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Highlander: The Stone of Scone

Duncan: "I've seen you cheat at cards, and I've seen you cheat with women. But golf?"

Absurd, gleefully silly, and tremendous fun.

This is one of my favorite episodes, and definitely my favorite comic episode. It also took place entirely in flashback. Coincidence? Probably. I think what made it extraordinary was the clever writing that blended history and fiction, along with the return of both Fitz and Amanda, two of my favorite immortals. Even the subtitles were funny.

Like other funny Highlander episodes, this one had its Bugs Bunny aspects. The wagon of explosives. Duncan getting hit by his own golf ball, and Fitz getting shot in the ass. I particularly loved Fitz punching Duncan and knocking his long wig off, and the "battlefield at dawn." My favorite scene was Duncan and the drunken Fitz in bed together. The acting chemistry between Adrian Paul and Roger Daltrey was really something special. Ditto Adrian Paul and Elizabeth Gracen.

Duncan was the forthright upright hero type. His choice of close, life-long friends says a lot about him, doesn't it? Fitz and Amanda were often dishonest, but they usually meant well and were great fun to be with, even if Duncan had to constantly get them out of trouble. I thought it was sweet that Fitz continually underestimated Amanda. Was that his natural gallantry toward women, or did he just not spend a lot of time with her? Their motivations in this story were in character, too; Amanda needed money, while the guys were in it for honor and country. Note that Fitz gave up his own quest for Duncan's. And Duncan succeeded in carrying out his objective, even though no one would ever know.

Flashbacks:

— 1720 London. Duncan and Fitz ran into each other while carrying out conflicting bits of domestic terrorism in Westminster Abbey.

— 1950 London and Scotland. Duncan, Fitz and Amanda stole the Stone of Scone from the Tower of London, and Duncan returned a fake Stone.

— Duncan had pull with Churchill. Maybe it was his work during WWII with, what was it? British Intelligence? MI-5?

— The costumes were all wonderful, of course. Loved the 1720 wigs and the fifties golf clothes.

Bits and pieces:

— The episode began and ended with the opening and closing of a storybook. They must have found it difficult to just jump into the flashbacks without a present day story to launch it. Or were they intimating that it never actually happened?

— During the Christmas newsreel, Amanda was shown lusting after a huge jewel. Except it was the Methuselah stone.


— In this week's hair report, Amanda had a fifties do, auburn and shoulder-length.

— The transformation of belching, farting Bernie Crimmins, executioner and fence, into Lord Crimmins was a hoot. It much resembled Dirty Dick's pub turning into the Clermont Club.

— Bernie Crimmins was the 44th evil immortal with a K/C name.

Quotes:

Duncan: "You bet Amanda when she needed money?"
Fitz: "Do you think I'm taking an unfair advantage?"

Fitz: "I think she's done this before."
Duncan: "She's done everything before, Fitz."

Duncan: "Crimmins the fence? Are you out of your tiny English mind?"

Amanda: "It's the score of the century, Bernie. Makes the crown jewels look like dirt."

Right after Amanda told the guard, "God bless us every one" and drugged him, the guard said, "What the Dickens is in there?"

Four out of four stars,

Billie
---
Billie Doux knows that there can be only one. And that's Methos.

2 comments:

  1. Highlander certainly gave into its sillier side more often in the later series and was all the better for it. This was a wonderful little farce with our troublesome trio bumbling around Westminster in search of treasure (or in this case, a big lump of rock the Scots seem oddly fond of).

    Seeing Duncan, Amanda and Fitz together for the first time was fantastic. Fritz and Duncan were always a brilliant double-act, throwing Amanda into the mix was just the icing on the cake. Fitz and Amanda always managed to bring out the fun and mischievous side to the usually noble and decent Duncan MacLeod.

    Shame there was no feasible way to work Methos into things. My four favourite immortals together in one episode, that would have been perfect.

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  2. "Or were they intimating that it never actually happened?"

    Maybe they could have just gone with that, and added Methos to the crowd.

    Ooh, I know: they could have had Methos in his usual undercover role, and have him meet Fitz, but not the others. And then some present-day stuff where Methos and Duncan find out they had a common friend.

    Great ep though. I think I'm going to have to rewatch Highlander when I'm done with this first run. This feels like one of those shows.

    ReplyDelete

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