fairly faithful to the books from what I recall so far They aged some of the Starks, but that was more common sense than anything else. Good casting, for the most part.
So far so good. I think they nailed it.
Global name: @k26dp
I've not read the books, so can't comment there. Makes me think of Spartacus but in medieval times rather than Roman (intrigue, not the whole gladiator thing). Would definitely be a show that I would watch, but sadly, HBO is only on the free preview weekend. Will pick up the series when it hits DVD though.
Also, Jason Momoa nailed that whole Pict/Celt/horseman vibe.
Watching the replay and thus far it's been dead on. Don't know if ill watch through till the end of the season because of it. Without spoiling it, there's some pretty dark **** down the road and no real light at the end of the tunnel the way there was for Blood & Sand.
I enjoyed it even more than Camelot (also an excellent series).
I spotted the part about the **window ledge from a mile away, but it was still handled very well.
Definitely want to see more of the creepy/scary White Walkers.
In case anyone has trouble keeping all the names straight. (page takes awhile to load)
http://www.hbo.com/#/game-of-thrones...rew/index.html
**Keeping the post spoiler free for anyone who hasnt watched yet.
If they manage to eliminate 90% of the waffle it might do better than the books at actually telling the story than the books do. gave up after three books and the three thousandth description of what people where eating.
Also some how the country side is more densely populated than most cities, which was odd.
Seemed well done though.
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Even though most of the time people usually assume "the book is better than the movie/TV version" in some cases the compressed nature of movies/TV shows actually forces a detail-rich book based story to become more tightly focused and give up the excess baggage that obscures the main story too much. Maybe this series will be a good case of that.
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Originally Posted by Cass_
If they manage to eliminate 90% of the waffle it might do better than the books at actually telling the story than the books do. gave up after three books and the three thousandth description of what people where eating.
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I didn't really notice much "excess baggage" in the four books.
Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound
I liked it, I didnt love it.
I enjoyed the books tremendously and never noted any "...and this is what they ate" passage that wasnt for a purpose. Now Wheel of Time on the other hand....ye gads!.
So anyhow, I enjoyed the casting decisions....
Jamie, Tyrion, Rob, Jon, Theon, Arya, Dany, Drogo all seem pretty spot on
Cersei could be prettier (but I like the actresses work so Im not complaining)....
Tyrion isnt ugly enough according to my wife
Robert isnt large enough. Sean Bean towers over him.
But all in all everyone pretty much looks the part....now can they sound the part...the furthest afield is Eddard but he's the name in this so I wont complain.
I wanted flashbacks dammit. One of the series main plot mysteries is only told of in flashbacks and hasnt truly been resolved....In the book Ned has flashbacks during Roberts talking of Lyanna but they just cut that out. I was hoping for clues.
Really liked the White Walkers. Tis a pity though....
"The things I do for love" is a terrific line and a terrific point to end the first show.
I dont know if it did a good enough job at hooking people. The opening vignette is going to hook the wrong kind of people for the show or turn off the right kind. It was always my initial complaint about the novels. I dont want to spoil details so Ill leave it at that.
--Frog
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I thought the same thing about "Lord of the Rings." Those books are so bogged down in minutiae at times that they're not always easy to slog through. I know the movies made some fundamental changes that honked off a few people, I thought most of the improvements were worthwhile.|
Originally Posted by Lothic
Even though most of the time people usually assume "the book is better than the movie/TV version" in some cases the compressed nature of movies/TV shows actually forces a detail-rich book based story to become more tightly focused and give up the excess baggage that obscures the main story too much. Maybe this series will be a good case of that.
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I've not read any of the books "Game of Thrones" is based on, but I definitely enjoyed the premiere. I noticed HBO trotted out Timothy van Patten to direct again last night. Check him out on IMDB...he works on just about every one of their series. I was kind of shocked because the tone of last night's episode is so much different than "Boardwalk Empire" or "The Sopranos" or "The Pacific," all of which he has spent significant time on. There was an early moment with the White Walkers that actually got me to jump, an element I wasn't expecting at all.
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I never had trouble reading The Lord of the Rings. The Silmarillion was a bit difficult to get through, though. I found both easier to read than the first book in the Wheel of Time series.
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Originally Posted by Defenestrator
Those books are so bogged down in minutiae at times that they're not always easy to slog through.
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Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound
Quote:
I managed to read The Hobbit. I got about halfway through Fellowship before my brain just said, "Done.". Could not take another 12 page soliloquy on the leaves of the trees that the hobbits were passing through (hyperbole, I know, but that's what it felt like).
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Originally Posted by Tenzhi
I never had trouble reading The Lord of the Rings. The Silmarillion was a bit difficult to get through, though. I found both easier to read than the first book in the Wheel of Time series.
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I don't blame them on the opening part, lets be honest here, after four books, you really don't know much about the walkers, other than that their looming out there somewhere
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Originally Posted by Frogfather
I liked it, I didnt love it.
I enjoyed the books tremendously and never noted any "...and this is what they ate" passage that wasnt for a purpose. Now Wheel of Time on the other hand....ye gads!. So anyhow, I enjoyed the casting decisions.... Jamie, Tyrion, Rob, Jon, Theon, Arya, Dany, Drogo all seem pretty spot on Cersei could be prettier (but I like the actresses work so Im not complaining).... Tyrion isnt ugly enough according to my wife Robert isnt large enough. Sean Bean towers over him. But all in all everyone pretty much looks the part....now can they sound the part...the furthest afield is Eddard but he's the name in this so I wont complain. I wanted flashbacks dammit. One of the series main plot mysteries is only told of in flashbacks and hasnt truly been resolved....In the book Ned has flashbacks during Roberts talking of Lyanna but they just cut that out. I was hoping for clues. Really liked the White Walkers. Tis a pity though.... "The things I do for love" is a terrific line and a terrific point to end the first show. I dont know if it did a good enough job at hooking people. The opening vignette is going to hook the wrong kind of people for the show or turn off the right kind. It was always my initial complaint about the novels. I dont want to spoil details so Ill leave it at that. --Frog |
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Originally Posted by Dark One
I managed to read The Hobbit. I got about halfway through Fellowship before my brain just said, "Done.". Could not take another 12 page soliloquy on the leaves of the trees that the hobbits were passing through (hyperbole, I know, but that's what it felt like).
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Not going to argue with you. But I would point out that Tolkien was writing in a different age. Just like you wouldnt put Shakespeare on the big screen without adapting it, you just cant read Tolkien like a modern fantasy writer.
That being said, I enjoyed all the books tremendously, save the Silmarillion and Children of Hurin (the later because it came out after I moved on to other things)
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I feel like that first half of Fellowship is the rite of passage you must go through before you are allowed to enjoy the book(s). Tolkien's boot camp, or something. After that it gets much, MUCH better and far more interesting. The pace picks up, the action picks up, the more interesting characters enter the story... the writing and the story just gets better in every way.
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Originally Posted by Dark One
I managed to read The Hobbit. I got about halfway through Fellowship before my brain just said, "Done.". Could not take another 12 page soliloquy on the leaves of the trees that the hobbits were passing through (hyperbole, I know, but that's what it felt like).
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@Quasadu
"We must prepare for DOOM and hope for FREEM." - SirFrederick
I don't remember anything called a White Walker in the books. What is it? Or were they just, like, walking around the way everyone else did? I may have blanked them out if so.
The Alt Alphabet ~ OPC: Other People's Characters ~ Terrific Screenshots of Cool ~ Superhero Fiction
Apparently they made their money back with overseas sales before it even aired, so DVDs and such will be gravy.
The Alt Alphabet ~ OPC: Other People's Characters ~ Terrific Screenshots of Cool ~ Superhero Fiction
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But have they officially? While the international rights have been selling quickly in numerous markets, HBO has said this season cost about $60M, and the $100M number has been rumored. That puts the series well in the same ballpark as one of the individual Lord of the Rings movies.|
Originally Posted by Ironik
Apparently they made their money back with overseas sales before it even aired, so DVDs and such will be gravy.
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Good for HBO for taking another gamble on unusual subject matter (if Starz's decidely lower budget Camelot doesn't saturate the audience). It's a very big gamble, though.
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THAT explains why I have never gotten further than 1/2 way through Fellowship. Keep failing boot camp...
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Originally Posted by Quasadu
I feel like that first half of Fellowship is the rite of passage you must go through before you are allowed to enjoy the book(s). Tolkien's boot camp, or something. After that it gets much, MUCH better and far more interesting. The pace picks up, the action picks up, the more interesting characters enter the story... the writing and the story just gets better in every way.
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Originally Posted by Hyperstrike
English does not borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, hits them over the head, and rifles through their pockets for loose grammar.
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$60 million after various tax breaks, cutting the price of production by 40 to 50%, hence the rumored $100 million+. So that's about $6 million per episode and if they're getting as much as $2.5 million per episode from some overseas sales like the Hollywood Reporter claims, then they've more than earned back their production+marketing cost. Heck, given how many markets they re-sell in, just getting $500k per ep would ensure a profit.
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Originally Posted by TrueGentleman
But have they officially? While the international rights have been selling quickly in numerous markets, HBO has said this season cost about $60M, and the $100M number has been rumored. That puts the series well in the same ballpark as one of the individual Lord of the Rings movies.
Good for HBO for taking another gamble on unusual subject matter (if Starz's decidely lower budget Camelot doesn't saturate the audience). It's a very big gamble, though. |
The Alt Alphabet ~ OPC: Other People's Characters ~ Terrific Screenshots of Cool ~ Superhero Fiction
Quote:
Very interesting. The Wall Street Journal confirmed that sales figure a week ago, so it's probable that there are still some international deals to be done. The generally good reviews the premiere received will doubtless help that.
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Originally Posted by Ironik
So that's about $6 million per episode and if they're getting as much as $2.5 million per episode from some overseas sales like the Hollywood Reporter claims, then they've more than earned back their production+marketing cost.
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White Walkers = The Others|
Originally Posted by Ironik
I don't remember anything called a White Walker in the books. What is it? Or were they just, like, walking around the way everyone else did? I may have blanked them out if so.
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I actually can't remember them being called The White Walkers in the books either. A friend suggested they changed the name for the TV series so that it wouldn't look like they were copying Lost and their mysterious evil monsters with the same name.
I think I prefer the new name over the old one anyway.
@Cassie
Cassandra Storm - Ice/Storm Controller
Co-Leader of Legends of Justice
Ah, The Others. Supposedly scary critters who may or may not be zombies and we only see twice over 5,000 pages? Which in TV series terms means they show up again in 2017. 
The Alt Alphabet ~ OPC: Other People's Characters ~ Terrific Screenshots of Cool ~ Superhero Fiction
The first episode is airing several times tonight. So, what did y'all think?