'Game of Thrones' ~ Winter is Coming ~ HBO ~ 2011

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SETIsLady
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Post by SETIsLady » 04-17-2011 07:52 PM

Thanks Race, I am going to have to DVR, have River Monsters and Celebrity Apprentice today :)

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Post by racehorse » 04-17-2011 09:18 PM

Tonight's episode (April 17, 2010) was introductory for the characters and sets the stage for what appears to be an epic storyline involving mystery, political intrigue, and the supernatural. I think this series will be great. :cool:
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Post by Joolz » 04-19-2011 01:56 AM

racehorse wrote: Tonight's episode (April 17, 2010) was introductory for the characters and sets the stage for what appears to be an epic storyline involving mystery, political intrigue, and the supernatural. I think this series will be great. :cool:

We're in agreement, racehorse! I thought it was excellent! Have you seen all the extra behind-the-scenes videos? If you have HBO On Demand, they are there. If not, they should be online at the site for the show, or at HBO's YouTube channel. There's a lot of helpful background info in them.

Have you read the book(s)? I haven't, but my daughter has. (She had to read it for a college course.) It's a pretty complex story, according to what she's said. Epic is right!

I've really been looking forward to this premiere. It was everything I hoped it would be. :) The sets and costumes are incredible, the acting was superb (even the child actors were great), and the story is intriguing. I'm hooked! :D

We should meet here to talk about it as it progresses, like we did with Lost. That would be fun. :cool:

Hey, on a side note, I heard a few days ago that HBO has another fantasy series in the works. I don't know if it is going to be a full-blown series or a mini-series, but they are going to produce Neil Gaiman's American Gods for television. If this is any indication of how they are going to do fantasy, that will be one to watch for, too!
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Post by Joolz » 04-19-2011 01:58 AM

Oh, and thanks for bumping this thread, racehorse. I'm so busy with Fionna these days that I'm not able to do things I usually do (like bump threads like these). I'd forgotten how much work puppies are! LOL But she's worth it. ;)
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Post by rumike » 04-19-2011 09:08 AM

I don't have HBO, but I'm considering watching this through my Roku or something. I am a little bit hesitant - while I'm no wimp when it comes to violence (BSG was pretty violent but I loved it) after everyone raved about Spartacus, I watched one episode to be treated to one man hacking off another man's head in the most gruesome bloody detail it made all the slasher flicks in the 80s look like Saturday morning cartoons. I don't need to see that, regardless of the presence of Xena.
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Post by Joolz » 04-19-2011 03:55 PM

Hi Mike!

Yeah, I was pretty grossed out by the first episode of Spartacus, too. I watched that and, like you, wrote it off as gratuitous sez and violence. bleagh. But, at my daughter's urging, I did end up watching the rest of it when it came up on On Demand. She (and critics) said that it improved greatly after about the first 3 episodes. And they were right. It did. I don't know how well I'm going to like it next season without Andy Whitfield playing Spartacus, though. He was the saving grace of the show. (They've had to replace him because he is currently battling cancer. :( )

There is violence in Game of Thrones, but it's nothing like what you saw in Spartacus. The violence in Game of Thrones is minor and is plot-related. There are, as I recall, (minor spoiler alert -->) two beheadings, but they are handled tastefully. HBO won't shy away from violence, but as a general rule, they don't just use it gratuitously. HBO is more the more tasteful and classy of the premium channels. (Even True Blood isn't as gross as it could be on another network, and it's all tongue-in-cheek and campy anyhow.)

So, yeah, check it out! You might like it. Here's a ink to the HBO site for the show: http://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/index.html Maybe watch some of the behind-the-scenes videos there and the 15-minute preview to see what you think.
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Post by Joolz » 04-19-2011 03:56 PM

Oh, and BTW, HBO renewed Game of Thrones for a second season this morning! :(

TV by the Numbers article about this: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/0 ... ight/89922
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Post by racehorse » 04-19-2011 05:12 PM

Hi Joolz. :)

Hi rumike, Nice to see you again. :)

No, Joolz, I have not read the books but I agree this series is very well made and is excellent and likely to get better and better as it continues. It is also good to know HBO has confidence in the series as demonstrated by it's quick and early renewal.

Yes, it will be great to discuss this series in the time ahead. Hopefully, a few other interested Pirates will join us. :cool:

runike, I hope you will be one of those Pirates. I don't care for excessive violence either but agree with Joolz about the level being minor so far in this series. I doubt very much that it will become extreme, bloody, or gory. I have noticed before that you have excellent taste in movies and television shows. I am certain you will like Game of Thrones.
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Post by rumike » 04-19-2011 07:24 PM

Thanks Julie and Race! I will try to see if I can watch it soon. For me, everything is character or plot based. My favorite author ever is Asimov, and I don't recall any violence at all in any of his books (actually I think Harry Seldon threw a punch once in either Prelude or Forward to Foundation). But I don't mind it as long as it serves the story. I felt the Spartacus scene was just the director saying "Hey, we can make you feel like you are actually witnessing a beheading with a sword." Except I don't really want to witness an actual beheading with a sword.

But both of you I believe have high standards so I'll give it a shot.
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Post by Joolz » 04-20-2011 03:11 AM

I hope you'll like it, Mike. I think that in such a setting as this, which is, of course, a medieval-type setting, that a certain level of violence is realistic. This is a brutal world. There are swords and there will be swordplay and battles - but you won't see the "300" sort of slowed-down, computer enhanced blood and gore that you saw in Spartacus.

I am also sure that Game of Thrones will be character and plot driven. My daughter's analysis of the book was that it had great characters and a fantastic plot, but as a writer and critic, she thought the prose itself was not so great. I read some of it when she asked me to read a passage here and there, and I'd have to agree with that - it was often cliched and the word choice could have been better, etc. But what we'll get with the television series is just what made it great - the plot and characters - without the cheesy prose. That's a win! ;)
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Post by racehorse » 04-24-2011 09:32 PM

The second episode of Game of Thrones shown tonight (April 24, 2011) was truly excellent from beginning to eye opening conclusion. ;)

Perhaps it is too early (and from not having read the book) but I am already developing theories from what I consider clues about some of the characters (Jon Snow, for one) and events which may occur later. More on these later (or not) as the storyline continues.

Those Pirates in the Eastern and Central time zones who missed the first showing of tonight's episode will get another opportunity at 11ET/10CT and of course West Coast Pirates can still see the show at it's usual time there. I highly recommend doing so. It will be time well spent. This really is a series many on ship will enjoy.
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Post by Joolz » 04-27-2011 07:50 PM

Hi racehorse! I loved the second episode, too. :)

We've watched each episode several times now. :D

I'm having trouble with developing any theories because my daughter has read the book. ;) She isn't spoiling me, but she does try to steer me away from unproductive theories. LOL

I agree that more Pirates should check this out! It's a truly high-quality show!
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Post by dotcosm » 05-29-2011 03:47 PM

Kicking for this absolutely stunning HBO series.

Anyone else watching? If not, and you can, you most definitely should.

It is masterful.

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Post by dotcosm » 05-30-2011 02:43 PM

I will keep kicking this thread until some of you get the hint and either start watching the HBO series or start reading the books.

Yes, it is that good. Trust me.

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Post by dotcosm » 05-30-2011 03:15 PM

Maybe I need to elaborate somewhat.

I'm speaking as someone who almost never goes for this genre of literature. Sure, I read Tolkien when I was a kid, and I enjoyed the films, and in general I really enjoy medieval productions--but not the literature--so this was a looooooong shot for me. Well, not the HBO series, that was a practical no-brainer because I can't think of any HBO--or SHO for that matter--series that I haven't dearly loved.

But here's where everything veered off track. I purchased the audiobook of the first book in the series (A Game of Thrones). Normally I use the library for such things, only purchasing when the library cannot provide it to me (yes, I'm frugal that way). But there was a wait list for the library copy, and so I plunked down my two (TWO!) Audible credits for just one out of the four volumes.

And I started listening. It wasn't long before I knew that the series was being quite faithful to the book, and the book was so accessible, so readable (hearable?). I found myself savoring every word, listening to chapters more than once, more than twice, to make sure I had drained every bit of sweet nuance from them.

Well, being sixth on the library wait list for the second book, I soon found myself again plunking down two precious Audible credits for the second book, even though I was not yet halfway through book number one. And book number two was some three hours longer than book number one! Oh joy!

And what did I just do, just now, before posting here? Why, I decided I was full-in now, what else could I do but relinquish yet another two Audible credits for the third book. Mind you, I am still not finished reading the first book. And as I watched the download screen I saw that instead of the four parts that the prior two books had been divided into, this one spawned a fifth! And then a sixth! Forty-seven wonderful hours--ontop of the thirty-four and thirty-seven that already comprise my treasure trove.

Oh, and I have forgotten to mention that I also purchased the full set of paperback books that I found at Costco a week ago. One set was all I saw there, I looked over the whole table of books and just one boxed set was sitting alone. It was mine, I knew it.

And this morning I had a really terrible thought. That I might need to also finally break down one of my last holding walls and (gasp!) get a Kindle--or other eReader--and get the digital version as well (for searching purposes).

I'm telling you all, this is highly unusual for me. There is something special about these books.

And now I will connect it all to my Nooryisms thread.

Had it not been for George Noory, I would never have gotten into the habit of listening to books. I had, from years of listening to Art Bell, an entrenched habit of listening to audio, but it was only after years more of tortured hours listening to George, that I finally mostly abandoned listening to his shows and began to substitute audiobooks in their stead.

So George, I think you for that.

And if Joe Quinn were still around--how I miss him!--he would love these books and the series, and he would write pages and pages and pages about them, and I would voracously read his posts much as I am reading the Martin books themselves.

So will anyone join me?

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