''Highlander: The Animated Series'' is an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

television series which premiered on September 18, 1994. It is a loose spin-off and sequel of the 1986 film of the same name. The series was produced by Gaumont Television with the worldwide distribution rights owned by

Bohbot Entertainment Bohbot Entertainment was an American advertising and marketing company specializing in the children's market founded in 1985, and had traded under various different names over the years. The company produced and distributed programming under thei ...

(later

BKN International BKN International AG (BKNI) was a German kids TV production and distribution company that formerly operated as the international division of BKN, Inc. History BKN International was originally founded as Bohbot Entertainment Worldwide in 1994 ...

Plot

The series is set in the far future of the 27th century. The last living descendant of the original Highlander fights against the evil

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

Kortan. The story unfolds on post-apocalyptic Earth, after a

meteorite A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...

collision nearly wipes out all human civilization after setting off nuclear weapons. Following this catastrophe,

Connor MacLeod Connor MacLeod, also known as The Highlander, is a fictional character in the '' Highlander'' film series, and appears in the extended franchise of the television programs: '' Highlander: The Series'' and '' Highlander: The Animated Series''. In ...

(the protagonist of the original film) and the other

Immortals Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film ''The Wisdom of ...

forswear the

Game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

of fighting each other until only one Immortal remains to win the

Prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

. Instead, the Immortals swear to preserve human knowledge and help humanity. They cast away their swords and call themselves ''Jettators'' (from the French word ''jette'', "thrown away"). But one Immortal, Kortan, refuses to swear the oath, he still seeks the Prize and now wishes to dominate the world. Connor challenges Kortan to a duel and is vanquished and killed, as any Immortal who breaks the oath is destined to die. However, with Connor's death comes the prophecy of the rise of a new Immortal, unbound by the oath, who will defeat Kortan. Uncontested by the Jettators and nigh-unkillable by mortals, Kortan establishes an empire controlling most of the planet, which he rules from his fortress Mogonda. Seven hundred years later, a

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

youth named Quentin is killed trying to defend his

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

, the

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, from Kortan's slavers. He is the prophesied Immortal and returns to life. His dying mother reveals his true identity to be Quentin MacLeod from Clan MacLeod, "The Last of the MacLeods". Quentin meets the Jetattor Don Vincente Marino Ramirez, who becomes his mentor. Ramirez teaches Quentin about Immortals and his mission to confront Kortan, and trains him in combat. Accompanied by Ramirez, his adoptive sister Clyde, and their pet Gaul, Quentin seeks out the Jettators to gain their

Quickening In pregnancy terms, quickening is the moment in pregnancy when the pregnant woman starts to feel the fetus' movement in the uterus. Medical facts The first natural sensation of quickening may feel like a light tapping or fluttering. These sensat ...

and their knowledge, not by beheading, but by a ''sharing'' as MacLeod and the Jettator grasp the same sword simultaneously (although the effects are sometimes just as destructive to the surrounding area). In the wake of a sharing, the Jettator becomes mortal and often his or her sword shatters to signify this. With the wisdom of Ramírez and the Quickenings of the Jettators, Quentin may be able to destroy Kortan. Despite being redesigned to attract a younger audience, the show was surprisingly mature/violent; it was not uncommon for minor characters to die, and while Quentin took other Immortals' power and knowledge without also taking their lives, Kortan still did it the old way, by beheading them. In addition, though essentially a good-versus-evil scenario, most of the characters on both sides were more than just black and white heroes and villains. Many of Kortan's henchmen are shown to have good characteristics and feelings, and even on occasion, Quentin will be tempted by greed and be selfish, especially when offered the chances of immense power. Of course, ultimately, his good side always wins through. Some episodes involve Jettators making use of a loophole in their oath to challenge Kortan regardless, such as Matsuda, who built a cyborg to fight Kortan in his stead, or Cornell, who changed his name to Orion to be able to fight Kortan.

Protagonists

* Quentin MacLeod: The titular character of the series. Raised by the Dundee clan, he was killed by Arak and subsequently resurrected as an Immortal, when Kortan sought to capture the Dundee. He usually fights with the sword that belonged to Connor MacLeod, but also carries a

boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

he is quite skilled with. * Don Vincente Marino Ramírez: The Jettator tasked with guiding Quentin and making sure the other Jettators keep the oath. He trains Quentin in the art of combat as well as philosophy and some history. Many episodes feature flashbacks of his life. * Clyde of the Dundee: Quentin's adoptive younger sister, though raised as his blood relative. She often ends up in danger during missions but on occasion, serves as a distraction. * Gaul: Clyde's pet Gran, a hybrid of ape and canine. Like all Grans, Gaul is highly intelligent and is very protective of both Clyde and Quentin. His animal sense sometimes helps Quentin in dangerous situations.

Notable villains

* Kortan: One of the only three Immortals not to take the Oath, declared himself the winner of the Game and took control of the Earth. He rules from his city fortress of Mogonda, which is built like an

arcology Arcology, a portmanteau of "architecture" and "ecology",. is a field of creating architectural design principles for very densely populated and ecologically low-impact human habitats. The term was coined in 1969 by architect Paolo Soleri, who be ...

. * Arak: Kortan's major and leader of their other soldiers, the Hunters. He mortally wounded Quentin's adoptive mother and killed Quentin, triggering his immortality. His left eye and hand are cybernetic. In the episode "The Secret Prison", it is revealed that he was born "RY407." * Malone: A former mime, serves as the "human key" to Kortan's weapons locker and court jester. His original memories were erased by Kortan's "oblivion chamber" device. Despite his childish behavior, he can be quite cunning. And despite everything else, he appears to be consistently loyal to Kortan. * Gorth: Another of Kortan's favoured and loyal army leaders, leading a number of strong slaves who duel as Gladiators. Gorth is a skilled swordsman, and during an angry dispute with Arak, Gorth shows that he is able to match Arak not only in terms of leadership, but also on a level of physical combat. * Asklepios: Leader of the Bureaucrats, #76, of Mogonda, a brilliant scientist. He has a rivalry with Arak; the two are constantly trying to show up one another to gain Kortan's favor. * Valka: Bureaucrat #28, helped Asklepios set up a spy network, implied to be in love with Asklepious. * Kirk: Another officer in Kortan's army, he is the keeper of Kortan's colony of tamed Anomas (giant ants). In the episode "Revenge Of The Shantytown", he launches an attack on the rebels living in the slums around Magonda, prompting them to return the favour by setting wild Anomas loose in the city's lower levels. Attempting to send his own ants to fight them off, he is killed when his 'pets' join the wild ones, turning on their old master and half devouring him. * Mohar: The fearless leader of a remaining small group of ruthless bounty hunters living in the desert, who are historical adversaries of the Dundee clan from which Quentin came. They occupy The Iron City, a giant abandoned aircraft carrier in The Dry Sea. The Iron City is used as a Holy place by Mohar's gang alongside a group of Imams/Priests, where they collectively worship their most sacred weapon - the last of a batch of hand-held Browning Heavy Machine Guns, or "The Brown" as Mohar refers to the gun. Despite being an enemy of MacLeod, Mohar similarly has the goal of eventually challenging and killing Kortan, and taking Kortan's place in Magonda as ruler of the Planet.

List of Jettators

* Don Vincente Marino Ramírez: 3000 year-old Immortal, tasked with training and guiding the Highlander and enforcing the Jettators' Oath. If any Jettator betrays the Oath, Ramírez must kill them. * Mangus: Possesses the knowledge of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

, and is the apparent leader of the Jettators. It was he who informed Kortan of the Highlander's coming seven centuries ago. Kortan then stole his blueprints and used them to build his city of Mogonda, where Mangus continued to hide out and spy on the enemy. When Quentin arrived to rescue the Dundees, he let them into the city through the sewers, but only by sacrificing himself in a duel and allowing Kortan to steal his powers was he able to ensure their escape. * Yashoda: The greatest of the Jettators. He leads a monastic life teaching people

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

. His knowledge is key to using that of the others to defeat Kortan, but he tests Quentin's ability to resist corruption by having a disciple manipulate Quentin, and judges that he has not yet earned the right to have Yashoda's knowledge, but promises to reconsider if Quentin matures. * Stevenson: An enigmatic immortal with the knowledge of

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

. In a desperate attempt to save his eternal life, he betrayed the Highlander and instigated a plan to hand him over to Kortan. When he failed, however, Kortan killed him and stole his knowledge for himself. * Ilrick: A Jettator with the knowledge of medicine. * Erol: A Jettator with knowledge of

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

and other secrets of the Earth. He went into hiding to avoid Kortan's henchmen. When the Highlander arrived at his old base they found only Melvyn, an insane ex-employee driven crazy by the loss of his daughter Dana. Believing MacLeod's sister Clyde to be Dana, he promptly captured her, thankfully Quentin was able to locate the real Dana inside the city of Mogonda and so save them all. He was only seen in a short flashback of Melvyn. * Lanzelet: A Jettator with the knowledge of history. His name is a German language version of

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

. * Olak: The Jettator of the winds. At first, he refuses to hand over his knowledge when Quentin's fear of heights places the son of one of his men in serious danger in duel within the city of Mogonda. When Quentin is able to overcome that fear and rescue the boy from certain death above a pit of giant ants ("Anomas"). However, he reconsiders. His "quickening" ritual is the first we see on screen. * Volta: A Jettator with the knowledge of

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

. He is disfigured due to radiation (he has blue skin). * Eva: A woman with the knowledge of how to create and project

holograms Holography is a technique that enables a wavefront to be recorded and later re-constructed. Holography is best known as a method of generating real three-dimensional images, but it also has a wide range of other applications. In principle, it ...

. * Orane: A blue-haired woman who rules an undersea city and has knowledge of

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

. Implied to be an old lover of Ramirez. * Fredrickson: Knowledge of

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

. He cloned himself to preserve his knowledge in case Kortan found him, but his clone turned evil. The cloned Fredrickson was eventually killed while fighting Quentin. but because it was indirect (or perhaps because he was a clone), there was no Quickening. * Matsuda: An Asian Jettator with a knowledge of

cyborgs A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

(more properly

androids An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids were completely within the domain of science fiction and frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robot techno ...

, as his creations were merely artificial machines). He lost a hand to Kortan, and built a cyborg warrior to kill Kortan for him. * Mahata: An old man with knowledge of

entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...

. * Branagh: Has knowledge of

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

. After his cowardice, he found courage when the woman he was in love with was kidnapped by Arak, one of Kortan's men. * Cornell: A blind Jettator with knowledge of

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

. He changed his name to Orion and hoped to fight Kortan during an eclipse, where he would have the advantage. However, he had given up his knowledge and immortality to Quentin before then, and stood no chance against a powerful immortal like Kortan because he also lost the enhanced senses he had developed during his time as an Immortal. * Sehebi: A Jettator with a master of

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

. In the episode in which he appears, ''The Valley of the Thorn Pods'', he is initially thought to be a traitor to the Order of the Jettators for unleashing carnivorous thorn pods on the Valley where he lived; later it was revealed that he was not responsible, and was in fact helpful in stopping the pods. His Quickening ritual is the one we see on the opening credits. * Sheperd: A Jettator with knowledge of

satellites A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...

. He did not take the oath because he thought that he was the reason for the great catastrophe. Hiding in his satellite station, he searched for the Highlander and Ramírez and passed his knowledge to Quentin just as Kortan found them. * Prometheus: A Jettator with knowledge of the

atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, and ...

. His body suffers from intense radiation poisoning, thus turning his immortality into a curse. At first, Quentin refused his knowledge until Ramirez intervened and convinced Quentin that such knowledge was better off in his hands than that of Kortan. Prometheus died after destroying his own fortress to protect his secrets. * Emerson: An immortal who found a source of

invisibility Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology. Since objects can be seen by light in ...

. He was the third immortal who did not take the oath (the others were Kortan and Shepard) because Kortan sent him to outer space before the meteorite hit the Earth. He returned to Earth after spending more than 700 years in space. Originally a friend, Kortan killed him in order to gain the knowledge he had accumulated off-world.

Creatures

Several strange creatures exist in the universe of ''Highlander: The Animated Series''. * Anomas: Gigantic ants the size of an elephant; they are highly aggressive and used in Mogonda to perform executions. Wild Anomas have special glands that produce a paralytic acid. Like normal (real-life) ants, they communicate through pheromones and rubbing antenne. The hermit Zack learned to speak to the Anomas and artificially create their pheromones so they would not attack him. * Gavors: Ostrich-like reptiles used as mounts, shown to be about as intelligent as horses. * Grans: Creatures that are part ape and part canine. Highly intelligent Grans are capable of tool use and even complex planning. The Grans communicate with one another through sign language and understand human speech. Wild Grans are shown to distrust both humans and domesticated Grans. * Snow Spider: Large fuzzy blue arachnids, about the size of house cats, non-poisonous. * Thorn Pods: Flesh-eating flowers capable of movement. They have a fragrance that induces sleep, Thorn Pods can consume humans. * Gorans: Elephant/bovine hybrids that act as beasts of burden, doing heavy work and moving useful supplies from place to place for humans.

Episodes

Season 1

Season 2

Staff

* Scriptwriters: Francoise Charpiat, Yves Coulon, Sophie Decroisette, Patrick Gallano, Michael Goffard, Frédéric Lenoir, Beatrice Marthouret, Claude Prothée, Serge Rozenzweig

Cast

Miklos Perlus Miklos Perlus (born March 23, 1977) is a Canadian actor, writer, and story editor. Perlus has appeared on Canadian series ''Student Bodies'', ''Road to Avonlea'' and ''Sidekick''. He has written for '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' and other ser ...

- Quentin MacLeod *

Ben Campbell Benjamin or Ben Campbell may refer to: * Ben Nighthorse Campbell, former U.S. Senator from Colorado * Ben Campbell (musician) (New Zealand), bassist for rock bands Atlas and Zed * Benjamin Campbell, founder of Campbell, California * Ben Campbell, a ...

- Ramirez * Lawrence Bayne - Kortan * Katie Zegers - Clyde *

Don Dickinson Don Dickinson (born December 27, 1974) is a Canadian writer and actor, born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan on December 27, 1947. He was a shortlisted nominee for the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 1991 Governor Gene ...

- Arak, Frederickson * Lorne Kennedy - Malone, Connor MacLeod *

Wayne Robson Wayne Robson (April 29, 1946 – April 4, 2011) was a Canadian television, stage, voice and film actor known for playing the part of Mike Hamar, an ex-convict and sometime thief, on the Canadian sitcom ''The Red Green Show'' from 1993 to 2006, as ...

- Asklepios, Glen *

Hrant Alianak Hrant Alianak (born 1950), also billed as Harant Alianak or Grant Aljanak, is an Armenian-Canadian actor and playwright. Career In 1988, he was nominated for the Genie Award "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role" for the 1987 film ' ...

- Sahevy *

Graham Haley Graham Haley is a best New York Times best-selling author and TV show host known for his series '' Haley’s Hints''. Since its launch, the show has expanded from Canada to the United States to South America to Europe to Asia, and to Africa. ...

- Mangus, Erol *

Tracey Moore Tracey Moore (born January 17, 1960) is a Canadian voice actress and voice director. She is most noted as the voice of Princess Toadstool in the ''Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3'', ''Super Mario World'', and the singing voice of Strawberry ...

- Ave * James Rankin - Stevenson, Mohar *

Stuart Stone Stuart Stone (born Stuart Eisenstein) is a Canadian film, television, and voice-over actor as well as a producer of television, film and music. He is best known for his roles as Ronald Fisher in the 2001 cult film, ''Donnie Darko'' and Ralphie Ten ...

- Young Quentin *

Alyson Court Alyson Stephanie Court (born November 9, 1973) is a Canadian actress. Beginning her career as a child actress, her first role was on the series ''Mr. Dressup'' (1984–1994) and she made her film debut in '' Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bi ...

- Aria * John Gilbert - Melvyn *

David Hemblen David Hemblen (16 September 1941 – 16 November 2020) was an English actor who frequently worked in Canadian film, television and theatre who grew up in Toronto, Ontario. He is known for his role as George in '' La Femme Nikita'', Customs insp ...

- Gorth, Olak *

Catherine Disher Catherine Disher is a British-born Canadian actress. She has won two Gemini Awards: in 2005 for Best Actress for her role in the Canadian mini-series '' Snakes and Ladders'', and in 2010 for her role in '' The Border''. She was also nominated for ...

- Teen *

Dawn Greenhalgh Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

- Petra * Cedric Smith - Scott * David Bryant - Lanzelet * Colin Fox - Cubert *

Denis Akiyama Denis Van Akiyama (May 28, 1952 – June 28, 2018) was a Canadian actor, best known as providing the voice of Iceman/Bobby Drake, Silver Samurai/Kenuichio Harada and Sunfire in ''X-Men'' and Malachite in the original English version of ''Sailor ...

- Yashoda

Spin-offs

A video game based on the series called '' Highlander: The Last of the MacLeods'' was released for the

Atari Jaguar CD The Atari Jaguar CD is a CD-ROM peripheral for the Jaguar video game console. Atari announced a CD-ROM drive for the Jaguar before the console's November 1993 launch. Codenamed Jaguar II during development, the Jaguar CD was released on Septem ...

Home media

Some episodes of the series were edited into a feature-length film called ''Highlander: The Adventure Begins'' and was released by

Family Home Entertainment Family Home Entertainment (FHE) was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California. History The company was founde ...

in 1996.

Genius Products Genius Products (also known as Genius Entertainment) was an entertainment company based in Santa Monica, California, United States. The ''Baby Genius'' line was one of a number of "smart toys" that came out in response to a study book about the ...

released ''Highlander: The Animated Series'' on DVD in Region 1 on December 4, 2007.Review of the series and DVD set
at DVDTalk.com

References

External links