Imaginings on an HL Reboot -- a bit late
My thanks, first of all, to the wonderful gryphonrhi, who graciously has allowed me to post on her day, after work ate my brain (in a good way, more on that in a few months or so) and I missed my day because of meetings.
So, my ‘reboot’ of Highlander is not, strictly speaking, a reboot, but more of an update to the original series.
I just couldn’t bring myself to release Joe and Methos and Mac. I want them back, now -- I miss their snarky, sparkling conversations.
But I’ve been thinking about how much the Immortals and Watchers would have to change just to keep up with the massive societal upheaval of the past two decades. They have to factor in everything from the Internet, with Facebook and Google Maps and YouTube, to terrorism alerts and security screenings. Add in the crackdowns on international money movement and the greater level of governmental oversight of citizens and you have both groups' nightmare scenario of Immortals going public. After all, if the US can find terrorists in remote locations around the world, someone, somewhere, is bound to notice an Immortal and end up with a viral video. It's like being caught in a tsunami -- the Immortals and Watchers know, at some point, the cover stories are going to fail; they're just fighting to hold that day back as long as possible.
And then I thought of the 2012 end-of-the-world hype. And I remembered that Mac and company probably killed off a hundred or more Immortals, just in five years. What if the carnage had continued past the end of the original series? Could the 2012 Winter Solstice be the harbinger of the Gathering?
And so, cue the theme music:
INTRO:
He is Immortal. Born in 1527, he cannot die - unless another Immortal takes his head, and with it, his power.
For millennia, Immortals have lived in secret, with only the Watchers aware of their existence, chronicling their lives. But now, in the 21st century, everything is changing. In this Internet age, where everything is immortalized online, Immortals, and Watchers, must change - or die.
No longer can they operate separate from one another. Instead, Immortals and Watchers must work together to conceal Immortals from the governments that would exploit them, the groups that would hunt them down as abominations, a world whose reaction to their existence is uncertain. And to prepare for the approach -- of the Gathering.
IMMORTALS
There are fewer and fewer Immortals in the world, and the ones who are here must keep a lower profile, or draw unwanted attention from suspicious police and publicity-seeking bloggers.
Duncan MacLeod - Duncan is still an honorable warrior, carrying a katana and driving classic cars. In this updated version, though, he’s working to shake off the effects of the demon and Jacob Kell incidents, which have left him more circumspect, more reluctant to act unless pushed into it. Kate abandoned him after a few years of marriage, Richie and Fitz were killed, his friends repeatedly endangered, and so he’s basically spent the last 20 years hiding out and refusing to get involved. Taking another student shakes him out of his rut - although he's not certain he's completely sane, given that he keeps seeing Dream!Fitz.
Methos - The Old Man is our irascible, inscrutable, beer-guzzling Ancient. Indeed, Methos is the one character from the original show who needs the least updating. He was on the forefront of technology then (remember that database?) and had a surprising ability to keep secrets buried. He still keeps the same low profile until needed or forced to act. And he gets no respect from Mac’s new student - who hasn’t a clue who he is except, as she calls him, an ‘underachieving, boring student of useless dead languages who doesn't deserve to be Immortal.’ And we may, finally, get to see just what came before he 'took my first head.'
The Student - A young, spoiled, near genius-level techie who hacked something she shouldn’t have hacked (I’m thinking government agency that really has some dark secrets to hide). A hit gets put out on her - and she ‘dies’ on the street before MacLeod. He doesn’t want her as a student - but Joe/Fitz/Methos tag team him in an effort to shake him out of his 20-year depression. She has an unfortunate tendency to snoop, though, and that lands her - and Mac - in repeated trouble. Not to mention that she's cheesed off Methos.
Amanda - The lovely Amanda is still a thief -- she lost Wolfe to a headhunter, and now she's a desperate thief on a quest, searching for something throughout the museums and collections of the world. She drops in and out of Mac’s life, in her quest for this item, which may, or may not, be pieces of that wonderful Methuseleh Stone that someone recovered from the river. And why is it so urgent -- could she be wanting it for herself? Or for someone else, someone mortal?
The Dark Immortal -- A friend of Fitz's, he's older (maybe Amanda's age or a bit more), and the owner/operator of a line of pubs/restaurants along with Joe Dawson. He serves as liaison to the Watchers. This Immortal’s background, though, is darker - there’s a period of time, from say WW1 to the mid-70’s, where he dropped out of sight, and it turns out that, unknown to the others, he has some connection to the government - an agency that’s run by someone who knows about Immortals, but hides them from the rest of the government in exchange for occasional help. And does he know who Methos is -- who he really is?
WATCHERS:
Joe Dawson - Our beloved Joe. Only now, he’s the ‘president and CEO’ of an international business organization that ostensibly has a branch involved in charity work around the globe. That gives the Watchers a reason for being located in so many out of the way spots, and the prevalence of disasters and droughts gives them the excuse to shift personnel and supplies and cash around the globe as needed by Immortals and their Watchers.
Seacover Watcher - A young, street-smart snarky man who clashes frequently with Mac’s student. He was assigned to Mac and has been chafing at that, because Mac’s ‘boring and doesn’t do anything.’ He seems to have a desire to watch the Immortals kill each other off, some antipathy toward them. Then he regrets his words when he sees the aftermath of Mac being hauled back into the Game. Just how did he end up a Watcher, and what was his previous involvement with Immortals?
Paris Watcher - A respected Frenchwoman, well-connected to her government, who can head off any troubling questions that arise regarding Immortal activities in the city. Because for some reason, Paris seems to draw Immortals to it, and is increasingly the center of activities involving the Game. She was a regular at Darius' services -- and has something that Darius left for her to safeguard.
Watchers can no longer just jump on a plane and travel to another country. Travel is tracked in this era of terrorism, and so the Watchers adapted by using roving teams (which allow for the occasional ‘guest’ spot by someone interesting, as well as the Immortal of the week). So when an Immortal travels out of his/her city, another Watcher team picks the Immortal up at the airport. Teams of Watchers are stationed in all the major hubs ready to pick up the travelers and record their movements and activities.
The Watchers still have their archeologists, their ancient languages students (and they’re still looking for Methos, which he finds hysterically funny). But their biggest resources are now in tech.
There are two main branches of the IT division. Part one tracks the lives of Immortals online - even those Immortals who don’t use Facebook still turn up there in background shots. That branch copies the entries into the Chronicles - then tries to sanitize them as much as possible to preserve the Immortals secret existence.
And part two exists to wipe out records and set up new identities, as needed. They keep a backlog of prepared identities - and could serve as an interesting plot point, if, for example, they accidentally set up a friend of Mac’s with a new identity - that’s already being used by a criminal somewhere in the world.
QUIRKY CHANGES:
Challenges - Because of cell phones and YouTube, Challenges have to be held in an enclosed space - one that can be sacrificed to a fire or gas explosion as a cleanup method. A warehouse, an old apartment building, a factory. Challenges are now less spontaneous, more planned. Every town has two or three spots previously set up at which Challenges can be conducted. Although there will still be many out-in-public Challenges - when Mac or someone in his orbit gets ambushed in the woods, a deserted roadside stop, alleys, etc.
Money - Immortals are behind the recent rise in the price of gold. And silver. And platinum, precious stones, etc. Not because they fear an economic worldwide meltdown. But because it’s one of the few commodities that can be reasonably used to horde wealth from ‘generation’ to ‘generation’, without all the problems of money trails and international financial laws.
Clans -- Immortals are basically being weaned away from their ‘solitary’ status and forming small ‘clans’. Assets can be passed from one clan member to another, with a clan member masquerading as a business partner, relative, etc., thus hiding the ‘death’ of an Immortal and passing the wealth along that Immortals need to hide their existence. A ‘retiring’ Immortal who hasn’t lost his/her head makes a strategic retreat elsewhere and sits out a decade or so.
Ids - Facial recognition software makes changing IDs difficult. Not impossible, just extremely difficult. The Immortal-Watcher connection helps there, by erasing, as much as possible, records on the ‘net that will then enable an Immortal to rejoin society at a later date.
And that’s my thoughts. Like I said, the one thing that fascinates me is how, how in the world, can Immortals stay hidden in the Facebook era. And the answer lies in how do criminals do it - by an organization. And it seemed that the organization best suited to do it would be the Watchers (as the Immortals truly can’t seem to all get along without the swords breaking out).
So, my ‘reboot’ of Highlander is not, strictly speaking, a reboot, but more of an update to the original series.
I just couldn’t bring myself to release Joe and Methos and Mac. I want them back, now -- I miss their snarky, sparkling conversations.
But I’ve been thinking about how much the Immortals and Watchers would have to change just to keep up with the massive societal upheaval of the past two decades. They have to factor in everything from the Internet, with Facebook and Google Maps and YouTube, to terrorism alerts and security screenings. Add in the crackdowns on international money movement and the greater level of governmental oversight of citizens and you have both groups' nightmare scenario of Immortals going public. After all, if the US can find terrorists in remote locations around the world, someone, somewhere, is bound to notice an Immortal and end up with a viral video. It's like being caught in a tsunami -- the Immortals and Watchers know, at some point, the cover stories are going to fail; they're just fighting to hold that day back as long as possible.
And then I thought of the 2012 end-of-the-world hype. And I remembered that Mac and company probably killed off a hundred or more Immortals, just in five years. What if the carnage had continued past the end of the original series? Could the 2012 Winter Solstice be the harbinger of the Gathering?
And so, cue the theme music:
INTRO:
He is Immortal. Born in 1527, he cannot die - unless another Immortal takes his head, and with it, his power.
For millennia, Immortals have lived in secret, with only the Watchers aware of their existence, chronicling their lives. But now, in the 21st century, everything is changing. In this Internet age, where everything is immortalized online, Immortals, and Watchers, must change - or die.
No longer can they operate separate from one another. Instead, Immortals and Watchers must work together to conceal Immortals from the governments that would exploit them, the groups that would hunt them down as abominations, a world whose reaction to their existence is uncertain. And to prepare for the approach -- of the Gathering.
IMMORTALS
There are fewer and fewer Immortals in the world, and the ones who are here must keep a lower profile, or draw unwanted attention from suspicious police and publicity-seeking bloggers.
Duncan MacLeod - Duncan is still an honorable warrior, carrying a katana and driving classic cars. In this updated version, though, he’s working to shake off the effects of the demon and Jacob Kell incidents, which have left him more circumspect, more reluctant to act unless pushed into it. Kate abandoned him after a few years of marriage, Richie and Fitz were killed, his friends repeatedly endangered, and so he’s basically spent the last 20 years hiding out and refusing to get involved. Taking another student shakes him out of his rut - although he's not certain he's completely sane, given that he keeps seeing Dream!Fitz.
Methos - The Old Man is our irascible, inscrutable, beer-guzzling Ancient. Indeed, Methos is the one character from the original show who needs the least updating. He was on the forefront of technology then (remember that database?) and had a surprising ability to keep secrets buried. He still keeps the same low profile until needed or forced to act. And he gets no respect from Mac’s new student - who hasn’t a clue who he is except, as she calls him, an ‘underachieving, boring student of useless dead languages who doesn't deserve to be Immortal.’ And we may, finally, get to see just what came before he 'took my first head.'
The Student - A young, spoiled, near genius-level techie who hacked something she shouldn’t have hacked (I’m thinking government agency that really has some dark secrets to hide). A hit gets put out on her - and she ‘dies’ on the street before MacLeod. He doesn’t want her as a student - but Joe/Fitz/Methos tag team him in an effort to shake him out of his 20-year depression. She has an unfortunate tendency to snoop, though, and that lands her - and Mac - in repeated trouble. Not to mention that she's cheesed off Methos.
Amanda - The lovely Amanda is still a thief -- she lost Wolfe to a headhunter, and now she's a desperate thief on a quest, searching for something throughout the museums and collections of the world. She drops in and out of Mac’s life, in her quest for this item, which may, or may not, be pieces of that wonderful Methuseleh Stone that someone recovered from the river. And why is it so urgent -- could she be wanting it for herself? Or for someone else, someone mortal?
The Dark Immortal -- A friend of Fitz's, he's older (maybe Amanda's age or a bit more), and the owner/operator of a line of pubs/restaurants along with Joe Dawson. He serves as liaison to the Watchers. This Immortal’s background, though, is darker - there’s a period of time, from say WW1 to the mid-70’s, where he dropped out of sight, and it turns out that, unknown to the others, he has some connection to the government - an agency that’s run by someone who knows about Immortals, but hides them from the rest of the government in exchange for occasional help. And does he know who Methos is -- who he really is?
WATCHERS:
Joe Dawson - Our beloved Joe. Only now, he’s the ‘president and CEO’ of an international business organization that ostensibly has a branch involved in charity work around the globe. That gives the Watchers a reason for being located in so many out of the way spots, and the prevalence of disasters and droughts gives them the excuse to shift personnel and supplies and cash around the globe as needed by Immortals and their Watchers.
Seacover Watcher - A young, street-smart snarky man who clashes frequently with Mac’s student. He was assigned to Mac and has been chafing at that, because Mac’s ‘boring and doesn’t do anything.’ He seems to have a desire to watch the Immortals kill each other off, some antipathy toward them. Then he regrets his words when he sees the aftermath of Mac being hauled back into the Game. Just how did he end up a Watcher, and what was his previous involvement with Immortals?
Paris Watcher - A respected Frenchwoman, well-connected to her government, who can head off any troubling questions that arise regarding Immortal activities in the city. Because for some reason, Paris seems to draw Immortals to it, and is increasingly the center of activities involving the Game. She was a regular at Darius' services -- and has something that Darius left for her to safeguard.
Watchers can no longer just jump on a plane and travel to another country. Travel is tracked in this era of terrorism, and so the Watchers adapted by using roving teams (which allow for the occasional ‘guest’ spot by someone interesting, as well as the Immortal of the week). So when an Immortal travels out of his/her city, another Watcher team picks the Immortal up at the airport. Teams of Watchers are stationed in all the major hubs ready to pick up the travelers and record their movements and activities.
The Watchers still have their archeologists, their ancient languages students (and they’re still looking for Methos, which he finds hysterically funny). But their biggest resources are now in tech.
There are two main branches of the IT division. Part one tracks the lives of Immortals online - even those Immortals who don’t use Facebook still turn up there in background shots. That branch copies the entries into the Chronicles - then tries to sanitize them as much as possible to preserve the Immortals secret existence.
And part two exists to wipe out records and set up new identities, as needed. They keep a backlog of prepared identities - and could serve as an interesting plot point, if, for example, they accidentally set up a friend of Mac’s with a new identity - that’s already being used by a criminal somewhere in the world.
QUIRKY CHANGES:
Challenges - Because of cell phones and YouTube, Challenges have to be held in an enclosed space - one that can be sacrificed to a fire or gas explosion as a cleanup method. A warehouse, an old apartment building, a factory. Challenges are now less spontaneous, more planned. Every town has two or three spots previously set up at which Challenges can be conducted. Although there will still be many out-in-public Challenges - when Mac or someone in his orbit gets ambushed in the woods, a deserted roadside stop, alleys, etc.
Money - Immortals are behind the recent rise in the price of gold. And silver. And platinum, precious stones, etc. Not because they fear an economic worldwide meltdown. But because it’s one of the few commodities that can be reasonably used to horde wealth from ‘generation’ to ‘generation’, without all the problems of money trails and international financial laws.
Clans -- Immortals are basically being weaned away from their ‘solitary’ status and forming small ‘clans’. Assets can be passed from one clan member to another, with a clan member masquerading as a business partner, relative, etc., thus hiding the ‘death’ of an Immortal and passing the wealth along that Immortals need to hide their existence. A ‘retiring’ Immortal who hasn’t lost his/her head makes a strategic retreat elsewhere and sits out a decade or so.
Ids - Facial recognition software makes changing IDs difficult. Not impossible, just extremely difficult. The Immortal-Watcher connection helps there, by erasing, as much as possible, records on the ‘net that will then enable an Immortal to rejoin society at a later date.
And that’s my thoughts. Like I said, the one thing that fascinates me is how, how in the world, can Immortals stay hidden in the Facebook era. And the answer lies in how do criminals do it - by an organization. And it seemed that the organization best suited to do it would be the Watchers (as the Immortals truly can’t seem to all get along without the swords breaking out).