"A Game of Thrones" discussion thread

I slso read the books a few years back, and now watched the first few episodes. Looking good so far. Quite accurate representation of the books! Will definately watch the rest!
 
MightyQuin said:
The fact that it is based on a book does not mean it cannot run out of steam due to crappy production or directing or acting. So, no its not like wondering whether the LR would run out of steam. Good books have been made into very crappy movies and series in the past.
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Yes, but that's my point. They are following the books exactly so far and the author is involved with it and the casting is almost 100% (the characters as i've imagined them is pretty spot on, right down to Tyrion "the imp"). They are not making it into another "made for tv format" and "basing" it on the books, they are remaking the books page for page.

Example is the "Legend of the Seeker" tv series which is based on the "Sword of Truth" books by Terry Goodkind. Trouble is, they made the tv series into an "episodic" series with a little story each episode (which wasn't in the books) and then vaguely following the book's story as an overarching plot. So while newcomers might have enjoyed this format, the series did get cancelled after the 2nd season, despite there being like 6+ books in the series.

There's also the bit about the author not having a specific group of "heroes" that has to survive for the entire series . This series is not like Wheel of Time where there are like 4-5 "core" people. Everyone in this series can die for the most mundane [and realistic] reasons resulting in everything changing. I guess that is why i think it is much less likely to "run out of steam" due to this. Anything can happen though.

I guess what also helps this particular series is the fact that it doesn't rely on magic and super powers at all. There's hints of "monsters" and "dragons" and such things, but you won't see any fireballs being thrown around, that's not what the story is about. The series will most likely play out more like an episode of "Rome"/"Tudors" or a Medieval version of "Rome" than something like Fringe,Heroes or Sanctuary

Ironically if you look at Lord of the Rings carefully, there's not alot of magic being used either.
 
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diabolus said:
Yes, but that's my point. They are following the books exactly so far and the author is involved with it and the casting is almost 100% (the characters as i've imagined them is pretty spot on, right down to Tyrion "the imp"). They are not making it into another "made for tv format" and "basing" it on the books, they are remaking the books page for page.

Example is the "Legend of the Seeker" tv series which is based on the "Sword of Truth" books by Terry Goodkind. Trouble is, they made the tv series into an "episodic" series with a little story each episode (which wasn't in the books) and then vaguely following the book's story as an overarching plot. So while newcomers might have enjoyed this format, the series did get cancelled after the 2nd season, despite there being like 6+ books in the series.

There's also the bit about the author not having a specific group of "heroes" that has to survive for the entire series . This series is not like Wheel of Time where there are like 4-5 "core" people. Everyone in this series can die for the most mundane [and realistic] reasons resulting in everything changing. I guess that is why this series is such a classic.

I guess what also helps this particular series is the fact that it doesn't rely on magic and super powers at all. There's hints of "monsters" and "dragons" and such things, but you won't see any fireballs being thrown around, that's not what the story is about. The series will most likely play out more like an episode of "Rome"/"Tudors" or a Medieval version of "Rome" than something like Fringe,Heroes or Sanctuary

Ironically if you look at Lord of the Rings carefully, there's not alot of magic being used either.
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It does seem magical though that the kid that was pushed out the tower can be in a coma for 6 weeks and still look rosy without food and water unless I missed the drip and the tubes for feeding? :erm::D
 
MightyQuin said:
It does seem magical though that the kid that was pushed out the tower can be in a coma for 6 weeks and still look rosy without food and water unless I missed the drip and the tubes for feeding? :erm::D
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If it was magic, there would've been a mage healing him faster. At the very least, he would not have come out of it as a cripple if there were magic freely available ;)

Anyway, i'm not saying there are -zero- magic, i'm saying the series do not use magic as a means of carrying the story. No one in the book can destroy armies with fireballs and everyone can die from falling off their horse....
 
 
xrapidx said:
Episode 3 wasn't that good - hoping Episode 4 is an improvement tonight...
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I actually enjoyed Epi 3. But then, I have also read the books.... and am busy re-reading them as the series progresses! So far it's great! Very watchable and interesting.
 
The one thing I don't like about the tv series so far is the portrayal of Khal Drogo and the Dothraki. In my mind, after reading the books, I thought they were far more barbaric, undisciplined and, frankly, more scary than they are portrayed in the series thus far. There was one scene on tv were they were all riding through the veld in almost single file along a path - that just didn't fit for me, I'd imagine a hoard of barbarians riding through the grassland, no single file discipline!
 
joelus said:
The one thing I don't like about the tv series so far is the portrayal of Khal Drogo and the Dothraki. In my mind, after reading the books, I thought they were far more barbaric, undisciplined and, frankly, more scary than they are portrayed in the series thus far. There was one scene on tv were they were all riding through the veld in almost single file along a path - that just didn't fit for me, I'd imagine a hoard of barbarians riding through the grassland, no single file discipline!
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Ja, good point!
 
joelus said:
The one thing I don't like about the tv series so far is the portrayal of Khal Drogo and the Dothraki. In my mind, after reading the books, I thought they were far more barbaric, undisciplined and, frankly, more scary than they are portrayed in the series thus far. There was one scene on tv were they were all riding through the veld in almost single file along a path - that just didn't fit for me, I'd imagine a hoard of barbarians riding through the grassland, no single file discipline!
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Well i've seen them being depicted pretty barbaric so far, both in terms of slaughtering each other at that wedding "for sport" and how it's borderline rape and slavery being depicted right there. [actually not borderline rape, it is rape]

I suppose if you felt they needed to add skeletons , bones through the noses and painted faces to make them more "tribal" , i dunno, i never got the impression they're like a bunch of hooligans with cannibalistic tendencies.

As for the single file riding, why wouldn't they? They are considered expert horsemen , i'd imagine they would be alot more "disciplined" in regards to their horse riding and might have various reasons for riding a certain way. I can't recall whether the book specifically covered their horse riding patterns, but i do remember they literally live on their horses and there was big thing about who rides "in front" and who rides in the back.

I specifically think about whatshisname , the brother of Daenarys . He gets his arsed handed to him when he attacks his sister and are then forced to walk . In the book there was something about him "walking in the back" with the lower folks.
 
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diabolus said:
Well i've seen them being depicted pretty barbaric so far, both in terms of slaughtering each other at that wedding "for sport" and how it's borderline rape and slavery being depicted right there. [actually not borderline rape, it is rape]

I suppose if you felt they needed to add skeletons , bones through the noses and painted faces to make them more "tribal" , i dunno, i never got the impression they're like a bunch of hooligans with cannibalistic tendencies.

As for the single file riding, why wouldn't they? They are considered expert horsemen , i'd imagine they would be alot more "disciplined" in regards to their horse riding and might have various reasons for riding a certain way. I can't recall whether the book specifically covered their horse riding patterns, but i do remember they literally live on their horses and there was big thing about who rides "in front" and who rides in the back.

I specifically think about whatshisname , the brother of Daenarys . He gets his arsed handed to him when he attacks his sister and are then forced to walk . In the book there was something about him "walking in the back" with the lower folks.
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It just doesn't seem authentic to me. I don't need bones through the noses and painted faces but I think it's just different to the way I pictured it in my mind.
They don't appear barbaric to me. They should be rougher, not so clean shaven, wearing make-up, etc...
I guess for me, the undisciplined, scary, tribal nature is what differentiated them from the others (who are equally 'barbaric' in terms of rape, murder and slavery).
Dunno - not saying it's wrong, just not how I imagined them. The rest of the cast and portrayals are very much like I imagined them, especially Arya!
 
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Greatest series ever! I haven't read the books but the three episodes aired so far have been superb. I would heartily recommend this series.
 
I got an email this morning that S01E04 is ready to be watched when I get home :) the joy of newsgroups and RSS feeds.
 
xrapidx said:
Not much excitement :(
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Well knowing the book, the action will probably only start round about ep 6 . Maybe ep 5 depending on how much detail they go into with Tyrion & Catherine . Let's just say, you might think the series is now going into a soapie mode now that most of the roleplayers have been identified and all finding their "place" ......well guess again.
 
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