Sheppard is really fond of the twirly move.

Yes, but can he spin them in opposite directions?

Yep. That twirly move that Adrian Paul is so fond of, which presents no actual threat to an opponent.

Ah, but imagine that sword with a counterweighted knob on each end, lit on fire...

So I'm finally watching the Christmas Invasion, the Dr. Who special. And apparently it's the introduction of Torchwood. Also, how is it that the Prime Minister is so familiar with all sorts of aliens? And they have translation software? WTH? Baffling. I did think the plastic Santas were kinda scary.

Consuela --

In a previous episode there were aliens disguised as humans trying to take over Earth and had invaded Parliment. The current Prime Minister was just a small town politician, but after the aliens killed most of Parliment she ended up being Prime Minister. I think that's how she got the job. But she helped Rose and The Doctor in their fight against the aliens. I think a few other people might have seen the aliens but they repressed in a very Sunnydale "a gang on PCP!" kind of way.

ita, how convincing is the swordwork? He seems to do many more spins than sparring.

Not ita, but I recall the first few episodes being incredibly painful to watch sword-fighting wise, now that I actually know how, but they get better. Still way too much flashy stuff with the twirls and the flips, but a little more believable. And the fact that they're willing to grapple and punch and kick amidst it helps too.

I'd be hesitant to skip season 2, as that's where the show started hitting it's stride, and as Katie pointed out there's quite a few key episodes. I recall "Legacy" as being one of my favorites, though I don't think I've seen it since the show was on the air. I still haven't made it through my season 1 DVD set yet.

I'm watching S1 every night with my son.

Me: "It seems like all of the Highlander's old friends wind up dying." Son: "Yup. And he's always wearing a poofy shirt if he's going to get into a swordfight. As well as a dramatic trenchcoat."

Hey, those coats are magical. You can hide a sword in them.

Exactly.

They should have done an episode explaining the origins of the magical coats -- sometime in the 18th or early 19th century, right?

I read a fic that suggested the reason Methos slouches all the time is that it's the only comfortable way to sit after he's stuffed all his sharp things into the lining.

The coats are bad enough, but there's one episode where Duncan just pulls his sword from off-screen like some kind of cartoon character with a mallet. At least the coat thing kind of makes sense if you don't think about it too hard.