Outlander (2014)

There are times when Outlander shows glimmerings of that vitality and emotional depth, and if we're lucky, this earnest drama will keep heading in that direction.

Once the show tones down the voice-overs, Balfe is quite good in the part of a time-tossed lassie.... Heughan swaggers in his kilt about as well as “The Simpsons’” Groundskeeper Willie (that is not a dis), but he and Balfe generate about as much heat as two piles of wet peat.

The premise provides an interesting hook for a period drama, but the show straddles too many lines, as far as tone and genre go. If it committed more fully to any one direction, it would be exponentially stronger. As it is, it feels too concerned with casting as wide a net as possible and could fail to catch many return viewers.

The show is mildly entertaining at best, with a few pluses--unusual story lines, particularly the one set after World War II, some gorgeous scenery, and one or two likable performances--counterbalanced by a few negatives. Least tolerable among the negatives: the occasional Harlequin Romance moments that have you waiting for the lass to shed her corset while the evening wind blows through Fabio’s hair.

Viewers drawn to star-crossed romance are most likely to get absorbed in Outlander, which benefits from beautiful production design--great location work with filming in Scotland--but the show also suffers from some egregious exaggerations, especially the mustache-twirling Black Jack Randall, who couldn’t be more like Satan if he had pointy red horns.

It may be possible to do something similar with Outlander, using feudal highland politics as a place to comment on contemporary issues, but so far the series only hints at this potential, leaving plenty of room for it to embrace its worst traits instead.