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Based on Diana Gabaldon’s book series, this new drama from Battlestar Galactica showrunner Ron Moore follows Claire Randall, a spirited war nurse, who time-travels from 1945 to 1743 Scotland. The slow-burning pilot follows her and her husband Frank on holiday to “reconnect” after being separated during the war, allowing the show to do some valuable character work before Claire falls through time. After listening to plenty of illuminating historical anecdotes and some heavy-handed foreshadowing from a tea leaf reader, Claire finds herself in the 18th century, where Frank’s villainous ancestor (played by the same actor) immediately attempts to rape her. She is rescued by a band of Scottish soldiers, and the show quickly establishes an intriguing love triangle between Claire, Frank, and one of the Highlanders, a roguish hunk named Jamie. While it would have been easy to cast Frank as a boring or neglectful husband, he is portrayed as caring and devoted, making it difficult for the audience to root for her to abandon him. On the other hand, the series employs the deafening sound of a crackling fire to convey Claire and Jamie’s sexual chemistry at every opportunity, so we all know where this is going.

Despite edging into Scottish Tourist Board territory in the opening credits, the Highlands scenery is beautiful, and the show refuses to be pigeonholed as a romance by introducing a large cast in the following episodes, which deal with medical mystery-solving, gender dynamics and political intrigue. By defying genre categorisation, and by offering a captivating, fully-realised heroine, Moore has created a rich, compelling world that slowly but seductively lures you in.