Game of Thrones

[strangelight]

that too.

in book 3 (semi-not-really spoilery information to follow that does not reveal anything plot-related).......

dany lezzes it up with chiqri (a dothraki slave girl) a lot. for no real reason. just several scenes where dany starts rubbing one out and chiri notices and finishes her off. but on the show, chiqri was killed in season 2. so maybe the show will have this lady be the new queen lesbian servicer? or maybe they'll just skip it because it doesn't advance the plot and there are enough scenes and characters per episode as it is.

[Dylan Thomas]

Interesting season premiere.  They introduced a lot of key elements from the story in that first episode, and in some aspects are moving really quickly.

Once again, I don't like what they're doing with Dany's character, I feel they really miss the mark on just the subtle things.  In the book, Mormont is fairly dead set against her buying a slave army, it was supposed to be more of a ruse to test the intentions of her benefactors and protectors.  He argues that once they return to Westeros, free men won't follow a queen who keeps a slave army.  Dany is insistent on obtaining The Unsullied, although obviously she had other plans...

Of course, they reverse it on the show, so that Mormont is advising her to buy them because she needs an army, and Dany doesn't want to have a slave army.  That's really weak.  We'll see how they handle that from here one in.

That being said, the giant was cool, I wasn't expecting them to have the budget for hundreds of them.  The manticore was awesome, and so was the scene with the dragon eating fish.



Oh, and this: http://www.happyplace.com/22775/game-of-thrones-facebook-recap-season-3-episode-1

^ Season 3 Episode 1 told entirely through Facebook posting 

[Demon Lung]

Dany was looking fine as hell once again. And no it doesn't seem as if she has lost any weight dean.

[Narco Pollo]

'Game Of Thrones' Season 3 Opens With Every Character Getting Fingered While Discussing Arrival Of Winter


http://www.theonion.com/articles/game-of-thrones-season-3-opens-with-every-characte,31882/

[strangelight]

[The Bandit]

Excellent episode last night. Story felt like it was moving more than last week's.

[astroman]

I like the Reeds.

[Dylan Thomas]

Excellent episode last night. Story felt like it was moving more than last week's.

Yeah, it was much better.

And while you're going ga-ga over Sansa Stark, I'm really digging Meera Reed.  The actress who plays her is 23 

[The Shocker]

She is cute, but ain't no Sansa.

[Dylan Thomas]

She is cute, but ain't no Sansa.

Different strokes for different folks, my friend 

[The Bandit]

True.  I like Shae as well, but that is because she did porn.  Really, there is no shortage of hot chicks on that show.

[GodShifter]

The actress they picked for Meera Reed is not attractive at all to me. She looks zero like I pictured her in the book which is odd because, for the most part, they've done a good job of casting for this series (Stannis and Jaime excluded).

Last weeks episode seemed a bit too frenetic. Lots of jumping around from plot line to plot line, but with this many characters and story lines, it's unavoidable. Yet, it almost seems like it's a "bit off more than they can chew" type deal. We'll see if it works out by the end.

[strangelight]

yeah, there are too many characters now to visit every main/exciting plot line in a single episode. and there are still 4 or 5 new characters they're going to introduce this season. and the last two books (season 5 and 6, if they happen) focus a lot on characters we don't even know yet.

GS, i think jaime is well cast. he looks like prince charming, which i always thought was kinda the point. blonde handsome asshole.

i agree about stannis, though. the guy they've hired to be stannis in the show is way too sexy. too attractive, too much charisma. i think the actor does a good job, but stannis is supposed to be not so kingly.

[Dylan Thomas]

I like the guy who plays Jaime as well, he's a good actor.  Stannis...eh.

The actress who plays Meera, I like her curly hair and that smile of hers.  She looks like an ex of mine from years and years ago.

[GodShifter]

Oh, I have no qualms with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's performance of Jaime. In fact, he's excellent. However, he does not look like Jaime as he's described in the books. His nose is different, his hair is not blond and curly, but kind of a dirty dishwater, brown. But, a small, quibbling detail and makes no matter upon the series itself.

There are certain characters in this series that have always made me groan when they appear in chapters or the show itself. One of those is Bran. I fucking HATE his story line and I hate him. It's so boring and it seems so pointless though, perhaps, it will become more clear what his story arc is to the rest of the story later. I do like Osha, though, so she saves his scenes from being almost "fast forward" material. Another character I hate is Sam and he doesn't have Osha to save him, so fuck his story line. He's a big bag of nothing (no pun intended).

I've read the first 3 books twice and the last two once. So I know the story pretty well and have no problem keeping plot lines and characters straight unlike some other people I've talked to. In some respects, I think the series tells the story better than the books themselves. The truncated versions are often preferable to the long, drawn out narratives of Martin who, seemingly, has entire chapters to further a backstory that really isn't that essential to the main plot (like Holster dying, for instance). Much more effective that we hear of his death instead of the drawn out, tiresome death at Riverrun.

[The Bandit]

But Bran is such a cutie. 

Liz, why do you keep saying "if they happen"?  By all acounts this is HBO's prestige show.  Everything I've read is that the concern is that the show catches up before Martin finishes.  No way this show gets cancelled.

[strangelight]

well, HBO canceled deadwood, so i don't really trust them to know what's good for them.

and book 3 is full of action and other stuff that will translate well on screen. but books 4 and 5 switch more towards courtly politics and million characters we haven't met yet and don't care about, and martin seems to lose the threads of the story arcs he began in book 1. no one seems to go anywhere or get anything done, and so the show might exhaust the good will its built up and not actually finish the series.

also... i dunno if martin can finish the series. i think he's lost interest in his own characters and doesn't know how to wrap up this saga. he apparently told the HBO peeps how he plans to have the series finish, but... i dunno. yes, this show is super popular, but i can also see it falling apart in the 5th or 6th season, well before any of these events (the white walkers, khaleesi finally getting to westeros, etc.) actually happen.

[GodShifter]

Couldn't have said it better myself. In fact, it's almost like I said it.

[Demon Lung]

HBO could always go on with the series with his input right?

[strangelight]

martin "promises" to finish the "last" book before the series catches up, but he's old and lazy and may not get it done, so he's given the hbo writers his plot points.

i was actually happy to see how far much they changed things in season 2, and i don't remember too many people getting up in arms about it. so, i hope that means the show will change more going forward, because martin has a knack for creating characters we love and then having them make the worst/most boring decisions possible.

[The Shocker]

Deadwood did not have the ratings. 

They are splitting book 3 into 2 seasons as well.

[strangelight]

this show's way more expensive to make than deadwood. it may have good ratings, but if the costs and profits don't line up nicely, i don't trust the dummies at HBO to keep the show going.

in the real world, i know 2 people with HBO, but i know 20+ people that watch every episode of this.

up until maybe 5 minutes ago, HBO go (their online streaming) was only available to HBO subscribers, so it doesn't do any good for people without HBO. the channel also doesn't release the shows for purchase on itunes or amazon right after they air (most shows release a download for purchase within a day). that's a whole bunch of people stealing the show. and that's a whole bunch of money HBO is not getting for a show that is very expensive to produce.

[GodShifter]

Another good point, as I read in a rag that GoT is the most "stolen" tv show on the net, which reinforces exactly what Liz is saying.

[The Shocker]

But that also reflects its popularity.  It is HBO's tentpole show. Every single pop culture site recaps it.  That was not the case with Deadwood (I know - I spend a huge part of my day looking at those websites).  When Deadwood was cancelled the big show was the Sopranos.  Game of Thrones is the Sopranos now.  Girls would be the Deadwood in the analogy.   You also forget that HBO is big on collecting Emmys and this is the only show they have that is going to garner multiple awards.

HBO WILL NOT CANCEL THIS SHOW.

You can quit worrying.

[strangelight]

i think peter dinklage is the only one to win an emmy from this show, acting or otherwise. sadly, i don't think most of the (really great) performances from this show will be recognized because the cast is so huge. also, half the dudes look the fucking same, so unless you're REALLY into this show, you're not gonna know which one is which when it comes time to vote, yadda yadda.

i agree, this is HBO's biggest show and they'd be nuts to cancel it. i just don't trust HBO to not be nuts.