March 12, 2012
HBO's "Game of Thrones" is out on DVD and Blu-ray. Catch up on the series before Season 2 begins April 1. by Corinne Nicholson
I didn’t watch HBO’s “Game of Thrones” when it first came out, well, because I don’t have HBO. I heard great things about it and because of that, I started reading the books.
The fantasy novels about medieval times are really, really good, but a little long. So far, I’ve read three of the five that are out in “The Song of Fire and Ice” series. George R. R. Martin does a great job developing characters you love and hate.
I decided to take a little break from the books because I didn’t want to be completely burnt out by the time I got to the fifth book that just came out last year.
But now the DVDs are out and I decided to have a weekend marathon of it. I wanted to see if the show could live up to the books. I loved the book and you know what they say, the book is always better. Well, in this case the show is really good, too.
After watching all 10 hours of the show in one weekend, here are my thoughts on the TV series vs. the books.
• For the Blu-ray DVDs, you could choose a special Targaryen or Stark sigil cover. I chose Stark.
• HBO’s “Game of Thrones” is really good, probably because it follows the book quite, so close that there were very few parts that I thought they added.
• I finally know how to pronounce names in the book. I was close on some but way off on others like the Baratheons. I’m sure when I’m reading I’ll still use what I first thought it was, but at least I’ll know how to properly pronounce it.
• They do a lot of foreshadowing in the TV series, even foreshadowing to other books. I can’t remember if Martin does that in the books, and I just noticed it now in TV series because I have read the other books or if the TV show added it for the people who have read the books.
• Peter Dinklage’s Emmy and Golden Globe are well-deserved. He’s fantastic as Tyrion. Tyrion was my favorite character in the book and Dinklage just nails the character. I can’t wait for Season 2 because Tyrion plays an even bigger role.
• There is a lot of sex in the books and the series might just have more in it.
• Things move fast in the series, I feel much faster than in the books, but then again HBO doesn’t have to describe what everyone is wearing.
• So excited to see Sir Richard Carlisle from “Downton Abbey” and Tonks from the Harry Potter movies.
• The Wall is much more impressive on screen then I ever imagined it. The set designers really do a good job of recreating places in the books.
• The acting is great in the TV series. Most of the characters are close to what I imagined in my head as I was reading.
A few complaints
• Catelyn Stark seems older in the series than I imagined her. But it is a small complaint, it is hard living in the North and raising five kids and keeping up a castle.
• The Cleganes aren’t as imposing as I thought they should be. The Hound isn’t as disfigured as I’d like him to be or as mean. And the Mountain That Rides should be Andre the Giant huge and I didn’t get that from the joust.
• The direwolves. They were a kind of major characters in the book, but we barely see them in the series. I can understand why they aren’t major characters because you don’t want to have to CGI them and have them looking like the “Twilight” wolves, but they could have done a much better job with them. There are six of them and we only see Lady (Sansa’s), Grey Wind (Rob’s), and Shaggydog (Rickon’s) for 30 seconds each.
HBO got so many things right, I can overlook the few things they didn’t get quite right. It is an excellent show. I would totally recommend watching “Game of Thrones” whether you have read the books or not. If you’ve read the books, it’s a great companion and if you haven’t it is just a great show. It is making me seriously consider getting HBO so I can watch season 2 that taks on what happens in “Clash of Kings.”
Comments
FordGalaxy 1 year, 2 months ago
Agreed. I picked up the first book in the series after two episodes and finished it before the third episode. They did get some things almost perfectly right. What I like most about the entire series is that no character is safe. The HBO team was able to capture the characters almost exactly as I had imagined them. And yes, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister was great stuff. Especially when he slapped Joffrey in the second episode. I could watch that all day long.
Michael Buckelew 1 year, 2 months ago
I started watching the series last year when I had a few extra coins to pick up HBO for the "True Blood" run. It was freakin' awesome. I just wish there had been more episodes.
I'm usually a fan of this type of story. Whether it be "Game of Thrones," "Legend of the Seeker" or, the ultimate, "The Lord of the Rings," I like the sword-fighting horse-riding genre.
I started reading the first book but got a little sidetracked when I heard about this book series called "The Hunger Games." At some point I've gotta get back to the books if they're as good as you say.
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