Immensely popular ‘Outlander’ series comes to the small screen

By Shona Dustan TV Media

Abeloved book series that has been bewitching fans for decades will finally make it to television screens this month.

It’s hard to put a label on “Outlander,” a fact that adds to the story’s charm and mystique. Equal parts mystery, romance, fantasy, sci-fi and historical fiction, the bigbudget cable series tells the complex tale of Claire Randall, a Second World War nurse who, while on a post-war getaway with her husband in Scotland, stumbles through a glitch in time and is transported back to 1743 — which is where the drama really heats up.

Though it has yet to air, the show already has a dedicated following, and word-of-mouth advertising is sure to play a major role in the series’ ratings. Thousands of fans will finally get to see how their favorite fictional characters translate to the small screen when “Outlander” premieres Saturday, Aug. 9, on Starz.

On top of the action, drama, romance and mystery the “Outlander” series promises, be prepared for some breathtaking scenery, fabulous accents and even a little Scottish Gaelic (pronounced “gahlik,” not “gay-lik” like its Irish counterpart). The series was almost entirely filmed where most of the story unfolds — the Highlands of Scotland. This is, after all, a very Scottish love story. The Jacobite Rising of 1745 provides the historical background for the tale, a foreboding cloud that adds plenty of drama as it hangs ominously over even the most lighthearted moments.

Not familiar? Let me catch you up just a little: the Jacobite rebellion was a war waged mostly by Highland clans on English forces, its intent to depose the Hanovarian monarchs and reinstate the Stuarts as rulers of Great Britain. Though it had some moments of glory, ultimately the Rising was a failure that resulted in one of the most devastating battles in Scottish history — the Battle of Culloden in 1745.

When 28-year-old Claire Ran- to these people and remembers enough of her history lessons to realize that disaster looms large just a few years down the road.

In “Outlander,” Claire and Jamie begin a journey that spans eight (huge) novels so far. Fans are already hoping the series will take off in the same way so that we can

Claire and Jamie, Jamie and Claire — the casting of these two beloved characters was no small thing. There are hundreds of Inter-cated to the positive and negative aspects of the chosen actors, not all of which are kind. Though she wasn’t directly involved in the casting process, thankfully the books’ Gabaldon, laid out some veryrameters for the studios to follow, the most important of which was Jamie’s nationality: the actor playing Jamie had to be Scottish.

Sam Heughan is certainly that. Born in New Galloway, Heughan spent his life in Scotland and studied at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now known as the Royal Conservatoire). He’s appeared in quite a few celebrated British series over the years — “Island at War,” “Party Animals,” “Doctors” — but “Outlander” will mark his first starring role in a series.

On her website, dianagabaldon. com, the author admits that she had her doubts when she first saw Heughan.

“Frankly, I thought he looked bizarre. He’s (six-foot-three), that’s fine. Very chiseled face, but oddly chiseled, and what’s with the large forehead and cleft chin?!? Jamie doesn’t have a cleft chin. ... So I sat down at my computer, sort of looking warily through my fingers. Willing to suspend disbelief if I could, but kind of dubious, you know? ...

“And five seconds later, Sam

Heughan was GONE, and it was Jamie Fraser right there in front of me. True. No costume, no makeup, no props, nothing but cues from an offstage casting director, and … it was him.”

Of Heughan’s counterpart, Irish actress Caitriona Balfe, Gabaldon had similarly glowing reviews.

“Hard to believe lightning can strike twice,” she told deadline. com, “but it surely did. The moment Caitriona Balfe came on screen, I sat up straight and said, ‘There she is!’ She and Sam Heughan absolutely lit up the screen with fireworks.”

Balfe has had roles in some recent big-budget films — “Super 8” (2011), “Now you See Me” (2013), “Escape Plan” (2013) — but, like Heughan, this will be her first starring role on television.

If the “Outlander” series enjoys even a fraction of the success of Gabaldon’s novels, we’re sure to see more than just the planned 16 episodes of this intoxicating story. Don’t miss a single second of the adventure, romance and mystery that is “Outlander,” premiering Saturday, Aug. 9, on Starz.