What Is Outlander, and What The Hell’s It Got To Do With Doctor Who?

Rebecca Crockett is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Scottish highlands. Standing stones. Time travel. A kilt wearing highlander named Jamie. Sound like an old episode of Doctor Who.

Except it’s not.

This is Outlander.

What is Outlander? And as a Whovian, why on earth should you care? Oh, do let me tell you!

It all started with a book series, set in the dual eras of World War II and the 1700s in the highlands of Scotland. Claire (Catriona Balfe), a war nurse in a rocky marriage, takes a stroll one day to a ring of standing stones and finds herself magically transported back in time to a world and life she does not know. The dashing James Fraser and his clansmen come along and save her from death by someone who looks an awful lot like her husband Frank, then Claire uses her medical knowledge to save Jamie and he finds himself totally captivated by this woman who is unlike anyone he’s ever met.

A highlander named Jamie? Yes, there is a connection.

Star Sam Heughan, the aforementioned Jamie Fraser, recounted the origins of the character to Radio Times.

“Diana [Gabaldon] got the inspiration for Outlander, or the character Jamie Fraser, from Doctor Who. She was watching an episode and there was a character called Jamie [companion Jamie McCrimmon, first seen in The Highlanders] who was in a kilt and that’s where she got the first spark.”

If you’re worried that this all sounds like just a historical romance, don’t be fooled. Yes, there is plenty of that, and Starz has not shied away from showing skin, but there is plenty of action to be had as well. The first thing that Claire faces is having to run for her life from British soldiers who are on the hunt for Fraser and his clan. And Claire is not a woman to be fooled with either.

Don’t be alarmed that this show is from Starz. Yes, there is many a Doctor Who/Torchwood fan that thinks they are the reason that Torchwood is likely D.O.A but then Starz has also produced the excellent The White Queen and Spartacus series. And Outlander is no different. The show has garnered rave reviews in the US, winning a People Choice Award and a Critic’s Choice Television Award.

As of this week, the show has finally crossed the pond. Amazon Prime has won the right to stream the show online in the UK. The first half of the first season, 8 episodes in total, are currently available to watch, and once the second half of the season begins here in the US, Amazon will be adding new episodes every week.

Could there be another Who/Outlander connection in the near future? Heughan hopes so. According to Radio Times, he’s been trying to get his friend Mark Gatiss to find him a role on Doctor Who.

“I love Doctor Who – I’d love to do sci-fi…maybe there’s a crossover there as well. It would work. I could come out of the Tardis [sic] – that’d be awesome. Let’s make this happen! If we could do that, that’d be great.”

The Doctor and Jamie Fraser? Yes please! Maybe we’d even be treated to Twelve in a kilt!

If you want more info on the show, check out this quick Outlander primer.

(As a side note, it’s funny that I’ve been tapped to write this article. Can you tell I’m an Outlander fan? I’ve been a follower of the books for years and can’t wait for the next half of the season to start! Starz is even having some fan events here in the States to celebrate the new episodes and I’m lucky enough to be attending one!)

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