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Lovecraft Country on HBO addresses racism, sexism and segregation in the ’50s. It also has witches and vampires

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courtney-b — Courtney B. Vance, Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollet in Lovecraft Country.

HBO

The new HBO drama Lovecraft Country is tough to categorize. It’s set in the racially segregated Jim Crow America of the 1950s. But just when you think the show couldn’t be more historically accurate, it takes a turn to the paranormal.

I was often disturbed by Lovecraft Country, but not only by its monsters and evil spirits lurking in the dark. I was also filled with dread by the depiction of , segregated buses and separate entrances. The show portrays the lives of those who were denied service because of the color of their skin. They were harassed on a daily basis. By the police. By their white neighbors.

I’m not Black. I’m not originally from America. Yet this story, which streams Sunday, resonates powerfully with me. It helped me better understand the historical complexities of the country I immigrated to.

() plays Atticus Freeman, a Korean War veteran with a penchant for science fiction novels. He travels to Chicago to find out what happened to his dad, Montrose (), who disappeared a couple of weeks before. Atticus ends Shut Up Sex embarking on a road trip quest across the Midwest and into Massachusetts with his uncle George () and his childhood friend Leti (.)

The trip starts with a driving sequence set to about the unattainability of the American dream for Black people. Baldwin’s voice isn’t the only welcome anachronism in Lovecraft Country. The soundtrack is filled with Etta James and Nina Simone songs from the ’60s, but also Rihanna, Frank Ocean and Marilyn Manson. There’s a sequence of Leti at church that incorporates that champions equality for the LGBTQ community. Audio from different eras helps link the present and past.

You can’t be idle while watching Lovecraft Country. The 10-episode adaptation of is filled with symbolism and commentary. It includes numerous book references, from by H.P. Lovecraft to Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ . Keep your brain on while you watch.

Nothing seems left to chance. Even Atticus’ last name is purposeful. He’s the great-grandson of a slave, and he’s called Freeman.

jonathan-jurnee-0 — Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett in Lovecraft Country.

HBO

Amid this summer’s global protests calling for racial justice, you might think Lovecraft Country is a timely historical drama that comments on race in the US. But it’s that and more. The show is executive produced by (Get Out) and (Lost). (Helix) serves as showrunner and executive producer. There’s a reason this title has so much science fiction and horror cred.

The opening sequence of Lovecraft Country is Atticus’ nightmare, haunted by ghosts from his past as a soldier in the trenches. But it’s also filled with flying saucers and octopuses with dragonlike wings. That sets the tone for the rest of the show.

Lovecraft Country may be a case of intellectual challenge and racial criticism with a generous serving of gothic and fantasy, but It’s also just a very entertaining drama. And it’s entertaining without feeling like it’s trying to juggle too many pieces. There are vampires and witches, haunted houses and treasure hunts. Atticus reads novels starring Confederate soldiers like John Carter, just because there are no fantasy novels starring Black heroes. He ends up becoming the hero of his own story.

I liked Atticus, George, Montrose and the rest of the Freemans. They are relentlessly bookish. Their reading habits come in handy on many occasions. They guide the viewer through the complex mythology of this story. It’s much better if you hear from them why this show is called Lovecraft Country.

ep-1-jonathan-majors-elizabeth-morris — Jonathan Majors in Lovecraft Country.

HBO

They’re not the only interesting characters. Leti is independent and the most dexterous driver in times of need. Leti’s sister Ruby (Wunmi Mosaku) is a driven and charismatic singer. Then there’s Christina (Abbey Lee), a witch deeply frustrated by the limitations of her gender. «I don’t know what is more difficult: being colored or being a woman,» Ruby tells Christina.

Don’t judge any of the characters on first impression. After watching the five episodes available for review, I realized I made a lot of mistaken assumptions about Leti, Ruby, Atticus and the others when I met them.

But you can definitely judge Lovecraft Country by its looks. It is a very sexy show, from the mean production and costume design and cinematography to the incredible chemistry between Atticus and Leti. Between George and his wife, Hippolyta (Aunjanue Ellis). And between other characters. The sex scenes are stylishly filmed and not limited to the young or heteronormative.

«This is the story of a boy and his dream. But more than that, it is the story of an American boy and a dream that is truly American.» This quote from the 1950 movie The Jackie Robinson Story appears at the beginning of Lovecraft Country and introduces the show magnificently. This is an intrinsically American story.

От Luke Greene, 3 года тому

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Richard Osman claims over 70s have 'disappeared' from culture

British author Richard Osman has said over 70s are often no longer seen as relevant to modern culture, as society focuses on the young.

The Pointless star, 51, who has penned two books about pensioners playing detectives, said he was ‘proud’ that his novels put the spotlight on the elderly.

The Thursday Murder Club and its sequel The Man Who Died Twice follow four pensioners living in a retirement home using their time to solve crimes. His debut was a huge success, with Steven Spielberg snapping up the rights to the film.

Osman, who’s dating actress Ingrid Oliver, told Radio 2 yesterday he feels that ‘clever, brilliant’ people over 70 are being ignored and underestimated by the rest of the population.

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West London-based author and presenter Richard Osman, 71, has claimed over 70s are being erased from modern culture and that no one is asking for their opinion anymore (pictured on ITV’s Good Morning Britain in June 2018)

The TV brainbox said the fact the elderly are often sidelined makes them perfect detective material.

‘As soon as you put those things together you think these people are so smart, know every trick in the book, have played every trick in the book, but they’re underestimated,’ he said.

‘You think: who better to be a detective?’

The author said over 70s are enjoying their lives but have been forgotten by others, and are not asked their opinion and are not being represented on TV.

Osman, who’s brother Matt was in the Britpop band Suede, said he was ‘proud’ of his book, which was inspired by spending time with his mother, Brenda Wright, and her friends from her retirement home.

‘And they’re so brilliant to write about because anyone over 70 has such a great attitude to the world,’ he said.

‘You’ve got a bit of perspective, and you know a little bit about the world,’ he added.

Richard’s two novels, the Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice have been commercial success and focus on a group of four pensioners playing detective

Osman, who has enjoyed huge commercial success with his debut book, said he was the most proud of the success his books have enjoyed because they feature the elderly as the main protagonists.

In the book, pensioners Elizabeth, Ibrahim, Ron and Joyce all meet in the jjgsaw room of their retirement community each Thursday to go over old crimes and unresolved murders.

In September, Osman mother’s admitted she had been ‘worried’ about her son’s book because she did not want it to offend her friends at the retirement company.

She was so worried she even skimmed through her own copy of the book to make sure nothing would rub her friends the wrong way.

‘I got to the end and I thought there’s nothing in there that could upset anybody, because we’ve got some quite touchy people [here].

Osman, pictured in September, said he was inspired to write the novels after spending time with her mother and her friends from the retirement home

‘I read it through and I thought, ‘Oh, I like this.’

Then I thought I’m going to let as many people as I know, know what’s coming, because I think if you know what’s coming, sometimes you cope with it better,’ she told

Her friends at the home tried to make out who was who as well.

‘Everyone says that he was thinking of so and so, and I say: «Well, he doesn’t actually know so and so.» They are all wrong,’ Brenda said.

In November, the BBC favourite revealed that his childhood was shattered when his father walked out on his family for another woman when he was nine.

The TV quiz show host states in a new book that his paternal grandmother then ceased all contact and never sent him so much as a Christmas card.

Osman revealed his family’s split in the book, Letter to My Younger Self, which features interviews with 100 ‘inspiring people on the moments that shaped their lives’ and is published in aid of the Big Issue.

Book thief: His debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club, has sold more than a million copies and Steven Spielberg has bought film rights

Couple goals: On a recent episode of Richard Osman’s (left) House Of Games, celebrity contestant Ingrid Oliver (right) won a suitcase emblazoned with the host’s silhouette

His aunt Mabel Osman, 90, has denied the claims, saying it was his mother who cut ties with his father’s side of the family.

In his interview with Jane Graham who devised and edited the book, the 6ft 4ins tall comedian said: ‘I find it hard when I’m looking back at my childhood to have my dad in it in any form [his father left the family home suddenly when Richard was nine].

‘Maybe he’s sort of there in my head, I suppose, but he’s definitely not in my heart.

‘I remember very clearly when I was nine, and my world was a fairly great place, and I walked into the front room — he was there, my mum was there, my grandmother was there, which was weird, though of course I realised later that was for moral support — and they just said, ‘Look, your dad is in love with somebody else and he’s leaving.’

‘I just thought, ‘Riiight, okay.’ And he left and his entire side of the family never spoke to us again.’

Osman said he met shut up sex again with his father and his paternal relatives a few years ago when he attended the 50th wedding anniversary of one of his dad’s brothers.

But he risked upsetting his father’s relatives in his interview for the book by describing the party as ‘cold’, and saying that the Osmans were the opposite of the ‘loving and open’ relatives from his mother’s family, the Wrights.

Osman said: ‘A few years ago, I went to see my dad. It was one of his brothers’ 50th wedding anniversary so I thought, «I’m going to take the kids, they should really meet the rest of this family».

‘But it was so cold. There were lots of them standing around, talking about what an extraordinary woman my paternal grandmother was.

‘And they said to me, «What did you make of her?» I said, «Honestly, she literally never spoke to me after my dad left, never sent me a Christmas card.»

‘So that’s not really a conversation they’re going to join in on. Some families are just like that.

‘The other side of my family fortunately, my mum’s side, are completely the opposite. Loving and open. So, I did all right.’

But Mabel hit back at Osman’s recollection, saying: ‘The only one of David’s brothers who had a 50th wedding anniversary would have been Richard’s uncle John.

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От Beth Stainforth, 3 года тому

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Patricia Nicol reveals a selection of books on: Christmas spirit

I have spent much of the past week in bed, convalescing.Meanwhile, my husband has had to double up domestically, taking on the laundry, as well as the cooking, ferrying cups of tea, taking messages from people I don’t feel up to talking to and sorting a Christmas tree.

I feel lucky, blessed even, not least because he has done all this in a very undemonstrative fashion.

We both know that if it was him lolling around and me doing the caring, it would be a brusquer service.There might be eye-rolling, a bit more huffing and puffing as I fulfilled another importunate request, an intemperate ‘I’m just coming!’ shouted up the stairs as I wearied of being helpful.

And so, in a spirit of loving gratitude, here are some stories of December acts of kindness.

Sorrow And Bliss by Meg Mason is one of this year’s most-talked about novels, and Small Things Like These, is one of Patricia’s favourite recent books

One of my favourite recent books is Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. It is set in a small Irish town, in 1985, in the run-up to Christmas.

Having come from humble, even scandalous origins, coal merchant Bill Furlong has reason to feel proud of his family, home and community standing.When delivering coal to the convent, he is unsettled by what he encounters. Should he act?

In the heart-wakening title story of The Tenth Of December by George Saunders, a boy, being bullied at school and out for a winter walk near his home, sees a frail-looking man with no coat. The man means to unburden himself of more than his jacket, but sometimes goodness can stop a person in their tracks.

Sorrow And Bliss by Meg Mason is one of this year’s most-talked about novels.Its narrator, Martha, always spends Christmas at her Aunt Winsome’s house in Belgravia.

As a teenager, she meets her future husband, Patrick, there. He is brought home from boarding school by Martha’s cousin, Oliver, after his father forgot to buy a flight to Hong Kong.Despite being an unexpected guest, Patrick is delighted to receive a gift. ‘Winsome was someone who took care . . .’ recalls Martha, later.

This Christmas is shaping Shut Up Sex to be tricky. Be someone who takes care: everyone prefers a saint to a martyr.

От Theron Stitt, 3 года тому

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Foundation review: Apple’s slow-burn sci-fi epic thinks big, looks great

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Lee Pace and Jared Harris are an emperor and a mathematician in Foundation on Apple TV Plus.

Apple TV Plus

It’s a great time for high-minded fantasy classics you haven’t read (or maybe you have, in which case you may be ambivalent about your favorite books coming to the screen). The much-vaunted from Denis Villeneuve is in theaters and on HBO Max Oct. 22; already came out; and is still to come. But before that, brings Isaac Asimov’s weighty Foundation saga to the small screen.

Starring Lee Pace and Jared Harris, this glossy sci-fi epic hardly moves at the speed of light. Which means you might need to give it a chance beyond the first two episodes streaming now on , followed by a new weekly installment every Friday until the 10-episode season ends on Nov. 17.

Beginning as a series of short stories in 1942 and expanding to a lengthy series of novels, prequels and sequels, Foundation is a vast cosmic saga. So, of course, the show opens with a voiceover, followed by onscreen captions telling you the names of three planets in just the first eight minutes. It flashes back 35 years, then a flashback rewinds 400 years, then another goes 17 years forward. Look, there’s dense world-building that rewards viewers’ attention, and there’s presenting a story in a way that’s just confusing. Foundation is filled with interesting stuff and big ideas, but it could present them in a more accessible way.

Don’t worry though: If you can handle the million different houses of you can handle this. And Foundation opens with a shot of a zooming landspeeder so Star Wars-esque it must surely be deliberate. It’s OK. This shot seems to say: You’re watching a space opera. You got this.

There’s a lot to enjoy in Foundation. It looks great, for a start, with obvious thought put into differentiating itself from the familiar conventions of the sci-fi genre. The space travel, for example, is lengthy and dangerous and looks very different from the whooshing stars of Star Wars and Star Trek. Foundation is also pleasingly more colorful than most post-Thrones sci-fi — well, compared with the monochromatic gray ‘n’ beige Dune, anyway. From its glitter-bomb opening titles to bold stripes of color across decor and costumes, to elegant starships framing glittering worlds, to atmospheric glowing lighting in every scene, Foundation is frequently a treat to look at.

Foundation is still one of the many recent Thrones clones aimed squarely at adults. Like Peacock’s Brave New World, HBO Max’s , Hulu’s and Jason Momoa-starring , Foundation is a dense, serious drama with a large cast of poker-faced characters having a thoroughly awful time in a detailed but unsettling fantasy world. It’s filled with austere arguments, unstated agendas and silhouetted sex scenes, unfolding with a slow-burning ponderousness over its leisurely run of episodes.

On the imperial world of Trantor, the mathematician and martyr (and maybe murderer) Hari Seldon realizes the galactic empire is dying. He’s played by , star of , Mad Men and The Terror, so you know he’s got some gravitas. Seldon has crunched the numbers and come Shut Up Sex with a formula proving the interstellar status quo will crumble into savagery, which is obviously bad news for haughty emperor Cleon, played with graceful majesty by Pace from Guardians of the Galaxy and Halt and Catch Fire.

Autocratic Cleon is minded to shoot the messenger and execute Hard before his doomsaying theories, dubbed psychohistory, infect the people. Junior mathematics prodigy Gaal, played by fresh-faced Lou Llobell, is unwittingly caught up in the affair, and next thing you know she’s on a starship to the very edge of the galaxy to establish a new colony based on Seldon’s teachings. This Foundation could save the galaxy — if suicide bombers, a looming interplanetary war and an enigmatic monolith don’t get in the way.

Though Seldon and Gaal are nominally the leads, Foundation struggles to present engaging characters to root for. The intergalactic cast means the series hops around just as you’re getting into each character, and not all of the characters are fleshed out enough to justify drawing you away from other stories.

Compared with Dune’s psychic princelings, scheming space witches and fleshy oil barons, the characters of Foundation just aren’t that gripping (certainly to start with). The most intriguing sci-fi weirdness is the emperor Cleon, who’s actually three clones of the same ruler at different ages who form a ruling triumvirate of callow youth, overbearing adult and wizened, wise old man. Technically aspects of the same person, the simmering tension between them reflects how people change over the years — or, if you like, Freud’s concept of the .

Like how I just dropped some Freud on you there? Yes, even if the show is a bit ponderous, it does at least have some big themes to ponder. A horrifying terrorist attack prompts a wounded empire to retaliate without worrying much if they’re going to war with the right people, the sort of Middle East allegory not a million desert miles from the subtext of Dune.

Science and math are both revered and feared in a society afraid of the future. And most of all, it’s about legacy — your place in the foundations of the future. Whether cloned emperors or soothsaying mathematicians, everyone is desperate to know the future. In a thought-provoking and primally relatable way, everyone is dying to know if doom is all that awaits, if they’re powerless in the face of events measured on a cosmic scale, or if they even have a responsibility to the future at all.

Austere and slow-moving, Foundation may not boast characters that immediately grab you. But this stylish, serious series lays a solid foundation for an intriguing sci-fi diversion.

От Chana Chinn, 3 года тому

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Foundation review: Apple’s slow-burn sci-fi epic thinks big, looks great

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On the imperial world of Trantor, the mathematician and martyr (and maybe murderer) Hari Seldon realizes the galactic empire is dying. He’s played by , star of , Mad Men and The Terror, so you know he’s got some gravitas. Seldon has crunched the numbers and come up with a formula proving the interstellar status quo will crumble into savagery, which is obviously bad news for haughty emperor Cleon, played with graceful majesty by Pace from Guardians of the Galaxy and Halt and Catch Fire.

Autocratic Cleon is minded to shoot the messenger and execute Hard before his doomsaying theories, dubbed psychohistory, infect the people. Junior mathematics prodigy Gaal, played by fresh-faced Lou Llobell, is unwittingly caught Shut Up Sex in the affair, and next thing you know she’s on a starship to the very edge of the galaxy to establish a new colony based on Seldon’s teachings. This Foundation could save the galaxy — if suicide bombers, a looming interplanetary war and an enigmatic monolith don’t get in the way.

Austere and slow-moving, Foundation may not boast characters that immediately grab you. But this stylish, serious series lays a solid foundation for an intriguing sci-fi diversion.

От Beth Stainforth, 3 года тому

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Finished watching Game of Thrones? 11 more TV shows to watch during lockdown

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the-frontier-intro — Actor Jason Momoa is an outlaw fur trapper named Declan Harp in the Netflix series Frontier.

Netflix

Actor Jason Momoa is an outlaw fur trapper named Declan Harp in the Netflix series Frontier.

Netflix

If you’ve already binge-watched all of prior to the coronavirus lockdown, you’ll need a new TV series obsession to fill your time.

Here’s a list of quality TV shows full of fantasy, violence and enough thematic similarities to justify a hearty binge. Got any favorites that don’t appear on this list? Share them in the comments!

The Last Kingdom (3 seasons)

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Based on Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Series novels, is set in England during the 10th century, when Viking invasions were commonplace. The series centers around a character named Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon), a Saxon noble captured and raised by the Vikings who fights for the English. Like ,

The Last Kingdom has plenty of family drama, power struggles, complicated relationships and bloody battles. The violence is extremely graphic — eye-gouging, beheading, stabbing and crucifixion are just some of the ways people die on this show.

Vikings (5 seasons)

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Get ready for more Viking action. In , Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) is a farmer who becomes king of Denmark and develops a habit of terrifying the citizens of France and England with violent raids. His troubled brother Rollo (Clive Standen), his first wife Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) and shipbuilder Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard) also play major roles.

As with Game of Thrones, the characters are far from predictable as heroes and villains constantly switch allegiances.

Into the Badlands (3 seasons)

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The martial-arts fantasy series takes place in a post-apocalyptic world 500 years after a devastating war that left civilization in ruins. Modern tech like electricity and cars survived, but this society has outlawed guns, so everyone uses knives, katana swords and crossbows. That means tons of spectacular martial arts battles among warriors, as well as power struggles between the barons who control the wealth, drugs and much-needed resources like water.

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Throw in lawless homicidal bandits, seductive prostitutes, duplicitous spies and a mysterious boy with dark chi powers and you have an addictively binge-worthy saga.

The Shannara Chronicles (2 seasons)

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Based on Terry Brooks’ fantasy book series, is set thousands of years in the future. But it feels a lot more like a Lord of the Rings-style fantasy tale than anything futuristic. Plenty of adventures, war and evil occur throughout the history of the Four Lands as elves, trolls, dwarves and humans struggle to get along.

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The saga follows Elf Princess Amberle (Poppy Drayton), Human Rover Eretria (Ivana Baquero) and half-elf Wil (Austin Butler) on their quest to stop an evil Demon army from destroying the universe. This series has enough twists and turns to satisfy a typical Game of Thrones fan.

Merlin (5 seasons)

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If you wish Game of Thrones had more magic and talking dragons — and was a bit less horrifyingly violent — is for you. Set in the Kingdom of Camelot, the story follows young Merlin (Colin Morgan) and a young prince Arthur (Bradley James) as the try to fulfill their fate to become two of the most powerful figures in British folklore. Merlin must keep his friend Arthur safe, but can only use his magic in secret since the reigning King Uther (Anthony Head) has banned all sorcery.

Lancelot, Guinevere and Morgana are also included in the mix. And yes, this series has a dragon or two to keep things interesting.

Frontier (3 seasons)

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Fans of the khaleesi’s husband Khal Drogo can imagine the series is his parallel universe life as a trapper. Actor Jason Momoa stars as part-Irish, part-Cree outlaw Declan Harp in this compelling TV series about the 18th-century fur trade in Canada. Think of it as meets Game of Thrones, with bears replacing dragons.

Momoa’s character campaigns to stop a fur trade monopoly by the corrupt Hudson’s Bay Company, and ends up with a bounty on his head. Throughout the series there’s quite a bit of bloody violence between traders, con men, outlaws, thieves and wild animals. To add a dash of sex appeal, Momoa wears a lot of fur pelts and not much else.

Outlander (4 seasons)

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This is the kind of TV series that makes both kilts and time travel sexy. Based on Diana Gabaldon’s books, expertly mixes violence, history, romance and a heavy dose of fantasy.

Main character Claire (Caitriona Balfe) is a World War II British nurse who accidentally goes back in time to the Scottish Highlands in the 18th century via some mystical rocks. In this unfamiliar world, Claire’s freedom and life are constantly at risk. To survive, she marries strapping Scot warrior Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). A passionate relationship ensues, but since Claire is already married in her other life, things get complicated quickly.

While the battles aren’t as gruesome as the ones in Game of Thrones, the politics and family drama certainly are. Plus, there’s plenty of complicated romance mixed with steamy sex.

Black Sails (4 seasons)

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Setting sail as a prequel to Treasure Island, follows the adventures of infamous pirate Captain Flint (Toby Stephens). Flint is determined to maintain his dominance of New Providence Island, which is overrun with thieves, pirates and wenches.

There are lots of pirates doing pirate-ey things like hunting for treasure, but we also get a closer look at Flint, who started out as a British naval officer before everything went sideways in his life. The series has plenty of intrigue, sex, violence and politics. Sadly, no dragons though.

The Tudors (4 seasons)

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is the story of Henry VIII’s reign over England during the 16th century starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as he navigates his way through political intrigue and a myriad of wives and mistresses. You won’t see emotionally scarring bloody battles like in Game of Thrones, but there is a very important throne.

The series provides an entertaining retelling of an infamous real-life monarch’s rise to power. Just don’t pay too close attention to historical accuracy.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand (4 seasons)

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has tons of intense action, violence and sword fights — which is to be expected, as it’s built around gladiators. The show focuses on Spartacus (Andy Whitfield), the famous gladiator who led a rebellion against the Romans in ancient times. We follow him from humble beginnings as an ally to the Romans though a terrible betrayal and transition to becoming a gladiator and warrior.

Throughout the series, Spartacus battles to reunite with his wife (Erin Cummings), who was also sent into slavery. The series is loved by fans for its bloody battles and brutal scenes that only the most skilled gladiators can survive. It’s a dark and violent look at the life of a gladiator through the eyes of a slave hell bent on vengeance.

The Borgias (3 seasons)

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follows the exploits of an infamous real-life Renaissance-era Italian family — one of whom ends Shut Up Sex as Pope Alexander VI, the head of the Catholic Church. The Borgias is chock full of nudity, incest, murder and blood, with a bit of history thrown in for good measure. Actor Jeremy Irons steals the spotlight as conniving politician Rodrigo Borgia.

There are plenty of fantasy saga TV shows streaming right now, but if only George R.R. Martin’s saga of Westeros will do, then don’t worry. There’s a in the works.

От Luke Greene, 3 года тому

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Why you should watch the most entertaining fantasy series on Netflix

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caitriona-balfe-as-claire-randall-fraser-episode-101 — A circle of standing stones sends WWII nurse Claire Randall back to the 18th century.

Starz

iStock Image — A circle of standing stones sends WWII nurse Claire Randall back to the 18th century.

Starz

Like a lot of people, I’d originally passed on because I thought it was a romance series, and that’s just not my kind of thing. But once I finally did cave to pressure, it didn’t take me long to discover that isn’t a romance. What makes it interesting is that it doesn’t fit neatly into any one genre box.

The show starts off just after the end of World War II. British Army nurse Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe) is vacationing with her husband in the Highlands of Scotland, but accidentally gets thrown back into the year 1743 by passing through an ancient circle of stones. Pretty quickly, she runs into a band of Scottish soldiers that include the obscenely handsome Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan).

Yes, more often than not, we see the story — along with many of the show’s steamy Shut Up Sex scenes — through Claire’s eyes. And yes, Jamie, touted as the «king of men,» is the kind of guy who has probably prompted many women around the world to set unrealistic expectations for their own husbands and boyfriends.

caitriona-balfe-as-claire-randall-fraser-sam-heughan-jamie-fraser-episode-107 — When it comes to steamy sex scenes, nothing beats «The Wedding» episode of Outlander season one.

Starz

Meanwhile, much of the plot is set in 18th century Scotland, so there are corsets and kilts galore. You get the literal «bodice ripping» that romance novels are known for, along with the, um, easy access that comes from men wearing kilts and nothing underneath them.

But I swear it’s not a romance.

Much of the time, Outlander is pure, escapist fun. You get time , swordplay and well-researched depictions of historical people and events. On top of that, it’s all so beautifully shot, mostly in Scotland, that it’ll make you want to jump on a plane and go hike a munro, or at least wrap yourself in a plaid and crack open a bottle of Heughan’s while you wait out the COVID travel restrictions.

But at times it does get very, very dark. True to Diana Gabaldon’s popular series of books that the show is based on, there is a lot of sexual assault, and the show often doesn’t spare viewers from an explicit depiction.

That’s not to say this show doesn’t go completely over the top at times — though it never hits the levels of technicolor cheesiness that a show like does. But key plot events stem from ridiculously bad decisions made by the main characters, and some of the dialogue will make you giggle at inappropriate times.

As a result, Outlander teeters on the brink of prestige TV, but doesn’t quite cross the line into it. Its quality stems from the strong performances of its leads, the depth of the characters, attention to historical detail, top-notch cinematography and the ability of its writers to (usually) whittle Gabaldon’s rather lengthy books down to their most interesting nuggets.

At its heart, Outlander is the story of two people thrown together by fate and how they persist through the years — a chunk of them spent apart — against a historical backdrop that starts off a couple years before the failed Scottish Rising of 1745 and continues through the American Revolution.

sam-heughan-as-jamie-fraser-301 — Season three’s depiction of the Battle of Culloden rivals that of any big-budget film. And just like in real life, it doesn’t end well for the Scottish Jacobites.

Starz

And to keep things interesting, particularly when it comes to costumes and music, there are few time hops back to the 20th century along the way.

There are five seasons to keep you busy right now. Production on the sixth was delayed thanks to COVID, resulting in an extra long «droughtlander,» as fans like to call the already sizable gaps between seasons. The show’s creators just announced that season six will premiere on March 6 on Starz. Production on season 7 is also slated to start next year.

And if you can’t wait to find out what happens next, you can always read the books. just landed at bookstores, and Gabaldon has started work on what she says will be the t10th and final book in the series. Fair warning, while the first book is truly excellent, they all clock in at over 1,000 pages, and some of the later ones tend to drag a bit, especially when the plot shifts to secondary characters.

You can find the first four seasons of Outlander on . But for the most recent season, you’ll either have to subscribe to Starz, or buy or rent the episodes from another streaming service like .

Subscribing to Starz might be a lot to ask, given that it doesn’t offer a whole lot else to get excited about, with the exception of , a fun romp of a Scottish travel show created by Heughan and fellow Outlander actor Graham McTavish.

That said, you’ve got four seasons of plaid worn every way possible, stripteases involving never-ending layers of clothing, countless wigs of sometimes dubious quality, an epically depicted Battle of Culloden and endless shots of the heather-covered Highlands to get through before you’ll have to think about that.

And by then you’ll probably be just as sucked into Outlander as I am.

От Zane Marrufo, 3 года тому