Andromache 'Andy' the Scythian (Charlize Theron) is immortal. She is so old she doesn't even remember her age. Her wounds heal without leaving scars, but she's not impervious to pain and can die, usually coming back to life by dramatically jerking upright.

Andy is not alone; other immortals, just like her, age up to the moment of their first death and then remain that same age. They have a sixth sense that alerts them to the existence of a new immortal, whom Andy places under his tutelage.

We see flashbacks to events from her past; over the centuries she has helped shape the course of history, participating in countless armed conflicts on the side she feels is morally right, all the while helplessly watching everyone she has ever known and loved grow old, sick and die. Andy and her brethren have drawn the attention of certain humans, who observe them with the intention of capturing and studying them.

If this sounds extremely familiar, it's because it is – so much so that Highlander franchise creator Gregory Widen could reasonably take legal action. The only difference is that Duncan MacLeod and his ilk can only die when their heads are lopped off, while TOG's immortals simply stop healing and presumably resume aging, after an undetermined period of time, which may or may not vary from one immortal to another – that is, they lose their immortality as arbitrarily as they gain it.

This reminds me of a Borges short story appropriately titled The Immortal, about a Roman tribune who drinks from a river that grants immortality and, after discovering that eternal life is a sentence and not a gift, spends the rest of his life searching for the river that will render him mortal again.

Borges begins by citing Francis Bacon's Essays: “Solomon saith: There is no new thing upon the earth. So that as Plato had an imagination, that all knowledge was but remembrance; so Solomon giveth his sentence, that all novelty is but oblivion." The Old Guard further confirms that statement.

All things considered, there's nothing here that we couldn't find done better – and in much less time – in a Highlander episode chosen at random. For a '90s TV series, Highlander's production values are superior to many modern movies, its scripts are well thought out and exciting, its characters well-rounded, and its fights expertly choreographed. When it comes to exploring the benefits and drawbacks of immortality, Duncan MacLeod has the authority to tell Andy, "been there, done that."