Game of Thrones [HBO & Sky Atlantic] **Spoilers** (Read Warning Post #1)

stesaurus

calex71 wrote: »

After finishing the books recently I'll be interested to see season 2, this is the one book in the series I would say will benefit from TV making it shorter and more compressed. Found it very hard work to read up until the last 1/4 or so.

For me it's a case of hurry up and get season 2 out of the way so we can have season 3 sooner !!!!!!!

Season 2 will be a mix of books 2-3 so that it flows better overall and keeps all the characters visible.

Really looking forward to this and hopefully they'll green-light the next few series soon enough.

me-skywalker

Once this season takes off I can imagine HBO green-lighting seasons 3 and 4 before the end of April.

The best thing about GoT for me is that the hype has been generated through the oldest form of advertising and the cheapest: word of mouth.

Riskymove

Big Nelly wrote: »

Any chance they will replay series 1 on SKy before then?

they have been repeating it recently

RobbingBandit

Are the books as good as the show?

WolfForager

RobbingBandit wrote: »

Are the books as good as the show?

Better.

Professional Griefer

I can't wait any longer. Never before have I taken to a show so quickly.

Delighted Peter Dinklage won a golden globe as well, he was brilliant in the first season.

Sleepy

Any word on the GOT/ASOIAF forum? I see that it got approved but can't find it in either Arts > Television or Sci-Fi / Fantasy?

Gauge

It's been approved forever (okay, 3 months) but still no sign of it from what I can see. I suppose there's probably a lot to figure out regarding moderating, spoilers and all that.

I check the New Forums section every day!

ixoy

I sought for an update on the relevant Moderators sub-forum and am awaiting a reply. That was 1.5 weeks ago so some of us mods are just as much in the dark!

Professional Griefer

We're getting a new tralier Sunday. Can't wait!

Dempsey

Only gotten around to watching this now. I found the 1st 2 episodes abit hard to get into and the story slow but I'm glad that I stuck with it. Its an excellent show and I know its following a book (which I didnt know about until now) but I was very impressed with the whole execution of Eddard. I thought Sean Bean was in it for the long haul so I pleasantly surprised/shocked with that scene. I liked the way they shot it too, my heart sank when his did. Alot can be said for not looking at promos, hearing/reading spoilers, it would have sucked all the enjoyment out of that scene if I knew what that little runt was going to do! :pac:

Only a short wait for me until season 2

don ramo

Dempsey wrote: »

Only gotten around to watching this now. I found the 1st 2 episodes abit hard to get into and the story slow but I'm glad that I stuck with it. Its an excellent show and I know its following a book (which I didnt know about until now) but I was very impressed with the whole execution of Eddard. I thought Sean Bean was in it for the long haul so I pleasantly surprised/shocked with that scene. I liked the way they shot it too, my heart sank when his did. Alot can be said for not looking at promos, hearing/reading spoilers, it would have sucked all the enjoyment out of that scene if I knew what that little runt was going to do! :pac:

Only a short wait for me until season 2

to be fair to most people on this board i never saw eddards death coming, must have been excruciation for some people not to say anything about it,

fair play

krudler

Dempsey wrote: »

Only gotten around to watching this now. I found the 1st 2 episodes abit hard to get into and the story slow but I'm glad that I stuck with it. Its an excellent show and I know its following a book (which I didnt know about until now) but I was very impressed with the whole execution of Eddard. I thought Sean Bean was in it for the long haul so I pleasantly surprised/shocked with that scene. I liked the way they shot it too, my heart sank when his did. Alot can be said for not looking at promos, hearing/reading spoilers, it would have sucked all the enjoyment out of that scene if I knew what that little runt was going to do! :pac:

Only a short wait for me until season 2

it'll be interesting to see how Sky market it

without Sean Bean as he was the face of the show in the first season marketing ads and tv spots, he'll hes on the cover of the first book now as well since they redid it to fit in with the tv show

Tipsy McSwagger

How did the guy who Ned executed in the first episode get from beyond the wall to the middle of a field in Winterfell?

Dacian

don ramo wrote: »

to be fair to most people on this board i never saw eddards death coming, must have been excruciation for some people not to say anything about it,

fair play

It was quite hard to keep zipped. The worse was reading 'what if....' posts and speculation about how the Ned Stark would avenge his friend against the Lannisters. You just knew that poster was going to get a shock soon!

WolfForager

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

How did the guy who Ned executed in the first episode get from beyond the wall to the middle of a field in Winterfell?

There are many ways to cross the wall. Just not in numbers.

pixelburp

krudler wrote: »

it'll be interesting to see how Sky market it

without Sean Bean as he was the face of the show in the first season marketing ads and tv spots, he'll hes on the cover of the first book now as well since they redid it to fit in with the tv show

In fairness, I doubt that will be needed. Game of Thrones has generated more than enough praise & hype to stand on its own two legs in series 2, without the need for actor-specific marketing.

WolfForager

Easy enough to market it in Ireland with the face of Littlefinger after the success of Love/Hate. No idea about the UK though.

pixelburp

Yeah but why would you bother? Game of Thrones very quickly became on of 2011's "Must watch" programs; the buzz generated by that has more value than splashing some actor's face on a poster. Hell, GoT even has its own memes - that's value you can't buy

WolfForager

Oh it probably doesn't need to be advertised, but it will to maximise popularity. I'm just speculating on how they will market it.

ziedth

I think they needed to sell Sean Bean before Season 1 to get those (like me) who hadn't looked at the books. I would have watched it but his involvement really got me excited.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

ziedth wrote: »

I think they needed to sell Sean Bean before Season 1 to get those (like me) who hadn't looked at the books. I would have watched it but his involvement really got me excited.

Gotta agree with this... It was the involvement of Sean Bean and Mark Addy that really sold it to me prior to season 1 (as I knew nothing about the books and had gotten past giving something a chance just because its on HBO)...

Professional Griefer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOzXsqoJhtE

Can't fúcking wait.:D

Dempsey

don ramo wrote: »

to be fair to most people on this board i never saw eddards death coming, must have been excruciation for some people not to say anything about it,

fair play

I was generalising tbh. Most threads go as far to analyse actors contracts to figure out storylines. I thought things like that would have popped up in this thread during the course of its first run. I dont know how closely this is to the books but if it was in the books and people kept quiet then fair play, it was really well done imo.

krudler wrote: »

it'll be interesting to see how Sky market it

without Sean Bean as he was the face of the show in the first season marketing ads and tv spots, he'll hes on the cover of the first book now as well since they redid it to fit in with the tv show

Cue Hollywood to go through a spate of killing off their leads in the first season to be original. Once again, HBO goes where most wont! Kudos

titan18

Dempsey wrote: »

I was generalising tbh. Most threads go as far to analyse actors contracts to figure out storylines. I thought things like that would have popped up in this thread during the course of its first run. I dont know how closely this is to the books but if it was in the books and people kept quiet then fair play, it was really well done imo.



Cue Hollywood to go through a spate of killing off their leads in the first season to be original. Once again, HBO goes where most wont! Kudos

Well, it's not like they could completely change the book's storyline

Dempsey

titan18 wrote: »

Well, it's not like they could completely change the book's storyline

Why not?

Not being smart but its not like hollywood to buy rights to books to only bastardise them.

I know absolutely nothing about the books btw, fair play if HBO are sticking to them.

Gauge

Very excited after seeing the trailer.

Carice Van Houten is a great actress (and stunning), I watched a movie of hers last week and I can't wait

to see her as Melisandre. Ditto for Liam Cunningham as Davos.

titan18

Dempsey wrote: »

Why not?

Not being smart but its not like hollywood to buy rights to books to only bastardise them.

I know absolutely nothing about the books btw, fair play if HBO are sticking to them.

Well, tbf, the death was a huge plot point. If they did go against it, it'd piss a huge amount of book fans off. You can change minor plot points but not something as big as that.

ziedth

Slightly off topic but in Lord of the rings there was to be a massive sword fight between Aragorn and Sauron in some vision or something but it would still be "real" and I think it was only time issues that stopped it happening so they can change big time given the chance.

Although titan18 has a point in that about half the book/series wouldn't work without without Starks death and I'm really glad that it wasn't spilled here. saying that I wouldn't rule out a few flashback's or dreams next season and have Sean Bean involved.

I wasn't so lucky on the Walking dead thread and have had a future death spoiled.

titan18

ziedth wrote: »

Slightly off topic but in Lord of the rings there was to be a massive sword fight between Aragorn and Sauron in some vision or something but it would still be "real" and I think it was only time issues that stopped it happening so they can change big time given the chance.

Although titan18 has a point in that about half the book/series wouldn't work without without Starks death and I'm really glad that it wasn't spilled here. saying that I wouldn't rule out a few flashback's or dreams next season and have Sean Bean involved.

I wasn't so lucky on the Walking dead thread and have had a future death spoiled.

Ya,tbf,minor stuff like the LOTR example is ok. Same with how they left out Prince Imrahil or how Glorfindel's role was left out to introduce Arwen.

Leaving out Eddards death would be like leaving out Gandalf's fall in LOTR

pixelburp

I'm not convinced that Sean Bean was that big a pull for the marketing; yeah he was probably recognised as "that guy from Lord of the Rings" by some casual viewers, but he would have hardly been the same kind of star attraction as - say - Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire, a contemporary of Game of Thrones. In any case, I'm also not convinced that people's minds work like that - choosing their shows based on who stars.

Anachrony

I don't see how marketing is a problem. If you haven't seen season 1 yet, you really need to see season 1 first anyway, and the word of mouth has been encouraging latecomers to watch it. You're not going to want to just jump in partway when there are so many characters and parallel storylines that it took half the first season just introducing everyone. When the DVDs for season 1 come out, they can advertise them with Sean Bean the same as season 1, and that's how new people will be introduced to the series.

If you have already seen season 1, then it shouldn't take much to sell you on season 2, you just need to be reminded that it's on. They can market it with all the characters that you're now familiar with, such as Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Maisie Williams, Kit Harington, etc.

ixoy

It'll be interesting to see how well Season 2 does. There's lots of fans here on boards, sure, but we're not a proper representation of a cinema audience.

Season 1 viewing figures were good, not outstanding (it didn't get to the height of "True Blood" or "The Sopranos"). It did quite well for a premier season - will it exceed this in Season 2? Probably. I don't care as long as it's enough to keep the show being made.

pixelburp

ixoy wrote: »

It'll be interesting to see how well Season 2 does. There's lots of fans here on boards, sure, but we're not a proper representation of a cinema audience.

Season 1 viewing figures were good, not outstanding (it didn't get to the height of "True Blood" or "The Sopranos"). It did quite well for a premier season - will it exceed this in Season 2? Probably. I don't care as long as it's enough to keep the show being made.

Perhaps, but I wonder where do the DVD / Blu-ray sales figure in a studio's analysis of a shows success. Or online streaming services for that matter: I can't imagine straight audience numbers would be the be all and end all; people are all about the boxsets these days, could be that's where GoT made a killing. Word-of-mouth after the series ending might have driven a lot of people towards their nearest DVD'ery

mewso

ixoy wrote: »

I don't care as long as it's enough to keep the show being made.

And in turn give Martin a far more powerful kick up the arse to write his books quicker than us simple fans could ever do

ziedth

pixelburp wrote: »

Perhaps, but I wonder where do the DVD / Blu-ray sales figure in a studio's analysis of a shows success. Or online streaming services for that matter: I can't imagine straight audience numbers would be the be all and end all; people are all about the boxsets these days, could be that's where GoT made a killing. Word-of-mouth after the series ending might have driven a lot of people towards their nearest DVD'ery

I'd say DVD sales do play a part. If I recall correctly the film Setenity was made based on DVD sales of the Firefly boxset.

Anachrony

ixoy wrote: »

Season 1 viewing figures were good, not outstanding (it didn't get to the height of "True Blood" or "The Sopranos").

True Blood didn't get to the height of True Blood in Season 1 either. It took a few seasons to build an audience. All signs so far point to Game of Thrones being on a similar trajectory, except better.

Boardwalk Empire started out the premiere with more than double the viewers of Game of Thrones, but while Game of Thrones ratings rose and exceeded the premiere, Boardwalk Empire shed viewers and they ended up at the same level. Sopranos killed everything, that's true, but that's a bit of a high bar to set.

Anachrony

pixelburp wrote: »

Perhaps, but I wonder where do the DVD / Blu-ray sales figure in a studio's analysis of a shows success.

I don't know if they've figured out how to judge online streaming yet, but they claim to have learned their lesson about factoring in revenue from DVD/Bluray sales when deciding whether to order new seasons. They wouldn't have canceled Rome if they knew it would make so much on DVD sales. A highly vocal fan base online and critical acclaim are good signs when it comes to DVD/Bluray sales as well as for second season viewing figures. A lot of people who don't subscribe to HBO have been hearing about it all year and are waiting to see it. And a lot of rabid fans who have seen it already still want to own the box set. We'll see how that turns out in a couple of months.

pickarooney

ixoy wrote: »

I sought for an update on the relevant Moderators sub-forum and am awaiting a reply. That was 1.5 weeks ago so some of us mods are just as much in the dark!

I think they're getting G.R.R. Martin to write the charter.

_blank_

pickarooney wrote: »

I think they're getting G.R.R. Martin to write the charter.

Bistoman

Sky Atlantic will have it One day after HBO in the states.
April 1 2012

http://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/index.html

http://skyatlantic.sky.com/game-of-thrones/new-game-of-thrones-season-2-trailer-shadow

tommy2bad

Re DVD sales. HBO use the dvd to promote a series awalys waiting for the dvd to have sold well before airing the second series. Online streaming is a new thing and seen as a third income stream.
What has most effect is TiVo and Sky+. Non subscription channels depend on advertising revenue more than dvd sales or streaming. The trend towards watching later(and skipping the ads) is killing shows faster than anything.
Quality shows are now the domain of Subscription channels. They have the budget and control of viewing that ad based channels cant manage. BBC have the state subscribing on the audiences behalf, the rest go with the reality shows that can generate cash from phone ins or hold an audience with event like presentation.
How the Subscription model decides whats worth another season or not is anyones guess, so many factors affect the production of a show before it even gets to air that audience figures are only one factor of many. The big one but not the only one.

don ramo

tommy2bad wrote: »

How the Subscription model decides whats worth another season or not is anyones guess, so many factors affect the production of a show before it even gets to air that audience figures are only one factor of many. The big one but not the only one.

id say its simply a case of the subsriptions being able to cover the cost of making the show, HBO had a cull there a month of so ago, and with all the top quaility actors/actresses and show they having aring right now its no surprise cost are starting to become a big issue there, HBO have always said cancelling Rome was a hugh mistake as they never factered in DVD sales,

then over at AMC they fired frank darabondt cause he wanted more money for the show, money AMC simply dont have with shows like Mad Men Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, The Killing and Hell On Wheels,

this golden generation of cable TV is coming at enourmous cost, i can only imagine how hard it is for shows like Game Of Thrones to come in at cost, some of these shows production value is amzing,

pickarooney

If only they could somehow harness the cash the reality-cretins throw at them and spend it on proper telly. The whole idea of breaking up a television program for ads was terrible to begin with and they pushed it and pushed it until there was 1/3 commercials to 2/3 content (excluding product placement). They have only themselves to blame when people got pissed off and jumped on the opportunity to skip past ads.

Has there ever been a PAYG subscription model where you 'buy' only the programs you want to watch?

pixelburp

don ramo wrote: »

this golden generation of cable TV is coming at enourmous cost, i can only imagine how hard it is for shows like Game Of Thrones to come in at cost, some of these shows production value is amzing,

I'd wonder though if Game of Thrones actually costs less than some of the other prestige shows on HBO. After-all, much of GoT's granduer is done with computer FX, and whilst their cast is excellent, there are few - if any - big-name stars (and as I've before, would argue Sean Bean was ever that) compared to other shows such as Boardwalk Empire or Luck. I'm sure all those extras and 'period' costumes push up the cost, but I suspect it all looks more expensive than it actually is!

TwoShedsJackson

pickarooney wrote: »

If only they could somehow harness the cash the reality-cretins throw at them and spend it on proper telly.

The problem there is that reality TV costs virtually zero in comparison to a scripted drama.

Which is why they are so popular with networks.

expectationlost

lets see the dvd/br sales

conorhal

pickarooney wrote: »

If only they could somehow harness the cash the reality-cretins throw at them and spend it on proper telly. The whole idea of breaking up a television program for ads was terrible to begin with and they pushed it and pushed it until there was 1/3 commercials to 2/3 content (excluding product placement). They have only themselves to blame when people got pissed off and jumped on the opportunity to skip past ads.

Has there ever been a PAYG subscription model where you 'buy' only the programs you want to watch?

Stupidity tax for the win! I reckon that a 10cent levy on every phone vote for Big Brother or the X-Factor and their likes should go towards supporting quality productions. (Perhaps a percentage of the advertising revenues they raise could also be spent funding vasectomy clinics for the viewers)

Richard Dower

http://winteriscoming.net/2012/02/the-first-publicity-photos-from-season-two/

pixelburp

I seem to vaguely recall people around here getting terribly upset that the actress playing Brienne was too pretty, deciding to forget a little invention called "make up" :rolleyes: I think that's that knocked on the head anyway hehe