I enjoyed both the 4th and 5th books, even relative to the first three, though I seem to be in the minority on this. I did expect them to be slower, however, as they are part of the middle arc of the series.
It's inevitable that a series based on books would have some comparison talk, but now it's gone off topic (should only be season 2=book 2 IMO) and I'm sure will spoil some stuff. To that end, I've made a Book Series Discussion thread.
Six one minute clips from the first episode of season 2: Spoiler <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TuaObvlexr4?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3nX5S4DV85c?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/teOfknTyzYc?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/f9w0pHjWiIE?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FYfiEIAth10?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/geFQly1N8UQ?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I am soooooo looking forward to the Tyrion scenes this season. Personally I think almost all of Tyrion's best stuff is in book 2.
Three clips from Episode 2: Spoiler <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8KBryYveauU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jsY3K6HWCRc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/G5Ii1Cw4Duk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Wouldn't be surprised if Dinklage won another Emmy
By season 3 does anybody think Game of Thrones could have a Sopranos type of following? I know that the first season did okay, but I know so many more people who have gotten into this show after the first season was complete.
I certainly think it's possible. Honestly I think the second season is going to be a lot more entertaining than the first. So much of the first season was set-up, introducing all the characters, etc. This season begins in the thick of things.
I know we're getting ahead of ourselves but I'm really curious to see how they handle books 4 and 5. Especially with how the timelines are concurrent in both books.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if average viewership doubled this year, but I tend to agree. It'll be tough to get upwards of 10 million per episode like the Sopranos sometimes did. But who knows. If they break Storm into two seasons, Seasons 3 & 4 are going to be amazing.
The expected approach will be to combine the events of books 4 & 5 and film them in chronological order as they happen story wise over 2-3 seasons. Rumors are that they are splitting book 3 into two seasons and filming both of them at the same time next summer. They will have to do some filming like this on most of their seasons as they go forward or the kid actors will age too much by the time they get to the end. Also by filming multiple seasons at once it is less of a problem if an actor only has a small role in one book and a much larger one in a subsequent one.
Game of Thrones card game is on sale right now for anyone interested. It is some what similar to Magic, but not collectible and has multiplayer rules. There is more info here. They also make a board game, both based on the books rather than the show.
That might be hedging their bets a little as I'm not sure they have the greenlight to go ahead and film all those future seasons. Seems as if budgetary issues would arise.
From what I have heard it is actually cheaper to do multiple seasons at the same time, much like the Lord of the Rings movies were done. Barring disasterous ratings, which at this point is very unlikely, they will likely announce season 3 and possibly 4 too shortly after the first episode airs, much as they did with the greenlight for season 2.
