Game of Thrones

[tuumi]

Anyone watching? Great opening scene of the first episode. Had to hit the net to figure out who was who before the second episode because it got a bit confusing. I think I have it figured out now. Off to watch the third episode now.

[pjsteelerfan]

Yeah, thought the first 3 episodes have been solid. Seems they had a lot of characters and back stories to get out of the way.

[mistersmith]

I'm trying to like it, but it's just boring so far. It feels like one of those "great" British shows that Americans just can't latch on to...there's something that, so far, just isn't there for me.

Like, is it going to be a show about politics or those demon guys from the first scene? Is there going to be anything more than a bunch of people in costume plotting and talking? How many damn times do we need to see that blond girl get raped already? And something about the production just seems cheap, somehow -- if it weren't for Sean Bean I never would have expected this on a top-tier network. So far it's a lot like that Ian McShane miniseries, Pillars of the Earth. Lots of promise, but when the show is just costumes and talking I can't follow for too long.

[willg]

I really like it so far, Bean is definitely the most interesting character.

[FlapJack]

I've posted my thoughts on the show in another thread. Early on ... I'd saw I'm "in like" with show not "in love". We could get serious though we'll have to see how the next few weeks go.

I would agree with mistersmith that last night was a little boring. Too much talky ... more blood, beheadings, and wenches!

[mistersmith]

I would agree with mistersmith that last night was a little boring. Too much talky ... more blood, beheadings, and wenches!

fudge I haven't seen ep. 3 yet...now I don't know if I even want to.

[mazdog]

i have to agree that it has all the makings of a GREAT show and it came out of the gate hard and fast......then stumbled all over itself for the last two episodes. I'm hoping they just needed get the storylines well laid and now the chaos will commence.

[schmoff]

WINTER IS COMING!

[aaliya]

Game of Thrones is a wonderful series, I have never ever missed its only a single episode, Cause my completely family love to watch this show, as this one is having the best story line with it, and awesome all the characters with it..

[sistinas]

I'm a long time fan of the books and think they are doing a great job with the TV adaptation, particularly happy with the casting which I think is very true to the characters. Tyrion Lannister is definitely the fellow you just love to hate!

[Odess]

I'm trying to like it, but it's just boring so far. It feels like one of those "great" British shows that Americans just can't latch on to...there's something that, so far, just isn't there for me.

Like, is it going to be a show about politics or those demon guys from the first scene? Is there going to be anything more than a bunch of people in costume plotting and talking? How many damn times do we need to see that blond girl get raped already? And something about the production just seems cheap, somehow -- if it weren't for Sean Bean I never would have expected this on a top-tier network. So far it's a lot like that Ian McShane miniseries, Pillars of the Earth. Lots of promise, but when the show is just costumes and talking I can't follow for too long.

Man, I don't even know wtf with this post! I don't see where you're getting this at all! Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course, and please don't read this post as an argument. It's not. This is not the kind of series where everything is just laid out in a couple of episodes. The more time you invest in it, the more it will pay off. I can't compare it to much of anything really. HBO tries to bill it as The Sopranos meets Middle Earth. I guess that's somewhat as close to a definition as you could get, but doesn't fit IMO. It's set in a fictional medieval world called Westeros and much like Middle Earth there is more than just humans. There's aren't elves or dwarves, but you've got White Walkers, children of the forest, dragons, etc.

I've never seen Pillars of Earth, so I can't compare it to that. Most importantly though, it is a character driven show before anything else. Yes there are a lot of characters, and even more in the books. The thing about a series like this though, you never know who's going to be safe or not. Characters do die. Somewhat often. I'll not say much more than that, but if people were up in arms about a direwolf being killed, they are going to flip down the line. There is a lot of politics involved. The title of the show says it all. Game of Thrones represents the power struggle that everyone goes to in the process of trying to claim the throne. A game of chess as it were.

From the very first scene, this show had me hooked. I am a huge fan of the books, and the series has been pretty damn faithful so far. There are certain things they just can't go on about in length. It's 10 episodes, so they don't have all the time they do in the books. I don't see what about this show that fails to captivate American audiences. It's drawn over 2 million viewers per episode, and many more with repeat airings. Most of these are coming from the US. Word of how good the show is spreading by word of mouth and the ratings are steadily increasing. It's not getting True Blood ratings, but I never expected it to. True Blood is pretty dumb. You can miss a few episodes and know what is going on. Try that with GoT. You'll be more lost than you are even when viewing all the episodes. From what I hear is to stick it out to at least episode 6. Every single reviewer has stated by then characters and plots are more fleshed out, and the show gets downright amazing.

Lastly, I don't see what about this show is cheap. The production values are top notch. All the armor, sets and actors they have is simply amazing. I think it's actually been one of the most expensive shows to ever have been made. The pilot anyway. It's been said the pilot was shot between 5-10 million. That's insanity for a TV show. I think every dollar they've spent is definitely there to see in plain sight. Personally I cannot wait to see some of the later events on screen. Going to be completely epic.

[mistersmith]

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.

[smellmysocks73]

Gettin good...

[tavee]

Finally was able to watch the 4th episode last night. All in all I enjoy the series as I have hopes, but not high hopes.

Dislikes: As voiced by others I pray the whole series is not character development. Feels like they have recycled some of the set from Rome. The blonde wigs are horrible.

Likes: The king is a great character, Lena Heady , great potential with the north wall and the dragon eggs. The game changer could be winter coming. The way the 4th episode ended was grand.

I'll keep watching.

[Philpenn]

Kinda cool thing I just found out about Theon Greyjoy, the oldest Stark brother's squire. Played by Alfie Allen, Lily's brother, who the last song on the cd version of Alright, Still is about.