Odess wrote:mistersmith wrote:I'm trying to like it, but it's just boring so far.
Man, I don't even know wtf with this post! I don't see where you're getting this at all! ... Going to be completely epic.
I watched Episode 3 and I won't be watching any more. Still very little has happened and the show is 90% talk. It has the feel and production quality of a Sci-Fi channel show, just with about three actors whose face you recognize and the occasional boob. There's a whole lot of people wearing intricate costumes, talking about infighting and history, and saying
m'lord a lot. So far, that's the show. Sure it's a sprawling story but all compelling series are, and others managed to be watchable and interesting in their first three hours plus.
Everyone that seems to like it is
already a fan of the story, having read the books, and that's the crux. There are a ton of people that are into the fantasy genre. But the limits of the fantasy genre are that too often "fantasy" becomes a substitute for "story." The genre itself only crosses over when the fantasy elements are only the staging for a good story. I'm inclined to think this is not a good story, just good
fantasy. I've probably read more printed words than anyone I know, I have a Lit degree and am a professional writer/editor of actual books you can buy in bookstores, yet before this show I'd never heard of Game of Thrones. I'm inclined to think there's a reason why it never crossed over into the mainstream.
Compare Game of Thrones to other truly great HBO series. Each has been firmly rooted in a genre -- The Wire was a cop drama, Deadwood was a Western, Sopranos was Mafia, etc. -- but each story transcended that genre and said more, did more,
was more than just a cops-and-robbers tale or a cowboys-dueling-in-the-streets tale. Boardwalk Empire isn't yet great, but it also takes the been-there-done-that gangster genre and is starting to do more with it by placing itself alongside Deadwood as an illustration of the means by which America was truly formed: greed and corruption. Each of those shows is also defined by its writing. Whether it's the scope and detail of The Wire, the intricate "obscene poetry" of Deadwood, etc., each piece of writing felt unique and powerful and meaningful. I haven't had that sense yet from any of GoT's dialog. Only the Lannister prince has any lines that approach wit or cleverness, everyone else is just spewing words that you expect them to.
None of those other HBO shows were primarily concerned with themselves. They all did something else. So far Game of Thrones has given no indication that it's going to be anything more than a conversation-heavy costume drama. Maybe there's a swordfight coming later. If you're a fan of conversation-heavy costume drama, fine, maybe Game of Thrones will be on your short list of best TV ever. It can be on the list with Firefly and Fringe and Dr. Who and a million other shows that have loyal followings but don't impress anyone that isn't already into the genre. Those of us that want something more don't see it in those shows, and haven't yet found it in Game of Thrones.