It is curious that, with so many period series made in splendid real and natural locations, it was the American chain Starz that has launched with a travel documentary as a kind of spin-off of one of its greatest hits: ‘Outlander’ . A) Yes, Sam Heughan and Graham MacTavish take their caravan and set out to tour Scotland in ‘Men in Kilts’, which Movistar + premieres today.
The excuse of the documentary is to celebrate that particular corner of Britain: its landscapes, people, customs and above all, its food. In the opening chapter we see, in less than fifteen minutes, this couple enter a restaurant in Edinburgh, get on a fishing boat to collect seafood with their nets and back to the coast to puff up to eat. And then for whiskey.
All this in the long tradition of documentaries of this type. In the end, what the interpreters of Jamie and Douglas MacKenzie do in the adaptation of Gabaldon’s novels is not particularly novel since it is a particularly prolific genre in this sense. In fact, in that first episode it seemed to me that I was watching the Echanove and Arias from ‘A country like eating it’, for example.
A documentary enjoyed
But not only the documentary feeds on this, but each episode addresses a theme: from the gastronomic first episode we go to a second sports car and a third folkloric. This causes certain geographical jumps that can cause some confusion (in one sequence they may be in Edinburgh and the next on the other coast), which break a certain naturalness in what they intend to be a road trip.
However, her half-hour episodes come in like water and it’s quite delightful to see them react, speak, and enjoy what Sam and Graham are presented with along the way. If we add that to the majesty of the landscapes captured under the direction of Kevin Johnston, we find something as aesthetically pleasing as it is enjoyable.
I recognize that Starz’s play is clear, finishing the reborn interest that ‘Outlander’ has caused by Scotland with a documentary that celebrates this historic British nation and sells it well to us. In part, also, because of the undeniable chemistry between the protagonists, which makes us immediately enter an already attractive proposal.