50 years from now only the books will matter...

[Yog-Sothoth]

There is a lot of pressure on GRRM to finish the series from both the book fans and TV-fans, but I have been thinking; does it really matter when he releases the final book as long as the series is eventually finished by GRRM during his lifetime?

Fifty years from now people will judge him on his literature, not the epic tv-show from the 2010s, whose graphics will be dated and its famous actors long forgotten. I mean there were plenty of great medieval based shows/movies released in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, but most people today don't care for them anymore, but books from that same period still endure.

To release something prematurely would only tarnish GRRM's legacy and the series itself. I therefore want him to take his time and really tie all the narratives of this magnificent series into an amazing final that is worthy and memorable. If that means rewrites, edits, reschedules, etc then so be it.

What do you think?

 

[Vaz]

I suppose it's just a matter of opinion.

For example even though I've read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - I'll always have fonder memories of Ridley Scott's stunning Blade Runner.


In one way or another I think fans of the show will certainly remember it.

 

[Cli-Fi]

There is a lot of pressure on GRRM to finish the series from both the book fans and TV-fans, but I have been thinking; does it really matter when he releases the final book as long as the series is eventually finished by GRRM during his lifetime?

Fifty years from now people will judge him on his literature, not the epic tv-show from the 2010s, whose graphics will be dated and its famous actors long forgotten. I mean there were plenty of great medieval based shows/movies released in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, but most people today don't care for them anymore, but books from that same period still endure.

To release something prematurely would only tarnish GRRM's legacy and the series itself. I therefore want him to take his time and really tie all the narratives of this magnificent series into an amazing final that is worthy and memorable. If that means rewrites, edits, reschedules, etc then so be it.

What do you think?

I don't watch or read GRRM but that doesn't mean I don't respect him as an author and more importantly a world builder who helped turn a bunch of people into at least thinking they could be nerds. However, I think you are being flawed in that if I am not mistaken, I believe HBO has already strayed off the books' path and are not planning to follow it at all in the last two seasons of the show. Yet the majority of the public will honestly only care about the show because the majority of the public probably hasn't really read ALL the books!

 

[mtzGr]

There is a lot of pressure on GRRM to finish the series from both the book fans and TV-fans, but I have been thinking; does it really matter when he releases the final book as long as the series is eventually finished by GRRM during his lifetime?

Fifty years from now people will judge him on his literature, not the epic tv-show from the 2010s, whose graphics will be dated and its famous actors long forgotten. I mean there were plenty of great medieval based shows/movies released in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, but most people today don't care for them anymore, but books from that same period still endure.

To release something prematurely would only tarnish GRRM's legacy and the series itself. I therefore want him to take his time and really tie all the narratives of this magnificent series into an amazing final that is worthy and memorable. If that means rewrites, edits, reschedules, etc then so be it.

What do you think?

You made three points: In the future people will only remember the books, that only the books matter to George's legacy, and that he shouldn't feel pressured to finish because the show is going to beat him.

I disagree with your first point, the series is excellent and holds up well on its own. There are plenty of popular and memorable movies that are based on books that remain in obscurity to the general population. As to your point that only the books will matter to George's legacy, well sure since the show isn't his creation. That being said, it's still part of his legacy. To your last, I agree that he shouldn't feel the need to rush his writing, just as long as his next two books are better than the last two.

 

[Yog-Sothoth]

When I said 50 years from now, it was more a reference to future generations of that cultural/historic period, rather than us or our immediate succesors to whom the show will still be relevant.

I love Jackson's LOTR trilogy but in 2066, the generation of that time most likely won't watch it or love it the way we do. In fact they might have a virtual reality type of film trilogy by then, or whatever.

My point is imagine Tolkien had to compete with the releases of live-action adaptations of his material, would we really push him to prematurely finish his acclaimed trilogy?

Book adaptations come and go, some great (most are bad), but the literature endures. Hence, let him take his time and finish it in a way that is satisfying to him first because after all these crazy major reveals in season 6, there is no doubt in my mind GRRM is a genius.

 

[Parson]

@Yog-Sothoth I'm not sure that you can extrapolate the comparative value of video/movies vs. the books of the same story based on the past. We are moving into a more and more visual world. And a world where the visual has staying power. My own opinion is that the jury is very much out on what will be remembered 50 years from now. It might well be the visual rather than the literary interpretation.

 

[Narkalui]

@Yog-Sothoth I'm not sure that you can extrapolate the comparative value of video/movies vs. the books of the same story based on the past. We are moving into a more and more visual world. And a world where the visual has staying power. My own opinion is that the jury is very much out on what will be remembered 50 years from now. It might well be the visual rather than the literary interpretation.

This is a good point, will future generations continue to feel the need to be able to read and write? Could voice recognition software render the written word obsolete? Scary thought...

 

[ArstenWhitebeard]

I agree with you pretty whole heartedly Yog.

And that is not to say that I don't think the show is great, and fans of the show will go on loving it for a good long time. However, historically speaking, books have more lasting power than video. The written word never really changes too much (I mean, we can still understand shakespear right?) but film is making advancements all the time. I bet 50 years from now people won't even touch anything that isn't holographic. I am also willing to bet that in 50 years there will be a new adaptation, probably done by Netflix. And if they do it better or keep the content closer to the original work, then people will be all over that and not even caring about the old HBO version. They will look back on it and scoff.

There are people who have been born within the last 4 years who will grow up and never once watch the Game of Thrones series, despite their parents telling them that it is such a great show, because by the time they are old enough to watch it, new episodes will have stopped airing for 10+ years, and only true fans are willing to watch something that came out 10 years ago, especially if it is 80 hours long.

 

[Anushka Mokosh]

The Test of Time ascribes to no human metric and its predictability was never so very high. Plenty of things in the past were obscure at the time of their creation, and yet they endured until today. Plenty of things in the past were popular and then dropped off the face of the Earth and plenty of things in the past were popular and endured until today. Which the show will be and which the books will be cannot be predicted so easily. There is a reason we say "Only time will tell".

 

[Judderman]

On HBO with premiere, recordings and repeats they had 23 million viewers per episode in series 6. That number will go up and the total numbers will be huge worldwide eventually. I don't know how you would estimate but I would think easily over a hundred million will watch this series this decade. Probably hundreds of millions worldwide.

Total book sales for the series as of April last year was 58 million. So that could easily be no more than say 12 million people having bought each book so far, and over a longer time period than the tv show has been out. There will be some borrowing and second hand sales too.

Surely the amount of people having watched the TV series will far outpace book reader numbers. Therefore it will also be the more remembered by the masses.

With the Bladerunner example how many people have read the book compared to the film? The Film will always be more famous unless in the far distant future people stop watching movies for some unlikely reason.

To some extent it depends how long reruns go on for. It isn't like a comedy sitcom where reruns go on every year for decades.

 

[ArstenWhitebeard]

but it isn't a matter of how many people saw the show vs read the books, its a matter of what medium has more lasting power. I am willing to bet that in 50 years that the TV show will be remade with all new casts, special effects and (hopefully) closer to the original as they wont have to be making guesses at how the series will end as (again, hopefully) martin will have finished it.

Television and movies have come a long way in the last 50 years and I am sure they will go a long way in the next 50 years also, but a book is a book. Name 1 movie or show that you have even seen in the last 5 years that is 50 years old.

 

[Narkalui]

Dial M For Murder, Rope, Odd Couple, Plaza Suite, North By North-West, North-West Frontier, Great Escape, Went The Day Well, Vertigo, Stagecoach, Rio Bravo, The Man Shot Liberty Valence, The Adventures Of Robin Hood, Captain Blood, 39 Steps, Its A Wonderful Life... I could go on. And on...

 

[Narkalui]

Oooh! Where Eagles Dare! Love that one. Oh and The Seven Samurai, Hidden Fortress and Yojimbo.

 

[Narkalui]

And others...

 

[Judderman]

Yeah I think for most people the list for 50 year old movies would be longer than books. Films are simply so quick to watch and digest in comparison to books. You can watch a lot of old movies in the time you have read one old book.

So far not many tv series have been remade. Though movies yes.

 

[BAYLOR]

Games of Thrones might be read in that time. It's really hard to predict what readers reading tastes will be in 50 years.

 

[2DaveWixon]

@Yog-Sothoth I'm not sure that you can extrapolate the comparative value of video/movies vs. the books of the same story based on the past. We are moving into a more and more visual world. And a world where the visual has staying power. My own opinion is that the jury is very much out on what will be remembered 50 years from now. It might well be the visual rather than the literary interpretation.

I agree.
Remember, the technologies that have created and advanced what we now call video or movies are relatively recent -- and like the airplane, we don't have any idea what new tech may be developed, or what new heights they may take the visual media to (note that I'm using "visual media" as a sort of shorthand, because I don't have a word for what we'll be calling it when "movies" include smells and other sense input -- or whatever thing I can't imagine might be developed...will the arms of our chairs spray pheromones up our noses at selected scenes? will we have to don electronic body suits, so that the entirety of our bodies can be manipulated as the "movie's" composer -- maybe a better word that "producer" -- designed?)
Books, on the other hand, are unlikely to change much -- after all, they have not done so all that much in the past, right? In fact, I'd say if books did evolve -- we would not longer give them the honor of calling them "books."
The physical object that we call a "book" is already fading away.
Myself, I'm addicted to those physical objects; and I know others who are, also -- in fact, I know people who will refuse to consider e-books, even if those are the only way to get a story they've been trying to find...I understand that all too well, believe me; but if I have to bend (and I do, I've found), I will.
That being said, I'll note that I have purposely refused to watch the television version of Game of Thrones -- I heard early that it wasn't following the literary source, and I wanted to avoid being confused...perhaps, one day when George is done, and I've read the last of his GoT tales -- well, then I'll go find the by-then-complete version of the video.
This is not a bad thing, that it should happen like this...the way I look at it, George's work and imagination has produced twins (not identical, perhaps, but fraternal). And I am more than pleased with the idea that George is being doubly rewarded.

 

[2DaveWixon]

This is a good point, will future generations continue to feel the need to be able to read and write? Could voice recognition software render the written word obsolete? Scary thought...

I used to think that way, until I realized that the kids now need to be able to read and write, in order to text... We're saved!

 

[2DaveWixon]

And others...

Tom Jones, Dr. No, Irma La Douce -- heck, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was on television only two weeks ago.

Ben Hur (not the new version, of course), The Quiet Man, Cleopatra (either of the two versions I've watched relatively recently)...

 

[2DaveWixon]

Yeah I think for most people the list for 50 year old movies would be longer than books. Films are simply so quick to watch and digest in comparison to books. You can watch a lot of old movies in the time you have read one old book.

I can watch more than read, it's true. But I don't.
That's because I'm addicted to books. But already people like me are regarded as eccentric...