Outlander was a series of historical fantasy novels by Diana Gabaldon which were adapted into a drama TV series by Starz. The series followed Claire Randall, a World War II-era British nurse who found herself transported back in time to mid-18th century Scotland, where she fell in love with Jamie Fraser, a Highland warrior.
The character of Jamie Fraser was inspired by Jamie McCrimmon, a Second Doctor companion played by Frazer Hines from 1966 to 1969.[1] Gabaldon first concieved of the novel after watching a re-run of The War Games on PBS in the late 1980s,[2] particularly the scene of Jamie's "pig-headed gallantry" towards Jennifer Buckingham, a World War I-era British nurse.[3] The resemblance of her character's last name to Hines's first name was a coincidence.[4]
The first book was released in 1991 and followed by nine further novels in the Outlander series, as well as a number of short stories and novellas, a graphic novel and a spinoff novel series called Lord John.
The television adaptation of Outlander began airing on Starz in 2014, three years after Starz aired series 4 of Torchwood. The show shared a large number of cast and crew with Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures,[5] including Frazer Hines, who played Sir Fletcher Gordon in the first season.[6]
Outlander also featured an adaption of The Skye Boat Song by Bear McCreary, which featured lyrics adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson's poem Sing Me a Song of a Lad That Is Gone.
Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- ↑ Tim Knox (July 2014). Diana Gabaldon: Bringing Outlander To Life In Books and On TV for Millions of Fans. Interviewing Authors. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015.
- ↑ Diana Gabaldon (11 May 2010). The "Dr. Who" Connection. DianaGabaldon.com.
- ↑ Diana Gabaldon (27 July 2016). The Doctor's Balls. Facebook.
- ↑ Diana Gabaldon. FAQ About the Books. DianaGabaldon.com. “Owing to the local PBS station cutting off the Dr. Who credits in order to run pledge appeals, I didn't know the actor's name until some years later, after the first book had been written.”
- ↑ DJ Forrest (7 February 2021). Connections Outlander. Project Torchwood.
- ↑ Megan Elliott (2 January 2021). The Original Jamie Fraser?. Showbiz CheatSheet.