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Highwayman - Sam Jones Jetto - Jacko Tania Winthrop - Jane Badler DC Montana - Tim Russ 
OTHER HI TECH CRIME FIGHTERS Automan Chuck Jake 2.0 Knight Rider (2009) Timecop 
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Terror On The BlacktopThe leader of a biker gang known as the Bullets is arrested for carrying out a robbery. He admits to doing it, but not to why. His son is certain it is for good reasons. A new kind of lawman, the Highwayman, comes into town in a special truck to sort things out. THE HIGHWAYMAN wants to be MAD MAX with a truck, but there are two main problems with that. The first is that Sam Jones is no Mel Gibson on any level and hasn't got the acting chops or star charisma to pull off the role. The second is that a truck just isn't a sexy piece of crime fighting gear, even if it can be turned invisible. The main plot is fairly standard and could have been adapted for any sort of crime fighter and not just a science fiction one since there is little on show here that is genre material apart from a setting that might be futuristic and a truck that looks weird and can become invisible. Jimmy Smits gives the production some much needed acting credibility, but is a lone voice in a wilderness of overacting. There are some fun moments (how the man deals with an indian planning to knife fight him in a container with a rattlesnake for company), but the story is padded out well beyond its length for the pilot's running time and the action is pretty tame when it comes. Claudia Christian (BABYLON 5) adds a touch of glamour as the controller seen only on a TV screen in the cab. There might be the kernel of a good idea in here, but for a good show to emerge there is a long way to go. TopRoad LordA colleague of Highway's is killed whilst not on assignment. Together with Jetto, another lawman of the same type, Highway sets out to find out who killed him and what it might have to do with the high-tech plant that doesn't seem to produce anything. The series proper begins and there's been a couple of changes. Jane Badler (Diana in V) takes over from Claudia Christian and is much more approachable. Tim Russ (STAR TREK VOYAGER pops up as the mechanic, but in a blink and you'll miss it moment. Most significant is the addition of a comedy Australian sidekick named Jetto, played by the equally bizarrely named Jacko. He redefines the term 'comedy' by taking all the funny out of it and just being annoying. The plot is once again pedestrian, but it does pit the human lawmen up against android opponents. Unfortunately, when the big showdown does come it is ineptly handled and loses any sort of credibility, which even the desperate editing can't recover. If this is the shape of things to come then lock us up and throw away the TV in the communal area. TopThe HitchhikerSomething crashes on a remote mountain and Highway is called in to transport a highly radioactive corpse. The body isn't dead, however, and people start doing strange things, things that seemed aimed at sending a message into outer space. There's some impressive scene setting at the start of this episode with the military moving into the crash site and a real sense of drama and urgency. Then it all goes horribly wrong as the principle cast arrive on scene and the story becomes utter nonsense, badly played. The hitchhiking alien is denoted by glowing eyes and there is an ineffective body on show, but the dialogue is stale and dull, the action risible and attention is lost long before the finale. TopTil Death Duel Us PartHighway breaks his old teacher out of prison so that he can clear his name of the armoured car robbery he was framed for. This puts him up against his own organisation. This is a number of chase sequences loosely draped over a framework story of an old teacher, a frame and a betrayal. If you haven't guessed exactly how it's going to play out in the first ten minutes then shame on you. That said, the helicopter chase and dune buggy chase are pretty good sequences. It's a shame that nothing else can live up to that. TopSummer Of '45Highway and Jetto follow Tania down a heavily guarded empty road only to find themselves back in 1945 on the eve of the first nuclear test. Someone's out to change history and it's up to them to prevent it. There is such a nice set up and sense of place and time about this episode that it's sad that it's hard to say anything else nice about it. The use of sepia tints is really well done to establish the change. The cars, costumes, music and all the other props look great. The problem is that it's far too convenient that the test should create a temporal rift to a couple of days before the test, rather than the time of the test itself and the cast would have been locked up for being insane wearing those costumes in those times. Hell, they ought to be locked up for wearing them now. TopSend In The ClonesHighway comes across a man on the road who seems to have some mental issues. He turns out to be a military clone, created to be the perfect assassin and programmed with a simulation scenario in which he should kill New York's Mayor, unless Highway gets there first. For once, the action turns to an urban setting, but isn't any more likely or credible than before. The crowbarring in of a cop just returned from stress-related medical leave being driven towards another breakdown might have seemed like a good idea, but it's just crass and unfunny. Considering the number of super-assassins running around, the action isn't anything to get excited about either. TopBillionaire Body ClubHighway helps a female cop whose sister has become involved with a very high-priced surgeon who offers replacement body parts at sky high prices because they haven't been taken out of their donors yet. Black market body organs is about as close to a topical topic as the show has come, but it's almost a farce as it revolves around a party and surgical theatres based in trucks and jet planes. Because all that turbulence is just what you want in the middle of open-heart surgery. TopFrightmareFederal agents are being kidnapped and subjected to a mind-reading machine that can televise their thoughts. The target is a witness against a major mobster. When Tania is taken, Highway, Jetto and DC take the law into their own hands to get her back. There are some twists in this plot, but they are all ones that you can see coming from a mile away. It is also a flashback episode that used the dream-machine as an excuse to run old clips to save on the filming budget. They must have also saved on the script by recycling since ever second line seems to be 'turn up the juice'. TopWarzoneJetto has gone rogue and is targeting four army veterans. Highway is the only man who might be able to bring him back alive, but the army aren't that interested in keeping him alive. Apparently the top secret branch of the FBI are willing to hire an amnesiac with a history of mental instability and uncertain military history, if this story is anything to go by. It's just one of the holes in the lazy plotting. Jacko gives a better performance as mad Jetto than he ever has as sane Jetto and his Rambo outfit makes him look even more ridiculous than usual in every surrounding. TopHaunted HighwayThere's trouble on the reservation. Highway and Jetto investigate a potential murder that might be a frame up of a local native american. It might also have to do with the tribe's ancient ghosts. Bikini models and ghostly tribal warriors make for uncertain bedfellows in this bonkers plot that has throws in uranium mining, deserted western towns and Highway's own vision quest into the mix. This is the last ever episode of the show and it manages not to go out with a bang. Top |
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