Anyone watching Outlander?

I've mentioned that I decided to read Diana Gabaldon's series after being told we wrote in a similar genre:  historical fantasy fiction with time warps.

Her NYT series has been made into a TV series, which premiered in the US and Canada earlier this month.



When I first saw the publicity, I was a little disappointed with the casting of Sam Heughan as the hero, Jamie Fraser, an 18th century Scottish Highlander.  I may have mentioned that Jamie was one of the  most delightful fictional characters i had come across.  Mr. Heughan did not look like the individual I had pictured in my head.  (daughter Lynn agreed, but we were both pleasantly surprised seeing the first episode.  The brogue did it for both of us.  son-in-law Chris is equally impressed with the series so far.)



 Caitriona Balfe was obviously the perfect choice for the heroine, Claire, a 20th century woman transported back 200 years in time:



Starz is still showing the 1st 3 episodes multiple times during the day,  so it's not too late.

I'm not sure if it is showing in GB, Shelagh.  There have been rumors that Scotland's recent decision to withdraw might be causing a scheduling problem.

Starz is having tremendous success with it on this side of the pond, though.  Episode 4, "The Gathering," premiers tonight at 8:pm CST.

Not quite sure I believe this, but it seems that Episode 1 is availavle on youtube, for a while anyway.

give it a try, if you dare.  You will get hooked.

I'm not feeling very benevolent towards the Scots at the moment, Ann.

I get that, Shelagh.  That's why I mentioned it in the OP.  The "sassenachs," other than the heroine and her 20th century husband, do not fare well. Sorry about that.

There are bits you might not mind.  When the Laird of Clan Mackenzie asks Claire, "Do ye not have demons in Oxfordshire?" she replies, "We do, but we call them Scots."

Call them what you like, the Scots are an ungrateful lot. Fantasy fiction with romantic Highland characters are very popular in the US. Not my cup of tea, even romantic fiction set elsewhere. Catherine Cookson is very popular in the UK. My mother likes her books, but I haven't read any or watched any of the film adaptations of her novels.

English; Scots, Highland and Lowland; Irish Catholic, Northern Protestants; and on this side of the Atlantic, Canadians and in the States, Northerners, Southerners, Easterners, Westerners; and on the other side of the world there are Australians and New Zealanders - all, as Shaw once said, divided by a common language.  

I wrote this comment on the Guardian newspaper's blog:

The Scots are not listening. They have been told over and over and over again that they are better off than the rest of the UK, but they are convinced that they are hard done by. No amount of facts and figures will change their attitude.

Likewise, they have been told over and over and over again that they cannot have a shared currency, but they think the government is bluffing. They are not going to change their opinion.

They think that Scottish folk leave Scotland because they can't find work, or that they can earn more money in the rest of the UK. Scots leave because it's bl**dy cold in Scotland. Nine months winter and three months bad weather is no fun! Still, they believe that Scots would stay if Scotland became as wealthy as Norway. Who would want to live in Norway apart from a Norwegian?

They believe that they will do better independently than they will if they remain in the UK. No amount of facts and figures will convince them otherwise.

They are totally ungrateful. David Cameron gave them the chance to separate from the UK, and all they can do is slag him off. Time they went.

After independence, if it doesn't work out, they'll convince themselves that they would have been even worse off if they'd stayed in the union.

The ballot paper should read:

Q: Should Scotland remain part of Great Britain and the United Kingdom?
A: Yes or No

More people would vote for the positive "Yes" than the negative "No". The result would be very different, but Salmond knows that. We are not stupid, and we know it too. The Scots are being conned, but they are having such fun in the process they don't care.

Well, good luck to them. I think the future is looking bright for the rest of the UK, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief.

* "Time they went." implies "Time they went their own separate ways."

Shelagh wrote:

Call them what you like, the Scots are an ungrateful lot. Fantasy fiction with romantic Highland characters are very popular in the US. Not my cup of tea, even romantic fiction set elsewhere. Catherine Cookson is very popular in the UK. My mother likes her books, but I haven't read any or watched any of the film adaptations of her novels.

Was it Longshanks who said, “The trouble with Scotland, it’s full of Scots.”
Give them their freedom...they will find it's a hard road alone. A very hard road.

Yes, this assessment of the costs of independence is a cautionary tale:

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article47228.html

Shelagh wrote:

Yes, this assessment of the costs of independence is a cautionary tale:

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article47228.html

I read that...they are fools. This move on their part will put England in danger of them  seeking help from Russia, or the Germans.
We had that problem in 62  with Cuba. They wanted our help, and we said no...so they went to Russia...that gave Russia a base 90 miles off our shore.

Thanks a lot, Ann.  I saw the YouTube and now I want more and I don't have Starz!!!!  I love it!  It's my kind of story to read though not to write.  I will have to wait until I can get it somewhere besides Starz.

Glad you liked ut, DK

I'm addicted.  And I've no more episodes to watch :-(   HBO is free on my tv this weekend and the only good show was The Book Thief - a marvelously crafted story.

The book Thief was great - as good as the book, even.

I read all the books and loved them.  I wish I could see the TV Series.  Perhaps they will eventually be made into a CV.
I communicated with Diana Galbadon via email concerning her last book saying that I thought she rushed the ending.  I also asked her if there would be a sequel.  Her reply was indignant saying, "Of course" (concerning the sequel).  As for the ending, she admitted that others had similar observations.  She indicated that she was under contract pressure to crank out books and was working to eleviate that.

Ah, such contract pressure.  Neat that you corresponded with the author.

Nothing more erotic than a forward-thinking man.

A Scot's perspective:

http://yesscotland.net/reasons/parliament-cares-scottish-business

My ancestry on my mum's side is mostly English.  On my dad's side, it is strongly Scots-Presbyterian, and even though the family, at one point, moved to Northern Ireland, it is the Lowland Scots that were primarily involved in the defining culture on that side.

Maybe that is why this series is so relevant to me:  English Claire - my mother's influence, and Scotsman Jamie, my father's.  Yes, Jamie was a highlander, but his Protestant sympathies emerge as the stories develop.

I have no concept of the history.  My mom is Irish and English.  That's all I know.  My dad was Swedish and Norwegian.  So there might have been a Viking in there somewhere.

My point was that regardless of knowing nothing of the history, I loved the first of the series that I saw on YouTube. I like what is to me sort of science fiction - time travel - mixed with real life.  Sort of like Captain Kirk going back in time.