Topic: Game of Thrones

[Old Hoplite]

I have never read the books, but was pretty much able to follow the characters without difficulty and also gleen some pretty important background as well.

First Ned Stark and King Robert are old friends. Ned's dead sister was Robert's fiancee and was killed in some way by one of the Targaryens (the blonds).  This death caused the two along with Jon Arryn, the dead "hand of the King" to organize an overthrow of the Targaryens and also kill most of them. To secure his position Robert married a Lannister a politically powerful family in the capitol.
Ned Stark goes off the protect and rule the North, but also to escape the snake pit of the capitol city.

Ned is now a good husband and father but he has a Bastard son, most likely before he was married. However he looks after the boy as best he can.  Bastardy seems to be a mildy important status thing in this society. I mean everyone knows he's a bastard and who's he is, but Ned's wife doesn't seem to mind him teaching her children, and he appears to have some useful job. But he is excluded from the party.

Anyone that has read the books care to comment on my accuracy so far?
 

[Neutral Milk]

You're mostly right, but there's a lot more about why the old Targaryan king was deposed. You don't really get the full back story until the fourth book. You get bits am pieces in the first three books, but it's a complicated story.

[Blackmere]

Yeah. You've got most of it but I don't remember being a bastard gave John any status. I think it was the fact that he is a bastard of a royal that gave him some status but a lowered status for sure.

[Old Hoplite]

You're mostly right, but there's a lot more about why the old Targaryan king was deposed. You don't really get the full back story until the fourth book. You get bits am pieces in the first three books, but it's a complicated story.

If the behavior of his son, basically selling his sister to the local equvelent of the Mongol Horde, just to get his throne back is any indicator, then the the old Targaryan King was probable, as the Brits say, a right bastard.

[Old Hoplite]

Yeah. You've got most of it but I don't remember being a bastard gave John any status. I think it was the fact that he is a bastard of a royal that gave him some status but a lowered status for sure.

I mean status as at what level he is in society, not that is was a good thing, just that he couldn't inherit, or attend the good parties, who he could marry etc.

[teethering]

I have never read the books, but was pretty much able to follow the characters without difficulty and also gleen some pretty important background as well.

First Ned Stark and King Robert are old friends. Ned's dead sister was Robert's fiancee and was killed in some way by one of the Targaryens (the blonds).  This death caused the two along with Jon Arryn, the dead "hand of the King" to organize an overthrow of the Targaryens and also kill most of them. To secure his position Robert married a Lannister a politically powerful family in the capitol.
Ned Stark goes off the protect and rule the North, but also to escape the snake pit of the capitol city.

Ned is now a good husband and father but he has a Bastard son, most likely before he was married. However he looks after the boy as best he can.  Bastardy seems to be a mildy important status thing in this society. I mean everyone knows he's a bastard and who's he is, but Ned's wife doesn't seem to mind him teaching her children, and he appears to have some useful job. But he is excluded from the party.

Anyone that has read the books care to comment on my accuracy so far?

Quite frankly I'm amazed you got all this without reading the books.  I didn't realize how dense the first episode was I guess.

[Neutral Milk]

OK so GRRM stated in an interview with Time that ideally HBO would do the following so he could finish the series before the show caught up with him:

-Book 1 = season 1
-Book 2 = season 2
-Book 3 = seasons 3&4
-Book 4&5 = seasons 5, 6 & 7

That would probably total out to 9 or 10 seasons, which HBO has never done for a drama. The other major problem is that some of the characters will age far too much. Without getting into spoilers some of the kids will need to remain kids. Wonder how they plan on tackling that.

[Kessdawg]

OK so GRRM stated in an interview with Time that ideally HBO would do the following so he could finish the series before the show caught up with him:

-Book 1 = season 1
-Book 2 = season 2
-Book 3 = seasons 3&4
-Book 4&5 = seasons 5, 6 & 7

That would probably total out to 9 or 10 seasons, which HBO has never done for a drama. The other major problem is that some of the characters will age far too much. Without getting into spoilers some of the kids will need to remain kids. Wonder how they plan on tackling that.

Well the next step of that plan is in motion!  HBO just ordered the second season!

http://grrm.livejournal.com/211736.html

[T.A.P.O.R.]

For the descriptions they really seem to have crammed heaps of stuff into one episode!
Just going to sit and wait.

Been looking forward to this for years

[seaotter]

Yeah. You've got most of it but I don't remember being a bastard gave John any status. I think it was the fact that he is a bastard of a royal that gave him some status but a lowered status for sure.

I mean status as at what level he is in society, not that is was a good thing, just that he couldn't inherit, or attend the good parties, who he could marry etc.

Wasn't that sorta thing pretty par for the course in actual monarchies?

[DeepGlue]

My only real gripe is how fast it had to move.  I mean, which kid is Rob and which kid is Theon Greyjoy, and which one is Jon Snow?  I could tell, but I'm not sure people who haven't read it can.  Also Jon's status as bastard could have been expounded on a bit more...how important it is in this society.

Agreed here. Ten episodes isn't quite enough to give the scenes enough weight. But oh well, at least they aren't trying to cram it into a 2-hour movie.

Sansa seemed a bit older than I had expected.  The other kids were about right in age from my imagination while reading the series.

Right in your imagination but the majority of the cast is definitely older. In the books, Ned and Catelyn are mid-30s, and the children are all 2 - 3 years younger. Daenerys especially, she's 13. I understand why they upped the kids (and accordingly the adults) in age. Better acting is the primary driver, but also less *ewww* factor. But hey, it was normal to get married at 13 in the Middle Ages.

[DeepGlue]

Well the next step of that plan is in motion!  HBO just ordered the second season!

http://grrm.livejournal.com/211736.html

Yes! And holy crap those are some awesome wallpapers.

[Neutral Milk]

My only real gripe is how fast it had to move.  I mean, which kid is Rob and which kid is Theon Greyjoy, and which one is Jon Snow?  I could tell, but I'm not sure people who haven't read it can.  Also Jon's status as bastard could have been expounded on a bit more...how important it is in this society.

Agreed here. Ten episodes isn't quite enough to give the scenes enough weight. But oh well, at least they aren't trying to cram it into a 2-hour movie.

Actually I think the conversation he had with Tyrion was quite good for that. Both of those characters face struggles because of something they were born into, and that isn't obvious at court (Tyrion is gettin' down with all kinda hookers and other than the party he wasn't invited to Jon seems to enjoy mostly the same privileges as the rest of the kids). As the season progresses we'll see their struggles play out more seriously.

As for the confusion between Robb and Theon: Yeah it was hard to tell them apart, but

(click to show/hide)

Robb and Theon don't really distinguish themselves until later anyway. I remember when I read the first book I paid very little attention to either, and it wasn't until the second book that they both stuck out. Obviously if I re-read and knew what was coming I'd feel differently, but on a first pass through they're minor characters (at least from how I read it).

[Old Hoplite]

Yeah. You've got most of it but I don't remember being a bastard gave John any status. I think it was the fact that he is a bastard of a royal that gave him some status but a lowered status for sure.

I mean status as at what level he is in society, not that is was a good thing, just that he couldn't inherit, or attend the good parties, who he could marry etc.

Wasn't that sorta thing pretty par for the course in actual monarchies?

Pretty much yes. 
Henry VIII bastard son: Henry FitzRoy was made a Duke and ruled the North until he died (or was turned into a Vampire! H/T to Tanya Huff) .  Other Royal bastards weren't treated that well, but few were treated badly. Mostly because the monarchs never could tell when they might need a, to coin a phrase, "spare for the heir".

[Old Hoplite]

I have never read the books, but was pretty much able to follow the characters without difficulty and also gleen some pretty important background as well.

First Ned Stark and King Robert are old friends. Ned's dead sister was Robert's fiancee and was killed in some way by one of the Targaryens (the blonds).  This death caused the two along with Jon Arryn, the dead "hand of the King" to organize an overthrow of the Targaryens and also kill most of them. To secure his position Robert married a Lannister a politically powerful family in the capitol.
Ned Stark goes off the protect and rule the North, but also to escape the snake pit of the capitol city.

Ned is now a good husband and father but he has a Bastard son, most likely before he was married. However he looks after the boy as best he can.  Bastardy seems to be a mildy important status thing in this society. I mean everyone knows he's a bastard and who's he is, but Ned's wife doesn't seem to mind him teaching her children, and he appears to have some useful job. But he is excluded from the party.

Anyone that has read the books care to comment on my accuracy so far?

Quite frankly I'm amazed you got all this without reading the books.  I didn't realize how dense the first episode was I guess.

That is nothing. I'm taking my Masters in European history, with my thesis on the Frankish-Moorish Wars 718 to 759 CE.  Try getting tactical military information from the Chronicles of Fredergar or The Chronicle of 754, now that is hard!