HIGHLA-L Digest - 1 Jul 2004 to 2 Jul 2004 (#2004-125)

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      There are 3 messages totalling 599 lines in this issue.
      
      Topics of the day:
      
        1. Bi-Monthly Reminder
        2. Season Four dvds:  Chivalry
        3. Season Four dvds: wrath Of Kali
      
      ----------------------------------------------------------------------
      
      Date:    Thu, 1 Jul 2004 23:50:01 -0500
      From:    Debra Douglass <ddoug@catrio.org>
      Subject: Bi-Monthly Reminder
      
                (updated 8/1/00)    HIGHLA-L Bi-Monthly Reminders
      
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      ------------------------------
      
      Date:    Fri, 2 Jul 2004 16:18:03 -0400
      From:    kageorge <kageorge@erols.com>
      Subject: Season Four dvds:  Chivalry
      
      Okay, nobody seems particularly interested in talking about The Wrath of
      Kali, so let's push on ahead...
      
      This episode commentary, w/screen captures, can be found at:
      
      http://www.wordsmiths.net/MacGeorge/episodes/Season4/Chivalry.htm
      
      COMMENTS: Gillian Horvath comments that this episode was shot "during a
      period when everyone and their brother was showing their backside on
      television, so I think the fans had basically just been waiting for it and
      couldn't believe their good look when it finally came along."
      
      AP says that Ann Turkel (the actress who payed Kristin) was very passionate
      about doing Highlander and was the "one and only female Immortal that saw
      MacLeod naked. Coming out of the bath was the first time I think anyone had
      seen MacLeod's butt, and she probably saw a lot more than that." (Note: It
      is canon that Duncan has bedded just about every Immortal female he
      encountered. Unless they did it with their clothes on, it seems unlikely
      that they never saw his bum, or all of his other 2000 parts.)
      
      Gillian said that Ann allowed as how she got the best view, and Gillian says
      that "to give Adrian credit he was kind of the instigator" of the notion.
      This episode was filming while the writing department was in Denver at a the
      first Highlander convention. They were working on the next script and got a
      phone call from the set. It was Adrian calling David saying, "We're about to
      shoot the bathtub scene, and I'm getting my butt powdered and we're ready to
      go!" That explains why Adrian wound up with a cold for that convention, and
      if you listen carefully during the episode, you can tell he caught a cold
      sitting in that bathtub.
      
      Ann Turkel was a great guest star, she loved Highlander, and even brought
      her own outfits which were much better than they could have provided. The
      costumes in that episode were generally "better than they deserved", since
      the flashback costumes were the Oscar-winning costumes from the movie,
      "Restoration", which they rented, so everyone looked fabulous.
      
      Gillian talks about how the appearance of Methos in this episode really paid
      off in later stories because he starts showing signs of "having a hidden
      agenda" and that he's not being completely straightforward with MacLeod.
      That deviousness came about largely because of the way Peter Wingfield
      played it, which was more mysterious and ambiguous than they had envisioned.
      At first the writers were shocked, but decided the almost-nastiness worked
      and created a question of what Methos has against Kristin. They haven't met,
      because she doesn't recognize him, but it's clear (Gillian thinks) that
      Methos has reason beyond just what MacLeod knows to believe the woman is
      trouble.
      
      Peter W. comments that Methos is totally unfazed by the "whole thing." In
      Methos' view, "she's bad, she's dangerous, you whack her. It's not
      complicated." He notes that, for MacLeod, there are lots of complex
      arguments about her being a woman, that he has a history with her, but
      Methos is very pragmatic.
      
      AP says Methos has no problem and no scruples, and makes a few amusingly
      deprecatory remarks about the ease with which Methos lies and the lack of
      consideration he gives to the notion of honor, whereas MacLeod has honor
      entrenched in his psyche going back from the Samurai all the way to his
      childhood
      
      PW says Methos' attitude made sense to him. Methos has seen it all, done it
      all, and he's not impressed by theories or modes of thoughts that don't
      stand up to the test of time or the "fiery furnace of life experience."
      
      AP tells us he thinks MacLeod hated the idea of killing someone who had been
      a teacher of his, but also someone who was also a reflection of him. If
      those people had been good at some point in their lives, but eventually got
      "seduced to the dark side", then what does it say about MacLeod?
      
      PW says one of the things he liked about playing Methos was that he had a
      simplicity in difficult situations, and he had all the best lines, and
      repeats, "Well someone had to do it," then throws his arms back and groans,
      with a big grin of enjoyment.
      
      Gillian says previously Methos had been played as some unassuming graduate
      student who you wouldn't expect to enter into, much less win a sword fight,
      to it was a real turning point for the character.
      
      AP says, "poor Richie was always getting involved with these women that he
      shouldn't be getting involved with, which was unfortunate, but I'm sure he
      enjoyed every moment of it."
      
      Stan says what he most remembered about the episode was that the sex scene
      was done the first morning of the shoot, and the actress was bold, was
      clearly more experienced at doing such things and wasn't self conscious
      about it. Stan says it was overwhelming, but "an awful lot of fun." They
      asked her to do things that some actresses might not "have been up for",
      especially given that Richie was naked at the time, and notes that, "by the
      time we got to the second scene we did, we were fairly well acquainted."
      
      He says the rapport they established was great, and that Ann was very social
      and they all hung out a lot and spent a lot of time together off screen. The
      disparity in their ages was written into it, and what Ann brought to the
      table made it all very exciting. She was very physical and "went with" the
      notion of toying with Adrian (Note: All the ensemble actors tend to use
      character and actor names interchangeably, but Richie does that more than
      most) and flaunting her relationship with Richie when the three of them were
      on screen together. And "Richie was just a very horny bastard," he adds with
      a grin. SK says he was getting tired of doing the Naive!Richie storyline,
      but acknowledges that given that they were going to do it again, it was a
      lot more fun under the circumstances of this episode.
      
      OUTTAKES: Gillian described the transition between Duncan's confrontation in
      the limo, to the flashback, the shot that was actually used had the limo
      window opening to a blue screen, which could then be replaced with the
      flashback. The original concept, however, had them carrying the limo door to
      the flashback location, and was set up so that when the window slid down, it
      would actually reveal Duncan in the bathtub. In order, however, for Duncan
      to be in two places at once (both reflected in the window as well as behind
      the window), a life size cardboard stand up of Duncan was created (which was
      sold at auction at one of the conventions). They show both takes, of the
      "real Duncan" pounding on the window, which lowers to reveal a blue screen;
      then of the cardboard Duncan shown as a reflection, and the window lowers to
      reveal Duncan sleeping in the bathtub. The camera moves around so that in
      one shot, they get Duncan waking up and Kristen framing him and observing,
      "A work of art." The outtake shot continues through Duncan getting out of
      the bathtub, revealing quite a bit more than what was actually seen in the
      episode.
      
      In an outtake they've titled "We Do This For a Living", we see a couple of
      takes of flashback to Duncan finding Kristin in the carriage, one of which
      has him commenting on the non-male anatomy of whom he finds in the carriage;
      and of Adrian laughing and fooling around as he's supposed to be injured on
      the ground.
      
      Gillian notes that the kata Adrian performed in the dojo was not easy to do,
      take after take, without missing a move or whacking into a prop. They show
      the kata, and AP gets through about 90% of it, when Methos comes in and
      takes off his coat, at which point, Adrian accidently slams the katana in an
      upward move into a light. The actors continue the scene anyway all the way
      to where Duncan pushes Methos to the floor, at which point the director
      yells, "Cut!" and we hear Adrian laughingly say, "Did I hit the light, or
      what?"
      
      They show the shot of the transition scene, continuing the scene in the dojo
      where Duncan takes a katana off the wall and he and Methos take poses to
      start the spar and the camera pans to the (ugly) portrait) of Duncan. Once
      the camera moves past, we see Adrian and Methos play-sparing for a few
      seconds, with Adrian tapping his blade playfully against Methos sword.
      
      Finally, we see a blooper from the last scene, where Adrian blows his "I
      dislike death, but there are things I dislike more than death line," and
      mugs for the camera.
      
      EPISODE: (I'm going to keep this description relatively short since the
      commentary was so long.) Duncan is trotting along the road in France in 1659
      (which makes him 67 years old), quoting Shakespeare to himself, when he
      encounters a carriage being beset by highwaymen. He feels an Immortal
      present, and once he has dispatched the robbers, angrily yanks the carriage
      door open to find out why the man hadn't bothered to help - except that it
      is an elegant, beautiful woman, who holds her sword to his throat briefly
      before she aggressively moves in and kisses him.
      
      The woman is Kristen Gilles, who takes Duncan in, and after observing him
      display the full monty as he emerges from a much-needed bath, dresses him in
      fancy clothes and teaches him about food and fashion and about the more
      exotic arts of lovemaking. He is with her about a year or so, but gets
      restive and uncomfortable with the lifestyle of a "gentleman" ("'Tis all
      appearance. It has no meaning to it!"). Eventually, Duncan announces his
      desire to leave, but Kristin orders a kilt and fancy sark for Duncan,
      engaging a lovely young woman painter, Louise Barton, to do a portrait of
      him in Highland garb, and when he implies he will leave when the portrait is
      done, she interrupts with, "You shall not leave me, Duncan MacLeod!"
      
      Duncan ends up falling in love with Louise, and after Kristin finds out and
      Duncan tells her he's leaving, Kristin explodes in anger, saying that Duncan
      was nothing when he came to her and she will be the one to decide when he
      leaves. That pisses Duncan off and he pushes her away. When he turns to
      leave, she draws a sword and tries to kill him. He easily disarms her, but
      can't bring himself to kill her.
      
      Then Duncan finds Louise's body in the lake. Duncan confronts Kristin, but
      she denies having anything to do with the death, saying, "How could you
      think me such a monster?" Though he is still suspicious, he decides to
      leave, and she unsuccessfully tries to kill him in a jealous rage.
      
      All this is told in a series of flashbacks interspersed with the present day
      story, which has Methos unexpectedly showing up at the loft to tell Duncan
      that Kristin has arrived in Seacouver and is opening a modeling agency, and
      that Richie has run into her. When Duncan is surprised that Richie hasn't
      told him about it, Methos smirks and says, "He probably hasn't gotten out of
      bed yet."
      
      Sure enough, Richie has a friend, Maria, who had aspirations to be a model,
      and he accompanied her to her audition. Kristin takes a liking to Richie,
      and the next thing you know, she has signed Maria as a "Kristin Girl" and
      Kristin and Richie are going at it hot and heavy, with Richie blown away
      (er, so to speak) by the whole experience.
      
      Duncan is convinced Kristin is up to no good and Richie is in over his head,
      but can't convince Richie of that, since Richie's circulatory system has
      bypassed his brain and is concentrated between his legs.
      
      The best scenes of the episode are between Duncan and Methos, where Methos'
      pragmatic, coldly calculating side emerges when he advises Duncan that any
      hesitation about killing Kristin is foolhardy, that Duncan's sense of
      chivalry is outmoded, outdated and impractical and he ought to just whack
      the woman. In the dojo, Methos watches Duncan perform a graceful sword kata,
      then asks to see the katana. When Duncan hands it over, Methos threatens
      Duncan with it, telling him he's a fool for giving up his sword, and that if
      he doesn't kill Kristin, eventually Kristin will kill him. Duncan looks
      nervous and uncertain as Methos pins him against the wall with the katana to
      his neck, but Duncan finally frowns, and shoves back, landing Methos on his
      ass before he goes to the wall and pulls a spare katana from its scabbard.
      The two snipe at each other as they spar, and after some exciting exchanges
      this time it is Methos who ends up with the katana at his throat just as
      Richie walks in. NOTE: The tension in this scene is palpable, and the
      contrasts in the two characters are beautifully drawn in only a few moves
      and lines and looks, such as when Methos rubs his thumb across his neck
      where Duncan had held the katana, conveying relief, speculation, and a whole
      host of other potential meanings.
      
      Another great scene between them is when Duncan has roped Methos into
      helping him paint the porch of the house he is restoring, and they discuss
      Duncan's frustrations in trying to get Richie to recognize Kristin for what
      she is. Once again, Methos derides Duncan's notions of honor and chivalry,
      saying he hadn't stayed alive for 5,000 years without worrying about anyone
      but himself. Duncan looks dubious, then half-smiles and swipes Methos'
      prominent nose with his paint brush, leaving an undignified white streak
      behind. "Really? Could've fooled me," he answers wryly. [NOTE: And that
      demonstrates the wonderful complexity of their relationship and of Methos'
      character. If Methos is only concerned for his own welfare, what is he even
      doing there, putting himself in the middle of someone else's relationship
      mess? As Gillian Horvath pointed out, there appears to be much more going on
      than meets the eye.]
      
      When Maria wants out of her contract to take advantage of another great
      offer, Richie tries to convince Kristin to release Maria from the contract,
      but Kristin shows her true colors. ("Nobody leaves me.") When Richie begins
      to realize Kristin is more than a little disturbed and tries to leave, she
      stabs him in the back. ("Nobody leaves me," she announces again. "Not Maria,
      and certainly not you!") As she prepares to take his head, Richie jumps out
      of the window and takes a long fall.
      
      (Later in the loft) Methos: "You dump her, then you turn your back on her?"
      he asks incredulously. "Talk about the blind (looking at Duncan) leading the
      visually challenged!"
      
      Richie goes off to find Maria when Duncan tells him Kristin is likely to go
      after "someone you care about", and Duncan and Methos go to Kristin's
      estate, where she is in the process of drugging Maria with the intent of
      shoving her in the pool to drown. While Methos hangs back to watch, Duncan
      demands to know where Maria is, and Kristin gives almost exactly the same
      speech she gave so long ago in her protest that she hadn't killed Louise
      Barton ("How could you think me such a monster!"), and this time Duncan
      responds, "Because you are.".
      
      Methos spots Maria in the pool and they pull her out just in time, then
      Duncan goes off to confront Kristin on the beach. He asks her why, and she
      tells him, in essence, that she met her first death past her prime and ever
      since she always needed proof that she was loved. He tells her she is still
      beautiful, but when she demands that he prove it to her, he declines and she
      challenges him.
      
      In short order he has her on the sand and swings twice, but he can't bring
      himself to take her head. "Stay away from me!" he snarls, at last. "Stay
      away from my friends," and walks away, but then Methos approaches.
      
      "Pick it up," he tells her, indicating her sword.
      
      "Who are you?"
      
      "A man who was born long before the age of chivalry. Pick it up."
      
      Duncan turns away, refusing to watch.
      
      The battle is brief and decisive, and Duncan only turns after Methos has
      taken Kristin's head. The two exchange looks. "Someone had to," Methos tells
      him as the Quickening mist envelops him.
      
      In the tag, Methos tells Duncan Kristin would have kept coming and Duncan
      acknowledges he was right. "And still if you had to do it again, you wouldn'
      t kill her, would you?"
      
      "Probably not."
      
      Duncan asks if Methos knew Mencius, and then quotes him, "I dislike death,
      but there are things I dislike more than death."
      
      "Therefore there are occasions when I will not..." Methos adds to the quote.
      
      "... avoid danger," they finish in unison.
      
      "Death before dishonor," Methos says with a note of derision.
      
      "For some of us," Duncan answers, studying his paint swatches while Methos
      looks at him dubiously.
      
      FINAL COMMENTS: Obviously, this is a terrific episode, as we get so much mor
      e exposure to Methos (and to Duncan, for that matter <g>) than we got in the
      "Methos" and "Finale" episodes. We don't really learn a whole lot more
      detail than we knew before, but we do get a peek under some of the layers of
      his complex personality, and it is fascinating. Ann Turkel was a powerful
      presence on screen, and Kristin's domination of Young!Duncan and
      Young!Richie was quite believable. Lots of television episodes, when they
      leave unanswered questions about motivation and character, are frustrating
      and feel incomplete. That is not the case with this one, even though more
      questions are raised by Methos' actions and words than are answered. What
      they managed to do was leave us satisfied with the story, but eager to learn
      more and see more of Methos.
      
      I have always thought Duncan's inability to kill Kristin had little to do
      with chivalry. I think it was that Kristin had been his teacher, and
      teachers held a special place of honor in his mind. And he *had* allowed
      himself to be kept by her only to fall in love with someone else despite all
      she had done for him. He felt a sense of debt, of obligation and of guilt
      for his own less-than-honorable treatment of her. It was about chivalry only
      in the sense that Duncan couldn't ignore that lapse in his own behavior,
      which played directly into Kristin's own fears and insecurities.
      
      This episode combined all the elements I like best about Highlander. Great
      visuals (yes, in every sense of the word <g>), exciting action, snappy
      dialogue (yes, Methos does get all the great lines), and the exploration of
      a complex issue that uncovers the cracks and flaws and humanity in what
      otherwise might be considered completely heroic characters.
      
      MacGeorge
      
      NOTE: I found the chronicles for this episode for the various Immortal
      characters particularly interesting, and have transcribed them. They can be
      found at:
      
      http://www.wordsmiths.net/MacGeorge/episodes/Season4/ChivalryChronicles.htm
      
      all episode commentaries are found at:
      
      http://www.wordsmiths.net/MacGeorge/episodes/indexframeset.htm
      
      ------------------------------
      
      Date:    Fri, 2 Jul 2004 19:21:29 EDT
      From:    Highlandmg@aol.com
      Subject: Re: Season Four dvds: wrath Of Kali
      
      Well, while it say this one is not one of my favorites I do like it. I do
      also like the fact the "Mrs. Ramsey" loses her husband and I hope she goes back
      to England and see just how the regular people leave. Boy if watching this
      episode and having a minor character die this one (Ramsey)sure deserved to die.
      somehow I feel Mrs. Ramsey will get her claws on someone else.
      
      Mary
      
      ------------------------------
      
      End of HIGHLA-L Digest - 1 Jul 2004 to 2 Jul 2004 (#2004-125)
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