Gillian Horvath (Editor): An Evening at Joe’s

Ace (Trade Paperback), ISBN 0-425-17749-1

The proliferation of fan fiction on the Internet proves a point — and perhaps explains the impetus behind An Evening at Joe’s. In the foreword, Bill Panzer, executive producer of Highlander: The Series, speaks of the desire of the show’s European and American crews to read every script, regardless of whether they would be shot in Vancouver or Paris. Panzer also reveals that when Gillian Horvath approached him for approval to do a collection of short stories written by the Highlander cast and crew, he readily gave it — but he told her that she’d never get anyone to do it.

Fortunately for Highlander fans, Panzer’s skepticism proved unfounded. An Evening at Joe’s features stories by six members of the Highlander cast, the show’s swordmaster, producer, director, script coordinator, two of its creative consultants. Even the composer and assistant props master threw their literary two cents into the pot.

The stories range from hysterically comedic (the must-read “Pants” by assistant creative consultant Donna Lettow) to extremely outré (“Down Towards the Backflow” by composer Roger Bellon). Most of the cast members, with the exception of Valentine Pelka, slipped back into the character they portrayed on the show, giving readers some fascinating insights into how the actors viewed the roles they played.

A few stories stand out. “Train from Bordeaux” by Gillian Horvath gives a glimpse into the world’s oldest living immortal’s memories of his relationship with the other three members of the Four Horsemen, and his everlasting sorrow and regret over same. “He Scores!” by producer Ken Gord rumbles across the page. Think “Highlander meets The Mighty Ducks.”

Gillian Horvath’s fan fiction connection comes across clearest in “Postcards From Alexa,” a group of eight linked stories (co-written with Donna Lettow) that chronicle the romance between Methos and Alexa and Alexa’s eventual death from cancer. Unfortunately, the stories read as rather saccharine (and ultimately maudlin) bits of fluff. While seemingly designed to appeal to the large contingent of Methos fans that still roam the Internet, the story fails to live up to Horvath’s and Lettow’s normally high standards.

Overall, each story provides a testament to the devotion that a show like Highlander: The Series can inspire in not only its fans but in its cast and crew. If you’re a Highlander fan, I highly recommend purchase of this book, if only to get Methos’ take on the Olympics in “Pants.” My ribs still ache.

Teri Smith

Raising hell for fifty years from Alaska to the Azores and all points in between, Teri Smith (nee Dohmen) was an Air Force brat who never stopped traveling. She was also a mother, a grandmother (of ten!), a help desk wizard, a financial assistant, acquisitions editor for Samhain Publishing and, most importantly, the Queen Nag of the Known Universe. A multi-published short story writer, her first novel, With Nine You Get Vanyr, written with Jean Marie Ward, was published in 2007. Contrary to common belief, she never stopped living.