This GAME OF THRONES series thingy.... (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

I am on vacation for the next 10 days.

The studio sent me GAME OF THRONES Steelbook, Seasons 1 and 2 about a year ago due to its inclusion of Dolby Atmos.

Never watched the show, though I have heard nothing but great things about it.

I could start watching this show today.

However, the downside would be that once I am done with the first two seasons, slowly I would have to start buying the other Steelbook Editions. I believe there are at least 6 seasons thus far. Maybe more.

It's not exactly the spending of money that bothers me. It's the fact that once I go down this hole, it's going to be a long ride of binge watching. A lot of time devoted to catching up to the final season airing on HBO in 18 months.

Do I want to go down this road? Is this show that goddamn good that it's worth thrusting my free time into it?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[Sam Favate]

Ron,
The show is outstanding. It's the rare thing where it's popularity is well deserved.

There are currently 7 seasons, with an 8th and final season of 6 episodes coming late 2018 or early 2019.

If you enjoy movies like the Lord of the Rings and shows about political intrigue, it's perfect for you.

Enjoy!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Sam,

An easy show to follow?

Is it great right out of the gate and consistent season to season?

 

[Randy Korstick]

Its good out of the gate and remains consistent. Its not an easy show to follow though. You have be paying attention. There are lots of characters and different houses to keep track of who's who and who wants to do what and each season adds more but it is rewarding.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Ron,

I haven't watch this show since the first season. I kept up with certain developments in the season that followed, but decided to watch this past season out of curiosity and was able to really enjoy it, though, I missed 5-6 other seasons. I didn't plan to watch the latest season, but I got caught up in it because I wanted to see a few characters and things at their mature level. I wasn't disappointed.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Its good out of the gate and remains consistent. Its not an easy show to follow though. You have be paying attention. There are lots of characters and different houses to keep track of who's who and who wants to do what and each season adds more but it is rewarding.

Yeah, I'll probably be viewing those missing seasons including the ones I did see again in the near future. I'm hoping to buy the entire series together and wishing for a 4K/UHD release of them.

 

[Sam Favate]

It's great right from the start, although it does require some concentration to keep following all the threads. A friend of mine once quipped: "What's the difference between Game of Thrones and Twitter? Answer: Twitter only has 144 characters."

I would also say it is consistent from season to season. Some seasons are more satisfying emotionally, but from a storytelling and technical perspective, they are all excellent.

It's probably the best fantasy show that's ever been on TV. Even calling it "TV" seems to do it a disservice.

It's not perfect. There are some episodes that left me scratching my head or calling foul, but they're few and far between.

 

[BobO'Link]

Do I want to go down this road? Is this show that goddamn good that it's worth thrusting my free time into it?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer:

A couple of years ago, while home with his family for their annual one week Christmas trip, my son was getting all the digital codes from the movies and TV series I'd accumulated (I don't use them at all). He found the GOT S1-S3 combo sets and snagged the codes (which I had planned on redeeming myself just because). When I called to let him know I'd purchased a BD copy of S4 and offered him the DC he said "No... too much sex and graphic violence for me." So... six weeks ago I get an email from him: "..any more game of thrones season codes? Started working through it and realized you might have more." I remind him of his earlier comment. "I was interested but wasn't crazy about some of the content. I just skipped through that stuff, didn't really miss anything, and kind of just got through the first season. It's more interesting and focused now that the story has developed." (well... he *did* miss some stuff but...) So I send codes for S4-S7. In another couple of weeks or so I get: "I have a problem! I'm watching the season finale of GoT 6 and have no access to season 7.Help me Dad-wan-kenobi. You're my only hope." So I tell him to just wait until they're home for Christmas and he can have my S7 code or do a free month trial for HBO and watch the 7 episodes. He chose HBO rather than wait.

This is from a man who never cared for my SF or Fantasy library growing up (he has more appreciation now).

I came into the show when a coworker insisted I borrow her S1 and S2 sets before S3 aired. She thought I'd like it and wanted someone to talk to about the series. I, somewhat grudgingly, agreed (I have hundreds of unwatched seasons of old favorites and wasn't looking to add anything). I enjoyed the first episode so much that I totally gorged on the rest, watching all 20 episodes over that weekend, returning her copies, and promptly purchasing my own. I watched both seasons again before S3 aired. Over the course of S3, one of the other guys in the office started watching. He was hooked. By the time S4 started we had the last guy in the office watching (he purchases the Dolby Atmos Steel Books exclusively for this one, in spite of not liking the cases). That made 4 of us, and all of us in my office (3 - she's in another building most of the day). We come in on Monday mornings and GOT is pretty much the topic of discussion all day. It starts with email (we all start in different buildings with 3 of us eventually going to a small building we share for the bulk of our day) and continues as we arrive at the building. We now have 2 others watching.

Over the course of the series I rewatched all prior seasons in the run up to a new season. All but this year. I didn't plan well and ran out of time so just rewatched S6. I'm currently watching an episode a week in preparation for S8. That will make my 6th viewing for seasons 1 & 2. Rewatching this series is almost as satisfying as the initial viewings. There are always little things you missed and catch on those subsequent viewings, or small comments or events you thought nothing of but now have new meaning due to later events.

I will say that I feel it's gone downhill a bit since the show runners ran out of printed material (that happened in S6) from which to get dialog and plotting. Martin has given them the outline so they know where he's going, but they don't seem to have the attention to detail nor as good an ability to write dialog for the characters as does Martin. In spite of that, it's still very good. Better than anything I've seen on TV in at least 10 years. Even when it ends I see myself rewatching this one more than just about anything I own from the 90s on, and I have some very good stuff from those decades.

Just watch it.

 

[TravisR]

An easy show to follow?

Not at all. There's dozens of characters, many look the same, there's tons of allegiances, characters talk about other characters & it can be hard to follow who they're talking about and there's tons of locations & no legend to denote where they are or the proximity to other places. I will say that that problem may be alleviated for someone if they're watching them over a short period of time, if they make sure to know the names of characters & their allegiances and if they have more interest in the story than I do.

While I'm clearly not a big fan, the show is absolutely incredible in terms of its production and I like seeing them try to top themselves in terms of shock value (ridiculous levels of violence, nudity, crazy or demented sex and general depravity).

 

[Bryan^H]

Not at all. There's dozens of characters, many look the same, there's tons of allegiances, characters talk about other characters & it can be hard to follow who they're talking about and there's tons of locations & no legend to denote where they are or the proximity to other places. I will say that that problem may be alleviated for someone if they're watching them over a short period of time, if they make sure to know the names of characters & their allegiances and if they have more interest in the story than I do.

And I'm always finding myself not caring for many of the( half dozen at times?) story/character arcs. So an hour long episode turns into 18 minutes of the story I do want to see played out. The rest is always quite uninteresting to me. Season 7 was pretty good over all as all these different stories seem to be intertwined much better than the earlier seasons..

 

[TravisR]

Season 7 was pretty good over all as all these different stories seem to be intertwined much better than the earlier seasons..

I was going to say that. As the scope of the series has narrowed and it moves towards its finale, it's not hard to follow any more. X, Y and Z need to accomplish A, B and C.

All that being said, I don't really want to dissuade Ron or anyone from watching GOT because obviously, alot of people really love it and have no problem keeping up.

 

[Bryan^H]

While I'm clearly not a big fan, the show is absolutely incredible in terms of its production and I like seeing them try to top themselves in terms of shock value (ridiculous levels of violence, nudity, crazy or demented sex and general depravity).

And that is the other thing. I am almost never bothered by "Hard R" content With GOT, the depictions of rape, incest, torture, and extreme bloody violence make me question why I watch it. The early seasons especially are so graphic that I was kind of bothered, that I was bothered by it. knowing full well it is only make believe. I also wonder how it is so mainstream being so graphic.

 

[Bryan^H]

All that being said, I don't really want to dissuade Ron or anyone from watching GOT because obviously, alot of people really love it and have no problem keeping up.

Right. Those are just my feelings on the show. Give it a watch Ron, and tell us what you think.

 

[TravisR]

I also wonder how it is so mainstream being so graphic.

Yeah, the popularity of GoT, The Walking Dead and, to a lesser degree, True Blood has always been surprising to me because I would think the more extreme elements would keep a good number of people away.

 

[TJPC]

The first season was offered free here in Canada. I considered it a duty to watch it, since I had heard how wonderful it was. I didn't last through the first episode.

The pseudo historical setting, and violence really turned me off. I don't like Knights, Robin Hood etc. etc. and found I was forcing myself to watch. Fantasy is usually "not my thing", and except for "Harry Potter" and "Lord of The Rings", I much prefer Science Fiction, which at least makes an attempt to ground itself in some sort of reality.

The prospect of 7 seasons of horse riding, sword play, and leather, was just too daunting for me.

 

[RobertR]

Not at all. There's dozens of characters, many look the same, there's tons of allegiances, characters talk about other characters & it can be hard to follow who they're talking about and there's tons of locations & no legend to denote where they are or the proximity to other places

Not really true. A map of the locations is shown at the beginning of every episode.

Saying "you have to follow the characters and relate them to other characters" is no criticism of the show.

 

[TravisR]

Not really true. A map of the locations is shown at the beginning of every episode.

The opening of GOT is as much of a map of the Seven Kingdoms as the opening of The Simpsons is a map of Springfield. Unless everything is right next to everything else, it's just a montage of different locations and not intended to be a realistic or scale map of the show's world.

Saying "you have to follow the characters and relate them to other characters" is no criticism of the show.

I agree with that to some degree but I think the show can ask too much of the viewer. It's completely fair to expect the viewer to have a solid base of what has come before but there's times when you have to remember one scene from 4 years ago to fully understand the meaning or import of a scene in another episode. I'm sure that's great for the devoted fans who enjoy rewatching the show but it can leave the people who have seen the episodes once in the dark.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I guess I'll be a dissenting voice.

I've never been able to get into this show. Everyone in my orbit watches it - my wife, my relatives, my coworkers, my friends. I'm literally the only person I know who doesn't watch this show. I tried the pilot and I just couldn't care. I've seen excerpts from most episodes since as I've walked in on various people watching it. I've seen large chunks of seasons as coworkers watched all-day marathons in the office. And at no point have I ever felt like, "Hmmm, that's interesting, let me check this out."

You may end up loving it; you may end up hating it. From what every one of those aforementioned fans I know has said to me, it is a deeply layered and complex show that requires paying close attention to understand the relationships of the characters to each other as well as their relative positioning on the map. I'm told some (many?) characters are known by multiple names within the show, so if you're not paying attention, you may miss that the conversation two people had at the beginning of the show, and that two different people had in the middle of the show, were all about the same person, even though different names are being used. It is graphically violent, uses nudity, and repeatedly depicts sexual violence like rape in uncomfortably graphic ways. And there are dragons.

Honestly, at this point, some of my frustration is simply that I've politely made it clear that I'm not interested in the show, and yet, I still end up being told everything about it anyway.

If you decide to watch it, I hope you enjoy it more than I do!

 

[TravisR]

I guess I'll be a dissenting voice.

I've never been able to get into this show. Everyone in my orbit watches it - my wife, my relatives, my coworkers, my friends. I'm literally the only person I know who doesn't watch this show. I tried the pilot and I just couldn't care. I've seen excerpts from most episodes since as I've walked in on various people watching it. I've seen large chunks of seasons as coworkers watched all-day marathons in the office. And at no point have I ever felt like, "Hmmm, that's interesting, let me check this out."

You may end up loving it; you may end up hating it. From what every one of those aforementioned fans I know has said to me, it is a deeply layered and complex show that requires paying close attention to understand the relationships of the characters to each other as well as their relative positioning on the map. I'm told some (many?) characters are known by multiple names within the show, so if you're not paying attention, you may miss that the conversation two people had at the beginning of the show, and that two different people had in the middle of the show, were all about the same person, even though different names are being used. It is graphically violent, uses nudity, and repeatedly depicts sexual violence like rape in uncomfortably graphic ways. And there are dragons.

Honestly, at this point, some of my frustration is simply that I've politely made it clear that I'm not interested in the show, and yet, I still end up being told everything about it anyway.

If you decide to watch it, I hope you enjoy it more than I do!

You sound like the person who is sick of hearing that one guy in his office tell him he has to watch The Wire.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

You sound like the person who is sick of hearing that one guy in his office tell him he has to watch The Wire.

I've tried so very hard to watch The Wire. I've completed three seasons. I watched the first two seasons with my then-roommates circa 2010, and it was the longest it ever took that group of people to watch that few episodes. I binged an entire season of "24" with them in a single day! We could do obsessive television watching. But each episode of The Wire seemed to slow time down to a crawl, and not in a way that we found enjoyable.

I watched the third season on my own years later, maybe 2013, and I experienced that same issue -- couldn't get into the episode, never felt like watching the next one, and it took far longer to get through those ten episodes than it normally would for me to get through ten episodes of something. When I get into a show that I can binge, I can easily watch 4-8 episodes in a day.

I promise to watch the remaining two seasons, mostly to pacify people who bring it up. It's just... no matter how much I watch, I just don't care. It moves too slowly, the pacing is horrendous, the episode structure is almost nonexistent, and it just seems to go on and on. I semi-jokingly refer to this as "HBO pacing" because even HBO shows that I like seem to suffer from this glacial movement.