Game of Thrones: Series Premiere Review

HBO has some big expectations resting on the adaptation of the internationally acclaimed and loved “A Song of Ice and Fire” series of novels. Game of Thrones, with millions of readers worldwide, is one of the most fanatically read fantasy series of all times. Fans have been dreaming of a big screen adaptation for years. In the early nineties science fiction, fantasy writer, George R.R Martin entertained the idea of a Hollywood version but decided against it as so much of his story would have to be left on the cutting room floor. All the years of anticipation and the massive budget that goes with an HBO production boded well for the show before it ever reached a television set. If this is not THE greatest television adaptation ever then hell will have frozen over and flying monkeys will rule the earth. Luckily the premiere of the series seems to confirm that it is going to be the best television adaptation of a novel ever made.

Game of Thrones, the TV series is so much the book that fans like myself have read and loved that they will be watching in awe and trying their damndest to remember how a scene or a character appeared in their mind’s eye when faced with HBO’s adaptation. Filmed in Northern Ireland, the show brings its dark fantasy world to life with ease and finesse that would make any adult scoff at the childish fantasy adaptations that have hit television before this great series. The sets and locations are pulled straight from the source material and injected with a heavy dose of artistic interpretation that proves to be both faithful and refreshing. Special effects are integrated in the early scenes of this first episode and are executed seamlessly; you will see things (fantasy things) far from reality and never question their legitimacy in the story. The show suspends any doubt that this world could be real, this is the ultimate goal of any fantasy series: to take the unreal and make it so concrete that you actually begin to care.

Characters are so well brought to life by a cast that is nothing short of excellent; fan favorite characters such as Sean Bean’s Ned Stark and Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion Lannister are what will draw most viewers to this series. While watching I was hard pressed to find a character that did not live up to what my mind had created while reading the novel. I could not find a character that did not ring true; this is the novel.

The story is so damn good I don’t want to talk about it; if it had to be summed up with a crude mashing of two relatable entities then I would say “it is Lord of the Rings meets The Sopranos” but that will not really do it justice. You need to be watching this show. Over the last couple of years HBO had lost viewers to up and comers like Show Time (Dexter) and AMC (Mad Men), its time the ‘King’ re took the ‘Throne’ at HBO. Game of Thrones is superlative.

Max Romano