering nice closure to our main hero. This season is probably best reserved for the fans who acknowledge this as a valid season of the series.

The DVD

Video:
This release is given 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.

Audio:
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 noise distortion. This release supports closed captioning.

Extras:
Most of the special features are located on the first five discs and include audio commentaries, video commentaries (interviews), and bonus footage (deleted & alternative scenes). Each of the thirteen 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, Richard Martin, David Tynan, and James Thorpe. 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 5, there is a thirty minute featurette entitled "Swordmaster Bob Anderson Retrospective". It begins with an introduction with Adrian Paul and Christopher Lambert and continues with Anderson discussing his role in Highlander, as well as a little background information about him.

The next extras, which include three featurettes, are located on Disc 6. The first is "Finale Backstage Documentary", which is twenty-five minutes of behind the scenes footage of the series finale and video commentary with Adrian Paul. The next featurette is "Immortal Memories Season Finale Retrospective" and it runs for about twenty-five minutes. It includes various cast and crew (mostly crew) talking about their favorite moments (i.e. beheadings, flashbacks) and other notable thoughts regarding the series. The last extra on disc 6 is "400 Years: The Journey of Duncan MacLeod". It is thirty-two minutes of Duncan flashbacks.

On Disc 7 there are more extras. The first "Favorite Quickenings", which has the crew's favorite quickenings and includes plenty of commentary. It runs for almost twenty-eight minutes. Next we have "La Carrera Panamericana", which is a fifty minute feaurette narrated by Adrian Paul. It is about Paul getting a chance to race a car on the Panamericana.

The last set of extras is found on the bonus CD-ROM (Disc 8). It contains scripts for each episode, production notes & drawings, storyboards, cast & crew biographies, and a trivia game.

Final Thoughts:
The majority of the episodes in this short season aren't very exciting. A few of the episodes come off bland, and others are mildly entertaining. Despite that I wasn't really blown away by this season, I think it is worth checking out. As the last season of the series, it is worth watching for Highlander fans. There are also a nice set of extra to compliment it.