Game of Thrones: Season 1

I stumbled across this little gem here under my Amazon recommendations. I'd never even heard of this series of books or the fact it was an HBO show. I read the synopsis and all the reviews here about the show and I was very intrigued. I like Sean Bean as an actor, and enjoyed Peter Dinklage from Nip/Tuck, and as everyone raved about his performance in this, I thought I'd check out at least one episode. WOW oh WOW.... This series just blew me away! The storyline was amazing! All the machinations, assignations, intrigue, deliberations, or stunning confessions that go on are incredible. The sets and locations are gorgeous. The theme music is very stirring and the opening credits are creatively done. I can see why each episode runs a cool $6 mil.... I'm afraid I'll run out of superlatives in describing this show. There were many times in watching the series where I was shocked and stunned, like "wow.... Oh my gosh, did that really just happen?".... You think you may know what's going to happen next, and the show surprises you. It plays out like an elaborate and intricate game of chess. I love shows that do that. You may not recogize many of the names, but you'll recognize a lot of the faces. Mark Addy (Roland from A Knight's Tale, Bill Miller in Still Standing) is wonderful as Robert, king of the seven kingdoms. Rightfully on the throne? Some aren't so sure about that. Eddard (Ned) Stark (excellently played by Sean Bean, Boromir from Lord of the Rings) is Lord of Winterfell and Robert's friend. Ned is asked to come to Kings Landing and accept the job of Hand of the King, due to the recent demise of the previous title holder. Some whisper assassination. If that is indeed the case, Ned wants to know why he was killed. Lena Headey (Queen Gorgo in 300) is superb as Robert's wife Cersei Lannister. Talk about a 180 degree character portrayal from her role in 300. She was amazing, I loved to hate her. And no one could have played the role of Cersei's brother Tyrion, "the Imp" better than Peter Dinklage. He almost steals the show with his performance. The actors playing two of Ned's younger children are phenomenal, especially Maise Williams as Lord Stark's spunky and scrappy daughter Arya. This little gal will be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come. She will definately be one to watch. Isaac Hempstead Wright plays Arya's brother Bran to perfection. The actors playing Ned's older children deliver solid performances as well. Even Natalia Tena (Nyphadora Tonks in Harry Potter) delivers an outstanding performance in a minor role as Osha, a criminal turned new house slave at Winterfell. Then of course, there is the ominous and massive Wall. Manned for thousands of years, most have forgotton why they even continue to stand the watch, and where deserting your post still means death. Yet rumors and frightened witnesses swear that monsters and white walkers are beginning to stir, and icy horrors wait beyond the wall. Dragon lore and direwolves are also spoken of. Toss into the mix House Taragaryen across the narrow sea. In exile, Viserys Targaryen desires to take what he feels is his rightful place on the throne in Kings Landing, and sells his sister Daenerys in marriage to the Khal of the fierce and nomadic Dothraki tribe, (think Klingons of the wastelands) so that Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa from Stargate Atlantis) will provide the muscle Viserys needs to get the job done. There are several family dynamics occuring at the same time and it's very involving, so I would refer to IMDB to better understand who was who and where they fit in to the storyline, (thank you IMDB). There is soooooo much more happening than what I've mentioned here, but this review is already getting to be the length of a book itself, so just check it out for yourself. If you are offended by nudity or violence, this may not be the show for you. Game of Thrones hits the ground running right from the opening credits where you see a white walker, and let me tell you, they're creepy. This show grabs you and doesn't let go. It's one hell of a ride. I can't wait for the second season. HBO, you definately have a gem of a winner in this series. During the hiatus, I'll be reading the books. ~ jade ~

Lucky me. I had heard about this program a number of times but it is an HBO product, so I wasn't able to see it. My provider here in town is Comcast, and they have an 'On Demand' feature. I clicked it last week, I think Tuesday, and there was a button called 'Watchathons'. All of the shows listed were free until the thirty first of March. I scanned them quickly, not really thinking much about it as I was looking for something else, and there it was. A Game of Thrones. 2 season's worth. I had Tuesday through Sunday to view. What I was searching for forgotten, I saddled up for a long ride in my spare moments after work. I was hooked from the first episode. This series is absolutely incredible and well worthy of the high acclaim it has received. Fastforward to Sunday, and I had viewed all of the first two seasons. (I think Comcast screwed the pooch Sunday night because I was able to see the first episode of season three as well.) What to do after seeing such an epic in such a short period of time? First, I bought the 4 volume set of books. Now, I tried to do this through Amazon, but they were out of stock, so I found a local dealer what had it. I'm now about 300 pages into the first book, and man... The HBO series follows so closely to the book, it's like reliving it in print! Incredible how alive the series makes the characters. The production is epic, with what would seem no expense spared. Vivid and visceral. Intricate and involved. 2 days later, here I was on Amazon buying the DVDs for the first two seasons, and as soon as able, will be buying season three. How could I not? With the books, you get the scope of what the author envisioned, and I'll tell you that that is fantastic as well if you're a reader, but the HBO series is, with little exception, that in the flesh. Uncanny, so far. So now, I await standard shipping and the DVDs from Amazon. I'm anxious to see the extras to broaden what I know about the show and share the truly engrossing experience that has been coming to know this series, and now the books, with my friends and boss. Martin has gained a new reader, and HBO has made a little cash from me, and, being an impatient man, might just get a subscriber so I can see season three 'live'. And then Amazon for the DVDs of THAT season, and so on. Comcast wins, Martin wins, HBO wins, Amazon wins, but I am the ultimate victor for the sheer entertainment and experience I can witness over and over, and share with my friends. Come on delivery date!!

I bought this on the recommendation of family and friends, prodded on by the interesting trailers and overwhelming positive reviews. I have not read the books, so this review stands entirely on the quality of the blu-ray A/V, cinematography and the story as presented, without reference to canon or other benchmarks of "original storyline accuracy". First off, the visual mastering appears to be exceptional. I would not rate myself as an expert audio/videophile but I do have a good A/V setup ( 1080p 50" panasonic and a decent but older 5-1 dts capable receiver ). I've read often enough that correct mastering is essential and not all blu-ray products are equal; you've probably seen some blu-rays that look only marginally better than DVD and, indeed, I've seen some upscaled 480p sources that actually look better than native 720/1080p sources.. it's all in the engineering effort, I guess. This blu-ray is frankly eye-popping ( the literal analog of which I fully expect to see at some point while watching this series.. to put it bluntly, it's not for the faint-hearted!). The source is native 16:9 which means the 1080p fills the entire screen without bars; whether this is the result of deliberate editing, or if it matches the original source, it looks fantastic. My better half, who doesn't usually care or comment on technical issues, commented on the clarity and quality of the image. The sound is just fine, but as noted, I don't have a very recent receiver so it just sounds like regular dts to me. As for the story itself, when we got the package from Amazon, we popped in the first disk.. then the second; we watched 4 episodes in one sitting.. simply couldn't stop ourselves. We cut our cable some time ago so perhaps we are starved for really good shows but I haven't seen anything since Battlestar Galactica that crafts its characters with such finesse as this show. Sean Bean is simply brilliant and it's very easy to see how Peter Dinklage won an emmy for his performance. The gory scenes are just brutal, but not necessarily gratuitous.. they fit with the theme that that depicts a dark time in a dark and rough world... it's just special effects so it doesn't bother me, but if you are not fond of gore then be warned. There are many threads running through the story; multiple sub-plots and they all wind together very well without the jarring incongruity you often see from sloppy writing. Some shows run barely average sub-plots just to try to keep continuity but they are often patchy and lazy. No so here, the whole thing pulls together perfectly. Anyways, I'm beginning to see my own subplots unravel so I'll wrap up with a basic recommendation: This is for you if you liked Lord of the Rings, enjoyed the edginess of Battlestar galactica, are fairly immune to special effect gore and are not offended by fairly raunchy adult theming. If you also like excellent character development, great plots, near-perfect presentation and have been waiting for a good, if not great, show to rise up above the awful landscape of mundane programming, then go for it. Great show, simply Great. Now I need to get back to watching it.. when is season 2 coming out?

I bought this mainly for the collectible steelbook and magnet. — MULTIPLE COPIES — You get three different copies of the series: 1) Blu-ray (physical discs) 2) UltraViolet 1080p HD version (digital copy, HD only available on some devices) 3) iTunes 1080p HD version (digital copy) The digital code gives you two digital versions (which is rare, and appreciated). — STEELBOOK and MAGNET — This steelbook has artwork designed by Elastic, the agency that created the Emmy Award-winning opening credits, and has a magnet on the cover that can be removed and used as a regular magnet, or left on to show off as a collector's piece. Each season represents one of the major houses of the series, and this season one steelbook represents House Stark of Winterfell with its Direwolf sigil on the magnet [see photos]. The steelbook is in a matching decorative plastic outer case that holds the magnet in place so it doesn't scratch the steelbook. Depending on how this was shipped, this plastic may or may not be cracked as I've seen a lot of cracked plastic cases with the steelbook intact. — THE SHOW — The show is great—in acting, in storytelling, in visuals, in music, and in writing. I've watched everything at least three times, and there are so many new things you see when re-watching, and with the knowledge of future episodes. The first season is on a lower budget, but they definitely make up for it in story. Many characters are introduced and careful attention must be paid to initially tell them apart, This is a show where you *don't* text people in the middle of watching. This is a show that is sacred, that whenever you watch at home or as it's airing, you want to just be transported away from real life for each hour it's on. This show sets up many long games, so for those that pay attention to throwaway details, you will get immensely rewarded later on. I have converted many friends who previously used to think this was about, "dungeons and dragons and lord of the rings," (like I did) who are now *all* addicted to the show. If you don't already know, this show isn't about what you think it may be about. This is currently THE only good show on television, and if you don't like it, you probably don't understand good television (sorry, not sorry). It has been the number one torrented show in every single year since it came out for a reason (which is a blessing and curse for the producers). After watching this, everything else on TV becomes: "why I am watching all these other crappy shows?" This is one of those series that I will buy the individual season sets, and whatever big box set comes out in the future. GAME OF THRONES! Recommended.

Well, there are already hundreds of reviews praising this series for all that it entails...the quibbles between the books and the tv episodes are minor at best, and with at least two more seasons on the horizon, one can only wait and hope they do as well as this one. The only issue I've had so far is with the discs themselves...they refuse to remember where the episode left off if, say, I had to turn off the PS3 and go do something else, if I come back to it, it starts all over again from the episode menu. Anyone else have this issue for blu-ray? It could be a PS3 issue I suppose, but one never knows... This is a story, first and foremost. It is not a happy story, or a friendly story, or even a story told from just one character's point of view..it's told from many, and how their lives all intersect and weave together...the choices they make, for good or evil, the people that live or die as a result of those choices, and the maxim that "power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely" hanging over everyone's head. In one of the special features, George R.R. Martin said something to the effect of seeing the world in shades of grey; a "good" character can have flaws and perform an evil deed or two, and "evil" characters can have shining moments of redemption under certain circumstances. Thus, the characters in the series reflect this, and everyone will be able to identify with at least one character here, regardless of his or her fate. A good story should be able to make you laugh, cry, want more, identify with the characters and situations, and watch repeatedly and possibly learn something new each time...for me, this series does that in spades. It should be mentioned, however, that the MA rating is well-deserved, as this series doesn't shy away from violence and bloodshed, or wanton acts of cruelty, or..and this is probably the biggest thing.."sexposition". Steamy nude scenes mixed with important plot points are scattered throughout the episodes, on top of "normal" sexual discussions, portrayal (and most of it is well into the hard-R rating territory) and natural nudity (male and female), homosexuality, incest, and the fact that some of it revolves around children coming of age (they're younger in the books, so I can only guess a few older actors and actresses were switched in to prevent some major issues). I wouldn't let any kids I had watch it until they were much older, is what I'm saying..for those of us that can handle it, though, the above review stands. Give it a couple of episodes and let it flow...by the end you'll definitely be hooked.

I like Game of Thrones, that's why I bought it on blue ray, This is a review of the features not the show. Usually when I buy a full season on DVD or Blue ray I feel a little bit cheated. Sure it comes with the show and that is why I bought it, but the features are always lacking IMO. This is not the case with this set. The first disc has a very in depth Character profile section, these are clips of the actors and show creators explaining who the feel they character is. This feature is well presented, and contains most of the characters from the show, not all unfortunately. Another feature was the In episode guide, Which is a pull out side menu that accompanies you as you watch each episode, this feature while functional and cool, does not add anything to the episdoes and all of the content is from the already given bonus features, so you learn nothing new. There are many other featurettes included on the last disk. The best feature by far for me was The Complete Guide to Westros, this feature is awesome. It provides a great way for a new fan or even an old book fan like me a great way to go in depth into the history of westros and Essos. It is split into 3 sections History, Houses, and Lands. The Lands and Houses section is just text, but the History has many different topics ranging from the Children of the forest to ancient Valaryia's history, these topics are narrated by the actors from the show and lay out the history of this world very well, some topics come with multiple view points portraying how opposing Houses view a topic. Each video is composed of hand drawn images and many of them are very well done. While I didn't learn anything new, having the info put out there in that fashion really brought the history forward and made it tangible. The next best feature was Anatomy of an Episode, this feature was unfortunately only available for episode six, but I loved it. The feature plays the episode but has pop out windows with the show creators discussing each scene in detail. I thought it was very well done and the presentation of it was smooth. All together the Blue Ray edition is a must have for any fan of the show or books.

You win, or you die. That also applies to risky new shows. HBO took a big gamble with this show. And it looks like they've won. This is the HBO adaption of George R. R. Martin's best-selling epic, A Song of Ice and Fire. A Game of Thrones is the first book in the series, and they have named the show accordingly. So far, five books out of the planned seven volumes have been published. The first show season covered the events in the first book. Sean Bean heads the stellar cast. He plays the role of Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell. He receives an offer from King Robert to take up the position of Hand of the King. A position recently made vacant by the death of their former mentor, Lord Jon Arryn. The King's Hand administers the country on behalf of the reigning monarch. Eddard, known as Ned, takes half of his family down south to the capital, King's Landing. Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, a marriage deal has been brokered between Princess Daenerys and Khal Drogo. Daenerys and her older brother Viserys are the last of the Targaryens. The Targaryens are an ancient noble family. They have ruled Westeros for three hundred years until Robert Baratheon led a successful rebellion. And now, the ambitious Prince Viserys wants to take back his throne, with the help of the Dothraki horselord, Khal Drogo. In the far north, Ned's bastard son, Jon Snow takes his vows and joins the ancient brotherhood of the Nightwatch. This is a breakout performance for British actress Emilia Clarke. She plays the role of the most important character in the entire epic saga, Princess Daenerys Targaryen. Peter Dinklage plays the role of the Imp, Tyrion Lannister. Lena Headey plays the role of the evil queen, Cersei Lannister. Newcomer Kit Harrington plays the role of the bastard, Jon Snow. And Michelle Fairley rounds out the stellar cast of first-tier characters by playing the part of Catelyn Tully-Stark, Ned's wife. Production values are of high quality. The locations, mostly Northern Ireland, are nothing short of awesome. And the special effects, especially in the season finale, are spectacular. This, in my opinion, is the best show on HBO. If you have missed the first season, or if you do not subscribe to HBO, then this DVD set is just the ticket.

I had long ago completely given up on Hollywood; they have shown me, through their insistence on releasing nothing but remakes and sequels (whose only appeal is that they have sacrificed any semblance of acting or directing for bigger explosions; more over-the-top stunts; less believable plots and an endless supply of here today, gone tomorrow, flash-in-the-pan, fifteen-minutes-of-fame hotties and hunks), that Hollywood has completely run out of any new ideas. I cannot remember the last time I thought anyone in Hollywood made something important (it was probably "Big Fish"). Where then does one look if one craves substance? Well, the only place to find believable writing, inspired acting and directing which will not insult our intelligence is on premium cable: HBO, Starz and Showtime. With that in mind, Game of Thrones is easily the greatest production in film or television in existence today (so great in fact, I recently saw an episode of "Around the Horn" that was Game of Thrones-themed). To create true greatness, one should start by locating existing greatness: George R. R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series. In this case, the author has already created a fantasy world (which although it includes dragons and some magic is still believable) and a cast of memorable characters, every one of whom is important in an unfolding timeline of earth-shattering events, brought about by an endless webs of lies, schemes and secret alliances. All we must do then is to avoid screwing up what so many already love is show reverence for the work in our writing and casting. Next, we should surround ourselves with actors of merit, not simply pretty faces or chiseled abs. The most notable of these is our lead: Sean Bean, who is so perfect as Ned Stark it is as though the author had been imagining him as he wrote his novels. Peter Dinklage as Tyrion is also at the top of the list (although this is revealed more in season two), giving a performance that truly embodies the duality of the character: the libertine and the genius politician. Finally, once we have assembled the players, we must allow them to do what they do best; and if there is substance in the work, it will shine through in their performances. We do not demean our audience. When we are faithful and allow greatness to shine, we enrich all who experience it; we restore hope and trust to an industry that has betrayed us so many times for something so fleeting as money and fame. True greatness, like true beauty, endures.