rented the first two episodes of "game of thrones"

[rubato]

Total intellectual wasteland. Pure crap, other than the always remarkable Peter Dinklage.

Avoid it unless you don't mind killing brain cells which might still have been useful. The crap writing is only the beginning of the tragedy.

yrs,
rubato

[Rick]

Thanks
I had it on my list once and deleted it.

[Econoline]

Yer really gonna trust rubato on this, keld?

[Gob]

I do!!


I just take it as read that the opposite of whatever he says is true and accurate...

[MajGenl.Meade]

Well he's right about one thing - Peter Dinklage is the high point of the various performances. But then again, everything that the character says and does was written by . . . er, the writers and directed by . . . er, the director though doubtless Mr. D. contributed ideas, personality and skill to the part.

Game of Thrones is not sufficiently intellectual for pseuds to applaud. It is an extremely well constructed (and seemingly unending to those of us who bought the books thinking it had been finalised) saga of betrayal and loyalty, of families and fear, of greed and self-sacrifice. It is a mythical re-telling of the battles, intrigues and horrors of Rome and, I believe, the early Dark Ages of Europe (also think post-Arthurian) and the operation of monarchy and vassalage. Not to be confused with vaseline of which some characters may have been in dire need.

It is sword and (almost) sorcery - it is the Epic that so many nations recall from the formative years. It also has wonderful costumes, very naughty nudity, at least three very strong female characters (as developed through more than just the first two episodes), and a compelling narrative.

The biggest difficulty is the labour needed from the viewer to understand the complex family relationships depicted. Because it is fast-paced, one must pay close attention to the dialogue to straighten out the connections and the alliances. A person renting the DVDs (rather than watching the series on TV) can obviate this by judicious and timely use of the special features which provide family trees.

On the whole, a very enjoyable waste of time and (as always with fiction) an observation of human nature from which one can draw much information or in the case of pseuds, as little as one can.

Meade

[Econoline]

Oddly enough, if rubato were to to give something a rave review, I would be inclined to give it a try...but his overall negativity about so many things would lead me to devalue a put-down such as the one with which he started this thread.

Thanks for the additional opinion, General; I've actually been thinking of starting to read the books, but perhaps I'd better wait a few more years while George R.R. Martin spends a little more time in front of his keyboard?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Depends how quickly you read, Econo! And on your patience....

Having read the first 6 books I looked forward to the (imminent and timely) arrival of the seventh in our book stores thinking that would answer all questions. Instead as I approached the end of #7 it became clear that there are... 3 more? 4 more? to come. OTOH it will give me time to read the entire first seven all over again once I've forgotten as much as necessary.

I can only fret over one. So it's the last part of the Covenant series that I am impatiently looking for and cursing Stephen Donaldson for his tantalising ways. Martin I try not to think of

Meade

[Guinevere]

I subscribed to HBO when GoT came out, solely to watch the show. I un-subscribed within a month. It may be interesting and raw, but it was just far to violent and bloody for my tastes -- and without good reason. I may or may not read the books, and they are not at the top of my list. Far better crafted tales out there to enjoy, in my eclectic and pretty well-read humble opinion

[oldr_n_wsr]

Never heard of this.

[Gob]

Ditto, but if retard says it's crap then there must be some value in it.