What would have been a better Highlander animated series?

[Andrew NDB]

I mean, there really is only so much you can do with a franchise about Immortals chopping each other's heads off in dark alleys within the confines of a children's cartoon. That said, do you think TPTB could have or should have produced a different sort of children's animated series? What should it have been like?

[Donut]

They should have done an animated series that wasn't targeted for children. Can't market beheadings and headless corpses to youngsters.
An adult themed animated series could have been done quite well in the say the style of Batman:The Animated Series. You could have gotten some well-known actors doing the voices. You could have had Christopher Lambert being the voice for an animated Connor MacLeod. You could have had flashbacks that take place anywhere in the world because you could animate just about anything.
If it had to be a spinoff, you could have Peter Wingfield and Jim Byrnes voicing their characters. I mean it could have worked wonderfully as a further expansion to what the series established.

I think their biggest mistake was with trying to make it so full of sci-fi and creatures and forcing another MacLeod onto us.
They really needed to just tie it all together instead of making a different realm and universe for each form of media.

[Colleengael]

Donut said it so eloquently. It should have been geared for adults not children. It should have stayed in the same time frame and used the actors from the film's and series to voice their characters. It worked well for Star Trek and would have worked that what for Highlander. For some reason Bill Panzer was obsessed with using futuristic timelines in the sequels and expansions. It took away from the idea of immortals walking among us right now.

[mathpiglet]

If they truly wanted to aim it at children, they would have to eliminate the violence and concentrate on the historical aspects. Use a very old immortal, like Methos, telling a story of some important historical event and the part he played.

[Aleander]

It baffles the mind that a kid-friendly Highlander show could ever have been made. BUT, I do think it could've been better.

I think Gargoyles is a fair example from around that time of the direction it could've taken.

[Donut]

It's not too far-fetched to aim it at children. It would be a way to sell toys for sure. I just think they missed the mark completely. Back in the 80s, Marvel did an animated series of Robocop. Robocop was a very violent film that was not meant for kids at all. The cartoon used lasers instead of bullets and even at that the themes still seemed a bit much for a children's cartoon, but it kinda sorta worked.
As a youngster, I saw the movie and I was all into it, The violence didn't affect me at all. I saw Robocop as like a superhero, so I enjoyed the animated series.
I assume that the same thing happened with Highlander. Where kids watched the movies and the show, so there wound up being an animated series. Unlike Robocop, children of the 90s got a confusing story and setting that had almost nothing to do with the tv series and films.

I watched only 2 episodes of the animated series and it was tough to get through.Whereas the Search for Vengeance had me entertained and kept my attention up to the end.

[Mr.Slash]

I think they did the best they could with what they had. You really couldn't make a cartoon for kids and include the beheadings. I pretty much agree with Donut's view

[dubiousbystander]

Well, for me what they could have done better was a) had better art. b) not had a ridiculous talking animal. c) Killing off Connor and having a new Immortal MacLeod was ridiculous. They could probably have made one that tied more directly to the TV series, but I'm fine with this taking place in yet another reality.

One of the best ideas they had was allowing Immortals to give UP their Immortality, to transfer their Quickening to another without losing their heads. That was the best way out of that trap that they came up with. I haven't seen much of the animated series, and some day I will.

[Tootsie Bee]

See HBO's Spawn.

[Nicholas Ward]

They could've done better to actually use the knowledge Quentin gained from the Quickenings for more than a single event and not having him be plain dumb again the next episode.
Quentin becoming a bigger threat to Kortan over time would be a great story arc.

[Tootsie Bee]

The latter half of Season 2 was moving in that direction. The problem is that the writers were expecting a third season, so they were taking it slow. (Not that the live-action series did much different in depicting Duncan's increased skill over the early seasons.)

[Nicholas Ward]

Did the writers expect a third season?
I never heard much of the 'behind the scenes', scripts or anything really. So any info you have is appreciated.

[Tootsie Bee]

The final episode, "Eagle Valley," features the following exchange between Kortan and Quentin.

Kortan: So, you're giving up, MacLeod?

MacLeod: No. Let's just say I've gotta fly. But I'll be back, Kortan. You can count on it!

That moment alone indicates that they had more story to tell. The second season was already laying some groundwork for the final conflict, too. It dropped some pretty big hints that the bureaucrats would take Quentin's side when he finally raided Moganda, and the Dundees were being mobilized for that purpose. I doubt they had plans beyond a third season, but the overarching story was definitely moving toward a climax. It wasn't all just "Jettator of the Week."

[Nicholas Ward]

All episodes were one-offs and interchangeable. That particular line doesn't say anything.

[Tootsie Bee]

All episodes were one-offs and interchangeable.

No, they weren't. Many of the episodes built off events from previous ones. I note some of those instances in the recaps I've posted in this forum.

[dubiousbystander]

The Blood of Kings Podcast guys have done their second podcast on the animated series. They're doing a fantastic job.
http://fpnet.podbean.com/e/blood-of-...e-onlyquentin/
https://fpnet.podbean.com/e/blood-of...ure-continues/

[Lokuzt]

One of the things that left me unsatisfied was that they almost never actually played with Quentin's immortality aspect. I guess it might have been because of the tone, and considering how at the time the Highlander franchise was deemed as dark and violent by some, maybe they did not want to alienate the demographic. I thought the "jettators" twist was a nice approach to circumvent the violence of quickenings, but also agree that they never actually showed much progress in Quentin's path and lessened their importance. The show often wandered too much into meaningless plots, maybe if they had made it a mini-series, with a contained narrative and more focused final objective it would have been better loved.

My chief complain would be that the art style was wonky and action scenes looked too elastic, almost weightless, specially compared to some animation of its time. Other things that bothered me were the obvious nods and attempts at comedy relief aimed to a much younger audience, like his adopted little sister Clyde and the franlky ugly dog-ape/bug pet (can't recall the name), how forced the inclusion of Ramirez as a mentor was, and Quentin having to be a MacLeod felt. I actually liked the meteor/cataclysm angle they used - it's been quite a while since I saw the animated series, but was it implied that it was consequence of two immortals breaking the rule and fighting on holy ground?

[Andrew NDB]

I actually liked the meteor/cataclysm angle they used - it's been quite a while since I saw the animated series, but was it implied that it was consequence of two immortals breaking the rule and fighting on holy ground?

Certainly not. Just a freak occurrence.

[Darth Reaper]

I definitely think that they should have at least gone with a tone that was similar to Batman: The Animated Series. That show did a great job of telling stories that could appeal to both kids and adults. And, as I recall, better animation would have been good too.

I could see the series using a premise that I've played with off and on over the years. Basically, you have a young Immortal, who's just discovered what he is, trying to live his life while dealing with the realities of his new existence. Maybe nobody saw him die his first death so for awhile he thinks he can just keep on living the life that he already has, but as time goes by, and he becomes more and more immersed in The Game, that becomes increasingly difficult. He would have to struggle with the idea that his old life is over and that he must let it go. I can't help but see this as being a bit like an anime series, perhaps complete with a similar style of animation.