"Game of Thrones" season 2 episode 1

So, I just watched the season 2 premiere of G.O.T. I've read all the available books in the series, so I found myself relieved that the episode was over. Ouch!


It wasn't a bad episode. I just know what's going to happen way, way into the show's future. That's all.


I'll continue to watch the show and, hopefully, enjoy it. It's just such a dense book. Can they continue to do the books justice? I've formed my own ideas of what the new characters should look like and am not so happy with some of the casting choices.


Melisandre is nice enough looking, but I really pictured someone more dangerously beautiful and seductive...with better hair.


Isn't that comet kind of big? The comet takes a while to travel across the sky in the books. It just seems to me that a comet that bright would be much closer to the earth and would travel faster? Ah, but I'm not an astronomer, and I'm too lazy to evaluate the physical accuracy of such things. I may be way off.


Joffrey is a murderous jerk, that is accurate enough, and, though he fits the part physically, I expected Sandor's voice to be much rougher.


Daenerys certainly sounded like a leader when she decisively ordered her men to scout ahead to find any evidence of civilization, and, awwww, aren't her dragons cute?!!! Let them eat horse!


I like John Snow. He has the right expressions on his face for a young man trying to figure out his place in the world. I'm not fond of Rob Stark and I can't take him seriously anymore, now that I know what happens to him in the near future. Caitlin? Stop abandoning your children! Oh, but you have to, I know.


I'm still deciding whether the episode felt rushed. So many important parts of the book were crammed into the 55 minutes of show. That is what tends to happen when books are turned into film, so I should be forgiving and enjoy it for what it is.


What do you think?

Game of Thrones Season 2 - April 1, 2012 on HBO

G.O.T. (affectionate name for Game of Thrones) airs in just two weeks. 


Excited? I am!!!


I know what happens in the books, however, isn't it nice to see the characters come alive on screen? We all know that this is just one adaptation of the book and quite a good adaptation it is. G.O.T. fans are popping up everywhere. We know that even Fantasy- dismissers are hiding away in their apartments gasping in shock and grief as Eddard Stark's head falls to the ground.


Sounds dramatic, but this series has caused quite a stir, inciting people who don't really read much (EVER) to devour all five of the A Song of Ice & Fire books and wait, quite impatiently, for the sixth.


I've discovered an interesting site where you can view a lovely interpretation of the map of Westeros (the land in which the series takes place). If your computer can handle it and you can figure out the quirks, there is a informative little timeline map that you can follow:

Speculative Map of Westeros and Time Lines

 

I would like to maintain an ongoing discussion of the series as it progresses, using the comments section below (for now). I'm quite eager to hear the thoughts of other G.O.T. fans and hope that people will contribute their feedback and their questions.

Guillem H. Pongiluppe (click to see his work)

Let's start with the basic questions I've listed below. Please send me your questions and any other G.O.T. related issues you might want to discuss! Cheers!

1. For those who have read the series, did they pick the right actress to play Daenerys Targaryen?

2. Did they pick the right John Snow?

Sean Bean in Boardwalk Empire

3. Which actors/actresses do not fit your vision of the characters they have been chosen to play?

4. Do you think the second series will be as good as the first?

5. I'm so sad that Eddard Stark is gone, but am happy that he has been reincarnated as a lovely lady in  Boardwalk Empire. What say you? 

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The Hunger Games - Movie Trailer and Book Club invitation

Though it is Young Adult fiction, many adults have become big fans of The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. In fact, the series was recommended to me by a colleague that just celebrated her 50th.


 I have, so far, read the first two books of the trilogy, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Collins has done a great job of illustrating the post-apocalyptic dystopian future where North American society has been reduced to the Capitol and it's 12 subservient and impoverished districts that each produce or mine a specific resource or commodity, such as diamonds or coal. Each year the Capitol holds a draw in each district, choosing one male child and one female child, to compete to the death in the Hunger Games. The winner, is rewarded with a life time of wealth. 


In her district, Katniss is chosen and makes her mark by winning the games and inadvertantly inciting a growing rebellion, represented by the Mockingay (hybrid bird) against the Capitol. 


Collin's, herself, has written and produced the movie version that will come out on March 23, 2012. Hopefully, it will avoid the mistakes that many film adaptations tend to make and stay true to the original story. Katniss is played by Jennifer Lawrence, who you will recognize as the young Mystique in Xmen: First Class. From the previews, she looks like a pretty accurate Katniss, though, I never imaged the protagonist as having permanent superpout.


I recommend the books first, then the movie, but the decision is yours!

Other fight-to-the-death/survival-games type films and stories come to mind: Death Race 2000, The Running Man, and Gamer. Help me complete the list by posting other related movies or books in the comments section below.


As for Mockingjay, it is waiting on my shelf. As soon as I get a chance I'll dive into it. In the meantime, I'm going to list it on the Book Club page to, hopefully, get a discussion going in the comments section below!!! 


Some discussion questions to start us off (assuming that you have read the first two books of the series):

1. How well do you feel the title of this book fits with the content?
2. District 13 is revealed in this book. How is it different from what you expected?
3. Do you believe that Katniss was exploited as the figurehead of the war?
4. How do you feel about Katniss' decision to end the war?
5. Who were the ultimate victims of the story?
6. What was the underlying message?
7. Your thoughts on the upcoming movie version of the Hunger Games?

Favourite Science Fiction or Fantasy Transportation?

One of several questions I'd like to throw out there:

What is/was your favourite Science Fiction or Fantasy Vehicle, or other form of transportation, and why?

Send us your answer and a picture, if possible.

I really like the Audi TT in iRobot, but Avatar's Appa is an air/water/ground combo transport and much, much cuddlier.