Game of Thrones - Thronecast

Game of Thrones has got off to an excellent start with all the blood, betrayal, and sudden death any self respecting viewer could want, that is not the problem. What I don't like is Thronecast, which comes on after the show on SKY Anytime. 

It's introduced by Geoff Lloyd, who we should all welcome into the club of 'nowhere near as funny as he thinks he is'. Geoff gives us a rib tickling run down of the episode we have just watched. He starts with a sort of stand up comedy routine that is so lame you can almost hear the tumbleweed rolling through. For some reason we get a lot of different camera angles, no doubt to enhance the hilarity. Geoff does his skit in front of the Iron Throne and this is one time I would like to see King Joffrey sitting there to pass judgement. 

Next up our master of mirth was joined by Annabel Port (no me neither) who proceeded to chat with some American 'super-fan' in Dothraki. The super-fan looked like the kind of person who has translated the works of Dickens into Klingon. That done Annabel departed and Geoff gave us a side splitting poem about something Game of Thrones related, I didn't hear it properly because I had a cushion pressed to my face in embarrassment. Thankfully the whole affair comes in under fifteen minutes so it's not much too endure; but what I ask is why does Game of Thrones need a humorous (and I use the term in its loosest sense) follow up show? Can't we have a more serious affair giving us insight and interviews? 

Why doesn't SKY save this kind of show for Glee, where the comedystylings of Mr. Lloyd might be more appropriate, not necessarily any funnier, just more in keeping. Thronecast is on SKY Anytime now, so if you are a fan of feeling uncomfortable and suffering I suggest you give it a go.

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Games of Thrones - An Unmitigated Triumph

When it first started, I thought Game of Thrones was just going to be a little diversion to ease my Spartacus with-drawl symptoms. How wrong could I have been; Game of Thrones has been a towering show. An unmitigated triumph.

From start to finish it hasn't let up on the tension, excitement, and plot twists. Which culminated in last week's uber shocker. I, for one, just didn't see that coming. You can imagine, all those who have read the books, smugly waiting for that to smack us on the chin. And was I the only person who had a restless night after? I think not. I won't give it away, in case you are backed on your planner, but I'm sure you probably know.

And, has any show ever juggled so many diverse story-lines so successfully? I can't think of one. No character was left behind or ignored, even the minor ones seemed to shine. The largely British cast were excellent. And we even got Wilko Johnson as an executioner, what more could you want!

When the BBC tries this kind of venture we end up with Merlin and Robin Hood, where everyone looks like they have just wandered out of the Student Union bar. British television couldn't do Game of Thrones, the levels of storytelling and sophistication are way beyond their capacity. Let's face it, they were laughably trying to pass The Shadow Line off as their answer to The Wire. So how many light years are they away from Game of Thrones?

Last night's finale set up season two perfectly, and I get the feeling A Clash of Kings will enjoy a spike in book sales this week. The last scene was stunning and, as the screen went black, it made me wish there was some sort of sorcery that could conjure up a season two box set right there and then.

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Games Of Thrones - The Sopranos successor.

Who would have thought that Game of Thrones would turn out to be HBO's successor to The Sopranos and Deadwood? Well certainly not me.

It has all the tension and immanent betrayal that The Sopranos did so well. With the sudden bursts of shocking violence that was Deadwood's stock in trade, plus the menace of both. Add to that a little sword and sorcery, well a lot of sword actually, and you have a cracking adult drama.

I'm quite glad I haven't read the books. I looked at them in Waterstones recently and I could barely lift them, never mind read them. So all the shocks, and sudden deaths, will hit me squarely on the chin, and there have been plenty of both so far. It’s also written, and acted, with the requisite levels of conviction. All the various story strands are handled brilliantly, never rushing, which makes me think HBO are in for the long haul. Let's hope so. Although, will it still be called Game of Thrones when we get to the second book?

This might be the first series on Sky Atlantic that I actually want to see the second season of. Let's be honest would you really miss them if Boardwalk Empire or Bored to Death never came back?

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Games of Thrones - Knives, Tits and Betrayal.

With Spartacus Gods of the Arena having just one episode left, I wondered where I would get my weekly fix of decapitations, gut slashing gore, and gratuitous nudity from. I need not have worried, Game of Thrones has arrived. And it has more than enough of all three to be going on with. It also has lots of castles, lots of funny names and enough Brit actors to populate a Harry Potter film. The cast is led by the first rate Sean Bean, who can play this kind of fantasy stuff standing on his head. I won't bother you with the story, because there wasn't much in this first episode, it was too busy introducing the large cast of characters. I'll admit I was a tad lost at times, but thankfully not Dune lost. I'm sure the plot will thicken nicely over the coming weeks.

My one niggling worry is that Game of Thrones looks like a bit of a gamble. And, if it doesn't pay off, it could find itself in the same HBO abyss that Deadwood and Carnivale ended up. I hope not, I really don't want to have to read the house brick sized paperbacks to find out how it all ended. That said, Game of Thrones looks great, is well acted, and is worth a look. Plus it will help no end with the Spartacus cold turkey.

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