The Alchemist on 17/4/2011 at 18:13
PREMIERS TONIGHT. I watched some of the trailers and it looks hella well done.
Matthew on 17/4/2011 at 18:17
I did not realise this was apparently filmed in Northern Ireland!
demagogue on 18/4/2011 at 01:00
Here we go!
Edit: Pretty badass. Captured everything as I remember it.
Art direction is fantastic.
Scots Taffer on 18/4/2011 at 02:09
(
http://www.avclub.com/articles/winter-is-coming,54682/) AV Club review - mostly positive, though a bit of a feeling that non-readers may be lost in the wave of characters, and some reservations about the amount of female nudity which was always going to be an issue because
a) lol, fat beared man writes semi-fantasy what's going to happen
b) it's HBO, boobs are mandatory for all new series to get viewers (apparently)
I'm thinking I'll hold off until the season has run its course.
demagogue on 18/4/2011 at 17:15
I read it and still had trouble keeping up just because it has to condense quite a bit into the time. That said, I found they did a really good job of condensing the right stuff and capturing entire scenes and dynamics with the right dialog and transitions. But it's good they played it 2 times... It helps a *lot* to re-watch an episode to pick up the little dialog pieces after you know the general trend.
And just structurally speaking, they do give enough info that even if you knew nothing, you'd get that there's the fat king and these three families around, each with their own general thread, and then the mini-threads internally by its members that aren't too bad because they just connect to their general thread. So once you know the family & the general threads, the mini-threads fall into place and you have the skeleton of the whole thing. In that respect, it's like Twin Peaks, or maybe The Wire... If you keep rewatching them, you pick up on what's going on because it's written for all the pieces to fit together into the big dynamics, which is all you really need. So that's why I think it's going to work on the whole as a good show. But even if you don't want to put in that kind of investment, it *looks* good, and it's written to be entertaining just scene to scene as it is without knowing all the threads. (In that way it's like The Wire).
As for the tits, yeah, I'm a big fan but still they were getting gratuitous, which works against the need to re-watch it ... It's just that much longer you have to keep your nephew from running in, or more fluff you have to sit through again to get back to the quotes you want to pick up for the story. But it's a mature fantasy that doesn't pull punches, so ... it does help set the tone it's going for and like you say, you can hardly say it's not par for the course.
PeeperStorm on 18/4/2011 at 18:15
Thanks to one of HBO's "free trials" I watched it, and am ambivalent about it. If you're just interested in the "what happens and who gets hosed because of it" core of the story then they did a good job. OTOH they've condensed things way too much for my taste, and you hardly get any sense at all of the characters involved. Quick, broad strokes rather than careful detailing. Although they did manage to portray Tyrion fairly well.
Other thoughts:
* I really like the opening credits.
* The actress playing Daenerys sucks. It's not Sofia Coppola levels of badness, she's just wooden. Pretty though.
* The guys from the Night's Watch are way too well groomed and hygienic.
* I absolutely hate the fact that I need to keep riding the volume control. Otherwise I either end up being blasted or not understanding what's being said. The British accents aren't helping any there either. If I hadn't read the books already I'd think that Arya's name was "Eyuh".
* Dragon eggs have scales! Laying them must hurt like a bitch. :D
SubJeff on 18/4/2011 at 21:00
Ahhh. At last an epic hack n slasher done on a proper budget. So far nothing to rolleyes at (which always takes me out of any series) and lots to like. So far - I like.
Peeper - the Daenerys character seems somewhat... tortured and she appeared perpetually terrified to me so unless the character in the book is vastly different I thought she did a good job. Yes, she's pretty, but she's also kind of freaky and not in a freak-like-me way.
I look forward to the next one.
the_grip on 18/4/2011 at 21:22
Having cut out cable to opt instead for Internet TV and streaming Hulu and Netflix content, I was hoping to buy the episode on iTunes and watch it via Apple TV. Alas, I don't see it in iTunes. Anyone know if this series will hit iTunes anytime soon? I thought they generally released them just after they aired.
fett on 18/4/2011 at 22:37
I hear you can sometimes find tv shows on the internets. At least that's what Shug thinks and he's totally legit.
Queue on 18/4/2011 at 23:23
That's how I found Gilligan's Island.
True story.
