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A Game of Thrones

Arnabas

By Arnabas,
Posted on: 2011-04-17 19:28 in Comic and Hero-Villain Culture

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ironik View Post
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.
Yes in WoT terms, it would be a bit like not seeing Trollics or the Forsaken until book 5 or 6. You know their looming out there. You get the idea that there will be a conflict involving hordes of them coming south, and that the various political games going on are just a distraction of the larger threat they pose, but as of book four, you really don't know too much more than you did in book 1 about them.

 

Posted

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Originally Posted by Cassie_Storm View Post
White Walkers = The Others

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.
That's what TV Tropes claims is the reason, as well.

 

Posted

I enjoyed the premiere. It set the tone well, introduced a fraction of the massive cast of schemers, and didn't run roughshod over its source material. Good stuff.

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Posted

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Originally Posted by TrueGentleman View Post
HBO has renewed Game of Thrones for a second season even if the premiere's ratings were only "solid" (having missed the first episode, I'm hoping to watch it in batches, which I've found the best way to watch HBO shows anyway).
I never exactly got why networks put so much stock in ratings. After all, less than .1 percent of all American households with TV are actually monitored. Hrm, I guess networks need SOMETHING to tell which shows of theirs are being watched though.

Well aside from that digression, I dug it! By far one of the better adaptations I've seen recently (though given that we've only seen one episode so far it might be a little early to judge). I was surprised by how much stuff they managed to cram into an hour's worth of TV, I couldn't think of a single scene from the book that was left out. My one nitpick was that Khal Drogo was made a little less sympathetic than in the book, but they still have an entire season to change that so no hard feelings.

 

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Originally Posted by Inazuma View Post
That's what TV Tropes claims is the reason, as well.
Well, let's face it.

"White Walkers" is a lot more scary and ominous sounding than "The Others."

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Posted

Myself, my wife, and my coworker all really enjoyed the first episode, although none of us have read any of the books. Very well done. I may actually have to start paying to get HBO since it seems they get all the good shows I actually want to watch.

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Posted

I like the way the pilot was adapted. Looking forward to seeing if they keep it up with the rest of the season.

 

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Just a tidbit here, I was at Aussiecon 4(2010 Worldcon) and GRRM stated then that season 2 of Game of Thrones was in post-production. Looking at that odds are season 3 is firmly in pipeline even though HBO has only confirmed season 2 to air.

For me the show was spot on as was the casting... yes "Winter is Coming!"

 

Posted

I enjoyed the first episode enough that I may have to renew my HBO subscription when it runs out that the end of May.

I've never read any of the books, but I might want to. I think someone mentioned there are four of them? Does anyone know if they are planning to adapt one book per season? I don't want to start reading them until I know I won't read spoilers.

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Originally Posted by mousedroid View Post
I've never read any of the books, but I might want to. I think someone mentioned there are four of them? Does anyone know if they are planning to adapt one book per season? I don't want to start reading them until I know I won't read spoilers.
Four at the moment with book five (supposedly) out this July.

I think I read that the general idea was to have one book per season of the show. Book three is really big though. It might require two seasons to get through. Books four and five most certainly will since they take place at the same time and will need to be combined.

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Originally Posted by Wooden_Replica View Post
Yes in WoT terms, it would be a bit like not seeing Trollics or the Forsaken until book 5 or 6. You know their looming out there. You get the idea that there will be a conflict involving hordes of them coming south, and that the various political games going on are just a distraction of the larger threat they pose, but as of book four, you really don't know too much more than you did in book 1 about them.
Wow... not sure how he is ever going to get this series done if he still hasn't gotten to that. I assumed that threat was going to pop out in the second book at least. I didn't care for the style or feel of the world, so I gave up after Book 1... but that vignette at the start of Book 1 certainly made me think the whole series was going to go in a very different direction.

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Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim View Post
Wow... not sure how he is ever going to get this series done if he still hasn't gotten to that. I assumed that threat was going to pop out in the second book at least. I didn't care for the style or feel of the world, so I gave up after Book 1... but that vignette at the start of Book 1 certainly made me think the whole series was going to go in a very different direction.

Some Spoilers below





The White Walkers / Others storyline starts in the third book really. They're not the prominent enemy, of course, but it's a lot more than just the first opening chapter in the first book. While they're not always being read about directly, they are the driving force behind what is happening up North and beyond the Wall.

By the end of the third book, the wildling force that was amassing beyond the wall has been dealt with and Stanntis and his army have marched north to help the Night's Watch deal with the looming threat of the White Walkers / Others.

Unfortunately, Book 4 needed to be halved in order to make it readable. The half we ended up with didn't have anything to do with the characters in the North. I'd imagine book 5 will have mostly to do with that part of the story while bringing to conclusion some of the other storylines in the south.

That leaves two books for him to build up and write a conclusion to The Others' story for. Which is probably more than enough considering we got through an entire war (mostly anyway) between book 2 and half of book 3. How long it takes him to write the last two books, however, is another matter entirely.

@Cassie
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Posted

Just finished watching episode two, and I'll just say that it was equal to the first. Very well done. My only issues are that some of the characters I like aren't getting as much screen time as I'd hoped, so far anyway, and that I have to wait another week to watch more.

Also, Dire Wolves kick ***.

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Posted

So, Ned is ridiculously evasive about Jon's mother, and Tyrion finds Jon interesting enough to travel to a whoreforesaken wasteland with him. Hmm.

 

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*** SPOILER ALERT ***

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Originally Posted by Starflier View Post
Also, Dire Wolves kick ***.
Yeah I don't have a problem with the dire wolves being fiercely loyal to their owners and I don't even have a problem with one of them coming out of nowhere to maul another person who's threatening their owners. But twice in one episode? I thought that was pushing it a little. Now I'm almost going to be expecting a "random wolf attack" in every episode. All I'm saying is that from a literary point of view that kind of minor deus ex machina can quickly lose its significance if it gets used every half-hour of the show.

Other than that I thought it was a great episode and looking forward to seeing more of this series.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Terwilliger View Post
So, Ned is ridiculously evasive about Jon's mother, and Tyrion finds Jon interesting enough to travel to a whoreforesaken wasteland with him. Hmm.
Clearly there's something building between Tyrion and Jon. It could just be the fact that he's interested in another person who's also, like him, sort of the "black sheep" of a noble family and sees a younger version of himself in Jon. Of course they could take it to extremes and we could find out that they are somehow secretly related via the "mystery" mother. Either way Tyrion's interest is likely not random in any case. He doesn't seem like the type who would waste any effort on anything that wasn't deviously planned for well in advance.

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Posted

I always kind of thought of the direwolves as this series's version of R2D2. They're both characters who just sit around and act cute until a convenient deus ex machina is needed. And much like R2D2, I love them to death.

So anyways, episode 2 felt a bit weaker than episode 1 to me, but I still greatly enjoyed it. All these guys are doing a great job acting, especially Tyrion and King Robert. I love them every single time they come on screen. The only thing that bugged me really was the way they revealed Mycah's death. In the book it came as a HUGE shocker to me and I figured they would end this episode with that being the big shocking reveal. Here it was just more like "Yeah, he's dead. Never going to be mentioned again. Big whoop". The only other real quibble I can think of was the newly added pseudo-lesbian scene, which came right the hell out of nowhere but...well...was not unappreciated.

Loving it so far! Can't wait to see how they handle the rest of the book!

 

Posted

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Originally Posted by Lothic View Post
*** SPOILER ALERT ***



Yeah I don't have a problem with the dire wolves being fiercely loyal to their owners and I don't even have a problem with one of them coming out of nowhere to maul another person who's threatening their owners. But twice in one episode? I thought that was pushing it a little. Now I'm almost going to be expecting a "random wolf attack" in every episode. All I'm saying is that from a literary point of view that kind of minor deus ex machina can quickly lose its significance if it gets used every half-hour of the show.
I haven't seen the episodes -- no HBO. :-(

But in the books, there is a special connection between the Dire Wolves and the Stark children. That connection makes the protective nature of the wolves make more sense. In the books, the Dire Wolves also Kick-***, and it doesn't seem random or cheap.


Quote:
Clearly there's something building between Tyrion and Jon. It could just be the fact that he's interested in another person who's also, like him, sort of the "black sheep" of a noble family and sees a younger version of himself in Jon. Of course they could take it to extremes and we could find out that they are somehow secretly related via the "mystery" mother. Either way Tyrion's interest is likely not random in any case. He doesn't seem like the type who would waste any effort on anything that wasn't deviously planned for well in advance.
In the books, Tyrion wanted to go to the Wall to inspect it and learn something about the state of the Defenses and the status of the Black Watch . . . he developed a friendly relationship with Jon, but that was not why he went.

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Posted

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Originally Posted by Local_Man View Post



In the books, Tyrion wanted to go to the Wall to inspect it and learn something about the state of the Defenses and the status of the Black Watch . . . he developed a friendly relationship with Jon, but that was not why he went.
That's how he explains it on the show as well.

On Tyrion:

I'm not sure there is another actor besides Peter Dinklage that can pull off that role. I think in the hands of lesser talent it could turn very cheesy/campy in a heartbeat and completely miss the mark. He's definitely a highlight; as is Sean Bean.


On Direwolves:

Pushing a kid out a window is one thing, but killing that innocent puppeh???? I can tell this is going to be a brutal ride. But it's worth it so far.

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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Local_Man View Post
I haven't seen the episodes -- no HBO. :-(

But in the books, there is a special connection between the Dire Wolves and the Stark children. That connection makes the protective nature of the wolves make more sense. In the books, the Dire Wolves also Kick-***, and it doesn't seem random or cheap.
Yes the show even hinted that the Stark children are "connected" to these wolves in a special mystical/family way. But that's still not going to make it any less silly if we can just start expecting these wolves to jump out of the woodwork every time one of the kids are threatened. I just don't want the trick to get so overused that it becomes some kind of "drinking game" trigger for this show.

Once in a while = cool and special
Once or twice every episode = dumb and overused

That's all I'm saying.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Local_Man View Post
In the books, Tyrion wanted to go to the Wall to inspect it and learn something about the state of the Defenses and the status of the Black Watch . . . he developed a friendly relationship with Jon, but that was not why he went.
As I said I'm assuming that a character like Tyrion has a "master plan" at work and has reasons for going to the Wall that aren't all about Jon. Still it's clear there's the beginning of a friendship there that'll likely become more significant later on when all the s*** starts to hit the proverbial fan. At the very least Tyrion probably figures if he can have a member of the Stark family friendly to him then that makes his position all the more secure.

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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Local_Man View Post
In the books, Tyrion wanted to go to the Wall to inspect it and learn something about the state of the Defenses and the status of the Black Watch . . . he developed a friendly relationship with Jon, but that was not why he went.
....I don't buy it.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by MentalMaden View Post
On Tyrion:

I'm not sure there is another actor besides Peter Dinklage that can pull off that role. I think in the hands of lesser talent it could turn very cheesy/campy in a heartbeat and completely miss the mark. He's definitely a highlight; as is Sean Bean.
Right up there with Schwarzenegger as Conan and Shelley Duvall Olive Oyl, Dinklage was born to play Tyrion.

Quote:
On Direwolves:

Pushing a kid out a window is one thing, but killing that innocent puppeh???? I can tell this is going to be a brutal ride. But it's worth it so far.
Killing a dog is almost always a guaranteed no-no for me. That usually results in a *click* of the remote. Sometimes, though, it can be made to work. I can't recall in the books if that action ever came back to haunt anyone; it seemed mostly to make her feel sad.

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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by MentalMaden View Post
I can tell this is going to be a brutal ride.
Oh, you have no idea. Watching the series unfold at this pace is almost tortuous, because there are moments coming up that, when I read them, left me in a state of utter disbelief, rereading the words multiple times in an effort to convince myself of what actually transpired.

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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by MentalMaden View Post
On Direwolves:

Pushing a kid out a window is one thing, but killing that innocent puppeh???? I can tell this is going to be a brutal ride. But it's worth it so far.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ironik View Post
Killing a dog is almost always a guaranteed no-no for me. That usually results in a *click* of the remote. Sometimes, though, it can be made to work. I can't recall in the books if that action ever came back to haunt anyone; it seemed mostly to make her feel sad.
*** SPOILER ALERT ***




It's interesting to note what kinds of "violence" seems to be acceptable to show on cable TV these days.

In the first episode of this series we see a guy getting decapitated and another guy getting his guts get cut open. True both scenes were shown very quickly and with a minimum of blood, but still we are shown these things.

By contrast the scene where the wolf is killed is handled in an almost "off-screen" manner. We see Stark kneel down next to the wolf and draw his dagger, but the actual motion of him stabbing the wolf is concealed below the level of the camera so that we really only see Stark's face as he does the deed.

If aliens were to land on our planet today and watch this show they'd have to conclude that we consider violence against canines more taboo than violence against other human beings.

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Posted

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Originally Posted by Lothic View Post
If aliens were to land on our planet today and watch this show they'd have to conclude that we consider violence against canines more taboo than violence against other human beings.
We do. Otherwise Ray Lewis would've probably done jail time and Michael Vick would've gotten a slap on the wrist. Dogs, at least pet dogs, like children, largely rely on us for their survival and in return give us nearly unconditional love and trust. Violating that trust is seen as a much bigger deal than violence against a human being with whom you're having an arguement.

That's not to say that if push came to shove someone wouldn't sacrifice their pet in favor of a loved one.

I enjoyed the second episode easily as much as the first and am looking forward to/hoping for a long run for this show.

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Posted

It's pay cable Lothic, you can run a hard R there without a problem. Hence the plethora of boobies, full nudity and blood hoses in shows like Game of Thrones, True Blood and Spartacus.

Now USA or SyFy couldn't get away with any of that since those networks are basically considered "broadcast" or "free".

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