Given their grand total of two appearances in five books, that's a lot to hang your enjoyment of the series on.
True enough. But in the whole of A Song of Ice and Fire, I can imagine few things that would have benefited as much from the transition into audiovisual format.
With that necessary shortcoming accounted for, I think the important thing is to enjoy some of the acting performances, particularly Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion, as well as the actors playing Arya, Littlefinger & Daenerys. There are other things that they can play up with more drama than you can get when it is a rather immature (Bran, Arya), dense (Jon, Sansa) or cynical (Tyrion, etc) PoV character who sees it in the book. One such instance was Jon’s abortive desertion from the Night’s Watch. As the one pouting over his impotence, and reluctantly being dragged back home by his friends, Jon was in no condition to appreciate the significance of the moment at the time, and thanks to the PoV trap, even readers who were relieved that his stupidity had been headed off were still stuck identifying with Jon and only registering his frustration. On the screen, the scene of these here-to-fore inept and bungling characters, who unlike Jon did NOT sign up for the nobility and honor of the calling, but came as criminals or orphans with no better prospects, reciting their oath to recall Jon to his duty is one of the more stirring moments in the season. The follow-up interview with Mormont as he sets Jon straight and then reveals his plans to go out on his fatal expedition is equally good and really gets you interested in the continuation of that story, which in the books seemed like something of a distraction from the intrigue and so forth.
Perhaps I should try watching again until I reach those scenes then, because it really is the characters that bored me into abandoning the series in the first place. As I mentioned before, I couldn't feel any excitement in the scene where the kids find the direwolves (well, Eddard finds the direwolves, but same scene), which is pretty surprising. Bran just gets a pup shoved into his arms and looks clueless the entire time. We don't actually see his face when he gets it taken from him, so I don't know if he had an expression then. Jon and Robb feel like they're just being defensive about Bran and don't really give a damn about the direwolves either way. Nor does Eddard look like he has any interest in the situation, neither when he says "Sorry Bran" nor when he changes his mind afterwards. I initially suspected the scene was being played for the dread factor of the omen, but I didn't get a feeling of that either, nor is its relevance as an omen even brought up.
I am not sure if we are better or worse off for having read the books, because all we see are the shortcomings. As one example, the only one of the Stark bannermen who gets any characterization is the Greatjon. Roose Bolton never shows, Maege Mormont is only noticeable as a background character in the conference where Robb is proclaimed king, and Rickard Karstark’s agreement with Umber is the only dialogue or characterization he gets. Presumably the next season will flesh him out and relay to the readers his desire to kill Jaime for revenge on his sons and what not, but when we who have read the books watch, all we can think of is "how can they have NEVER even given the names of two characters who will play such an important role?" But when you get right down to it, it's not all that important, most of the thematic stuff is going to be lost (for example, no issue is made of the recurrent location of the crossroads inn. IIRC the series never acknowledges that Tyrion joins his father at the same place where he was arrested and that their bleak council of war is held in that same location - that says something in the books about the futility of these petty squabbles between the houses and the waste and tragedy of war, and is lost on the show. But those events are in three different episodes, so what would be the point?
Yes, but that's the case in any adaptation from a book, it's pretty much impossible to have it otherwise, so I was expecting it and it is no source of concern or disappointment for me.
I think you have to sit back and look at it as something entirely new, not just the same story in a different medium. Pay more attention to the dialogue. I have a cousin who has never read the books but raves about the show, and when describing the show to another family member, he said, somewhat to my surprise, that even though much of the story happens in the dialogue or and most of the history is related verbally, that dialogue is so well written and almost poetic, that it's worth it just to hear what they say and how. I have seen online discussions and reviews that place the word-play of GoT up there with The Wire and Deadwood, two HBO series famous for their extraordinary dialogue.
Really. That's funny, because after the direwolves scene was a conversation between Catelyn and Eddard and I was bored out of my mind.
I wanted to love this mind you, I didn't come in expecting to hate it, I didn't come in with impossible expectations. And even now I can't say there was anything particularly bad about it, the whole thing just felt very 'meh' to me.
Look at it not as another version of the book-story, but rather as a TV show, where it blows most TV shows out of the water on characterization and dialogue and themes.
Well, in that respect I certainly can't judge, I watch almost no television at all and so have no real frame of reference for it.
The first rule of being a ninja is "do no harm". Unless you intend to do harm, then do lots of harm.
~Master Splinter
Victorious in Bergioyn's legendary 'Reverse Mafia'. *MySmiley*
~Master Splinter
Victorious in Bergioyn's legendary 'Reverse Mafia'. *MySmiley*
Am I the only one who didn't really like A Game of Thrones?
- 06/08/2011 10:52:41 PM
1626 Views
I very much enjoyed the first season..
- 07/08/2011 12:45:35 AM
810 Views
Not exactly.
- 07/08/2011 01:35:42 AM
736 Views
That's ridiculous
- 07/08/2011 04:21:00 AM
765 Views
Not at all.
- 07/08/2011 05:17:40 AM
778 Views
That's fucking stupid
- 07/08/2011 06:17:39 AM
780 Views
Your opinion has been noted.
- 07/08/2011 07:52:37 AM
706 Views
So, you are saying
- 07/08/2011 11:52:33 PM
646 Views
posted in wrong place...ugh *NM*
- 07/08/2011 07:29:31 AM
357 Views
As a reader of the books, I think HBO series is good, but not great.
- 07/08/2011 01:16:42 AM
885 Views
Yes. Not the greatest fantasy fiction out there, but an excellent TV show *NM*
- 07/08/2011 03:48:51 AM
379 Views
I'd rather talk about True Blood. ::: How awesome is Marnie/Antonia?!?! 
*NM*
- 07/08/2011 02:51:13 AM
500 Views
*NM*
- 07/08/2011 02:51:13 AM
500 Views
It's like a different interpretation. Why watch the Disney cartoons, when you know those stories?
- 07/08/2011 03:47:54 AM
804 Views
Re:
- 07/08/2011 05:44:46 AM
805 Views
well there was some great boobs so I wouldn't say nothing was gained
- 07/08/2011 05:10:28 AM
788 Views
*NM*
This is a better representation of the series
- 09/08/2011 04:49:15 AM
984 Views
Yes, that was very nice. *NM*
- 09/08/2011 05:59:04 AM
313 Views
If we're doing clips
- 10/08/2011 04:34:31 AM
682 Views
I prefer this one
- 10/08/2011 05:08:02 AM
786 Views
Ok, I admit...
- 10/08/2011 05:08:54 AM
815 Views
Aidan Gillen so has to get rid of that moustache.
- 10/08/2011 07:52:40 PM
591 Views
No way, the mustache is cool. *NM*
- 10/08/2011 10:20:51 PM
333 Views
I haven't read the books so I'm a bit wary of watching the TV show
- 16/08/2011 02:59:18 PM
768 Views