Highlander (TV Series) Family Tree (1992) User Reviews

Great acting by Stan Kirsch, Duncan's origin as an immortal is told, hilarious villains

[reb-warrior · 7/10 · 27 February 2020]

Richie who was raised in foster homes wants to find his dad. Duncan flashes back to when he first became immortal and his father disowned him. This is the first indication that all immortals are foundlings and none know who their parents are. Duncan agrees to help Richie find his father, tho is hesitant.

A mild-mannered man named Joe Scanlon claims he's Richie's dad. He owes money to a lady mobster and Duncan think he's conning Richie. Joe is self-depreciation and even describes himself to Richie as a loser. He fills Richie in on some things about himself that I suspect are true but frames them in the context of being his dad. Joe is actually a likable fellow, who just seems to have hard luck all the time.

Tessa is a sounding board for Duncan and his suspicions about Joe. I love that these two actually have real conversations with each other, share ideas, and yes argue too at times.

I thought the lady mobster and her goon, Clinch were hilarious. I mean they are a bit cartoonish but fun and made me giggle. Loved Duncan's fights with Clinch. Notice Duncan will often smile and laugh when fighting. Love that about his character.

Stan Kirsh shows his acting chops when he tells the story of how his "mother" died. It's actually quite touching thanks to Stan's talented delivery.

Pretty good episode. There's some foreshadowing as there was in episode one. Duncan doesn't fight an immortal, but the action scenes are still really good. I gave it a 7/10.

Episode ONE Had THE GAME RULES Set, Episode TWO Sets...The ORIGINS??? ???

[David_del_Real_Reviews_in_IMDb · 8/10 · 23 November 2017]

EPISODE ONE HAD THE GAME RULES SET, EPISODE TWO SETS... ... THE ORIGINS???????

We will have three main players along the first season: Duncan Macleod, his girlfriend Tessa Noel and Richie Ryan, a young boy that became more or less Duncan's protégé after they met each other in the first episode. During that first episode we had a quick glance at both the friendship and clan relationship between Duncan and Connor Macleod (who most viewers knew from the HIGHLANDER movies). We had during that episode an introduction to the series and now we are having a slightly deeper look at our characters. We will get to know more about Richie in real time as he investigates about his past and about Macloud via FLASHBACKS he remembers along the episode... ... by the way... ...FLASHBACKS are sometimes the best part of both the episodes and the series!!! !!!

During this episode we have Richie begin researching about his origins, being one of the few memories he has the day he saw his mother die while they were inside a candy store, Richie manages to track down the candy store's old owner and find afterwards a man whose current name is Joe and claims to be his father, being his former name JACK RYAN. This man seems to have a story to tell about a life with Richie's mother and looks convincing.

Few is revealed about the first years of Duncan before he knew he was immortal, in a sense, his story begins after he dies for the first time. Maybe the most interesting concept talking about the nucleus of the HIGHLANDER the series' canon is that IMMORTALS are not exactly EVER-LIVING, they are more like EVER- RESURRECTING!!!!!!! unless someone happens to kill them cutting their heads off. We see Duncan dying and the praying woman besides him shouting when he comes back to life. Afterwards, Duncan's father and the whole tribe exile him as if he was some kind of demon. After today's adventure, Richie learns that the man who said that he was his father was not, his mother had adopted Richie via an adoption agency and again he knows nothing about his real origins. Also in a flashback, we see the moment when his "father" reveals Duncan that he was not really his son. They had switched him with his stillborn son when he was a little baby found at their doorstep.

Once again we have two of our main characters knowing absolutely nothing about their real origins...

Thanks for reading.

IMDb Review written by David del Real.

November 2017.

to not know where or who you...

[jtsjtssmokey-703-366973 · 8/10 · 2 March 2014]

Have friends who were raised/adopted and only 1 really has no interest in finding birth parent(s), I can see why some do an others don't, and that too can change over time. On Highlander, they aren't suppose to know where or who they came from, its all apart of the myth/story of immortals.

This epi, we aren't to "know" Richie is one of them yet, well actually "we" don't, even Tessa questions Duncan as to why he wont help, so of course he does.

Richie was about 3 or 4 when the woman he thought was his mom dies in front of him, and from the glimpse he gets of his papers sees she was still married when died. Richie finds someone who then "claims" to be his dad, (Duncan suspicious), and well Richie really tries to believe even though not a very good man/father and even sticks up for him, but...Duncan has pretty much found out who the isn't and that he "owes" money and willin to steal...

Richie finds out he isn't who he thought, well was hoping for, found out they were (she was) foster mom and this other man is going to see his son to well make amends ? well who knows...and this ends with him still thinking he might find out what happened to his parents. Of course love the flashbacks as Duncan too wonders where he came from, even though his father "disowned" him but of course he still avenged his fathers death (lucky his mom said he was Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod, another future epi with another legend).

Filling in a few of the missing pieces.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 24 November 2021]

I was happy to see that this episode offered more than just some other sword fight with some other immortal. Instead, the episode was an origin story...both about when Duncan learned that he was immortal AND he was adopted as well as Richie trying to learn about who his biological parents were. Interestingly, a scumbag who is in trouble with bigger scumbags sees Richie's need to learn more and turns it against him. What this means, you'll need to see for yourself.

Overall a decent episode...and I didn't find Richie nearly as annoying as he was in the pilot episode. Worth seeing...especially as it emphasizes characters over action and swords.

Richie looks for his long lost father

[skteosk · 6/10 · 11 February 2024]

Richie searches for his father and ends up crossing paths with a former croupier who, thanks to some frankly insane business practices, has ended up owing $5,000 to some unsavoury types.

Possibly this episode's biggest problem is you feel like you've skipped an episode. We get a throwaway line about Duncan and Tessa coming back from the island to explain away the fact he'd apparently retired into seclusion. Fine. But Duncan and Richie had two or three meetings in the pilot where they didn't get on, and Richie and Tess barely even saw each other. Suddenly they're on first name terms and living together like a surrogate family, with Richie fully aware of immortality? What have we missed?

This is an episode which possibly has more resonance in retrospect, once you know the mythology. Duncan must have a fair idea of what Richie's likely to find here, yet he knows he has to go on the journey and thinks perhaps he might find some semblance of family life, just as Duncan once did until his adopted father rejected him on learning of his immortality.

Joe is a likable enough loser and it's pleasing that there's no histrionics, even though Duncan is suspicious of him while Richie accepts him as his father: Instead, Richie works out the truth himself without any confrontation.

It does however have the problem that most of these non-Immortal episodes have. The villains barely qualify as two-dimensional and are hopelessly outclassed: As soon as Duncan turns up, he's the most powerful person in the room by far.

But it does a better job than the pilot of establishing Richie and it sets us up for the fact that not every episode is going to involve Duncan chopping an evil Immortal's head of and we're going to get mortal villains sometimes, so it gets credit for that.