Episode 5.1, "One Minute to Midnight", was originally filmed and aired as episode 4.22 in Europe.
Episode 5.19, "Double Jeopardy" was originally filmed and aired as Episode 4.19 in Europe.
Episode 5.2, "Prophecy," was originally aired filmed and aired as episode 5.1 in Europe.
Many of the episodes of the series have French actors with their voices redubbed by Vancouver-based voice actors Garry Chalk and Janyse Jaud.
The series directly follows the feature film Highlander, but with a slight twist: according the series, Connor MacLeod was not the last Immortal and did not win the Prize. In fact, 'Christopher Lambert' guest stars in the pilot episode to pass the baton to series lead Adrian Paul.
The season five finale, "Archangel", was originally shot with a cliffhanger ending set 20 years in the future, when MacLeod is finally prepared to defeat Ahriman. The sixth season was planned to happen in the future, but was deemed too dark early on and was finally scrapped when the budget was sliced.
Jim Byrnes, who plays Joe Dawson, also contributed many songs to the show's soundtrack. Some of these can frequently be heard as background music during scenes in Joe's bar.
SPOILER: Early in the second season, Alexandra Vandernoot told the producers she didn't want to be on the show anymore because of her pregnancy at the time - which lead the writers to kill her off in "The Darkness".
The character 'Duncan MacLeod' was ranked #11 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" (1 August 2004 issue).
Plans for a spin-off series led to a group of sixth-season episodes focusing on a new female Immortal (a "back-door pilot" in industry-speak). None of these characters caught on, and the established character of Amanda (Elizabeth Gracen) became the lead for Highlander: The Raven.
A late fifth season episode, which partly depicted a fictional inspiration for Frankenstein, used the book's subtitle of "The Modern Prometheus".
Werner Stocker had already died of cancer before the end of the first season, so that episode (which opened with his character's murder) edited together existing footage from earlier episodes for the first scenes.
The series was originally planned to follow the film, with Connor Macleod in the lead role, to be played by Adrian Paul. Paul, however, wanted the freedom to create his own characterization, and to avoid direct comparisons to Christopher Lambert, so the writers agreed to create a new character.
Joe Dawson (the character ultimately played by Jim Byrnes) was originally going to be named Ian Dawson, and was conceived to be a bookish historian with less world experience than Joe. Actors considered for the role included Michael York and David McCallum.
The character of "Matthew McCormick," the immortal who works as a federal agent tracking serial killers, was created specifically for actor Eric McCormack. The producers even considered giving him his own Highlander spin-off series, in which McCormick would travel the country where ever there was a series of beheadings and "investigate" the crimes while simultaneously dispensing immortal justice.
Actor Alastair Duncan was considered for the lead role in the series. He later made a guest appearance as immortal Terence Coventry. Gary Daniels, James Horan, Alexis Denisof and Geraint Wyn Davies. were in the running for the role of Conner Macleod (back when the character was going to be the main lead in the series.
One of the few television shows in which full seasons were released on VHS format.
Adrian Paul loved doing flashback scenes where he was given the opportunity to wear period clothing. He always wanted to do an episode set entirely in the past. He did so in the sixth season episode "Unusual Suspects", set in 1929.
The parts of the show supposedly filmed in America were supposed to be set in the city of Seattle. It was filmed in Vancouver, BC, during those episodes which led to the creation of the fictional town of Seacouver.
Adrian Holmes auditioned for the role of Richie Ryan.
'Duncan' was chosen as Adrian Paul's character's name at the last minute. It means 'dark warrior' in Gaelic, while 'Adrian' means 'dark one' in Latin.
Christopher Lambert originally asked for just $50,000 to appear in the pilot, but one of the French investors protested it was too much money and had him written out. This made the German investors threaten to withdraw, so he was put back in. But he'd gotten annoyed by the situation so he refused and as a result he was eventually paid $500,000 for 3 days of work.
The pilot episode, "The Gathering", was originally intended as the third "Highlander" sequel, a TV-movie with a two-hour running time. Eventually, the budget was too low and Christopher Lambert didn't agree to star until late on in production, so the idea was scrapped and the episode was edited down to an hour.
SPOILER: According to Highlander canon, the immortal that Duncan senses during his lovemaking session is actually Richie. After interrogating him, Duncan then senses Slan Quince, moments before he arrives.
SPOILER: When Duncan is helping Connor out of the river, Connor says, "What of the boy?" Conner is not talking about straightening out a delinquent, he is referring to the obligation of fosterage of a pre-immortal.
Actor Alastair Duncan was considered for the lead role in the series. He later made a guest appearance as immortal Terence Coventry.Anthony De Longis, Gary Daniels, James Horan, Alexis Denisof and Geraint Wyn Davies. were in the running for the role of Conner Macleod (back when the character was going to be the main lead in the series.
It was rumored that the series was going to be a prequel to the original series.
The temple where Duncan meets his old friend is used again as a filming location in season 2's "Highlander" (1992) {Revenge of the Sword (#2.8)}.
The choice of music - Johann Sebastian Bach's famous Ciaccona/Chaconne for solo violin - is probably related to what happens in this episode. Bach is said to have written this piece in memory of his first wife, and the character Devereux can be seen mourning his wife when the Chaconne is heard on the soundtrack.
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