The series "The Stranger": reviews of viewers and critics. Description of the series

The release of the series "The Stranger" took place in 2014. The show was immediately recognized by viewers and critics. In this article, we'll talk about the plot of the series, the actors who played the main roles, and reviews.

Characteristic

In the genre "The Stranger" is referred to a fantastic drama. The series is the brainchild of the United Kingdom and the United States. The plot was based on the books of American writer Diane Gabldon. The premiere of the first series took place on the cable channel Starz in the USA on August 9, 2014. Then the series "The Stranger" began to appear in Russia and CIS countries. Comments from spectators and critics after the premiere were mostly positive, in addition, the picture received a number of prestigious awards.

The creator of the series was Ronald D. Moore, an American producer and screenwriter, known for his work on Star Trek.

Creature

Initially, the rights to film the works of Diane Gabldon bought the company Essential Entertainmen, owned by Jim Kolberg. And for several years, Ronald Moore persuaded her owner to abandon the idea of filming a full-length picture and adapt the book cycle to a television series. It took a lot of effort to Kolberg finally agreed.

Moore's idea of a film adaptation of the saga was suggested by co-producer Meryl Davis and wife Terry Dresbak, who were long-time admirers of the work of Gabldon. After that, Davis and Moore met with the writer and spent a week discussing books, protagonists and various screen versions. And on July 17, 2012 it was announced in the media about the beginning of work on the screen adaptation of the saga of Gabldon.

Several companies - Essential Entertainmen, owned by Moore, Story Mining and Supply Company J. Colbert and British Left Bank Pictures, took part in the production. In this case, the Starz television channel received an exclusive right to display the premiere in the US.

The series "The Stranger": a script

The plot was based on the first book of the cycle "The Stranger", published in 1991. Work on the script was led by Moore, Anne Canni, Tony Grafia and many others. If you compare the series with the book, then the first was made a lot of changes, for example, expanded the role of Frank Randall, as well as processing images were Angus and Rubert. Nevertheless, much in common with the original kept the series "The Stranger". The plot of the second season was based on the 2nd book of the cycle "Dragonfly in Amber", published in 1992.

In general, the series tells the story of Claire Randall, a married nurse who lived during the Second World War. During her next walk at the mysterious stone circles, she mystically manages to move in time. From 1945, Claire falls into the distant 1743rd. Here, a young attractive girl at every turn awaits a serious danger.

Claire perfectly understands that in these wild times she needs a defender. Therefore, despite the fact that her house is waiting for her legal spouse, she marries Jamie Fraser, a Scottish warrior, a romantic and noble man with an incredible sense of humor. Between the newlyweds begin a very ardent relationship.

Despite the love line, which is basic, the series is also a historical project. Therefore, lovers of Scottish landscapes, costumes from the mid-18th century, a detailed description of life can also be interested in "The Stranger".

Location

Shooting of the Season 1 "The Stranger" began in October 2013 on the expanses of Scotland and ended only in August 2014. Specially for the crew near Glasgow in the suburb of Cumbernald, the studio was fully equipped.

The prototype of the Inverness pride, where the heroine lived in 1940, became Falkland, and Rannoch-Moore became the croblem of the Craiq-on-Dun. Filming related to the castle of Lioh, took place in the palace of Kuros and the castle of Dun. The role of Fort William was performed by Blackness Castle and Linlithgow Palace. The final series of the first season was filmed in the small seaside town of Trune (Scotland).

Shooting of season 2 took place in the above-described places, as well as in the south of Great Britain. The events that took place under the scenario in Paris were filmed in Prague.

The series "The Stranger": Seasons

To date, it is known that the developers have so far planned 4 seasons. This was reported on June 1, 2016 on the 25th anniversary of the first publication of the book "The Stranger". But so far only 2 seasons have appeared on the screens.

The first was released from August 9, 2014 to May 30, 2015 and included 16 episodes per hour. The season ends with the fact that the heroine goes to France, where she hopes to prevent the battle of Culloden.

The second season came out with fewer breaks - from April 9, 2016 to July 9 of the same year. In total, the audience saw 13 new episodes of the favorite series. This season begins with the return of the main character in her time, but continues with her memories of what happened after they sailed to France. In addition, Claire throughout the episodes trying to unravel the mystery of the stone, capable of moving people in space and time.

Costumes

Terry Dresbak became a costume designer for the series. He tried to recreate as far as possible the clothes worn by Europeans, since the events described in the books go far beyond Scotland in the eighteenth century. For example, the form for soldiers of the British army had to be sewn entirely for shooting. It turned out that all the suits that can be rented were not the shades. In addition, we had to abandon the various colors of the clan tartans, which were described in such detail by Gabldon. For the series specifically designed a number of original colors. Among the interesting facts is that for each of the actors that the Scots were playing, different ways of wearing the kilt were chosen.

In the first season, the audience could follow the carefully restored process of putting on the English women's dresses of the XVIII century.

The colossal work on costumes was also repeatedly noted by critics and television viewers.

Music

The composer was Bear McCreery, Emmy laureate, with whom Moore had already collaborated on the set.

In the main theme of the picture was a folk song of Scotland, called The Skye Boat Song. It tells how Carl Stewart fled to the Isle of Skye after he was defeated in the battle of Culloden. At the same time, the original version was replaced by the creative processing of R. Stevenson. The song is performed by the famous singer Raya Yarbrough.

The basis for the soundtracks was taken by the motifs of the most famous Scottish folk songs. For recording, mainly Scottish national instruments were used, for example, accordion, bagpipe, bowran, whistle, etc.

Actors

A rather lengthy work from Ronald D. Moore was demanded by the TV series "The Stranger". Actors (photos are presented in this article), so harmoniously looking on the screens, did not get far right away. Initially Moore assumed that the difficulties would arise with the search for a candidate for the role of Jamie, but with the actress who performed Claire, there would be no problems. But everything turned out exactly the opposite. Sam Hewan was the first performer to join the series. Then the actors were selected for the roles of Jonathan and Frank Randall, the brothers Colum and Dougal Mackenzie and many others. And only then it was announced that the main character will play Katrina Balf. Moore himself admitted that the searches for the actress took him a lot of time and took a lot of energy.

Now let's talk more about the executors of the main roles.

Katrina Balf

The film actress and model comes from Ireland. At the time of the series, the actress turned 34 years old, which did not prevent her play 27-year-old Claire. Prior to her career in the movie, Katrina was one of Ireland's most successful models. She participated in shows in New York, Paris, Milan, and in 2002 was the first of the Irish models on the show Victoria's Secret.

But in 2007, Balf decided to end the career of the model. After that she decided to realize her cherished desire to become an actress. However, her first appearance on the screen took place back in 2006, when she starred in the film "The Devil Wears Prada."

Even before the series "The Stranger" (actors started to be selected from 2013), Katrina managed to star in several films, among them: "Super 8", "Illusion of deceit", "The plan of escape". However, the real success of the actress brought the role of Claire Randall. About the girl began to talk often in the press, and in 2014 Rolling Stone magazine included her among the sexiest people in the world.

In addition, the actress for the role in "The Stranger" was nominated for "Golden Globe" for the best female role.

Sam Hewan

Scottish actor of theater and cinema. He was born on April 30, 1980. For Hueen's career, the series "The Stranger" became a big event. The actors were selected long enough, but Hewen was the first to be confirmed.

His acting career began in 2002, but did not bring much fame. In the past, there were theatrical roles, several television series and soap operas such as "Cities on the River", "Physicians". The actor also tried in various films and serials, including "The Game of Thrones" and "The Return of Superman", but failed. One of Hewen's successful works can be called the main role in the BBC drama "The First Light."

The performance of the role of Jamie in "The Stranger" brought Hughan fame, and he won the "People's Choice" award. The BBC called him a favorite British actor in the US. In 2014, the actor and his partner in the filming of Katrina Balf were named the best kinopair according to TV Guide magazine.

Tobias Menzies

British actor of theater and cinema. The most famous work of the artist was the role of Junia Brutus in the TV series "Rome". He was born on March 7, 1974 in London.

Career Menzies on television began in 2000 with the series "Pure English Murder." Then came the roles in "Elite Special Forces", "Foyle's War" and "Holocaust."

For the first time on the big screen came in the same year 2000, playing a secondary role in the low-budget film The Low Down. In parallel, Menzies performed in various theaters of the West End. As you can see, Tobias' acting career is progressing quite well, so a special role was not played for him by the TV series "The Stranger". Comments from the audience, of course, did their job and attracted attention to the actor, but the success of "Rome" for Menzies was much more significant. Nevertheless, the film brought Tobias new fans and attracted more interest to him.

Criticism

Basically, positive feedback was given to "The Stranger" (TV series). Criticism on the Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic websites characterized the film as a convincing and unique adaptation of the original novel, which was successful thanks to a magnificent actors' play and luxurious decorations.

Edition The Huffington Post described the first series as a masterpiece of amazing depth. Entertainment Weekly magazine awarded the series a rating and called it smart, sexy and exciting. New York's blog also featured the series "The Stranger", the reviews characterized the novelty as something in between a love story in the genre of fantasy, a war drama and a story about travelers in time.

On the site of The AV Club, the rating was rated A and it was noted that the "Stranger" also popularized Scotland in the middle of the 18th century, as "Downton Abbey" - England beginning of 1912.

Reviews of TV viewers and ratings

Very good were immediately after the show reviews about the series "The Stranger". 2 season was also warmly received and did not disappoint fans. But let's talk about this in more detail.

The first series was viewed by 720 thousand spectators, and already on the weekend the figure increased to 2.3 million. If you take into account the views on the Internet and recordings, and this is about 1.4 million more, the series showed the best start in the history of Starz. It's hard to believe, but by the third series the number of spectators has increased to 4 million. And by the 9th series, the number of watched TV series increased by 69%, compared with the 1-st series.

If you believe Nielsen's rating, then "The Stranger" was the most discussed topic on Twitter on the day of the premiere of the series.

But these are foreign audiences, but what do Russians think about the picture? Note that in our country the series also has many fans and fans. Basically it's women, because the series has a clear romantic orientation. Fans celebrate an exciting story, an excellent actors' play, gorgeous costumes and stunning landscapes. The historical basis adds to the picture even more acute.

Among those who did not like the show, mostly men. Among the shortcomings, they call a small number of battle scenes, the orientation of the plot on the relationship of the main character and her lover. Also note the lack of authenticity of characters and a large number of romantic scenes.

From this we can conclude that the audience of the series are mostly women, as it was in the US and European countries.

Awards

The series "The Stranger", reviews of which were mostly laudatory, received many awards and nominations. Among them:

• "Saturn";
• "The choice of television critics" (2014 and 2016);
• "Emmy";
• The Golden Globe.

Related TV Shows

Quite unusual and original was "The Stranger". Therefore, it's not easy to pick up the series. Nevertheless, we give some movies that can be compared with the brainchild of Moore:

• "The crisis of tender age";
• "One Night";
• "News Service";
• "Mercenary Quarry";
• "Kingdom";
• "Scandal".

To date, is unfinished "The Stranger" (TV series). The release of the series of the third season is scheduled for 2017, a more precise date is still unknown.