Five Totally Awesome Things You Missed the First Time Around – The Fantasy Edition

Highlander:

Stats: Six seasons of 119 episodes. It ran in syndication in the US and ran forever in reruns on the USA network.

Starring: Adrian Paul, Stan Kirsch, Jim Byrnes, Peter Wingfield, Elizabeth Gracen

Why you might have missed it: It was hard to track down new episodes since it ran in syndication.

Summary: The series is based on the Highlander movies. The hero of the movies was Connor MacLeod played by the wonderful Christopher Lambert and in the first episode of the series he passes the torch to his kinsman Duncan MacLeod. For those that have never seen the movies or heard of the series, here is a quick rundown. Duncan and Connor are members of a race of Immortals. These Immortals can only be killed by being beheaded. Not so bad. Except they are all locked in a “game” in which THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE. Basically, they carry swords around with them all the time and if they come across another immortal that wants to fight, they have to (except if they are on Holy Ground, DON’T DO IT) and to win, they have to lop off the other immortal’s head. Then they take the other immortal’s “quickening” aka their power, knowledge, memories and it makes them stronger. The game only stops when there is one immortal left in the world. Of course, some immortals become friends like Duncan, Richie, Amanda and Methos but there are later movies that deal with that. There is also a group of humans that know about immortals called Watchers and keep track of the immortal lore. This backfires, a lot.

Why it is AWESOME: It’s about Immortals who kill each other. It’s inherently awesome. Don’t let the first very cheesy episode put you off because it becomes so much better as the series progresses especially after the introductions of both Amanda and Methos. The flashbacks are great and there is a lot of detail in the sets and costumes. There is also a mixture of martial arts and swordplay and special effects. Season six is a bit odd so if you want to skip the random middle episodes, no one will blame you. Just make sure to watch the finale.

How can you see it?: The original six seasons are on Hulu. Netflix has the spin-off movie from the series, Highlander: Endgame on streaming as well as the spin-off cartoon Highlander: The Animated Series. Highander: The Source, another spin-off movie, is available to order the DVD. Also, there is an episode called Highlander: The Reunion on Hulu. The spin-off series, Highlander: The Raven, which follows the character Amanda, is available through Netflix via DVD. And Lastly, The Methos Chronicles, which was an eight episode web series, is available at highlanderworldwide.com.

Haven:

Stats: 2 seasons for a total of 26 episodes that aired on SyFy. A third season will air in 2012.

Starring: Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant, Eric Balfour, Stephen McHattie, Nicholas Campbell

Why you might have missed it: I had never heard of this show until a friend recommended it to me. It apparently has been airing on SyFy since 2010.

Summary: Based on Stephen King’s novel, The Colorado Kid, the series is set in Haven, Maine, a small town with some significant Troubles. FBI agent Audrey Parker comes to the town on a routine case and finds herself immersed in the creepy things going on around her. The town residents are plagued by The Troubles — supernatural occurrences that affect them and that have happened to the town at least once before. As an example, Nathan cannot feel any pain or any sensations other than Audrey’s touch. The series follows Audrey as she starts to uncover the secrets of the town and some secrets of her own.

Why it is AWESOME: It’s creepy. Of course, that’s expected by anything written by Stephen King. It’s also pretty funny, in a quirky way and has some awesome action sequences. It reminds me a lot of Eureka, another SyFy show, except more focused on the myth/fantasy side and less on the science-fiction. It has a lot of WTF-ness to it too. It’s kind of awesome and great. I’m glad my friend pointed me in its direction.

How can you see it?: Hulu has a few episodes available. Netflix has the DVDs available.