Game of Thrones (TV)

All non-Nolan related film, tv, and streaming discussions.
Posts: 8437
Joined: August 2012
Batfan175 wrote:
September 27th, 2019, 4:43 am
I'm glad a show that took big swings creatively got rewarded over shows that I'm sure reach a certain threshold of high quality tv but won't stay with me the way this show did. Plus, there are awards that the show could and should have gotten, which it did not, especially with regards to acting.
:lol: :lol: :lol:

User avatar
Posts: 43129
Joined: May 2010
There is no doubt this show was obviously better and more consistent when they had GRRM’s source material (outside of season 5, in which they largely ignored the source and butchered Dorne.).

User avatar
Posts: 5219
Joined: January 2012
Allstar wrote:
September 27th, 2019, 5:09 am
There is no doubt this show was obviously better and more consistent when they had GRRM’s source material (outside of season 5, in which they largely ignored the source and butchered Dorne.).
In retrospect, they just should have done their own ending. Getting to GRRM's bullet points was a terrible idea. Benioff & Weiss wrote great original material in season 6 without being rushed to get to a planned ending.
It all started with the death of Jon Snow, they resurrected him because they had too, they had no idea how to deal with it afterwards.
Last edited by Nomis on September 27th, 2019, 8:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: spoilers

Posts: 4794
Joined: January 2012
Allstar wrote:
September 27th, 2019, 5:09 am
There is no doubt this show was obviously better and more consistent when they had GRRM’s source material (outside of season 5, in which they largely ignored the source and butchered Dorne.).
Yeah, no. They adapted Theon's, Arya's, Dany's, Jon's and Cersei's book stories in season 5. I would not call that ignoring Martin's subpar 4th and 5th books but anyway...I enjoyed season 6 for instance a lot more than some of the material in seasons prior and that was also beyond the source material.

User avatar
Posts: 43129
Joined: May 2010
Batfan175 wrote:
September 27th, 2019, 9:34 am
Allstar wrote:
September 27th, 2019, 5:09 am
There is no doubt this show was obviously better and more consistent when they had GRRM’s source material (outside of season 5, in which they largely ignored the source and butchered Dorne.).
Yeah, no. They adapted Theon's, Arya's, Dany's, Jon's and Cersei's book stories in season 5. I would not call that ignoring Martin's subpar 4th and 5th books but anyway...I enjoyed season 6 for instance a lot more than some of the material in seasons prior and that was also beyond the source material.
Even the stuff they used it was a very loose adaption compared to previous seasons.

User avatar
Posts: 19209
Joined: June 2012
Location: stuck in 2020
The fourth and fifth books were very dense and would always have been difficult to adapt. Hence why most of season five is less stellar than the previous seasons. I mean, Hardhome wasn't even in the book and that became the best episode of season five and like top five best Game of Thrones episodes lol

I still think GRRM struggles with getting his story to the finish line, not just because he's taking ages to finish the last two novels he's set out but the fourth and fifth book show that his story is cracking under its own weight.

Posts: 4794
Joined: January 2012
I mainly come at the show from a perspective of enjoying the books, while seeing their flaws and shortcomings, both in terms of pacing, structure and prose. They are enjoyable fantasy books but an overly convoluted plot and a cast of millions does not to me translate into an awful amount of thematic depth. It might look like depth because it's hard to keep track of which tertiary character does what, when and why but that also resembles just about any soap opera with hundreds of episodes you can watch on tv.
I came to the books after watching and enjoying a bunch of things about the first season of the show and trying to get a similar experience from the books....and (surprise) the books don't have awesome music, stellar acting, beautiful cinematography, etc. and a whole bunch of other things that the show offers and which made that experience so special to me. They do offer a sprawling cast of millions that all seem to contribute to the story in some way and a seemingly unending insight into each POV's thoughts, wants and needs, which makes for strong characters and some rather interesting themes. Delving into the books was a different experience and a very enjoyable one but it made me appreciate all the things the show does right on its own as well. The writing's occasionally messy on the show? Yeah, there are whole passages in the books that bored me to no end. A payoff is underwhelming on the show? Well, when you lost interest in a POV in the books, good luck winning me back with a cliffhanger right out of a soap opera in chapter X of book 5.

Maybe that also enabled me to be much more critical of the rabid fandom that worships the ground the author walks on and feels such strong ownership over the series t the point of hurling abuse at the people working on the show online. I never felt a strong need to pit the show and the books against each other because I enjoy both of them for different reasons. They both have their strengths and their flaws, I just happen to return more often to the show instead of the books.

At the very least, the show has a beginning, middle and an end and it seems increasingly unclear whether the books will have an ending.

User avatar
Posts: 5279
Joined: May 2014
Anyone with a Vudu account want a Season 8 digital code for free?

Someone who already doesn't have access to the show via HBO app, obviously.

User avatar
Posts: 9212
Joined: August 2009

User avatar
Posts: 13506
Joined: February 2011
I read the first book until the part where:

(Not really spoilers if you've seen the first season)
Martin depicts the rape of a 13 years old girl as an erotic scene and then I threw it away. Fuck that.

Post Reply