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[anaron]

I was discussing this with someone a few weeks back - his bagpipe Adama theme from Battlestar is amazing so I have high hopes for his Outlander score.

Lol, that Adama/Celtic-ey BSG work has been my exact same standard. Besides their pre-existing relationship, I always thought Moore would want him for this show due to that.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Outlander Author Diana Gabaldon Will Make An Appearance On The Starz Series

She says she was originally asked to be an extra on the show, but doing that would've meant standing in the same spot for three days, so instead, they're giving her a small speaking role.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Ron Moore on Adapting 'Outlander,'

Is there a note that Starz has given you that you found particularly helpful?

One of the very first notes that [Starz CEO] Chris Albrecht told me was to trust the book. He said, "We love the book. Make the show for the fans of the book and believe that anyone who doesn't know this material, when they see it, they'll be swept into the story like everyone else is. "I was really taken aback because nobody says that in this town. Generally, people [option] books and say, "We bought it for the cover, do what you want and nobody really cares." Starz had integrity.

The book series is very sexual. Have you had any issues with boundaries from Starz?

I haven't run into any boundaries yet. There's a lot of sex in the book, so we put it in the show where it is in the book. It's organic to the story because this is the way the story was laid out. We don't have to overdo it; we don't have to just take somebody's clothes off for the sake of doing it. I feel very comfortable about it. I've got a 14-year-old and a 12-year-old at home who know about this project and love this stuff. I've showed them some footage and the trailer, but at the same time I'm not going to sit and watch this with my 12-year-old daughter once we really get going. I wish I could, but that's not what the book is and that's not what the story is.

 

[anaron]

The sex stuff sounds...encouraging? Or at least, an indication of a less gratuitous execution.

 

[Tragicomedy]

Sad admission: I'm hoping this show is terrible and flops miserably.

Not for any personal vendetta against Moore, nor ill-will towards the series. It's just that my wife is going to force me to watch every episode of the dang thing and I can't be bothered. I tried reading the first book at her request and it's abysmal. I'm not the target audience, to be fair, but that doesn't excuse fumbling prose and carboard characters.

I'll never understand how poorly written books like this or the Divergent series get optioned into major TV and movie productions. I mean, the source material is so bad.

Spoiler

p.s. Don't tell my wife. She thinks I'm firmly in the PRO-OUTLANDER camp. ;p

 

[RatskyWatsky]

The sex stuff sounds...encouraging? Or at least, an indication of a less gratuitous execution.

Yeah, I'm glad they're following the book in that regard. There is a ton of sex and nudity in the book, but the scenes (so far) all make sense contexually and nothing is really gratuitous about them.

BTW, you read the book sis?

Sad admission: I'm hoping this show is terrible and flops miserably.

no u

Not for any personal vendetta against Moore, nor ill-will towards the series. It's just that my wife is going to force me to watch every episode of the dang thing and I can't be bothered.

Man up and tell her you don't like it and don't want to watch it with her! >:O

Spoiler

Also, you can't be bothered to spend 1 hour per week with your wife doing something that makes her happy? Marriage is all about compromise, son!

I tried reading the first book at her request and it's abysmal. I'm not the target audience, to be fair, but that doesn't excuse fumbling prose and carboard characters.

I'll never understand how poorly written books like this or the Divergent series get optioned into major TV and movie productions. I mean, the source material is so bad.

It's definitely not for everyone, but I wouldn't say it's "bad". They may not be the most well written books out there, but if you can adjust your expectations, they're pretty readable and fun and (way too) romantic and offer up likable characters that have sex and go on adventures and stuff. At the end of the day, as long as they scratch all of those itches and do so in an entertaining manner, does it really matter if they're not all time greats?

Spoiler

p.s. Don't tell my wife. She thinks I'm firmly in the PRO-OUTLANDER camp. ;p

Spoiler

I'm going to tell her next time I see her. I won't!

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Apparently the first episode features a scene where the lead female lifts up her skirt, while on the tour of a castle no less, to reveal she isn't wearing any underwear and the male protag goes down on her...., again while touring a castle.

So yeah, do you know if this was true after all? Because it doesn't fit either of the lead characters at all. Like not at all and it's weird because they said they were following the books very closely, so that sort of has me worried that they're Starzifying it. :/

 

[RatskyWatsky]

The first season apparently has a budget of "upwards of 50 million pounds" which is like over 80 million dollars. :O

 

[injurai]

The first season apparently has a budget of "upwards of 50 million pounds" which is like over 80 million dollars. :O

~5 mill per episode

that doesn't sound too unfathomable to what it costs on other shows

 

[RatskyWatsky]

~5 mill per episode

that doesn't sound too unfathomable to what it costs on other shows

$1 million less than Game of Thrones :O

 

[Darklord]

The first season apparently has a budget of "upwards of 50 million pounds" which is like over 80 million dollars. :O

Damn, that's huge! In contrast BGS had about $1-2 million budget per episode and Stargate Universe was $2-3 million per episode. Stargate Universe looked incredible too. This better have some serious quality to it for that price!

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Damn, that's huge! In contrast BGS had about $1-2 million budget per episode and Stargate Universe was $2-3 million per episode. Stargate Universe looked incredible too. This better have some serious quality to it for that price!

The costumes look incredible and the set design looks really good too. I think it'll probably be Starz' best looking series to date!

 

[injurai]

I guess I'm confusing episode cost with pilot costs that I have seen for shows.

Guess we are in for a treat. I sort of thought Helix was R.D.Moore's new show, then I realized he is just producing it. Which is good cause impressions were sounding bad.

Can't wait to see what his talent and this sort of backing will produce.

 

[anaron]

The first season apparently has a budget of "upwards of 50 million pounds" which is like over 80 million dollars. :O

Shiiiieeet.

Starz is putting a lot on this then.

BTW, you read the book sis?

No not yet. I think I'll wait for the show to premiere before diving into the series. Do you like them?

 

[anaron]

New Teaser

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

I couldn't get past the first 5 pages after my ex recommended it to me.

 

[anaron]

I couldn't get past the first 5 pages after my ex recommended it to me.

Ron Moore and Bear McCreary tho

 

[jb1234]

The first season apparently has a budget of "upwards of 50 million pounds" which is like over 80 million dollars. :O

I hope they give Bear an orchestra. With that budget, why not?

 

[RatskyWatsky]

I keep seeing Starz and various people in the media referring to this as "sci-fi/fantasy" and I think that it's quite misleading. There is a small sci-fi fantasy element (two, if you count

Spoiler

her very brief encounter with Nessie...

), but by and large this is a historical fiction romance adventure series, with a heavy emphasis on the romance.

I think that the people who end up tuning into this for the sci-fi fantasy parts are going to be very disappointed.

 

[hythloday]

I keep seeing Starz and various people in the media referring to this as "sci-fi/fantasy" and I think that it's quite misleading. There is a small sci-fi fantasy element (two, if you count

Spoiler

her very brief encounter with Nessie...

), but by and large this is a historical fiction romance adventure series, with a heavy emphasis on the romance.

I think that the people who end up tuning into this for the sci-fi fantasy parts are going to be very disappointed.

I totally agree with you.

The Outlander series has a very large number of fans, but by and large they're all women who like historical fiction and romance (myself included). I was pretty skeptical that Starz would pull a big enough audience to make an Outlander show worth it, but then I saw the livestream of one of their fan events promoting the show. Hearing them all screaming when Sam Heughan said

Spoiler

"sassenach"

reminded me of a Justin Bieber concert with a grown-up audience.

I'm sure the show will do well, but probably because of the already-devoted fans and not the fantasy/sci-fi audience they seem to be aiming for. I mean, it is fantasy, in that events happen that don't happen in real life like time travel and

Spoiler

seeing Nessie

. But the setting is 1700s Scotland, which is a real time and place. That's not what people think of when you talk about "fantasy." People are going to go into this expecting Game of Thrones-style fantasy if they talk that up too much.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

This will probably premiere on either August 2nd or 9th, btw.

I'm sure the show will do well, but probably because of the already-devoted fans and not the fantasy/sci-fi audience they seem to be aiming for.

I think it's going to do very well. The established fan base is huge (and rabid and I think it'll do well just off their backs alone. Plus, Starz is trying to diversify their audience and Outlander is definitely going to skew heavily female, so that's a highly desirable thing for them at the moment.

And because the first season was so expensive to produce, we're all but guaranteed a second season because Starz will want to justify the cost of the costumes and sets by getting at least two seasons out of it. That's basically what they do for all their shows, anyway.

I have a lot of faith in 'Outlander' and I think that (pending Da Vinci's Demons' renewal/cancellation) Outlander stands a good chance of being the first Starz show since Spartacus to make it past two seasons.

People are going to go into this expecting Game of Thrones-style fantasy if they talk that up too much.

Yeah. They (and people in the media who clearly haven't read the book(s) really need to stop playing up the "this is sci-fi/fantasy!!" angle. It's not doing the show any favors.

I also feel like a lot of people are going in to this with certain expectations because of Ron Moore's involvement, and I think those people are also going to be disappointed when they see the show because it really isn't anything like his previous work.

 

[Sarcasm]

Couldn't finish the book series so I wonder how this will go.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Couldn't finish the book series so I wonder how this will go.

How far did you get?

 

[Sarcasm]

The fourth or fifth book. It is like what 8 books total? I barely remember any of it. I will probably read it all again after I get through my current lists off book (series) to read.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Scottish actor Steven Cree has been cast as Ian Murray

Ian Murray is

Spoiler

Jamie’s best friend since childhood. Ian lost part of his leg during battle with the English but that hasn’t held him back.

The casting seems really on point so far.

 

[Cornballer]

- New trailer via Deadline

 

[ivysaur12]

http://www.starz.com/originals/outlander/

Why is the logo the Harry Potter font.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

- New trailer via Deadline

:O

Why is the logo the Harry Potter font.

First Quidditch and now this? You've gone Potter mad ivy!

 

[ivysaur12]

:O



First Quidditch and now this? You've gone Potter mad ivy!

But seriously.

It's too similar!

 

[RatskyWatsky]

But seriously.

It's too similar!

That letter "I" though. :/

But yeah, it is fairly similar. That wasn't the original font of the first novel, so they probably changed it to appeal to older female HP fans or something.

 

[Big-E]

Want this to be good but Moore dropped the ball withHelix.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Want this to be good but Moore dropped the ball withHelix.

Moore was only an executive producer on Helix. He provided some mythology feedback and that's about it. He didn't even write a single episode. iirc.

 

[ivysaur12]

Want this to be good but Moore dropped the ball withHelix.

Ron Moore had almost nothing to do with Helix after the pilot.

 

[Kevin]

Helix is probably one of the worse sci-fi shows I have ever seen and that's not even sarcasm. This show however, the trailer looks potentially great. I'll definitely check it out if the reviews are solid.

 

[Big-E]

Moore was only an executive producer on Helix. He provided some mythology feedback and that's about it. He didn't even write a single episode. iirc.

Thats good to hear.

 

[Cornballer]

- EW: Starz announces 'Outlander' debut

Outlander fans, your wait is almost over. Starz announced today that the series adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling books will debut Saturday, August 9.

Starz will air 16 episodes of the series that’s currently shooting on location in Scotland. The Outlander series follows Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe) as she navigates the hidden dangers of 18th century Scotland. When she is forced to marry Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), 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.

The cast also includes Tobias Menzies as Frank Randall, Graham McTavish (Dougal MacKenzie), Gary Lewis (Colum MacKenzie), Lotte Verbeek (Geillis Duncan) and Duncan Lacroix (Murtagh FitzGibbons Fraser).

 

[ivysaur12]

I think Starz has done a very good job not marketing Outlander as a straight fantasy novel, but Ron Moore's involvement will draw more genre expectations no matter what.

Either way, I'm very excited for this.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Poster is absolutely fantastic as is the tagline. Can't wait to see how this is adapted. Really hope Moore was able to inject some dimension into Jamie.

This will probably premiere on either August 2nd or 9th, btw.

Starz announced today that the series adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling books will debut Saturday, August 9.

Yep.

 

[anaron]

The lead dude is so fucking fine.

 

[Cornballer]

- EW: Starz' 'Outlander' to premiere online early

You won’t have to wait quite so long to watch Starz’ eagerly awaited fantasy drama Outlander.

The premium network plans to make the premiere available free online one week before its planned series launch date. The first Outlander episode will be put online Aug. 2, with the series premiere on Starz as planned Aug. 9. The first eight episodes of the 16-episode debut season will air over eight consecutive Saturdays through September 27. Then Starz plans to put the show on winter hiatus, with the second half scheduled to continue in early 2015.

Outlander is adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling books and with Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica) as showrunner.

 

[Earendil]

I've never wanted premium channels before, but they're going to make me add Starz to my Dish service, aren't they?

I wonder how far they are going to go into the series. I just started In My Own Heart's Blood and it's really good so far. I'd love to see them at least go through Voyager, if not further.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

The first eight episodes of the 16-episode debut season will air over eight consecutive Saturdays through September 27. Then Starz plans to put the show on winter hiatus, with the second half scheduled to continue in early 2015.

I wonder how far they are going to go into the series. I just started In My Own Heart's Blood and it's really good so far. I'd love to see them at least go through Voyager, if not further.

The first season will be a direct adaptation of the first book, but they said in the future they won't necessarily stick to the "1 book = 1 season" rule. So season 2 might have some Voyager if they choose to bring some things forward*

*

Spoiler

I've only read the first book, and I know some of the later books jump forward in time, so that might not be possible.

 

[Earendil]

The first season will be a direct adaptation of the first book, but they said in the future they won't necessarily stick to the "1 book = 1 season" rule. So season 2 might have some Voyager if they choose to bring some things forward*

*

Spoiler

I've only read the first book, and I know some of the later books jump forward in time, so that might not be possible.

Thanks.

Spoiler

Given the 20 year difference between the end of Dragonfly and the beginning of Voyager, they may not. But then again, it would be fairly easy to make them look older. From what I remember of the books, Claire doesn't look much older except for some grey hair, and as Jamie put it, her 'arse is a little rounder.'

 

[Mighty Chin]

Just found out my 2nd Cousin will have a small role on this show.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Thanks.

Spoiler

Given the 20 year difference between the end of Dragonfly and the beginning of Voyager, they may not. But then again, it would be fairly easy to make them look older. From what I remember of the books, Claire doesn't look much older except for some grey hair, and as Jamie put it, her 'arse is a little rounder.'

Spoiler

I figured as much.

Still, if the show is a success, I doubt they'd want to rush things by combining multiple books into a single season anyway.

Just found out my 2nd Cousin will have a small role on this show.

Who are they going to play? :O

 

[ivysaur12]

Going to a screening of it soon, can't wait.

 

[Mighty Chin]

Spoiler

I figured as much.

Still, if the show is a success, I doubt they'd want to rush things by combining multiple books into a single season anyway.



Who are they going to play? :O

Didn't say, just that he's filming his part in August. I'll update if I find out.

 

[shadowkat]

I'm looking forward to this.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Going to a screening of it soon, can't wait.

How soon?

Didn't say, just that he's filming his part in August. I'll update if I find out.

Do

 

[ivysaur12]

How soon?

Comic Con.