whoa... what?!

The exact same thing happened to me about four or five months ago. I was flipping channels, stumbled across this period piece with a very young Heath Ledger in it and was curious enough to stay tuned through most of the marathon. (They run them periodically). As it turns out, I'm now quite the devotee of the show and have become a huge Heath Ledger fan, having seen everything he's done since ROAR and even purchasing the entire ROAR series on DVD on eBay.

I love the writing on the show and it really tickles me that one of my teen heartthrobs, Shaun Cassidy, is one of the creators and writers of the show. Cassidy's partner, Ron Koslow, was the creator of "Beauty and Beast" with Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman. Loved that show, too.

The show ran for 13 episodes. I don't have the link handy but if you go to the SciFi channel's website, they have a lot of info about the show. Originally produced for FOX-TV, it was apparently supposed to be a summer replacement for something and only be six episodes (I think), but FOX liked what it saw and ordered more. I've heard different reasons for the show getting cancelled, everything from FOX getting cold feet when ratings dipped to the show being expensive to produce and the principal actors not wanting to be tied to lengthy television contracts.

The episode you saw, called The Spear of Destiny, is, in my opinion, the least impressive of the series. Everything about it feels awkward, from the story-within-a-story format to the hammy acting by everyone involved and the ill-conceived and poorly executed battle scenes, complete with blue war paint, a la "Braveheart."

The general gist of the story for the series is this: Conor (Ledger) is the only remaining heir of King Derek, who was killed along with his wife, eldest son, Aiden, and daughter-in-law on Aiden's wedding day. Conor is told by his teacher, a Druid named Galen, that he must live out his father's dream of uniting all the Celtic tribes to drive the Romans out of Ireland, which is only ever refered to as "the Land." Helping Conor are his father's best friend and champion warrior, Fergus, a runaway slave named Caitlin whose wicked with a bow and arrow, and Tully, a young magician whom Galen rescued off a slave ship when he was a small boy. Fergus' long lost daughter, Molly, appears in episode 5, "Doyle's Solution," and reappears in several other episodes as a potential rival to Caitlin for Conor's affections.
Conor's family was killed by Gar, a rival king who was in league with the Romans and who was married to a former Roman madam named Diana. Gar's daughter, Claire, is secretly in love with Conor. Her father catches Claire and Conor together after Conor's family is killed, and when he tries to kill Conor, Claire intervenes and is killed herself. Conor goes to kill Gar, but Diana ends up doing it for him. Diana's partner in crime is Longinus, the Roman centurion who speared Jesus on the cross. The two are intent on squashing the rebellion and Conor and claiming the island once and for all for Rome. As punishment for "killing" Jesus, Longinus is cursed with eternal life. When we meet him he is 400 years old and desperately searching for the spear, which is the only instrument that can kill him and put him out of everyone's misery.

Casting wise, the show was top-notch. Ledger is completely believable as Conor. John St. Ryan steals scene after scene as Fergus. Lisa Zane is the gorgeous-but-deadly Diana and Sebastian Roche (who you may recognize as Cee Squared, a rapist-rocker from an early "Law & Order" episode) is the treacherous and tortured Longinus. Vera Farmiga has just the right blend of wisdom and vulnerability as Caitlin. Alonzo Greer as Tully is the show's weakest link and most underdeveloped character, but since he isn't on screen all that much, he can't do much damage. Molly, as played by Melissa George, is a fine foil for Conor, keeping him guessing about her true feelings for him.

Overall, the show has a little bit of everything -- action, adventure, Irish accents, Celtic mysticism, early Christianity, gorgeous scenery (I think most of it was filmed in New Zealand (?)), love, death and sexy costumes. And let's not forget Heath Ledger. What more could you want?






"Truth--say it now or die lyin'" -- Fergus (ROAR)

Well, seems to happen to us all...
I was just NOW turning on the TV, saw a glimpse of a blonde head and thought whoa, that looked like.. nevermind.
then my mum goes "hey that's heath ledger" (she finally got his name and face, he; Living with me brings that on people)
"Wha? Is he really?! looked like.. yea there he is! Oh how cuuute [hum, I'm not usually like this, but there was a sweet 18 year old..]
I'm like "WTF? How can this be on TV and nobody tells me??" I mean it's Heath Ledger on one of the best tv stations here on a interesting-looking show.. where are my informers (i mean where the hell have i been)?
Now that J.Depp got really well-known my friends give me a call when they notice something's on [which i usually answer with "yea, I know (thanks)"], I guess Heath [a great young actor] hasn't got there yet [or my friends have been just as busy] Man i'm writing nothing but crap, i'm sleepy ...
well, all I know now is I won't miss another episode.
haven't read all the comments here but already realised it's a pretty good show, few loyal fans, my kinda thing.
See ya*