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Outlander - Scottish highland time travel romance from Ron Moore - back for S1 Pt 2!

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R

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus


Outlander is an adaptation of the wildly popular 'Outlander' series by Diana Gabaldon. Published in 1991, the first book in the series (which currently consists of eight novels and 11 novellas) focuses on 20th century nurse Claire Randall, who time travels to 18th century Scotland and finds adventure and romance with the dashing James Fraser. Said to be a mix of several genres, the Outlander series features elements of historical fiction, romance, adventure and science fiction/fantasy.

Outlander was adapted for television by Ronald D. Moore, best known for his 2003 reimagining of Battlestar Galactica. Bear McCreary composed the score.

The first season will cover the first book, 'Outlander', and will consist of 16 episodes, with the first 8 airing this fall and the second 8 airing in the spring.

Book spoilers should be properly labeled and tagged. Please keep future book spoilers to a minimum.

Outlander follows the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire’s heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
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Cast



  • The quick-witted, stubborn but lovely, English Claire Randall, is a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743.
  • Armed with sheer grit and enduring strength, Jamie is a strapping young Scottish clan lord with a complicated past and a disarming sense of humor.
  • Claire's husband in the 20th century, Frank is an intellectual and an academic.
  • A Captain in the English Army back in 1743, Jack has been posted in Scotland during a time when rebellion is in the air. As an officer in an occupying army, he’s seen and done terrible and horrific things in the undeclared war in the Highlands.
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  • The Laird of the MacKenzie clan, Colum is Jamie's maternal uncle and brother to Dougal. Colum suffers from Toulouse-Lautrec Syndrome, a degenerative disease that renders his legs immobile at times, and fills his days with a great amount of pain.
  • A skilled and experienced warrior, Dougal is the War Chieftain of Clan MacKenzie. His older brother Colum is the ruling Laird, but Dougal is his loyal right hand and the true muscle.
  • The wife of the procurator fiscal, and a good friend to Claire, Geillis’ advanced knowledge of herbs and plants cause many to believe she is a witch. Geillis is a master manipulator, able to get her husband - among others - to bend to her will.
  • Mysterious and dark, like a vulture lurking in the background, Murtagh dutifully watches over his godson Jamie. Although a reserved man, he’s a very loyal godfather, and lives his life by a strict a code.
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Videos and Articles

Opening Credits

Official Trailer
Disappearance Trailer
Journey Trailer

Behind the Scenes
Book to Series

Fan Gathering
World Premiere Screening Q&A
San Diego Comic-Con 2014 Panel

Time - “The Book Was Better”: Why Readers of TV Adaptations Need to Let Go
NY Times - A Highland Fling Would Not Be Unexpected Here
WSJ - Producer Says New Starz Series ‘Outlander’ Not Easy to Shoot
IBT - 7 Things To Know About Outlander

Reviews

The first six episodes of the Starz drama are a feast for the eyes, and, as is the case with a very different HBO show, "Treme," the way the place is depicted helps convey why its residents care so much about it. Few things on your television this year will look as gorgeous as "Outlander," which makes for a nice contrast to the bloodier fare TV keeps flinging at us.

More things to like: Bear McCreary's music is haunting, yearning and exciting in equal measure; the male leads, Tobias Menzies and Sam Heughan, have undeniable presence, and the show's sincerity of purpose has its winning side as well.

That said, the metabolism on "Outlander" could use a boost.

- Mo Ryan
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Ms. Balfe, Mr. Heughan and Tobias Menzies acquit themselves well, sharing the screen with the scenery and costumes and keeping straight faces through all the fantasy-romance conceits. They seem to be having a good time, and if you have a weakness for muskets, accents and the occasional roll in the heather, you probably will too.

- NY Times
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It takes a while to build up satisfying dramatic steam, so it may require more patience than some are willing to give.... but there has to be something great about a show that keeps you staring at it episode after episode, waiting for attraction to take its course.

- Wall Street Journal
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What makes it just plain good is the escapist fun of a romance told uncommonly well.

- Entertainment Weekly
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Promo Photos

ccMjgHo.jpg








Ratings

Episode 1: 720K
Episode 2: 890K
Episode 3: 1.00 million
Episode 4: 854K
Episode 5: 948K
Episode 6: 1.09 million
Episode 7: 1.23 million
Episode 8: 1.41 million
Episode 9: 1.22 million
Episode 10: 860K
Episode 11: 1.1 million
Episode 12: 1.1 million
Episode 13: 1.0 million
Episode 14: 1.1 million
Episode 15: 1.0 million
Episode 16: 981K
 
A

Akahige

Member
Airing on Saturday, odd.

Only read the first book and wasn't really into it but I'll check this out if I hear good things.
 
D

dalin80

Banned
I was thinking of 'Highlander' and couldn't make sense of the OP at all. 'But where is all the beheading?' Whoops.
 
S

SlickShoes

Member
They filmed lots of this in the village I live in, they were here all of may I think it was at our local castle.

Village is called Doune and is in Central Scotland.

The castle is also the castle from monty python and was winterfell in the game of thrones pilot amongst other things.

Hadn't really heard of the TV show but it seems like something aimed more at a US audience, don't think it's my thing bit hope they come back as the crew had two spaniels living on site that were really cool guys.
 
R

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
SlickShoes said:
it seems like something aimed more at a US audience
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How do you mean?

studyguy said:
This but through time, since that's all I remember about Outlander now.
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(general non-plot/character spoiler)
There is a lot a lot a lot of sex in the book, and given that they've adopted a "if it happens in the book it happens on the show" rule, I don't think anyone will be disappointed on the front.

terribletwo said:
gonna be great to watch that sassenach and also the sweaty nerd tears of confusion
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:}
 
MisterFalcon

MisterFalcon

Member
Cheerilee said:
vy4htVc.jpg
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That's what I thought when I first saw the title and Ronald D. Moore, BSG on a mining outpost. But this looks pretty cool too, it reminds me of Inversions by Ian Banks where a female doctor
who is an agent for an advanced civilization
cures the king from some disease and gets into a position of significant power and influence. Having knowledge of modern (even 1940's) medicine would be one of the most useful things to have, everyone gets sick and wants to get better.

Ciaiatroainia (or however you spell it) is also really classy and charming in all her interviews.
 
N

NotTheGuyYouKill

Member
I've never heard of this series and only know the scantest details about this show.

Should I watch this show? Is it just a chick flick type deal?
 
H

hythloday

Member
The On Demand version of episode 1 isn't in HD. What. I know, free preview, but I actually pay for Starz. Weird. Not a big deal, just thought that was odd.

I will be watching it this afternoon!

Edit: Watched it. I enjoyed it. My only criticism is some of the voice-over narration was unnecessary and distracting. Some moments were nothing more than "well, duh" explanations of what was obviously going on. Some of it was alright though, especially in the first 10-15 minutes. I had hoped that at a certain point, the narration would stop and we'd just be watching Claire's experiences unfold. We'll see how it goes for episode 2.

But I enjoyed literally everything else except for some of those bits of narration.
 
K

Kevin

Member
I enjoyed the pilot. Will watch a few episodes to see how it develops and determine if I want to stick with it or not. So far the pilot was pretty strong and worth a watch.
 
R

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
I liked it.

Random/more detailed thoughts:

I can't overstate how fucking amazing the song is in the opening credits. Bear McCreary NAILED IT. The rest of the score is really good too. Love all the bagpipes.

It's an absolutely gorgeous show. The locations they filmed at are stunning and the cinematography is well done. (although it occurred to me that some scenes looked cinematic while others looked very cheap and TV-ish, if that makes sense)

(spoilered because the episode hasn't officially premiered yet)
The casting is absolutely spot on. Claire, Frank/Black Jack, Dougal, and Murtagh are all very good but Jamie in particular is perfect (and gorgeous hhnnnggg).

The narration is definitely problematic. It's an overly bookish technique and it just doesn't fit with the TV series very well. I mean, it wasn't all bad, and I thought some of the narration was effective, but I'm not sure why they thought it was a good idea to use it so often, and according to reviews it only gets worse from here. Hopefully they'll lay off it as the series progresses.

I'm impressed that they spent so much time in the 1940s. I figured they'd be in such a hurry to get to the highland kilt stuff that they'd gloss over most of the "modern day" set up. I was glad to see them take their time with it, but as a result, I feel like the pacing took a bit of a hit - the first act felt quite slow and uneventful compared to the more engaging second act.

"Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ" - an amusing swear in the book but something that sounds exceptionally awkward actually coming out of someone's mouth.

The female druid ritual came off as really cheesy. There was, like, a weird filter (or lighting or whatever) they used that made everything look fuzzy and warm and Ace of Base-y. It seriously looked like it came out of a 90s music video or something.

Some of the (thick Scottish) accents were a little hard to understand.

And, to those of you wondering how it compares to the book,
it's basically a shot for shot adaptation of the first few chapters. There were no major changes/deviations that I could spot.
 
K

Kevin

Member
Using spoiler tags, can somebody give a gist of what this show is going to be about? I watched the pilot but I still have no idea exactly what the content of the show will be about?
 
R

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Kevin said:
Using spoiler tags, can somebody give a gist of what this show is going to be about? I watched the pilot but I still have no idea exactly what the content of the show will be about?
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(vague plot spoilers)
The story is about Claire trying to make her way back to the 1940s while dealing with her increasingly romantic feelings for Jamie.
 
L

Lan Dong Mik

And why would I want them?
Just watched this with my wife who's a huge fan of the book. I actually really liked it. Had some very low expectations but I like the characters a lot so far, and the actress that plays Claire is great and insanely gorgeous, in a pretty unique/old fashioned way haha. Cinematography is amazing too. Stoked to watch this the rest of the season.
 
R

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Shemyaza said:
Just watched this with my wife who's a huge fan of the book. I actually really liked it. Had some very low expectations but I like the characters a lot so far, and the actress that plays Claire is great and insanely gorgeous, in a pretty unique/old fashioned way haha. Cinematography is amazing too. Stoked to watch this the rest of the season.
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Sweet! What did your wife think?
 
L

Lan Dong Mik

And why would I want them?
RatskyWatsky said:
Sweet! What did your wife think?
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She loved it!! lol she kept telling me to shut up because I was asking her questions about who everyone was since she does the same thing to me when we watch game of thrones! She's been looking forward to this show for a loooong time so I'm happy I ended up liking it too.
 
H

Hours Left

Member
Ugh, just realized we're gonna be three weeks behind in Canada. (Doesn't premiere until the 24th.)

Why do channels still do this? It's so stupid, and really dampens my enthusiasm to give the show a shot.
 
R

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Shemyaza said:
She loved it!! lol she kept telling me to shut up because I was asking her questions about who everyone was since she does the same thing to me when we watch game of thrones! She's been looking forward to this show for a loooong time so I'm happy I ended up liking it too.
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How cute :3

BertramCooper said:
I hope it doesn't get too romance novel-ish.

That could turn me off pretty quickly.
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About that...
 
A

AngmarsKing701

Member
I liked it. Obviously a ton of setup in the first 30 minutes. Will keep watching. My wife has read all the books, so this is the reverse GoT for us.
 
H

hythloday

Member
BertramCooper said:
I hope it doesn't get too romance novel-ish.

That could turn me off pretty quickly.
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teehee

RatskyWatsky said:
(spoilered because the episode hasn't officially premiered yet)
The casting is absolutely spot on. Claire, Frank/Black Jack, Dougal, and Murtagh are all very good but Jamie in particular is perfect (and gorgeous hhnnnggg).

The narration is definitely problematic. It's an overly bookish technique and it just doesn't fit with the TV series very well. I mean, it wasn't all bad, and I thought some of the narration was effective, but I'm not sure why they thought it was a good idea to use it so often, and according to reviews it only gets worse from here. Hopefully they'll lay off it as the series progresses.

I'm impressed that they spent so much time in the 1940s. I figured they'd be in such a hurry to get to the highland kilt stuff that they'd gloss over most of the "modern day" set up. I was glad to see them take their time with it, but as a result, I feel like the pacing took a bit of a hit - the first act felt quite slow and uneventful compared to the more engaging second act.

"Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ" - an amusing swear in the book but something that sounds exceptionally awkward actually coming out of someone's mouth.
Click to expand...

After pondering over it for a day, I agree with you on
"Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ." It did seem kinda forced. And I think the worst offender on the narration/flashback front was "I remember that rock that we saw 15 minutes ago!" followed by Frank talking about the rock again to beat you over the head with the point. Viewers aren't that clueless.

As for the casting,
I think they nailed it on every single character. Every one. I was skeptical of Sam Heughan but damned if he isn't Jaime now.
 
R

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
hythloday said:
And I think the worst offender on the narration/flashback front was "I remember that rock that we saw 15 minutes ago!" followed by Frank talking about the rock again to beat you over the head with the point. Viewers aren't that clueless.
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Yeah, I hate when shows do flashbacks to scenes that happened just minutes earlier in the same episode. It's like, have some faith that your audience can remember something that literally just happened, you know? :p
 
R

Retro

Member
The narration is my main complaint too, it's breaking the "Show, don't tell" rule of filmmaking. For example, when Claire
first catches a glimpse at Inverness after traveling back in time, we've literally just had that shot of the town from the same location. All she had to say was "But it's completely dark!" and have Jamie mutter something like "No shit, Sassensnatch".
JUWnj.gif


Otherwise, no major complaints. They're not giving the audience enough credit.
 
B

Busty

Banned
I've been hearing that Starz have HUGE expectations for this show. Apparently they really do think that it could be their Game Of Thrones sized hits. It certainly has a rabid fanbase waiting for it.

It'll be interesting to see just how much noise a show can make on Starz compared to HBO and Showtime.
 
D

Dabanton

Member
Just finished watching season finale of 'Power' and I saw this trailed in the lower third. Seems right up my SO's street think she's going to love this.
 
R

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Retro said:
The narration is breaking the "Show, don't tell" rule of filmmaking.
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Exactly.

Busty said:
I've been hearing that Starz have HUGE expectations for this show. Apparently they really do think that it could be their Game Of Thrones sized hits. It certainly has a rabid fanbase waiting for it.

It'll be interesting to see just how much noise a show can make on Starz compared to HBO and Showtime.
Click to expand...

I would have high expectations too if I were them. The books are huge and this seems to be the (very faithful) adaptation that fans have been waiting for.

It should be very successful for Starz (scoring their largest premiere yet isn't too much to ask for, and at the very least it should be earning over a million viewers per episode L+SD), but I don't think it has the necessary elements to become a Game of Thrones type breakout hit. It doesn't really have big battles, cgi creatures, Shocking "OMG must tweet" Moments, a vast mythology, crazy twists, etc. that get people excited for Game of Thrones or whatever, and I just don't see a romantical time travel tale really breaking out into the mainstream.
 
A

anaron

Member
Hours Left said:
Ugh, just realized we're gonna be three weeks behind in Canada. (Doesn't premiere until the 24th.)

Why do channels still do this? It's so stupid, and really dampens my enthusiasm to give the show a shot.
Click to expand...
Seriously it's so damn annoying

Doesn't showcase also put commercials in shows that shouldn't?
 
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