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Highlander: Unusual Suspects

Fitz: "She loves me, laddie. If there's one thing I know, it's women."

Highlander does Clue. Juliette in the music room with a clarinet. Fitz sure knew how to pick them, didn't he?

This was one of the brighter lights of the brief, benighted season six. There wasn't anything in the way of drama or character development; I kept thinking of Monty Python and the Three Stooges. But it was a great idea, too – an immortal as the victim of a standard, everyday human murder. It was the English country house Agatha Christie And Then There Were None, with a Highlander twist.

It was completely in character for Fitz to drag Duncan into solving his own murder, and to be unable to stay on the sidelines. And it was also funny how bad Duncan was at it, considering all of the "Duncan MacLeod, immortal detective" episodes they inflicted on us earlier in the series. I particularly loved him crossing out names on his list, as if he was trying to be Hercule Poirot. He even had a mustache.

There were so many fun bits. The bodies piling up in the meat locker. The portrait with the peepholes. Duncan talking to a moose head. Marie the maid trying to ward off murder by holding a crucifix in front of her. The piercing scream Juliette let out every time someone turned up dead. Juliette was a hoot; I just loved the entire conversation Duncan had with her while she had his hand seductively clutched to her breast.

As soon as I saw the many suits of armor, I knew someone would end up in one, but wow, that must have been uncomfortable. And I wonder if dragging Roger Daltrey around in it completely ripped up the gorgeous floors at that gorgeous estate, wherever it really was?

Flashbacks:

— 1929 England. Fitzcairn Manor, North Tidworth. This was only the second episode to take place entirely in flashback. "The Stone of Scone" was better, though. And telling us it was October made the ending with Fitz and the stock market crash too obvious.

Bits and pieces:

— No Methos, Amanda or Joe. But we did have one final adventure with Fitz, which was good.

— The inconsistency of how long it takes an immortal to resurrect has always driven me nuts. Juliette shot both Duncan and Fitz in the meat locker, and they resurrected in a minute or two. But Fitz stayed dead after being poisoned long enough for the police to come, for a doctor to declare him dead? Did the body just "disappear," then? If so, why wasn't it mentioned? And what was in the coffin?

— Roger Daltrey has impressive biceps. I don't remember seeing him sleeveless on Highlander before.

— There was trademark Dennis Berry fog in the meat locker.

Quotes:

Fitz: "You have got to rearrange the grouse shoot."
Duncan: "Are you insane? Give them all guns?"
Fitz: "It's brilliant! Give them all guns, and the killer is bound to shoot you."
Duncan: "Oh, yeah. That is brilliant."

Juliette: "Poor Fitzie. Grouse was his favorite, you know. Oh, how his face would light up when he'd tear their little drumsticks off! How I miss that silly, sweet little man."

Marie the maid: "My life is over! I loved him like a butler. Like a brother, a brother."

Duncan: "I swear. I swear I'll find the guilty party."
Fitz: "Yes, and how bloody difficult is it going to be? There's only one bloody suspect left! Even you couldn't screw that up!"

Three out of four stars,

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

2 comments:

  1. I always liked this one, a daft Agatha Christie piss take with Duncan as our bumbling Poirot and Fitz as his ever troublesome Hastings. It will never be Highlander’s best comedy episode but I loved it all the same.

    My favourite scene has to be the one where Duncan tells Fitz that the maid thinks she’s pregnant with his child and his sudden delight at being a father only for Duncan to remind him immortals can’t have children (“The slut!”) followed by the earlier scene where Duncan hopelessly tries to keep up with of all of the maid’s other lovers (“I didn’t know he had a baker!” :-).

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  2. It was fun. I especially loved how every time Juliette screamed you either heard the sound of dogs howling or glass breaking. I also thought the maid waving the crucifix around was hysterical.

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