“I was born 400 years ago in the Highlands of Scotland. I am immortal . . . in the end there can be only one . . .”
The success of this syndicated fantasy/action series was in large part due to the handsome, athletic British star, Adrian Paul, a former ballet dancer who made his TV debut in The Colbys.
The series – which was based on the 1986 feature film of the same name – was about 400-year-old Scotsman Duncan MacLeod (Paul), one of a small number of immortals inhabiting the Earth.
Not all the immortals were as good or moral as Duncan, and the immortals fought each other with swords, with their duels always ending with a ritualistic beheading. The survivor of the duel then took over the powers of the immortal who had been killed.
Ultimately only one immortal was to be left on Earth – hopefully, the virtuous Duncan MacLeod. If the final survivor was one of the evil immortals, the planet would be condemned to “an eternity of darkness.”
Also appearing was Alexandra Vandernoot as MacLeod’s mortal girlfriend, Tessa Noel. Tessa ran an antique shop and was one of the few people who knew the truth about MacLeod’s immortality.
Shocked viewers complained in droves when Tessa was killed off after the second season.
Also aware of MacLeod’s immortality was a young New York street kid named Richie Ryan (Stan Kirsch), who later discovered that he too was an immortal.
One of a group of mortals known as The Watchers (because they observed the immortals but did not intervene or interfere) was Joe Dawson (Jim Byrnes) who became a friend and supporter of MacLeod.
Following a considerable period of grief after Tessa’s death, MacLeod eventually found a new girlfriend, a surgeon named Anne Lindsey (Lisa Howard).
Randi McFarland, a reporter at KCLA, was always trying to find out more about the strange beheadings that were taking place, and she and MacLeod’s fellow immortal (and former lover) Amanda Darieux were featured regularly for a time.
Duncan MacLeod Adrian Paul
Tessa Noel
Alexandra Vandernoot
Richie Ryan
Stan Kirsch
Joe Dawson
Jim Byrnes
Anne Lindsey
Lisa Howard
Randi McFarland
Amanda Wyss
Amanda Darieux
Elizabeth Gracen
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