Game of Thrones

[Jomama]

Anyone else check this out..? Not bad at all. I could see getting into it. I've read those that got to screen the whole season said Ep1 was the weakest one cause it had to tackle introducing a lot of the cast...

I think the dwarf is going to steal the show.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_Th ... _series%29

Spoiler free wiki
http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Game_of_Thrones_Wiki

[Klaus]

I loved it!

[Klaus]

Here is a helpful viewers guide.

http://viewers-guide.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/#!/guide/houses/stark/brandon-stark/

I purchased the first book last night on my Nook - pretty interesting so far.

[Hauser]

I read these books a few years ago. One of the best fantasy/war series ever written in my opinion. There are a LOT of characters so if you dont like chapters titled with character names, might not be for you. This is adult fantasy so much much darker than harry potter fantasy.

[Jomama]

I went through that non-spoiler wiki to get familiar with the characters... It helped make sense of the first Episode quite well... A little background on the characters and the history, as well as figuring out the factions and who's with who (at least in name) and its really not THAT complicated..

[Ender]

I really want to see this, but don't have HBO and don't plan on buying it just for this. I will probably wait until it comes out on netflix. I plan to have the books read by then.

It is getting a lot of buzz though... sounds like they did a great job with the show, unlike how Legend of the Seeker got totally screwed up.

[Jomama]

I don't have HBO.

[Klaus]

I don't have HBO.

Haha you can't watch it then...... kidding of course.

[Jomama]

Ep 2 moved along very well, although I found it a little disjointed when they switch scenes, like maybe they had to cut some fluff scenes that helped tie edits together.. Hard to follow the changing locations.. They kinda gloss over that a month or more may pass between episodes/scenes... Still liking it tho..

[Klaus]

I am reading the book at the same time so I know the story but I agree Michelle had to ask a few questions as it went. It's pretty true to the book so far (out of order in a couple areas only).

[Klaus]

Oh shit! Looks like its gonna get crazy next episode.

[Naya]

I was able to find the first 15 minutes of a "pilot", I think, that was basically the prologue and the first chapter or two. Looks excellent so far.

And it followed the book well enough. I'm about 400 pages in to it and enjoying it, though it's a very different type of fantasy than the last series I finished about a year ago (Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind). Sword of Truth is very adult in nature and fairly graphic, but it tells a much different story than A Game of Thrones.

And from what I've read on what occurred in episodes 1 and 2, the shit will hit the fan in episode 3 if it continues to follow the book closely.

[Klaus]

I am sure Joe can you help you find the full versions. Ep 4 was last night and the first big cliff hanger happened at the end.

[Jomama]

I am sure Joe can you help you find the full versions.


Trial & error.. There is not "one" place to find them.



http://www.demonoid.me

[Klaus]

I thought you might have a site that hosts all the torrents.

I always start with google and go from there. Once you figure out the way they name most shows it's even easier.

[Jomama]

Holy shit... :eek: didn't see that coming..

[Naya]

Found some good torrents, I'll be watching these this weekend.

The book is supa good, btw. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, but it's very different than I expected.

[Shortkross]

Yup! I love the series. I'm on the second book now and the show is really faithful to the books. Some of the text is ripped straight out of it into dialogue on the show. Tyrion and Jon are my favorite characters.

[Naya]

Tyrion is fun, but I'm still a little weirded out by Jon. I'm not too far in to the first book, so I imagine his character shapes up as he grows up.

[Jomama]

All but the first one of the tors I found have xvid-fqm as a sig in the title so i've searched for that.

I think they did a great job with the castings, so many strong actors... Littlefinger, King Robert, Jan? (the queens brother), there has been some great dialog throughout the cast already...

[Klaus]

Last night was the first time there was a bit of off-roading compared to the book. I guess they needed to make up some scenes and compress some content. Good episode.

Next week HBO is offering episode 7 a week early if you have signed up for HBOGO. Pretty cool as I will be out of town the weekend it airs. HBOGO is pretty cool but you gotta sign into your cable providers website then HBOGO and its kinda strange but once you get it working its AWESOME. Every HBO episode ever is on there (the wire etc).

[Klaus]

Last night was the first time there was a bit of off-roading compared to the book. I guess they needed to make up some scenes and compress some content. Good episode.

Next week HBO is offering episode 7 a week early if you have signed up for HBOGO. Pretty cool as I will be out of town the weekend it airs. HBOGO is pretty cool but you gotta sign into your cable providers website then HBOGO and its kinda strange but once you get it working its AWESOME. Every HBO episode ever is on there (the wire etc).

Sneak preview from next weeks show about the imp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7movKfyTBII

[Hauser]

Try ice films. They have the largest collection of new shows/movies of any site that hasnt already been taken down by the gov.

[Naya]

I don't remember where I found my torrents, but wherever it was, Comcast was watching for torrents from that site (at least, that's how I assume they figured it out) and we got dinged for copyright infringement. But as far as we can tell in the email, it was just a warning.

Does anybody know what torrent websites Comsuck monitors? And if that's not how they determined this, how were they able to tell?

[Kyrillian]

Naya I use Demonoid and have never had an issue (/knockonwood). Maybe that's because Verizon isn't trying to muscle into Entertainment yet like Comcast is.

I think I have enough torrent cred to refer an account if you want it. If not you can just use mine as long as you don't jew my ratio!

[Klaus]

Naya for the record how did you get caught? I have used almost every torrent site at home and work (both Comcast) and never got a letter.

[Naya]

I have absolutely no idea how I got caught. I did a bunch of google searching for "Game of Throne Season 1 torrents" and dug pretty far into the results to find sites that looked benign enough that I wouldn't get some kind of virus in the process. I don't remember what website I downloaded the torrents from. I loaded the torrents in to Vuze (formerly Azureus) and a scant 3 hours later, had the first four episodes on my computer.

Luke later received 4 emails (within a week maybe), one for each file downloaded, from Comcast, talking about copyright infringement and all the legal BS surrounding the issue. It also stated that this was only a warning but if it happens again they'll cancel our service and slap us with a fine (not sure of the dollar amount, I don't think it was included. I didn't read the email, Luke read it to me).

Anyway, it just sounds like Comcast is starting to monitor for this shit and they have a really great way of doing it because they hit the nail on the head in terms of what I downloaded and how I downloaded it. Just not from where. I do remember going to Pirate Bay's website (which I'm not sure how it's still operating) and reading comments on the torrents for these episodes. Several people with Comcast noted that if you download the torrents, you'll be emailed warnings about copyright infringement. So I'm unsure if it was the downloading of the torrent file or the downloading of the episode file using the torrent itself that Comcast detected. I do know I avoided downloading from Pirate Bay because of all the trouble they've gotten into in the past.

Edit: Klaus, do you check your @comcast.com email account? That's the only way they can contact you (if they don't have an alternate email address to reach you at) for internet use issues. They made no other attempt to contact Luke, just sent 4 emails to his @comcast.com email account. If you haven't checked yours, you may have several emails waiting :P

Kyr, do you leave your torrents available for uploading to keep that credibility up? I usually don't do that, I'm a complete stealer when it comes to torrents. I never leave anything out for upload. I'm going to stay away from downloading torrents for a while; lay low until the Comcast-Fuzz forget I did anything wrong to begin with.

[Klaus]

Thanks for the reply. I have my comcast.net email forwarded to my gmail and I haven't gotten anything BUT I have HBO and didn't download Game of Thrones. I always read the comments in the torrents before I download anything.... I have seen the warnings by some posters and try to steer clear on those. I remember when I downloaded some Showtime show a couple years ago there were many warnings about people getting letters from Comcast but I never saw anything.

[gigi]

I am enjoying this show a lot. I think it's good.

[Jomama]

You sure they aired episode 7? No sign of a legit tor for it...

[Klaus]

Only if you have HBOGO do you get it a week early. I figured someone would figure out how to rip it.

Ep 7 is pretty damn good..... big ending (aren't they all).

[Jomama]

Ok I found a watchable web rip of Ep7... Holy shit, fucking littlefinger, didn't see that one coming..

I love that they are not afraid to kill off main characters..

[Kyrillian]

I find that to be the main difference between this and The Borgias. The Borgias really only has one likeable character, and they aren't about to kill him off.

Game of Thrones does such a good job of getting you invested in almost every character. I was really sad when Jaime Lannister knifed Jory (sp?) in the eyeball . They get you some kind of emotional attachment to every character, even the bad ones. Jaime Lannister is a "bad guy" but he's also a dashing, hero type. Kral Drogo starts off as a savage rapist, now he's kinda cool. Littlefinger is a total BA, the actor plays that part so well.

[Shortkross]

Littlefinger is so bad.. I haven't seen ep. 7, but I can only thing of one character at this point that doesn't make it.

[Klaus]

He was really slimy in The Wire also.

http://images.buddytv.com/articles/the-wire/images/aidan-gillen.jpg

[Shortkross]

Ha. I was wrong! The actor playing lord tywen is excellent. Only 3 episodes left..

[Jomama]

Ha. I was wrong! The actor playing lord tywen is excellent. Only 3 episodes left..


http://images.wikia.com/gameofthrones/images/1/1e/Tywin_Lannister.jpg

Its Sardo Numspa!

"My dear, sweet brother Numpsy!"

[Shortkross]

Nice. I'm about halfway through book 2. I'm reading it and finishing up the millennium trilogy at the same time.

[Kyrillian]

I want to read these books but I'm stuck reading the stupid Stand. This book is infinite. They shouldn't even number the pages sequentially, they should just have blocks of pages based on how old you'll be when you actually reach that part of the book.

[Kyrillian]

Also The Golden Child is probably the 2nd best Eddie Murphy movie ever. So many quotes!

[Jomama]

Also The Golden Child is probably the 2nd best Eddie Murphy movie ever. So many quotes!


I-I-I-I-I-I-I-want-the-knife....

Please....

lol

[Jomama]

GoT, just the badass parts, in gifs

http://warmingglow.uproxx.com/2011/05/you-win-or-you-die#page/1

[Shortkross]

Stand was epic.. i've read it probably 5 times.

[Kyrillian]

I've been taking forever to read it. I can't read more than a chapter without falling asleep. Now I got my CFP study books so I don't know if I'll be able to finish:(

[Jomama]

I love that they are not afraid to kill off main characters..

Holy shit, they took this theme to a new level... I'm just in shock over last nights ending.. Love it/hate it at the same time... Will definitely miss such a great character in the story line, but I love that no one is safe from being killed off, not even the "main" players... Part of the shock is you just get so used to the characters that are liked in movies/shows/books not dying... Its weird that something so simple, such a basic fact of life, makes GoT so much better (and is ignored in the majority of other entertainment)..

One episode left.... Overall its better than I'd hoped it would be after seeing the first episode..

[Kyrillian]

I love the show and even though I didn't read the books, I knew what was going to happen just from researching characters. It was still pretty crazy the way it went down.

This was the first episode that I think really showed the budget/time constraints of a first year show. Although this show was approved for a fairly high budget, it seems they wanted to spend that more on CGI landscape shots than actual actors/settings. I really felt cheated that we got to see none of the battles at Tywin Lannister's camp or how Robb captured Jaime. I think Jaime is one of the more interesting people to see on the show and I definitely wanted to see him cut down 10 men before being captured.

I saw a good review that said how the show is starting to feel rushed now when earlier in the season they had the time to let King Robert do a 20 minute monologue on his first kill. I enjoyed that scene, but would gladly give it back to see how Jaime gets captured!

[Jomama]

/agreed, its pretty weak to skip over the whole capture of Jaime, and the whole diversion battle/main battle plan that Rob executed.

[Klaus]

I agree with the skipping of battles BUT in the book they skip that battle also. Just mentioned that Jaime was making a beeline for Robb killing everyone in his way.

[Jomama]

Although this show was approved for a fairly high budget, it seems they wanted to spend that more on CGI landscape shots than actual actors/settings. !

My guess would be that its not the limited CGI shots that are eating up budget, but location shooting, cast, extras, and especially wardrobe/settings expense... Shows like this, some form of period piece with a fairly high level of attention to little details, just burn money..
Like Deadwood and Rome, they are way more expensive than other shows that can more easily incorporate contemporary styles & items to fill a scene.. Like with minimal changes there is not much difference between a 3 button single-breast mens dress suit from 1940 or from 1999... This shows settings and look are pretty amazing... I know they even picked different locations after the pilot, but are still filming in Ireland (most of the westeros scenes) & somewhere in Europe (the Dothraki stuff).


I agree with the skipping of battles BUT in the book they skip that battle also. Just mentioned that Jaime was making a beeline for Robb killing everyone in his way.


Are you far enough in the books to know, are their any great battles that are described? Or maybe its part of his schtick? (meaning = focusing on the players and the politics?)

[Klaus]

Not sure yet most are described in similar non-detail BUT the battle where Tyrion leads the hill people after being told to by Tywin was described in some detail so I did feel cheated last week when he was knocked out before the fighting....

[Klaus]

Good ending for the season. A couple of changes from the book but overall it was awesome.

[Jomama]

I like this show far more than I thought possible when I first heard about it... Best thing since the Wire..
It seems the whole first season of badassness is just a setup for far more badassness in the following season(s)...

Bravo...
http://cdn.wg.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/joffrey-clap.gif

[Kyrillian]

LOL I literally came here to post that gif! WarmingGlow ftw!

Just watched the episode and it was incredibly bad ass. I may read the books as soon as I escape from this vortex called The Stand Extended Edition.

[Kyrillian]

<iframe src="http://videos.nymag.com/video/What-If-Game-of-Thrones-Was-a-B/player?layout=&title_height=24" width="316" height="265" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

OK this was a little funny. I think there should have been more record-scratches though.

[Klaus]

BEST SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTOR

Peter Dinklage ("Game of Thrones") IMP
Josh Charles ("The Good Wife")
Alan Cumming ("The Good Wife")
Walton Goggins ("Justified")
John Slattery ("Mad Men")
Andre Braugher ("Men of a Certain Age")

[Kyrillian]

Emmy's are complete horses**t! Peter Dinklage definitely deserved the nomination, but I think Littlefinger should have gotten one too. How does Sean Bean not get a lead actor nomination either?

At least GoT got nominated for best drama. I think Breaking Bad must not have qualified for this round of Emmy's because there is no way that Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul should ever not be nominated.

I was really surprised Community didn't get any love, that is one of the better written shows on TV. I can't believe the tired, old Office got nominated over Community.

[Klaus]

Anyone have a non-tracked source for season one torrents?

[Grafton]

Anyone have a non-tracked source for season one torrents?

America, the land of the free!

I can send you an invite to a private site I use to download my TV. Has every episode of just about every show from the early 90s on. It's the kind of site where you need to upload to download, but the ratio is pretty favorable.

[Klaus]

I might be interested but I mainly download torrents at work so I can't really upload at all. I will see what I can find. I would not want to get my companies Comcast account shut down with a tracked torrent yikes.

[Jomama]

I can prob get them on a FTP but it might not be till the end of August.

[Eric]

Almost halfway through book 3, and watched the series after finishing book 1. Enjoyable, but I thought cast was hit or miss. I thought Tyrion was perfect, John Snow and Rob not so much. King Robert was not what I was expecting, nor was Eddart to be perfectly honest. Maybe I can't get past him being Boromir. I thought Queen Cersei & Jamie were both good, as well as Daenerys & Aria, but I didn't like Sansa. I know I'm nitpicking, and as a whole I enjoyed the show. I hope they spend some more money on the next seasons so it doesn't feel like a low budget adaptation.

Really digging the books though...great story, writing, characters.

[Klaus]

<object width="512" height="288"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hbo.com/bin/hboPlayerV2u.swf?vid=1222845"></param><param name="FlashVars" value="domain=http://www.hbo.com&videoTitle=Season 2 - In Production &copyShareURL=http://www.hbo.com/video/video.html/?autoplay=true%26vid=1222845%26filter=game-of-thrones%26view=null"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.hbo.com/bin/hboPlayerV2u.swf?vid=1222845" FlashVars="domain=http://www.hbo.com&videoTitle=Season 2 - In Production &copyShareURL=http://www.hbo.com/video/video.html/?autoplay=true%26vid=1222845%26filter=game-of-thrones%26view=null" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="512" height="288"></embed></object><br><div><a title="Season 2 - In Production " href="http://www.hbo.com/video/video.html?view=grid&vid=1222845&autoplay=true">Season 2 - In Production </a></div>

[Klaus]

<a href="http://screenrant.com/game-of-thrones/"><img src="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Game-of-Thrones-Houses-infographic-Westeros-101-f.jpg" alt="Game of Thrones" width="570" height="610" border="0" /></a><br>Via: <a href="http://screenrant.com">Screen Rant</a>

[Klaus]

Come on Imp!

Best Supporting Actor in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Paul Giamatti, Too Big To Fail
Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce
Tim Robbins, Cinema Verite
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Best TV Drama
American Horror Story
Boardwalk Empire
Boss
Game of Thrones
Homeland

http://media.comicbookmovie.com/images/uploads/Peter-Dinklage-Emmy-1316468582.jpg

[Klaus]

Great show review lol

12 Reasons to Boycott “Game of Thrones” in 2012

Sorcery, sexuality and socialism make for a nasty threesome. Yet one television program is not afraid to promote this agenda to America’s young adults. Games of Thrones, the newest hit on the HBO Station, has truly broken the barriers of decency with this offensive science fiction action series and it’s about time that parents took notice.

Aimed specifically at the male teen demographic, with a specific emphasis on the awkward and the outsiders amongst them, this series is an obscene fairy tale of beasts and wizards, promiscuous “wenches” and bare-chested knights. With its plotlines of paganistic deviancy, occult violence and anti-Christian propaganda, it has been incredibly successful at luring immature boys of all ages into the raunchy domain of adult cable entertainment.

In essence, Game of Thrones is a poorly produced copy of Mel Gibson’s Braveheart with a dash of smut straight out of Hustler Magazine added to spice up the frustratingly complicated drama. It can be preachy and pretentious one moment, and decidedly X-rated the next. You will witness effeminate men having sex in bathtubs while speaking about dragons, dead bodies splayed out in satanic pentagrams in the snow and some of the most artificial acting ever broadcast on the small screen.

How can such an illicit program be allowed on American television? Does it pose risks for our children? Can Christians voice their outrage and have the show censored or cancelled? Below are twelve solid arguments for boycotting Game of Thrones in the coming year.

1. Sexual abnormality, including incest and lesbianism, appears in graphic detail.

From casual rape to group orgies, each episode of Game of Thrones has something astonishing for viewers. For many children, this will be the first time they are introduced to wanton fornication. Will they choose to experiment like this in real life?

2. Witchcraft is presented as empowering while Christian values are utterly insulted.

Deadly potions and menacing spirits dominate the storyline, but there is no mention of Jesus despite the fact that His love was the backbone of wisdom in the Middle Ages.

3. There is far too much violence and this prevents the overall plot from ever becoming compelling.

Do we really need to see all these bloody close-ups of beheadings and elaborate jousts? It just doesn’t contribute anything educational to the viewing experience.

4. Emilia Clarke is such an untalented actress that her only role in the show is to be eye candy for pedophiles.[/B]

This pretty young girl unfortunately lacks the intellect or the sophistication to appear on prime time television. The producers seem to know this and require her to disrobe in every scene. Her gentle, undeveloped teenage body does not evoke womanhood, but the innocence of a lost child, alone on the side of a highway and ripe for the picking.

5. By depicting the traditional heterosexual family unit as dysfunctional and a socialistic revolutionary army as an ideal alternative, the show reveals its underlying communist bias.

Should it come as any surprise that author George R. R. Martin, a power broker in liberal Hollywood, named the dominating spirit of these soldiers “The Red God”?

6. Actor Peter Dinklage, who plays a dwarf on the show, has become the poster child for sodomy amongst America’s youths.

Children identify with Dinklage because of his small size and comical accent, but his obsession with anal penetration crosses the boundaries into pure propaganda. How many children will watch the little man and want to try his grunty thrusts at home?

7. At times, the series appears to be little more than an excuse to display illicit homosexual scenarios.

Flamboyant costumes, effeminate longhaired men, boys shaving each other’s armpits… Add to this the voluptuous, swarmy acting style of gay porn star Kit Harington (who plays sycophant Jon Snow) and you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to a San Francisco bathhouse full of the apes from Star Trek.

8. The Irish actors willfully glamorize severe alcoholism.

The ignominy of Ireland has always been the weakness of its people when it comes to alcohol indulgence. Why must Games of Thrones attempt to find humor in such a national disgrace?

9. Pet wolves and dragons mirror demonic spirit guides in pagan cosmology.

When you pair up children with conduits of divination, you are inviting them to experiment in spiritually reckless ways. Sadly, atheism and Satanism await them down this path.

10. The show is incredibly difficult for adults to understand.

Most parents will find the thick European accents of the actors confusing. The story, vamped up from the original book, is frustrating for its leaps of logic and implausible romantic scenes. The producers of Games seem to understand this and have crafted the series so that it intentionally turns away older viewers. Should we be suspicious that they have worked so hard to have some private alone time with America’s children?

11. There are no positive role models.

It may sound a bit old fashioned, but what ever happened to the strong male figures we had on shows like Little House on the Prairie and Touched by an Angel? Instead we have Littlefinger and androgynous Joffrey Baratheon prancing about as heroes for today’s confused young men who appear to be insanely obsessed with this outrageous series.

12. The moody, dark cinematography will make teens depressed.

Many youth subculture groups, including Goths and Skinheads, prefer to inhabit the world of the night. In darkness they find convenient cover to master their addiction to drugs and sexual violence. Does Games of Thrones actively promote marijuana usage and rape? Should parents really sit idly by as we await the answer to this important question?

[Kyrillian]

and that was the last time Tim Tebow watched "the HBO".

[Eric]

Just finished book 3...loved it. Way better than book 2 imo.

And so begins Feast of Crows...

[Klaus]

April 1st teaser.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rOzXsqoJhtE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Klaus]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oLMydhMqWDQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Klaus]

This made me laugh.... Go to the source link for the full cartoon.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

http://s3.amazonaws.com/theoatmeal-img/comics/game_of_thrones/1.jpg

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

[Chadwick]

lol so true. HBO the more you tighten your grip the more we slip through your fingers...

What is the point of not having a simple HBOGO subscription option for people who its not available to?

[Klaus]

And why wait until March 1 to release the DVD for Season 1 ????? New season starts on April 1

[Kyrillian]

lol so true. HBO the more you tighten your grip the more we slip through your fingers...

What is the point of not having a simple HBOGO subscription option for people who its not available to?


I read that HBO would prefer to have a stand-alone subscription option but that it has to do with the cable companies in the region. For example, Cablevision is available where I live and Cablevision's contract with HBO prevents people from using HBOGO because Cablevision charges an extra monthly fee to have HBO in Demand available. Slowly these exclusive contracts will be phased out and I think you'll see HBOGO available in a Netflix type format.

[Jomama]

Pre-order deal for the S1 BR on Amazon for $35... Pretty good price..

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Y5HWMW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epiemp0a-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003Y5HWMW

[Jomama]

http://gizmodo.com/5888933/hbo-go-puts-game-of-thrones-in-your-xbox-april-1st



HBO Go will be available on your Xbox 360 beginning April 1st. Engadget reports that the service will arrive on consoles alongside the premiere of the new season of Game of Thrones. Time to consider cable again.

[Klaus]

Simpsons Intro (http://io9.com/5890410/watch-the-simpsons-game-of-thrones-intro)

[Boonkin]

New trailer for season 2

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VVkr9oYsIbo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Jomama]

I grabbed the BR of the first season with that deal and have been rewatching S1 the last week. Its kinda striking how much smoother the plot/story seems to flow watching it this time around. It was just so much info the first time, it seemed overwhelming and like it was jumping around a lot, skipping months etc.. but now that I know the players, the plot moves along very quickly and smoothly, and the jumping around doesn't stand out so much.

[Klaus]

Good "Catch Up" Video that is on HBO right now (also on youtube).

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Dku_Uya8Ygc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Jomama]

Fucking awesome.. Did you watch the scenes from the upcoming season after the credits? Looks to be epic..

[Klaus]

Yes it looks like we get some battle scenes this year. AND upgraded direwolves!!!!

[Chadwick]

Boy did they play that up with Grey Wind's Grand entrance.. Like "HEY LOOK! WE GOT CGI DIREWOLVES FOR YOU THIS YEAR"

Wonder how much they paid the twilight folks for the tech.... lol

[Jomama]

Looked more realistic than any of the animals in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.. :p

Could tell they upped their CGI budget in a couple of the other scenes too, just the landscape shots over the cities looked better.....

[Jomama]

from the GoT wiki..


Season 2 has a budget 15% higher than Season 1, putting it in the region of $69 million

[Grafton]

I'm sorry, would you prefer they enlist real dire wolves?

Not attacking you Chad, but I've heard people say things like, "you can tell the dragons are CGI".

That's cause they aren't real!

[Klaus]

And after killing off a big named star in season one they got plenty of CGI money ;)

[Jomama]

I'm sorry, would you prefer they enlist real dire wolves?

That would be quite a trick...


but I've heard people say things like, "you can tell the dragons are CGI".



Really? I watched Season2 episode again, and I'm quite amazed at how "real" it looked, and how well it was blended into the scene. It had depth, shading and perspective, looked like there was actually something sitting on her shoulder... Better than the dire wolf even (which was good, but still seemed a little too polished.. too shiny... which I think happens to a lot of cgi critters)

I would argue its the best CGI i've ever seen on a Cable/TV level produced show, at least I cant think of a better example...?

I wonder what was Losts budget? Now, they had some pretty shitty CGI...

[Chadwick]

I wasn't slamming it. They did a really nice job with the new CGI stuff. I just think they played it up to show it off. Even that i'm not saying was all that bad just a little distracting.

[Jomama]

Is said scene in the cage with Jaime, Rob and Grey Wind in the book? Bueller?

[MnWilly]

That's bullshit. Cheap bastards should have used real dragons. I'm done with this stupid ass series now.

[Klaus]

Is said scene in the cage with Jaime, Rob and Grey Wind in the book? Bueller?

It's been awhile since I read A Clash of Kings's and I skimmed the first few chapters just now - I don't think this scene existed in the book. The Catelyn and Jaime scene did however. (I can send the book to you in .mobi or .ebook format readable using the nook app on PC or Android if you want)

[Chadwick]

Yeah that is the scene I am referring too. I liked it! But, it was a little bit overplayed is all.

[Klaus]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/theoatmeal-img/comics/winter_is_coming/1.png


http://theoatmeal.com/comics/winter_is_coming

[Jomama]

Ghost looked even better and more realistic than Grey Wind...

Rest of episode 2 kinda seemed like filler, just tying stories together.. But the Imp sending the former head of Kings Watch to the wall was awesome..

[Eric]

I'm enjoying Season 2 way more than I enjoyed Season 1. I think I need to re-watch Season 1...

[Klaus]

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1x9tdFpfk1rsg038o1_400.png

The Lannisters of Casterly Rock & Bowl. Watercolor on pape

http://gameofthrones.tumblr.com/page/16


https://p.twimg.com/ArL5L_zCMAAX-WP.jpg

[Jomama]

If the red headed witch gave birth to a Lost style smoke monster I'm gonna be pissed...

[Klaus]

Well prepared to be pissed....... the blogs call it shadow baby and you will probably get to see it in action next week !!! (This is the part in the book where you kinda go wtf so there is supernatural stuff in this world)

[Jomama]

Yeah I read the GoT wiki on it.. Better explanation than the smoke monster ever got..

[Klaus]

http://i.imgur.com/XOAOa.png

[Grafton]

Hahahaha!! That is fucking awesome Klaus! I'm going to send that to my wife too, she'll love it.

[Eric]

lol that is really funny

[Klaus]

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/25KABvPbq-U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Klaus]

http://cdn.csicon.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/game-OF-THRONES-MINI-MAP.png

[Jomama]

Just gets better and better....

[Chadwick]

They are starting to go a little too far with their creative license in the adaptation. The first season had some things left out and compressed but for the most part followed the first book exactly. It was more true to the book than movies and TV usually is..

But season 2 is only loosely following the books. There are characters they have made up, LOTS of events they have combined, and now they are making up a lot of story lines that were not in the books at all. They are going so far with it that they are making big changes to character developing events and cause and effect actions by characters on other characters motivations...

The cool thing about the books is that you could really understand what motivates characters to be who they are and do certain things. Some of that is being lost in the show as of the last few episodes.

[Chadwick]

Also, they need to ditch the wigs for the most part, especially the two queens' wigs, are terrible. At least lighten up your eyebrows if you are supposed to be a blond person. I think the industry has yet to realize how bad things can look in HD...

[Jomama]

I'm glad I haven't read the books.. Thoroughly enjoy it, and love that I don't have to compare and have no expectations... Just like The Walking Dead.

Maybe someday after its over I will to give me more details..

[Kyrillian]

They are starting to go a little too far with their creative license in the adaptation. The first season had some things left out and compressed but for the most part followed the first book exactly. It was more true to the book than movies and TV usually is..

But season 2 is only loosely following the books. There are characters they have made up, LOTS of events they have combined, and now they are making up a lot of story lines that were not in the books at all. They are going so far with it that they are making big changes to character developing events and cause and effect actions by characters on other characters motivations...

The cool thing about the books is that you could really understand what motivates characters to be who they are and do certain things. Some of that is being lost in the show as of the last few episodes.

I haven't read the books but I've read enough about what happens due to my impatience and wikipedia addiction. I realized they would have to alter a lot of things to fit such massive books into 10 1-hr episodes but then an episode like last night's pisses me off. Did anyone else think it was like 75% filler? If you have to change the story to fit it all in, you don't get to do filler!

Still a good episode though. I'll take a filler episode of GoT over just about anything else on TV. Except Breaking Bad.

[Klaus]

You should read the books IMO. There are differences but I still like the series and books. Kinda keeps you interested to see how they will get back in sync with the books for the major plot points.

Battle of Blackwater is next week I think - yay!

[Chadwick]

Some improves the story but some important things are missing. They have so badly fucked up the Jon Snow story line its almost unwatchable for someone who has read the books. The other one is the Dany story line, while different from the books it was close enough to keep true to the author's intent. But as of the last two episodes they are just making stuff up....

I guess it's frustrating in the cases where they change it so much it changes the nature of the character involved, again primarily because of motivations. This whole story is about character motivation, to change things up makes characters very different from book to TV series.

Id also say the walking dead is a different deal. It has always been loosely based on a comic book series (my understanding). Like all the superhero movies they have taken elements of story lines and characters and create their own work of fiction. But a song of ice and fire is a rich and well thought out story that translates well to the screen in most cases. Up until recently it was handled similarly to the LotR movies. Where, yes, they condensed things and got rid of sidetrack storylines that didnt translate well to a screenplay, but for the most part followed the story closely and included all important elements true to the books. That's how they started GoT so i guess its hard to understand why they would change the approach more than a season into it.

[Klaus]

It is funny the last couple episodes when Michelle asks questions I have to say "I have no idea".

The Jon Snow story was fine until last night I thought. They really did go off the rails.

For those that care here are the differences: (not really spoilers at all)
Extra-credit book report:

Most everything that happens in this episode is invented for the series, with the exception of Theon's hunt for Bran and Rickon and the display of their bodies on the walls of Winterfell. The Thirteen of Qarth were never executed by Pyat Pree and Xaro Xhoan Daxos never declared himself King of Qarth. Arya Stark and Tywin Lannister never sat around swapping dragon stories with each other (though they should have).

[Jomama]

Personally, I don't want that constant comparison going on in my head to be a distraction from what is still one of the coolest shows ever made.

If you had read it before you knew HBO was gonna make the show is one thing, but I honestly don't understand going out of your way to read it once the show started... I don't want spoilers, I don't want to know how it diverged, even if there is more detail in the books (thats a given). It takes away from enjoying it in the visual medium when you first see it imo...

Maybe after the show is over... Because we all know that books tend to have far more depth... so seeing the shows first does not spoil whats in a book... But the book before show does imo...

[Jomama]

An despite not reading the books.. I'd bet money that Bran and his little bro were not who Theon had burned and strung up.. Nice use of deception tho Theon you pos...

The Jon Snow part was pretty pointless and did come off as filler...

[Klaus]

I liked the story so much I wanted to know what happened (after episode 1.2).... picked up the first book and quickly read all 5 books. The series is awesome but the books are equally as awesome - some of the twists and turns coming up with make Ned Starks death look like nothing.

[Chadwick]

Exactly why i started reading. The show was so good i couldnt wait and wanted to get the whole story...the books really are an amazing work of fiction.

[Klaus]

I think what makes George Martin's writing so good is the way he is able to take a character that you HATE and rehabilitate them into one you LOVE.

Michelle's favorite scenes this season have been the ones between Ayra and Tywin.... that never happened in the book (not sure if they ever met in the book). Whoever wrote the scenes did a great job IMO.

[Chadwick]

Extra-credit book report:

Most everything that happens in this episode is invented for the series, with the exception of Theon's hunt for Bran and Rickon and the display of their bodies on the walls of Winterfell. The Thirteen of Qarth were never executed by Pyat Pree and Xaro Xhoan Daxos never declared himself King of Qarth. Arya Stark and Tywin Lannister never sat around swapping dragon stories with each other (though they should have).

I would add: John snow did not take Yiggtre captive, nor did he get lost/separated from his little group of nigthts watch dudes (lead by the halfhand) chasing her.

And Dany's dragons were never kidnapped (at least that i can recall).

[Chadwick]

Michelle's favorite scenes this season have been the ones between Ayra and Tywin.... that never happened it the book (not sure if they ever met in the book). Whoever wrote the scene did a great job IMO.

I agree, it was one of those cases where they just combined tywin with another character to simplify things for veiwers. They have done that throughout, with both characters and similar events, a lot. In those cases it does not take away from the story at all. It also does not distract to have some interesting dialogue between main characters like that to help you learn more about them....its part of the screenplay game...

But wholly changing plot lines (jon snow) or just adding a bunch of big plot points that never happened in the books (dany) in some cases goes too far..

I'd bet there are some really mad fans of the books today...for me it was just a disappointing use of creative licensure.

[Klaus]

Agreed but we don't know how they will continue the Jon Snow story line yet so it might be better in the end who know... It is different.

[Chadwick]

I just think in both cases, so far, they made two great storylines bad...

[Klaus]

Also it appears there was a promo mistake last night because there are 3 episodes left this season (last night was ep7). No Blackwater until 9.

[Jomama]

Anyone else notice "The Mountain" is played by a different actor this year?

At first I just thought he lost weight... but looked on the GoT wiki and the guy who played it last year got a big part in "The Hobbit" and was recast... The guy playing him now is who was in the White Walker suit at the beginning of ep. 1..

[Kyrillian]

One thing I thought after seeing the episode: At first I was like wow this Jon Snow story is such filler and it was lame how they left it with him surrounded. Then I was thinking for the people who don't know what is going to happen, that is legit suspense. The show has proven that any character can be killed at any time, so people must really be thinking NO NOT JON SNOW!

[Chadwick]

One thing I thought after seeing the episode: At first I was like wow this Jon Snow story is such filler and it was lame how they left it with him surrounded. Then I was thinking for the people who don't know what is going to happen, that is legit suspense. The show has proven that any character can be killed at any time, so people must really be thinking NO NOT JON SNOW!

The big issue with the plot change here is in the situation as depicted at the end of the latest HBO episode. It appears that he will go over to the wildling band in order to avoid being killed by them. In the book the most important aspect of why he went over to them was his clear command from the halfhand to do so in order to spy on them. I can't see the character Jon Snow as described in the books going over to the wildlings just to save his own skin, even if he intended to get away later. I just dont think Martin would have written him that way ever.

[Klaus]

The theory I have seen is that halfhand is already captured by the wildlings and the story will play out just like the book and he will say the famous line "is your sword sharp" blah blah before commanding Jon to kill him

[Chadwick]

Ok that might work to bring it back in line with the book's plot but it still changes one important thing in my mind. In the book he immediately lets Yigrette go and it makes sense that because he spares here life and lets her go she then see's him as kind and merciful, falls for him etc. Im not sure just the act of not killing her immediately, but keeping her captive would have the same effect. The wildlings hate the night's watch and kill any of them on site basically, so for him to even have a chance at being spared and the opportunity to "defect" i think he would have had to let her go right away as he did in the book.

[Klaus]

Hordor

http://cdn.teamcococdn.com/assets/file-v2/bran-hodor-1920-4fba646671c7b.jpeg

[Chadwick]

Hodor

[MnWilly]

Did I miss something or is there a new Jamie Lanister actor?

[Klaus]

I think it's the same guy.

http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Jaime_Lannister

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110108215323/gameofthrones/images/thumb/4/43/Jaime_%26_Jon.jpg/391px-Jaime_%26_Jon.jpg

[Jomama]

He just looks different covered in shit..

[MnWilly]

It sure looks like a different actor when he is on the road with that big warrior bitch in the very last episode. Maybe it's just me.

[Jomama]

That was one big ass green flame ball...

lol

[Jomama]

http://cdn.wg.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/BOOM.gif

[gigi]

There are a lot that wasn't in the book and a lot they haven't put in that I think is very needed. Mostly the Reeds kids. I think the season is still really good though. The kid that plays Joffrey is so good. I love to hate him. I think the series has really good actors all around though. I pictured Brienne with longer hair but other then that she is exactly how I thought she would be.

[Klaus]

I liked Blackwater. They did a really good job of not completely cheesing out on the battle (I guess the first draft had everything taking place in the queens church with reports from battle coming in so they didn't need to show the battle. They asked for more money from HBO and were able to film the battle). They simplified the battle a bit. Not really a spoiler from the book but I will hide it anyway:


In the book Tyrion actually constructed a huge chain that stretched all the way across the river that was raised after all the ships were in the harbor - cutting off escape. The wildfire was launched and all the ships formed a burning bridge stuck on the chain. Wish they had worked that into the screen version.

[Kyrillian]

I liked Blackwater. They did a really good job of not completely cheesing out on the battle (I guess the first draft had everything taking place in the queens church with reports from battle coming in so they didn't need to show the battle. They asked for more money from HBO and were able to film the battle). They simplified the battle a bit. Not really a spoiler from the book but I will hide it anyway:


In the book Tyrion actually constructed a huge chain that stretched all the way across the river that was raised after all the ships were in the harbor - cutting off escape. The wildfire was launched and all the ships formed a burning bridge stuck on the chain. Wish they had worked that into the screen version.

I read about how they were originally planning to do the battle cheap with updates going to the Queen's room. That would have been a series ruiner imo. This season was good but I don't think it had as much action/tension as last year. Without that battle it really would have been a disappointment.

[Klaus]

I think the next episode should be really good if they end it where I think they will. The next book was my fav so next season should be really good. The story line on/over the wall gets really good and the stuff in Kings Landing is pretty awesome as well.

I re-watched Blackwater last night and really liked the dialog - a lot of it wasn't from the book but I understand Martin wrote it so that's a pretty cool 2nd angle.

[Eric]

Holy lord this 2nd season is fantastic. I didn't expect it to be this good...it's blowing me away.

Here's some awesomeness: Roy Dotrice was the voice behind the audiobooks, which is how I've "read" Game of Thrones beyond book 1. Awesome reader, and the guy's life story is actually quite amazing:


Fought in World War II in the RAF
Spent 4 years in a German POW camp
50 year veteran of stage & screen, with Guiness Book of Records for greatest number of solo performances by an actor in a play (1,782 performances)
Met George R.R. Martin in 1988 while working on "Beauty and the Beast" TV series, GRRM was a writer.
Voiced all the audiobooks for Game of Thrones other than book 4 (another Guiness Record for "largest number of characters voiced in an audiobook") and I'll say, as someone who's listened to them all, he's incredible.
How about this: he actually couldn't read the 4th book due to conflicts and the demand was so high for him that he re-recorded book 4 in 2011.
Was originally hired to play Grand Maester Pycelle but due to health reasons he had to step aside and instead he was called out as "Guest Starring Roy Dotrice" in the latest episode, as he played Hallyne, head of the Alchemists' Guild.


http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120530054923/gameofthrones/images/thumb/1/16/Hallyne_2x09.jpg/830px-Hallyne_2x09.jpg

2 things:



Last week's episode when they were talking about wildfire and Tyrion says "Piss on wildifre and your cock burns off" and Hallyne says "I have never conducted that expirement" was hilarious.
When the wildfire blows up in the harbor...that was really friggin awesome. Yes, it was changed from the book but still one of the best parts of the entire series IMO.

TY for the gif Joe http://cdn.wg.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/BOOM.gif

[Eric]

Also, is it just me or is Jaqen H'ghar awesome?

[Klaus]

He's sooooo dreamy ;)

[Klaus]

Loved it! The Dani and the dragons was the best scene and finally made that boring storyline worth it. Didn't like how the Jon Snow "traitor" storyline played out... In the book Halfhand tells him straight out to kill him when they are cornered by Rattleshirt in a cave - then they rush out and Jon turns on him and kills him in a fight. More convincing of a traitor but whatever - gets to the same point in the story for next season.

[Jomama]

Poor imp... :(

[Klaus]

https://p.twimg.com/Aue2PL4CQAEbhrS.jpg


Tyrion Lannister ‏@Tyrion_Halfman
"You know In Westeros they call a quarter pounder with cheese a Halfman with cheese".

[Jomama]

A little bit about new characters for Season 3
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/06/new-characters-game-of-thrones/

[Chadwick]

That link also has a review of season 2 that NAILs the sophomore slump effect i was trying to convey earlier.

[Klaus]

In the comments someone mentioned that 95% of viewers have not read the books... if that's true and I don't see anything to back it up I understand the simplistic approach in S2.

[Chadwick]

I just think, they only make it bad/worse by playing to the lowest common denominator.

[Jomama]

They also have to consider, their audience is not just fanboys of the books... This show is clearly popular with a whole cross section of people who would not normally watch a "fantasy epic" or w/e u want to call it.

Just reminds me that I'm glad I don't know book/show comparisons till after the show airs :D

There are a thousand named characters in the first 3 books?? Thats crazy... and clearly impossible to portray in 10 hours of TV.

9 out of 10 times it just has to be whats practical to make 10 hours of TV without a lot of open ended plot lines that they may never get a chance to go back to (ala' Lost)...

[Chadwick]

I guess the problem i have is they had the right formula in season 1 and they deviated from it. Stick as close to the source material as possible. Quit making up your own stuff. I totally get that they need to streamline and cut characters and even entire storylines. That is expected, they did that in season 1 and it worked fine. But when they tried to dumb down the storylines they did take from and make up their own twists and plots they just fell well short of GRRM's work and writing.

I'm not a fanboy. But what Peter Jackson did with the lord of the rings was brilliant. He used technology to bring the original characters and story to life not try to make the story more palatable for modern day morons who want trashy daytime TV type plot twists and stereotypes...

I'll say this. It's still must watch stuff but it makes me want to read the books even more...

Season 1 = 5/5
Season 2 = 4/5

[Kyrillian]

I guess the problem i have is they had the right formula in season 1 and they deviated from it. Stick as close to the source material as possible. Quit making up your own stuff. I totally get that they need to streamline and cut characters and even entire storylines. That is expected, they did that in season 1 and it worked fine. But when they tried to dumb down the storylines they did take from and make up their own twists and plots they just fell well short of GRRM's work and writing.

I'm not a fanboy. But what Peter Jackson did with the lord of the rings was brilliant. He used technology to bring the original characters and story to life not try to make the story more palatable for modern day morons who want trashy daytime TV type plot twists and stereotypes...

I'll say this. It's still must watch stuff but it makes me want to read the books even more...

Season 1 = 5/5
Season 2 = 4/5

Lord of the Rings also had a budget of like $300 million for 9-10 hours of film. I think I read GoT had a budget of $60 million for season 2's 10 hourlong episodes.

I think the difficult thing they had to navigate was keeping their actors happy. Daenarys doesn't have a whole lot of activity in the book from what I understand for this season, so they added a little twist to her story.

I don't really understand what the reason for tweaking Jon Snow's story was, that was only one I felt was completely unnecesssary.

[Chadwick]

I think the Daenary storyline didnt need what they did to it and they should have flushed out the house of the undying to follow the book more...it was one of the best parts of the 2nd book.

[Jomama]

I don't really understand what the reason for tweaking Jon Snow's story was, that was only one I felt was completely unnecesssary.


My guess is, its fucking goddamn expensive to shoot on location in Iceland... They kept it simple.. because ultimately they just need to get Jon Snow with the wildling army and King beyond the Wall right?? did they simplify it too much maybe, sure..

They've mentioned this in the Wired articles, but S1 had several full blown tournament jousting scenes, where-as S2 showed two scenes that were supposed to be jousting, and they turned them into plan old man-on-man combat.. Why = $$$

They are definitely using every bit of budget they have... Maybe HBO will give them a bump for S3?

Fact is some shit just wont translate from book to film, or it will take way too much time and money... Something that can be explained, w/backstory and context in two pages in a book can be impossible to put to screen in a reasonable timeframe..

[Klaus]

Hot body but I am not a fan of her nose...

http://images.zap2it.com/images/celeb-488804/natalie-dormer-0.jpg

http://liberalvaluesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Natalie_Dormer_deep_neckline-617x1024.jpg

Anyway I thought the Daenary storyline in the book was super boring and actually in this case prefer the shows version.

[Jomama]

lol

http://gizmodo.com/5916885/more-people-pirate-game-of-thrones-than-watch-game-of-thrones-on-hbo

[Klaus]

Interview with George Martin:


HBO Since the last time we spoke with you, ‘Game of Thrones' has found the same great success as a TV show that it already had as a book series. What's it like see your story told in two places?

George R.R. Martin We really have two audiences now, which is a unique challenge for a TV show. We have the viewers who are coming to the TV show without any knowledge of the books. And we have the readers, who have read the books, many times in many cases. Sometimes those two audiences give very different reactions to the same things. For the viewers experiencing it for the first time, it's just a matter of, "Is it exciting? Is it involving?" The readers care about those things, too, but they're also saying, "Well, this is how it was in the books ..."

HBO You wrote the script for the episode "Blackwater," which aired recently -- was it difficult for you to translate your vision from the books onto the screen?

George R.R. Martin It's very difficult. Prose and film have different techniques and weapons that they use. In a book, I have internal monologue and can give you access to a character's thoughts. He can tell a lie, but you're in his head, so you know he's lying. While you're watching on the screen, you're just hearing what he's saying -- the actor has to sell it with his eyes and the set of his mouth. And great actors can do that. Each of these mediums has its own strengths and weaknesses, and when you're moving from one to the other, it's always a challenge. If you look at the Battle of the Blackwater in the books, it occupies seven or eight chapters, intercutting from three points of view. If you shot it as I wrote it in the book, it would cost $100 million and take two months to shoot.

HBO And the entire story is so complex. When you're working on the books, how difficult is it to weigh and keep track of all your decisions?

George R.R. Martin Sometimes I make the decisions wrongly. My process as a writer is not one of thoroughly outlining ahead of time, which can result in my muse leading me down blind alleys and dead ends. I write a chapter and it seems great in and of itself, but then I realize a month later or half a year later that I don't want to go down that street. So then I have to double back and rewrite and so forth. It's almost a subconscious thing -- when it's right, it feels right, and when it doesn't feel right, I keep niggling at it until it does.

HBO In the season finale, one of everyone's favorite characters, Tyrion Lannister, finds himself in a miserable position. Was it hard for you to smack him down so quickly after his moment of triumph?

George R.R. Martin Well, you know, you don't want to make it too easy for the characters. If the character just goes from success to success, then you don't have much of a story, now do you? But I guess it's one of my trademarks as an author to always ask the question, "OK, what next?" We see a lot of books and movies and television shows, where you see some situation come up and then the resolution of it along pretty traditional -- or even stereotypical -- lines. That's great, but what happens next? We see this with Theon and taking Winterfell. "OK, Theon, you very cleverly tricked the Starks. Singers will sing of this for hundreds of years ... What's next? How do you hang onto this?" That question, on a whole bunch of levels, has always fascinated me, and there's a lot of that in "A Song of Ice and Fire."

HBO One final question on behalf of all your fans -- how's the next book coming?

George R.R. Martin I'm working on that, and a number of "Ice and Fire" related things at the same time. Not only "The Winds of Winter," which is Book 6, but we're also coming out with a big concordance called "The World of Ice and Fire," which is about the whole history of Westeros and will be lavishly illustrated. So I've been filling in some of the histories of the kings who ruled 200 years ago or 500 years ago. We've also been doing a map book, and I'm working on a new novella about Dunk and Egg, the prequel series I have. It's a slow process the way I write, especially books of this size that are as large and complex as they are. It's still a slow process. I am aware of the TV series moving along behind me like a giant locomotive, and I know I need to lay the track more quickly, perhaps, because the locomotive is soon going to be bearing down on me. The last thing I want is for the TV series to catch up with me. I've got a considerable headstart, but production is moving faster than I can write. I'm hoping that we'll finish the story at about the same time... we'll see.

[Klaus]

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/17W4QMNwm-c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Klaus]

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YfHj-pp8Eho" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Klaus]

http://i.imgur.com/nAOxF.jpg

[Klaus]

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vEg4SEch27w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Klaus]

New intro this year:

<iframe src="http://www.ebaumsworld.com/media/embed/83157012" width="567" height="345" frameborder="0"></iframe>

[Klaus]

Been loving the Wired recaps each week. It's been a few years since I read the books and they focus on the differences between the book and show. Spoilers are hidden so even if you haven't read the book it's pretty good.

Recap: Everybody Screws Up in This Week’sGame of Thrones
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/04/recap-kissed-by-fire-game-thrones/

[Jomama]

I've never been so physically shaken from watching anything (fiction at least)... Sick to my stomach and loving it all at the same time. Just fucking outstanding...

[MnWilly]

Agreed Joe. One thing I quickly learned about this show....don't get too attached to ANY character!

[Kyrillian]

I knew it was coming and it was still brutal. It was like they made it even worse for the people who knew just so they would be surprised too. They really took the Ned surprise in S1 and upped the ante. I have become obsessed with the rains of castamere song lol.

[Jomama]

Did anyone else know there are prequel books?


Walder Frey is notable for appearing - as a toddler - in The Mystery Knight, the third of George R.R. Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg short stories set almost ninety years before the events of the main series, making him the only character to appear in both the prequels and the main saga (Maester Aemon may appear in later installments of the prequels, as he is even older than Walder, and the younger brother of Aegon "Egg" Targaryen, one of the two main characters).

[Klaus]

I read the Dunk and Egg shorts but didnt' know Frey was in it...

Yeah I loved the episode and thought the brutality of the stabbing of Robb's wife was the biggest surprise... Definitely put a end to years of speculation that she escaped and had a heir to Winterfell.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ulUBDu_97z8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/azr99OfKLxk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Jomama]

I read the Dunk and Egg shorts


Is it any good?

[Jomama]

Any scene with Tywin and Tyrion is just fantastic... and the Hound and Arya interaction has been hysterical.. 10 months cant come soon enough.

[Klaus]

Yeah Tyrion is starting to come back as a player... A decent amount of offroading from the book is happening and this season took us to about 3/4 of book 3. Not sure what they will focus on for 10 episodes but it will probably be a ton of detail which is good. Can't wait.

[MnWilly]

IMO somebody should quickly start writing more books:)

[Klaus]

The next book is due in a year.... (also Book 4 & 5 happen at the same time but from different points of view)


<tbody>
#
Title
Pages
Chapters
Audio
US release


1
A Game of Thrones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Game_of_Thrones)
704[7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#cite_note-pw_review_agot-7)
73
33h 53m
August 1996[7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#cite_note-pw_review_agot-7)


2
A Clash of Kings (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clash_of_Kings)
768[8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#cite_note-pw_review_acok-8)
70
37h 17m
February 1999[8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#cite_note-pw_review_acok-8)


3
A Storm of Swords (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Storm_of_Swords)
992[9] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#cite_note-pw_review_asos-9)
82
47h 37m
November 2000[9] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#cite_note-pw_review_asos-9)


4
A Feast for Crows (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Feast_for_Crows)
753[10] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#cite_note-pw_review_affc-10)
46
31h 10m
November 2005[10] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#cite_note-pw_review_affc-10)


5
A Dance with Dragons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Dance_with_Dragons)
1056[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#cite_note-pw_review_adwd-11)
73
48h 56m
July 2011[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#cite_note-pw_review_adwd-11)


6
The Winds of Winter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Winds_of_Winter)
(Forthcoming)


7
A Dream of Spring[12] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#cite_note-grrm_blog_060326-12)
(Forthcoming)

</tbody>

[Grafton]

The next book is due in a year....

You have a source on this? He's notoriously bad for missing deadlines and as such no longer gave them as far as I knew.

[Klaus]

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/npdARG8ffms" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Jomama]

Hard to believe its been nearly 8 years...

Winter has come....

[Klaus]

Seems like 10 years! Glad it's back.

[Jomama]

The next book is due in a year.... (also Book 4 & 5 happen at the same time but from different points of view)





This things still on....

Its ten years later and still no book... wow...

I miss the age of forums...

[Klaus]

Yes I miss forums also….Facebook groups are so hard to follow. Book will never come out.