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New Highlands and time travel TV fantasy aims to rival Game of Thrones New Highlands and time travel TV fantasy aims to rival Game of Thrones
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A transatlantic offering combining kilts, time travel and stirring romance in the Scottish Highlands is about to launch a spirited challenge to the reigning monarch of fantasy television drama, Game of Thrones.A transatlantic offering combining kilts, time travel and stirring romance in the Scottish Highlands is about to launch a spirited challenge to the reigning monarch of fantasy television drama, Game of Thrones.
The Outlander series of books by American writer Diana Gabaldon, which have sold 26 million copies worldwide and are published in 36 languages, are finally coming to the small screen in Britain this week, 24 years after the first novel was published.The Outlander series of books by American writer Diana Gabaldon, which have sold 26 million copies worldwide and are published in 36 languages, are finally coming to the small screen in Britain this week, 24 years after the first novel was published.
Made at a cost of £50m, the series is already a hit in America, proving that the entertainment industry’s faith in betting heavily on the appeal of fantasy and adventure can pay off. Gabaldon, 63, will speak at the Oxford Literary Festival today on the eve of the European premiere of the new TV dramatisation in London and has said that she held out against all offers to adapt her books until she read a screenplay that “didn’t make me want to scream”.Made at a cost of £50m, the series is already a hit in America, proving that the entertainment industry’s faith in betting heavily on the appeal of fantasy and adventure can pay off. Gabaldon, 63, will speak at the Oxford Literary Festival today on the eve of the European premiere of the new TV dramatisation in London and has said that she held out against all offers to adapt her books until she read a screenplay that “didn’t make me want to scream”.
Related: Outlander: ‘Game Of Thrones helped open the door for us’
“You want to make sure you can trust the people you’re dealing with, insofar as it is possible to use the word ‘trust’ in the same sentence as the word ‘film-maker’,” she said last year.“You want to make sure you can trust the people you’re dealing with, insofar as it is possible to use the word ‘trust’ in the same sentence as the word ‘film-maker’,” she said last year.
The job of translating the stories to a new medium went to Ronald Moore, the writer and producer behind Battlestar Galactica. “I was struck by his sense of character and how he develops character and the way the stories are all focused very tightly around character, which, if you ask me, is the sole ingredient for a good story,” Gabaldon said.The job of translating the stories to a new medium went to Ronald Moore, the writer and producer behind Battlestar Galactica. “I was struck by his sense of character and how he develops character and the way the stories are all focused very tightly around character, which, if you ask me, is the sole ingredient for a good story,” Gabaldon said.
Like Game of Thrones, which is made by HBO and is now watched by more than 18 million people in the US, Outlander is a transatlantic production and stars many British and Irish actors. It has been bought by entertainment streaming service Amazon Prime Instant Video, and will be central in its attempt to match the success that rival service Netflix has had with House of Cards.Like Game of Thrones, which is made by HBO and is now watched by more than 18 million people in the US, Outlander is a transatlantic production and stars many British and Irish actors. It has been bought by entertainment streaming service Amazon Prime Instant Video, and will be central in its attempt to match the success that rival service Netflix has had with House of Cards.
Gabaldon, who grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona, and has a distinguished academic background in behavioural ecology and computation, gave up science to become a full-time author in 1991. Her time-travel stories were first inspired, she has confessed, by the sight of a dashing young Scot who appeared in an early episode of Doctor Who. “I thought that was kind of fetching, and I was still thinking about it the next day in church,” Gabaldon said recently.Gabaldon, who grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona, and has a distinguished academic background in behavioural ecology and computation, gave up science to become a full-time author in 1991. Her time-travel stories were first inspired, she has confessed, by the sight of a dashing young Scot who appeared in an early episode of Doctor Who. “I thought that was kind of fetching, and I was still thinking about it the next day in church,” Gabaldon said recently.
She borrowed the name Jamie from the Doctor Who character and gave her new hero the surname Fraser, because the actor who played him was Fraser Hines. In a nice tribute, Hines has been cast in the role of a prison warder in a later episode of the show.She borrowed the name Jamie from the Doctor Who character and gave her new hero the surname Fraser, because the actor who played him was Fraser Hines. In a nice tribute, Hines has been cast in the role of a prison warder in a later episode of the show.
Outlander is set at the end of the second world war and begins as news of victory in Europe reaches a nurse called Claire Randall, played by Caitriona Balfe.Outlander is set at the end of the second world war and begins as news of victory in Europe reaches a nurse called Claire Randall, played by Caitriona Balfe.
She’s reunited with her husband, Frank, played by Tobias Menzies, after a five-year enforced separation and they take a second honeymoon in Inverness. But the auguries for this Scottish trip are not good. As the ancient festival of Samhain draws near, our heroine comes upon a pagan ritual in a circle of standing stones, and is transported 200 years back, into the middle of the Jacobite rebellion.She’s reunited with her husband, Frank, played by Tobias Menzies, after a five-year enforced separation and they take a second honeymoon in Inverness. But the auguries for this Scottish trip are not good. As the ancient festival of Samhain draws near, our heroine comes upon a pagan ritual in a circle of standing stones, and is transported 200 years back, into the middle of the Jacobite rebellion.
Picked up and mistreated by Black Jack Randall, a villain who bears an uncanny resemblance to her husband and is commander of the redcoats, the nurse is stuck in 1743. She is eventually rescued by clansmen, which is when she meets a good-looking Highland warrior, played by Sam Heughan. The story so far, told in 16 episodes, has been gulped down by American viewers, and last summer the subscription channel Starz renewed the series for another season, based on the second book in Gabaldon’s series, Dragonfly in Amber.Picked up and mistreated by Black Jack Randall, a villain who bears an uncanny resemblance to her husband and is commander of the redcoats, the nurse is stuck in 1743. She is eventually rescued by clansmen, which is when she meets a good-looking Highland warrior, played by Sam Heughan. The story so far, told in 16 episodes, has been gulped down by American viewers, and last summer the subscription channel Starz renewed the series for another season, based on the second book in Gabaldon’s series, Dragonfly in Amber.
Like Gabaldon, George RR Martin, the 66-year-old creator of the original Game of Thrones novels, is an American who has found great fame with his fantastical European saga. Now viewers of Game of Thrones, as well as readers of his Song of Ice and Fire books, are equally frustrated by the slow pace of his writing. Many may have been heartened to read last week, as season five of the television show was launched at the Tower of London, that Martin thinks he may finish his next book this year.Like Gabaldon, George RR Martin, the 66-year-old creator of the original Game of Thrones novels, is an American who has found great fame with his fantastical European saga. Now viewers of Game of Thrones, as well as readers of his Song of Ice and Fire books, are equally frustrated by the slow pace of his writing. Many may have been heartened to read last week, as season five of the television show was launched at the Tower of London, that Martin thinks he may finish his next book this year.
The pair of authors, both of whom have enjoyed huge success later in life, are friends. “I have noticed I have a lot more male fans since it came to TV which is great,” Gabaldon told the Observer. “In fact George and I are friends because he lives in Santa Fe and we have a little place there. I said to him we had better be friends because you and I are in a situation not many other people have been in!”The pair of authors, both of whom have enjoyed huge success later in life, are friends. “I have noticed I have a lot more male fans since it came to TV which is great,” Gabaldon told the Observer. “In fact George and I are friends because he lives in Santa Fe and we have a little place there. I said to him we had better be friends because you and I are in a situation not many other people have been in!”
The Outlander stories do not contain as much nudity or violence as Game of Thrones and they have been carefully researched by Gabaldon, who admits she knew nothing of Scottish history before she started. For some, the real star of the new television series will be the Scottish scenery – the success of the show in America has already caused an increase in visitors to the Highlands.The Outlander stories do not contain as much nudity or violence as Game of Thrones and they have been carefully researched by Gabaldon, who admits she knew nothing of Scottish history before she started. For some, the real star of the new television series will be the Scottish scenery – the success of the show in America has already caused an increase in visitors to the Highlands.
The first eight episodes of Outlander will be available on Amazon Prime Instant Video from Thursday, following Monday’s premiere. Further episodes are to made available each week from 5 April. The first eight episodes of Outlander will be available on Amazon Prime Instant Video from Thursday, following Monday’s premiere. Further episodes are to made available each week from 5 April.