The Immortal (2000–2001) User Reviews

To Hell with Highlander

[Channeleven · 5/10 · 24 July 2023]

There is plenty to discuss with The Immortal, one of many syndie action shows meant to fill air time when the dawn of the new millenium was running dry, and networks sought to make shows cheaply in order to ensure something would be on. B-movie aficionados may find something with this.

When it comes to syndicated shows, those do not get network dollars, and they're intended to be made as soon as possible, often with a slated amount of episodes and then boom, it's over.

Honestly the fact that people have to compare this to Highlander, it shows said people have as much intelligence as this show, possibly lower. You mean to tell me Highlander is a brainless action show made to fill air time? Highlander seems like a terrible time, and its sequels are far worse than The Immortal, certainly.

If you like mindless entertainment, this show's for you.

[Carlin · 1 August 2001]

Whether or not you will like this show will depend completely on whether you watch television shows purely for entertainment and mindless escapism, or whether you watch shows for intelligent scripts that make you think and characters with depth. If you want the former, watch this show. If you want the latter, Highlander (as others here have already mentioned) is a far superior show. Personally, I prefer the latter.

In my opinion, the only redeeming quality to this show is the occasional appearance of highly talented British actor Dominic Keating as the daemon "Mallos", the title character's nemesis. Mr. Keating's performance is almost disturbingly seductive, his wickedness intense yet understated, as if being tightly reigned in under massive self control. However, hoping to see if "Mallos" will appear on the show is not enough reason for me to tune in to watch it. Luckily, Mr. Keating will be starring on the new Star Trek series "Enterprise" this Fall, so I'll be able to watch his impeccable acting regularly then.

Bottom line ... If you want to laugh, watch this show. If you want to think, watch Highlander. If you want to see Dominic Keating, watch Enterprise. ;)

Blatant rip-off of the Highlander TV series.

[reb-warrior · 1/10 · 24 October 2020]

A blatant rip-off of the Highlander TV series and they couldn't even do a good job with it. There are a ton of one-liners and some very bad acting from Lamas. Watch the Highlander tv series instead. Better acting and the stories could be touching, filled with both drama and action.

There's a reason this series only got one season. Nuff said! 1/10

Only one reason to watch

[FactoryGirl · 1/10 · 20 September 2002]

The only reason to watch this show is to watch Dominic Keating being wickedly evil as the arch-demon Mallos. He's only in 6 of the 22 episodes. This was one of Keating's pre-Enterprise sci-fi gigs (which include Buffy, SU2 and GvsE.) The rest of the series seriously sucks. Lamas is wooden. The character Goodwin is annoying. The character Sara is pathetic. This is another show that COULD have been great. Too bad. Now the pilot (Demons of the Night parts one and two) is out on video. Cashing in on Keating's new found fame no doubt. Well, they might as well make as much money as they can on this turkey. Keating's probably the only one who'll have a career until this is gone and forgotten.

Decent show

[warrent-6 · 10/10 · 10 January 2009]

I just finished watching my DVD of The Immortal and it was not that bad. Like with anything Lorenzo Lamas is in.. you have to watch it with a open mind. Its no Renegade, but it was not intended that way. Goodwin and Sara really hold the show together. I have seen the Highlander series, yes Im sure they borrowed the idea, but its different in my opinion. The Pilot was good part 1 and 2 and with Brett Hart in some of the episodes was great... they should have had him in more of them. The flashbacks were great probably the best part of this series. The acting was typical for Lamas, but like I said Goodwin and Sara smoothed things out. I can now see why the show did not last, towards the end the writing was very bad and some of the episodes were long and had too many holes in the plot. I think if this show came out right after Renegade went off the air in 97 it would have gone at least 3 seasons. It had a good start, but with poor writing and a new era (year 2000)it just could not hold a audience no longer.. If you are a Lamas fan , this is a must see for you... The intro is very cool to the show...

Sci-fi show silly,but entertaining.

[christinemh · 15 July 2001]

I have to admit that this show is one of the most corny shows on T.V. But that is one of the things that makes it so entertaining. The tongue-in-cheek comedy is perfect for the atmosphere of the show. It's other redeeming quality is actor Steve Braun who plays Goodwin. Aside from being adorable, his comedic performance as the world's biggest coward is great. I only recommend this show to people that don't take their T.V. too seriously, and can go into it with a very open mind.

A good show with an undeserved bad reputation

[hayabusa-1 · 11 July 2002]

Spoilers Contained, you have been warned

Yes `The Immortal' did borrow several key elements from `Highlander': A katana wielding Immortal traveling through time doing good, a bumbling but well intentioned apprentice, and a pretty lady to round things out. However to say `The Immortal' is a rip off of Highlander is to miss the point entirely of what `The Immortal' was.

The Plot of the Immortal involved a beaten and abandoned Raphe being taken in by a Japanese family. He is taught how to fight by the Father of the family, and falls in love with the daughter. Raphe marries this woman and has a child by her. This angers the demons in hell as the love between Raphe and his wife is too pure, and their child is a bad omen that could ultimately destroy hell itself. One day while Raphe is away demons kill his wife and kidnap their daughter. The rest of the series is Raphe in 3 or 4 different historical time periods, battling demons with his intelligence and his sword, getting closer and closer to finally regaining his daughter.

I thought the premise for this show was much smarter than that of Highlander. Instead of blind faith in the catchphrase `there can be only one' Raphe actually had a purpose for seeking out and destroying the demons which crossed his path. The different historical time settings were well done, the scenery and costumes were very representative of their time periods. I really credit the actors too, they really made you feel for the plight of Raphe who spent centuries trying to reunite himself with his kidnapped daughter.

My only disappointment with the series was it was cancelled just as things got interesting. A female demon reunited Raphe with his daughter, but promised things would soon take a turn for the worse. And that's how the series ended, with a cliffhanger that left me wanting more. This series is not bad as it's reputation, it's actually quite enjoyable once you get into the plot. 6/9 stars.

Hilariously bad

[BrianG · 23 February 2001]

This is a real stinker, even for Lorenzo Lamas. At least his last atrocity, "Renegade," had the advantage of being made by people who knew what they were doing. This thing is so inept and shoddy in every conceivable department that even Ed Wood would be ashamed of it. The "acting" by Lamas and his cohorts (at least "Renegade" had the engaging--and competent--Branscombe Richmond as Sonny Sixkiller, Lamas' partner) is laughable, the scripts defy any kind of logic at all, the special effects appear to consist mainly of badly done overexposures, and the series doesn't know if it is a comedy, a drama or an adventure--which doesn't really matter, as it fails miserably on all three accounts. The premise is that Lamas is an immortal being whose task in life is dispatching demonic beings back to hell by means of a magical samurai-type sword. As one example of the series' stubborn refusal to follow its own conventions, it is stated that the only way Lamas can destroy the demons is to run them through with his sword; however, he is constantly seen pulling out large-caliber handguns and shotguns and blasting away at them when he finds them. All that happens is that the demons are knocked down, and keep getting back up to attack him. If that is so, then why does he continually shoot at them, if he KNOWS it has no effect? Apparently the reason is so that Lamas can be seen pulling out large-caliber handguns and shotguns and blasting away, which makes about as much sense as anything else in this show.

Anyway, the show is almost completely worthless. Good for a laugh, maybe, and every so often the producers will hire some remotely competent actress to play a scantily-clad demon and slink around, but that's pretty much about all it has going for it. The show tries to be all things to all people and winds up being nothing. Avoid it.

The Highlander as Buffy the Vampire Slayer

[tommie52 · 28 February 2001]

At last a concept and scripts bad enough to make Lorenzo Lamas' acting(?) look good --- almost. The previous review says it all.

Skip this stinker.

I didn't find it good/bad or campy enough for laughs!

Aw Man, This is so BAD.

[timawa · 19 July 2001]

I watched this thing because I was in bed sick and I really had no other thing to watch, and boy did I regret it because I got sicker just watching it. Horrible effects, horrible acting, horrible dialogue. It rips off Highlander in so many respects that it's criminal. Even then, it doesn't even approach how good Highlander was.

Suspiciously familiar

[Tim99 · 8 May 2001]

A tv show about a 400 year old long haired immortal running around with a samurai sword, killing evil supernatural beings. Complete with flashbacks & all. Where might they have thought up a plot like this?

Oh, yes, Highlander.

Very Good Series

[Cindy76660 · 27 February 2003]

It's too bad the film industry doesn't take advantage of using Mr. Lamas's talents more often. I'd really like to see him in more films (or TV)! He's a wonderful actor and Martial artist! I wish I had one tenth of his drive. He's very easy on the eyes, too! I really would like to see more of him.

Mad, bad and dangerous...ly boring

[Anna Konda · 2 May 2002]

Contains some SPOILERS

The trailer I saw on TV promised far too much. What I expected then was kind of a mixture of "Highlander" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". But what I got last night when I watched the show was the most boring evening I had for a long long time. They showed two episodes and the first one had a story so childish and illogic I couldn't believe it. Demon tries to destroy world by taking over computer able to control every single computer on this world. (Wow! Who had this brilliant idea?) This computer was developed for the Army, but was there a single security guard hanging around to protect this incredibly dangerous item? No… It was standing there, quietly in a private house, whilst there was a wedding, and everybody could enter the room it was in, even the door wasn't locked. Before our heroic trio could stop the final Armageddon by entering a simple code (was was it? Control-Alt-Delete?) there were lots of stupid dialogues and so-called acting I had not the slightest idea what it was meant to be. After that, demon dead, world save, everybody happy.

The second episode was even worse. I didn't watch until it was over, I switched off after 15 minutes and cursed myself for not having done this an hour before.

There are some bad and mindless series funny to watch, just BECAUSE they are bad and mindless, but "The Immortal" definitively isn't funny. It is simply brainless AND boring, the special effects are lousy and the acting not worth talking of.

My advice: Spare your time and do something more constructive (feed your fish, count the leaves on your favorite plant) instead of watching this dump.

Potential never met

[Dinos95 · 18 August 2003]

This struck me as a show that was good at first than I started watching. The plot outline was compelling but the individual stories let much to be desired. I like most urban fantasy but this is really 5/10 and could have been -with descent writers- an 8/10.