HBO teased us with the first fifteen minutes of 'Game of Thrones' on Sunday, and as an avid fan of the novels, I was sure to check it out. I learned a few things about the series from the preview.
I’ve been excited about Game of Thrones since I heard that it was being adapted into a television series. I’ve been a huge fan of George R. R. Martin’s novels and have been counting down the months to the premiere, catching production updates from the author himself on his blog, and even going out of my way to order HBO. We’re less than two weeks away from the big day (April 17th, to be exact) and HBO graced us this past weekend with a fifteen (or so) minute peak of the first episode. It was a bit slow and not a lot happened in those minutes, but it was exciting nonetheless. I know I learned a few things:
The production value is out of this world: Wow, this looks like one expensive show. Those first scenes north of wall were just absolutely gorgeous. Heck, the wall itself was absolutely gorgeous. With the many different lands of the novels, and the multiple shooting locations (including Tunisia), I think this show is going to be a feast for the eyes. Talk about immersive, I can’t wait to see some of the castles and cities from the novels come to life. HBO knows to a produce a show, that’s for sure. I just hope that the budget stays manageable.
The casting is great: We haven’t met all of the characters yet. In fact, we met surprisingly few of the main characters in the fifteen minutes that aired. With that being said, the casting of the series is worthy of note. Almost all of the characters look just like the characters from the novels. The Stark children that we saw in the preview, in particular, are perfect incarnations of the characters in the novel, and I think Sean Bean will make an amazing Ned Stark for the series. The one questionable choice so far appears to be Michelle Fairley as Catelyn. She’s a little older and doesn’t come off as the strong willed woman of the novel. Of course, the sample size is very, very small at this point. Here’s hoping she can prove me wrong, as Catelyn is one of the great characters of the books.
The show isn’t going to rush things: I was a little surprised at just how little happened in the first fifteen minutes. Yes, the prologue was compelling and looked amazing, but I was expecting to meet more of the characters. The fact is, I’m a little nervous. Martin’s novels are incredibly dense, and if this little happened in the first quarter of the first episode, I’m not sure how the writers are going to shove an entire novel into one season. Now, if we’re looking for more heads lopped off per minute, that’s something else…
If you missed the preview, check it out below — and get excited.
Fairley’s fantastic in the six episodes we’ve seen, but the writers have significantly changed the character’s motivations in the first two episodes — she’s not the Cat of the novel. Later on she’ll hew closer to what’s in the book, but for now, Fairley’s playing what they give her.
As to older … they’ve aged Cat, Ned, and co. up a fair deal, but bear in mind Fairley is a couple of years younger than Sean Bean!
As to rushing… those first 14 minutes are really the only slow moment. After this, they’ll go from covering about 1.5 chapters in 14 minutes to covering 7.5 chapers in 45 minutes. It actually feels like it might be a bit too fast, and makes me wish they had gotten the 12 episodes they originally planned for when in development. Later on, when they feel comfortable temporarily shelving storylines, the episodes breathe and flow amazingly well.
If you really want to geek out (and I mean for there to be nothing pejorative in that term), check out some of the HBO sneak peeks on YouTube. I have never heard of the series of books (or of the upcoming HBO adaptation) before today, but I was hooked after the “extended” trailer and a few of the in-depth sneak peaks. Tense? Brainy? Visually stunning? Blood? Interesting and complex (both characters and plot)?
Yup, I am sold.
I totally agree with all your thoughts – I hope that the pace picks up a little bit, and I’m surprised that they didn’t highlight a broader cross-section of the cast in the preview (although perhaps this speaks for the integrity of the creators, if they don’t want to do a jam-packed teaser in favor of a leisurely unfolding). I wrote some thoughts on my own blog (not to be self-serving, but I put the link below if you want to take a look!) – I haven’t read the books, so I’ll be interested to see how much the series can unfold the apparently dense mythology for those with no background info. And oh man, I hope there are fewer decapitations in the future.
Fairley’s fantastic in the six episodes we’ve seen, but the writers have significantly changed the character’s motivations in the first two episodes — she’s not the Cat of the novel. Later on she’ll hew closer to what’s in the book, but for now, Fairley’s playing what they give her.
As to older … they’ve aged Cat, Ned, and co. up a fair deal, but bear in mind Fairley is a couple of years younger than Sean Bean!
As to rushing… those first 14 minutes are really the only slow moment. After this, they’ll go from covering about 1.5 chapters in 14 minutes to covering 7.5 chapers in 45 minutes. It actually feels like it might be a bit too fast, and makes me wish they had gotten the 12 episodes they originally planned for when in development. Later on, when they feel comfortable temporarily shelving storylines, the episodes breathe and flow amazingly well.
Excited? Wow, that is 14:03 of my life I can never recover. Sorry, I didn’t see anything in there to get look forward to.
If you really want to geek out (and I mean for there to be nothing pejorative in that term), check out some of the HBO sneak peeks on YouTube. I have never heard of the series of books (or of the upcoming HBO adaptation) before today, but I was hooked after the “extended” trailer and a few of the in-depth sneak peaks. Tense? Brainy? Visually stunning? Blood? Interesting and complex (both characters and plot)?
Yup, I am sold.
I totally agree with all your thoughts – I hope that the pace picks up a little bit, and I’m surprised that they didn’t highlight a broader cross-section of the cast in the preview (although perhaps this speaks for the integrity of the creators, if they don’t want to do a jam-packed teaser in favor of a leisurely unfolding). I wrote some thoughts on my own blog (not to be self-serving, but I put the link below if you want to take a look!) – I haven’t read the books, so I’ll be interested to see how much the series can unfold the apparently dense mythology for those with no background info. And oh man, I hope there are fewer decapitations in the future.
https://bloggledygook.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/thoughts-on-the-sneak-preview-of-game-of-thrones/