HIGHLA-L Digest - 7 Apr 2004 to 10 Apr 2004 (#2004-66)
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Sat, 10 Apr 2004 22:00:30 -0400
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Topics of the day:
1. Season Three dvds: They Also Serve
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Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 11:58:09 -0400
From: kageorge <kageorge@erols.com>
Subject: Season Three dvds: They Also Serve
COMMENTARY: AP says doing an episode about the Watchers in general was a
very good idea. Dawson represents the audience, in a way, because you ask
the questions the audience would ask and that aspect of his character was
used very well.
Production designer Stephen Geaghan mentions that the first problem they had
was to try to find a different environment to represent Mongolia. They went
to the flat lands on the water outside Vancouver, which was a flood plain.
They built yurts and got some extras and some ponies. In the afternoon, they
had to move everything to higher ground as the tide came in. "It was a very
interesting shoot," he says. The sunset was beautiful, and it was one of
their more successful environments.
The costume designer talks about trying to achieve historical accuracy. They
focused on the few, important pieces that worked together. They used raw
silks and did some dying and quilting, especially the robes that Duncan and
May-Ling wore.
OUTTAKES: Gillian tells us that the poker scene where the Watchers were
playing poker was longer, and some of it was cut. We see the original
version. They chitchat about their Watcher duties and discuss the Game a
little. It includes a little chat about how they didn't think anyone would
be able to nail Grayson (with an implication that the Watchers have a
betting pool about who will be the last one). I paid a little more attention
to the scene when it was shown in the episode and frankly didn't notice that
much difference.
EPISODE: The plot revolves around a young Immortal, Michael Christian, who
is being "managed" by his Watcher (Rita), a woman who has adopted her
Immortal as a kind of emotional replacement after losing her husband and her
son. There is a definite incestuous feel to their relationship, which is
kind of creepy. Rita uses her knowledge to let her protege know when an
Immortal is most vulnerable, so he can take their heads without putting
himself at risk. The episode opens in the present day in Hong Kong, and we
see a beautiful Asian Immortal (May-Ling Shin) practicing diving, when
Michael catches her in the pool without her sword and dishonorably whacks
her without a fight.
We also get to meet Ian Bancroft, who watched Darius until his death, whom
we learn in a later episode was the one who originally recruited Joe into
the Watchers. Ian is a stickler for following the rules of no contact with
Immortals and remaining emotionally distant from those they Watch. After
Darius' death, Bancroft was assigned to May-Ling and is back in the States
for reassignment.
Joe goes to MacLeod's loft, where Duncan is busy at work on a wooden desk
(polishing? Refinishing?). Joe tells Mac about May-Ling, and from Duncan's
reaction, we know they were close. Joe gives Mac a chronicle to read, which
touches him deeply (and clearly implying that Duncan knows how to read
Mandarin). Duncan is clearly distraught after he reads the Chronicle.
In a flashback, we see Duncan traveling on foot in Mongolia at the end of
the 18th Century. After being tossed on his butt by a local wrestling
champion, Duncan tells a man (who we see is a Watcher) that he is seeking a
sword master he had heard about from Kim Sun and is shocked to learn it is a
woman. After she easily throwns him on the ground and puts a sword to his
throat ("Great, twice in one day," he growls to himself.), he becomes her
pupil, learning refinements in technique, adding to what Hideo Koto had
already taught him (and we get a long flashback to the events leading up to
Koto's death).
Joe and Ian talk about Rita's over-involvement with her Immortals, and Joe
accuses Ian of caring just as much about Darius, and being devastated by his
death (and we get *another* long flashback - this one involving Darius, and
how he died). MacLeod walks in on them, carrying May-Ling's Chronicle. In
front of Ian, Duncan tells an embarrassed Joe that he's leaving town for a
few days and asks if he can take the Chronicle with him. After Duncan
leaves, Ian is shocked and furious, accusing Joe of being "as far gone" as
Rita was. When he accuses Joe of breaking his vows, Joe tells him,
"Sometimes in life, you have to do more than just watch!" (And we get
another flashback, this one showing Joe shooting Peter Horton.)
"He's an Immortal. He's not your friend. He never will be," Ian tells Joe.
In a flashback to May-Ling teaching Duncan, she tells him that her own
teacher expected more from her than just being a pupil, and that "the pupil
was obliged to teach the teacher a lesson."
"And what was that?" Duncan asks, and gets a demonstration by having her
kick him in the nuts.
As he is groaning is pain, she replies, "Simply that one of man's greatest
assets can also be his greatest liability."
"I had to ask," Duncan gasps, but as she walks away, he raises an eyebrow
and manages a smile that tells us he is attracted to a strong, feisty woman.
When May-Ling tells Duncan she has taught him all she can, Duncan says that
perhaps it is time for the student to leave. May-Ling agrees with a smile,
and asks, "But perhaps, the man will remain?" They are seated by a bright
fire, dressed in beautiful embroidered robes, and he tenderly reaches out
and touches her face. (Nice shot.)
Ian goes to visit Rita, telling her that he believes someone has been
feeding Christian insider Watcher information because his victories have
been "damned unlikely". They argue, and Ian tells her he will have her
reassigned. Rita ends up running Ian down with her car, and killing him.
Joe goes to tell Mac that Ian had been killed, and this time it is Joe that
is distraught, saying that coming to see Duncan was the last thing Ian would
have wanted him to do, that he had insisted that a Watcher and an Immortal
can't be friends. Duncan says Joe doesn't have to chose, but Joe talks about
his oath, questioning his own actions. Duncan says that part of being human
is making your own judgment calls, "and choosing who your friends are." He
asks Joe if he regrets their friendship, and Joe quickly says, "No!", but it
is obvious he is still distressed.
On the way out, in the elevator, Duncan tells Joe, "Unfinished business is
always hard. If you didn't believe Ian was right yesterday, his dying doesn'
t make it right today. Follow your instincts. That's all you can do."
"What if you're wrong?" Joe asks.
"Then you're wrong," Duncan answers.
Duncan tells Richie he's headed to the island for a day, that he has some
thinking to do, and that he's not taking his sword, asking Richie to keep an
eye on the katana for him. Richie objects, but Duncan says the sword isn't
his life, and that for 24 hours he is walking away from it, not to worry,
that the island is holy ground.
Richie goes to Joe, and as Rita eavesdrops (she just happened to be sitting
nearby), tells Joe that Mac has gone to the island without his sword. (This
"coincidence" annoyed me as a plot device that was way too convenient and
obvious.) Of course, Rita sends Michael after MacLeod, to catch him as he
leaves the island without any weapon to protect himself.
Back at the bar, after hours, Joe plays the blues, reminiscing about how
much Duncan and his own life have become intertwined, as we also see Duncan
doing a kata by a fire he has built outside his cabin, remembering May-Ling,
and how they had loved each other. Duncan leaves the cabin the next morning,
paddling through a beautiful autumnal scene, and we switch to see Rita
visiting Joe's, looking for a cup of coffee. In the conversation about what
Michael was up to lately, Joe realizes it was Rita who had been setting up
other Immortals for Christian to kill, but she tells Joe, "It's too late,
now."
"Maybe not," Joe growls, and phones Richie, who gets on his motorcycle in a
mad dash to take Mac's katana to him at the island.
"What have you done?" Rita asks in horror.
"I've just leveled the playing field," Joe answers. "Now we do what we're
supposed to do. We wait."
Christian is waiting for MacLeod as he leaves the island, headed towards his
car, when Christian confronts him. Mac is fast, dodging blows and getting in
his own whacks until he knocks the sword away, over the spillway of a dam.
They both end up in the water, and wash over the spillway. They both lunge
for the sword, and as Richie is speeding to a halt beside Duncan's car, he
sees the lighting from a Quickening. Is he too late? Is Duncan dead? Oh, No!
Tell me it ain't so!
Well, duh. Duncan stumbles up from the water's edge, soaked and exhausted,
but alive.
Later, we see Duncan arrive at Joe's. As he walks in Rita, nearly in tears,
leaves. Duncan thanks Joe with a handshake, then grasps his forearm in a
warrior's grip, and says again, "Thank you, Joseph." He gives him back the
chronicle. "Thanks for everything,"
"What are friends for?" Joe replies with a smile.
MY COMMENTS: This is what I believe is known in TV parlance as a "clip
show," using a lot of existing footage to fill out a story and reducing the
number of new scenes that need to be filmed. It was a pretty good plot line,
though, and May-Ling (played by the wonderful Vivian Wu) certainly is
beautifully drawn in only a very few scenes, becoming a truly memorable
character. Exploring Joe's personal conflicts over his role as a Watcher
versus his role as Duncan's friend, and getting a bit more of a glimpse into
the more mundane side of a Watcher's world was interesting.
The episode's weaknesses, IMO, were poor acting on the part of the actress
who played the errant Watcher Rita, and the actor who played the Immortal
Michael Christian, and the over-use of pre-existing clips. The woman who
played Rita never convinced me of much of anything, frankly, and although I
understand Berry Pepper has gone on to bigger and better things (I don't
know what they are, frankly, since I didn't recognize his name), and he has
an attractive face, he just came across as a sullen jerk to me, with zero
charisma.
The important aspect of the episode was the relationship between Joe and
Duncan, and I found it interesting that in their conversations, Duncan truly
does come off as the older, wiser man, with the experience of his 400 years,
as well as the fundamental aspects of his character, articulated in his
telling Joe that he had to make his own judgements, and if you're wrong,
then you have to live with that. This is a man who has done just that for a
very long time, a man who acts, a man who has sometimes been wrong in those
actions, but who is prepared to live with the consequences. It is no
surprise that the Watchers are an anathema to him, and that he admires Joe
for doing what he thinks is right, regardless of the consequences.
I also wanted to note that the "look" of this episode was especially good,
with every scene rich in color and texture. And that expression on Duncan's
face when he smiles and raises an eyebrow while still bent over in agony
from May Ling kicking him in the balls? Priceless.
MacGeorge
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End of HIGHLA-L Digest - 7 Apr 2004 to 10 Apr 2004 (#2004-66)
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