Does anyone watch this show? I just finished watching season one and, by Krom, is it awesome. There's lots of things to please every taste; humour, T and A and occasionally P (both P's, disturbingly), battles, blood, shagging, fantasy galore, more T and A, the usual back-stabbing that comes with royalty, jousting, swearing, midgets that somehow get T and A, incest - it's got everything! It starts a little slow, but it does get very enthralling if you're into this kind of viewing. It basically doesn't shy away from anything, and is refreshingly blunt. If you consider yourself a fan of medieval fantasy, then I'd suggest watching this show if you haven't already. I believe there is currently a second season being filmed based on the awesomeness of the last few episodes (2.7 million viewers in America alone), which built tonnes of hype for the next season, so that should give you an idea of the quality of the production. You're looking at just short of a 5.5GB download for SD versions (I think) if you do download them, but I mean it when I say it's worth it. If you don't want to download them, watch them on TV if they're on, borrow them from a friend, buy them on eBay (if they're on there, can't be bothered checking right now ), just find some way to watch this show. Oh, it's not for kids, I should mention. Gotta be that responsible adult and mention that.
I'm currently in the middle of reading 'A Clash of Kings', the second of the series. I'm watching the first season now, albeit slowly. It's not bad, but the books are a million times better.
you're doing it wrong... seriously. read Clash of Kings before the second season comes out. i will also add that after having read them all twice, i feel this series is on par with and in some ways much better than LOTR. everyone should read it.
I am not a fan of medieval fantasy but I love the show. You never can predict what will happen. One minute someone is a villain and the next he does good. Like real human beings. I think for me reading the books and knowing what to come would ruin it for me. So I will stick to watching it only. Besides I have heard that is very true to the books which is very rare in TV land.
most of the twists are just as surprising, if not moreso, when reading the book. it is true to the book in most aspects, but there are a few minor things that they changed for the sake of translation to TV... all the children in the show got their ages raised up a few years. a full grown direwolf is nearly the size of a pony. the peanut butter shaving gay blowjob scene was not in the book at all. some character names are being changed for stupid reasons in season 2. all minor things but yea
The thing is, I want to still be surprised when I see it. If I read the books then watch the show, I'm going to know what will happen, and that kinda ruins the fun for me. After I have watched it though, I will read them and I will probably find it fun to compare the different things and see how much they left out of the show. Plus, seeing boob on screen is better than imagining it. Although, the same can't be said for wang... :\
like i said in my other post, you will be still be surprised when you read it. people act like a plot twist is only a plot twist when you see it on a tv screen. anyway, its not important, whats important is that this series is excellent.
^This. In this rare instance, watching the movie first is okay because there is SOOOOO much in the books that doesn't appear in the show. Like there are several dozen important characters in the books that don't make it to the show at all, they just stick with the core story and forget all the other details which works, but you lose that flavor only the books can give. Question: to anyone who read the books first, how did you picture Tyrion? For some reason I pictured Gimli from LoTR with a severe underbite and mismatching eyes.lol. Not what I was picturing at all when I saw the show. Oh, and yeah, what was the point of the peanut butter shaving gay scene anyway? In the books Renly is a womanizer/ happy-go-lucky/ playboy.
I pictured Tyrion roughly like they cast him, except much more ugly. And, I hate to break it to you man... but Renly is gay. I got mad when i saw that scene and was like wtf but there are actually many references to it in all the books. there is just never a blatant scene like that, but they have to sex it up for the sake of TV.
I pictured Tyrion as Peter Dinklage, partly because he was born to play that role (really, I think suave and smartass whenever I think of that actor), and partly because I only read the book because I had heard of the show first. Also, though the Renly thing is very very minor, it is a spoiler. So you should tag (or at least mention it) as such. /glaresattitmar Though on that note Tantric: Spoiler He's totally gay. To be fair, Titmar was yelling about it being in the show when I was about midway through GoT, so by the time I got to Clash I could really see all the hints. There's a pretty clear bit about a rainbow (dont know how far in you are), among other things. And since George R.R. Martin is heavily involved with the show, I think it's safe to say it was always his intention to portray the character that way. Also, I'm like halfway through Clash, so don't spoil anything plox.
I know that the books are better. But that is a complete other medium. Of course books are far more detailed and maybe offer a better experience for some because of it. And maybe some day I will read them as well.
You're right that this series is excellent. I didn't know that there were four novels out already, though. I must go and buy them, immediately. I'm very picky when it comes to reading, and this seems like something that I would enjoy. Tried reading The Wheel of Time series, but only got up to the 7th book, I think. Robert Jordan'd writing was just too in-depth with the way he explained every little thing about every part of the world that the characters were in at that given time. And he was also very slow with the progression of the story itself. I enjoyed them up until the last one I read, but they all just became too samey. I have read the two books released so far in the Demon Trilogy (and am eagerly awaiting the third), and they are excellent. Much faster paced, intriguing, and extremely addictive. I think I read The Painted Man in less than a day because it hooked me in straight away. Anyway, I think A Game of Thrones will be an equally excellent read, but I'm hesitant to read past the first novel, because, like I said, I don't want to ruin it when I watch the show. I like reading, but sometimes I get lazy and would rather have something shown to me where I don't need to think. And as I side note, I wasn't actually aware that the show was based off of a novel until after I'd finished watching them and did some research. Needless to say it was a pleasant surprise. Spoiler I'm not pleased with the amount of deaths of good characters though. I really like Sean Bean and thought he would be in it for the entirety of the length of the series, but was bummed when he got knocked-off. I suppose it helps the story progress though, so I can't complain about that. And it gives people something to watch the show for; to see how the other characters get along without such an integral character moving things along. Khal Drogo didn't seem like a very important character, story-wise (in the show, at least, the books possibly have described him as more of an important person, I'm guessing), but it was still disappointing to see him go. He was bad-ass, and Jason Momoa is a ****ing bawss. Next thing we'll be hearing is they're going to kill off the Imp! Why can't they get rid of that little **** Joffrey? I hate him, because he killed Sean Bean.
Has anyone actually read all of the books yet? Do we know if there'll be any more after the fourth one?
Titmar has, and there are 7 confirmed, but I heard he might split the final book's overall story into two since it's too huge. It isn't far-fetched, considering the series was originally meant to be a trilogy.
Seems the story out-grew the original intent. It will be interesting to see how the TV series eventually turns out, if it stays popular, given the amount of books being written. I wonder if the books have been influenced by the popularity of the show. By that I mean if they have been expanded upon incrementally, because the producers/author thought they/he could make more money out of it.
Well, he's been planning the series for well over three decades and writing it for about the same time, so while future installments (currently book 5) may have been influenced, the first four probably weren't, unless he's the type that was like "WELL KILLING THIS PERSON OFF WOULD LOOK AMAZING IF THIS EVER HIT TV." But based on his personality, I doubt he falls under that umbrella. As for the TV show, the second season was commissioned after the pilot got 3million viewers, which, from a purely practical standpoint, already validates the price, since it cost $50million to produce, and 3million subscribers paying $15 a month already covers the cost of production for the entire season. Factoring in a loyal fanbase, word of mouth, and the fact that HBO will let a show live on if it gets a measly 1.5 million average (which, practically, still validates the season's costs), I think we're safe.
Sorry Sarge. I'll spoiler anything from Clash from now on. I've only got like 300 pages left in it. Another 'epic type' series that I really enjoyed is The Pillars of the Earth series by Ken Follet. They are historical fiction focusing on 12th century Europe (the author actually came under a lot of flack for having a bad historical reference in the second book.) The detailing of architecture, primarily that of religious structures is heavy throughout the book (architecture and FH kind of go hand in hand so I figured I'd mention that.) They are nothing like a Game of Thrones except for the fact that they are hugely long and have a boatload of characters in them. However, I really enjoyed it and until a Game of Thrones, I had never actually had a physical response to an antagonist in a book until The Pillars of the Earth. I would seriously be angry after I put the book down when the antagonist did something bad. I got the same response with Joffrey in A Game of Thrones.
the 4th and 5th book were originally supposed to be one book, but GRRM was so hungry that he wrote like 600 extra pages describing the feasts, and ended up having to split it into 2 giant volumes.