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annavereMy sum total knowledge of this show going in:
1. It's the much-maligned Amanda spinoff, with an imdb rating of 5.2 (I don't think I've ever seen a show get less than 6.0 over there, so ouch).
2. It was a disaster behind the scenes and the two leads hated each other's guts.
3. The other lead is an angry cop called Nick with 90s action man stubble. He's pre-Immortal.
4. Lucy is a fan favorite.
5. There's also a priest somewhere in the mix.
6. A lot of the salty reviews seem to blame the show for not being season five of Highlander and for not being about Methos. However, I don't expect it to be the former and am alone in thinking a Methos spinoff would only have succeeded in diluting the character's intrigue, so...
7. The cop emphasis was also present in the first season of the parent show, which many people dismiss but which I always found really charming, so seriously, how bad could it be?
It took a couple of tries to get into this episode, mostly due to external factors. I have watched the parent show my entire life, so it's strange and at this point emotional to see new footage of Amanda. Second attempt turned into a live blog of sorts, which I'll just leave as first impressions.
Allow me a moment of silence for the loss of Amanda's brunette appeal.... Okay, onward.
Weird choice to place the saga sell in the pilot, basically spoiling a bunch of stuff that hasn't happened yet. However, I am a sucker for a 90s saga sell. There is no better way to get you hyped for a show caught mid-run. Instant style, instant context. I'm still annoyed it went out of fashion.
Luckily there is a replacement brunette in the surprise appearance of the gorgeous Torri Higginson. Her hard-working mom intro has "tragically dead partner" written in big block letters, but please don't let her be killed.
Dutch angles!
Ooh, character development. Amanda is getting bored with stealing. This is less of a narrative convenience for a newly lead character than it might appear, as she is historically flighty. She has an enthusiasm for novelty (I believe this is part of what keeps her sane, compared to other Immortals). If she becomes part of a crime fighting duo, it fits with her earlier attachment to running the Double Eagle (so sorry, Queen of Spades). Didn't she also go straight in Seacouver, involving a rock star's security or something? She steals a lot. It makes sense she'd occasionally grow bored, find something else to do and be enticed back at a later date.
Speaking of Seacouver, where exactly is this set? Is it mentioned? Amanda says "I just got here" at one point, but where is here, and how long has it been since Duncan cut ties and disappeared in the fog?
Okay, the bathtub scene isn't the best. Mostly because Amanda comes across as so transparently fake throughout. If Nick falls for her wiles after this, I will be disappointed in him.
Surprise appearance of Julian Richings! As an Immortal! Please don't let him be killed.
Rooftop chase. I actually don't think this is such a disastrous premise as is often stated in reviews. Cat burglar and cop is a classic structure.
Since the culprit is masked and not Immortal, it's gotta be one of the familiar people, so I'm guessing dirty cop.
And yes, indeed.
I like the little scene of Lucy encouraging Amanda to vanish and her explanation of why she has to stay. Amanda dislikes an unfair accusal. "I was never cheap."
Maybe the dislike hadn't sunk in yet, but Amanda and Nick have some good banter. I'm cautiously there for it. Nick knows mythology, plus French, so he's kind of slotting a bit too neatly into the cultured badass category left vacant by Duncan. Still, not a bad archetype to work with, even if it would have been interesting to see them try something different.
Nick and Claudia fight, and then the sad/romantic acoustic guitar melody comes in, so... I take it Nick is secretly hung up on his married partner? No wonder he has the angst stubble.
Ah, the absolute Highlander classic: The street assassin. Duncan accidentally witnessed more hitmen at work while walking down the street than most news reporters could find in a war zone. Now it must be Amanda's turn.
She saves Nick. Bickering ensues. I actually kind of like their dynamic. Nick isn't playful and easygoing like Duncan, and I'd like seeing her interact with a man who isn't a total pushover she can bat her eyes at to get what she wants. Also, I really like her outfit in this scene, she's super fetching, so maybe I just needed to adjust and her peroxide blonde look won't bother me so much over time.
Amanda disables Crooked Cop's car while he ascends a 90s fire escape. Dry ice machines! Empty warehouse! Highlander is so back, baby!
Then the big standoff, and Claudia gets fridged, but at least it's surprisingly well done. Taking a bullet meant for a bystander (if not exactly innocent, at least framed) in what she doesn't know is a senseless sacrifice, dying for nothing. Amanda could develop some "I forgot they were fragile" guilt. It would be better if they'd established a prior rapport, like if Claudia was the Javert to Amanda's Valjean, but it's still a good hook to hang a character arc on.
Still, can Claudia maybe live, but be in recovery like Kima Greggs for this season, to become a complication at a later date?
I'm gonna say Nick isn't coming across as well now. There's his wandering around yelling when Claudia's facing down Crooked Cop, and then what the hell, Nick, CHECK ON YOUR PARTNER when two people are bleeding on the floor. Damn. I have to rethink the romantic musical cue from earlier. "Oh hey, Claudia, be with you in a second..." Try to staunch the bleeding or something. Sell the urgency a little, Nick Wolfe actor guy.
Am I twice unlucky, or is Torri Higginson one of those actors who makes a career out of dying frequently?
Amanda waking up and realizing what she's stuck in the middle of, smartly vacating. I like Nick's understated reaction during this part. Like he couldn't comprehend the possibility of Claudia dying until she did, and now he's got way too much horrifying reality to deal with to really give a crap that Amanda just stood up and walked out the door.
"I was a cop," Nick narrated in the intro, and I was so distracted having Brimstone flashbacks that I missed the past tense. So now Nick is Dirty Harry? Okay. So much for my cop and cat burglar prediction, the tension between the job and Amanda's vigilante work. So what's the new premise?
This show is leaning awfully hard on mythology. Raven and wolf. This is late Highlander mythos (Cassandra, mythologic figures like the Horsemen and Ahriman) so it's kind of interesting how the writing is at the same time backtracking toward the cop angle from Highlander's early seasons.
And no evil Immortal on their first outing. No swordfight, no quickening. Julian Richings survived (good). So it's kind of a messy pilot, not doing much to establish the lore for newcomers. However, unless the show nosedives from this point on, it really doesn't deserve the average rating IMDB gives it. I had a good time with this, was completely entertained and am looking forward to seeing where it goes.
1. It's the much-maligned Amanda spinoff, with an imdb rating of 5.2 (I don't think I've ever seen a show get less than 6.0 over there, so ouch).
2. It was a disaster behind the scenes and the two leads hated each other's guts.
3. The other lead is an angry cop called Nick with 90s action man stubble. He's pre-Immortal.
4. Lucy is a fan favorite.
5. There's also a priest somewhere in the mix.
6. A lot of the salty reviews seem to blame the show for not being season five of Highlander and for not being about Methos. However, I don't expect it to be the former and am alone in thinking a Methos spinoff would only have succeeded in diluting the character's intrigue, so...
7. The cop emphasis was also present in the first season of the parent show, which many people dismiss but which I always found really charming, so seriously, how bad could it be?
It took a couple of tries to get into this episode, mostly due to external factors. I have watched the parent show my entire life, so it's strange and at this point emotional to see new footage of Amanda. Second attempt turned into a live blog of sorts, which I'll just leave as first impressions.
Allow me a moment of silence for the loss of Amanda's brunette appeal.... Okay, onward.
Weird choice to place the saga sell in the pilot, basically spoiling a bunch of stuff that hasn't happened yet. However, I am a sucker for a 90s saga sell. There is no better way to get you hyped for a show caught mid-run. Instant style, instant context. I'm still annoyed it went out of fashion.
Luckily there is a replacement brunette in the surprise appearance of the gorgeous Torri Higginson. Her hard-working mom intro has "tragically dead partner" written in big block letters, but please don't let her be killed.
Dutch angles!
Ooh, character development. Amanda is getting bored with stealing. This is less of a narrative convenience for a newly lead character than it might appear, as she is historically flighty. She has an enthusiasm for novelty (I believe this is part of what keeps her sane, compared to other Immortals). If she becomes part of a crime fighting duo, it fits with her earlier attachment to running the Double Eagle (so sorry, Queen of Spades). Didn't she also go straight in Seacouver, involving a rock star's security or something? She steals a lot. It makes sense she'd occasionally grow bored, find something else to do and be enticed back at a later date.
Speaking of Seacouver, where exactly is this set? Is it mentioned? Amanda says "I just got here" at one point, but where is here, and how long has it been since Duncan cut ties and disappeared in the fog?
Okay, the bathtub scene isn't the best. Mostly because Amanda comes across as so transparently fake throughout. If Nick falls for her wiles after this, I will be disappointed in him.
Surprise appearance of Julian Richings! As an Immortal! Please don't let him be killed.
Rooftop chase. I actually don't think this is such a disastrous premise as is often stated in reviews. Cat burglar and cop is a classic structure.
Since the culprit is masked and not Immortal, it's gotta be one of the familiar people, so I'm guessing dirty cop.
And yes, indeed.
I like the little scene of Lucy encouraging Amanda to vanish and her explanation of why she has to stay. Amanda dislikes an unfair accusal. "I was never cheap."
Maybe the dislike hadn't sunk in yet, but Amanda and Nick have some good banter. I'm cautiously there for it. Nick knows mythology, plus French, so he's kind of slotting a bit too neatly into the cultured badass category left vacant by Duncan. Still, not a bad archetype to work with, even if it would have been interesting to see them try something different.
Nick and Claudia fight, and then the sad/romantic acoustic guitar melody comes in, so... I take it Nick is secretly hung up on his married partner? No wonder he has the angst stubble.
Ah, the absolute Highlander classic: The street assassin. Duncan accidentally witnessed more hitmen at work while walking down the street than most news reporters could find in a war zone. Now it must be Amanda's turn.
She saves Nick. Bickering ensues. I actually kind of like their dynamic. Nick isn't playful and easygoing like Duncan, and I'd like seeing her interact with a man who isn't a total pushover she can bat her eyes at to get what she wants. Also, I really like her outfit in this scene, she's super fetching, so maybe I just needed to adjust and her peroxide blonde look won't bother me so much over time.
Amanda disables Crooked Cop's car while he ascends a 90s fire escape. Dry ice machines! Empty warehouse! Highlander is so back, baby!
Then the big standoff, and Claudia gets fridged, but at least it's surprisingly well done. Taking a bullet meant for a bystander (if not exactly innocent, at least framed) in what she doesn't know is a senseless sacrifice, dying for nothing. Amanda could develop some "I forgot they were fragile" guilt. It would be better if they'd established a prior rapport, like if Claudia was the Javert to Amanda's Valjean, but it's still a good hook to hang a character arc on.
Still, can Claudia maybe live, but be in recovery like Kima Greggs for this season, to become a complication at a later date?
I'm gonna say Nick isn't coming across as well now. There's his wandering around yelling when Claudia's facing down Crooked Cop, and then what the hell, Nick, CHECK ON YOUR PARTNER when two people are bleeding on the floor. Damn. I have to rethink the romantic musical cue from earlier. "Oh hey, Claudia, be with you in a second..." Try to staunch the bleeding or something. Sell the urgency a little, Nick Wolfe actor guy.
Am I twice unlucky, or is Torri Higginson one of those actors who makes a career out of dying frequently?
Amanda waking up and realizing what she's stuck in the middle of, smartly vacating. I like Nick's understated reaction during this part. Like he couldn't comprehend the possibility of Claudia dying until she did, and now he's got way too much horrifying reality to deal with to really give a crap that Amanda just stood up and walked out the door.
"I was a cop," Nick narrated in the intro, and I was so distracted having Brimstone flashbacks that I missed the past tense. So now Nick is Dirty Harry? Okay. So much for my cop and cat burglar prediction, the tension between the job and Amanda's vigilante work. So what's the new premise?
This show is leaning awfully hard on mythology. Raven and wolf. This is late Highlander mythos (Cassandra, mythologic figures like the Horsemen and Ahriman) so it's kind of interesting how the writing is at the same time backtracking toward the cop angle from Highlander's early seasons.
And no evil Immortal on their first outing. No swordfight, no quickening. Julian Richings survived (good). So it's kind of a messy pilot, not doing much to establish the lore for newcomers. However, unless the show nosedives from this point on, it really doesn't deserve the average rating IMDB gives it. I had a good time with this, was completely entertained and am looking forward to seeing where it goes.
