Highlander: The Animated Series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Highlander: The Animated Series is an animated television series, which premiered on September 18, 1994. It is a loose spinoff of the cult classic 1986 film of the same name. The series was produced by Gaumont Multimedia (now Xilam Animation) with the wordwide distribution rights owned by Bohbot Entertainment (now BKN International). This is why the series is not listed on Xilam's website (though the series is mentioned in their corporate profile).
Contents |
[edit] History
The story unfolds on post-apocalyptic earth, 700 years after a meteorite collision nearly wiped out all human civilization. Out of the ashes, the Immortals united and swore an oath to abandon the Game and preserve the knowledge that humanity had lost. But one immortal, Kortan, did not swear the oath - he still sought the prize and his empire grew until he controlled most of the planet from his fortress Mogonda.
Connor MacLeod (the protagonist of the original film) challenged Kortan and was defeated (as any immortal who broke the oath was destined to die). With Connor's death came the prophecy of the rise of a new immortal, he would defeat Kortan. Ramírez, now a Jettator, has since waited seven hundred years for the unavowed immortal.
Quentin MacLeod leads the resistance against Kortan, with Ramírez as his mentor he seeks the Jettators (those who took the oath) to gain their Quickening and their knowledge - not by beheading but by a sharing as MacLeod and Jettator grasp the same sword simultaneously (although it is sometimes called a quickening, and the effects are sometimes just as destructive to the surrounding area).
With the wisdom of Ramírez and the Quickenings of the Jettators he may be able to destroy Kortan. Some episodes involved Jettators making use of a loophole in their oath to challenge Kortan regardless, such as Matsuda, who built a cyborg to fight Kortan in his stead, or Cornell, who changed his name to Orion to be able to fight Kortan.
Despite being redesigned to attract a younger audience, the show was surprisingly mature/violent; it wasn't uncommon for minor characters to die, and while Quentin had found a way to take another Immortal's power and knowledge without also taking their life, Kortan still did it the old way, by beheading them. In addition, though essentially a good-versus-evil scenario, most of the characters on both sides were more than just black and white heroes and villains. Many of Kortan's henchmen are shown to have good characteristics and feelings - and even on occasion Quentin will be tempted by greed and be selfish, especially when offered the chances of immense power. Of course ultimately his good side always wins through.
==List of Jettators==*
- Mangus: Possesses the knowledge of architecture and the apparent leader of the Jettators - it was he who informed Kortan of the Highlander's coming seven centuries ago. Kortan then stole his blueprints and used them to build his city of Mogonda, where Mangus continued to hide out and spy on the enemy. When Quentin arrived to rescue the Dundees he let them into the city through the sewers, but only by sacrificing himself in a duel and allowing Kortan to steal his powers was he able to ensure their escape.
- Yoshoda: The greatest of the Jettators, leads a monastic life teaching people martial arts. His knowledge is key to using that of the others to defeat Kortan, but he tests Quentin's ability to resist corruption by having a disciple manipulate Quentin, and judges that he hasn't yet earned the right to have Yashoda's knowledge, but promises to reconsider if Quentin matures.
- Stevenson: An enigmatic immortal with the knowledge of hydroelectric power. In a desperate attempt to save his eternal life he betrayed the Highlander and instigated a plan to hand him over to Kortan. When he failed however, Kortan killed him and stole his knowledge for himself.
- Ilrick: A Jettator with the knowledge of medicine.
- Erol: A Jettator with knowledge of oil, dynamite and other secrets of the Earth. He went into hiding to avoid Kortan's henchmen. When the Highlander arrived at his old base they found only Melvyn, an insane ex-employee driven crazy by the loss of his daughter Dana. Believing MacLeod's sister Clyde to be Dana he promptly captured her - thankfully Quentin was able to locate the real Dana inside the city of Mogonda and so save them all.
- Lancerlay: A Jettator with the knowledge of history.
- Olak: The Jettator of the winds. At first he refuses to hand over his knowledge when Quentin's fear of heights places the son of one of his men in serious danger in duel within the city of Mogonda. When Quentin is able to overcome that fear and rescue the boy from certain death above a pit of giant ants however, he reconsiders. His 'quickening' ritual is the first we see on screen.
- Volta: A Jettator with the knowledge of nuclear power. Had blue skin.
- Eva: A woman with the knowledge of how to create and project holograms.
- Orane: A blue-haired woman who rules an undersea city and has knowledge of oceanography. Implied to be an old lover of Ramirez.
- Fredrickson: Knowledge of genetics. Cloned himself to preserve his knowledge in case Kortan found him, but his clone turned evil.
- Matsuda: An Asian Jettator with a knowledge of cyborgs (more properly androids, as his creations were merely artificial machines). He lost a hand to Kortan, and built a cyborg warrior to kill Kortan for him.
- Mahata: An old man with knowledge of entomology.
- Brana: Has knowledge of linguistics. A coward, he found courage when the woman he was in love with was kidnapped by Arak, one of Kortan's men.
- Cornell: A blind Jettator with knowledge of astronomy. He changed his name to Orion and hoped to fight Kortan during an eclipse, where he would have the advantage. However, he had given up his knowledge and immortality to Quentin before then, and stood no chance against a powerful Immortal like Kortan.
- Sahevy: A Jettator with a master of botany. In the episode in which he appears, The valley of the Thorn Pods, he is initially thought to be a traitor to the Order of the Jettators for unleashing carnivorous thorn pods on the Valley where he lived; later it was revealed that he was not responsible, and was in fact helpful in stopping the pods. His Quickening ritual is the one we see on the opening credits.
[edit] Episodes
1st Season (1994)
- 1-01 - The Last of the MacLeods (16 Oct 94)
- 1-02 - A Taste Of Betrayal (18 Sep 94)
- 1-03 - The Last Weapon (23 Oct 94)
- 1-04 - Melvyn The Magnificent (2 Oct 94)
- 1-05 - The Sound Of Madness (15 Jan 95)
- 1-06 - The Suspended Village (30 Oct 94)
- 1-07 - Exodus (6 Nov 94)
- 1-08 - The Cursed (27 Nov 94)
- 1-09 - The History Lesson (20 Nov 94)
- 1-10 - The Valley Of The Thorn Pods (4 Dec 94)
- 1-11 - Fallout (11 Dec 94)
- 1-12 - The Courage Of Love (18 Dec 94)
- 1-13 - The Setup (8 Jan 95)
2nd Season (1995)
- 2-01 - The Price Of Freedom (5 Sep 95)
- 2-02 - The Secret Prison (6 Sep 95)
- 2-03 - Dead Ringer (7 Sep 95)
- 2-04 - Orion's Reign (8 Sep 95)
- 2-05 - Rage Of The Hurricane (11 Sep 95)
- 2-06 - The Blood Of My Enemy (12 Sep 95)
- 2-07 - The Sword Of Evil (21 Sep 95)
- 2-08 - Lord For A Day (22 Sep 95)
- 2-09 - The Eye Of Heaven (2 Oct 95)
- 2-10 - Oblivion (3 Oct 95)
- 2-11 - The Siege Of The Dundees (4 Oct 95)
- 2-12 - The Treasure In The Sand (6 Nov 95)
- 2-13 - Orane (7 Nov 95)
- 2-14 - Ice Dwellers (8 Nov 95)
- 2-15 - The Revenge Of The Shantytown (9 Nov 95)
- 2-16 - Trick Of The Light (10 Nov 95)
- 2-17 - The Double (13 Nov 95)
- 2-18 - Playing With Fire (14 Nov 95)
- 2-19 - Cult Of The Immortal (15 Nov 95)
- 2-20 - The Survivors From Outer Space (16 Nov 95)
- 2-21 - Countdown (17 Nov 95)
- 2-22 - Tricks Of The Mind (20 Nov 95)
- 2-23 - Matsuda (21 Nov 95)
- 2-24 - Valka (22 Nov 95)
- 2-25 - King Of The Ants (23 Nov 95)
- 2-26 - Isle Of Grans (24 Nov 95)
- 2-27 - Eagle Valley (5 Jan 96)
[edit] Spin-offs
A videogame based on the series called Highlander: The Last of the MacLeods was released for the Atari Jaguar, although it went virtually unknown.
[edit] External links
- Highlander: The Animated Series at the Internet Movie Database
- Highlander: The Animated Series at TV.com
- Highlander: The animated series
