…it’s only been 14 months (or is it 20), but feels like 20 years; so goes the spiel.
For the past few weeks Foxtel have been re-running the program “OUTLANDER”, for those not familiar with this, it’s a kind of sci/fi period piece about a young woman, hereinafter referred to as ‘the heroine’; who is gobbled up by a huge stone slab and transported back to the year 1743. True!
They have been running what they call a ‘Box Set’ for I don’t know how long. There was one channel dedicated to showing every single episode, in sequence, over, and over, again. Well at least it appeared that way.
Set in Scotland, it unsurprisingly has a cast comprising mainly of Scots, bonny Scots lads and lasses running around in their kilts, sporrans and claymores a swinging, and speaking in language completely unintelligible, even when speaking English, stuff like “Away an bile yer heid ya numpty,ye dinnae ken whit yer talkin aboot.” Get the idea?
Now our heroine gets dumped right in the middle of them, one of the first people she bumps into, happens to be the husband she’s just left behind, in the 20th century, masquerading as a vile English army officer intent on subduing the Scottish rabble!. Confused? Don’t be, it all works itself out. Sort of!
Although set in Scotland, with Scottish and English actors and actresses, it’s primary target is the American audience. And how does this bloke know all this, I don’t hear you ask; so I shall tell you.
I watched, sort of between channel hopping, the last episode I believe it was of “Series 2” and there, a dour Scot, drilling our hero’s troops. preparing them for the Battle of Culloden where they’re all going to die; calls the order “ABOUT FACE!” Wrong! That’s a US command, the English (and British) order? “ABOUT TURN!” Now that’s sorted better get on with this ramble.
Our gallant hero, intent on saving his now pregnant wife, decides that he will send his wife back through the huge stone slab so that she can be with her first husband who can bring up his child after he gets himself slaughtered on Culloden Moor! How the huge stone slab knows where to send her is not explained. Perhaps later, 🙄
This final episode of Series 2 goes back and forth between the centuries with the obvious intention of confusing the audience, and we meet our heroine, who is now a surgeon, and her daughter, the father of which is long dead on the Culloden Moor.
Luckily for us, and to save confusion about said daughters daddy, husband number 1 had been sterile/infertile, but being a good sort of bloke he’d reared the daughter as his own, just as our hero had wanted!
The last bit of the last episode reminds me of the last bit of “G.W.T.W”, in this our heroine is told by her daughters new Scots boyfriend, that the hero wasn’t slaughtered, and had actually survived, and escaped, don’t know about his Godfather, we will have to wait and see what happened to him.
At which our heroine now bathed in bright sunshine, eyes all aglow with unbridled happiness, declares that she will have to go back.
This of course means that she is going to go back to the gobble-up stone, get herself gobbled up and return to her one true love, our hero. Which is all very well and good, but I must ask; how is the gobble-up stone to know who she is, and where she wants to go, and to what year? Let’s face it it’s a pretty smart slab but…………………
Perhaps she might lob right back where she started, 1743, trouble then is, our hero probably wouldn’t want a bar of her, she’s now old enough to be his mother, and he wouldn’t know what lay in his (unless someone had slipped him the script) future.
What if this gobble-up slab of stone is a malevolent slab? What if this time it decides to send her back even further to say 1314, and the Battle of Bannockburn, the Scots wouldn’t have wanted her help then, they won that one!
It’s all very good clean fun, give or take a few wanton romps it would have been a good show for the children; but it’ll do well in the ratings and that’s what matters; isn’t it?
LordBeariOfBow 
I’ve never watched the show so can’t comment on that. But with that title, I had to come see what the heck you were talking about!
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and I doubt I’ve sparked your interest in seeing it 😀 😈
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Leave a couple of scripwriters with too much Malt Whiskey, and this is what happens.
ira
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Goes without saying Ira 😀
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Brian,
is the 21st century Scots boyfriend, actually her 18th century father? It seems a little incestuous: not the sort of thing you should be watching. How about the heroine, her relationship would be adulterous with her 18th century “husband”, because she has left behind her first husband in the 21st century. It certainly isn’t a morality play.
Neill.
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The 20 th century,
The period is set between 1946 and 1968, the boyfriend is descended from the uncle, the bloke without a shirt on, and another girl who got gobbled up by the slab of stone in 1968, and got there before the heroine, and finished up being burnt at the stake for being a witch by the mad catholics, are you now suitably confused 👿
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I agree about it not being a morality play, it’s all about the Jacobites trying to get rid of William of Orange and sticking a catholic Prince Charles’s dad James on the throne
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and you can’t get more immoral than that! 😈
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Now, that really does look like codswallop
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and you don’t need to see it to believe it 😀
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I can tell that I have a bad habit I should get rid of in writing fantasy — of trying to retain some semblance of credibility. Obviously this is totally unnecessary. People seem quite happy to gobble plots with more holes than a fishnet.
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I think they do it to get people like me going.
On second thought; they can’t/don’t.
Think that is 😈
Now excuse me while I go get gobbled up by a slab!
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Trying to understand the Scottish brogue? Not possible! Be satisfied with the action in the film.
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I gave up on that years ago 🙂
Well there’s action aplenty to satisfy even the most bloodthirsty
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Read some of the books as fast light reading with a bit of history. The show is pretty – enjoyed the scenery, but the script writing just did me in very quickly. It’s probably wildly popular considering the tastes in shows today.
(Gads, can’t believe they got the command wrong. It figures. It’s very pretty)
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It scores well on the ratings charts and thats all that matters isn’t it?
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Never would have taken you for a fan of this kind of story . . . obviously — based on the amount you protest — you are quite smitten with this show.
. . . you ole romantic, you!
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I don’t know about smitten, I am curious, it defies all logic. and I’m rather amused or maybe bemused. I actually have a second program going at the same time and switch every now and then to see whats happening, a bit too much soft porn for my liking, and before you jump in I don’t like hard porn either, 🙂 😈
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There’s a joke in there about not porn if soft, but I won’t go there.
I’ve not watched any of it. I think it’s on cable as opposed to regular network channels, so I imagine they try and spice things up a bit.
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I’ll give it a miss doesn’t interest me
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Sounds like a really interesting show, I’ll have to check it out.
Kathrin — http://mycupofenglishtea.wordpress.com
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Well I’m not so sure about this 3rd series, I’m kind of looking in here and there, and from what I’ve seen so far they’re not going to get the same ratings for this little lot.
Welcome and thank you for joining in the discussion, although this one’s been a lot more subdued to the usual free for all.
😀 🐻
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Well it would still be interesting to have a peek, even if it’s not as good. I sometimes disagree with reviews, so I like to make my own mind up.
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Which is always the best way and what I do, the views expressed are strictly my own and are usually a bit tongue in cheek. I like to get the people who follow me involved in an at times hilarious discussion. Lots of fun when they get started.
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Wild horses couldn’t drag me near that slab of stone. Great review, though! Now I’ll just About Face and go back into my small piece of the planet. 🙂
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I never thought of it as a review, but I suppose in truth, that’s what it is, perhaps that was my particular avocation and I missed out!
Damn I could have been sitting there on Foxtel instead of that Bill Collins, one of those faces that I haven’t got around to writing about yet! I’d have been better, he likes everything never said a bad word about any rubbish.
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Very different types of show have been using our very limited viewing time of late. Two we make a point of recording and never missing are Victoria, and Poldark. The nasties in the latter are people one really loves to hate the guts of.
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Poldark, I think is an excellent show; well worth watching, however I think I gave you my views on the other program you mention, I don’t bother with that one.
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Whether one is a royalist or not, Victoria has good performances and reasonably accurate reflections of history and attitudes of the time.
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As an Englishman I’m a royalist; as an Australian I’m a Republican 😀
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The funny thing about that is that here in the US — on looks alone — you would pass as a Republican.
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Why do you say that? I think look like a socialist; IMHO!
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https://goo.gl/images/h9Btec
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If I had a gun I’d shoot myself
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Again, America is the answer.
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If one knows the question … ?
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I think he’s referring to my obtaining a firearm Lesley, it’s Emilio’s way of being humourous. Bit too obvious with those of a real sense of humour like we English and our colonial cousins 👿 🐻
This will get him going I’ll be bound! 😀
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I thought you wanted a gun?
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Oops, wrong guy. I neglected to read who commented and assumed it was ElBoB.
The question is . . . who gave us Spam? Also, “where’s Albuquerque?” and “where’s the biggest ball of twine in the world?”
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Have you been imbibing Emilio? Thought you were a non-drinking man when t came to alcohol !
The relevance of Spam and Albuquergue escapes me entirely; perhaps it’s a maths thing 😀 😈
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I notice a lot of things escape you . . . I used to try and set you straight, but anymore I just say: don’t worry about it.
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As well you might! 😈 🐻
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As if our history wasn’t complicated enough already…
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Yes but isn’t it fun?
Thanks for dropping by 🐻
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arrgggh. It’s running on free to air also. SBS I think. I see the ads, think the costumes look interesting, wonder if its an historical drama that I would ordinarily like. After that synopsis (?) I’ll give it a miss. I’ll stick with the Handmaid’s Tale. Suppressed women in a dystopian misogynist world is a plot line I CAN understand .. . .
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SBS are running series 1 and 2, series 3 has just started on Foxtel, 1 & 2 were good bloodthirsty fun and games; series 3 I can’t really tell what it is, I’ve only watched bits and pieces to see whats happening. Nothing much, I think the slab of stone is going hungry. Hasn’t had anyone to gobble up in quite some time.
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