The Checklist: The Immortal (S1 Ep3) “Half Way”
Lorenzo Lamas’ greatest success in the world of action entertainment is unquestionably his 5 season run as Reno Raines on Renegade. Lorenzo was a proven ratings grabber on television, so after Renegade had run its course, it is no surprise that Lorenzo had other series offered to him.
First up was Air America, based off the 1990 movie of the same name. That series took off and landed in just one season. So it was back to the drawing board and on October 7, 2000, The Immortal, starring Lorenzo Lamas as Raphael “Rafe” Cain, premiered in first run syndication.
Up until a few days ago, I did not even know this series existed. And much like Air America before it, The Immortal was one and done as it only lasted one season. Why was The Immortal not able to enjoy even half the success of Renegade? Perhaps putting a randomly selected episode to The Checklist test will shed some light on the situation. That randomly selected episode was Episode #3, titled “Half Way”…
- Synopsis: Rafe and team encounter a former rock-n-roller who believes he can save demons by deprogramming them.
#1. Does the show’s premise have legs?
An immortal being hunting down demons that are wreaking havoc on Earth and using his sword to send them back to hell? That sounds like a fantastic premise and one that could last years. Let’s face it, there’s no shortage of evil in this world. Throw in the fact that The Immortal hunting the demons is Lorenzo Lamas, looking as cool as ever and wielding the aforementioned sword!
But wait there’s more… Raphael “Rafe” Cain (Lorenzo Lamas) has an immortal sidekick named Goodwin (Steve Braun) and they join forces with parapsychologist Dr. Sara Beckman (April Telek), a woman with a vested interest in demon hunting after some demons killed her parents and they cruise around in a high tech tour bus that contains a whole arsenal of weapons for Rafe to use including sais!! This all sounds like gold to me and had to be an easy sell at the NATPE convention. 1/1
#2. Did the show have a quality opening?
This may have been the weakest aspect of The Immortal. Maybe it was the generic 2000’s rock, or maybe it was just too busy for my taste. I would say it was serviceable at best and only deserves partial credit. 1.5/2
#3. Did we get any sword action?
Having a hero that wields a sword but not having him use the sword would be absolutely foolish. The Immortal didn’t make that foolish mistake in Episode #3. Rafe gets to use his sword early on when he first meets McQueen, a former rock-n-roller who fell into a demon cult but managed to see the error of his ways and escape. Now McQueen is devoted to deprogramming other humans who made the same mistake he did by joining a cult… and when I say devoted I mean it. He steps in between Rafe as he is about to take out a demon woman that McQueen was trying to deprogram and ends up getting his prosthetic hand chopped off!
The sword will be back out later in the episode when Rafe goes up against a certain notable guest star… 2.5/3
#4. Were there any notable guest stars?
I guess I already spoiled the fact that there was in fact a notable guest star in “Half Way”, but who was it?
Only the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be… that’s right wrestling fans Bret “Hitman” Hart played Randal the Collector. Hailing from the fifth level of hell and wielding an awesome axe… Randal and Rafe are the two sides of the same coin. While Rafe does his work for the light, Randal does his work for the darkness and when he learns that there are demons who are trying to stray from the evil… he shows up and cuts their heads off.
When Randal showed up, I was counting down the minutes for Randal vs. Rafe! 3.5/4
#5. Were there any flashbacks?
Given the fact that Rafe is immortal, he obviously has a lot of history he can flashback to and in this episode we go all the way back to the 16th Century and see Rafe in his formative years, learning from his master and forging the sword he would use to carry out his work. I would like to point out that Lorenzo was shirtless in these flashbacks, so even if I went with the classic question I ask whenever I put Renegade to The Checklist test, “Did Lorenzo Lamas manage to get his shirt off?“, it would have been another point for “Half Way” 4.5/5
Final Score = 4.5/5 (90%) After watching “Half Way”, I honestly don’t know why this series didn’t last longer than it did. There was some quality action through out, Lorenzo is a proven action hero, the special effects weren’t mind blowing but not comically bad either. Of course, I only watched one episode, and an episode very early on in the run, so maybe things took a nose dive after a while… more research will be required. Stay tuned!
