HBO adaptation of Game of Thrones - will this be just for nerds? (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

It was just like, really, that's the line you decide to add?

you know damn well what was in the books--sex, violence and the occasional supernatural threat.

and richly colored doublets

YES but not line by line.

Actually watching the first ep reminded me of so many parts of the story that have really long and complex lines to play out. Some things are lengthy but straightforward, you can sort of see the gears turning already, but some things have SO MANY TWISTS TO GO and I'm feeling a slight tedium already because I know they just aren't fruitful lines of hope or progress for the characters.

has marc loi filed his review yet

For those wondering about Theon, he apparently does come into a lot more in the first six episodes. I reckon he'll have an awesome payoff in the books down the line as well.

@PFTompkins
"Do something, fantasy Denis Leary! That kid saw us incesting each other!" #gameofthroenesonhbo

lol

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/hbo-renews-game-of-thrones

Not great opening numbers, tho. Of course. I can't remember the last time a show I liked got great numbers.

The obvious expense of the show made a second season almost inevitable. It would have needed Terrier-like numbers to not get renewed. There's enough promise that I hope it builds an audience and does well. It looks like the kind of story I'd like to see through.

It'll do well on home video. All scifi/fantasy stuff does.

the tra-la-la-la-la high fantasy stuff was a bit out of control. the stupid dothraki wedding looked like it was dreamed up by a 13-year old with a boner and a bad understanding of sex.

I'm not sure if you can fault the show for that though, it was pretty faithful to the description in the book. I mean, if you are objecting to the way it was shot or whatever, fair play, but I don't get people faulting the show for staying faithful to the source material.

"it was like that in the book" isn't an excuse for a film version sucking

there are many ways that scene could've been shot, and the way they decided to go was cheeeeze

Thats why I was asking, I was trying to understand why it bugged remy. The concept in general?

conceptually there isn't anything wrong w/ a timid girl getting thrown into the midst of a savage culture, but the execution here was laughable

i agree with edward the concept is fine – in the book i'm okay with with the dothraki. in the pilot, there were certain editorial decisions w/r/t importance of various salacious bits that took precedence over what i would value in a good story. i.e. the ... lingering on the sexiness (for the sake of sexiness) rather than as indicative of the power relationships between dany, vis, and drogo. i mean, the whole incesty boob-grab played as soft-focus porny rather than upsetting and manipulative.

i agree with edward that the concept is fine.

i think the wedding was even worse than the rave in the 2nd matrix movie as far as dionysian nerd fantasies go

get the feeling daenerys wasn't cast based on acting chops either, it's like the director said "you're forlorn eye candy, ACTION"

^^^^

otm

now step into the tub slowly

It was funny the way the camera panned down at one point specifically so her whole ass would be in the frame.

yeah I know..that whole sequence was weird

"Guys, guys, that's only 75% ass. The contract specifically calls for a 100 at all times."

http://oi53.tinypic.com/2ldkuj4.jpg

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

He is the cutest - those ears!

I think I actually saw "awwwwwwww" out loud at that point.

I want one.

err said "awwwwwwwww" not saw "aawwwwwwww"

it was like in one of those cartoons when the character hits his head and sees stars, except you were so stricken by the cuteness that you saw awwwws.

pretty much otm

When he was climbing the wall I kept wondering why they built the castle for Assassin's Creed specifications.

it wasn't great but will watch a few more before damning it completely.

supposedly it gets (even) better

yeah like...if you watch six seasons of the sopranos or whatev the first few are always a bit shonky.

idk, sopranos seem like a big exception to that rule. episode one is still a defining thematic episode. that's one thing reviewers have pointed out about the thrones pilot that i think is otm. there's no particular scene that really pulls together the major themes of the show. it's more of a preview/prologue type of episode where all the pieces are put into place. not that that is a particularly bad idea -- the world they're playing with is much much larger than the one of the sopranos.

Yes, but in this case they have the added responsibility of a viewership that already knows the entire contents of this season of planned plot developments. I can understand how that makes a tough balance between keeping the allegiances of the readers and drawing in new HBO viewers. That is not a comfortable seat, all in all.

dude is a perv tbh

I agree, but I think he may have more of a pregnancy fetish than anything else. At least that's what I get from the books.

That wolf pup is CGI, right?

NNOOOOOO they used sled-dog puppies.

Those ears are 100% REAL, AND THEY ARE GLORIOUS.

^^^^^

idk, sopranos seem like a big exception to that rule. episode one is still a defining thematic episode. that's one thing reviewers have pointed out about the thrones pilot that i think is otm. there's no particular scene that really pulls together the major themes of the show. it's more of a preview/prologue type of episode where all the pieces are put into place. not that that is a particularly bad idea -- the world they're playing with is much much larger than the one of the sopranos.

One of the articles linked above talks about the move away from episodic television altogether on HBO. The Sopranos and Deadwood both establish a lot about their central characters in the first episodes, and they're still fairly episodic in nature to give a full story, which GoT doesn't really do except some broad character strokes. Still, those shows took 3 or 4 episodes to really show their stuff ("College" and "Here Was A Man" are the ones usually cited).

I don't think GoT will be nearly as good as either of those, but it looks to be pretty entertaining once it gets going. Also, pretty much everything I've read says the pilot is the worst of the first 6.

Agreed about the nudity, though I think the brother-groping scene is a bit more pervy than you're giving it credit for. Certainly the final scene with her and the new husband is played for violation-by-the-Other discomfort.

i think the wedding was even worse than the rave in the 2nd matrix movie as far as dionysian nerd fantasies go

― adam, Tuesday, 19 April 2011 16:49 (Yesterday)

the angry, grunty dry humping was fucking HILARIOUS.

I agree, but I think he may have more of a pregnancy fetish than anything else. At least that's what I get from the books.

so i started re-reading the first book last night and there have already been at like three references to someone's seed quickening in someone else's womb or whatever so you may be on to something.

For those wondering about Theon, he apparently does come into a lot more in the first six episodes. I reckon he'll have an awesome payoff in the books down the line as well.

― Number None, Tuesday, 19 April 2011 09:54 (Yesterday) Bookmark

ha ha ha

idk, sopranos seem like a big exception to that rule. episode one is still a defining thematic episode. that's one thing reviewers have pointed out about the thrones pilot that i think is otm. there's no particular scene that really pulls together the major themes of the show.

― Mordy, Wednesday, 20 April 2011 00:39 (9 hours ago) Bookmark

errrr did they skip the execution? because that's pretty much the whole thing there, I gotta say

Why the laugh?

errrr did they skip the execution? because that's pretty much the whole thing there, I gotta say

i think the execution says a lot about that particular family and that particular people living in the north, but didn't really seem to speak to the exiled king or the real party king or any of the other groups. which idk having not read the book i can't comment with any authority.

= 'these are the sorts of bad decisions that acting honourably leads you to'

I think there's also the pressure on those who DO act honorably to make even become even more vigilant/observant when standards seem to be loosening all around them -- ex Robert's slack court in the South. The whole world is putting N. Stark in this position, and he's becoming more alone every day.

(Sorry about the mis-read there, was revising in a hurry.)