What I'd like to see on the OUTLANDER TV series

Ron Moore's wife, Terry, who is one of the costume designers on the OUTLANDER TV series, asked the following questions on Twitter yesterday:

"Who are you, and what do you want to see? What is important to you?"

This is my answer to those questions.

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My name is Karen Henry. I discovered the OUTLANDER books in 2006, and since 2008 I've been Section Leader (aka "chief bumblebee-herder") of the Diana Gabaldon folder on the Compuserve Books and Writers Community, which is the online forum where Diana hangs out. I also have a blog, Outlandish Observations.

What would I like to see in the TV series?

1) Scripts that preserve the spirit of the original story, even if some scenes are cut or altered for dramatic effect. I don't mind if they make small changes to the dialogue or characters, as long as they keep most of the Good Stuff intact.

2) Humor. This is such a big part of the appeal of the books, and I hope it comes across on-screen (both in the scripts, and in the actors' performances). From what I've seen, Sam Heughan seems to share Jamie's sense of humor, which is a good sign.

3) Scottish scenery. Diana's descriptions are so vivid, but seeing the real thing will be even better, I'm sure. When I visited Scotland for the first time in 2012, we went to Glencoe. Standing at the bottom of that valley with the high hills surrounding it on all sides, the landscape a more vivid green than anything I'd ever seen before in my life, and the mist on the mountains in the distance, I could easily imagine Jamie and Claire riding on horseback down one of those hills. My thought at the time was that still photography simply couldn't do it justice. I'm really looking forward to seeing places like that in the TV series.

4) Period costumes. I'm not an expert on historical costuming by any means, but I have always enjoyed "costume dramas" in the movies or on TV, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

5) The relationships between the characters. And I don't mean only the sex scenes. :-) I want to see Jamie and Claire's eyes light up when they look at each other. And I'm really looking forward to seeing some of the supporting characters, like Colum, Dougal, and Murtagh.

6) Authentic Scottish accents. :-)

7) The scene in the cottage where J&C meet for the first time. The wedding, and the wedding night. The "wife-beating" scene. The oath-taking in the Hall. The scene where Jamie appears in the window of Randall's office with an empty gun. The witch-trial, and the whole sequence afterward when J&C go to Craigh na Dun and Claire makes her decision to stay. Jenny and Ian at Lallybroch. Claire vs. the wolf. Enough of the Wentworth scenes to give us a sense of what Jamie went through, without being so horrific as to be unwatchable.

Many thanks to the whole OUTLANDER production team for being so willing to listen to what the fans think. We really appreciate it! Ron's public comments, in particular, have been very reassuring to me, speaking as someone who was very much afraid that STARZ would mangle the storyline or change the characters beyond recognition. I am no longer worried about that. From what I've seen so far, everyone involved is doing a wonderful job, and I'm very excited about the series!