Game of Thrones

[Aikanáro]

Is anyone watching the adaptation of George R.R. Martin's 'A Game of Thrones' on HBO? Two episodes in, and it seems to be staying fairly faithful to the book.

I particularly love Peter Dinklage as Tyrion and Maisie Williams as Arya, I think both capture their characters incredibly well.

I'd also be interested to know if there's anyone watching the show who hasn't read the novel, and whether or not they're finding it confusing to keep track of everything and everyone.

[Earniel]

I haven't but ever since I saw the announcement for it, I've been wondering how they're going to deal with a story that isn't finished? Drag the plot out long enough until Martin has gotten off his butt to write the next book? Or course, judging by the size of the published books, I reckon there ought to be enough material to keep them at it for a while...

[Jonathan]

I read the novel a few years ago.
The first episode was quite alright. I think the actors did a good job portraying their characters. Sean Bean makes a good Ned Stark!

I've yet to watch the second episode.

[Nerdanel]

i haven't read the novels, i just watched the first 2 episodes and i didn't find it confusing.

the series seems to be quite well done.. i'm looking forward to the rest!

[Aikanáro]

True, I love Sean Bean in just about everything he's been in, too. (Even if there's a part of me that always thinks Boromir - maybe Ned Stark will help break that strong association.

Nerdanel - good to hear! I only ask as I watched it with my brother and he ended up asking for clarification about quite a few things. In general, though, it seems like just the right amount is being explained to make everything clear without infodumping.

Eärniel - we might get the next book in July! I do worry about the one after that, though, particularly if the series keeps going strong at 1 book per year.

Looking forward to tomorrow's episode!

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by Aikanáro

Eärniel - we might get the next book in July! I do worry about the one after that, though, particularly if the series keeps going strong at 1 book per year.

Well, well... who'd have thought it? Would be great timing, in any case. If they can manage to translate it in the following four months, I could buy it for my dad's birthday!

I think I recall that in the article on the series in the SFX magazine it was mentioned they're indeed aiming at one book a season, possibly here and there two seasons a book, to fit all the story lines and characters in. There are four books now, that ought to give Martin some time. (Although 1,2,3a & 3b still remains a pretty silly way to divide books.)

[GrayMouser]

It's appearing on HBO Asia in August, which means my local bookstore might get a copy of the book- they generally only sell English books that have a movie/TV tie-in

[Stefan Salvatore]

I'm still reading the first book but I have seen all of S1 and I'm hooked, I absolutely love it. Favorite characters Jon Snow, Robb Stark, Arya Stark, Jaime Lannister (I've tried hating him but It's Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and I just can't , I love that man). Oh and I also like Ned.

[BeardofPants]

Originally Posted by Nerdanel

i haven't read the novels, i just watched the first 2 episodes and i didn't find it confusing.

the series seems to be quite well done.. i'm looking forward to the rest!

You should read the books.

[GrayMouser]

I just read the first book- great- and was about to order the second, when I saw the announcement for Season 2. Now I'm torn.
Normally I'm a fan of book over movie/TV, but this was done so well that I can't decide.

Complicating factor- HBO usually shows everything much later here in Asia than they do in the US/Canada -don't know about other places.
(Spoiler: Tony Soprano gets killed in the last episode).
So I have no idea when it will eventually air here-they haven't deigned to let us know.

We're getting the Walking Dead: Season 2.5 in March, rather than in February- I understand it's airing one week later in the UK.

(I was on a WD forum, but suspended my visits because of the careless way people were posting spoilers in the titles of their threads )


Just checked- supposedly airing April 21st (Season 1 started last August) so maybe I'll wait.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Originally Posted by GrayMouser

(Spoiler: Tony Soprano gets killed in the last episode).

Rolling on the floor right now.

Seriously, though, I'm reading the book, and while it's an excellent adaptation, and while I hate to be obnoxious about these things . . . the book is better. Two main reasons: 1) the over-aged casting, to my mind, loses something. A lot of the dynamics are more poignant with children aged eight, thirteen, fourteen, than with twenty-somethings (and it also points up excellently the way notions of adulthood have shifted). 2) It may just be me, but the theme of the "empowerment of the broken, the outcasts, the weak, the misfits" seems to me to come through more strongly in the book.

That one could just be me, but I'm sticking to the age issue.

[GrayMouser]

Good point about the age- that was one of the more noticeable differences- when they first mentioned their ages in the book, I thought that they must have cut some time out of the show- a couple of years while everyone grows up- but no, they just are that young.


Can't remember if it actually gives people's ages in the show, but Jon and Robb look to be 17-18; and Ned and Catelyn in their 40s- in the book it's 15 and mid-thirties.

OTOH, in both book and show Sansa has yet to start to menstruate, so she's either slow or Arya is pretty advanced for a 10-year-old.

But yeah, it reminds me of the Wars of the Roses, where the first round ended up with a lot of the original claimants with their heads stuck on pikes and the sons in power "with fathers to avenge and a kingdom to claim"

How do you mean about the misfits etc. ?

[Lotesse]

I saw the whole first season on HBO last season, which I LOVED, and now that I don't have cable TV I''ll have to rent the episodes from my movie-place as they get released on DVD. Certain people & things got me addicted to Game of Thrones. Peter Dinklage, for one. He would've made for an awesome Thorin Oakenshield, I'm just sayin...

Here's a trailer for Season 2 of Game of Thrones: (who lives? Who dies...)

http://collider.com/game-of-thrones-...9/#more-141329

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Originally Posted by Lotesse

Peter Dinklage, for one.

Yep! This was the first time I saw him in a really strong dramatic role, and I was blown away by just how well he owned it. Not just "good-for-a-comic-actor," but "fricken'-GOOD".

[Lotesse]

Originally Posted by Gwaimir Windgem

Yep! This was the first time I saw him in a really strong dramatic role, and I was blown away by just how well he owned it. Not just "good-for-a-comic-actor," but "fricken'-GOOD".

I seriously believe Peter Dinklage is an artistic (acting) genius, like one of the only little people I can think of who's got "IT," and he'sgot It in spades. Did you see Elf, the Will Ferrell flick he had a small part in? LOVE!!! Peter Dinklage is AWESOME.

[GrayMouser]

Originally Posted by Lotesse

I seriously believe Peter Dinklage is an artistic (acting) genius, like one of the only little people I can think of who's got "IT," and he'sgot It in spades. Did you see Elf, the Will Ferrell flick he had a small part in? LOVE!!! Peter Dinklage is AWESOME.

My favorite character in the series, even above Sean Bean.

Nice to see him recognized with both Emmy and Golden Globe.

Liked him in 'Elf', but not 'Prince Caspian'- not his fault; they miswrote Trumpkin into a travesty of what he was in the book.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

I mean, a lot out of the strong characters are outcasts, in some sense or other. Tyrion the dwarf, Jon the bastard, Arya the tomboy-rebel. Though I haven't gotten that far yet, I have a feeling that good things will come from Bran, and even Varys shows a surprising strength of character. On the other hand, you have Cersei the beautiful queen, Sansa the lovely princess, Joffrey the handsome prince, Jaime the honored knight. Rob is all right, but nowhere near as strong a character as Jon; Robert is more or less a complete failure as a king; even Ned is a truly honorable man, but not nearly clever enough to be able to survive the game of thrones. It might just be me, but I've definitely been seeing rather an ugly-duckling theme in it.

[GrayMouser]

Can't do any up to date posting since we're running a few weeks behind and I don't want to see spoilers, but...

http://dailyoftheday.com/game-of-american-thrones/

available all over the web...

[Lalaith]

Originally Posted by Aikanáro

I'd also be interested to know if there's anyone watching the show who hasn't read the novel, and whether or not they're finding it confusing to keep track of everything and everyone.

I watched season 1 without having read the books before (I have read all of them by now) and I did find everything very confusing. I had to read the plot summary on Wikipedia after each episode There were just so many charachters and storylines! But it got better towards the end of the season. (I need a lot of time to remember the faces of actors and until that happens I tend to be quite confused)

I also liked season 2, but not as much as season 1 which is probably because I already knew what was going to happen.
I think the show is indredibly well made and they chose very good actors.

I didn't, however, care very much for the actress of Margaery Tyrell (just don't think she fits the description in the book) and what they did with Robb Stark.

[Jonathan]

I did it kind of the other way around.
I read A Game of Thrones eight years ago. Liked it but never got around to reading the sequels. Then when the first season aired, I could follow the plot perfectly and enjoyed it a lot.
Then came the second season which I liked even more, probably because I didn't know the plot beforehand.

Now I'm eagerly awaiting the third season.