RONALD D. MOORE:Quite a while.
I think it was actually in the script.
I think [writers] Matt Roberts and Toni Graphia came up with that as their end title song.
Credit: Starz Entertainment, Getty Images (inset)
Everyone just sort of loved it from the beginning.
And the title card featuring the scene fromThe Avengers!
That started with Matt.
I think we were talking about doing something with an old television and a clip.
At first he said, you know, it should beStar Trek.
We still wanted to start with a clip that puts us in that time period.
What would have been shown there that was iconic and American audiences would get?
I think it was Marina Campbell, whos our assistant, came up withThe Avengers.
Was this a way to give Tobias Menzies more screen time?
It was big enough to say that she returned to the 20th century.
So you saw her return.
You still had the shock value of that.
Then we could hold off the 1968 stuff until the end of the season.
The political machinations got pretty dense in France.
What was it like for the writers, trying to keep the story clear for the viewers?
It was very tricky.
In the book, the section in Paris is even more episodic.
We kept trying to find ways to unite the storylines.
We knew we wanted to play the dinner party because it was such a key moment in the book.
But then we tried to work a way so that it also fed into the Jacobite plot.
Those were our struggles finding ways to unite various plot threads to go through events much, much faster.
What did Diana Gabaldon think about how things were addressed in France?
She said, I think youve guys have done a nice job.
This is tricky material.
She was very supportive.
Did you decide early on to show more of Prestonpans and less of the Battle of Culloden?
Yeah, but that also follows the book because the book doesnt take you into the Battle of Culloden.
That was an easy decision to make.
The book did detail a lot of Prestonpans.
Prestonpans seemed like the best one to do for a variety of reasons.
I understand you shot Prestonpans in a tent with lots of smoke.
It was historically accurate, because it was a surprise attack in the wee hours of the morning.
A lot of their numbers were cloaked in fog.
There was a certain disorientation on their part when the Highlanders just came screaming out of the fog.
Were you happy to take the action out of Paris?
Season 1 was a love letter to Scotland.
One last question about those France scenes did French dildos really exist and look like that?
They did actually exist.
And I think they looked like that.
I think dildos have been with us since the Egyptians.
Theyre very tricky roles to cast, especially when youre casting the adult child of two of our leads.
She also has to literally play the daughter of Claire in the episode.
She has to have a certain chemistry with Roger.
And even though shes in the episode a lot, shes not as big in the next season.
The roles of Roger and Brianna grow over the course of the books.
At first youre just seeing the two of them for briefer periods of time.
All those things added up to a very complex casting process.
We did talk about that.
We looked at Americans.
I think there were some Canadians in the mix.
It was a fairly wide net.
Brianna is supposed to have a Boston accent, but Sophie ended up not using one.
Boston accents are tricky.
Its easy for them to become a caricature pretty easily.
Weve got so many accents going on in the show.
It just didnt feel like we needed to go there, as well.
Was it important to find a sexy man to play Roger?
Richard Rankin had that in spades.
Everyone just immediately likes him when they meet him.
Are you starting production on season 3 any sooner this year?
Were ramping up now.
We are working on scripts and stories.
We will probably be on an accelerated overall production schedule now that we have two season pickups.
So we can start actively planning season 4 as opposed to waiting for a pickup.
Season 3 is a traveling show.
It starts in Scotland, but then its a sea voyage.
Its in the New World.
And book 4 is in the New World and suddenly in North Carolina.
Can you say where season 3 will be shot?
Our home base will always be Scotland.
Does aWaterworld-likeOutlanderseason excite you?
It will be great.
Anything having to do with the water is very challenging for any production.
But my production company is called Tall Ship.
This to me is going be a lot of fun.
There are big logistical and technical difficulties involved.
How much longer are we fans going to be able to enjoy Tobias?
Unfortunately, his role will come to an end relatively soon.
Its not over yet.
Well still see him in season 3.
But other than occasional flashbacks to Frank or Jack, their story pretty much ends in book 3.
Of all those killed off this season, which one would you have wanted to keep alive?
Thats a hard one to say.
I think we all will probably miss the Duke of Sandringham quite a bit.
Hes a great character.
I lament his loss.
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