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3-4: Blackmail, Vendetta, They Also Serve

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  • 3-4: Blackmail, Vendetta, They Also Serve

    Discuss these Season 3 episodes:

    Blackmail
    Vendetta
    They Also Serve
    __________________________________________________

    "Really? We are trapped in a room with a machine that can cut off my head. Now that's a longshot."
    --Connor MacLeod in Peter Bellwood's original Highlander II script

  • #2
    Cinedigm has legally uploaded the entire series to YouTube.



    Episode 54: "Blackmail"

    Sex, lies, and videotaped decapitations. It's blatantly ripping off Strangers on a Train. I've always wanted to see a hedge maze fight, but the cheesy music and lack of genuine suspense stripped it of its potential. Also, one scene ripped off the Matunas scene from the original film, as if we wouldn't notice.
    __________________________________________________

    "Really? We are trapped in a room with a machine that can cut off my head. Now that's a longshot."
    --Connor MacLeod in Peter Bellwood's original Highlander II script

    Comment


    • #3


      Episode 55: "Vendetta"

      A painfully bad mobster farce. This isn't Police Squad, people! Benny and the other guest characters are so excruciating that they make Anne look decent by comparison. For once, it would have been a relief for Duncan to kill an old friend.
      __________________________________________________

      "Really? We are trapped in a room with a machine that can cut off my head. Now that's a longshot."
      --Connor MacLeod in Peter Bellwood's original Highlander II script

      Comment


      • #4


        Episode 56: "They Also Serve"

        Clip show.
        __________________________________________________

        "Really? We are trapped in a room with a machine that can cut off my head. Now that's a longshot."
        --Connor MacLeod in Peter Bellwood's original Highlander II script

        Comment


        • #5
          Blackmail - It's OK. I think Kurlow is severely over-rated due to the great actor that portrays him.

          Vendetta - Benny....I have the same opinion of him as I do Kenny. Please somebody kill this twit.

          They Also Serve - Very good episode in my opinion. I like the background on May-Ling. It is funny that Christian's immortal is rained on for doing to an extent wjat Dawson does, minus the setting up of course. I would like to have seen Richie fight Christian. Also, we get a brief appearance by Mina E. Mina, who played Grandfather Lao in Revenge of the Sword, as well as a mention of Kiem Sun. I mark out for such things.
          "It's Rock & Roll. If you aren't breaking some sort of law, then you are doing it wrong." - me, answering a bandmate's question of what would happen if someone called the law on us for playing too loud at an outdoor show.

          Comment


          • #6
            Just finished going over the official domestic cut of these three episodes, kindly provided by the wonderful Gillian Horvath. I have converted them from their VHS tapes to mpg (m4v) format if anyone is interested in them. Also, the official 'Eurominutes' are now marked out on my transcript pages. [www.zzickle.com/tv/transcripts.html]

            And now for the showdown: DVD/European cut vs Domestic cut - who wins?


            3x10: Blackmail
            Except for more than a minute’s worth of Duncan chasing Kurlow around the hedge maze, most of the cuts from this episode are fairly short, and arguably all (including the hedge maze) are inconsequential.

            Winner: Domestic cut!


            3x11:Vendetta
            The domestic cut of this episode loses a lot of bits of Benny being Benny. Plus some of Peggy’s song in the Coconut Lounge flashback. Also, some dialogue between Peggy and Syd before and after Syd shoots Duncan and Joey, and the beginning of Duncan’s conversation with Margaret (a.k.a. Peggy) at the Lang mansion. In other words (pardon the pun), a lot of dialogue is lost. Whether this is good or bad probably depends on how you feel about Benny, so I think I’m going to call this one a...

            Winner: Tie!


            3x12: They Also Serve
            The domestic cut of this episode loses a lot of the flashback of the “Band of Brothers” fight between Duncan and Grayson(1.5 minutes). It also loses the flashbacks of Hideo teaching Duncan and of Duncan assisting in Hideo’s seppuku from “The Samurai” (both 1 minute cuts). Of the remaining 1.5 minutes of cuts... I would’ve kept at least the final cut line from Christian: “I’m ready for MacLeod. Why wait?” instead of jumping into the scene on Rita’s reply, but other than that, the final cut of Duncan & Joe in the dojo elevator is the only one that I wish had not been cut. Unfortunately, that one scene isn’t strong enough to win out against all of the ‘previous episode’ rehashes, so...

            Winner: Domestic cut!


            Updated tally:
            Domestic = 20
            DVD/European = 14

            Comment


            • #7
              Love all of this, Zzickle!

              Comment


              • #8
                They Also Serve - I know it's Highlander and Duncan gets all the heads, but honestly would have preferred it if Richie had made the rescue run in time to intercept and taken the guy out. Better story, better character builder.

                Blackmail was an idiot plot, if the guy hadn't been an idiot there would be no plot.

                Vendetta was pretty weak, but the most amazing part was that Benny had lived as long as he had. The minute he runs up against someone even as lame as King he'd be toast - oooh, there's a though Benny vs Mikey, that sounds like a fight!

                Comment

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