Sunday, May 17, 2015

Coming Late to Game of Thrones

I'm sure everyone here knows about Game of Thrones. It is both a series of massive fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, and an HBO TV series. The first book was published in 1996 and the series is actually called "A Song of Ice and Fire."  It stands at 7 volumes now. The TV series is based on the novels, although they have apparently parted company with the books over time. It is up to season 5 now, and a 6th and 7th seasons are planned.

A couple of years ago, Lana started watching the TV series on DVD. She clearly loved it because she binged watched whole seasons in a day. I caught snippets here and there and it looked like something I'd like, but she was always watching it when school was in session or I had writing deadlines so I never got to catch it.

Since I'm off for the summer, though, Lana brought season 1 home a few days ago. We watched the first four episodes on Saturday, and the next five on Sunday. This is the first time I've ever binge-watched a TV series like this. I reckon that means I enjoyed it. I thought the first three episodes were good but a little slow, full of a bit more dialogue than I might have liked, but it was a slow burn that really ignited at about episode 5. From there it was a race to the season ender, with well developed cliffhangers at the end of each episode.

Great sets, though I might quibble with a piece here and there. But mostly some really fine acting and writing. I definitely enjoyed it and it's so nice to see some serious fantasy work brought to the screen.

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14 comments:

Cloudia said...

Yes, it has captured my imagination and I care about the characters




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ALOHA from Honolulu,
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

Charles, HBO in India shows "Game of Thrones" though I have no idea which season or episode. In fact, I didn't even know it was a series! My daughter read all the books and liked them very much.

Charles Gramlich said...

Cloudia, the characters are really well drawn. Well rounded.

Prashant, Yes, 5 seasons so far. My wife has seen them all. I'm just starting but will certainly look forward to seeing more.

sage said...

I haven't seen it, but then I don't watch too much TV and can't ever say I've binged on a program, but I think that might be fun to go back to some old shows that I enjoyed like Hill Street Blues.

Charles Gramlich said...

Sage, this was my first binge experience.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Glad you're finally watching it now. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy it, but the show is so compelling.

Erik Donald France said...

This is a very efficient and fun way to see a series or even multi-part set. I'm doing it with 'The Shield,' another knockout. The first time I did this was with 'Twin Peaks,' -- quickly came to realize this way that season 1 is better and tighter.

Oscar Case said...

Nice way to pass the weekend.

BernardL said...

My adult kids read the books, and love the series, so the series creators did a good job of adapting them to the screen.

Charles Gramlich said...

Alex, it really is.

Erik, I liked the Shield considerably, although I kind of lost it after the 2nd or 3rd season.

Oscar, relaxing and enjoyable.

Bernard, some good TV writing for sure.

northierthanthou said...

Welcome to the cult RZ. May the addiction be good to you.

Charles Gramlich said...

Nothierthanthou, thankee! and thanks for visiting.

Riot Kitty said...

I haven't seen it - not really my bag. My brother did take a writing workshop with George R. R. Martin, though, which generated some interesting stories.

lagila said...

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