Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I’ve been obsessed with watching Highlander lately. The series began its television run in 1992. I turned 16 that year. If I remember correctly, Highlander was the coolest thing on TV. Everyone knows “there can be only one” This show is amazing, right?! No. It’s terrible. How it was renewed for six seasons, I will never understand. But I’m obsessed with watching it now. Here’s why:
Zero emotional attachment
If you read my last post, you know I’ve been having a rough time lately. It is rough emotionally, mentally, physically, financially… you name it. Normally, I don’t watch much television, but a complete nervous breakdown (sorry doctor, make that “acute stress reaction”) has left me with little energy or willpower to do much else. I still have to do a lot of things, but any spare moment when I’m not doing the things I need a safe space and a safe way to check out.
I was previously watching Andromeda, starring Kevin Sorbo. When I started season four, I felt like the show began to go in a completely different direction. Things got weird, and I didn’t like how much it was making me think. I had set up some scenarios for these characters in my head. Now suddenly characters were gone and there were new characters… I was more frustrated than I should be about a simple TV show (projecting much?) and I decided to take a break and come back later when I’m in a better place emotionally….
Which led me to Highlander. First I put on the original movie while I went to sleep. I used to want complete silence while I was sleeping, but several months ago I found myself searching my streaming services specifically for something to NOT watch. As soon as I start it, I’m asleep. So I did NOT watch the Highlander movie several nights in a row. Naturally, Amazon Prime Video decided I must be a huge fan and recommended the series. As soon as I started the series, I realized the acting is horrible. Duncan MacLeod (of the clan MacLeod) is ridiculous. I thought he was bad ass when I was a teenager. Now, he’s just weird. When he tries to be funny or cute, it just comes across as goofy. It is almost painful to watch… but I can’t look away.
I realized at some point in the middle of season one that the reason I can’t stop watching is because I really don’t care what happens. It’s refreshing to watch some action (guaranteed sword fights!) without being emotionally invested in the outcome. People are literally losing their heads, but it’s not shocking because they don’t show it and you knew it was going to happen. I can watch Highlander for the pure enjoyment of finding out how ridiculous the next episode will be.
Guest-star-palooza
Another thing that makes this series fantastic is the guest stars. If you watch any older show like this, you are bound to see some people who were up-and-coming at the time. With Highlander, you also get to see aging rock stars like Roger Daltry and Fine Young Cannibals like Roland Gift in recurring roles. The first episode features Bull from Night Court as the bad guy, so you know this series sets the bar pretty high. A few episodes later we see Joan Jett and eventually Sheena Easton, who is actually Scottish, unlike Adrian Paul who plays the Highlander. By far, my favorite guest appearance so far is Roddy Piper. I told you this show was terribly awesome!
Better by comparison
The gist of it is… when life is repeatedly pulling rugs out from under you, it’s nice to have something in your field of vision that is WORSE than your current circumstances. For me right now, that’s a terrible TV show from the 90’s. Most of us have heard a lot about how social media has us comparing ourselves to others. Comparing our behind-the-scenes to someone else’s highlight reel and all that jazz. I am very fortunate in a lot of ways, but I feel even more fortunate when I am reminded that there is not actually anyone currently chasing me with a sword.
There can be only one Highlander, but the cool thing about being a regular old human is that there can be lots of us. And while there might be some bad actors in my life, they are just guest stars and they won’t make it to the next episode. I get to pick who gets a recurring role. Some people might even make it to “series regular.”
Is there a terrible show you like to watch? Let me know!
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