Game of Thrones - TV Series (NO BOOK SPOILERS)

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Feb 6, 2007
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Yeah that sounds about right for me as well. I hated season 2 basically. Now I can enjoy it again.

That's just odd. Granted, I didn't read the books, and I would say that Season 2 was the weakest season so far, but the weakest season in one of the best television shows of all time is still incredible. "Hating" it just seems ridiculous.
 

Ganeedi

Senior member
Jul 7, 2008
258
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Obligatory huge ratings post

The fourth season premiere of Game of Thrones delivered a series-best 6.6 million viewers, making it HBO’s most-watched program since The Sopranos series finale in 2007. With two encores Sunday's tally grew to 8.2 million viewers.
 

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,297
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I guess they didn't renew for 3 because of no book 6 yet. :mad:

Also the very real possibility that the audience is going to be drastically reduced with what's to come when they do AFFC and ADWD. Those books might be necessary in the storyline as Martin maneuvers pieces around the board to set up the end game, but they're not TV friendly. They're convoluted, talky and introduce way too many minor characters who seem to do nothing except fill chapters. It's going to be hard to keep viewers hooked after they've grown accustomed to the epic events in the earlier seasons.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
110,512
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Also the very real possibility that the audience is going to be drastically reduced with what's to come when they do AFFC and ADWD. Those books might be necessary in the storyline as Martin maneuvers pieces around the board to set up the end game, but they're not TV friendly. They're convoluted, talky and introduce way too many minor characters who seem to do nothing except fill chapters. It's going to be hard to keep viewers hooked after they've grown accustomed to the epic events in the earlier seasons.

easy solution is to just discard useless minor characters. There are already new characters introduced every season, and into episodes of each season, in a show that has way way way too many characters.

I'd think the TV writers will sway more towards streamlining the story so that it can efficiently conclude within 2 or 3 more seasons.

Again, I know nothing of the books and don't care, but if season 3/4 is pulled out of book 3, why wouldn't season 5/6 come only from book 5? Does that one suck or something?
 
Feb 6, 2007
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If GRRM dies before the next book, they might not have a season worth of stuff.

I'm sure they'll have an idea of where he was going and access to his notes and can come up with a conclusion that makes sense and satisfies fans (maybe satisfies is the wrong word since it's hard to be satisfied with the deaths of everyone, but done in a fashion that people can agree fulfills GRRM's vision).
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
110,512
29,099
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I'm sure they'll have an idea of where he was going and access to his notes and can come up with a conclusion that makes sense and satisfies fans (maybe satisfies is the wrong word since it's hard to be satisfied with the deaths of everyone, but done in a fashion that people can agree fulfills GRRM's vision).

Aren't there already NDAs between the three of them that detail the endgame of the series? I think they already know how it ends, but the show guys are giving the fat man the benefit of the doubt and hoping he can complete the books ahead of time.
 

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,297
2,000
126
easy solution is to just discard useless minor characters. There are already new characters introduced every season, and into episodes of each season, in a show that has way way way too many characters.

I'd think the TV writers will sway more towards streamlining the story so that it can efficiently conclude within 2 or 3 more seasons.

Again, I know nothing of the books and don't care, but if season 3/4 is pulled out of book 3, why wouldn't season 5/6 come only from book 5? Does that one suck or something?

Book 4 and Book 5 occupy the same timeline. Martin did a REALLY stupid thing when book 4 grew too large. Rather than simply cut it off at a break point he eliminated half the characters. He used half of them in B4 and the other half carried over to B5, for example Tyrion doesn't appear in AFFC at all. Martin almost got lynched for that. So there is no choice but to combine 4 and 5 into a single entity for the TV series, then do it over a couple of seasons. The problem is that if the writers use the easy solution "to just discard useless minor characters" there isn't a lot of material there. A lot more stuff happens in the third book than in 4 and 5 combined. It's not going to be easy to get two compelling, exciting seasons out of 4 and 5.
 
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Feb 6, 2007
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Aren't there already NDAs between the three of them that detail the endgame of the series? I think they already know how it ends, but the show guys are giving the fat man the benefit of the doubt and hoping he can complete the books ahead of time.

I'm pretty sure the big reveal is that it was just Patrick Duffy having a fever dream.
 

MongGrel

Lifer
Dec 3, 2013
38,751
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If GRRM dies before the next book, they might not have a season worth of stuff.
He does need to get going a bit, but there is also plenty of material left to go a few seasons all ready I'd think.

I didn't think any of it after 3 became boring personally, just starts getting a little more focused here and there, IMHO.

They may well start combining a bit of things later, you're right they'll probably have to or the entire series would get odd and all discordant, but there is a lot they could do along those lines.

Might get even more interesting just to see how they do it as they usually don't diverge from the books layouts too radically.

There is still a lot of meat in books 4 and 5 that things can be done with, I think if you weed between the too and lay them out you can really stay true to them and make it very interesting.
 
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desura

Diamond Member
Mar 22, 2013
4,627
129
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So there will be seven books but so far only five have come out. People are worried about him dying.

How many seasons will be milked out of the books? It looks like at least more than seven.

For me, I still haven't quite recovered from the death of Ned Stark. If I were a tv exec, the big change I would have made from the books would have been him living. Season 2 really suffered IMO from Ned Stark having died. Season 3 (I'm almost finished) is finally picking up the pieces...

Are there talks of movies and so forth? At the very least I'm finding Game of Thrones much more entertaining than the Lord of the Rings.
 

BladeVenom

Lifer
Jun 2, 2005
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ZaneNBK

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2000
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For me, I still haven't quite recovered from the death of Ned Stark. If I were a tv exec, the big change I would have made from the books would have been him living. Season 2 really suffered IMO from Ned Stark having died. Season 3 (I'm almost finished) is finally picking up the pieces...

The death of Ned Stark sets the tone for the whole series really, both book and TV show. If you remove that then it starts towards the typical 'good always triumphs' story line, which GRRM was specifically going against. Think of how much more traumatic the Red Wedding would have been without Ned Stark's death. Of course without his death the whole story would have to change, the North wouldn't likely have gone to war, so no wedding vows for Rob to break, no Red Wedding, etc...
 

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,297
2,000
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For me, I still haven't quite recovered from the death of Ned Stark. If I were a tv exec, the big change I would have made from the books would have been him living. Season 2 really suffered IMO from Ned Stark having died. Season 3 (I'm almost finished) is finally picking up the pieces...

The death of Ned was the seminal event of the series. Not only did it distinguish ASOI&F from normal fantasy, it drove all other events forward. The series would not be anything like it is if Joffrey had spared Ned and let him serve in the Night's Watch as originally planned. The north and south could have made peace otherwise.
 
Feb 6, 2007
16,432
1
81
For me, I still haven't quite recovered from the death of Ned Stark. If I were a tv exec, the big change I would have made from the books would have been him living. Season 2 really suffered IMO from Ned Stark having died. Season 3 (I'm almost finished) is finally picking up the pieces...

The whole point of GoT is that it isn't a fairy tale with a clear protagonist and a "good triumphs over evil" happy ending. It's a story where the people who believe that good always triumphs end up dead at the hands of people who don't waste their time believing in such simplistic bullshit.
 

MongGrel

Lifer
Dec 3, 2013
38,751
3,068
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The death of Ned was the seminal event of the series. Not only did it distinguish ASOI&F from normal fantasy, it drove all other events forward. The series would not be anything like it is if Joffrey had spared Ned and let him serve in the Night's Watch as originally planned. The north and south could have made peace otherwise.

The whole point of GoT is that it isn't a fairy tale with a clear protagonist and a "good triumphs over evil" happy ending. It's a story where the people who believe that good always triumphs end up dead at the hands of people who don't waste their time believing in such simplistic bullshit.

Exactly.

Valar Morghulis.