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The panel consisted of four actors: Lakita Garth who is a very intelligent motivational speaker (and youth activist) and outspoken black female, (perhaps)in her late 20's. Adrian Paul - Supernatural star of Highlander: Endgame. (I think we could ALL write a book about this individual's physical description, so I will refrain except to say - he wore a black on black ensemble that made him look magnificent) Anthony Anderson, heavyset black male in (perhaps) mid twenties, (played foul-mouth youngest son on Me, Myself & Irene) Jamie Pressly, blond white female, perhaps mid- twenties. (stars in TV series "Jack & Jill) Bill Mahr started the conversation by telling the panel the subject matter: "Eminem and his potty-mouth lyrics."

(For those of you who have the good taste NOT to know who Eminem is: he is a foul-mouthed white rapper who sings the song "Slim Shady") His songs are about violence, violence toward women in particular, hatred of gays, anything and everything that is wrong and evil in this world are contained in the lyrics of this rapper. Bill Mahr read some of the worse of them to the panel. I will not repeat them here because THEY ARE VILE. I got the impression from the expression on Adrian's face that the lyrics being read upset him greatly.

Adrian looked at the Jamie Pressly who was seated next to him and asked "Are you happy about that?" (obviously referring to the horrid lyrics) JP: No, but I heard someone refer to him as the Andy Kaufman of our time, always doing anything to get a rise out of people." "I don't agree with the lyrics, but it's a gimmick."

AP: "That doesn't make it right!" LG: "Why are we picking on Eminem?" "I respect him because he has talent and says what he wants and does not care what anyone says."

To which Bill Mahr pointed out the obvious: these lyrics are a bad influence on young kids. His question being: "Do you want your children to hear these lyrics?" He directed the question to the one panelist who has kids, Anthony Anderson.

AA: I may not be able to stop my kids from listening to the lyrics, but a good kick in the A** is needed to try." (Crude, but rather effective way of saying that the parents should be in charge of and held accountable for what the children listen to, not the rapper.) AP: "I tend to agreed with that, children need parents to take them in a certain direction, because when they reach a certain age, you can't control what they listen to." "That's what freedom of speech is all about in this country." JP: "I was raised right and I don't believe lyrics like that would influence me to do something wrong." "But when I moved to CA from NC I realized most of my new friends here had parents who didn't care, weren't around and the ones who were around were drug addicts." LG: "So, what do we do about the kids who don't have the parents to guide them?" "Do we censor them or do we ask them to censor themselves?"

This is where Bill Mahr lost me: he read some of Will Smith's lyrics. (I don't know if BM realized this or not but that particular song was made in direct rebuttal to Eminem's song, "Slim Shady" that blasted Will for being nice) Bill Mahr's point was that Will Smith was teaching children to be ego-maniacal. The lyrics were about how much $ WS made and how he was so famous, etc. Bill Mahr lost me (And the panel for that matter) when he insisted Will's "ego" driven lyrics were worse for children than Eminem's violent lyrics, stating that massive ego and self promotion is a big problem in the US. The panel (and I)disagreed.

LG: "American puts value on what is shiny." "Everyone has an ego and self-promotes, even you." (said to BM) BM: "You think everyone has such a high regard of themselves?" Panel: "Yes" AP: "There's another point here." "Rap is from a ghetto." "It comes from people who don't have anything." "It is supposed to be an expression of thier angst." "It started there, but has developed into something else." "Perhaps they take it a bit too far, the stuff about other people, the F*** (yes, he said actually said it in the heat of the moment and they bleeped him) your mother & the violence." "Will Smith's lyrics doesn't contain the violence."

Second Segment

Bill tells everyone about an organization which is a group of perverts who want the age of consent abolished so they can have sex w/children.(I refuse to name the org. on this or any other board, they will recieve no free publicity from me) A 10 year boy was murdered by a perv who had info from this org. in his possesion when he was caught.The parents are suing on the premise the org. incited this perv. to kill the child with the content of that information.

There was a close up of Adrian at this moment. He had his hand covering his mouth and I swear, shades of Duncan MacLeod fury rolling from his eyes. He had the same expression DM has when he is about to take a head from a particularly nasty bad guy.

The charge on this topic was being led by Lakita. She obviously knew the case well and was trying to express her opinion when Bill Mahr inexplicably changed the subject back to Will Smith's ego and "me-me-me lyrics." Then the program became a "see-which-one-can-talk-over-and louder-than-the-other-one extravaganza between Lakita and Bill Mahr. The third(and very short) segment was about the internet wherein the panel discussed the prevasive problems with policing the net and the unfortunate reality that there really is no way to police the net. AP made the point that people can use your face and name and there is not really much that can be done about it. (My impression is that he is frustated that people use his image on thier sites w/out his consent)

I liked the points that were made by all the panelist. I think the forum could use a bit more structure so ALL of the panelist (ecspecially people who are by thier very nature (and nuture, I'm sure) too polite to interrupt and talk over other people who are also trying to speak)

AP's comments were valid and heart-felt. And once again, I came away w/the impression that he is a man comfortable in his own skin. His well-known concern for children was apparent in his every grimace at the horrific and weighty subject matter during this discussion. I only wish the half-hour show was a full hour show and that AP was given more of a chance to speak.

The subject matter was really perfect in a way for Adrian due to his dedication to helping children. I understand why he didn't (self-promotion was a theme) but I also wish Adrian had been given the opportunity to tell the panel of his PEACE fund. Remember, it does address the problem of inner city children with little to no worthy role models. In one of the recent newsletters there is an article about a PEACE event wherein one of the exercises the children are given to understand the concept of strength and not returning violence for violence is demonstrated vividly: Adrian has one of the boys push against his hand as hard as he can and the child cannot move Adrian. Adrian suddenly steps away and the boy stumbles forward. Adrian then asked the child "Who is stronger?" "The person giving the insults (i.e. pushing) or the person who walks away?" The point being of course that the one who keeps pushing is the one who will end up flat on his face, while the one who walks away is fine. If children could be taught this from a young age, perhaps this world would not spawn people who feel violence is the answer to everything, even as a way to gain respect. Eminem is the product of a broken home and extreme domestic violence. He knows no other existance. He was never taught an alternative. (This in no way excuses him, mind you) Adrian's PEACE fund is trying to help children who may very well be in this very same predicament. This program left me with a renewed sense of respect for Adrian Paul and his concepts for the PEACE fund.

One more thing: regarding Lakita Garth: I had never heard of her before this program, but I feel she was right on the money with 98% of what she said. I was impressed with her knowledge and concern for youth as well. She was introduced as a "Youth Activist." I plan on learning more about her. I did not like the fact that she tried to talk over everyone else, but her message was intelligent and thought provoking. I bet she is one squeaky wheel that just may get things accomplished.

I am so tired. It's noon and I still have not gone to bed. Hope you enjoy this review. I will talk to you guys later.

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Hi Gang! Bleary-eyed MM here. I have had about 4 hours sleep in the last 48 hrs, because I chose not to sleep yesterday so I could see HLEG on the day it opened. Which I did.

OK, Here's the problem....The series spoiled me. The time and attention given to detail in the series spoiled me. Remember the scene in "Homeland" where Deborah falls from the cliff? That scene had an enormous impact BECAUSE we knew every detail of why it came to be. The story/ HISTORY of Deborah and Duncan's love was beautiful and intense. And let me stress this..DETAILED. Adrian put a fine point not only on the raw emotions the characters were feeling, but he also laid out in detail the progression to the climatic scene on the cliff. It would not have been nearly as powerful if we did not know that Deborah was Duncan's first love and that she was promised to his cousin Robert and that a duel had been fought wherein Duncan was practically forced into killing his kinsman by his father's pride and by his cousin's injured male ego. Duncan's words "I can live with Robert's ghost, but not with yours" had meaning because we experienced his pain w/him due to AP's strong acting and directing. And when he returned the bracelet to her grave, it was the one of the most romantic scenes in the series, very close to the romantic, tragic scene in HL1 where Connor lights a candle at Heather's grave on her birthday. To me, that is the true essence of Connor and Duncan MacLeod. Men of indomitible strength and heartwerenching tenderness rolled into one.

Adrian and Christopher are to be congratulated that they hold true to their characters in that regard. The most powerful scenes are between Duncan and Connor. The rooftop scene, in particular. I cried. (I told you I would) When Duncan said "I love you, Connor" it was powerful and hit just the right heartstring! Once again, Duncan was forced to kill someone he loved because of "the game." The history between Duncan and Connor was alive in that moment, due to Christopher & Adrian's strong acting skills. Just that one scene made the movie worth seeing and making.

However, the history between Duncan and Kate was exceedingly thin. One scene they smile at each other, the next they are dancing a jig at thier wedding. (Hole:Gypsy woman in series says Duncan will love many, but never marry-little did we know, and Duncan certainly did not pipe up and say..he was already married) I enjoyed the love scene (natch) but methinks AP and LB did not share the chemistry of lover's past. Or perhaps, we just failed to FEEL the chemistry due to the short, nay, non-existant courtship. And here's my BIG beef: Duncan stabbed his wife on thier wedding night? Our knight in shining armor (or should I say amour) murdered his wife so they could be together "forever?" Sorry, to me that's the equivalent of saying Jack the Ripper is giving free medical advice to the ladies of the evening out of the goodness of his heart. Completely out of character. No way, no how, go sell crazy somewhere else, we're all stocked up here.

And just as nutso was having Connor actually advise Duncan to do it. So, the writers are trying to tell us that Connor would have stabbed Heather and made her immortal (if he had the choice) and put her thru the hell of "the game" just so he would not have to miss her. Neither Connor or Duncan were ever written as that selfish or petty before. And why would Connor EVER make Duncan take his head when there are more than two immortals left? The prize was not even up for grabs this time. Methos is obviously still allive and kicking and 5000 yrs old! Something tells me he has more immortal kills/knowledge/power than 500+ yr old Kell or 500+ yr old Connor or 400+ Duncan PUT TOGETHER! (Hole:Can anyone say 1300 yr old beauty queen thief, also still alive) Did Kell's evilness make him stronger? (Hole: Kell BECOMES evil and hates/stalks Connor AFTER/BECAUSE Connor kills his surrogate father? Kell and the Preist were ALREADY evil. Burning an innocent woman at the stake qualifys as evil in my book) No, in the HL universe we have experienced before, being good and doing the right thing gives our heros the strength to kill the bad guy. Thier evil deeds/ways is what makes them defeatable. When the priest/Kell committed the murder of Connor's mother, they became murderers i.e. evil. Connor had every right to defend himself and his mother's body from them. Kell's lifelong hate/obsession/vengence was unqualified and a weak plot device, unworthy of a life long obsession. The relationship between Kell and Connor should have been fleshed out more to make us understand/care/feel the depth of the animosity between these characters. As it was, I disliked Kate more for her coldness and unforgiving nature than I did Kell for his "evilness."

The action scenes were good, needed better editing. Theloft fight scene was incredible. When you have an actor who excels in martial arts, dance, swordplay like AP does and you don't shamelessly exploit his talent for the good of the movie, someone should be shot. I would bet my bottom dollar Adrian could outmove Blade (Wesley Snipes) easily..if only he were given half the chance. And Donnie Yen's character was electrifying! He should have at least been given the opportunity to fight Kell, even if he eventually lost. To just sit at the dinner table and offer up his head for desert? Not believeable.

So to sum up HLEG for me: AP-GREAT ACTING! Your performance was the highlight of the movie! I have every faith that you be find the right script someday and blow EVERYONE away, fans and critics! You did an excellent job! Making lemonade out of lemons must be your forte!! Christopher Lambert-Great acting also! The rooftop scene in particular was very moving! Lisa B-You were given the role any of us would stand-in-line/pine/lie or die for-Duncan MacLeod's wife! But they simply did not give you enough background story to play to make us feel the pain of your wedding night betrayal by Duncan. You did an admirable job with what they did give you. I truly came to dislike "Faith" more than I did Kell, which is a credit to your acting ability, considering the brevity of your performance. Edge makes a great highwayman! Donnie Yen-Your character should have been the main villian. Your character had a chilling on-screen presence due to your outer calmness/inner coiled-spring attitude in battle and the sense of you need not be worried because any moment that you might choose you could take your opponents head w/o breaking a sweat. Your character was criminally underused! Bruce Payne-Four words: Over-the-top & Yawn! My Rottie is more menacing than Kell! Peter & Jim - great as always! And again, criminially underused. You two bring depth to the storyline just by showing up..imagine the history/depth you could have contributed had they actually used you! The other vilians were practically non-exsistant-I only know thier storylines and faces because of the HLEG website.

To the writers/producers/director... If you decide to write/produce/direct a HL5...-Pul-ease take into consideration that the fans KNOW the history/storyline(obviously better than the writers) and that while we are willing to "suspend disbelief" to a certain degree, we are not willing to "play braindead." I love AP & CL & HL and am disappointed with your treatment of our heros. I can kind of see where you were going with this movie...but I feel you took a hard left turn when you decided to throw out the heart and soul of the HL saga....it's DETAILED history. You had history..but not accurate or detailed history...When you know the richness of the history of the MacLeod men, you know thier integrity is the very soul of thier nature and nature of thier soul...you can't just suddenly have them advising murder, killing wife, begging to be relieved of his head, killing immortal brother...etc...when the history tells us this is not what Connor and Duncan MacLeod would even CONSIDER doing. Connor had nothing he needed redemption for. And even believing Duncan would do what you wrote he did to need redemption is ludicrous.

scale of 1-10 AP-10 CL-10 BP-3 storyline-7 direction-6 Editing-4 special effects-4 - Duncan/Connor facemeld-poorly morphed-go see ILM next time!

Before I get pummeled, let me say in my defense...I don't believe in lying, not even to myself...I wanted with all my heart for this movie to be the best thing I had ever seen. (for Adrian's sake as well as my own) But I have to be honest...life is just too short.... Besides, I know AP will get THE script someday soon..maybe write and direct and star in THE script... and anticipation is one of the strongest spices of life.

An Account of "Live with Regis!"

For those of you who missed it, this MESSAGE was written by "MM" -

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HELLO! Well, I just watched "OUR GUY" on Regis Live.

He came out wearing a tan and white printed shirt, dark brown slacks, (chic casual), no socks, black shoes, #999999 jewelery, looked WONDERFUL and very relaxed. (Oh, to run my fingers thur that hair, I could die a happy, fulfilled woman) But, I digress... AP shook hands with Regis and grasped the hand (very suave, very european greeting) of co-host dujour, Cynthia, then all sat down.

Regis began the interview by asking AP what he thought about Regis fake nose stud. AP said it looked good, but he "better not sniff up too hard." Then AP made a little face and pretended to spit. (like if Regis sniffed too hard, he would end up sptting the stud out his mouth) Believe me, he was being absolutely adorable. Then, Regis told him he looked like an athlete, to which AP replied "You think so." (again with the most natural charm and ease) AP told him he had played sports his whole life. Then the co-host asked him if it was true his girlfriend got him into the biz. He said "Not current girlfriend." "I have no current girlfriend." (personal note:HOW THAT IS POSSIBLE IS THE 8TH WONDER OF MY WORLD)

AP went on to explain the whole story..his (at-the-time)girlfriend sent in his pic to a "Could your boyfriend be a model contest...he didn't know he had even been entered and he won. (all AP fans know this story from his website, but it was fun to hear him tell it)

Regis asked him if he was a martial arts expert, to which the ever-humble AP replied that he is not an expert but has been studying for 12 years.

When asked about the movie, he said it is about "redemption" and it is entitled "Endgame." And, in his very own words: "which means the last one." They asked if it actually will be the last one. AP said he had seen an interview with the Wayans about "Scary Movie" and that the poster of Scary Movie said "NO SEQUEL" but the Wayans said if they were offered enough money....they may have lied. AP:"So, Who knowS?" "That's out of my hands." (If only it were in OUR hands, eh, girls?)

AP said he and CL "got on" (british for "hit it off" I believe)very well during his guest stint on HLTS and that they were having a lot of fun while making this movie, good chemistry.

Then the interview got REALLY interesting..Cynthia asked "What was WRONG with your girlfriend?" (The inference being something HAD to be wrong with her because she had let him go) "You dance, act, etc." Regis jumped in and said "Now, he's going to walk out." Jokingly, of course...but oh, that was OH SO TELLING..my impression is they were told prior to taping to stay away from his personal life..AAAHHH.. the answer to my previous pose..How is he going to handle the personal questions...(Again...just an opinion)

Anyway, AP said he was twenty at that time and "it just ran it's course." (obviously meaning the relationship with the girl who sent his pic into the contest) Regis said "And you've been single ever since." AP: "No, I got married once, but we'll just leave that out." Then Regis tactfully changed the subject back to the movie - Regis: "Here is Adrian fighting evil."

Then they showed a fabulous clip of AP and Donnie Yen fighting. The action was so fast AP's hand were moving like Jet Li's hands. Fast, furious and precise. GREAT CLIP! Then it was (way too soon) over.

My overall impression is AP handled this interview very well. He was relaxed. (or very likely..ACTING relaxed, the whole interview process has got to be daunting, no matter WHO you are) And I was charmed by his unassuming and sweet demeanor. Even tho I am a big AP fan, this is the first TV interview of his, I have ever witnessed. So, quite frankly, I was not sure what to expect. It has been my experience that people with extraordinary good looks can be a bit stuck on themselves (I was..for about 5 days..when I was 20. LOL) However, I was pleasantly surprised. Adrian did not give off that aura at all.

I loved the interview. It was wonderful to hear AP talk as AP and not DM...(I can't decide which accent makes me the hottest..Scottish or British)

I hope you realize I have been up all night working the graveyard shift and it is after 11 a.m. and I have yet to go to bed....One reason is because I feel so bad for the UK girls...if I were there..I would hope some poor over-worked, under-paid yank would take pity on me and tell me in detail about the interview...but it comes with a price..OK... a plea...remember us when AP is there doing the HLEG press junket in the UK...We will be the ones AP depleted then...

Anyway, this is a bleary-eyed, but very peaceful (or should I say PEACE-full) MM signing off.... TALK ABOUT SWEET DREAMS!

HERE IS AN INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE WRITTEN BY SHERIE.

As a martial artist myself and dealing with the ideas of peace I must say that the ideas Adrian expresses go to the very heart of people who attempt to "see throught his eyes and hear through his ears". Adrian is such a special person and a gift to this life. Please allow me to share with you a few wise words about peace that I enjoy through my life. The author, I do not remember, but I would like to thank him for these wonderful words, "PEACE is not the absence of trouble. PEACE is the presence of God in the midst of trouble." May the Lord bless you with abundant---- PEACE Sherie

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