Game of Thrones

[Kathy Li]

Warning: the books are definitely rated-R, and the series on HBO is likely to be TV-MA, 'cause that's what all original premiere-cable series seem to be these days, but the video previews on the website aren't, and I'm completely hyped that this thing is happening, and we now know it'll be airing in April. They've had a production blog going, and it's been pretty fun, and they now have an 11-minute "behind the scenes" type video with more than a taste of what it's going to be like.

HBO - Making Game of Thrones

They are mainly filming in Northern Ireland.

If you don't know this series, it's based on the George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series, which is (reportedly by GRRM) going to span seven volumes. We're up to volume four so far, and awaiting volume 5. George told me that this first series (10 episodes) is going to be all of the first book (Game of Thrones), the second season will probably be all of the second book (Clash of Kings) but obviously by the time we get to the third book (Storm of Swords), it'll probably get split over two series. Assuming they survive that long (budgetary concerns).

The magic in this series is relatively subdued (dragons and walking dead aside), it's mostly political/court intrigue and a whole lot of folks killing each other. But this is definitely the type of series that is subgenred as "high-fantasy", in the Tolkien vein.

The one production diary bit that grabbed me recently is that Maisie Williams, who's playing the 10-year-old Arya Stark, was practicing her swordfighting with the fightmaster, and he suddenly stopped and said, "Wait. Are you right-handed or left-handed?" And she replied, "Well, I'm right-handed. But Arya's left-handed." Yup. She's been rehearsing her swordfights as a southpaw, even though she's not.

[Lazy Leopard]

Interesting that at least some of the actors have read the book, and care enough to try to get the details correct. A pity there weren't any in "The Dark is Rising"...

Somehow, I don't think it's a series I'll be that likely to watch. I have the first two books on my bookshelf, but the bookmark in the first hasn't moved in several years. In the past I've complained about authors who're so attached to their characters that they won't let events unfold. GRRM doesn't fall into that trap; every time, just as I thought I might actually like a character, something affecting that character would unfold. After a while I spotted the pattern, and stopped reading; there's only so much emotional shredding I'm prepared to endure for the sake of a good story.

[Kathy Li]

Oh, if that's the case, you definitely want to stay far far away from the series. It gets a lot worse.

I'm a Dorothy Dunnett reader, so I like it.

[Kathy Li]

Bump. It's starting up this Sunday. The web is awash in promotional material, and westeros.org is growing its membership by leaps and bounds. Just wanted to say, I'm sooooo anticipating this one. Having Game of Thrones and Doctor Who both--I am gonna be in geek heaven.

And if you're a geek girl, ignore the NYT review. Seriously. Everybody else is.

[Johnny]

Eureka!

WHHHHAT? There's a series on The Game of Thrones? o_O HOW, pray tell, do I miss these things? I stare at the game nearly everytime I'm passing through the local game store. Only read the first book but I really enjoyed it. I just don't take the time to read epic series like I once did.

How does it look? I got really excited for the Sword of Truth mini series but was pretty .... much..... unimpressed after watching the first episode. (never watched beyond that so maybe it got better)

I'm willing to give a lot of creative wiggle room in Television productions of books I like. Is it worth hunting down sometime?

[Kathy Li]

WHHHHAT? There's a series on The Game of Thrones? o_O HOW, pray tell, do I miss these things?

Well, this one's on HBO, so it might be easy for some folks to miss it.

how does it look?

You can judge for yourself by going to the link in my first post. They have tons of production shots up. Personally, I am loving it. They're having a right good time, and the designers are given as much behind-the-scenes time as everybody else.

I got really excited for the Sword of Truth mini series but was pretty .... much..... unimpressed after watching the first episode. (never watched beyond that so maybe it got better)

I enjoyed the hell out of it. If you went in expecting another fun fantasy show from the creators of Xena/Hercules:TLJ, then you had a great time. If you went in expecting a faithful Goodkind adaptation, you were very much outta luck.

The GoT adaptation, on the other hand, is being pretty darn faithful to the books. They have added and changed some bits, but mostly to serve their budget and time constraints. It's recognizably the same characters and story. What's been making me incredibly happy is how perfect the casting has been. Everybody's ooing and aahing over how Sean Bean is amazing as Eddard Stark, and he is. But for me the standout is Nicolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime. I cannot wait for the second season (which will be based on A Clash of Kings.) HBO's already announced they're renewed, so production will be starting up again in Northern Ireland in late July. Their other location is Malta.

I'd say it's worth hunting up. DD is enjoying it. But we have to keep quiet about You Know What, because she hasn't read the books yet.

I nearly died laughing when I went to the westeros.org website, and in the tv show discussion threads, there was one titled "The Elephant in the Room [SPOILERS!!!]". And, of course, it's going to be even harder to keep quiet about CoK's You Know What next season...

[Kathy Li]

At last. The spoiler can be mentioned!

Yes. They killed Ned Stark. It happens that way in the books, too.

Now I just have to keep my trap shut about the spoilers in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th books, too.