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Highlander: Mountain Men

Richie: "I like nature in smaller doses. You know, like shrubs. In pots."

This bad parody of Deliverance is my least favorite Highlander episode.

Marc Singer was just appallingly bad as immortal Caleb Cole, in dirty clothes, a faux bass voice and a bad Ozark accent. He was also completely lacking in believable menace. Back in "Innocent Man," Richie said, "Somebody starts playing a banjo, I'm outta here." The writers obviously didn't remember this line.

Even terrible Highlander episodes have a little something to recommend them. Here, it was Duncan throwing himself into that deep ravine, and the cracking sound as his bones started to mend. And then there was Duncan going native, shirtless, hair down, running through the water like the living embodiment of a romance novel. The sword/axe fight was different and intense, too. Not enough to make this even a two star episode, but still.

And again, there was the unbelievable coincidence factor. Tessa took off to visit the big woods for inspiration and was victimized by an immortal who didn't even know MacLeod. What are the odds? Maybe there's some sort of magnetic confluence that pulls immortals to the same places and people... nah.


Flashbacks:

— 1868 Great North Woods. Duncan (who was obviously still in his very long hair and buckskins Indian phase) met immortal hermit Carl four years before the Indian massacre.

Bits and pieces:

— No Randi.

— Caleb Cole was the third evil immortal with a name starting with either K or a hard C.

— Caleb: "First, I'll take your quickenin'. Then I'll take your woman." This may be the worst line in the series. I don't know how Marc Singer was able to say it with a straight face.

If I could give it negative stars, I would. One out of four stars,

Billie
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Billie Doux knows that there can be only one.

3 comments:

  1. This isn't my favourite episode by a (really long) shot, but I don't hate it. I think it gave Alexandra Vandernoot more to do, and while she was never the greatest of actresses, I liked that she was a strong character and not a simpering victim. Highlander did strong females right at the beginning of that shift in TV. Amanda was the best example, and Tessa a bit of a distant second.

    While "First I'll take your quickening, and then I'll take your woman" is very bad, I think it might have been an allusion to the first Highlander movie where I seem to recall someone shouting that. In any case, Duncan's line of "This was his place. He suffered all the beasts!" gets my vote for second worst line of the episode. Ugh.

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  2. The line in question was Kurgan speaking to Connor in the church about his last encounter with Ramirez, wherein he told Connor that he "took his [Ramirez'] head and raped his woman."

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  3. That's one of my favorite performances. Marc's red neck accent is sooo funny and memorable... "You better show her some, respict!!!..."

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