HBO renews Game of Thrones for second season!

It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction

Stannis!

It’s Party time :) Weehee!

I’m almost (almost!) more excited about the casting madness that is bound to be following now than the actual season 1 :p

Now the only thing we have to worry about is the budget, but I’m hopeful :D

THE KING IN THE NORTH! THE KING IN THE NORTH! THE KING IN THE NORTH!

Yes!

Sure, a season 2 greenlight was basically a given, but after the initial ratings I still had a slight worry so this is a huge relief.
Now I just have to make certain that the trip to Ireland/Northern Ireland this summer includes a set visit :) (even if it’s only from afar)

Melisandre! Davos! Ygritte! So much to look forwad to :)

time to cast mel

HALFHAND

thank goodness… now we can go back and enjoy the first season ;-)

Bouncing at my desk at work, trying not to squeeee!

Didn’t actually need that second coffee!

HODOR!!!!

The best news this fine Tuesday!

And those numbers STILL don’t reflect the number of Premiere parties that went on. 10 people were at mine! Might have counted as a single view but seeing as we watched the episode back-to-back that’s like 20 views right there!

Even better, one guy at the party is part of the (Nielsen?) Ratings program and he brought along his family’s little pager thingies so it knew what program he was watching. Each one of those counted as 10,000 views!

Chris Pierce,

I second that. Casting games with GRRM always made my day. That and finding out who was playing the characters.

Brienne! Stannis! Melisandre! Davos! Qarth! The Battle of the Blackwater! Qhorin! Harrenhal!! Craster! Ygritte! And some other people/places/events that I forgot!

I wonder if they’re gonna work the book title in somehow…

This is great news! I will be keeping my new HBO subscription for a bit longer, then…

In possibly related news, this site has gotten realllllly slow in the past couple of days. Server demand too much from all the newcomers??

2nd post! Major relief after reading about the dissapointing ratings in the US (they are decent anyway i suppose but ofcourse the expectations were huge).

I suppose this was already a 99% certainty but it’s still nice to hear confirmation!
As for season 3 though i think ratings will need to increase to over 4M but we got at least 20 episodes to do that now, combine that with 1. Twitter buzz, 2. Number of downloads, 3. British ratings and thinks do look pretty good i dare say!

I for one wasnt able to watch on HBO so i had to download but i will buy the DVDs when (i suppose its a when not an if even if the series never airs in Holland the DVDs should become available in retail stores?!) they come out to further support the series!

Really looking forward to season 2! BTW on a personal note i wish they would cast Margaery already in season 2 eventhough she doesnt actually appear yet in the books!

Pure elation!

Thanks for keeping us up to date Winter!

Kroket,

Margaery does appear in Book 2. It’s not a huge role, but she’s there.

In a way I was sort of hoping HBO wouldn’t greenlight a second season – it would have meant I would have had a life outside of checking WiC every 10 mins. :)

tek,

What makes you say that?

Johan Sporre: Yes!Sure, a season 2 greenlight was basically a given, but after the initial ratings I still had a slight worry so this is a huge relief.Now I just have to make certain that the trip to Ireland/Northern Ireland this summer includes a set visit (even if it’s only from afar)

Experience would suggest that they are going to tighten up on security considerably since S1 filming.

The Paint Hall (interiors set) is totally inaccesible to the public – you probably won’t even get close.

Castle Black can be seen from afar – but not really close enough to see anything of real interest.

Castle Ward (Winterfell external courtyard areas) – is possibly your best bet, it is accessible for walkers around the area, although the courtyard itself is sectioned off. the National Trust (who own the castle) like to keep the area broadly open to the public. They may extend the exclusion zone a bit though – I heard via a few extras that there were a few grumblings about some photos that appeared on the web.

There will probably be some other sites around the place (Tollymore Forest, Saintfield Estate – a private estate, Shanes Castlem were used in S1) used, but these may be a bit ‘random’ and they tended to sprout up for a week or two then become vacant again.

Not trying to put you off or anything – Northern Ireland is a great place to come to, it’s just I wouldn’t build your hopes up about seeing much from the sets.

Finally got in! Anyway….

FUCK YES!
Am currently on my re-read of Clash, I will now be even happier reading it!
I <3 HBO

Seriously, anyone had any doubts about the second season renewal? In the age where Fox gives second season to abysmally rated shows that were thrown at Friday night death slot (Dollhouse (boring), Sarah Connor Chronicles (boring) and Fringe (beyond awesome)), did anyone think that HBO wouldn’t give the second season to Game Of Thrones which premiered to glowing reviews and made tons of money overseas?

I dare to say that, unless the ratings for the further episodes and the second season get much lower (like TB season one opening episode or below) and the show will not make any money from DVDs, the third season will also be guaranteed. Mark my words, oh pessimistic ones!

Thank the Seven!

Never a doubt in my mind. *ahem*

I wouldn’t say that I am too surprised by this news, but it sure is nice to have it made official.

Josh Parker,

the actor just tweeted about more work because of the pickup http://twitter.com/#!/Luke_McEwan

I posted this in the other thread where someone broke the news but I’m so happy I wanted to copy it here as well.

Season 2!!
-Dragons!
-Tyrion as Hand
-Harrenhal: Jaqen, weasel soup, the escape, valar morghulis!
-Melisandre and shadows (interested in who they will cast!)
-Jon Snow and Qhorin’s last scene
-Battle of the Blackwater (didn’t really enjoy this passage all that much in the book, but I expect it will be awesome on screen)

And last, but certainly not least: HOUSE OF THE UNDYING!

Note: Blackfish?!! :D

I guess we won’t need that Justin Bieber guest appearance to keep the series afloat.

Not unexpected. But still a bit of the good old “OH SHIT YEAH!” from me.

Peace on Earth would have been better, but you can’t have everything… :)

Excellent (although expected) news! Winter is Staying!

GRRM posted at Not a Blog, “Looks like I’ll be writing the Battle of the Blackwater. David & Dan give me the easy stuff.”

Those of you hoping for a 14-16 episode season 2 have not watched enough HBO, the most episodes they ever do per season is 13 and the last show to do that was the 4th season of the Wire in 2006. (There was also the third season of Entourage which technically got around 16 but that was because of the writer’s strike and it was split into two parts) The most we will get is 12.

The king is dead… Long life to the kings!!!

Never doubted it, but I’m doing the happy dance anyway.

Thanks, HBO, Thanks D&D, Thanks WiC… Happiest news in a good while :)

I can easily see how Robb’s onscreen presence can be increased in season 2, not so sure how that would work with Jaime, unless his circumstances are significantly changed. Also, Renly won’t be around for a good chunk of the season.

Definitely challenging and there are going to have to be some changes but I’m so excited about this! I’m thinking this will get at least 12 episodes, hoping for more but I think it could be done justice with 12 (barely). Here’s hoping Renly still offers that peach.

Another reason for optimism: we don’t have to worry about this series ever “jumping the shark”.

Just using what GRRM has already written, HBO probably has 6-7 seasons worth of quality, cohesive story which continues to ratchet up in awesomeness. (There may be some concerns going from ASOS to AFFC, but we can cross that bridge when we come to it.)

In other words, my impression is that this series will build some serious momentum.

Hodor,

LIKE!

The thing a lot of people don’t seem to be considering regarding S2 is–HUGE MEGA SPOILER–several of the cast members, including two of the most expensive actors (Bean and Addy) are going to be out of the picture. Not only will that clear more room for character scenes, it’ll also help free up some cash, even if they get the same per-episode budget as S1. (A big reason why Deadwood ended up being as expensive as it was was the huge cast stuffed with well-known character actors.) Considering that the sets are already built, costumes and props made, and even the dragons are going to have to be designed already, I honestly am not as worried about the budget for S2 as most people. The real concern is going to be season 3, which IS going to require a lot of pricey stuff, so hopefully the show is firmly in the category of “hit” by then.

WiC didn’t want to load like a few times before with high traffic so I assumed something was going on and went to GRRM’s Not a Blog and I jumped straight out of my chair reading the good news as reported by the Creator himself and now I think my heart is still beating at 200 bpm and I really really REALLY could not be any happier!!!!! Huraay!!!! So much more awesomenes that still awaits us!!! WooohoooOOOOOO!!!!!!

*head explodes*

Ahhhh…contentment…now I will be able to enjoy season 1 even exponentially more!

And equally important: looking forward to the 2nd round of GRRManic casting games, waiting for the first Se2 screen caps, discussing in length about how impossible it will be for HBO to pull off the CGI dragons, direwolfs(?) and last but by no means least (the scene-that-will-win-GoT-a-certain-Grammy) the BW Battle, and in general just being able to share all of this with my fellow GoT fanatics!!!

We did it! We realy really did it!! Don’t ask me to explain, but at the moment I feel like it is us, House Gatewatch, who secured the 2nd Season! Always support the Bottom!!!

Im currently rereading GOT with the show, any one have any Idea where episode two will end? And Awesome news about second season. I had no doubts

Crud, I hit the “block qute” button instead of the “Spoiler” one. Could someone fix that for me?

I think dvd sales and sales to other tvstations/countries will be huge for this show.

Sex and the City can have at 18 to 20 episodes in season because its a 30 minute show. The Sopranos may have had 13 episodes per season but up until 2004 they stopped that. 2006 saw the primier of the Sopranos season 6 part 1 and 2 and both parts were equally 12 episodes.

At the most Dave and Dan are going to have to work with 12 episodes…NOT 14 or 16. The schedule of HBO is much tighter than it was several years ago. Game of Thrones has to end its season run in a suffient amount of time for True Blood to air…followed by Boardwalk Empire….If Thrones is given 14 to 16 episodes then its air time will overlap with that of True Blood and possibly Boardwalk.

Happy in my pants!!!

I wanna try out for Brienne but dh says I’m not fugly enough (phew!) But with no makeup and scraggly hair maybe? I have the height and strength and am impervious to Jaime’s charms…

Wonderful news!

One question’s been bugging me, though:

Now that Sean Bean and Mark Addy (The two top-billed actors) are out of the series, who will the top-billed actor be in S2? Dinklage? Emilia? Kit? Right now, HBO seems to be playing on Sean Bean’s star appeal for the marketing, but someone else will have to take over as the “star” next season, and aCoK doesn’t really have a “main character” so to speak. Any guesses?

Haha let the speculations begin! I speculate that they’ll drop the Iron Isles storyline entirely. Sad, but something’s gotta go, I guess…

Lawrence,

let’s hope that until season 2, the youngsters can carry their share of fandom devotion and fill the gap left by bean and addy. If the show is a huge success with the critics, I assume that a lot of great actors would kill to play stannis.

What a relief! This along with the ratings not being as bad as we may have thought is great news.

Amir Mishali,

Why give Theon all the extra scenes in the first season if not to fully explore his storyline in the second?

Amusingly, when the stylesheet for this site fails to load because of the current bandwidth issues, spoilers are actually bolded rather than blacked out ;).

Lawrence,

I would say Lena Headey may get top billing. She’s arguably the most well-known actor in there after Bean/Addy (to an international audience at least). Plus, even though she is by no means the central character, Cersei IS Queen Regent in aCoK. Based on the magnitude of their roles, perhaps Michelle Fairley, Emilia Clarke or Kit Harington would be toward the top as well?

I maintain that Tyrion is the heart of the second book. That, combined with positive reviews of Dinklage’s performance, may lead HBO to market S2 with a focus on him. However, I noticed in the credits he gets the “…and Peter Dinklage” line at the end (isn’t this generally reserved for an established actor as well? If he keeps that spot, Lena may be at the top.

Margaery does appear in Book 2. It’s not a huge role, but she’s there.

She was left behind in Bitterbridge (English name?) right? I mean we don’t see her she is only talked about… ofcourse that could change in the tv-series, still they would need to cast one more.

I’ve always hoped they chose Headey for Cersi, so Tricia Helfer would be available for Melisandre.

WOOO HOOO!

Let the casting suggestions and guessing REALLY begin!

KING IN THE NORTH!

HBO, DO RIGHT by the description of Robbs Crown. Designed in the old fashioned way of the Kings of the NORTH. If you make replicas of it. I’ll buy it. mmmmm
Also seeing Renly in kingly fashion is going to be pretty cool too.
And the painted table at Dragonstone! And Dragonstone itself. Geeeking out here.
.

George may or may not know something you guys talking about a 12+ episode season don’t. On his (not a) blog he references a specific number.

Ten more episodes! A CLASH OF KINGS.

Now maybe that doesn’t mean the number is set and he’s just assuming at least ten more episodes, I don’t know. But it certainly doesn’t point to the series getting a longer season as of yet.

Great news! Can’t wait for season 2, and ten episodes should be plenty. To include every character and detail would slow down the pace and non-readers may lose interest. If they decide to split all the books into two seasons this thing will go on for a decade and the likelihood of a proper ending would be low.
I look forward to seeing new Robb and Jaime scenes. As for star power they can cast Patrick Stewart as Stannis, he’s an amazing actor, popular, and fits the physical description.

Eric Jones,

George has updated that particular piece of information:

P.S. A late correction. Actually, I don’t KNOW how many more episodes. Could be ten. Could be more. Could even be fewer, I suppose, though I don’t really think so. Myself, I’d love to see twelve episodes this second time around, since CLASH is a hundred pages longer than GAME. But that’s a call for HBO and Dan and David, and I am sure they will let us know once it’s made.

I think for season 2 they may move Dinklage up to top billing (he’ll be the breakout star, he’s really the lead for book 2, etc.) and have whoever plays Stannis (who I’m almost certain will be a recognizable name, even if he’s not a huge mega-star like Mark Strong) take over the ending “and” credit.

If they give this season any less than 12 episodes I will be disappointed. I really hope GRRM was just hedging his bet.

Wolfheart, WTF?!?

As blashpehmous as it may sound, I wonder if they’re going to ‘merge’ the characters of Qhorin and Benjen? That might depend on what we learn of Benjen in ADWD.

Great News!!
I would be allright with A feast for crows getting two or three episodes in a possible season four. Make room for the better material

Words cannot it express the happiness! So many moments of that book I want to see onscreen!

Now everybody select an Ad above and click on it so WIC can afford to upgrade. Or maybe a donation button. I’d donate some money for this great site. Because I think it is fantastic…until it drags like it has the last couple of days.

Seriously Winter, how can we help improve the site? Because I don’t see traffic load going down until after the season is over.

Arrogant Bastard,

Nah, we need 12. I think it can be done in that time, but keep in mind we’ll likely see Oxcross and Robb’s indiscretion with Jeyne rather than just hear it talked about.

Hey, I made up an episode title list for next season. Let me know what you think.

The Comet with The Red Tail
King in The North
A Red Hawk
A Clash of Kings
Hear Me Roar
Born of Shadow
Valar Morghulis
Oxcross
The House of The Undying
Crossing The Lord of The Crossing
The Battle of The Blackwater
Not Broken

Awesome! I was actually depressed yesterday after seeing the post about ratings not being that great. I had to tell myself “Well, at least one season is a 1000 times better than none at all!” Now I am totally excited again – two seasons! Woo hoo! And who is gonna be able to say “no” to S3 after they witness all the events in S2! Yay!!!

Ramon Carlos:
As blashpehmous as it may sound, I wonder if they’re going to ‘merge’ the characters of Qhorin and Benjen? That might depend on what we learn of Benjen in ADWD.

:O As much as Qhorin is a favorite of mine the idea of Jon killing his uncle to go over to the other side sounds both awesome and tens times more f**ked up I wouldn’t mind it either way.

Oh god, I just realized I didn’t use a spoiler tag. Please delete my post!

The DarkStar: Sex and the City had 3 seasons of 18 episodes, and 1 season of 20 episodes. Also sopranos consistently ran @ 13 episodes.

Both of those were contemporary (less $$$ per ep).
I think possibility of 12 episodes is 20%—-more likely would be extended material shot for the DVDs.

just as winter said it would be. :)

We needn’t worry about billing.
That would have been already hammered out contractually at signing for S1; any agent who didn’t do that before his client was signed is probably looking for a new line of work. I suspect Dinklage to get at least shared top billing for S2. Normally there is one male and one female main lead, with 2-4 leads, in highly prominent roles, directly below them. With all the shuffling around in a very non-traditional way for this series, we’ll probably see a number of changes.

Somebody call Chris Eccleston, we need a kick ass Stannis!

Eric Jones,

That’s the best idea for how to use him I’ve ever heard. Of course, once someone tries to rescue him from that group, into the dungeons he goes, and stays there until Catelyn frees him.

Martin E,

Thanks, I think. :)

First reaction: my feet got icy.
Second reaction: I burst into tears.

Don’t worry, it’s normal.

I have a wondrous idea to give more space to Robb! He’s introduced to and immediately butts heads with his cranky advisor and great-uncle, the Blackfish. Who also acts as sounding board for his bereaved niece Catelyn.

(Thank goodness for the preview. I had put that in bolding instead of spoilers.)

Please, House Gatewatch, let’s do an unofficial Blackfish casting… or just tell me to stop hoping, and I’ll be able to divert my energies towards more fruitful GOT enterprises (after a night of uninterrupted drinking).

Dolorous Edd:
Great. Now I have to buy TWO sets of DVD’s. As if they’re cheap…

Thank you because you exist, DE.

Long time lurker here (First Post), gotta say i’m psyched for the new season :) , one thing thats been bothering me though is the number of Characters and Houses that are part of the second book . Thinking realistically theres no way they can show all the characters without the show becoming fragmented and to big for the non reading audience to grasp , specially in a TV medium, Characters need lots of face time in order to gain recognition from the Audience.

So here’s what i was thinking wouldn’t it be better if they focused More on the Renly and Tully , fraction (with more Breinne Face time), highlighting here adoration for Renly , while just casually mentioning Stannis throughout the season . By the end of the season we get the Blue wedding and maybe the first scene including & introdusing Stannis and Melisandre. So that by the end of the second season the audience is well aware of the Renly Fraction and introduced to Stannis as his brothers killer and then they can focuse on Dragonstone and Stannis in the Third season(If there is one).

Whew that was allot ….just had to get it of my chest.

What is this show you all are so excited about?

Awesome news :D The Beauty :D

GIVE US THE BLACKFISH! :D

Ps- Does anyone know how one would go about auditioning for the show? I maybe jumping ahead of my self, but I want to audition for a certain RED Dornishman :D (season three I know but I gatta start preparing!)

PanchoFrancisco,

PPs- If i get cast, I promise to report all I can directly to WiC :D

Franny Bee,

It’s a shame Brienne isn’t impervious to Jaime’s charms ;D

Everybody remember to keep watching season 1 haha

Again let me just say: I will accept absolutely ANY cuts from season 2 if it means we get more time with the Tyrells and Renly. I would kill for a whole plotline there. There’s material for it right up to the BW battle, with Renly’s ambitions and, later, Petyr’s negotiations.

I’d be willing to give up absolutely anything from the book for it. I can always read the book for the stuff that was cut, but I can’t go there for the Tyrells. Stupid POV limitations.

Happy to see this, now we just have to hope the views keep increasing and / or the dvd sales are great so we can have season 3 :)

They should go on shows like Conan / Jay leno / David letterman / something like that to promote the dvd sales and season 2… anyone know why they have not done this for S1 ?

Oh come on. Did someone seriously doubt it? I laughed at the “not so good ratings -gate”.

Supporting the bottom since -98

purplejilly,

I imagine it sounds like this, “KHAAAAAAAAAN!”

I post rarely, but felt the need to again.
As a long time lover of the series, (don’t know how many times I have actually read it) this news absolutely thrills me.
HBO has done a wonderful job on bringing the words I read into a visual field, and I am so happy that we now have at the very least 20 episodes to watch.
I never could get my wife to read the books, but she is loving the series so far. We have watched the first episode quite a few times.

I really don’t think they’re going to bring in any big stars for S2–after all, they’ll be saving some money by not having to pay Bean and Addy, and I don’t think either Davos or Stannis gets enough to do to justify casting “names” (and I can’t think of anyone famous who’d work for Brienne–no, I’m not a fan of the Katee Sackhoff suggestion), so why not cast unknowns and keep the budget for dragons and whatnot? Generally speaking, once a show gets rolling it MAKES stars–no one knew who Jon Hamm was pre-Mad Men, right? Or Ian McShane before Deadwood? Hopefully enough people will be attached to the cast they already have, and will have grown fond enough of Kit Harrington, Maisie Williams, and Emilia Clarke (with Dinklage as The Fonz) that they won’t need some big celeb.

If they WERE going to stunt-cast, I think they’d d it in S3. Mance Rayder might be a good role for a guest star. (Hey, speaking of Ian McShane–IAN MCSHANE AS MANCE RAYDER!!! Come on, how awesome would that be?) Victarion would be another for S4 or whatever. But I think they’d wait until the show was established and had the budget for it. If it’s a cost between production values and getting a big “name”, obviously, I’d rather see the fantastical stuff that’s coming looking cool than have A Special Appearance By Nathan Fillion.

Jessica C.: :O As much as Qhorin is a favorite of mine the idea of Jon killing his uncle to go over to the other side sounds both awesome and tens times more f**ked up I wouldn’t mind it either way.

This is actually not that bad an idea.

Consider what happens if Benjen’s bones are then NOT boiled and collected by Rattleshirt and that the Wildlings are forced to quickly leave the area, deciding to leave Benjen’s body for the shadow cats. Perhaps there are fears the wights are close and there is no time to cook Benjen properly.

Then, have Benjen comes back as Coldhands, too.

I am surprised that anybody is surprised but I am happy that everybody is happy.

Far more interesting to me than the announcement is figuring out how to adapt this monster. I know TPTB are already well past the point of figuring that out.

What I am more on pins and needles for than the “Season 2″ announcement are ratings for the rest of Season 1 which may have a lot of influence over HOW Season 2 gets adapted in ways like # of episodes and money spent.

The Season 2 game is a lot different than Season 1 just as many here have already mentioned. It is a fascinating thought though.

Oh and its interesting to note that the series is simply called, “A Game of Thrones,” probably forever and ever.

Good time.

Amazing news!

However, I’m not sure they gave Martin a right episode to write – he is notorious for writing too expensive and that particular episode will definitely be most expensive one in the season.

Can’t wait to see Tyrion in season 2, one of the best parts of the books are when he is the acting Hand.

On a plus side – casting clues are coming back!

Nobody is better than Ian McShane. EVER. AT ANYTHING. Quantum physics, crocheting, stunt biking, you name it. IAN MCSHANE IS BEST AT IT. So if the opportunity arises to cast Ian McShane, YOU CAST IAN MCSHANE, MOTHERF&*#$ER. Or should I say C&*#$#@*ER.

Anyway, he’s British, so he wins.

Tulse,

While it is true that D&D don’t need to stick to the exact order of events in the books, there are two good reasons for doing so:

1) The books have pretty good ending points as it is, and they will translate well to powerful season finales. That being said, I could see Season 3 ending with the red wedding, and the events books 4 & 5 will be shuffled around significantly due to the POV split in those books.

2) GRRM has worked meticulously to get the chronology of events right (as evidenced by his delay in writing aDwD). Any change in the series will risk creating internal inconsistencies and problems down the road–which could create more trouble than they’re worth.

I fully expect that there will be changes in the order of things, but D & D will have to be careful.

Awesome news! Congrats to everyone involved in the show on the great work!

One word: YES!

Ok. So since my 14-16 episode season got shot down…
Would it be THAT problematic to make the episodes run around 70-75 minutes?
That could give D&D an extra 2 episodes of time, and hopefully save the machete to some of our plot lines.

Prankster,

Ian McShane= Stannis

konohanasakuya:
I would love it if they included the Blackfish, but his non-appearance in season 1 creates some problems with his character (his estrangement with Lord Hoster, for instance – that can’t be demonstrated as effectively if he was just at Riverrun all along). All-in-all (and unfortunately) I think those two may be considered the ‘expendable’ characters by D&D.

Not that I want to push the envelope at all costs (lying, yes I do), but if Hoster dies offscreen and the Blackfish is in Riverrun to welcome Catelyn and comfort her for her losses, there’s much that can be explained in a few words and glances. They could even have Hoster’s funeral (one of my fave scenes, because it tells so much about Brynden’s and especially Edmure’s character). Then the Blackfish can go on to become one of Robb’s star advisors. We don’t really need Jeremy Irons; a talented unknown (Victor Reinier?) like many who have been cast until now would do.

ogbebaba:
Prankster,

Ian McShane= Stannis

Ian McShane will be 70 next year. He does look younger than that, but playing a younger brother of Mark Addy’s Robert is too much. He can be a great Balon Greyjoy or Blackfish.

victory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rimshot: Rimshot

Rim… you didn’t believe it ever really stopped being beard time???

I’ve been cultivating this squirrel on my chin in expectation of season 2… it was always gonna happen. Until the officially announce the show as cancelled, I’ll remain bearded and at the ready for the call (my wife will not be pleased to hear that!)

…hopefully there’ll be House Umber featuring in season 2 for me to get geared up in again (anyone who’s read it recently confirm what involvement they have in book 2)

From a different show but …the road goes ever on & on…

Four words:

Strong fucking Belwas baby!

The DarkStar:
Ok. So since my 14-16 episode season got shot down…
Would it be THAT problematic to make the episodes run around 70-75 minutes?
That could give D&D an extra 2 episodes of time, and hopefully save the machete to some of our plot lines.

It will be problematic because it will cost a lot of extra money (25%). A show running more than 60 minutes will also bring troubles for your tv-schedule, you probably can’t run 2 shows on one evening then unless one is a 30-minute comedyshow.

On the other hand I’m a big fan of this idea because those first 60 minutes felt like 20!

I also renew my call for Martin Clunes as Alester Florent. No one else has those perfect Florent ears!

The DarkStar: Would it be THAT problematic to make the episodes run around 70-75 minutes?

Only if D&D used sock puppets to act out all parts for those last 10-15 minutes , thereby saving on costuming, production, set-design, insurance-liability, casting, script supervising, art direction, and continuity costs.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Ian McShane in anything GOT related..but another Wire alumni like Aiden Gillen is very much welcome….Landsman, Rawls,McNulty…I would advocate actors of color, but there aren’t any active roles for brown skinned people outside of Westeros.

Pipe dreams aside I want to see some relatively unknown British or European actor take on the role of Stannis or Davos….give these unknowns a chance to shine for about 1 or 2 seasons and we’ll see their popularity increase.

Awesome news, expected it but still speechless. George over on his blog says he will be writing the Battle of Blackwater episode.
Cannot wait for casting news and of course, George’s name game. Since a certain group of three characters appear right at the start, we won’t have to wait 3 months for their announcements.

DH87: Only if D&D used sock puppets to act out all parts for those last 10-15 minutes , thereby saving on costuming, production, set-design, insurance-liability, casting, script supervising, art direction, and continuity costs.

they would actually have to spend MORE money on casting in that scenario to employ sock puppeteers, which would mean more insurance, more time designing shots and sets with said puppeteers, new puppeteer supervisors, and I bet the continuity costs would sky rocket, being that one minute there is Cercie, and the next it’s a sock with a blond wig. (although maybe some might not be able to tell the difference.)

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/19/game-of-thrones-premiere-ratings/

Thrones repeat airings on Monday added another 1.2 million to the viewership tally (this is definitely considered good, btw).

Total of 5.6m for the US alone now, then?

Langkard,
“Jaquen is already cast (Miltos Y!)” , says I as I continue to beat my drum for the Syrio/Jaquen connection..

GaR,

I like this. I’ve seen others say that these numbers from repeat showings are only counting unique viewers–can anyone with knowledge of the system confirm?

darksofa: GaR, No, that’s included in the 4.2.

Incorrect. 4.2 million was for Sunday. 1.2 million on top for Monday. So yes, 5.4 million total for the premiere weekend.

I think that Monday number is pretty impressive all things considered. It suggests that perhaps word of mouth is already working a little bit in that people who missed it on Sunday might have been convinced to try it on Monday after hearing from others. I think 1.2 million for repeat episodes is a very large number.

Let me chime in (late) that this is AWESOME news!

If anyone is interested in stuff like this (like I am): For tracking the buzz for Game of Thrones, we can use more than ratings. Check out the GoogleTrends graphs for GoT vs. Camelot and vs. Borgias over the last 30 days (when they all premiered):

http://www.google.com/trends?q=game+of+thrones%2C+camelot&ctab=0&geo=all&date=mtd&sort=0

http://www.google.com/trends?q=game+of+thrones%2C+borgias&ctab=0&geo=all&date=mtd&sort=0

Look at that HUGE spike over the last few days for GoT!!! It is getting more than 400% more search volume than either show’s peak. Moreover, it dominates any other show on TV now in terms of search volume. This indicates a lot of things (including torrents), but this much interest and buzz bodes EXTREMELY well.

(Aside: I think the ratings VASTLY underrate the popularity of the series; median viewer age 44?!? No freekin’ way. If we are doing that well with the older demographic, then the DVD sales, future HBO subscriptions, etc will be MASSIVE).

Mormegil,

NOOOOOOOOOO (cry)

If they want to make Robb bigger in season 2, then they will have to include Jeyne as well as many of Robb’s military victories even if they don’t show the actual battles. I hope they show the storming of the Crag at least. It would be weird in season 3 if Robb shows up with a wife without showing how he got the wife.

I also hope that Margaery gets included because she becomes a major player. I fear that they will combine Garlan and Loras though, which isn’t too bad but Garlan would be a great fan service. The Tyrells are my favorite.

off-topic -

does anyone know if the video interview of GRRM conducted by Joe Abercrombie is available for online viewing ?

it was broadcast on Sky Atlantic on April 18th, 8.30pm, directly before the premiere of Game of Thrones at 9.00. It’ll later be repeated on Sky Arts 1 and 2.

Matt,

Agreed. Two bookend long episodes would be perfect.
Eleanor,

good point.

Yeah! Now waiting for episode no. 2 with no fear besides me :]

Ro: Incorrect.4.2 million was for Sunday.1.2 million on top for Monday.So yes, 5.4 million total for the premiere weekend.

I think that Monday number is pretty impressive all things considered.It suggests that perhaps word of mouth is already working a little bit in that people who missed it on Sunday might have been convinced to try it on Monday after hearing from others.I think 1.2 million for repeat episodes is a very large number.

Wow, woops. While I’m quite glad to be wrong, I honestly don’t think it’s a big deal either way. I have a feeling that hype generated by HBO’s marketing department won’t even come close to what word of mouth is going to do for the show’s popularity. We’ll know more over the course of the season, but I suspect their ratings are going to climb, and climb well.

Eleanor,

10 episodes is just too psychologically satisfying a # for this story to fit in. Martins tale breaks the mold, as should season lengths.

Wastrel:

To some degree it depends on how much faith they have in Dinklage and Williams. If they stick to the book, those two will have massive screentime. If they think they’ll be stars, that’s fine.

If anything is decided based on what is written in internet or how good they are at the moment I don’t think there is any problem about showing a lot of Peter and Maisie. At the moment they seem to be fan favourites in show with Sean Bean and maybe Mark Addy.

NCW is truly interesting piece of work too. He has gotten some good eyefulls already but I think that nothing so major… yet. When the complexcity of Jaime as a character starts to hit I believe that NCW will become carrying force of the show. More screentime in S2 is surely given if I’m right.

And no flashbacks please. Only in major plot points like ToJ or Aerys vs. Rickard. Usually flashbacks just confuse and mess around with rhythm. With good dialogue, talking heads are way better.

Regina Thorne,

Oh! That would be a great place to end Jaime’s season 2 arc.

Regina Thorne,
Pure Genious! You’re hired!!

Samar:
There can only be one Blackfish. And that is Jeremy Irons.

Isn’t he busy with The Borgias for the next few years (hopefully)?
I love that show. It’s like The Tudors with less boobs and more plot.

Looks like the plan is for 10 episodes for season 2

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/19/game-of-thrones-season-two-2/

HBO answers questions:

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/19/game-of-thrones-season-two-2/

@WiC: Let me just repeat, I’m not trying to bitch… I LOVE this site! Just keep in mind what a bunch of freaks we are. It really doesn’t take get the panic ball rolling. :)

Damnit, 10 episodes?

I’m sure they’ll do a great job but when one of the main complaints about the series from critics is how close to bursting the show is, it would have been nice to have got a little breathing room, especially when the next book is even longer.

Great news everyone! (insert picture of The Professor)

The ten episode mark does not frighten me at all, for a number of reasons:

-less character build up. Sure the show is always going to have a bit of exposition going on at all times, but there will be less with S2 (I actually loved the talky bits of last episode, dont know why this is always held to be an inherently bad thing).
-Dany and Jons stories are very condensible/changable in way that wont effect their future developments.
-Hoster thread most likely cut.

I loved aCok, but as a tv show there is much that could be cut without watering down the climaxes of the show.

Lex,

Lex, if you read the EW/HBO article in full you’ll see that the HBO execs expect between the VOD numbers and total viewership, the total should be between 7 and 8 million and leave True Blood’s premiere in the dust.

They also point out that they, like any good dope dealer, are acutely aware of their clientele’s demand for product.

GaR,

If 1.2 million unique viewers are tuning into the THIRD repeat of this show, then this Sundays episode will fly past 2.2 million, Easter weekend of no Easter weekend. This show is clearly already gaining momentum from word of mouth.

And, like they said, the script writing is a lot of work and they don’t have a full writing staff. Plus, 10 episodes will save money once again. And they’d have to worry less about creating new storylines/scenes/dialogue.

Nick,

I think we can’t really say yet what the big audience has though about the show. Yes the numbers are good and 4-5 million or maybe even the huge 7-8 mentioned in EW look really promising. But there are bound to be people who disliked it or just didn’t care enough. Easter holiday surely too reduces the viewers but after next 2-3 sundays we can start to guess what the momentum truly is for GOT

Fingers crossed.

Would this mean 10 episodes would be *every* season then?

These books get significantly longer…it’s just trying to fit more and more clowns into the already tiny car.

Re: 10 episodes

I really don’t know what to make of this. It’s certinaly better than none. And yes, it’s worse then 10.

How well 10 proves to be will depend upon this season. Truth is, I really have no frame of reference yet.

I do know this: if the word comes down that ASoS will be compressed into one 10 episdoe season, I’ll freak!

So if there is some way to hedge their bets and make the narrative work between both CoK and ASoS — done over thirty episodes (three seasons) I’d be a helluva lot happier.

The natural break points for CoK are the Battle of the Blackwater and Jon joining the wildlings. Pretty much – the end of the novel. So damned if I know how they will make this work.

I guess they’ll start by slashing the Greyjoys all to hell and streamlining and smoothing out Danaerys’ story. Don’t cut Jon Snow’s tale!!

DAYUM. I really wanted 12 episodes though!

A lot will tune in for episode 2 just to see if Bran survives his fall or to know if the puppy was crushed. What I’m worried about is how the killing of Lady affects the rating on the 3 episode. As an animal lover, that’s one of the scenes that almost makes me dropped the book. What made it worst was that it wasn’t the evil Lannisters that actually killed the direwolf but instead the heroic Ned Stark. Total disillusionment moment there.

purplejilly:
Langkard,
“Jaquen is already cast (Miltos Y!)” , says I as I continue to beat my drum for the Syrio/Jaquen connection..

I would find that interesting, but I’m not sure I buy it. I wouldn’t mind Miltos as a Jaqen. Coltaine777 had a suggestion above for Cillian Murphy as Jaqen and I’m impressed. Great idea.

Speaking of Coltaine777 and another of our regulars here, Ganoes Paran…

Maybe someday the state of CGI will be such that we’ll be able to see the Malazan Book of the Fallen some to life on the screen as well. But it would take lots of CGI with all of the non-human characters like Imass and Jaghut and the various Tiste races. Ah, well. We can hope.

Meanwhile I will watch and re-watch the episodes in Game of Thrones in the hope of seeing Steven Erikson as a “horse rider” extra. I just don’t know which episode or if his scene made it past the editing!

Damnit, missed the obvious spoiler above while editing the more harmless ones. Please edit if you can.

YUSS!!

Nick: If 1.2 million unique viewers are tuning into the THIRD repeat of this show,

I think this may have been due to the NBA playoff game, or whatever NBA game it was, that caused those viewers to catch either the 10 or 11 o’clock showings, rather than repeat viewers of Episode 1 (although I was one of the latter myself).

chump:
maybe they will find a way to end Brienne’s story line in season two… or maybe even omit her. That would be awesome.

Unlikely. Brienne’s influence on Jaime is a major plot point for both ASoS and AFFC

LOL, look at this thread. How quickly the paranoia begins…

“Season Two greenlit!”
“Yaaaaaaaaa…….wait, what, 10 episodes?”
“OMG it’s the end of the Westeros as we know it!”

Shawn Edward Cantu: Lex, if you read the EW/HBO article in full you’ll see that the HBO execs expect between the VOD numbers and total viewership, the total should be between 7 and 8 million and leave True Blood’s premiere in the dust.

Let’s keep a bit of perspective here, in the midst of our euphoria.
The three-peat at 9, l0, and 11 is unusual scheduling for HBO. I’d be interested to see if HBO is going to continue that through the whole run of S1. If it returns to the more typical 9 and 11 PM repeat (EDT), we may see the broadcast numbers drop. And of course True Blood hasn’t yet had a season where it has been given the same kind of scheduling fast-tracking that GOT got for its premiere. We’d better hold off on making these kinds of comparisons—let’s be thrilled with what we have: a complex show, skewing heavily male in its genre, producing big enough numbers to make Michael Lombardo happy.
Along with “support the bottom,” we should add a new mantra: M-M-L-H! (Make Mike Lombardo Happy)!!

10 episodes? Hmm I don’t think that number is final. I’m hoping that D&D can get HBO to raise it to 12…I think it’s possible, since the On Demand numbers plus the actual TV ratings should get it possibly up to 7 mil. viewers. Doing A Clash of Kings in 10 episodes is doable, but not optimal. The presence of the Greyjoy storyline would surely be diminished to some degree, as would Stannis/Davos. There are 2 issues I can see with season 2 going forward (ACoK spoilers ahead):

No Sean Bean/Mark Addy/Jason Momoa/Harry Lloyd. These are some of the actors that have the critics’ praise, also Bean’s and Addy’s names are known to the general public. 1/2 the series’ storylines will rest on unknown actors with short resumes (Dany/Jon/Theon). When I have been telling people about the series I have had the ability to say ‘It has Sean Bean, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage’ which grabs people’s attention, they won’t have that going forward. That’s something that HBO’s marketing department will have to figure out.

Also there is No Way that they will cut/radically change Theon’s/Bran’s storylines.
It’s balanced by the fact that Jon and Dany don’t do very much until ASoS. Speaking of which, doing ASoS in 10 episodes is impossible. It can’t be done. Not if D&D still want to maintain the integrity of the series. Also there is no way that it can be done in 21 episodes a la Sopranos season 6. There’s not enough plot for 21 hours of TV, not to mention the ricidulous expense for the network. I think that they would likely either do parts 1 and 2 of maybe 16 episodes total, or if they really wanted to cut the crap out of it they could do a very rushed 13 episodes.
Spoilers for ASoS:

And finally, I think if they end up going withe the Red Wedding for the season 3 part 1 finale they would absolutely have to put some scene in that serves as a ‘light in the darkness’ of sorts. I remember exactly where I was when I first read it. I was sitting on my bed, thinking (while reading) about how I had read a GRRM post saying that ‘if we get to a 3rd season, many people will be sad to see Robb go’ or something like that. So I basically knew it was coming. But still, when I read it, I threw my paperback copy across the room and cursed. I can only imagine what seeing that cold would do to casual TV viewers…if I wasn’t so engrossed in the book I might have walked away in disgust, but instead I ran over, picked it up and read for another few hours, and got to Joffrey’s wedding, when I started jumping up and down in glee with a sort of sick satisfaction…

Most likely they will shift storylines a bit to make things even out. That’s fine with me.

Everyone says “cut bla bla,” but remember – the books aren’t finished yet. I personally would rather poke myself in the eye than read the endless, tedious Dorne bullshit again. But guess what? It might be vital info to the story going forward. We just don’t know.

12 episodes for a Clash of Kings? Would that mean a Storm of Swords would have to be two seasons of 7 to 10 episodes?

Way too soon to think about it, but I can’t help it.

A Feast for Crows combined with A Dance with Dragons would probably be three seasons of 7 to 10 episodes!

So, this could give give GRRM a few more years for The Winds of Winter. If it’s long enough, this could be 2 short seasons of 6 to seven episodes.

Maybe one 9 episode season of the 3 Dunk and Egg stories to build the suspense towards the final season. Maybe add 3 more episodes if he writes another adventure.

That should be enough time for GRRM to finish A Dream of Spring and who knows how long that that season will have to be.

WHY AM I EVEN THINKING ABOUT THIS?

as i said, they can manage a 10 episode 2nd season IF they put some of the ASOS stuff in season 2. i can’t understand people who say 10 episode is not enough for ACOK. Come on, we are talking about ACOK!! Dany&Jon storylines are dang slow. 8 episodes would be too much IMHO.
And, IMHO again, splitting ASOS into two with the red wedding as season finale sucks.
1) they won’t know if GOT will have a season 4 (heck, we don’t even know about a season 3). ending a season with *that* scene… well, sucks. Poor viewers. They would die :D
2)the red wedding is about at 2/3 of ASOS. No way they can manage to film a whole season based upon that 1/3 of ASOS left. that would mean more sew-and-cut operations of *both* AFFC and ADWD.

It’d be easier to put some ASOS in season 2. This would improve both dany’s and jon’s storyline. the first of the first men would be a perfect season finale.
jaime could be relased earlier in the story, and we could see robb coming back with jeyne. Mance & Jon’s awesome scene could be moved to season 2. And so on
And i LOVE that idea of benjen being a new halfhand. Jon killing ben would be one of THE BEST SCENES EVER.
Of course if D&D already filmed ben’s disappearance, it’s too late to think about it. Kit Harington saying he would like to film the halfhand scene makes me think he WILL be in season 2. Of course, kit doesn’t know how the season is going to be developed, but i guess he would know about john marble (spelling? the guy who plays ben) being in season 2

My nerd dream: i’m hoping for summer glau to be casted. I don’t mind the role (maergary, gilly, even ygritte if she wears a wig!!) but i want summer glau in GoT *__* she is one of the best of her generation, period.

I think 10 episodes is perfect. Not that I’ve read CoK and know what I’m talking about. Still, the number of pages don’t translate evenly to the screen anyway, so it’s hard to know what 100 pages more really means. The first episode was about 100 pages, so if it DID translate exactly, that pace could do 1000 pages in one season. If they slow down a bit, they might need 11 episodes, but 10 should really be fine. They’ve shown the ability, when necessary, to turn pages of internal monologue into a look that tells book readers everything they need to know, and new people enough to give the suggestion of character.

I think that if the people writing the adaptation feel that 10 is the appropriate number for them, they are probably correct. Given any less than 10 would be too restrictive, but once you start adding time, it can really lead to lazy writing. Er, not to reference the issues GRRM ran into when he started adding books, but… (Not that I know, like I said, haven’t read them)

Hopefully they don’t have to cut anything major though.

Lord, can we not be happy? First, the concern is they’re going butcher the whole thing. Then the casting. Then the viewing numbers. Now that they say 4-5 million, people still aren’t happy with those. Lordy people.

As for season 2, just wait…. and see what’s actually really announced before you start bitching and moaning. Sheesh.

Stephen Berry,

Welcome to house gatewatch :)

And the internet.

My nerd dream: i’m hoping for summer glau to be casted. I don’t mind the role (maergary, gilly, even ygritte if she wears a wig!!) but i want summer glau in GoT *__* she is one of the best of her generation, period.

Dude. Come ON! Everything she’s been in has been cancelled. WTF??

If Summer Glau even gets cast as an extra corpse in the Battle of the Blackwater, all bets for the series’ longevity are off!

We got the Iron throne. The Arryns got their weirwood throne…

Now I wonder. Is HBO going to make the Ancient stone throne of the Kings of the North for Season 2?
It would be nice to see.
I can’t remember if Bran sits in it before Winterfell burns

The first thing I did today was check twitter on my phone and saw the great news…not a bad 30th Bday present! I just hope the ratings are nice this week and we see some steady growth every week. Much love to D&D, GRRM, and Wic, brought a lot of joy to me in the last year since discovering the book series.

Regina Thorne,

If they bring it up to 11 or 12 episodes, this would be a great way to give one of the main characters more to do, and it would shorten storm of swords considerably.

If anybody thinks That the GReyjoy plot will be gone from season 2. just go to HBO shop and see the House Bannister t-shirts

LOL, if this site from 6 months ago could see what people are suggesting now for Season 2.

Merging Qhorin and Benjen?!?!?! Removing the Greyjoy’s? Not allowing Jaime to be captured?!?! This site from 6 months ago would have murdered you, and now in both this topic and the “GOT didn’t get enough viewers” post we have people ready to completly deface the series and turn it into something unrecognizeable in order to get more seasons/ the characters we love more screen time.

I am so glad NONE of you are running the show. Have the showrunners not already shown us with this first episode that they are more than capable of turning the book we love into a show we love? You all worry about “potential audience this” and “viewers that” but you forget how it is BECAUSE the book didn’t follow what every other show did is the reason we all fell in love with it in the first place. And now you all want to change it into a rehash of shit we’ve already seen. No thanks.

I know Jaime is a big character, and him being locked in a dungeon would take him out of the limelight for a while, but that is what makes the show so great. It isn’t about X character being so awesome that they have to be doing shit all the time. In ASOIAF bad shit happens to cool people. So what if Jaime rots away, thats why the book is awesome, no one is exempt from anything, need I remind you of Ned’s beheading?!

As far as 10 episodes goes for season 2, I think that D&D will make it work. Will things be condensed? Yes, of course they will, they were for season 1, we’ve seen that already in the first episode, but that doesn’t mean we need to get the machete out and start cutting out YOUR least favorite parts of the book. If that was the case the show might as well have focused only on Tyrion, Jon Snow, and Arya, everyone else could have died in a fire for all we cared, and in 3 episodes we could realize that all the 3 main characters do is be witty, kick ass, and we can revel in the boringness of them overcoming great odds with no real peril in their lives.

Oh wait, I already have seen that, and its called Harry Potter.

Again off topic, but I have to speak out… in defense of Roger Allam! I LIKE him as Illyrio! Ian McNeice might have “looked” more the part, but I like Allam’s voice and… inscrutability. I think I’d rather have him than McNeice.

That is all.

Tre Svatek:
LOL, if this site from 6 months ago could see what people are suggesting now for Season 2.

Merging Qhorin and Benjen?!?!?! Removing the Greyjoy’s? Not allowing Jaime to be captured?!?! This site from 6 months ago would have murdered you, and now in both this topic and the “GOT didn’t get enough viewers” post we have people ready to completly deface the series and turn it into something unrecognizeable in order to get more seasons/ the characters we love more screen time.

I am so glad NONE of you are running the show. Have the showrunners not already shown us with this first episode that they are more than capable of turning the book we love into a show we love? You all worry about “potential audience this” and “viewers that” but you forget how it is BECAUSE the book didn’t follow what every other show did is the reason we all fell in love with it in the first place. And now you all want to change it into a rehash of shit we’ve already seen. No thanks.

I agree. So far there have been changes, but it hasn’t been a complete re-write of the main plot. I’ll revisit my view once the season is over, but I expect season 2 to be on par with what they do in season 1 as far as changes or they risk losing their core fans just for the unsure possibility that such changes might pick up some “casual viewers”.

Tre Svatek: I know Jaime is a big character, and him being locked in a dungeon would take him out of the limelight for a while, but that is what makes the show so great. It isn’t about X character being so awesome that they have to be doing shit all the time. In ASOIAF bad shit happens to cool people. So what if Jaime rots away, thats why the book is awesome, no one is exempt from anything, need I remind you of Ned’s beheading?!

I think they can have more Jaime simply by showing more of what he is doing before his capture, and perhaps delaying the capture a bit if need be. Showing some of Robb and Jaime’s scenes that we just hear about 2nd hand in clash would be acceptable to me

Tre Svatek:As far as 10 episodes goes for season 2, I think that D&D will make it work. Will things be condensed? Yes, of course they will, they were for season 1, we’ve seen that already in the first episode, but that doesn’t mean we need to get the machete out and start cutting out YOUR least favorite parts of the book. If that was the case the show might as well have focused only on Tyrion, Jon Snow, and Arya, everyone else could have died in a fire for all we cared, and in 3 episodes we could realize that all the 3 main characters do is be witty, kick ass, and we can revel in the boringness of them overcoming great odds with no real peril in their lives.

Oh wait, I already have seen that, and its called Harry Potter.

There is so many pages of internal dialogue and discription in the books that will have to be rewritten anyway, that I think they can do it without butchering the heart of the show. Storm of Swords on the other hand I don’t think can be done justice without significantly more episodes. I wonder if they would consider filming multiple seasons at once ala the Lord of the Rings movies? Otherwise if we did get the dream scenario of 2 seasons for Storm of Swords, and 3 seasons for the combination of Feast and Dance, the kids won’t be kids any more.

they could keep 10 episodes for S2 if they take some of the end of CoK, and put it onto the start of S3. instead of SoS being 20 episodes on it’s own. you could do 2 from CoK and 18 from SoS for S3/4. so it still works out the same in the end.

with appropriate season-ending moments being utilized of course.

Lex,

I also liked Allam; he’s not how I pictured Illyrio in the books, but how he played him worked well I thought. Also, does anyone else think Allam as Illyrio sounds exactly like Michael Gambon from Harry Potter?

is it to late to get violet contact lenses for the targaryens?

So, Ginia Bellafante of the NY Times has written a response! Not much better than the first, to be honest.

And here is the most insulting dismissal of fantasy that I’ve discovered so far. The person hates it more than anything! Once again, however, they seem to be totally mistaken about what Game of Thrones even is.

YAAY :D

Please please HBO now you have to give us a season 3 as well!

Urk. I am beyond ready for episode 2. Is every week going to be this dreadful? I thought once the show was finally out my obsession would cease :/

That Game of Regression article is funny at least. Reading these people who don’t get it makes me smile for some odd reason. Love how he talks about everyone being on a “quest” for something. And the princesses looking for a unicorn makes me think of Sansa :) It’s almost like he’s arguing that GoT is up his alley. Strange that his conclusion is to skip…

But were he to actually watch, his narrow viewpoint would notice the tiny elements in GoT, which exist to make you think it’s a typical fantasy story (so that later when it changes on you you are surprised), and say it fits his description of everything that’s bad with the genre.

We should stop linking to these people, the links only help them.

Nice recap on tv.com

Can I borrow somebody’s copy of “How to adapt fantasy novels into television series for dummies”? I had no idea it was in print and I am amazed to find so many people have read it and are now experts on how to plot and plan a show. Amazing! 8)

Larry D Curtis,

LOL, yeah, can I have it after you? ;D

I’d agree with whoever above said they really like Roger Allam as Ilyrio – he’s not at all how I pictured the character in the books (I was expecting more bling and an outrageous “foreign” accent, tbh! ;D) but I thought he was great. I liked the way he was clearly stringing that sap Viserys along – the way he said “I take you for a king!” and all that…

Another thought somebody else has probably already had – as we lose some, er, prominent characters in S1, maybe it’s a good thing that some of the characters people hoped would be in S1 aren’t, because they can now be cast with more prominent guest actors to replace the outgoing cast members? And the same goes for characters who appear onscreen now but as little more than glorified extras. If they’re characters who barely have a line in GoT but become more important to the story in later books, surely they could be pretty unobtrusively recast with more heavyweight actors without it being as jarring as recasting of already-prominent characters always is. Unless it’s Doctor Who, of course… ;D

Concerning the second season and which character(s)/storyline(s) might be omitted in the adaption:

My money is on Craster.

Alcibiades,

Wasn’t Rome Season 2 rushed because the writers found out it would be cancelled and decided they would heroically get through to the resolution, no matter how much squeezing it took?

I’d rather have 10 episodes than 12 if that means there will be enough money for some of the more expensive stuff that will have to be in S2.

Without sounding too demanding… Who’s in for a THIRD SEASON? :D

Haven’t we discussed about episode count like 50 times in the last year or so? :D

Also I think I haven’t seen any information about that the seasons would go alongside with the books. So ( 1 book =/= 1 season ). If this has been proved or any other info about this I would like to get the url thanks. Almost all of GRRMs chapters end in some sort of cliffhanger so just picking the big ones and making them season ending wouldn’t be that hard.

Lex,

I don’t think you (or anyone else) needs to be offended by the Game of Regression piece. That guy is a fan of the books who just hasn’t realized it yet. I mean seriously, look at this:

Moreover, anyone the least bit invested in nostalgia for anything pertaining to Medieval Europe is not to be taken seriously. Period. As Monty Python put it best, there were basically only two classes of people way back then: the King and those covered in shit.

It’s hilarious. He has no idea how ignorant he is.

Maxwell James,

I’d agree, from that piece, I smell a self-hating former fantasy fan who was scarred by some traumatic event into adandoning the genre – seems to know a whole lot about the traditional fantasy tropes (or those that were common a decade or two ago.. before the genre ‘modernised’) – perhaps the ‘author’ was touched in a bad place by someone in a Gandalf costume?

10 episodes doesn’t rule out a 2 hour premiere or finale. LOST did that several times as I recall.

Lex:
So, Ginia Bellafante of the NY Times has written a response! Not much better than the first, to be honest.

Well, I’m kind of happy about that second piece because I got a shout-out in there :D

Also, I agree with you on Roger Allam. Unfortunately Ian McNeice will forever be Baron Harkonnen AND the announcer on “Rome” (who was one of my favorite minor characters) and it would be too much to have him as Illyrio as well!

loooool. poor roger allam! what a terrible role for an amazing, seasoned actor. good for his wallet i suppose!

Characters that are so awesome that they need to be included:

1. Halfhand

2. Red Viper

3. Dolorous Edd

4. Garlan Tyrell

5. Strong Belwas

6. Blackfish

There’s a lot more too.

Aldaris:
Concerning the second season and which character(s)/storyline(s) might be omitted in the adaption:

My money is on Craster.

Don’t they need Craster to set-up Gilly and then when the Old Bear gets whacked?

Don’t forget Lena Headey is going to be on Craig Ferguson tonight. Sure to be some great GOT discussion and (hopefully) a new clip from the show.

JMMelo,

This. Even if you’re a notorious downloader and don’t like owning physical media or don’t have a DVD/BD player, buy it anyway. It won’t be out for another 11 months, and will cost $40 tops for the DVD set. Anyone can pool together that much money over 11 months.

NCW made an interesting comment in that interview from Den of Geek, that shooting over 6 months left plenty of room for other projects, which keeps the actors happy and helps attract good actors in the first place – as opposed to the lengthy shooting schedule of network tv series. More episodes means more shooting time, so there may be practical reasons to keep the seasons to 10 episodes. That doesn’t have to mean they compress the BOOK into 10 episodes. I am curious though how they will deal with Arstan. I mean, we can SEE him so there is no reveal. In which case they may cut Strong Belwas and change Arstan’s storyline considerably. I for one think it’ll be fun watching Jorah and ‘Arstan’ bitch on.

12% of torrent pirating for Game of Thrones is from Australia. Thankyou Foxtel f&*kwits for your enormously foolish decision to defer showing it for 3 months. Don’t you WANT subscriptions?

Dolorious Edd is gonna get wrapped up into Sam. I guarantee it. Sam as written is way too self pityingly pathetic to get any viewer sympathy. Sam + Dolorious Edd’s lines? Same sentiment, but now a viewer favorite. This one’s a no brainer: give the good lines to your leads.

So now I’m gonna go on a diet, also. Marvelous.

Dolorous Edd: So now I’m gonna go on a diet, also. Marvelous.

Edd, I’d think you would be thrilled. Merged is better than cut.

Well, I am not sure about many posters fav for Davos (me included), apparently Robert Caryle is the lead male in some thriller series set in New England, I am not positive if it is a mid season or fall release.

Tysnow,

Hah, the funny thing is they’ll probably pick actors for Stannis and Davos noone has ever thought of. It’s gonna take the fans by suprise, and then you guys are gonna have a gate about it. Most people will come to terms with the choices eventually, but some will whine all the way to the season two premiere, when they realize the actors are perfect. :)

Great news, however 10 hours feels too short a time to get the story right. But still a Lot better than no s2 at all :D

Yes winter is coming!!! again

Hello there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this write-up to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!