Game of Thrones - hide spoilers please.

[Tom17LCFC]

Wow. 

 

I guessed Robb was gonna die after my mate mentioned something that hinted towards it, but that was ridiculous. Catelyn and Robb's missus as well!! and the wolf

[MikeyT]

Just watched it and yowzer! 

[Trav Le Bleu]

Wow. 

 

I guessed Robb was gonna die after my mate mentioned something that hinted towards it, but that was ridiculous. Catelyn and Robb's missus as well!! and the wolf

 

Meh re: Robb's missus, in the book she doesn't have a single spoken part I think (if she does, not not more than a sentence or two)

[Finnegan]

I now get why they call it the Red Wedding...

 

 

As for Trav's general moaning (you're actually worse than my father and sister for complaining that EVERY film or TV piece based on a book is marginally different from "the original.") - George R R Martin is an exec producer on the show with, one assumes, a fairly substantial amount of creative input.

 

I'm reasonably confident that any major changes will be ratified by himself for the purposes of telling the story. If you wanted an exact duplicate of the novels then why would you even bother watching TV in the first place? You've already got a view of it in your head if you've any sort of imagination, what do you need to see a carbon copy on the box for?

 

Just accept it for what it is and stop bitching about every miniature change, man!

[Haydos]

I now get why they call it the Red Wedding...

 

 

As for Trav's general moaning (you're actually worse than my father and sister for complaining that EVERY film or TV piece based on a book is marginally different from "the original.") - George R R Martin is an exec producer on the show with, one assumes, a fairly substantial amount of creative input.

 

I'm reasonably confident that any major changes will be ratified by himself for the purposes of telling the story. If you wanted an exact duplicate of the novels then why would you even bother watching TV in the first place? You've already got a view of it in your head if you've any sort of imagination, what do you need to see a carbon copy on the box for?

 

Just accept it for what it is and stop bitching about every miniature change, man!

 

Thank you. It's an adaptation of a book that a lot of the time doesn't involve action or drama, but does involve lots of character development and plot lines. With so many characters this is hard to do and I think that generally they do a great job. It's clearly not as good as a few of you want it to be so why not just drop it and take it as it is?

 

As for Ep 9....Brutal.

 

Grey Worm is a pretty sick.

[Trav Le Bleu]

I now get why they call it the Red Wedding...

 

 

As for Trav's general moaning (you're actually worse than my father and sister for complaining that EVERY film or TV piece based on a book is marginally different from "the original.") - George R R Martin is an exec producer on the show with, one assumes, a fairly substantial amount of creative input.

 

I'm reasonably confident that any major changes will be ratified by himself for the purposes of telling the story. If you wanted an exact duplicate of the novels then why would you even bother watching TV in the first place? You've already got a view of it in your head if you've any sort of imagination, what do you need to see a carbon copy on the box for?

 

Just accept it for what it is and stop bitching about every miniature change, man!

 

No, I get how it absolutely HAS to be different. I just don't understand why - in a TV series that has had to be pretty brutal with the edit to get it all in they've added a really insipid romance.

 

I think Manhunter was a good adaptation of a book - and conversely I've never understood the fuss about Silence of the Lambs and I also think the TV adaptations that have been done of the Discworld books good too.

 

Don't try to make me out to be some narrowminded bigot who always judges something before giving it a chance - I am nothing like that.

 

My frustration is I have a wife who is deaf and as a result doesn't read very well (I'll forego the longwinded explanation of why pre-aural deaf people don't read very well) and my reason for watching the TV series is to share with her the great books I've been reading. I just get narked when I go, "this next bit is really good!" and it doesn't happen.

[Finnegan]

No, I get how it absolutely HAS to be different. I just don't understand why - in a TV series that has had to be pretty brutal with the edit to get it all in they've added a really insipid romance.

 

Because the Red Wedding would completely lose impact on screen if no emotional investment had been placed in Robb's wife. In the books you take time to grow bonds with characters, on screen you have hours - minutes in some cases - to form opinions and a television audience needs strong audio and visual clues. You can get away playing down her significance in a book but to do it to a television audience would result in a lot of shrugging. 

 

Granted, Robb's death alone would have been an impact if they hadn't built on that relationship but the powerful images in that scene revolved around the stabbing of a pregnant woman, the emotions evoked by the naming of a potential heir Eddard and then Robb crawling to protect his dying wife. It made for much stronger TV than Robb simply getting shot.

[stix]

Episode 9 has just knocked me for six!! Am I right in thinking that next week is the last one of season 3?

[Tom17LCFC]

 

Meh re: Robb's missus, in the book she doesn't have a single spoken part I think (if she does, not not more than a sentence or two)

 

Yeah I've got started on the first book tonight. Will hopefully give me a better insight into everything going on, because some parts I just don't have a clue.

[goose2010]

Episode 9 has just knocked me for six!! Am I right in thinking that next week is the last one of season 3?

 

Yeah only 10 episodes in each series

[Captain...]

Because the Red Wedding would completely lose impact on screen if no emotional investment had been placed in Robb's wife. In the books you take time to grow bonds with characters, on screen you have hours - minutes in some cases - to form opinions and a television audience needs strong audio and visual clues. You can get away playing down her significance in a book but to do it to a television audience would result in a lot of shrugging.

Granted, Robb's death alone would have been an impact if they hadn't built on that relationship but the powerful images in that scene revolved around the stabbing of a pregnant woman, the emotions evoked by the naming of a potential heir Eddard and then Robb crawling to protect his dying wife. It made for much stronger TV than Robb simply getting shot.

a fair point but in the books you don't really get emotionally involved with Robb, he is not a main character, as weird as it may seem, the shock is the death of Catelyn.

Other than that I am with trav, just baffled by some of the choices they made to cut what I view as important parts of the book and add in irrelevance. I understand it when they have cut things or changed things to save time or make a more coherent story arc, for example Arya at Harrenhal (completely different in the book), or getting rid of Ser Dontos, they don't really affect the plot, but why have Sansa being set to marry Loras when he is not allowed to marry as he is in the kings guard, which little tidbit is very relevant when/if they really develop the story of Jaime.

[Guest]

I wasn't that attached to Robb in the books. bit of a dick. Sounds like the TV series has made him more important to the story than he was.

[Trav Le Bleu]

a fair point but in the books you don't really get emotionally involved with Robb, he is not a main character, as weird as it may seem, the shock is the death of Catelyn.

Other than that I am with trav, just baffled by some of the choices they made to cut what I view as important parts of the book and add in irrelevance. I understand it when they have cut things or changed things to save time or make a more coherent story arc, for example Arya at Harrenhal (completely different in the book), or getting rid of Ser Dontos, they don't really affect the plot, but why have Sansa being set to marry Loras when he is not allowed to marry as he is in the kings guard, which little tidbit is very relevant when/if they really develop the story of Jaime.

 

Rather weirdly Ser Dontos does get a few minutes of air time. Makes me wonder if they are winging it a bit, ie, they had originally intended to use him and it was a last minute cut.

 

I'd like to point out I've not yet seen last nights episode (I'm watching it on Sky Atlantic), so my comments weren't a reflection on that episode, but on the additional material which I don't think has added much other than filler. I've never felt any special spark between Robb and Talisa (maybe I am an old fart nowadays) to make what happens any more poignant, other than of course it is terrible to watch someone lose everything they love moments before they lose their life, but you could have done that without loads of dreary mooning about in each other's presence that has preceded. I'm going to lay the blame at the door of the guy who decided, "You know what? Each book; 10 episodes!" Genius!

 

And on a side note, did anyone else know that the actress who plays Talisa (Oona Chaplin) is Charlie Chaplin's grand-daughter? There is more than a little resemblence (Hitler moustache's aside.)

Edited 4 June 2013 by Trav Le Bleu

[foxfanazer]

Never watched this but everybody is going on about it!

Is it anywhere near as good as Breaking bad or Prison break?

[Renart]

I have read all the books and haven't seen any of the TV series and was always going to wait until the last two books were out, and I had read them, before going back and watching the series on DVD. I have pretty strong ideas on the main characters and the plot and, although my father - who has read the first book and then watched the first series and is now reading the 2nd book before watching the 2nd series etc.. - says that the TV series is pretty well done (he raves about the imp) when compared with the books, I don't want my imaginings to be demystified/affected by the series. 

 

Just interested in what other people think on this as there is a DVD box set at my dad's that I could quite easily collect. 

[Tom17LCFC]

Never watched this but everybody is going on about it!

Is it anywhere near as good as Breaking bad or Prison break?

 

Difficult to say because they're so different. I love BB and PB but Game of Thrones is ridiculously good, cracking show!

[goose2010]

Never watched this but everybody is going on about it!

Is it anywhere near as good as Breaking bad or Prison break?

 

Nothing is as good as breaking bad in my opinion. Prison break season one is class the rest isn't really. Game of Thrones doesn't compare very well as its pretty unique i love it though to be honest.

[Trav Le Bleu]

I have read all the books and haven't seen any of the TV series and was always going to wait until the last two books were out, and I had read them, before going back and watching the series on DVD. I have pretty strong ideas on the main characters and the plot and, although my father - who has read the first book and then watched the first series and is now reading the 2nd book before watching the 2nd series etc.. - says that the TV series is pretty well done (he raves about the imp) when compared with the books, I don't want my imaginings to be demystified/affected by the series. 

 

Just interested in what other people think on this as there is a DVD box set at my dad's that I could quite easily collect. 

 

Depends how much of a purest you are. Since I started watching the TV series the characters in the books have become in some respects, the TV characters. For instance, I can't read any Tyrion dialogue without it being in Peter Dinklage's voice or Cersei as Lena Headey. That's about it though. The set designs are good, if a little scaled back, but not much shy of Big Screen blockbuster quality - though I doubt even a film version could do justice to how some of the settings are described in the book. I thought Vaes Dothrak was very well conceived. It can clear things up for you too. Until I watched the show I thought Cersei was pronounced Kersei, after the Mediterranian fashion (no idea why), but it is pronounced Sersei. Little things like that can be interesting.

[Captain...]

Never watched this but everybody is going on about it!

Is it anywhere near as good as Breaking bad or Prison break?

 

It is hard to compare as those two are modern dramas driven by a couple of main characters, game of thrones is a sprawling fantasy world with many characters and monsters and magic. If you enjoyed Lord of the Rings or the Borgias you will probably enjoy it. 

[Captain...]

I have read all the books and haven't seen any of the TV series and was always going to wait until the last two books were out, and I had read them, before going back and watching the series on DVD. I have pretty strong ideas on the main characters and the plot and, although my father - who has read the first book and then watched the first series and is now reading the 2nd book before watching the 2nd series etc.. - says that the TV series is pretty well done (he raves about the imp) when compared with the books, I don't want my imaginings to be demystified/affected by the series. 

 

Just interested in what other people think on this as there is a DVD box set at my dad's that I could quite easily collect. 

 

The first TV series is the best of the 3 so far, in my opinion, I think that is because the book lends itself much better to a TV adaptation, there is a much stronger focal point around Eddard and a more linear plot, I have no idea how they are going to tackle books 4 and 5, nor how they are going to cram the rest of book 3 into one more episode.

Edited 4 June 2013 by Captain Pancake Face

[Manwell Pablo]

Bitching about the differences between to different mediums is one of the most tedious things ever (book to film especially as those who have read the books seem to think they are clever just because they have read a book) really don't see why people can't appreciate them for what they without worrying too much about what's been added or what's been taken away. I know plenty of people who have read the books who seem able to do this and are therefore appreciate Game of Thrones for what it is, one of the best TV knocking about, I even know some who even think it surpasses the book due to it's cutting out pointless detail, not going to comment myself as I've never read them. 

[Trav Le Bleu]

Detail is never pointless, that's why it's detail.

[Manwell Pablo]

The first TV series is the best of the 3 so far, in my opinion, I think that is because the book lends itself much better to a TV adaptation, there is a much stronger focal point around Eddard and a more linear plot, I have no idea how they are going to tackle books 4 and 5, nor how they are going to cram the rest of book 3 into one more episode.

 

They aren't the books being done over two series's, so season four will be the next half.

[Manwell Pablo]

Detail is never pointless, that's why it's detail.

 

Disagree there is plenty of pointless detail in many a film book I have read, lends nothing to the story and does nothing for the setting therefore it is pointless, as In the case of Game of Thrones it's not my opinion I've not read them so I cannot argue with you. 

[Trav Le Bleu]

I think they're currently about 2/3rds of the way through the 3rd book (counting the 2 as one book), so I get what Cap means. Too much for one episode, but not enough for a whole series. All I can think is that they're going to break away from the books altogether as far as the spacing of the story goes (book 4 is actually running alongside book 3 time-wise and parts of it have been incorporated, but not an awful lot.)