A Few Words About A few words about...™ Game of Thrones - Season 8 -- in 4k UHD Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Game of Thrones is an HBO series that ran from April of 2011 through May of 2019. Ten episodes per season, with the exception of S 7 (7 episodes) and S8 (6 episodes).

Shot around the world, it gained a reasonable popularity over the years, and has been released on various video formats, - mostly DVD and Blu-ray, but with Season One being later released via 4k, and Dolby Atmos, with other seasons also later making use of the Atmos technology, and thereby enabling HBO to double dip for fans with the playback available.

Now that the run has ended, HBO has seen fit to release it complete on both DVD, as well as Blu-ray, but not in 4k - leaving that format unique to the first and final.

Those who are among the small contingent of true fans of the series, and who have the wherewithal to run it in 4k and Atmos may have been looking forward to a complete 4k variant, but that has not arrived on physical media.

What HBO's intentions are here will be seen eventually, and those intentions will probably come down to either doing the math and seeing how many Season 8s were sold in 4k, or if they have a dark side, waiting until all of the Season 1 and 8s are sold, and thereafter, released a full set, forcing fans to purchase two seasons twice, or possibly three times.

The series in 4k is a worthwhile endeavor, as the imagery holds up to the format beautifully.

As one of those who appreciates the series, but will be eternally confused by the interrelationships between the myriad of warring parties, I fortunately saved a fold-out piece that (as I recall) was in the trades when the show hit the airwaves. Without it, I have problems telling the players without a program. Especially without numbers on their backs.


Image – 5

Audio – 5 (Dolby Atmos)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Very Highly Recommended

RAH

 

[Tino]

Just price matched my version that I bought at BB for $37.96.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

No words on the content itself for Season 8? I keep hearing it’s pretty godawful with rushed scripts, especially the last episode, and one should stop just prior to it. Many fans of the show I work with were genuinely not happy with the last season. So no matter how technically good it may be I’m kind of surprised by no comments on content.

 

[Tino]

I thought season eight was terrific, especially the last episode. A Completely satisfying end to one of the best TV series ever.

YMMV

 

[KeithDA]

I didn't think it was terrific on first viewing, but I've just watched the 4K disc set I got for Christmas and I have appreciated it a lot more. The image is better than was broadcast (particularly the Ep 3 battle) and it was interesting to spot the little warnings of what was going to happen in the earlier episodes. The inevitability of the ending creeps up on you. Considering it was the last series, there were still some great surprises and the whole thing has quite a 'Shakespearean' feel to it. One hell of an achievement.

My only gripe would be that the only way to get the 4k set here in the UK is to buy the steelbook edition, which has two spindles with 3 4k and 3 Blu discs stacked up on top of each other - I've not come across this before (only my second steelbook) and whilst it is efficient in space, it is clumsy and there's no booklet either...

 

[Robert Harris]

I didn't think it was terrific on first viewing, but I've just watched the 4K disc set I got for Christmas and I have appreciated it a lot more. The image is better than was broadcast (particularly the Ep 3 battle) and it was interesting to spot the little warnings of what was going to happen in the earlier episodes. The inevitability of the ending creeps up on you. Considering it was the last series, there were still some great surprises and the whole thing has quite a 'Shakespearean' feel to it. One hell of an achievement.

My only gripe would be that the only way to get the 4k set here in t he UK is to buy the steelbook edition, which has two spindles with 3 4k and 3 Blu discs stacked up on top of each other - I've not come across this before (only my second steelbook) and whilst it is efficient in space, it is clumsy and there's no booklet either...

The packaging is extremely clumsy, but since the steelbook comes with an official, collectible medallion, the disc case itself is positioned within an outer clear shell. Going with a thicker package for the discs may have made the entire package unwieldy, and brought back nightmares of those huge WB sets - Clark Gable’s commemorative teeth, miniature ruby slippers, a full size Roman chariot, and of course, a life-size Rosebud.

I presume it works for those fans who have small dragons to hold the top layers of discs. More usual pets, with fur, can cause havoc with playback, as the hairs or fur will adhere to the discs, and gum up the lasers inside one’s player.

Scales? No problem.

 

[Jeffrey D]

I’ve posted this thought in other threads- I don’t like the steelbook packagings, because I think the spindle holds onto the discs too tight, and there’s risk of bending the disc to get it off the spindle. I had the older transfer steelbook edition of Heat that the disc would freeze at the
1:50 mark, and I think the disc getting bent and warped was the reason.

 

[Alan Tully]

Yeah, I bought a steelbook of a season (it was on special offer) & I just couldn't remove the discs, I mean you don't want to bend the discs too much. I ended up getting the tool box out & going to work on the steelbook, which ended up as a few twisted bits of metal, but the discs were okay & I had some spare boxes. I still haven't seen season eight yet, I thought I'd re-view seasons 1-7 first, & I'll probably buy the whole set (a lot more tidy), but as I'm in no rush, I'll wait for the price of the set to nudge down a bit.

 

[BobO'Link]

No words on the content itself for Season 8? I keep hearing it’s pretty godawful with rushed scripts, especially the last episode, and one should stop just prior to it. Many fans of the show I work with were genuinely not happy with the last season. So no matter how technically good it may be I’m kind of surprised by no comments on content.

Just depends on who you talk to. I felt it was rushed and written poorly. But I'm on record as feeling the writing took a nosedive as soon as they ran out of books to adapt. Having recently started reading the books I'm positive of that as almost all of the dialog in the early seasons came directly from the books.

I feel it ended mostly satisfyingly. Still, there are more than a few questionable choices made which don't sync with the tone and characterizations of earlier seasons or the books, and the journey in S7 and S8 was rushed, poorly written, full of unnecessary distractions/time fillers, and overall done poorly in spite of the show runners taking an extraordinarily lengthy time for the few episodes provided.

I'm in no rush to purchase this last season. Once the BR price hits $20 I'll bite but not before.

 

[DaveF]

Is there a UHD series box set coming? With some initial checking, I can't find this. I don't subscribe to HBO, so I missed the phenomenon. I'm considering buying the set to watch eventually.