An Evening at Joe's Read online

  Foreword

  Acknowledgements

  Introduction

  Letters from Viet Nam

  Train from Bordeaux

  The Star of Athena

  Words to the Highlander

  Pants

  Consone's Diary

  Down Towards the Outflow

  The Methos Chronicles Part I

  From The Grave

  Postcards From Alexa

  He Scores!

  The Staircase

  Death Shall Have no Dominion

  A Time of Innocents

  The Other Side of the Mirror

  Ending Credits (or "The Back of the Book")

  For Kip Guinn,

  I hope he's looking down and laughing

  AN EVENING AT JOE'S

  A Berkley Boulevard Book / published by arrangement with Davis Panzer Productions, Inc.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the authors' imaginations or are used fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  PRINTING HISTORY

  Berkley Boulevard trade paperback edition / September 2000

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 2000 by Davis Panzer Productions, Inc.

  "Highlander" is a protected trademark of Gaumont Television, © 1994 Gaumont Television and © 1985 Davis Panzer Productions, Inc.

  Book design by Carolyn A. Leder

  Cover design by Matt Tepper.

  Cover photos courtesy of Davis Panzer Productions, Inc., except the photo of F. Braun McAsh, which is used with permission of the photographer, Maureen Russell. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by mimeograph or any other means, without permission. For information address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

  The Penguin Putnam Inc. World Wide Web site address is

  http://www.penguinputnam.com

  Check out the Ace Science Fiction/Fantasy newsletter, and much more, at Club PPI!

  ISBN: 0-425-17749-1

  BERKLEY BOULEVARD

  Berkley Boulevard Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

  BERKLEY BOULEVARD and its logo are trademarks belonging to Penguin Putnam Inc.

  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

  FOREWORD

  The creative atmosphere on Highlander was always very exciting. Everyone on the crew would read the script. Sounds logical, but isn't usual. Whenever we split a story between Vancouver and Paris, whoever wasn't filming the second half still wanted to read it. Very unusual!

  But writing?

  Everyone wants to; no one does.

  So when Gillian first approached me about a collection of Immortal stories written by Highlander people, I told her, "Great idea, but you'll never get them to do it."

  In your hands is yet further proof of my wisdom.

  Bill Panzer

  1 February 2000

  London

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Ginjer Buchanan had faith where others doubted. Without her, this book would not exist.

  Amy Zoll is the muse. What I write is written to entertain her.

  Larne, Melissa, Marni, Marian, Kathy, Rachel, Jesse, Jodi, and Pam shared the New Voyages with me. Lydia, Jal, MOS, Starlight, T'Pon, T'Ryn, Velia, and Phoenicia blazed the trail.

  Donna Lettow never gave up on making this project a reality. As always, she made my job immeasurably easier.

  Marty Greenberg and Larry Segriff at Tekno Books made it all possible with their experience and expertise.

  Bill Panzer gave me a sacred trust. I hope to return the favor someday.

  INTRODUCTION

  This book has its beginnings in a book I encountered in high school. Star Trek: The New Voyages and its sequel, The New Voyages 2, were published by Bantam Books in the late 1970s. "Eight original Star Trek Stories never seen on screen!" proclaimed the cover copy. It was the birth of the media tie-in book.

  The stories in The New Voyages, which had been collected from fanzines by editors Sondra Marshak and Myrna Cullbreath, were each preceded by a short introduction by a Star Trek cast member. New Voyages 2 went a step further; it contains a wonderful story, "Surprise," written by Nichelle Nichols, who played Lieutenant Uhura. It should come as no surprise that the character portrayals in "Surprise" are beautifully realized, full of the same warmth and humor that made the best moments in the series. Nichelle Nichols was not a professional writer, but she knew Star Trek.

  The contributors to this volume include actors, a prop master, a composer, a director, and a producer, as well as a few writers. They may not all be professional wordsmiths, but they are each, in their way, storytellers.

  And they have something else in common; they all know Highlander. They made Highlander.

  On the surface, Highlander: The Series might seem like just another hour of action television, to be watched and soon forgotten. But once in a while, a television show makes a lasting impression. Even a lifetime impression. On the viewers, and on the people who were part of its making.

  No one knows which shows will succeed, either in the ratings or in posterity. Thirty years ago, no one predicted the lasting impact Star Trek would have on our culture. Thirty years from now, which current shows will still be remembered? I like to think Highlander has a better chance than most.

  Highlander: The Series ran for six seasons, from 1992 to 1998. Creatively, the show was an unrivaled joy to work on. Story meetings under Head Writer David Abramowitz, frequently turned into Talmudic discussions on loyalty, friendship, and the nature of good and evil. And these questions became part of the scripts, part of Duncan MacLeod's world. Although we often lamented the lack of a big studio or major network to publicize our show, the fact is that Highlander thrived in obscurity. Big studios and networks often mean studio and network interference. Independent production, though struggling with lower budgets and lower profiles, creates the potential for a unique vision, undiluted in committee, to shine through.

  On Highlander, Executive Producer Bill Panzer created an atmosphere where everyone was listened to and respected. This attitude was reflected throughout the production. As Producer Ken Gord always said, "The fish stinks from the head down." Or in this case, didn't stink. Everyone's contribution was valued—and everyone was expected to do everything in their power to make the best show they possibly could, without regard to ego, on-screen credit, or overtime. We used to joke in our office that "everyone thinks they're the damn Highlander." Meaning that everyone on our crew felt it was their personal responsibility to make sure Highlander was perfect, and if that meant that everybody down to the security guard has an opinion on every action of MacLeod's in every script, well, that was the price we paid for having a crew that actually cared what happened on their show. On many shows it's not unusual for on-set crew to film a script without really reading it—it's the director's job to care about the story, the crew is just trying to get the shot. On Highlander, the highest compliment I think the writing staff ever received was during season 5, when "Comes a Horseman" was filming in Vancouver and, because the second half of the two-parter was filming in France, only the script for the first hour was distributed to the Canadian crew. The next day we got the call—the crew wanted to read the script for the second half, even though they wouldn't be working on it. They wanted to know how the story ended!

  I think a large part of Highlander's ability to inspire that interest in nearly everyone it reaches—crew, guest starts, our loyal viewers—come
s from its central premise. Who wants to live forever? We all wonder, what would it be like to be immortal? To have more time to see things, and do things, to learn and to love? Wherever I went on the Highlander set, everyone, from script typists to caterers to production designers, was asking themselves the same question that the writers, directors, and actors considered every day: "What if it were me? How would my life change? Could I fight and kill to survive? Would I want to?"

  When I invited our crew to participate in this project, I asked them to investigate those questions, any way they wanted. On the series, though we explored many stories in our 119 episodes, there were always stories we couldn't tell. Because there were things we couldn't show on television. Because there were ideas we couldn't afford to stage. Because not every story is exactly forty-eight minutes long. Because on a show called Highlander, every story was expected to focus on Duncan MacLeod, the Highlander.

  But for this book, all bets were off. I told our contributors to write whatever they liked—any style, any length—exploring the world of Immortals. I promised them they would not be edited, other than standard proofreading. Each person's vision would be published just as he or she wished it to be. Perhaps different writers and directors would have different ideas of the nature of the Quickening? Perhaps two authors would write contradictory histories for Methos or Amanda? On the series, those differences would have to be "fixed." But in this book, you will see firsthand the individual, unadulterated visions of some of the key people who made Highlander what it is: Composer Roger Bellon, who wrote the music for five seasons out of six; Producer Ken Gord, who oversaw production for the same number of years; Director Dennis Berry, who was there from season 1 to the end of season 6, working in both Canada and France.

  Actor Peter Hudson, who played MacLeod's recurring nemesis James Horton, was the first person outside the writing staff to turn in a story. Swordmaster F. Braun McAsh was the second. Their two stories could not be more different—and yet each amazed me in its own way. To each of them I owe a great debt of thanks. It was their early commitment and great talent which proved this book could happen.

  Each of our contributors surprised and delighted me by turning in something different from anything that had come before. Some of the actors explored more deeply characters they had portrayed on the show; others did not. More than one writer was inspired in their story by actual real-life events, with a "What if Immortals were real" spin—but no two stories are alike.

  In putting together this project, I contacted whatever Highlander crew members I could find, many of them scattered to other shows after Highlander was shut down. If I could have found everyone who ever worked on the show in six years, I would have issued invitations to each and every one of them, for as far as I'm concerned, every one of them—Wardrobe Mistress or Transportation Coordinator, Director or Director of Photography—is equally qualified to contribute to this project. For without each and every one of them, Highlander: The Series would not have been what it was.

  Gillian Horvath

  September 1999

  Letters from Viet Nam

  by Jim Byrnes

  "JOE DAWSON": Jim Byrnes

  The character of Joe Dawson, Duncan MacLeod's Watcher, was added to the cast of Highlander: The Series at the beginning of the second season. Though Joe (then named Ian Dawson) was originally conceived as a stuffy Brit, Jim Byrnes, well known as "Lifeguard" on the series Wiseguy, was cast in the role and soon made it his own. Originally slated to appear in only four episodes, Joe became a major character in the series, who evolved over time to share a number of traits with Jim Byrnes, including his love of blues guitar and his earthy sense of humor.

  The fourth-season episode "Brothers in Arms" revealed that Joe Dawson is a Viet Nam veteran. And although Joe, and Jim, had been a part of Highlander for two years by that time, that episode was also the first on-screen mention of his cane or his limp. In a powerful flash-back to young Joe Dawson's days in combat, we learned that he lost his legs in the war. In his "Letters from Viet Nam," Jim Byrnes draws on his own wealth of experience to give as a glimpse of Joe Dawson before his life was changed by war, injury, and the Watchers.

  September 17 1969

  Dear Catherine,

  Hey Sis, long time no hear, huh? Small talk is a little rough out here in the boonies.

  Pre Med must be pretty hard even for you I guess. Mom said you almost got a B, God forbid, until you aced the final. It must be cool living downtown, though, instead of next door to Ozzie and Harriet. Rush Street and the clubs and stuff, jazz, blues, man have I got plans for when I get home. Even the Art Institute and the Museum of Natural History, just being able to spend your time like that, checking out history and surrounded by beautiful things. Remember when we'd all take the train into the city and just spend the whole day doing all that sniff and then have dinner at Berghof's? Wow. Using your brains instead of your feet. What a concept! I thought I was in shape playing sports, well forget it, NOW I am a lean clean killing machine. I kind of wish I was kidding you. I've done enough walking and running and running and walking for a whole lifetime.

  Anyway, I've got to get something off my chest. Don't think I'm too weird. The night of Dad's funeral remember I like disappeared and everybody freaked out and all of Dad's Fire Dept. buddies were looking for me and everything, but you were the one who found me? I was crying like a baby, it was awful, mortifying, but you were so cool. You just sat there with me and you never ratted me out to anyone. You were great, Cath, and I guess I want to thank you because I don't think I ever did before. But now I have to tell somebody that I feel like that again sometimes now over here. Paralyzed, so scared. I mean I get over it, but I just had to tell somebody. Please don't tell Mom, though, cause it's got to be hard for her with me over here and you not living at home anymore and all. I know Aunt Rose and Uncle Frank are around and the neighbors and her club etc., etc., but I just don't want her to worry too much about me. So don't tell her that, ok?

  You know that somebody reads all this before you see it, so I'm not gonna share all our escapades or our whereabouts or anything. Suffice it to say some days are just a real barrel of frigging monkeys and more and more I have to wonder what we're supposed to be doing here. Too many dead boys, us and them. For what? Check this out. Couple of weeks ago we hear on the radio that Ho Chi Minh is dead, and only one other guy even knows who he is! One! I mean if you think he's a Communist stooge or the father of his country, shouldn't you at least know who you're supposed to be fighting? Ours is not to reason why, huh? I guess. Yep, just one big party, living the night life until one day you run out of luck.

  So tomorrow we're off on a big walkabout, whoopee! Oh yeah, Cath, I've got to tell you about this new sergeant that got rotated in a while back. Wow, is he a trip! Big, scary looking brother, and fearless, I mean to the point of psychotic. I can't explain it but there is something really different about this guy, spooky. Course sometimes this whole place is spooky. Shadows, tunnels, incense burning in the dark. The haunted house.

  When we get back we've got R&R due but I think I'm just going to hang out and bank the pay again. I figure when I get back to Chicago I should have about enough for a trip to Europe what with that grad money and all. I really hope you and Mom come for part of the trip. We could all meet in Paris, you know. The Eiffel Tower and all. Remember when we used to talk about that all the time? Sometimes I can. Seems like another life.

  I've got to write Mom yet tonight so I will finish this up. After tomorrow I won't be able to send any mail for a while, so... Really I'm ok, Cath, but thanks for being there, huh? Just, when you're talking to your Psych major friends, I'm hypothetical all right? Not your chicken-shit little brother. And ixnay with Mom, swear. Hey, good luck at school and good luck meeting that mysterious foreigner you're planning to marry, whoever he might be. (Ha, ha, ha)

  Semper Fi, kiddo.

  Your bro, Joe

  Sept. 17, 1969

  Dear Mom,

 
; First of all, I'm sure sorry that it's taken me so long to write you back, but I'm sure you can imagine that it's hard to find the place and the time. I mean, it's not like we don't have any spare time but usually the conditions ain't so hot, so I have to wait til stand down. Thanks a million for the package you sent; you don't know how much it means to a guy to have something from home when you're so far away. The big winner is that Skin So Soft from Avon. I gotta wonder what they put in it, but it sure keeps the bugs off. Hey, remember that year you were an Avon Lady? Ding, Dong... Avon calling. Just like on TV. That seems so long ago.

  I know in your letter you said you were so worried from watching reports on Walter Cronkite and stuff but please don't worry, Mom, it's not so bad. I've met some pretty good guys here from all around the country which you know I like 'cause I want to travel when I finish my tour and all. I met one guy who's from Chicago, too, and his uncle plays blues guitar with some of the really heavy blues greats, so I can meet them when I come home. Cool, huh? Really, mostly it seems like all we do is walk and hump and cuss and walk and try to stay dry or warm up or cool down or something. And I do try to go to Mass when the chaplain's around, but sometimes it's impossible. Anyway, I'm just trying to say don't worry too much, ok? I know you think I should have taken that scholarship and gone to University, but I'm pretty sure that Dad would be proud to know that I joined the Marine Corps and I hope you're proud of me, too. I mean I know you are and everything but I'm just trying to be a man, and do what I think is right, ok? Sometimes that's hard to know, I'm finding out. But, I promise you that I'll be careful and always try to do my best. just another six weeks and I'll be out of here (but who's counting, ha, ha?) and then I'll be home on leave for Thanksgiving. We'll have the time of our lives, Mom, I swear. We'll get a big gang together and Catherine will be home from school and we'll sing and laugh and it will be just like old times, alright?