Ron D. Moore on Redefining Sex on TV

 

“Why is there a candle in the foreground? Why is the curtain [moving]? Where’s that wind coming from? Why is she always on top of him like that?”

Sound familiar? Surprise, it’s not your inner monologue. But instead, a sampling from the many deep thoughts of Outlander Showrunner Ron D. Moore. And thank God for him and his discriminating eye; not for romance but rather, taste in realism, that has since positioned Outlander as the thought leader love leader when it comes to romance on TV. In his interview with Variety, Moore discusses how–and why–the sex on his show is different.

Here’s a tease:

Sexual acts on “Outlander” — including the damaging ones between Jamie and his tormenter, Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) — represent important milestones for the two characters involved. They’re not there as decorations, to be easily forgotten.

About The Wedding Episode, Season One:

I just felt, for whatever reason, a woman would approach the scene differently emotionally and intuitively, and probably differently visually,” Moore said. “It would be more about the meeting of these two people than it would be about eroticism or trying to make it look ‘sexy.’”

Moore on what NOT to do:

“The curtain drives me berserk. In fact, I specifically talked about the things we weren’t going to do when we were approaching the sex scenes.”

“You’re not shooting it trying to get the audience excited by it. You’re not trying to shoot it in a way that highlights her breasts or her ass or whatever, [with the idea that] that’s sexy and we’re going to show the audience something erotic. You’re trying to tell a piece of the story for a reason.”

Read the full interview here.

Source: Variety.com