Disc Details
Special Features:	Full frame format Chapter selection 8 DVD/ 1 CD-ROM Disk Boxed Set All 22 Season One episodes Outtakes Character profiles Interview with Executive Producer Bill Panzer CD-ROM containing screenplays for all 22 episodes Bloopers Behind the scenes featurette 8 page collector's booklet
Video Format:	Full Frame (4:3) [SS-DL]
Languages:	English (Dolby Digital 5.1) English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles:	None.
Captions:	No
Casing:	9-Disc Boxed Set

Truth be told, I never watched the TV series version of "Highlander." I didn't like the sequels and figured that I wouldn't like the series. Now that I've seen it, I liked it better than I thought I would, but the show does have a lot of problems.

Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) is a kinsman of Conner MacLeod. In fact Conner was his teacher. The TV series connects to the original film by having Christopher Lambert reprising his role in the pilot episode. Like Conner, Duncan is a good Immortal. (For those who are not familiar with the "Highlander" lore, Immortals are a group of beings who can only be killed by other Immortals. They must be decapitated. After each battle, the winner undergoes a "Quickening" during which he gains the power of the slain foe. The last Immortal will get "The Prize.") Season one follows Duncan MacLeod through five centuries of adventures. Adrian Paul looks good, but he can't act. He can swing a sword though, and that is what matters. The TV series delivers in the action department. Lots of swordplay.

The series retains the time-jumping format of the original film. Unfortunately, Season One meanders for most of the episodes. The filmmakers weren't quite sure which direction the series was to take. I found the later episodes to be more focused. I especially the season finale.

Numerous guest stars were brought in to liven things up. Sometimes it worked, other times not. Guest stars include Richard Moll (Bull of "Night Court"), Soon-Tek Oh (you know the face!), Vincent Schiavelli, Joan Jett (tie me down and beat me baby!), Marc Singer ("The Beastmaster"), Joe Pantoliano ("The Sopranos"), Vanity, Nigel Terry (King Arthur in John Boorman's "Excaliber") and Roger Daltry. There are others, but you get the drift.

Picture Quality: 7/10
While the transfers are good, there are some problems throughout. Many of the night scenes are grainy. The night scenes also have some delineation problems as well as lack of clarity in the shadowier scenes.

One the bright side! The day light scenes have rich saturated colors. The flesh tones are great. There are very few artifacts. Almost no pixilation noticed.

Sound Quality: 8/10
Anchor Bay remixed the soundtrack into 5.1 surround sound. There is a good balance between the low and high ranges. Except when the music by Queen overwhelms everything. The higher ranges are flat at times. Of course, the flat tinny sound on the high end may be due to Adrian Paul's lackluster delivery.

Menu: 7/10
Simple design. The main menu page is very cool, but the individual episode menus are bland. Easy to navigate. No Easter Eggs discovered. I did notice a first for Anchor Bay, the chapter menus have pictures!

Extra Features: 5/10
Disk 9 is a CD-ROM disk, which contains the scripts for all 22 episodes. I'd die and go to hell if I told you I read them. They are there for fans that want to read them. I like the idea of the script being included. I wish it was standard fare on DVDs.

Most of the episodes are introduced by Executive Producer Bill Panzer. It is a running interview. I liked the way the interview was broken up. You hear a couple of minutes of the interview before each episode.

Each episode includes character profiles concerning that episode's characters. Don't read the profiles before watching the episodes as they contain spoilers. Each episode also includes "Watcher Chronicles." These chronicle the comings and goings of the Immortals during each episode. Again, the "Watcher Chronicles" include spoilers.

There is a ten-minute blooper reel. Some of it is funny, but most of the goofs seemed to be staged for the camera. There is also a thirty-minute featurette about the making of Season One. It includes the usual interviews with cast and crew. Some of it is interesting, some not. Not real revelations.

The collector's booklet includes an indepth essay by series expert Rand Vossler. He takes this very seriously!

The Final Word:
Fans of the TV series will eat this up, even though the set is very light on extras. The price is fair considering the massive size of this set. Not fans might want to rent before buying.

Rusty White