Conventions Junkies

[Colleengael]

Have you been to any of the Highlander conventions? Which ones were your favorites? Care to share a story about meeting one of the actors or production crew....

[Colleengael]

One of my favorite convention memories was being a volunteer at the Anaheim con. I spent a bit of time with the actors who played kimmies This included Tony De Longis, Braun McAsh, James Horan, Richard Lynch, Valentine Pelka, Peter Hudson and Myles Ferguson. I gave each one a set of the TCG cards with their own image on them. I also ended up with a bunch of crazy autographs as the guys had fun doodling on spare cards I had.

[Andrew NDB]

I've been to HLWW8 in Vancouver and HLWW9 in LA. Both were amazing. HLWW8 was so much so fast, I was overwhelmed. HLWW9, a lot of reconnecting with all of the old friends... and man, Rich Ridings made that a party.

Also been at events that felt like quasi Highlander conventions. The "War of the Worlds: Goliath" premiere at San Diego with pretty much the whole Highlander cast was neat. And for a while I was running into Adrian and Peter like every year at San Diego Comic Con for like 5 years straight.

[dubiousbystander]

There's a place for this!
Rileah Ringo, glorious Rileah mighty head of Adrian's Angels, shared this on Facebook.

Ken Gord at Highlander WorldWide 10

"Are you ready for some dry Canadian humour? Okay. But first, some serious business.

I'm here tonight to make a public service announcement. Because I have uncovered a plot. This plot, this scandalous conspiracy, is perhaps equal in scale and importance to the Da Vinci Code, Watergate, maybe even Russiagate. Alright, maybe not Russiagate. But it was perpetrated on us. Which makes it all that much more nefarious. Yes, us. The people of HIGHLANDER. The fans. The filmmakers. The producers. Yes, I say us, for I am also an innocent victim.

Tonight, I intend to reveal the plot and who is behind it. It won't be pretty. So brace yourself for some alarming revelations because I'm here to reveal to you, that for years, indeed its entire run, HIGHLANDER was being used by dark, shadowy forces. There was a secret agenda. And that agenda was unleashed on us by a person we all know and love... and trust. That person is sitting in this very room, pretending to know nothing, acting as innocent as a baby.

So, I can't just come right out and blatantly reveal this person's identity. I want to, but it would be totally irresponsible for me to do so. Maybe even cause for a defamation lawsuit. So, I've given this person a secret file, and given this secret file a secret name. That will protect both me and the perpetrator. Now, I can't tell you the perpetrator but I am able to tell you the secret file's name.

It is known as... The Abramowitz Code... Identity. The Abramowitz Code Identity. Otherwise known by its acronym T.A.C.I. The Abramowitz Code Identity. Tacky. So, Highlander fans, allow me to now lay out for you all the TACI evidence. Everything will be laid bare, will be transparent, will have full disclosure. You can then judge for yourself, each one of you, the innocence... or the guilt... of TACI.

In Season 2, when I first took over the show, I will admit I was blinded by the apparent innocence of many of the names given to Immortals. Michael Moore, Mako, Michel, Marcus, Martin. Yes, I could see a nebulous pattern of M names, but I believe now this was only a feint (to use a sword-fighting analogy) to divert our attention from the central thrust of TACI, namely - the letter K.
I checked on Season 1. I discovered that The Abramowitz Code Identity had actually been instigated from the very moment "he" was placed in his high position, a position of the highest responsibility and trust, I might add. I present to you the proof... Carl the Hermit, Caleb Cole, Korolus, Christoph Kuyler, Xavier St. Cloud, Carlo, Cahill and Marcus (an M word to throw us off?).

Now, I know what you're thinking. Many of these names begin with a C. But I ask you, without the benefit of seeing them in print would and could we not accept Carl, Carlo or Cahill as K words? Yes, we would and we did. So I believe in Year 1, TACI was simply testing the waters, so to speak, putting out feelers to see if anyone – Bill, Adrian, Stan, perhaps a viewer, would catch on to his heinous plan. I'm here to tell you, nobody caught him. He got away with it.

Emboldened, he charged into Season 3. Threw it in our faces. Dared us to catch him. He starts right from the get-go with Michael Kent, in my opinion a sly device whose intention is to soften us from the gentle M of Michael to the hard K of Kent. From there he rampages, hell bent for leather – Kern, Karros, Cullen, Kenny, Keogh, Kurlow, Carbassa, Keith, Christian, Kage, Kalas, Ceirdwyn, Kristov, Kagan and el Kahir.

Oh, sure, he keeps us off the scent by continuing to divert us on his diversionary front - the M's - Michelle, Maitlin, May Ling, McLaughlin, Michael and, of course, the one and only Methos. But by this time, as I'm sure you must agree, TACI is in full deployment. TACI is the name of the game.

And though 52.5% of all Immortal names from Year 3 began with an M, a hard K, or a sneaky K-sounding C, this is nothing compared to what is inflicted on us in Year 4. Kanwulf, Cord, King, Kanis, Kit, Kincaid, Killian, Kinman, Kamir, Kristin, Coltec, Kant, Korland, Kassim, Cimoli, Case, Cochrane and Carolyn. Not to mention Mikey, Muhammad, Morgan and Mortimer. A whopping 62.5% of Immortals carried the TACI virus, straight to our hearts and minds.

Now, I was on to it by this point. Oh yes, I figured it out. HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES was not just a TV show. That was a ruse. HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES was actually a K and M injection system. Now, at this point you may be asking yourself – yeah, he uncovered the plot but what did he do about it? I'll tell you what I did. I wrote a memo. But who did I write it to? Who could I write it to? You guessed it. The writing department. And who was the commander-in-chief of the writing department? ...Need I say more? So, you see the paradox, the trap I fell into. It would be like writing a letter to Pablo Escobar complaining about drugs in my neighborhood.

Now, at that time, I didn't know if Gillian and Donna were in on the conspiracy, so I had to be careful. Who to trust? As it turns out, and as we now know pretty much for certain, both Gillian and Donna were high- ranking confederates. In fact, they were the chief consiglieri, the top lieutenants of the TACI godfather, Abramowitz. So, knowing I was swimming with the sharks, I was forced to keep my head low. I didn't want to find the severed head of an immortal (especially a K or an M) under my bed sheets.

But let's move on. Let's see what happens in the following season – year 5. This is the year TACI bombarded us with its full arsenal.

Methos, Kronos, Caspari – 3... 75% or 3⁄4, if you will... of the 4 horsemen. Cassandra, Kantos, Clay, Carter, Myron Corman, Matthew McCormick, Kelly, Coventry, Cory, Kragan, Culbraith, Caspari, Consone, Keane, the great Kronos – real name – Melvin Koren... what a bombardment. And Kirschner. Kirschner, played by one F. Braun McAsh. McAsh. Was there no decency left? Was nothing sacred? Our virtuous sword-master had been turned. And I realized, with a heavy heart, I could no longer trust Stan Kirsch. Nor Carmel McPherson, if that's really her name, nor Annie Christie, Karen Heindl, Mary Glynn or Mr. John Mosby. Don't think I'm not on to you people.

How many of you have become the unwitting (or are you part of it?) Highlander Stepford Wives? Are you living in an Invasion of the Body Snatchers nightmare? Without even knowing it? Or do you?

Yes, what about you? You super-fans, the rabid of the rabid – I'm talking about you, Mika Elizondo. And you, Marilyn Everett-Jones. What about you, Kyle Melton, Karen Mines and Anita M. King – with both K's and M's in your names – I'm pretty sure you three are part of this. Corinna McGill and Cari Mooney with M's and soft K's – you're probably guilty. And what about you, Gail Kallen, Grant Kempster, Colleen Harkins, Carine Grandguillotte, Kim Goehring, Daryl Kyle, MaryLee Holzheimer, Cathy Butterfield, Chad Carlson, Kathy Carney, Susan Carney, William Clark, Catherine Cousin, Claire Davon, Colton Dean, Melissa Dickinson, Michael Duffy, Mary Heider, Amanda Montoya, Derek May, Meryle Gallien, Kerry Glover, Morgan Harlan, Kathleen Holliday, Amy Holt, Mitzi Howard, Carole Kimpton, Mary Laiuppa, Priscilla Manriquez, Sue Mazeo, Robert McGregor, Claudia Mehlem, Tracy Meisinger, Monica Melton, Shari Miller, Richard Morgan, Bill Murphy, Christopher Pangle, Karen Pfeifer, Miranda Polsean, Jane Morgan Sellars, Cary Spratt, Catherine Sumner, Animae Thompson-Koller, Kevin Wendt, Cindy Western, Kelly Whitson, Karelene Yarbrough... Andrew Modeen – I know you're with them – Dominique – I bet people call you Monique. how many of you others are complicit? I suggest those of you who are loved ones or friends with any of these people – watch them closely. Make sure they really are who they say they are.

And are the Highlander Rewatched team a part of the conspiracy or have they too been unwittingly turned? I ask you straight out, Keith and Kyle. I ask you straight out. Have you turned TACI? ...Eamon – keep your eye on those two.

Or you, Blood of Kings, one Kevin M. Reitzel. What do you have to say for yourself? Norman, take precautions - you may be next.

And, by the way, don't you think it's somewhat suspicious that the only two directors here this weekend, out of all the HIGHLANDER directors, are Clay Borris and Richard Martin? Or the only writer is... Morrie Ruvinsky? I ask you.

Alright, back to Year 5. I do my calculations. A full 65.4% of Immortals in Year 5 are TACI. I decide to take Lord Byron out of the equation. I do not believe that even people as callous as Abramowitz, Horvath and Lettow would change the great man's name to Lord Myron or Lord Kyron or even Lord Cyron with a hard C. The new calculation makes my blood run cold – 68% TACI.
And then I realize that all this weight is too much for me to carry on my own, I'm one man against the system... I need help. I could become a Deep Throat, blowing the whistle from within – but to whom can I deliver the message? Who to trust? Who will believe me? Aha! I bring your attention to episode 9 of Year 5. The Messenger. What is Ron Perlman's immortal name? Simply, the Messenger. There's more to this than meets the eye. The Messenger, indeed. But what is the message?

I decided to lay low. This was my safest option. I transitioned into year 6. The last season. I feel if the eagle is landing, this will be the time. I watch and wait. I wait as Kingsley, Milos, Marek and Morgan are deployed. I watch as 3 out of 5 spin-off characters are named - Kyra, Katya (aka Cara) and Katherine. Incredibly, a massive 75% of Immortals in Year 6 are TACI.

And where does Maurice fit into all this? Our dear departed Michel Modo.

There's no time to investigate further. The show is now wrapped forever. The Abramowitz Code Identity had accomplished what it had set out to do. But what exactly was that? What was its ultimate purpose? I decided to dig even deeper.

HIGHLANDER: THE RAVEN. Is it part of the plan? Sure enough, right off the bat, episode 1, Abramowitz attacks with Carl Magnus, Claudia, Morgan – and the Raven's own name – Amanda Montrose. I ask you... When did we ever know the wonderful, amazing, beautiful Amanda as Montrose? Clearly, TACI was still being unleashed on the HIGHLANDER universe. I check the IMDB credits for the next 3 episodes. I'm in a cold sweat – Mario Cardoza hits me right between the eyes with an M and a hard C. He's followed by Morgan, Kenworth and Marta. Even a character known only as Matron is a bald-faced assault on my senses. My blood is running cold.

I realize this is big. A Beautiful Lie of immense proportions! But to what end? And then I remember – it's been right in front of my nose the whole time! I now ask you the question that will illuminate all, make everything as clear as day. And that question is – who killed Tessa? What is the name of the man who murdered our innocent Tessa in cold blood, like a rabid dog? You don't know, do you? I do. I checked. What I uncovered is even more nefarious, more sinister than any of you could ever imagine. The man who killed Tessa?

His official name... was Kid. Kid killed Tessa! A hard K perpetrated this dastardly deed. But was he a lone gunman? A random street thug? It feels unlikely. So, who was behind him? Who gave him the order to pull the trigger? I ask you – who had the power to name him... Kid? Oh, but it gets worse. Two years later Kid is back and what is the name given to him? Named by, again, you-know-who? Mark. A Kid named Mark killed Tessa. Now, I'm the one who cast the Kid, aka Mark. An actor named Travis McDonald.

That is when I realized I had also become TACI. I'd become a double agent, a TACI mole in the very core of the inner power circle of HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES. This revelation put me in a fever, as I valiantly tried to uncover the secret before it consumed me ...and, perhaps, ultimately, you.

Think. Think. The letter K. Eleventh letter of the alphabet. Eleven. Two ones. One plus one equals two. The percentage of Immortals through what I call “the Abramowitz administration” is 52.9%. Not significant. However, if we take Lord Byron out of the equation we're left with a very significant 53.3%. You see it? You don't see it. 53.3. Five plus three plus three equals... That's right. Eleven. Two ones. One plus one equals two. Back to two. K and M are two letters apart. K.L.M. Is this also a clue?

Was Duncan MacLeod ever in Holland? Was David Abramowitz?

But I cannot deny that I myself was born in February. The second month. I'm brought in to produce HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES in Year 2. And my name. Yes, a K word. Conclusive evidence I am TACI. But, ultimately, what is the Abramowitz Endgame?

I decide the answer must lie in the original film. After all, that is The Source. We have MacLeod. We have Connor. We have Victor Kruger, otherwise known as the Kurgan. Clearly, the plot had been hatched even before the Abramowitz administration. He too was being used as an unwitting agent of TACI. But by who? And why?

Sadly, I don't have the answer. Does the Final Dimension lie somewhere on the planet Zeist? I don't know. I don't know if we'll ever discover the whole truth. I only know two things for absolute sure. One. There is some unknown mystical significance to the number two in the Highlander universe. And two. There can be only one."