A friend and I were speaking today about how every time we read something or hear something about Outlander Behind the Scenes (BTS) we are gobsmacked by the effort, talent, and artistry of the people involved. I’ve heard folks working on the show say that it is like doing a movie every week. I’m really not sure what the means, but I’m impressed anyway! It sounds like they are doing something monumental and it certainly feels monumental when I sit down on a Saturday night to see the latest installment in the Outlander epic adventure. In fact, my friend and I decided that once we heard about what all has to be done and how many people are involved, we can’t figure out for the life of us HOW it all comes together! We agreed that it is a miracle that any movie or show doesn’t fail when you consider the logistics alone. Outlander is far and away from failing. When I sit back and just take a look at what I have been presented , I begin to understand how truly remarkable the show is and how lucky I am as a fan to have people who have so lovingly cared for the story of Jamie and Claire.
“Hail Mary, Coach Wesson! Throw a Hail Mary!” was the cry of one of the fans in the stands at my husband’s football games. He coached for over thirty years and I heard a lot of things yelled at him from the stands, but the memory of that phrase lingers for a couple of reasons. First, the lady that called it out at every game was a great character and it was always shouted with such fervor and good intent. The second reason was my husband’s reaction to her yelling at him to throw a “Hail Mary”. He would just smile and shake his head, No.
I once read an interviewer who said that Diana Gabaldon’s story was a Cinderella tale for aspiring authors. On some levels, I would have to agree. There is definitely the element of the fairy tale about her success. A woman believes she should be an author and sets out to write a book for practice and ends up with a multi book contract, finds her name on the New York Times best seller list, and can quit her day job to write full time, yep, sounds like a fairy tale to me! But, if you spend much time delving into the world of Diana Gabaldon, you’ll discover her success is much more about hard-work and persistence than magical fairy godmothers. She was a working mother with three small children when she began writing her novel for “practice”. She wrote in the wee hours and when she could, but she kept at it. Now, I would argue that her success isn’t just about hard work. It also has a lot to do with her intelligence, her ability to think with both sides of her brain and innate talent to tell a story. Luckily for us, she is very generous with her fans who aspire to write and shares a lot about her process and general information about writing a novel. The most consistent message I’ve heard from her is to write, to find what works for you and then do it … a lot.
One of the benefits of being an Outlander fan is the interaction with the people behind the scenes. We have been afforded a rare look at film making and access to creative process through their generosity. The cast, the crew, the designers, the writers, the producers have all gone out of their way to include us, inform us and educate us. The biggest take away for me has been understanding why these folks do what they do. I now understand why they write design, film, produce, apply makeup, fix hair, dress the sets, and edit as they do.
I love being able to write this follow-up and look ahead every week. It gives me a chance after a few days reflection and reading other people’s takes on the last episode, to gain a bit of perspective and gives me a chance to examine my initial reaction. I told several readers this week that by Wednesday I make some re-calibrations. As most of you know, this wasn’t my favorite episode (see here). My biggest issue was with changes to characters’ motivation and personality and the move in a different direction to the Leery story arc.
I heard from a lot of different folks on the blog, Bethwesson.com. At least 100 of you left your views in the comment section and most were fairly lengthy observations and explanations. Which I love by the way. For the most part, it was very civil. Some readers shared that they felt like I did. They didn’t hate the episode, but it left them scratching their heads in puzzlement. Others flat out hated it and felt this episode confirmed for them that the characters they hoped they were going to see just weren’t going to materialize. Others told me that they loved it and why. Many encouraged me to listen to Ron’s podcast and to read Diana’s and Ron’s comments about this episode. I don’t do podcasts (they eat my internet minutes), but I do read. So, I set about to find said comments.
It truly took me about half way through the first season to start understanding, at least in some part, the adaptation process. I started to be able to see how and why things really couldn’t be exactly like the book. I started to get a grasp on how storytelling for a visual medium had to be different. I started to understand that this was Diana’s story AND Ron’s story and it really couldn’t be any other way. So, it makes sense to me that it has taken me until mid-season in this second go round to deepen my understanding. I saw seeds that were planted by the writers come to fruition in this episode 7. I saw the why of their choices in plot and characterization. I saw the method in their madness, if you will. There was a destination, a place they wanted to take us and they had to get us ready to go there.
Adaptation of a book the size and scope of Dragonfly in Amber is harder and more complex than any of us mere non-TV production mortals can imagine. I’m convinced that there is absolutely no way to win if you are the folks making the choices. You can’t win. No matter what you do you will never please everyone. I don’t know how they can stand the criticism. I especially don’t know how they stayed silent when they knew what was coming in this episode. When I think of how gracious they were in the face of complaints about shortened episodes, petty differences from the book, a heroine characterized as selfish, and a lack of sex, I’m in awe. The book lovers wanted their personal version of what was important from the books, a “faithful” adaptation and now, …several main stream TV critics suggest the show really needs to move away from the books. Good grief.
Last night, I was sitting at a high school district track meet watching the granddaughters strive to make the finals (they made it in 4 events whoo hoo!) and a chance to advance to the regionals. It was spitting rain and bit cold and the events they participated in were spread out over the night. I had some time to drink coffee and check in on what was happening in Outlanderland. Right before the hurdles, I was reading an article about how Diana Gabaldon was credited with saying there was a decision/scene in an upcoming episode of Outlander that “jumped the shark” (how is that for irony). Not entirely sure what “jumped the shark” meant, I looked it up on Wikipedia.
I’ve read quite a few reviews since Sunday afternoon and quite a few fan reactions. I’d be quite interested to hear Ms.Gabaldon’s take on what some fans see as a misstep in the characterization of Claire as a meddler. My initial take was that it was different than the book, but not totally inconsistent. In fact, given the amount of meddling both she and Jamie are doing this just seemed like a natural progression to the request she eventually makes of Jamie. I thought they did a wonderful job of showing her regret and uncertainty. None of this is sitting well with her.
Outlander part deux is moving ahead rapidly. Overall, the show has been well received. I don’t think anyone would argue about the value the amazing costumes and sets have added to the narrative. We have been introduced to new characters and once again marveled at the perfect casting. After each episode, we are awed by how many plot points they can fit into an hour! This is a quality produced, directed, filmed, acted, and…written show.
I’m focusing on the written part this week because one of our Twitter friends, Richard Kahan, has penned Outlander episode 5 “Untimely Resurrection”. He has been part of the Outlander writing team since the beginning, but this is the first episode where he is being identified as the “writer”. He jokingly said that last Sunday began a week of shameless self-promotion! LOL! Let’s see if we can help him a bit!
I’m hearing from folks who are adoring the series! They still can’t believe that they are seeing their favorite characters in the flesh and they believe that the show is doing a great job. In fact, they are constantly pointing out how, in some ways, the show is better than the books because seeing action and hearing dialogue helps them fill in the gaps that naturally occur when a story is told from one character’s viewpoint. They delight in the visual feast they have been presented with and find themselves looking forward to watching the episodes to see how things are the same AND different. They don’t always like everything and wish some scenes would be included, but if they aren’t …they can let it go. They are able to enjoy both book and show.
Other folks fear that the show runners have taken Jamie and Claire too far away from the couple the book lovers know them to be! I know this because I’ve heard form some of these folks too!
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