The Immortal mixes up mythology from several popular TV shows to create its own. It's a little bit Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Highlander and Brimstone, with comedy and some Matrix action thrown in. The Immortal isn't as artful as those productions. Its seams show. Still, there's nothing like it in syndication right now.

In the two-part pilot, "Demons of the Night," the setup of Rafe's creation as an immortal is poorly done. All the flashbacks are awkward, especially when they're injected into action scenes. However, when The Immortal heads back to the present and focuses on the demons, the show transcends its tight budget. One funny scene has Rafe interrogating a car salesman who is a detacher demon. Different limbs detach from the demon's body until only its head is left. Sometimes, the humor gets lost or isn't funny, and the attempted sexual tension between Sara and Rafe hasn't yet jelled. Still, The Immortal has potential to find a rhythm once all the exposition is out of the way.

As Rafe, Lamas leads the cast. Sword in hand, he convincingly takes down the bad guys. The overly serious backstory exposition doesn't give him much chance to show any knack for comedy, though. Braun has a charmingly natural presence as Goodwin. Sara, played by Telek, isn't a good fit with the other characters, but that may change as the series progresses. Keating and Clavell will have reccurring roles as the deliciously wicked and memorable demons Mallos and Vashista.

The series has promise and, given some time, may be able to stake out a territory in the dark fantasy genre.