What Makes a Period Drama Awesome?

What made you interested in Outlander? The romance? The adventure? The Time travel? The characters? Maybe it was the historical setting and the intrigue of the time frame in which Outlander and all of it's sequels take place? I have ALWAYS been a fan of history and romance and combining the two together. I grew up on Disney Princess movies and got my start on period dramas watching the CBC and Disney production of Anne of Green Gables with Megan Follows. Gilbert Blythe was my first literary boyfriend and it kickstarted my love of romantic period piece dramas and television shows. So what makes a Period drama so wonderful anyway?

#1: The Costumes

Whether it's the beautiful dresses of The Tudors, the corsets of Victorian Dramas like Little Dorrit or Nicholas Nickelby, the costumes tell  a story as much as the movie or show itself. The costumes are a character and that's what makes them so important. The puffy sleeved white shirts, the cravats, the surcoats, the jewels, the hair, the simplicity or the ornate. Each costume is a part of making my heart aflutter.

#2: The Settings

What suits your fancy more? The gray and green Scottish highlands of Outlander, or the cheery hamlets of Prince Edward Island? Perhaps you prefer the hustle and bustle of London or the beautiful courts of Versailles there is always something to be admired. Much like the costumes, the settings are just as wonderful to gaze upon and soak up. They are a character too. If the settings don't seem authentic, then the entire production feels like a waste. With such settings, mixed with the costumes, you could also be transported to that place and time and if the production mucks up the setting then it's no good as a whole.

#3: The Speech

Speech, and dialects are often key to a period drama and make them awesome. The eloquence of Mr. Darcy as he proposes to Elizabeth Bennett, who's witty reply this hurtful comments make you wince with the sting of the burn inflicted. Shakespeare probably has the win here because there is nothing more romantic than seeing two people in period costumes professing love and more fantastic than characters demanding retribution or revenge. It just seems more refined, and the words a bit more flowery. The elegance and propriety of most makes it especially pleasing to the ear.

#4: The Men

Alright ladies, I think it's quite safe to assume that there is something extra special about men in period costumes. For instance, in real life, I don't think Sam Heughan is all that attractive, but when he wears a kilt and he's a little dirty, he's one of the sexiest men on the planet. Otherwise handsome men, look even sexier wearing puffy white shirts with a hint of chest hair showing at the vee of the collar. It's the fact that it hints at more I think, that makes it so sexy. It's probably why for men, back in the day, ankles when seen were so sexy. You wouldn't think they were but seeing just a hint of flesh under a lot of fabric gets the heart afluttering. Modesty really can be super sexy.

#5: The Romance

Probably what put's the cherry on top of the sundae for me is the romance that is seen throughout period dramas (especially those based on books). Growing up I wanted to be Anne to Gilbert, Elizabeth to Darcy. I wanted to parade in an extravagant ballgown and dance the night away with Bingley and be kissed under a tree by a handsome man in a cravat. Period dramas feed into this fantasy and as we grow older, watching a film, we can pretend we are part of the setting. Even as adults, we can act like little princesses again and enjoy a wonderful romance with the rakes and hellions of whatever time period we decide to immerse ourselves in.

#6: The Story Itself

Even with all of the above elements, what is probably most important of all, is the actual story. There are several genres of Period drama, though romance seems to be the most popular. The stories of war, of honor, of chivalry. The stories of beating the odds, of becoming more, of heroes and villains, of heroines and heart. They are relatable stories in one form or another, despite a space of time between them. With all of the elements, nothing completes a period drama better than a good story.  Whether it's overcoming one's own pride and vanity, like Elizabeth Bennett and Anne Shirley had to do, or overcoming selfishness and understanding that your feelings aren't the only one that matter as Scarlett did with Rhett. Perhaps it's the sad truth that even good heroes must die and that guilt or innocence, doesn't necessarily matter if you are in the way of a King as Anne Boleyn found out when her ambition was to great. That even if you are truly not a terrible person, a rule that does not cater to the downtrodden might end in your peril (as it did with Marie Antoinette). The story makes the drama, and makes all of the other elements truly worthwhile.

And to be clear here, it's not just the movies and television shows that are awesome. My favorite book genre is romantic historical fiction which is how I was so able to get into Outlander. I love a Julia Quinn, a Connie Mason and a Catherine Anderson to fill my world and immerse me in a story of love, and passion and corsets. I'm a history lover and history is my greatest passion. Seeing history and romance come together in books or in film, truly make it worth the while.


So what get's you excited about Period Dramas? The passion, the costumes? Feel free to let me know.