HIGHLA-L Digest - 14 Mar 2004 to 16 Mar 2004 (#2004-50)
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Tue, 16 Mar 2004 22:00:03 -0500
There is one message totalling 173 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Season Three dvds: The Revolutionary
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Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 11:02:03 -0500
From: kageorge <kageorge@erols.com>
Subject: Season Three dvds: The Revolutionary
COMMENTARY: Adrian Paul opens the commentary by saying that Duncan didn't
really have a choice (in opposing Karros, the bad guy in this episode, even
though he was an old friend). A lot of the times the situation (good/evil)
was grey for him and the more problem he had with the issues, the more
definitive he became about the solution. (An interesting observation, that
Duncan's way of dealing with ambiguity was to become more decisive about how
to respond to it.) It didn't mean he didn't ask the questions, but for him
it was a matter of life and death, and if Karros was causing death to
others, Mac had to take the opportunity to stop him, "one way or another."
AP says he liked the long hair and mustache 'look' of MacLeod in the
flashbacks of the episode, but that he didn't really have a favorite look of
the various flashbacks. "It was like going to a fancy dress party every
week," he says, and that it was fun.
Stephan Geaghan talked about creating the look of the war zone in the
Balkans. They found an industrial site which was being torn down, which they
selectively damaged and brought in wrecked cars, etc. He said it "worked
reasonably well", but there was a big time factor to dress the set for one
establishing shot.
Bill Panzer talks about the loss in MacLeod's life when Tessa died. They
didn't want to 'replace' Tessa (because that wasn't possible), but they
wanted a mortal to meet MacLeod, find him fascinating, gradually find out
about his life and then make a choice about her involvement with him. BP
says they became aware "that the chemistry on camera was not as good as the
chemistry off camera." They gradually found that, for whatever reason, the
actor and the actress "were not clicking together." And, in fairness, Bill
says, "Tessa was a tough act to follow."
Adrian talks about the fight and the Quickening for The Revolutionary, and
says he thought they were among the most powerful beheadings and Quickenings
they ever did. The head cut was done the way it was (turning and pulling the
sword back over his shoulder) because it was different and because "you
could actually feel the blade pull through his neck." Then they show it, and
he's right. It's gut wrenching to watch.
The Quickening was "quite something." He was standing on a cargo plate, and
about 30 feet behind him were explosives. When it went off, he could feel
the entire container shake and the heat from the explosion behind him. At
one point Dennis Barry thought (looking through a long lens) that the flames
had engulfed Adrian, but they never did. But it was a powerful image.
OUTTAKES: Adrian is shown in the morgue waiting for the doctor to show him
the body. He clowns around dancing and mugging for the camera, while a body
under a sheet lies nearby. Then they show the coroner showing MacLeod the
wounds on the body, and the actor forgets his lines, and there is more
joking around. Ann Lindsay comes in, and the door bounces back, more
laughing and joking.
EPISODE: The episode opens with a violent scene from the Balkans, where a
rebel leader, Paul IKarros, has captured a member of the government's secret
police. As the government man is being brought in, he argues with his
second-in-command, Mara, about the viability of their struggle. Karros
maintains his determination to continue the struggle in the face of few
weapons and overwhelming force, saying all the men need is the proper
motivation - his motivation. They bring in the government guy and after a
stirring speech rousing the men to martyrdom, kills the man, thus setting up
the general notion that Karros is far more concerned about winning than the
welfare or survival of his troops.
Then we see Karros with his small entourage, including Mara and a priest.,
visiting a congressman to try to get the U.S. to lift an arms embargo.
Charlie and Mac are walking in their general direction while Charlie waxes
poetic about Karros stellar reputation as a freedom fighter. Karros is an
Immortal (of course), and he and Mac have a history of fighting together in
the Mexican revolution on the side of the revolutionaries. In a flashback to
those days, Karros talks about all of Mexico being "ours", all the while Mac
talks about how Maximillian would probably just go home and the war would be
over, if they just let him. It's obvious that Mac is tired of the war but
Karros was a gladiator and a slave to the Romans and fought with Spartacus
in the slave rebellion, and he still fights with the same zeal from those
days.
In the present, as the media (and Mac) look on, an assassin (assumed to be
sent by Borchek - the current government leader) shoots Father Stephan, the
priest accompanying Karros. Mac chases the assassin, but he gets away. The
wounded priest is taken to the ER, where Dr. Ann Lindsay looks after him,
and manages to save his life. Karros, however, seems more concerned about
when the priest can meet with the press than he is with his health. At the
hospital, Karros greets Mac as an old compatriot and friend and they all go
over to Mac's for drinks, where we learn that Mara used to be a reporter,
but eventually joined Karros' cause. Charlie DeSalvo is obviously attracted
to Mara and they flirt.
Mac and Karros have a private conversation where Karros decries the fact
that war is now about money and high tech weapons, and Mac replies, "It was
always about money. Don't you remember?" Karros asks Mac to join their
cause, but Mac declines, saying it's only a matter of time until Borchek
negotiates, but Karros bristles saying he will never negotiate "with men
like that."
The upshot of the deal is that it was Karros who arranged to have the priest
shot, in hopes of gaining sympathy in the media. Karros meets with the
assassin on a dock where Karros has his munitions stored against the day the
arms embargo is lifted. The assassin demands his money, and Karros kills
him. At the morgue, Mac is asked to identify the body (with a comic
character playing the morgue attendant). Mac recognizes the method of
death - by sword cut, and suspects Karros.
Karros is talking with the media outside Father Stephan's room, and we end
up in another flashback to Mexico, in a final battle where the
revolutionaries are winning. Mac insists the victory belongs to the peasants
and they should be allowed to take the city, but Karros insists, "It's my
revolution!" Mac goes back to the village to find that a girl he had
befriended was shot and dying. With her dying breath, she says she would do
it again.
Back at the hospital, Ann Lindsay chases Karros and his media buzzards away,
and there are a few choice words exchanged between Duncan and Ann as she
includes him in her sweep to remove everyone from the corridor, thus paving
the way for future interaction between them.
(Skipping some rather mundane plot points here). Duncan tells Mara that it
was Karros who was responsible for Father Stephan getting shot, she
confronts Karros, and Karros decides she has to die. He tries, but fails
because Charlie and Duncan intercede. Mac chases Karros down to the dock
area where he had the munitions stored.
"I will lead my people to freedom!" Karros insists as they face off.
"You have no people," Mac replies.
Karros retreats a lot (for a guy who loves to fight), and they end up on top
of cargo containers, fighting a fairly physical battle, and Mac takes Karros
head in a stroke that really "feels" real, moreso than most we see.
The Quickening sets off the munitions and it is quite a fiery scene, which
does look like Duncan comes awfully close to being engulfed in flames.
Afterward, back at the dojo, Charlie prepares to leave, saying, "Funny, this
time I'm the one leaving with the girl and you're the one stuck here running
the dojo."
Mac warns Charlie that the peace may be harder than the war, and Charlie
takes his leave, and Mac tells him to, "be safe," giving him the peace sign.
COMMENTARY: Another old Immortal friend bites the dust. I think this story
had a few purposes, none of them particularly earth-shattering.
1) It presented the general notion that Duncan's views on war had changed
significantly over time, and his willingness to involve himself in "causes"
had moderated considerably. This isn't particularly new information, but we
did learn that Duncan fought in the Mexican revolution.
2) We met Ann and it was clear that a future relationship was intended. At
least in these moments, she was dressed like a professional woman instead of
a bimbo.
3) Charlie goes off to fight for a cause with a woman he was falling in love
with.
We had a pretty good villain, who wasn't just a black-or-white bad guy, but
was someone who believed in what he was doing, and had his views warped by a
history as a slave and a gladiator. But Karros couldn't change, didn't learn
or grow emotionally over the centuries, and that was the big difference
between him and Duncan.
It was a so-so episode, frankly. Not great, not awful. If someone can find
something more relevant and redeeming in this one, please say so. Maybe my
brain is just not being creative tonight. <g>
MacGeorge
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End of HIGHLA-L Digest - 14 Mar 2004 to 16 Mar 2004 (#2004-50)
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