Strange Observations About Methos & other PW characters

“Do the Words Compulsive Obsessive Mean Anything To You?”
Methos, from Indiscretions

Peter Wingfield as Methos in Highlander always steals the scene from Duncan MacLeod

Viewer Participation Welcome!

Do the Words Compulsive Obsessive Mean Anything To You?

Watching Methos in Highlander: The Series, one begins to obsess. Next, the obsession expands to more Peter Wingfield characters. I’ve explored recurring circumstances, wardrobe, tropes, and even the meaning of Methos itself. Yet, at some point I lost steam in collecting these particular observations in PW work; I simply watched new guest spots in episodes and whole feature films without noting my obsessive subjects for this page! I’m so ashamed of myself. Now I need your help! Send me your compulsion/obsession/instance you’d like to see given attention on my Strange Observations Page.

Now, on with the Observations...

Although I’ve been able to upgrade my screen captures with newer digital sources in 2020, for many years these observation examples were illustrated thanks to wonderful HL:TS screen cap contributers: Cyn, Eng, Bethany, and Ursula!

The Beheadings

Technique, my good man

Kristin in Chivalry
Methos ends Kristin with a quick backhand stroke. Somebody had to.
Silas in Revelation 6:8
Methos beheads Silas with a wind up backhand for extra power
Morgan Walker in Indiscretions
Methos beheads Walker with a short backhand strike
Viper, About Face (So, obviously this isn’t Highlander and Pete (as criminal mastermind Giles Seaton) is not beheading an Immortal, but he’s still got the cringey long blade!)

According to Highlander swordmaster F. Braun McAsh, the backhanded beheading stroke Methos used on Silas (and on Kristin in Chivalry... AND on Walker in Indiscretions) is a result of Bronze Age weapons being shorter and less sharp. The backhand that starts over the head develops enough power to compensate for this. I guess Methos hasn’t changed his sword technique much in 3000 years!
this strange observation borrowed from The Methos Chronicles “Not To Be” transcript page at methos.org

So we could say that in Methuselah’s Gift he wasn’t going to go through with killing Amanda.
Methos beats Amanda in a fight, but only wants her lifesaving crystal

Methos wouldn't seriously kill his friend Amanda forehandedly
Threatening Caspian in Comes a Horseman
flashback, wode paint, sharp objects
And Alternative-Universe Fantasy Methos didn’t behead Richie backhandedly either. Not To Be
Alt Methos beheads Richie forehandedly

The Quickenings

Highlander, Chivalry (Methos: Someone had to.)
Just getting started with the special effects following Kristin's beheading in Chivalry
Highlander, Revelation 6:8 (Methos: I killed Silas! I liked Silas!)
Double quickening after beheading friend Silas in Revelation 6:8
Highlander, Indiscretions (Methos: Just because I don’t like to fight doesn’t mean that I can’t)
Lightening strikes after beheading Walker in Indiscretions


Don’t Lose Your Head

WE knew our beloved Methos was never in any REAL danger... Didn’t we?

Kalas, Methos
There's really a lot of fight left in Methos. Strategy in throwing oneself off a bridge.
Duncan MacLeod, Methos
What are you waiting for, MacLeod? Kill the ROG and then kill Kalas.
Duncan MacLeod, Methos
Live Highlander, grow stronger, fight another day
Duncan MacLeod, Chivalry
Distracted Methos lets Duncan best him in sparring
Duncan MacLeod, Deliverance (ya know? I’m sensing a dangerous theme here...)
Dark Duncan threatens Methos
An Evil Watcher, Methuselah’s Stone
Should Watchers protect themselves by killing discovered immortal spies? Absolutely not!
An Even More Evil Watcher, Methuselah’s Stone
A bad Watcher rising would rather use immortal Adam Pierson than kill him, we hope
Kronos, Comes A Horseman
Kronos is always threatening Methos
Steven Keane, Forgive Us Our Trespasses
Keane threatens Methos
Alternate-Universe Fantasy Duncan (with Kronos’ sword), Not To Be
Duncan really hates horseman Methos for killing Richie and threatening Joe
Even in Queen of Swords he’s not completely safe from the blade!
The Serpent threatens Doc Helm's neck with a blade
Dr Helm is lucky it’s just his friend the Queen... this time.
The Queen holds a blade to Doc Helm's throat

Methos Drives

On The Road Again

I’m very interested in more screen captures and detailed information about everything Methos/Adam Pierson is seen driving. Years/Makes/License Plates.

Just, in case you were wondering. Methos drives a Black Mercedes in Endgame. It’s a rental. (screen cap contributed)
Endgame Methos leases a Mercedes. It's nice to not be undercover as a broke grad student anymore!
Finalé Part 2 (Silver Volkswagen Bug Convertible)
flashy slug bug for an inconspicuous Watcher Adam Pierson
Timeless (Blue and White Volkswagen minibus/van, yikes!)
a blue and white Volkswagen for a trip across America

Alexa tells Joe goodby in front of the silly minibus
Deliverance (Dark Gray Volvo Wagon mid 80s, Euro License plate 4611 XL 92)
Methos saves Duncan's ass driving away fast

Methos and Duncan need to fix this Dark Quickening so the Volvo doesn't get hurt
Methuselah’s Gift (A Gray Volvo, newer than in Deliverance though. Euro License plate 5044 ZQ 92)
Amanda kisses Methos goodbye for now

clear shot of license plate of gray Volvo
Through a Glass, Darkly (yet another Gray Volvo Wagon. Still late 80s, Euro License plate 113 LD).
Methos/Adam has leased a ton of European Volvos
Peter Wingfield DVD Episode Commentary: “Nothing’s safer than a Volvo.”
Watcher Methos/Adam loves his Volvos for their safety record
Comes A Horseman (Black GMC Jimmy 199? older than 1995, License Plate 147 E45 ?)
Methos packs his GMC Jimmy

Methos is sick of Duncan and we're a little scared of Methos
Indiscretions (Black Range Rover 1994 or 1995, License Plate 6332 W 75)
Methos and Joe in th Range Rover

Methos and Joe laugh stranded on the side of the road

THE sweater

I absolutely love this sweater Methos wears in Highlander: The Series!! I want one. I hope I find one someday just like it!!

Chivalry
THE sweater drops in unannounced
Chivalry
THE sweater drinks your booze
Timeless
THE sweater makes your acquaintence
Archangel
THE sweater in a bromance
Revelation 6:8 (You’d need a security blanket article of clothing, too, for horseback riding hunting demented brothers)
THE sweater in the Ukraine

The Watcher Tattoo

The Watcher Tattoo bears the Greek letter W in a circle. The Greek letter W is also a symbol for the astrological sign of Aries (the ram)!


watcher symbol art
Chivalry (left wrist)
tattoo helps us paint
Timeless (right wrist) (“I’m, uh, Adam Pierson.”)
tattoo introductions
One Minute To Midnight (Back on the left wrist) (“Hey, I wear one of these too!”)
tattoo togetherness

I’m Not An Alcoholic; I’m A Drunk. Alcoholics Go To Meetings

Mythos is a Greek beer, the only domestic brand in widespread national distribution. It’s a light, straw colored lager with a thick head and is sometimes compared to a pilsner in taste. The brand was introduced in 1997 by Mythos Brewery Ltd., which also imports other European brands of beer.

Observation submitted by: “Allyson”

Methos (“have a beer”!)
me casa es su casa, you bring the case of beer next visit though
Finalé Part 1
at Duncan's barge with Joe
Finalé Part 2 (toasting Kalas’ death and destruction of Watcher CD Database)
please hire me for three more seasons!
Chivalry
cleaning up Richie's messes gets the ROG thirsty
Timeless (cute waitress!)
another house beer please, no tip
Timeless (“what if Alexa doesn’t like me?”)
nervous wine drinking
The Messenger
sprawling with beer
The Messenger (Joe: I did some checking on this Methos flake.... the OTHER one.)
that whiskey doesn't even have a label
The Modern Prometheus (drinking AND driving horses...)
don't drink and drive, Doc
The Modern Prometheus (an inspiring port with Lord Byron)
is the port an expensive import?
The Men’s Room, Episode 4 (toasting with mom; Tom’s a child of divorce)
Medics, Season 1 Episode 2 (pop that cork to the sparkling lighter fluid “To Claire”)
celebrating a coworker staying at the hospital
Medics, Season 2 Episode 3 (catching up with old school mates)
long time no drink
Medics, Season 2 Episode 3 (bottoms up, granted re-entry to the medical program)
celebrating a second chance at doctoring
Cold Squad, Season 3
work for me, we'll have champagne
Queen Of Swords, The Serpent (no quiero mas vino español...)
Queen of Swords wine take 1
Queen Of Swords, The Serpent (Dr Helm: I also wear a three piece suit to get drunk in California.)
Queen of Swords wine take 2
Holby City (popping the bubbly; “I’m gonna be the drunkest man in the world”)
champagne with the coworkers
Holby City (days of wine and roses... with your brother’s wife!)
red wine with the sister in law

Knocked Him For A Loop

Ooooof!

Highlander, Chivalry (Methos: Great! You knock me on my bum because I make a bad joke! Very macho.)
on the dojo floor
Highlander, Deliverance (Methos: This is holy ground! Whatever evil is inside you, you cannot do this.)
down the church aisle
Highlander, Deliverance (Methos: I hope you’re insured...)
no vehicular manslaughter today
Highlander, Deliverance (Methos: I’m too old for this.)
over the wall
Noah’s Ark Ep 3 (D.V.M. Tom Kirby: Watch out for badger traps!)
badger trapped into the woods
Noah’s Ark Ep 6 (Stupid ostrich. “Amazing how they kick forward...”)
ostrich kicked across the barn
Queen of Swords (Doctor Robert Helm)
Doc Helm can't deliver medicine

Doc Helm hits Grisham then the street
QOS’s Dr Helm got whacked so often, fans formed the Naughty Nurses to tend to his constant hurts.
Doc Helm hits the table
Visit the Dr. Helm Whack Tracker for all the hits and slams in the Queen of Swords show!
Doc Helm hits the street


Don’t Point That Thing At Me

Go Ahead, Make My Day. Obsession suggested by Dea

Highlander, Forgive Us Our Trespasses (Methos: You are SUCH a pain in the ass)
playing dirty, shooting Duncan
Highlander, Indiscretions (Methos: I’ll cover you. Go on!)
must rescue Joe and his daughter
Highlander, To Be
must rescue Joe... again!
Highlander, Not To Be (same gun, new disguise)
a guy AND a Navy watch cap
Alternate-Universe Fantasy Methos also has a gun in Highlander, Not To Be.
Alternative Horseman Methos has too much firepower
Viper, About Face (upscale carjacker)
The Viper bad guy holds ya'll at gunpoint
The Sentinel, Foreign Exchange (not Peter’s best work, but then they didn’t give him much to work with.)
The Sentinel bad guy shouldn't fire his weapon in a crowded room

The Sentinel, Foreign Exchange
The Sentinel bad guy needs to get out of this restaurant really badly
First Wave, Shadowland
First Wave doc likes to shoot first
Queen of Swords, Death to the Queen (Aaahh, lovely flashbacks to the good ol’ war days)
Doc Helm in Queen of Swords as a lobster back
Queen of Swords, Fever (Shoot him, please? Grisham is B-A-D)
Doc Helm in Queen of Swords doesn't shoot the captain
Queen of Swords, Vengeance (Gotta still adore flashbacks, though the disguise is bad.)
Doc Helm in a Queen of Swords flashback kills a brother
Queen of Swords, The Serpent (Spending our only ammo on a snake? Really, Doc?)
Doc Helm in Queen of Swords kills a snake

All in a Name

Meanings of the Name Methos
et·y·mol·o·gy \ n, : the history of a word shown by tracing it or its parts back to the earliest known forms and meanings both in its own language and any other language from which it or its parts may have been taken.

Here is the email that got it all started at GotMethos@egroups.com.
kim wrote:
  “Does Methos have a meaning??
It’s an old name; one that isn’t heard of nowadays, but the writers must have got it from somewhere. It isn’t just made up is it? It must stand for something like, to die for, or God’s gift to women, or something. I am sure you can all think of something that Methos can stand for.”

Myth

myth \ n, 1 : a legend often describing the adventures of superhuman beings that is usually part of a people’s religion and that attempts to describe the origin of their customs or beliefs or to explain mysterious events 2 : a person or thing that exists only in the imagination 3 : a popular belief that is false or unsupported

Duncan: Oh come on, Joe. Methos doesn’t exist. The oldest Immortal; he’s a legend. He’s like, well, Adam and Eve.

Duncan: I just didn’t think you existed.
Methos: Ah, it’s good to be a myth.
Duncan: Yeah, no one hunts for a myth.

Story

Which leads into my next theory on the name Methos.
Myth --> Mythos --> Methos
Liz, joining in for once...
“yeah, i myself always thought Methos came from Mythos. Greek for... story, I believe. ::frantically racking brain for something latin teach said this semester:: (he spoke Greek too)”

Method

meth·od \ n, 1 : a way, plan, or procedure for doing something 2 : orderly arrangement

Caspian: You have a plan?
Kronos: I have a few thoughts. I have a few dollars, enough for a start. Now we have Methos; now we have a plan.
Methos: What did you have in mind?

Silas: Methos, you look troubled.
Methos: Just thinking.
Silas: Ah, you were always good at that, eh? Well, after all these years, you still are.

Thought

Methos means “thought” or “thoughts” in many people’s minds (including mine).

 Prometheus, in Greek mythology, one of the Titans, known as the friend and benefactor of humanity, the son of the Titan Iapetus by the sea nymph Clymene or the Titaness Themis. Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus were given the task of creating humanity and providing humans and all the animals on earth with the endowments they would need to survive. Epimetheus (whose name means afterthought) accordingly proceeded to bestow on the various animals gifts of courage, strength, swiftness, and feathers, fur, and other protective coverings. When it came time to create a being who was to be superior to all other living creatures, Epimetheus found he had been so reckless with his resources that he had nothing left to bestow. He was forced to ask his brother’s help, and Prometheus (whose name means forethought) took over the task of creation. To make humans superior to the animals, he fashioned them in nobler form and enabled them to walk upright. He then went up to heaven and lit a torch with fire from the sun. The gift of fire that Prometheus bestowed upon humanity was more valuable than any of the gifts the animals had received.

 Because of his actions Prometheus incurred the wrath of the god Zeus. Not only did he steal the fire he gave to humans, but he also tricked the gods so that they should get the worst parts of any animal sacrificed to them, and human beings the best. In one pile, Prometheus arranged the edible parts of an ox in a hide and disguised them with a covering of entrails. In the other, he placed the bones, which he covered with fat. Zeus, asked to choose between the two, took the fat and was very angry when he discovered that it covered a pile of bones. Thereafter, only fat and bones were sacrificed to the gods; the good meat was kept for mortals. For Prometheus’s transgressions, Zeus had him chained to a rock in the Caucasus, where he was constantly preyed upon by an eagle. Finally he was freed by the hero Hercules, who slew the eagle.

 “Prometheus,” Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000
 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Methos: What will you call your story, Mary Shelley?
Mary: Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus.

As an extra note, Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote Prometheus Unbound.

Just a random IndoEuropean name that means nothing beyond its sound itself

Methos, the man, most likely originated as part of a now extinct and forgotten IndoEuropean tribe. His name, if it is also traceable back that far, could mean something in that language. If that is true, we’ll never know. Because to the best of his recollection, the ROG does not remember anything before he took his first head 5000 years ago give or take.

Myth? Story? Method? Thought? God’s Gift To Women?

My stab at it. Nicking the throat only to prove a point, but then gloating about it and getting myself thrown to the dojo floor once again!

Rain


SMOOCH!

A foregone conclusion that a hottie like Peter Wingfield is going to get some lip-locking action in his scenes.

Medics (Alex and Julia in S01E06)
Medics (Alex and Jess in S02E05)
Soldier, Soldier, Ep01 “All the King’s Men”
back from a tour of Northern Ireland
Soldier, Soldier, Ep02 “Fun & Games”
still can't get enough of the soldier
The Men’s Room, “Part 4” (Tom’s got a girlfriend... or more than one!)
in the series The Men's Room
Uncovered movie (Max is such a slimeball! Just look at her face, wow! Hopefully Pete’s not a method actor...)
what a slimeball!
Noah’s Ark (Tom and Liza in Ep04)
dating your crush's friend would never work out
Noah’s Ark (Tom and Clare in Ep05). Time to let HR know you’re into your co-worker!
Time to let HR know you're into your co-worker
Highlander, Indiscretions (Dr. Benjamin Adams and Charlotte, in 1808)
I kissed Charlotte, you killed her!
Highlander, Not To Be (Adam Pierson and Jillian - another watcher, in Duncan’s Alternate-Universe Fantasy)
always in another life, another wife
Cold Feet (an extramarital fantasy with an author: “Now pass the soap.”)
fantasy sequence in the shower
Queen of Swords (Camilla, the former fiancée, has arrived out of nowhere in California!)
Camilla, the good Doc's former fiancee
Queen of Swords (Señorita Tessa isn’t brave enough to kiss the Doc but the Queen worked up the nerve)
Tessa isn't brave enough to kiss the Doc but the Queen worked up the nerve
Bliss, S03E01 “Guys and Dolls”
but we're both married... to other people
Bliss, S03E03 “Tying Up Gerald”
just spicing up our sex life, honey
Riverworld (Richard Burton and Allegra “Destroying the world as we know it works up quite an appetite.”)
when I was a soldier in India, I came across a book called the Kama Sutra
Riverworld (Dick schemes and gets around while looking for a way out of Purgotary)
the gentleman sometimes prefers blondes
Holby City (Dan and Louise, his brother’s wife! “Trouble... and you know it”)
excuse me that's your brother's wife!
Holby City (Dan and Maddy, even if it’s just a dream sequence: “Because I’ve always loved you!”)
a beautiful near death experience for Maddy involves reconnecting with Dan

Paging Dr. Wingfield

“I was gonna be a doctor, now I play one on TV!!!” (and now PW is semi-retired from acting and a working anesthesiologist in California!)

Medics (Alex Taylor, med student, Season 2)
long white coat
Medics (Alex Taylor, med student, Season 2)
stethoscope
Murder Most Horrid (Giles)
Thunderbirds are go!
Noah’s Ark (Veterinarian Tom Kirby, England)
assisting dad at the vet clinic
Highlander, Indiscretions (Dr. Benjamin Adams, in 1808, New Orleans)
please don't go, I need a treatment too

satin ascots are my jam
Highlander, The Modern Prometheus (Dr. Benjamin Adams, 1816, Switzerland)
what's so funny? your top hat?
Methos was Byron’s Teacher and Mary Shelley’s Doctor
look out, your patient is going down
Cold Feet (Conrad Gordon, marriage self-help book author)
in NBC's Cold Feet
The Damn Deal (Dr. Pat Haig, actress Elizabeth Gracen’s creation in her 1997 film; but his scene is not a part of the 2014 edit released by Flapper Films) (screen cap contributed)
hasn't every Brit actor stripped naked and done drag?
The Outer Limits (NSA scientist Dwight Borden works WITH doctors)
BIG pharma has some mighty secrets
First Wave (Dr. Rook, a torture specialist... also an alien!)
it'll only hurt for a moment
Queen Of Swords (Dr. Robert Helm, a Brit doing the best he can in 1817 Spanish California)
a stethoscope and perfect bedside manner
Holby City (Surgeon Dan Clifford, works in a London hospital, seduces other medical personnel, natch!)
always wins at penis measuring contests

Do the Words Compulsive Obsessive Mean Anything To You?

Watching Methos in Highlander: The Series, one begins to obsess. Next, the obsession expands to more Peter Wingfield characters. I’ve explored recurring circumstances, wardrobe, tropes, and even the meaning of Methos itself. Now I need your help! Send me your compulsion/obsession/instance you’d like to see given attention on my Strange Observations Page.