Outlander discussion: Why some scenes are cut before episodes air
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This article was inspired in some ways by Sam Heughan tweeting during his Q&A session on Monday that there were a couple of notable scenes that didn’t make it into the episodes, including a painful moment of mourning and then also a love scene. Given that the production put forward the time in order to shoot these scenes, of course, it’s fair to wonder why they were not included.
As it turns out, there are a number of different reasons why the show’s producers may opt to do something like this.
1. Not enough time – This is the #1 reason much of the time. Most episodes of Outlander run close to an hour, and while it is easy to say that they could run longer without it being an issue, it’s a little bit more complicated than that. Outlander airs on a number of other networks all over the globe, so anytime that an episode goes beyond the typical run time, they all have to adjust their own schedules. That can become a logistical nightmare at times since different networks have different scheduling demands. Keeping the episodes under an hour is the way the show can be the most accommodating — though there are exceptions here and there, including the most-recent finale (which ran a few minutes over).
2. They don’t fit the episode’s tone – Sometimes, the footage filmed feels different on set or on the page than it does in context. For example, a comedic scene doesn’t often work when it is surrounded by painful subject matter.
3. Something doesn’t work as expected – This happens every now and then when a scene just doesn’t quite pan out as you thought it would; or, you just realize that there’s a different way you can present the information within that scene without having to spend a few minutes on it.
Ultimately, the reason why many networks offer deleted scenes via their DVD sets is so that viewers’ curiosity about many of these scenes can be sated. We do wish at times that there could be extended cuts of episodes available with deleted scenes factored in, but every now and then, scenes are cut for a reason. They don’t often work and you have to trust the creative team on that.
Coming tomorrow
We’re going to take on another interesting question brought up in the Q&A, one related to whether or not the cast can ever feasibly direct episodes of the show.
Are you always bummed out to learn that certain scenes are cut from a show like Outlander? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments. (Photo: Starz.)