Giant Freakin Robot

Outlander was a big hit for Starz when it debuted this past summer, and the network wasted no time in renewing it for season 2. New episodes don’t drop until next spring, but it’s never too early to start hyping your show, especially with a series with such a fervent fan base as this one. And that’s exactly what Starz has done, unveiling a harrowing new look at the upcoming episodes of Outlander.

In the service of transparency, I don’t get Starz and only had the chance to watch the first two episodes of Outlander during one of those free preview weekends the cable company had a while back, so I’m way behind, but there’s definite promise. All of the network’s hallmarks are present and accounted for: violence, romance, and steamy sensuality. Their biggest hit to date has to be Spartacus: Blood and Sand, another melodramatic period piece, and though there’s little in the way of surface similarities, they’re definitely on a familiar path.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting Ronald D. Moore’s return to television for years now. Regardless of how you felt about the show’s ending, there’s no question that Moore and company accomplished something amazing with the Battlestar Galactica reboot, proving once again that there is an audience out there for smart, complex science fiction drama…if only the powers that be will actually greenlight it (and not put it on Fox). But of all the shows Moore could have chosen for his return to the small screen, I never would have guessed he would pick a time-traveling romance series about a World War I nurse dropped into 18th century Scotland. Yet here comes Outlander.

Based on author Diana Gabaldon’s best-selling book series, Outlander is the tale of Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe), who passes out near some mysterious standing stones, only to awaken, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court-style, two centuries earlier in “an unknown world where her freedom and very life are at risk.” Soon she finds her loyalty to her 20th-century husband strained when she’s force to marry a strapping Scottish warrior named Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). Even if Claire can find a way back to her native time, will she still want to return when that would mean giving up the hot dude in the kilt? Time will tell.

Starz’ new time travelling romance series Outlander doesn’t officially begin to air until this coming Saturday, August 9, but if you’ve got a hankering for Ronald D. Moore’s (Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) latest show, you’re in luck. Over the weekend, the first episode appeared online and you can now watch it in its entirety.

The episode debuted recently at San Diego Comic-Con to positive feedback, and now those us who weren’t able to make it to the geeky mecca have the chance to take a look for ourselves via this handy-dandy YouTube video. Thanks, Starz.

Another massive installment of San Diego’s Comic-Con International has come and gone, leaving the fans to disperse to the four corners of the Earth, laden down with bags of swag. Of course, many people didn’t get to go this year, and there are even more who’ve never been to Comic-Con at all. Thankfully, this is the internet age, so even if you weren’t amid the throngs last week, you can still experience some of the awesomeness via the slew of panel videos that have popped up online.

These don’t give you the visceral thrill of being in the middle of 6,000 cheering geeks in Hall H, and you’re not going to get to see the really cool stuff like that Avengers 2 footage, but many of the panel discussions and Q&A segments are available online to watch in full. Check out the ones we found below, and if you want to recreate the experience more fully, feel free to watch them while crowded into a tool shed with 30 or 40 strangers. But you have to wait in line for 12 hours first.

Romance, mystery, secrets, and time travel, throw them all together in a blender and what do you have? Starz upcoming series Outlander, that’s what. Like every other even vaguely nerdy property that’s scheduled to come out sometime in the next year, Ronald D. Moore’s (Battlestar Galactica) adaptation of Diana Gabaldon’s best-selling series of novels is all over San Diego Comic-Con (they brought a damned castle for Christ’s sake, they aren’t messing around). There are couple quick trailers that introduce two of the key players in this new drama, as well as a crap ton of stills from the show and behind the scenes photos from the set.

This first video gets up close and personal with the main character of series, Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe). A non-nonsense World War II nurse, she goes on a romantic vacation with her hubby Frank (Tobias Menzies) in 1945. It’s all going swimmingly untl she comes into contact with at strange rock formation in the Scottish Highlands and tumbles back in time 200 years or so. Once there, Claire must adapt to this brutish new way of life, and acclimate or face her own doom. Given that she is now the most skilled and modern medical practitioner of the day, she puts her knowledge to good use, patching up wounded warriors and the like. Eventually Claire starts up a hot and heavy romance with Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). She’s also trying to figure out a how to get back to her own time, though it doesn’t look like she’s trying all that hard (Jamie is a hunky sexpot after all).

Comic-Con 2014 is only a week away. Thousands of fans and professionals will descend on San Diego and bury it in a thick coating of nerd several feet deep. There’s really nothing else like it, but the more years pass, the more overwhelming the Con becomes. There’s so much going on, it’s a monumental task just to figure out which of the countless panels and events you want to try and see. Well, we’re here to make your life just a little bit easier. Over the next couple of days, we’ll run down all the panels that should be at the top of your to-do list. Here are our picks for the Friday events you can’t afford to miss!

TELEVISION

AMC’s The Walking Dead (12:20pm – 1:20pm, Hall H)
The first massive Hall H presentation of the day puts the spotlight on AMC’s runaway hit zombie drama. In addition to a preview of season five, the panel and Q&A session will include a good chunk of the cast and crew. You’ll be able to toss your questions at actors Andrew Lincoln (Rick), Norman Reedus (Daryl), Steven Yeun (Glen), Lauren Cohan (Maggie), Danai Gurira (Michonne), Melissa McBride (Carol), Chad Coleman (Tyreese), and Michael Cudlitz (Sgt. Ford). On the crew side, you’ll get showrunner Scott Gimple, executive producer/creator Robert Kirkman, executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, executive producer Dave Alpert, and special effects makeup supervisor and executive producer Greg Nicotero. Nerdist mogul/Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick will once again moderate the proceedings.