OT: Game of Thrones (HBO) aka A Song of Ice and Fire

[JmuSkinsFan]

Started the first book and to be honest I've found it incredibly difficult to get through. I'm not sure if this is because I already know what happens from the show or just because I'm not a big fantasy guy. Regardless, I plan on giving the second one a try when I'm done to see if I enjoy it more.

I didn't even bother with book 1 after seeing season 1. Honestly, just start with book 2 if you've already seen season 1 ... you don't skip a beat at all and it picks up like you're watching season 2. I've heard that people started with book 2 then when they finished they've gone back and read book 1 and caught some details they may have missed in the tv series.

[JmuSkinsFan]

I have about 150 pages remaining in book 4. I absolutely crushed books 1-3 (August through mid October) but with work ramping up and the relative slowness of book 4, my pace has slipped. I have heard book 5 is a lot better than 4 so hopefully that is true. I cannot wait for season 2 to come out next year. Although, I do not like that it is taking a year plus for the next season to come out. The kids in the show do not age that quick in it (at least from one book to the next) and I think a year or year and a half has passed from the beginning of book 1 to book 4. It is going to be hard to keep some of the same actors going from season to season - namely Tommen, Arya, and Bran.

Yeah, this is actually something I was really curious about. By 2017 Arya's character in real life will be like 19 ... and I think in the book she will be like 14/15? The series really only takes place over the course of 1-3 years if I'm not mistaken.

Also, Martin has about 4-5 chapters, or 150 pages of book 6 done. He had them written into book 5 but decided to carry them into book 6. And yes, after I finished book 5 I was so engrossed in it that I went online to some forums to see what was being discussed.

Call me a nerd. I DON'T CARE! haha

[JMUinDC]

For those who are curious or interested in how the series is going to pan out:

Game of Thrones:
1. Season 1 (summer 2011) ... based on A Game of Thrones (book 1 released 1996)
2. Season 2 (summer 2012) ... based on A Clash of Kings (book 2 released 1998)
3. Season 3 (summer 2013) ... based on A Storm of Swords (book 3 released 2000)
4. Season 4 (summer 2014) ... based on A Feast for Crows (book 4 released 2005)
5. Season 5 (summer 2015) ... based on A Dance with Dragons (book 5 released 2011)
6. Season 6 (summer 2016) ... based on The Winds of Winter (book 6 ... release date 2013/2014)
7. Season 7 (summer 2017) ... based on A Dream of Spring (book 7 ... release date unknown)

Like I said ... there is speculation that either book 3 or 4 could be split into two seasons. Book 4 and 5 were originally supposed to be one book ... but it ended up being over 1,400 pages, so the publisher asked him to split it ... which he did, but then opted instead to split the geography of the events rather than split it chronologically. The first 500 pages of book 5 go in line with book 4's events, but in another location, but the second half brings it all together and sets up book 6 perfectly. I didn't think I'd like that at first, but it really worked well...

Game of Thrones is going to be HBO's next Entourage/Sopranos type of series ... so if you can you should jump in early.

I would split both book 2 and 3 up. Way too much going on there. I would combine the events in 4 and 5 into one season. Granted I have not touched 5 so I cannot say with any certainty but I felt like a great deal of nothing happens in 4 and could be left on the cutting room floor come filming.

Also, the one thing to be weary of is cost. GOT needs to make sure they do not go the way of Rome and go way over cost. Rome was an incredible series cut off way before its prime due to costing too much. GOT has the type of things going on that cost a lot of money.

[JMUinDC]

Yeah, this is actually something I was really curious about. By 2017 Arya's character in real life will be like 19 ... and I think in the book she will be like 14/15? The series really only takes place over the course of 1-3 years if I'm not mistaken.

Also, Martin has about 4-5 chapters, or 150 pages of book 6 done. He had them written into book 5 but decided to carry them into book 6. And yes, after I finished book 5 I was so engrossed in it that I went online to some forums to see what was being discussed.

Call me a nerd. I DON'T CARE! haha

I have some wild theories floating around in my head. I cannot wait to see if any of them come to fruition.

[JmuSkinsFan]

Also, the one thing to be weary of is cost. GOT needs to make sure they do not go the way of Rome and go way over cost. Rome was an incredible series cut off way before its prime due to costing too much. GOT has the type of things going on that cost a lot of money.

The production of Season 1 cost something like $36 million. But I also read that HBO has acknowledged that it should not have cut Rome, and are committed to seeing through the GOT production to the end. A big part of the GOT revenue is expected to be the DVD sales, but it also had something like 2 million viewers per episode and only increased in viewership last summer ... which are high numbers for HBO. I know the series will make me be a full-time HBO subscriber in the future.

Good points regarding book 4 and 5 though. They could definitely be combined into one, especially since the first part of book 5 coincides with book 4. Season 3 could definitely be split, and probably will be, if they decide to go that route. They really do need to keep the age of the actors in mind though. The adult actors not so much ... but the prominent children (Arya, Sansa, Bran) all need to maintain a relatively same look throughout the series. More so Arya ... since she's the most prominent ... Ricken is never really a prominent figure ... and Sansa is close enough to an "adult" that she can probably be pulled off. Bran also needs to be taken into consideration.

IMO ... after seeing season 1 and reading the books ... Tyrion is probably the best character ... his actor is so awesome and portrays the character perfectly. Also think Jon Snow is the **** ... and I've read some pretty crazy speculation regarding how his character is played out in the remaining aspects of the series ... particularly regarding Danaerys ... whose pretty smoking btw

Nerd out.

[JMUinDC]

The production of Season 1 cost something like $36 million. But I also read that HBO has acknowledged that it should not have cut Rome, and are committed to seeing through the GOT production to the end. A big part of the GOT revenue is expected to be the DVD sales, but it also had something like 2 million viewers per episode and only increased in viewership last summer ... which are high numbers for HBO. I know the series will make me be a full-time HBO subscriber in the future.

Good points regarding book 4 and 5 though. They could definitely be combined into one, especially since the first part of book 5 coincides with book 4. Season 3 could definitely be split, and probably will be, if they decide to go that route. They really do need to keep the age of the actors in mind though. The adult actors not so much ... but the prominent children (Arya, Sansa, Bran) all need to maintain a relatively same look throughout the series. More so Arya ... since she's the most prominent ... Ricken is never really a prominent figure ... and Sansa is close enough to an "adult" that she can probably be pulled off. Bran also needs to be taken into consideration.

IMO ... after seeing season 1 and reading the books ... Tyrion is probably the best character ... his actor is so awesome and portrays the character perfectly. Also think Jon Snow is the **** ... and I've read some pretty crazy speculation regarding how his character is played out in the remaining aspects of the series.

Nerd out.

My one crazy theory involves Snow. What have you heard? PM me. We can be nerdy together.

Stupid fact but, one of my good friends (a JMU grad no less) living in Midtown NYC saw Peter Dinklage walking his HUGE dog down the street in the Upper West Side of the city. The character of Tyrion is going to make that man very rich and famous.

[dunkanddukin]

ruh roh bromance!

[Madison09]

6 More seasons! Nice! If they have these books on tape I may have try that. My reading list is so long right now I don't think I could make the time right now- it would consume me. I'm still irked that they killed off the best character in the first season - Eddard Stark. Anyways cool show. Glad someone out there still has an imagination and isn't borrowing a bunch of story lines like Rowling did.

[JMUinDC]

6 More seasons! Nice! If they have these books on tape I may have try that. My reading list is so long right now I don't think I could make the time right now- it would consume me. I'm still irked that they killed off the best character in the first season - Eddard Stark. Anyways cool show. Glad someone out there still has an imagination and isn't borrowing a bunch of story lines like Rowling did.

It's OK. Tyrion completely takes over books 2 and 3.

Book 4 my favorite character has been Jamie.

[JmuSkinsFan]

6 More seasons! Nice! If they have these books on tape I may have try that. My reading list is so long right now I don't think I could make the time right now- it would consume me. I'm still irked that they killed off the best character in the first season - Eddard Stark. Anyways cool show. Glad someone out there still has an imagination and isn't borrowing a bunch of story lines like Rowling did.

Honestly, as you get further into the series, you'll realize that while Eddard was the man (and yes, probably the best character aside from Tyrian) ... that is just the beginning of many, many, many, many plot twists and misdirections. I was upset at first, but as soon as I started reading the books I forgot about it alltogether ... it really is a pretty insignificant event in the grand scheme of things.

And yes, they have all the books on tape. I believe they're around $40 each ... and around 40-50 hours in length. I'd say DEAR (drop everything and read for those that went to elementary school in the 90s) ... I read the 4,000 or so pages between in about 2 months ... they're real quick reads.