Tuesday 27 June 2017

Outlander on More4

The US series Outlander is coming to More4 on Freeview.  Made by Starz the show was only previously available to watch in the UK on the internet service Amazon Prime Instant Video. 

Based on the series of books by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander tells the story of English World War II nurse Claire Randall who is accidentally transported back in time to the year 1743 while holidaying in Scotland with her husband.  Trapped in the past she has to make a life for herself amongst the highland clans equipped only with her advanced medical knowledge and forthright manner to gain acceptance amongst the rebellious Scots who have every reason to hate the English.

With a mostly British cast, led by Irish actress Catriona Balfe, Outlander debuted in 2014 with eight episodes ending with a cliffhanger.  A second run of eight episodes continued the following year.  These 16 episodes comprise the first season.  There was a second season of 13 episodes in 2016.  A third season is due this year.

Outlander begins on More4 on Thursday 29th June at 9pm.

The first series has a fair amount of nudity the bulk of which falls to Catriona Balfe.  The scenes for each actress have already been added to the Topless Review database, but here is a handy guide collating those descriptions into episode order. 

WARNING: There may be a few spoilers

Episode 1
Caitriona Balfe (Claire Randall) - topless and rear nudity standing in a hotel bedroom with her husband Frank Randall (Tobias Menzies) as they kiss and undress each other on their second honeymoon - then topless astride and underneath him on the bed as they make love.

Episode 2
Laura Donnelly (Jenny Fraser) - topless in the street as brutal redcoat Captain Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) roughly tears down the front of her dress and pinions her arms so she cannot conceal herself as he forces her rebellious Scots brother Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) to watch her humiliation to show him the futility of fighting back against the English.

Caitriona Balfe (Claire Randall) - topless and rear nudity standing as she undresses out of the skimpy modern day evening dress she slept in after spending the night in the Scottish castle Leoch after having been transported back to the 18th century - she hands her clothes to castle cook Mrs Fitzgibbons (Annette Badland) who helps her into clothing more suited to the period.

Episode 3
Caitriona Balfe (Claire Randall) - topless side view with her right breast seen as she steps out of a parlour bath and Mrs Fitzgibbons helps dry her back as she puts on a shift

Episodes 4 - 6
No nudity

Episode 7
Nina Gilhooly (Isabella) - topless with her right breast seen out of her dress as she and her fellow whores tease embarrassed solicitor Ned Gowan (Bill Paterson) who has been tasked with swiftly obtaining a readymade dress for a wedding.

Caitriona Balfe (Claire Randall) - topless and rear nudity as she removes her shift in front of her new husband Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) on their wedding night as they gaze upon each other's bodies while getting to know each other properly after their hastily arranged marriage - then topless underneath him on the bed as they make love with passion - then topless as she moves atop him and kisses down his body - then topless laying beside him at contented rest when they have finished - then rear nudity as she gets up and puts a shawl around herself - later sitting with the shawl loosely draped and her left breast seen as Jamie presents her with a family heirloom pearl necklace and puts it around her - then topless astride his lap as they make love this time gently.

Episode 8
Caitriona Balfe (Claire Randall) - topless laying outdoors in the countryside making out with Jamie as he lowers one side of her dress and kisses her left breast.

Caitriona Balfe (Claire Randall) - topless with her arms tied behind her as her captor the evil redcoat Captain Jack Randall rips down her top while terrorising her to make her reveal what she knows of the Jacobite rebellion - then topless as he pushes her down onto the table and torments her with a dagger just as her husband Jamie bursts in on a rescue mission (cliff-hanger ending to the first half of series 1)

Episode 9
Caitriona Balfe (Claire Randall) - topless being held down on a table by brutal redcoat captain Jack Randall in his fortress when her husband Jamie Fraser enters through the window on a rescue mission - then topless as Randall holds her as a shield with a knife to her throat and forces Jamie to surrender his pistol - later topless as Jamie overpowers Randall and frees her.

Caitriona Balfe (Claire Randall) - rear nudity in their bedroom as Jamie lifts her shift and does his perceived marital duty against her will by spanking her to discipline her for her disobedience which resulted in her earlier capture

Caitriona Balfe (Claire Randall) - topless in the bedroom as she and Jamie breathlessly undress when they patch up their differences - then topless as he kisses her breasts - then topless astride him as they make love on the floor by the fire and she makes him pledge never to raise his hand to her again - then topless beside him as they rest and talk loving words after they have finished - then topless laying on her back as he continues to kiss her body and then as he gets up to fetch food from the kitchen and she finds a ill-wish fetish planted under their bed.

Episode 10
Caitriona Balfe (Claire Randall) - topless laying on her back on a bed in the morning moaning with pleasure as Jamie gives her oral sex (out of shot) when there is an urgent knocking at the door

Lotte Verbeek (Geillis Duncan) - topless kneeling on the ground at night beside a fire in a forest with her ceremonial dress down to her waist as she performs a pagan summoning ritual - then topless laying on her back talking to her friend Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe) who arrives to see her - then topless and rear nudity as she stands and changes into her regular apparel.

Episode 11
Lotte Verbeek (Geillis Duncan) - topless as she rips open her bodice in the dock of a courthouse in front of an angry baying crowd at a witchcraft trial as she falsely confesses to being a witch to selflessly save her equally innocent co-accused Claire - then topless as she is carried aloft by the mob out to the stake for her burning.

Episode 12
Laura Donnelly (Jenny Fraser) - brief flashback to her topless scene from episode 2  where she is being held by Jack Randall to torment Jamie.  However this is a slightly new bit not seen in the actual episode it refers to

Episode 13
No nudity

Episode 14
Laura Donnelly (Jenny Fraser) - topless with her left breast seen out of her dress as she relieves herself of excess milk into a cup while standing in a forest talking to Claire (Caitriona Balfe) with whom she is travelling on a rescue mission and consequently away from her newly born baby - then she switches to the other breast and expresses milk from that.

Episodes 15 & 16
No nudity

Saturday 24 June 2017

Heads Up: The Queen's Sister on Yesterday

The Yesterday channel are showing the one-off Channel 4 biopic The Queen's Sister about the life of Princess Margaret.

The drama was previously shown on the Yesterday channel a while back although I didn't give a Heads Up then because of the fair possibility it might have been cut.  This suspicion was due to it having a couple of showings scheduled over the period in both pre- and post-watershed timeslots.  However it turned out that the post-watershed one was shown uncut (I didn't check the daytime showing but it seems very likely it would have had to have been edited).

This Sunday's broadcast is another post-watershed showing so this Heads Up is in the expectation it will be the full version once again.

The drama contains a topless bedroom scene featuring Lucy Cohu as Princess Margaret with her lover Antony Armstrong-Jones (played by Toby Stephens).


The Queen's Sister
Sunday 25th June 2017 at 9pm on Yesterday
Originally shown 27th November 2005 on Channel 4

Wednesday 21 June 2017

Heads Up: The Street on ITV3

ITV3 are currently showing the Jimmy McGovern drama The Street.  It was originally shown on BBC1 from 2006 to 2009 over three series.  Each episode focussed on different residents living in the same Manchester street.

The entire series had two episodes with female nudity.

The first of these is the opening episode of the second series which is coming up this Friday. It features a topless bedroom scene with Katy Cavanagh.



The Street
Series 2, episode 1: Twin
Friday 23 June 2017 at 9pm on ITV3
Shown again: Monday 26 June 2017 at 11pm on ITV3
Originally shown: 8 November 2007 on BBC1

ITV3 are allocating 80 minutes to the hour long programme which seems to suggest they are not cutting them simply to make way for adverts.

The other episode to watch out for in 7 weeks is the second episode of series 3 from 2009 in which Anna Friel is seen in a shower (the water suddenly runs cold and the camera pans down in a continuous shot to show her hurriedly turning the taps off).