Soooo... What'd Everybody Think?

[IlliferThePenniless]

So A Game of Thrones (television version) has made its long awaited debut. It's been interesting reading all the reviews floating, mostly focusing on the question "will this be accessible to newbies?" Which is great and all, but I'd love to hear what all the folks who frequent this (and places like this) thought...

A few miscellaneous thoughts to get us started.
(Lets assume spoilers abound if you haven't read the books)

•I have to say I liked it pretty well. I'm not in love yet, but it is fun for the books getting some wider exposure in the pop culture world.

•The one big change that stood out for me was Dany's wedding night. Drogo is much more gentle in the books, here the show it read as a rape pure and simple. It's an interesting change, one that will probably clarify Dany's journey from powerlessness to queenhood. But I wonder how much less sympathetic it'll make Drogo going forward.

•All the Dothraki stuff seemed sort of cramped and rushed to me. It's probably a function of budget, but I wanted some shot were we pull back to see the sprawling khalasar and some real sense of what Viserys thinks he's bought with his sister. I feel like this section represents the bad side of what this series could be.

•On a somewhat related point, I wonder how new viewers will feel about the whole Dany thing. I've heard people complain about how disconnected she feels to "the main story" in the books, and while I've never really felt that way all of the across the Narrow Sea stuff kind of felt "meanwhile in a completely different movie" to me.

•Jason Momoa as Drogo looks like Dave Navarro on steroids. It's uncanny.

•I suppose there's no avoiding some clunkiness given how much exposition they have to get out of the way fairly quickly but man it was a little clunky at times last night. "That's Jaime Lannister, the queens twin brother" was particurally egregious. Also, Illiryo's only purpose seemed to be convey information to Dany (and thus the audience) that she probably should already know. They have to convey all that information somehow I suppose, and for the vast majority of viewers, who haven't read the books, it probably wasn't so bad, but holy hell I KNOW WHO JAIME LANNISTER IS!!! (oddly, no mention of the king slaying yet).

•The opening credit sequence is AWESOME.

•I really loved the "all dwarves are bastards in their father's eyes" scene between Jon and Tyrion. I felt like that was the one place where the exposition was

•I can't wait for Tyrion to take a more central role. Peter Dinklage is just about the most perfect casting imaginable (more even than Sean Bean, I think). I kind of just want to skip ahead to the next book for all the Tyrion kicking ass and taking names around King's Landing bits.

•One of the scary things about adapting these books for the screen is that young actors have to carry so much of it. I think there's reason to be hopeful on this account. the smirk on Arya (Masie Williams) face when she shows up Bran with a bow is just about perfect. Emilia Clarke (Dany) and Kit Harington (Jon) also looks like they might be great. I'll be curious to see how the guy playing Bran does in the next few episodes. He'll have a lot to do.

•It's been fun hearing my friends who haven't read the books respond to it. When Viserys was creepily fondling his sister a buddy of mine was like "this show has incest?!?!?" and I just thought to myself, you haven't seen anything yet....

I'd love to hear what everybody else has to say...

 

[Jake Reynolds]

IN lame old Europe, where it isn't showing until tonight. If you have sky. If you pay for Sky Atlantic. So, won't be seeing it for a while I'm afraid. And very annoyed. But hell, nothing beats a box set and a rainy sunday, so rather than trying to get an online version or whatever I think I might just wait until the whole season is available on dvd. Between that, Skyrim and PSP2 I've got a long wait unitl the end of the year...dang it.

 

[Delran Stark]

IN lame old Europe, where it isn't showing until tonight. If you have sky. If you pay for Sky Atlantic. So, won't be seeing it for a while I'm afraid. And very annoyed. But hell, nothing beats a box set and a rainy sunday, so rather than trying to get an online version or whatever I think I might just wait until the whole season is available on dvd. Between that, Skyrim and PSP2 I've got a long wait unitl the end of the year...dang it.

Here is a tip for you, if you hate to pay for sky or HBO or wait untill a dvd release.....torrents,
I will wait to see it tonight on HBO

 

[TK-421]

Sorry, guys. The Mods will be directing you to post here:

Game of Thrones - Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums

 

[Delran Stark]

Saw it tonight...gota say I was a little dissapointed. I expected more...much more. The scene with the dead direwolf I envisioned it different, events are scambled and not "chronological", the party is not how it should be... WHF is Jon doing outside? He was allowed at the party..... And Benjen...he looks like is trying to convince Jon to go to the wall but at the same time tells him he doesn't know what he will lose........
Anyway, things like that are common when adapting a book to a tv series.

All in all, I enjoyed it....not as much as the books but certainly more than other series.

 

[Tansy]

Well just watched it online and enjoyed it, its interesting seeing how they are trying to set the scene and which bits are skipped over, like has been mentioned Jon not being at the feast and some introductions seemed a bit rushed and jerky. Loved the view of Kings landing from the sea

 

[viZion]

I finally watched it last night (I don't have HBO...) and I enjoyed. I did have one concern though. I tried to imagine watching it as someone who has never read the books. In that respect, I don't think the show is all that engaging. It's actually pretty confusing. Maybe I'm underestimating people but I don't think the show will survive solely on viewers of fans alone. It's got to be able to draw in people who have never picked up the books or even heard of them.

 

[Gry Wnd]

Great episode! Only complaint; the omission (changing) of the line - "I think not, Grayjoy. This one belongs to me."

Other than that, great. Let's hope non-book readers get on bored. There were a couple bad reviews sighting the pacing of episodes and I can see how non readers could think that.

 

[The Imp]

Great episode! Only complaint; the omission (changing) of the line - "I think not, Grayjoy. This one belongs to me."

Other than that, great. Let's hope non-book readers get on bored. There were a couple bad reviews sighting the pacing of episodes and I can see how non readers could think that.

One could cite many more great reviews, and I think there might be people who have read the books who may get on board and order HBO after hearing the overall favorable reviews the pilot got.

 

[firstfist]

Just wondering. Was Rickon omited from the episode, or is his character not being used in the show?

 

[The Imp]

Just wondering. Was Rickon omited from the episode, or is his character not being used in the show?

Rickon will be in the series. An extra was used in the pilot, and he wasn't featured in any way. He'll be 6, not 3 in GOT btw.

 

[nixie]

I'm still making up my mind. Don't get me wrong I thought it was good but will have me glued to my seat every week I'll have to wait and see.

As for non readers, well I know 2 at work who watched the first episode and are completely hooked..They are asking if Bran dies, does the king catch his wife and her brother, that sort of thing. Don't think they're happy with my replies of wait and see or read the books.

 

[The Imp]

I'm still making up my mind. Don't get me wrong I thought it was good but will have me glued to my seat every week I'll have to wait and see.

As for non readers, well I know 2 at work who watched the first episode and are completely hooked..They are asking if Bran dies, does the king catch his wife and her brother, that sort of thing. Don't think they're happy with my replies of wait and see or read the books.

Do you actually have HBO?

 

[nixie]

It was Shown on Sky Atlantic 9pm on Monday here

 

[No One]

So, despite myself, I decided to watch the opening episode. All in all, it was pretty good (as first episodes go) but I can only say that if I’m being completely objective. If I put aside the matter of mediums and directly compare what I know of the book as represented by the episode… well, the result is less kind.

I won't harp on about which cast members rub me the wrong way or about the changes made. I'll just say Illyrio isn't nearly fat enough

I think sheer curiosity will see me through at least a few more episodes, but I just can't escape the fact that the tv series will undermine the books it's supposed to be promoting (with regard to those who'll watch the series but haven't read the books). It'd be like watching a film trailer that gives away every major plot point, without any of the real substance.

 

[C Of K]

Great showing for a pilot. I don't care that things weren't exactly as they were in the books. I've seen other shows that were made of books, and none of them came even close as GoT did in accuracy. (Thinks back to Legend of the Seeker)

Odd thing. i watched it with my brother, who knows very little about the story. He seems most interested in Illyrio's motives. Somehow he could just sense how shifty Illyrio is, and that intrigues him, I think. He had a hard time telling Theon, Jon, and Rob apart. (I told him the books were that way in the beginning as well.) It will be interesting to see if he continues to watch.

 

[The Imp]

Great showing for a pilot. I don't care that things weren't exactly as they were in the books. I've seen other shows that were made of books, and none of them came even close as GoT did in accuracy. (Thinks back to Legend of the Seeker)

Odd thing. i watched it with my brother, who knows very little about the story. He seems most interested in Illyrio's motives. Somehow he could just sense how shifty Illyrio is, and that intrigues him, I think. He had a hard time telling Theon, Jon, and Rob apart. (I told him the books were that way in the beginning as well.) It will be interesting to see if he continues to watch.

My wife also had Illyrio pegged as a dirtbag.

 

[Needle]

Great showing for a pilot. I don't care that things weren't exactly as they were in the books. I've seen other shows that were made of books, and none of them came even close as GoT did in accuracy. (Thinks back to Legend of the Seeker)

Odd thing. i watched it with my brother, who knows very little about the story. He seems most interested in Illyrio's motives. Somehow he could just sense how shifty Illyrio is, and that intrigues him, I think. He had a hard time telling Theon, Jon, and Rob apart. (I told him the books were that way in the beginning as well.) It will be interesting to see if he continues to watch.

Just had to put my 2 cents in here, whoever did Legend of the Seeker outta be drawn and quartered! Awful to say the least! I get angry just reading the TV guide about it!!

 

[Ursa major]

I'll just say Illyrio isn't nearly fat enough

Somehow he could just sense how shifty Illyrio is, and that intrigues him....

My wife also had Illyrio pegged as a dirtbag.

I think the answer to why they didn't choose a more "substantial" actor is the shiftiness that Roger Allam can bring to a part.

(It isn't just his appearance, it's his voice: in the so-so** radio comedy, Cabin Pressure, he can make the most straightforward sentence drip with deviousness.)



** - Not because of the (excellent) cast: Allam plays opposite Stephanie Cole and Benedict Cumberbatch. (And unlike many Radio Four so-called comedies, there is quite a lot of comedy in there. In fact, to be fair to the programme, there's nothing wrong with it; it's just that it isn't really my cup of tea.)

 

[Koopa]

While i liked the show, it made me appreciate reading and the fact that i read the books before i saw the show.

With twilight i first saw the films, and then read the books (the last one was one big dissapointment imo). That way i saw the actors who portrayed them in my mind during reading. Now through my own mind i've had already created certain images of the characters in my head. I'm constantly thinking, dang that character ain't supposed to look like that. In my mind Dany looks more childlike , the lannister twins are way more dazzling and golden. Catelyn ain't that old, Robb doesn't look gay (no insult intended), ...

(+ other things like: since when does Jon care about his hair? or lines that seemed forced so as to cram the books into manageable one-hour long episodes. )

For all that it left me wondering at points ( like how the hell did some of those wights assemble back toegether) i did like the show. It was filmed in a good way. Darker, plainer, not like most films nowadays wose cameraeffects make real life colours too vivid, and make it look utterly unreal.