Juliajms

Well, it's not too late to read the books. It would help in keeping all the names straight, that is for sure.

Oh, I have a feeling there will be a lot of reprecussions from Cat's actions... and they are all posed to be delicious. If anything, Tyrion might be willing to forgive the error but I think Jaime and Cersei might see this as a perfect opportunity to go against the Starks.

I hope so. This show makes me wish for Sunday. BTW, Robert is a jerk for making Jaime listen while he screws his whores and I feel sorry for Lancel. So maybe Tyrion isn't the only good Lannister.

I think Dany is in danger on several fronts considering that King Robert just got done saying that he will kill every Targaryen that he can get his hands on. I just wish Robert would focus his efforts on Viserys, since for all he knows Dany will have a girl. It would kind of be sweet if Robert would send an assasin to kill off Viserys and get him out of Danys hair.

I think Cat will rue the day she arrested Tyrion. He's the only good Lannister and she doesn't have much in the way of proof, so this is more likely to start a war than anything else.

That last episode was good. I'm glad Dany is getting stronger. She finally told her worthless brother off. I only wish he would make the mistake of hitting her in front of her husband.

Like the little guy and the wrestler dude!

That evil prince guy is like totally EVIL!

I'm not sure who you mean by the wrestler dude? Tyrion (the dwarf) is one of my favorites. If ever a person deserved the triple slap, it's Joffery. I only wish Tyrion had been there when all that had gone down with the butcher's boy. Maybe he couldn't have done anything, but I like to think he might have stepped in and asked a few questions and maybe got Sansa to speak the truth. It's hard for me to cut Sansa any slack because Arya is such a stand up, tough, little girl, but at the same time Sansa is young. So I can kind of see how she is fooled by Joffrey and her head is turned by dreams of being a princess.

Jon is the bastard. He has darker hair. He's also the one who had a conversation with the Imp, Tyrion. Robb's hair is more auburn to match his mother's (Cat). But yeah, I never sweat the names when I watch this type of show. I'm pretty impressed with the visuals too. I bet the production team had the time of their lives putting this show together.

They already decided to give it a second season!

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/19/game-of-thrones-season-two-2/

I thought it was really good too. Some things seemed a little rushed, but that's to be expected. Overall HBO is doing a good job and whoever is in charge of their promo department is earning his/her keep these days.

(I've never been able to read Tolkien--my dad claims to read the trilogy every year, and my twin sis who is NOT a reader loves them, but I just can't)

I think that's understandable. If you aren't into fantasy anyway, there isn't a lot of motivation and the books are dense. I love fantasy, was an English minor, and still found the beginning difficult to get through. After the first 100 pages or so the momentum builds though.

Everyone has though. It annoys the people doing the show as well--but maybe they feel it will get audience?

I think it's just a lazy comparison. Everyone knows who Tolkien is, so they go for the easy comparison. I've read both series, so I feel justified in saying they have little in common (size of the books being the major thing). Game Of Thrones is more about politics and sex, especially in the first 3 books. At some point, I think there will be an epic battle of evil vs. less evil, but that is no where near happening yet. Among the human players (and almost every player is human) there are few clear cut villians or heroes.

If GRRM is like Tolkien at all, I'd say its in the ability to write a great, complicated, epic fantasy. The stories themselves are so different, that comparison is all but lost on me. I can't even say which I think is better. I think Tolkien was probably a better writer in the classic sense, while GRRM might be more entertaining to the masses, but that's obviously, jmo.

The first 15 mins impressed me. The show LOOKS gorgeous, and my two friends who rant on about how brilliant the books are (and insist that even though I don't like Lord of the Rings, I'll love this) were impressed with the adaptation, so far. I'm def sold for a few episodes.

It's nothing like "Lord of the Rings". I can't really understand why anyone makes that comparison, except that both books are well written epic fantasy. Game of Thrones is quite soapy and at least in the first several books there is little magic.

HBO aired the first 15 minutes, all I can say is it's very bloody, but it looks good, intense

I thought it was good so far. Loved it when Bran's little sister hit the bulls eye. Can't wait to see the rest.

Yeah I think Frank's place on the show is wierd. At this point he's written and potrayed in a way where it is known he isn't to be loved (though you can understand why the kids love him and hate him all at the sametime) but tehre's a need for him to be explored and maybe a possibility of understanding

Oh, I don't dispute that, as I said I think Frank is driving most of the story. The kids definitely love him. There is no doubt, after episode two. Also, how hurt they were when he showed up at that parent's conference with Karen and left all of them hanging.

I actually meant to type that it is the same premise however there is are various differences in the writing approaches; which are the differences I pointed out. I don't know why I kept thinking Shameless was a movie, I remember seeing it a while ago and maybe I just caught one epi or something I don't know.

I've only seen the first two episodes of the UK version, but it seemed to me that the U.S. version has a more desperate, raw tone to it at times. There is a lot of humor, but there's also the pain of abandonment right under the surface. In the first two episodes of the UK version Fiona seemed happier and as if she were taking it all in stride.

I'm pretty sure the scene where Fiona screamed at Frank to get up wasn't in the first episode of the UK version. I think that was an important scene in "our" version. I'd like to see the rest of the UK version to compare, but I don't want to ruin the plot for myself because they do seem to be following many of the plot points.

Juliajms, I think Steve knows how much Fiona loves the kids; he bought her the house next door. He has spent an entire season trying to allow her to have her own life outside the kids. If Tony wasn’t forcing his hand, Steve wouldn’t have offered to take her out of the country.

Yeah, but after the scene where Monica handed her Liam, it was clear that she sees herself as their mother. There was no way she was leaving and I liked Steve a little less for asking her to. As far as I can see those kids are her life, right or wrong. That's something Frank knows and uses. I do like Steve though, so I hope he does come back in season two. I imagine he will just when Fiona gets close to someone else.

Frank isn’t going to win “Father of the Year,” but he stayed when Monica left. They benefit from his benefits and his occasional paternal feelings. Overall, he’s a selfish prick who should just have walked away with Monica. His presence allow Fiona, the only person with an innate parenting ability, to raise the family. For that, Frank is good guy

He doesn't get credit from me for any of that (forgive the rant I am about to go on, I feel really passionate about the character of Frank). It would be like giving someone credit for not slamming on the gas when there is a puppy in the street. Hitting the breaks doesn't make you good, its just what half way decent people have a responsibility to do.

I'm not sure I remember Frank ever having a paternalistic feeling (his week of sobriety doesn't count, since he did it for money). He walked by Liam when he was out in the cold and unsupervised, he didn't even bother to comfort Debby when she was sobbing at the nursing home. He head butted Ian and hasn't even talked about the paternity issue with him. I guess he did think of Lip after he f*cked Karen, but he didn't consider that he was a father figure to Karen, on the subconsious level at the very least. I thought Lip was justified to be pissed during the time Frank was sober. He can do it for money, but not for his kids? F*ck you, Frank. Seriously.

Presumably they benefit to a small degree from the benefits he gets because the children exist. . That only makes him slightly less shitty. He's letting the state take care of his kids, instead of stealing the food from their mouths (oh wait, he tried and Fiona called him on it) what a hero. I mean, yes, he could take their food stamps and sell them for alcohol money. He doesn't do that, but we know that he drinks away his disability money and that the older kids have to chip in to pay for food and the rest of the bills. Yet, Frank manages to delude himself into believing he's the victim.

I do give both WHM and the show credit for evoking my emotions when it comes to the character of Frank. There are few characters that I have hated more in the history of televison, while recognizing the amazing talent of the actor. Honestly, I think I have wanted to beat his face in during every single episode. Of course, then came Monica, and somehow, she really is worse than he is. For me, it's that she dares to reach for any sort of happiness at the expense of her children. She's saving herself, while they are on the verge of drowing. At least Frank has the grace to be miserable.

Can anyone tell me how season 1 of the UK version ended? I take it Fiona left with Steve?

Also I see the dynamic of Frank and Ian was supposed to connect and lead to the Ian paternity issue but How is LIAM (the last obviosuly of AA descent) Frank's? I though for sure Ian and Lip managed to mess with the paternity results

Frank had an AA ancestor. The title of that episode was "Nana Gallagher Had an Affair".

HBO is going all out to promote this show. I am so impressed with whomever is behind their marketing efforts. They even have a freaking food truck in NYC that is serving food featured on the show.

http://ology.com/technology/case-you-missed-first-game-thrones-food-truck

I get he's the star of the show but I think it would be a lot better if he was phased out a bit.

I hate Frank passionately, while acknowledging WHM's talent. Frank is an utter SOB, there is almost nothing worthwhile about his character. At the same time, almost everyone in the show is reacting to him, so I don't think it would work without him.

I love Fiona and Steve. It's too bad things had to end the way they did. I think mostly he was a good guy, but he didn't understand how much she loved her siblings. Strangely, even in his alcoholic daze, Frank is the one who understood that she loved them too much to ever put herself first. I'm not sure I ever hated Frank more (well, maybe when he hit Ian) than when he said to Fiona "you love those monkeys too much to ever leave them". It seemed almost predatory. He knows she'll take up the responsibility that he should be carrying, which frees him up to be a selfish ass.

I'm really looking forward to season two and I'm glad this version isn't following the original too closely.

I agree. I didn't like the backdoor pilot last year and I tried to watch the first episode and was bored. I don't feel connected to any of the characters at all.

Yep and I think what has made original NCIS and Criminal Minds big successes are the characters. Procedurals are petty boring to me, so I can't watch unless I feel something for the main characters.

Do you know why CBS got rid of her Toups? I liked her. I was also glad she wasnt killed off.

I bet it was a $ issue.

A new promo:

http://io9.com/#!5773478

You can watch the 10 min promo here: http://www.makinggameofthrones.com/?cmpid=ABC587

Looks like HBO will be giving us a little preview soon. "Inside Game of Thrones", 15 minute program, running at 8:45 and 11:45 PM EST, Dec. 5.

Can't wait! I thought it wasn't set till Summer 2011, but the sooner, the better.

Well, production wraps up on December 18th. It looks like the show will premier in April from what I read on HBO's blog. You have to kind of dig to find it, so I'm not sure if it's the latest word. My guess is that GoT will be their spring show leading to the June premier of True Blood.

GoT only has 10 episodes this season. I'm already worried because while I think it's going to be awesome, it looks incredibly expensive to produce from what I've read. I guess Ireland gave them some really nice tax breaks and they were able to use some sets from another show to help with the costs, so that's something.

EW has a new article with pictures and such: http://www.ew.com/ew...0442931,00.html