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'Game of Thrones' on HBO HD *** WARNING - Spoilers allowed *** - Page 5

post #121 of 1159
4/19/11 at 6:10am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ph8te View Post
I said this earlier if people want to discuss the books as it relates to the show they should create a new thread. That way there is no chance of possible spoilers happening.
Like every other thread just use spoiler tags.
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post #122 of 1159
4/19/11 at 6:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by goneten View Post

You misquoted. I did not post any of the above.

Yeah, weird. That was my words with your name on them!

Quote:
Originally Posted by rflor View Post

HBO hasn't announced future plans, but you have to think they are planning for at least a second season give then funds they poured into set and costume design for season 1.

My (cynical) prediction: Based on the solid reviews, likely pretty decent ratings, and expected strong DVD/BluRay sales (fantasy fans will buy the discs to encourage future development), we'll get a second season. But it wouldn't surprise me if HBO balks a bit a the cost and doesn't bump up the $60 million that they spent on Season 1. Which will hinder the show because the scale of the story blows up in the 2nd book. The result will be a reduction in quality, followed by fan backlash because they have to veer further from the original story, and then no 3rd season. Which is too bad, because the 3rd book is EPIC. But to do it right would cost twice as much as the first season, I'd wager. I'd rather seen it not done at all than done poorly.

IIRC, Deadwood (3 seasons?) and Rome (2 seasons?) were cancelled because of their high costs rather than lack of audience or creative issues. I could see something like that happening here.
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post #123 of 1159
4/19/11 at 6:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rflor View Post

The first season follows the arc of the first book -- 10 episodes in total. So far, there are a total of 4 books published, with a 5th expected in July.

HBO hasn't announced future plans, but you have to think they are planning for at least a second season give then funds they poured into set and costume design for season 1.
As others have pointed out, GRRM is not known for his punctuality. It took him 6 years to finish book 5, and many think that was only due to a looming threat from HBO. Also, each book is in excess of 700 pages, so it makes for some interesting writing skills to convey the theme across.

From this weeks (or last weeks) Entertainment Weekly they have a quick blurb that HBO may be bullish on a second season. It looks like the 1st 10 episodes or so may have cost near $50 mil to make, but from the looks of it so far it was well spent .....Hopefully we do get at least 1 more season out of this show if it continues the way it it right now =.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveFi View Post

Like every other thread just use spoiler tags.

I totally agree, but there are always more tha a few people who dont know how or dont care to use spoilers. It would just be safer to create two threads, one for book comparison and the other for clean no "spoiler" episode by episode discussion. Ive seen it done in the past, but these days it doesnt happen that much.
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post #124 of 1159
4/19/11 at 6:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdr25 View Post

Yeah, weird. That was my words with your name on them!



My (cynical) prediction: Based on the solid reviews, likely pretty decent ratings, and expected strong DVD/BluRay sales (fantasy fans will buy the discs to encourage future development), we'll get a second season. But it wouldn't surprise me if HBO balks a bit a the cost and doesn't bump up the $60 million that they spent on Season 1. Which will hinder the show because the scale of the story blows up in the 2nd book. The result will be a reduction in quality, followed by fan backlash because they have to veer further from the original story, and then no 3rd season. Which is too bad, because the 3rd book is EPIC. But to do it right would cost twice as much as the first season, I'd wager. I'd rather seen it not done at all than done poorly.

IIRC, Deadwood (3 seasons?) and Rome (2 seasons?) were cancelled because of their high costs rather than lack of audience or creative issues. I could see something like that happening here.

Dont forget Carnivale that one still is a sore spot for me.
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post #125 of 1159
4/19/11 at 6:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ph8te View Post


dont forget carnivale that one still is a sore spot for me.

+1
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post #126 of 1159
4/19/11 at 7:13am
+2. Spending a fortune on one or two seasons of a high-profile series then canceling it just when they get really rocking so they can spend another fortune on a completely new series does seem to be part of the HBO game plan. They wouldn't extend 'Rome' even when the BBC was sharing the costs and the sets had already been built and amortized. They canned 'Deadwood' when they could have burned down the existing set (relating to the very real fire that destroyed the very real town of Deadwood) as they seemed to be building toward over the first 2 seasons. Instead, they simply sent everybody home and dismantled it, piece by piece.

HBO moves in mysterious ways.
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post #127 of 1159
4/19/11 at 7:24am
Guessing if those other shows got the ratings HBO were hoping for, the production would have continued.

Maybe HBO greenlighted GoT despite the costs because of the success of True Blood, thinking that there's a market for fantasy and other genre shows.
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post #128 of 1159
4/19/11 at 7:39am
In an interview, Martin was asked that if the series is picked up, could he even finish writing them in time. He said that it shouldn't be a problem, because they would need 2 seasons for book 3, and books 4 and 5 would probably take 3 seasons total. He thought he could finish the last two books if they went with that schedule! Hopefully not just wishful thinking.
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post #129 of 1159
4/19/11 at 7:48am
Well a 9 season run ain't happening. Realistically, I think getting a (good) 3rd season would be an accomplishment. This isn't True Blood where they can scale down to fewer main characters and stick to mostly sound stages to control costs. If the epic scale is lost, it isn't A Song of Ice and Fire anymore.

For now I'm just psyched that we're guaranteed 9 more episodes! Since GRRM basically designed the series to be unfilmable, the fact that it is off to such a promising start is more than I would have dared hope for 5 years ago.
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post #130 of 1159
4/19/11 at 8:14am
Dug the 1st episode & looking forward to more.

Having never read any of these books, I found it rather easy to get what was going on - and knew ahead of time the various stoylines were going to jump back & forth as they set up all the various connections.

As a non-fan of the books, I could be way off base here....but I thought to myself after the intro to the Dothraki.....Mr Martin may have also been a Star Trek fan, as his race of warriors are very similar to Roddenberry's Klingons. Granted, these are very R-rated Klingons.

Where as Dothraki have no word for thanks, Klingons have no word for "hello". apparently.
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post #131 of 1159
4/19/11 at 8:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flambe View Post

Very much so. As someone who knows nothing about the series, I found the credits invaluable for teaching me, if nothing else, the lay of the land! They were able to start the show and immediately I had a sense of where things were - even that the 3 poor gentlemen at the start of the show were on the north side of that giant wall.

Plus, they were beautiful - I loved the mechanical nature of the map.

And usually I skip the credits.

They were teriffic. The mechanical toy rising of the various realms was really impressive.
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post #132 of 1159
4/19/11 at 8:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by goneten View Post

I know the Queen (whoever plays her character), she was in 300 I think but the acting was very good throughout. In particular, the dwarf was pure gold. He hit all his scenes out of the park as far as I'm concerned and in a span of only a few minutes of screen time has become my favorite character.

That's Lena Heady, a terrific actress who was last seen as the lead of The Sarah Conner Chronicles for two seasons on Fox. Peter Dinklage has had a very successful career and has been seen in many films and TV shows. One of his best roles was in the original British version of Death at a Funeral, a laugh out loud funny film. He was also in the recent remake starring Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence and played the same character. He is always interesting when he's onscreen.
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post #133 of 1159
4/19/11 at 8:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wco81 View Post

Guessing if those other shows got the ratings HBO were hoping for, the production would have continued.

But HBO doesn't really care about ratings. It's all about buzz, and buzz leads to new subscribers.
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post #134 of 1159
4/19/11 at 8:41am
HBO renews Game of Thrones for 2nd Season

Sites loading really slow just now.
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post #135 of 1159
4/19/11 at 8:53am
I liked the first episode. Seemed like a lot of talking and not much action but I guess its to be expected with so much story to build up. Looked good, acted really well, overall I liked it, just hope the pace picks up a little bit.
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post #136 of 1159
4/19/11 at 9:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by WilliamR View Post

I liked the first episode. Seemed like a lot of talking and not much action but I guess its to be expected with so much story to build up. Looked good, acted really well, overall I liked it, just hope the pace picks up a little bit.

From what I have read the books are very "talky" and character driven. Expect more of the same with more action thrown in IMO.
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post #137 of 1159
4/19/11 at 9:38am
Reports are the first 5 or so lay a lot of the background and things really kick into high gear action wise around ep 6.
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post #138 of 1159
4/19/11 at 9:41am
Will the series name change to A CLASH OF KINGS for season 2?
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post #139 of 1159
4/19/11 at 9:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by archiguy View Post

+2. Spending a fortune on one or two seasons of a high-profile series then canceling it just when they get really rocking so they can spend another fortune on a completely new series does seem to be part of the HBO game plan. They wouldn't extend 'Rome' even when the BBC was sharing the costs and the sets had already been built and amortized. They canned 'Deadwood' when they could have burned down the existing set (relating to the very real fire that destroyed the very real town of Deadwood) as they seemed to be building toward over the first 2 seasons. Instead, they simply sent everybody home and dismantled it, piece by piece.

HBO moves in mysterious ways.

HBO renewed Rome for a second season and announced that it was the final season due to cost. What they hadn't factored in was the DVD sales. If Rome had come a year or two later it probably would have had several seasons. They acknowledged that they made a mistake. I think they spent over 100 million on the first year of Rome.
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post #140 of 1159
4/19/11 at 10:00am
Hey guys, I have not read much of this thread, I don't want to read any spoilers! I was nieive enough to think I would start some disscution about this show. I am new to HT and this was by far the most beautiful display of my plasmas capability. My wife and I were stunned. I was thinking of having my tv professionally calibrated but now am unsure if it is needed. Anyway the show is well scripted, acted, and filmed. I'm stoked, later fellas - Tank
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post #141 of 1159
4/19/11 at 10:19am
All I've got to say is WOW...they certainly did not disappoint in the making of my all time favorite fantasy series. To encourage more seasons to come, I'll definitely be picking up the blu rays when they come out woowoo!
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post #142 of 1159
4/19/11 at 11:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Argee View Post

Will the series name change to A CLASH OF KINGS for season 2?

I doubt it, they've got good name recognition going. And the game of thrones (small "g" and "t") is played throughout the book series, so the name won't be incongruous. "A Song of Ice and Fire" always sounded a bit hokey to me anyway.

W00T on Season 2! No surprise that it's happening, but nice to see them pull the trigger early. That ought to help make sure the actors are available. Hopefully my earlier cynical prediction (2 seasons and done) will turn out to be foolhardy. I'll gladly link back to it in 2014 when we know how things are going to shake out!
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post #143 of 1159
4/19/11 at 11:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveFi View Post

Like every other thread just use spoiler tags.

+1 on separate book/show thread AND STRICT spoiler tags

In theory spoiler tags work, but in reality spoilers based on book-knowledge can be accidental. Talk of comparing what 'will' happen with what did or is about to happen can reveal more than the writer thought. I found the show to be so entertaining that I want nothing to spoil it for me. This rampant 'compares to the book' commentary makes me very wary and I've skipped several posts after just a few words. Personally, I don't want to have to do that, since the thread should be about openly discussing what we have seen and even expect to see. But, those who have read the books and make comments on what's to come, even non-specific, are potentially ruining the experience for those who do not wish to know.

I know this subject has appeared in other show threads, but it seems particularly troublesome here with so many eager readers. Unintentional as it may be, many of us want to avoid it. If it takes completely avoiding this thread, then that's a choice to consider - as I will.
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post #144 of 1159
4/19/11 at 11:27am
I'm sure few will agree, but IMO, as a fan of the books myself, I think we should just shut up about them in this thread. And I think a separate thread about comparing the books with the series, while interesting, is beyond the scope of an AVS topic, although certainly if the moderators think it's OK then why not? The series is made primarily for people who have never read the books. Far, far more people will see the series than will ever read the books.

IMO, mixing discussion of the books with discussion of the series is not just unfair to series viewers, it's meaningless, disruptive, confusing, misleading, and several other synonyms. It doesn't matter to the viewers how the wedding was different in the books; the books are not canonical for the series. It doesn't matter how differently various characters are portrayed

While I'm sure because of Martin's direct involvement that the series will stick closely to the books, even he knows that movies and books are fundamentally different.

As far as the series is concerned, IMO, if it didn't happen on screen it didn't happen. If it happens later in the books it may or may not be a spoiler and shouldn't be discussed here.
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post #145 of 1159
4/19/11 at 12:06pm
The forums at westeros.org are probably the definitive boards for the show. Each episode has threads for "No spoilers", "Book spoilers", and "Book + TV spoilers". Presumably if you've read the books, the Book spoilers boards are the ones that won't reveal anything you don't already know, and the Book + TV spoilers has show-specific stuff leaked from scripts or cast interviews. They also have a very specific thread dedicated to the differences between the books and the show.

Personally, I'm comfortable over here and would rather keep this AVS as my board of choice for discussing this show. Unless I'm instructed otherwise by an AVS moderator, here's the completely arbitrary rules that I'm going to follow:
(1) I'll not reveal anything specific about chapters that are ahead of where the show is.
(2)I'll occasionally bring up things that I think are interesting differences between scenes in the show and the books, but not in a nitpicky way.
(3) I WON'T talk about "missing" scenes from the book that aren't in the show, because they might have just been shuffled around and we could see those scenes next week.
(4) I'll occasionally talk in extremely broad generalizations about future stuff in the books (i.e., I've mentioned several times already that the scale of the story gets HUGE).

The only place where this might cause some problem is with #2 if things have been shuffled around in the show. For instance, there is a lot more backstory in the book given to the conversation between Ned and Robert in the crypt. Someone here asked a question about it, and I was intentionally vague in answering because we'll probably get most of that backstory in the show eventually and I didn't want to spoil it.

If you've got a problem with that and you're not a moderator, you might as well set me to "ignore" now.
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post #146 of 1159
4/19/11 at 12:22pm
Enjoyed the first episode, but the jury is still out on whether I watch many more. My wife and I normally watch TV together and the fantasy genre is not our favorite, especially with the add-ins of sex and violence. We've enjoyed Boardwalk Empire, Treme, Big Love, the Sopranos and others, but this show and the vampire series seem focused on a demographic which we don't fit in. We like period pieces (John Adams) and emotional drama (In Treatment). Band of Brothers and Pacific were great, Deadwood excellent. But some of this seems to target much younger audiences. I'll give it a couple of more episodes, but since my wife won't watch it, doubt will make the weekly list.
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post #147 of 1159
4/19/11 at 2:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdr25 View Post
Unless I'm instructed otherwise )
Call it a suggestion. Since adding a spoiler tag is insanely easy, why not just go ahead and put ALL of the above in tags? Especially since this is a pre-show thread, something those who may be DVR-ing the series might consider safe reading.

For a running show thread, I'd put 3 and 4 in spoiler tags, just in case. Ya gotta figure a running show thread is going to contain discussions about all just-aired episodes.

Or, put more simply, treat it like we used to treat "Lost."
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post #148 of 1159
4/19/11 at 3:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrDon View Post
For a running show thread...
Shouldn't there be one of those by now?

And if it were up to me, I'd call it "Game of Thrones on HBO (No Book Talk)"
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post #149 of 1159
4/19/11 at 3:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ph8te View Post
I said this earlier if people want to discuss the books as it relates to the show they should create a new thread. That way there is no chance of possible spoilers happening.
They'll need to find another forum if they want to discuss the books.
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post #150 of 1159
4/19/11 at 4:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdr25 View Post

The forums at westeros.org are probably the definitive boards for the show. Each episode has threads for "No spoilers", "Book spoilers", and "Book + TV spoilers". Presumably if you've read the books, the Book spoilers boards are the ones that won't reveal anything you don't already know, and the Book + TV spoilers has show-specific stuff leaked from scripts or cast interviews. They also have a very specific thread dedicated to the differences between the books and the show.

Personally, I'm comfortable over here and would rather keep this AVS as my board of choice for discussing this show. Unless I'm instructed otherwise by an AVS moderator, here's the completely arbitrary rules that I'm going to follow:
(1) I'll not reveal anything specific about chapters that are ahead of where the show is.
(2)I'll occasionally bring up things that I think are interesting differences between scenes in the show and the books, but not in a nitpicky way.
(3) I WON'T talk about "missing" scenes from the book that aren't in the show, because they might have just been shuffled around and we could see those scenes next week.
(4) I'll occasionally talk in extremely broad generalizations about future stuff in the books (i.e., I've mentioned several times already that the scale of the story gets HUGE).

The only place where this might cause some problem is with #2 if things have been shuffled around in the show. For instance, there is a lot more backstory in the book given to the conversation between Ned and Robert in the crypt. Someone here asked a question about it, and I was intentionally vague in answering because we'll probably get most of that backstory in the show eventually and I didn't want to spoil it.

If you've got a problem with that and you're not a moderator, you might as well set me to "ignore" now.


I'm intending to discuss the show here as well. I've lurked over at Westeros.org and while I love the books the people there can get a little intense for my taste.

I think I'm going to use spoiler tags whenever I think something might be a spoiler. I'd rather be safe than sorry and I don't want to spoil something for another.

BTW, for those of you who haven't read the books, do yourself a favor and pick them up. As good as this series appears to be the books are a superior experience.
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