A STARZ Original Series From Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore: Outlander

[Farmer Jones]

I enjoyed the books. They were recommended to me by the lady in the bookstore years ago, when I had run out of Sci-Fi to read. They were fantasy entertainment. Diana Gabaldon had clearly done enough research to place the stories in their historical context, but she was not writing history text for education. That is not to say, that I did not learn some history, because some of the times and places were sufficiently interesting to me, to cause me to go and read educational texts about them.

If the anachronism are not too great, as in say the penultimate episode of Blackadder (S4 E5 - Hospital), which is set in WWI. Lt George (Hugh Laurie) is in hospital writing letters to his uncle Herman in Munich. In a clear anachronism he appears to be writing with a 1930s Conway Stewart. Which was made well after the war ended.

I bet very few people would have noticed it enough to prevent them from enjoying a fantasy universe in which things were different from our own.

By watching Outlander, I have already accepted the possibility of a fundamentally different universe, than that in which I reside. In my universe one does not walk into stones and step through a time portal. So I am prepared to just enjoy the flavour they are trying to portray. For me they have done a really fine job of mixing the mystique of an archetypal Scots hero with romantic fantasy.

Most people would not notice a few anachronisms. Most people would not spoil their enjoyment by thinking about the reality of living off the land, with the tools they are portrayed to have had, or the clothing they wore.

Because of you people in here, I have had to go off and learn all about weapons they used, and I have taken to looking closely at the knitting, the styles of cloth, and colours.

You are wicked people .

[Farmer Jones]

I see kilts4less/tartan4less is offering an "Outlander" outfit, which appears to be an ordinary outfit with a blue/green tartan in reproduction/weathered colours; of course the outfit is entirely modern and is completely unlike the period dress of the show itself. (Yes there's the ubiquitous ruche tie!)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OUTLANDER-8-...item20fbd996e7

<snip>

This has little right to be associating itself with the show. Remove that ridiculous tie and fly plaid, and change the sporran, and the shirt. The basic tweed outfit and colour combination is "fine country gentleman", and I rather like it.

[OC Richard]

The knitting is all wrong - far too coarse.

It should be really really thin thread and tiny needles - or what they would have used is knitting frames, the fore runners of the domestic knitting machine we have today. Knitting was mechanised over 400 years ago, but all the refinements were to use finer yarns and more needles. The bulky/chunky machines were brought out in my lifetime.

Thanks, so that's what that woman was talking about. Since I know nothing about it, I didn't know if she was actually an expert, or just a crackpot.

About the tartans, it dawned on me that (incorrectly/anachronistically) using brown-toned tartans goes at least back to Tunes Of Glory (1960). I suppose they've long been attractive to filmmakers due to their warm elegant tones.

[MacKenzie]

If the attempted rape of Claire by Black Jack Randall bothers you, then you definitely should not watch any further. Black Jack is a SERIOUSLY depraved individual and I'm not sure how they're going to approach the tail end of book one (even on cable).

Just finished the second half of season one (8 episodes) on VUDU.

Yep, they went there. If you're easily "bothered" then the last two episodes will be extremely bothersome for you.