This one caught me by surprise.
I’ve long been aware of the phenomenal success of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, and I even read the first book, a long, long time ago. For some reason I never did get around to reading the rest of the series. It may have been so long ago, there was no other books in the series then.
I heard rumours about the series being turned into a TV series a long, long time ago, too. I think it must have been very early in the development of the series.
Then I heard the fuss about who they had cast as Jamie Fraser, and promptly forgot about it again.
I tripped over the first half of the first season of Outlander quite by accident – I saw a man in a kilt and thought, “Hmmm, that looks like an interesting face,” and believe it or not, still didn’t connect the name of the series with Gabaldon’s books. I was really asleep at the switch, I tell you.
Then I read the blurb and got a mental slap upside the head – sort of a d’uh! sensation.
I coaxed and wheedled Mark for nearly two weeks, as historicals are not his favourite fiction at all. He finally relented and we sat down to watch the first eight episodes. I was completely and utterly hooked by the end of the first episode, and Mark was sucked in by the second. (He keeps yelling at the screen, “Tell them who you are!”)
Pulse Pause Moments: There’s a few, and not all of them feature the delicious and very Scottish Sam Heughan, who plays Jamie.
I think the most electrifying moment, right back in the first episode, is when Claire is pulled back to the eighteenth century, and runs straight into her husband’s ancestor, the chillingly foul Jonathan Randall. That’s a hold-your-breath moment right there.
Then, I’m sorry, I have to mention it. There’s the shot of Sam Heughan’s backside (what I dubbed ‘the money shot’) in the wedding episode. Mmm…
I’m waiting to see a really genuine, heart-stopping moment between Claire and Jamie. They’re still getting to know each other, and aren’t letting any real or deep feelings show yet. But I’m sure they will. Unfortunately, the series is on hiatus until 2015.
But oddly, one of the most breath-halting moments in the series, for me, was when Claire and Frank hid and watched the wiccans dancing around the standing stones – Craigh na Dun. The dance was haunting, and the music evocative and it really made you feel that there was something mystical and powerful at work. When Claire and Frank look at each other and sort of blink in amazement, I was right there with them.
As a bonus the wiccans’ dance features strongly in the opening credits, along with what I think is the best TV series theme in a long time. It’s a reworking of the traditional Skye Boat Song, with new lyrics. I fell in love with it and bought the track. It’s been wearing itself out on my current play list.
If you haven’t caught up with the series yourself yet, sneak a peak at the opening credits and the beautiful song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPRiww6ovWw. See if you can resist watching the show after that. 🙂
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I picked up Outlander one night in a store because I thought the premise of the book sounded interesting. The moment I finished it, I was on the hunt for more. Dragonfly in Amber, the second book in the series, had just been published, so I came home from the bookstore hauling this enormous hardback. It has since been joined by all the other books in the series. Everyone who knows me is aware that when Diana Gabaldon releases a new book that they’re not to bother me. Don’t call, don’t come by, don’t talk to me. I’m immersed in that book.
When I first learned that there was finally going to be a screen adaptation of the books, I was apprehensive. The books are so intricate and so involved that I was worried the shortcuts that would be necessary to bring it to the screen would fail to tell the story. But Starz has done an excellent job. The fact that they’ve included Diana in the process as much as possible has helped. (She even had a cameo appearance in the episode about the oath-taking.) And Sam Heughan? Damn. The man IS Jamie. Can’t wait til April when it comes back. Plus, a second season has been ordered, and is in the works!
Hi Juli:
Yes, I heard the second season was approved before episode three aired. They do seem to have done a good job translating the book to screen, but it has also been a very long time since I read it, so all I remember are the very large sweeping strokes of the story and they’re certainly following those.
Cheers,
t.