A lot of people (not just here) seem to be commenting on how dull/slow the first episode was, and how it was a bit confusing. Is that really so different than the first episode of the Sopranos, Deadwood or the Wire? Really, not a hell of lot happened in those shows either. I think sometimes people get impatient, forget that at this point, there is really a lot of stuff the view is NOT supposed to know yet ( & as readers of the books, we can do too much helping/interpreting for new viewers).

Regarding the nudity, after watching several times, some of it was a bit much (not that I'm complaining, but the opening scene with Danaerys, before she gets in the tub, she takes a step, long pause, another step, long pause - really no reason for it).

It was a pretty awesome episode, I have to say, but I echo prior sentiments that the music was surprisingly flat.

Dobbler said:

That is awesoem news! Thanks for teh link Greg.

And agree with LoB. its a little quibble for me - the nudity is a bit gratuitous in parts and teh "nerd porn' moniker isn't totally un-warranted.

So far Martin on his website:

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

George RR Martin said:

I'm thrilled.

Ten more episodes! A CLASH OF KINGS.

Looks like I'll be writing the Battle of the Blackwater. David & Dan give me the easy stuff.

P.S. A late correction. Actually, I don't KNOW how many more episodes. Could be ten. Could be more. Could even be fewer, I suppose, though I don't really think so. Myself, I'd love to see twelve episodes this second time around, since CLASH is a hundred pages longer than GAME. But that's a call for HBO and Dan and David, and I am sure they will let us know once it's made.

I was really surprised they didnt do a Lord of the Rings style opening, they could have done a stylized cartoonish version where they explain the 7 kingdoms, the houses the targaryen conquest and the rebellion all in under 5 minutes, at least to give people watching from scratch a kind of frame of reference, i mean if your watching the show King Robert is a fat drunken oaf and nothing more but at this point in the books you at least know that while Robert is now a drunken oaf he was once the demon of the trident, Hes a shadow of a great man but in the show hes just a drunk

Stag Lord said:

I kind of agree. ~Are we getting old Stag?

LordofBrewtown said:

This was exactly the problem I had with my two friends who hadn't read the books. One thing to keep in mind is that fantasy is just not appealing to a lot of people in the general public. Deadwood was the same way being a Western. I actually could never get into Deadwood myself not being much of a western fan. I heard Deadwood was great but it just wasn't my cup of tea. The Wire had one of the greatest pilots ever on television so I don't think thats comparable. It was clear from the first 15 minutes who the good guys were (McNulty) and that Stringer Bell was a shady mofo. Also crime drama is an easier sell to the general population than fantasy.

So IMO its the fantasy combined with slower paced drama that makes it seem slow to the non-reader viewer. Some people I think were expecting some hardcore action in the first episode. Sword fighting and stuff that non-fantasy fans can get into anyway. And it really hurt Thrones not having Old Nan narrate for 5 minutes. I personally think they might have intended Old Nan to narrate a bit and make it easier to understand but the actress dying might have changed their editing at the last minute.

Jack Merridew said:

"I was really surprised they didnt do a Lord of the Rings style opening, they could have done a stylized cartoonish version where they explain the 7 kingdoms, the houses the targaryen conquest and the rebellion all in under 5 minutes, at least to give people watching from scratch a kind of frame of reference, i mean if your watching the show King Robert is a fat drunken oaf and nothing more but at this point in the books you at least know that while Robert is now a drunken oaf he was once the demon of the trident, Hes a shadow of a great man but in the show hes just a drunk"

I think that would have helped new viewers get into tremendously.

I think there is a good chance Old Nan will still be in the second or third episode, from what I have followed they didn't cut her from the show and her death was after filming completed. She is telling the story while Bran is bed-ridden after the fall in the book.

I think a lot of the details that readers know and miss are not missed by new viewers at all at this point. Sure some of the stuff will have to be explained perhaps later than it was in the books, but the first episode already had a ton of names and back ground to explain. I suspect that most of the important things that were "missed" in the first episode will be explained later just to avoid information overload.

LordofBrewtown said:

An unknown Emille Clarke ensuring that her breasts are etched into the minds of viewers long enough to get additional work :-P

Though to be honest... she sold me on her face, she's got a very beautiful face, which sort of made her breasts and other bits a bit disappointing. Copious nudity with her makes sense given what Dany goes through, but I think they would be better in putting her face in focus since Clarke is really good at having the please-don't hurt me again look.

Karazax said:

I would love Old Nan to be in the next episodes!

And not to be too contrary but based on my two friends who hadn't read the books I have to disagree completely about things not being missed by new viewers. At least one of them will not be viewing another episode no matter what I say or do and I will have a very hard time convincing the other friend to watch even the 2nd episode so I honestly do think an opportunity was missed by not having 5-7 minutes of narration and explanation at the beginning.

I hope I do not sound critical since I enjoyed the episode enough to watch it 5 times by now. But I care enough about the series that I want people involved in the writing and production (which it sounds like you are by your comments) to have a realistic perception of how the non-Thrones, non-typical fantasy type HBO viewers perceived the first episode. And of course I am only providing anecdotal comments that are not statistically relevant but its just something to keep in mind.

rings said:

Matt! Right? Every frakking year. my name day was just this past 7th. I don't want to count them anymore. North of forty - it ain't much fun. You hit it this year, right? I know madkasel does this July.

But i'm really jazzed about two seasons of ASoIaF.

LaughingTree said:

I am not involved in the writing, just been following the show very closely since it was first rumored to be picked up by HBO, so I have read a bunch of articles from the directors and participated in discussions about why things might have been changed with other fans on westeros.org. But mostly I am just offering my own opinion shaped by those discussions, on why things might have been changed for the TV format.

I am surprised that your friends were that negative towards the premiere though. That sounds like someone who hated what they saw, rather than someone who just wasn't clear on some of the details. If that is the case it's hard to know if 5 minutes of additional intro background before any action would have helped or just put them to sleep. I am curious as the specific reasons they disliked the show so much though?

I suppose a Star Wars-esque/Gladiator intro crawl screen intro with something like this might have worked:

Seventeen years have passed since Aerys Targaryen, the Mad King, was overthrown by King Robert Baratheon and his allies. The king and the noble houses under his rule hold a tenuous peace solidified by political marriages, while the slain Targaryen king's two living children have escaped into exile across the sea. Meanwhile the guardian's of the kingdom's northern border, the Nightswatch, have sent a patrol out to track a group of barbarian raiders known as Wildlings...

Que show start. Anything substantially longer than that would risk tuning out a good portion of your viewers I think, and time spent there is time cut from some where else.

For my own anecdotal experiences, all 4 people who watched with me had never read the books, and all of them wanted to watch the next episode right away. It wasn't like they were jumping for joy or saying it was the most awesome show they ever have seen, but they were interested to see what happens next. I clarified a few minor questions, and it is certainly possible, if not likely that they missed some things, but regardless they enjoyed the show. Likewise with the people at work who tuned in who were not familiar with the show and my girlfriend's sister and her husband, all were excited to see next week.

LaughingTree said:

In all likelihood she will be nude.

The nudity was on par or less than what was seen in the books thru the first 9 chapters. If they were really trying to maximize all the sex scenes possible they could have kept the scene where Ned and Cat were having sex and then naked while reading Lyssa's letter in the books. The only sex scene that they added that wasn't in the book was Tyrion's. I think it just stands out more when all those events are condensed into 1 hour and more memorable when you see them. But the actual sex scenes with Jaime/Cersei and Drogo/Dany were pretty short and tame by HBO standards all things considered.

I'm sorry if this double posts, the forums seem to be acting strangely for me today...
I agree with everyone who said it went a little fast after Eddard swung the sword, and I think they threw a lot of characters on screen for a few secs so they can come back to them in more depth later. I think everything about the direwolves was a little downplayed, and I don't think they showed or even mentioned Rickon. Jon Snow mentioned that there were five Stark children, but they only showed four - to viewers who haven't read the books this might be confusing, and they might even assume Theon is the other Stark child.
Poor Rickon, he's not even a plot device in the books, he doesn't get mentioned in the show, and he doesn't get a card. I know FFG says theres one coming in this cycle, but it better reduce the amount of power you need to win the game by 10 or something after neglecting him this long.
Then again, I also always thought it would be Nedly to allow any Bran card to be played as an attachment on Hodor...

They briefly showed Rickon near the beginning when Bran was practicing his skills at archery.

on Old Nan

Rickon was also in the 'lineup' when Robert arrives (to the right of Catelyn for the viewer, or Catelyn's left - all the other kids were on the other side of Ned & Cat)

Karazax said:

You could be right - but I think Martin is gratuitous as well it was a bit much for my tastes - but HBO is going to exploit this eveyr chance they get. i dare say we'll end up with more nudoity and sex than there was in the novel.

and i didn't see rickon either. in fact I was asking friedns if they noticed him as well - and no one remembered seeing it.

Wasn't Rickon the boy the Robert tussled the hair of to the right of the screen?

Rickon was shown several times...first sitting on a wooden fence post when Bran is shooting arrows and missing. Then he is shown again to the Left of Catelyn when the whole family is lined up to meet Robert.

Stag Lord said:

Whoh! Nope, I am 36 right now...~and will be for then next 5 years. ~Don't try and lump me into you and MadK's 8-track generation

I watched the show for the 2nd time with my wife last night (she read the first three, but stopped because she felt she couldn't remember enough when it took so long for #4).

It made me giddy to see how she loved it and really got into it. She was still talking about it this morning.

Good to remember how lucky we are to even have this!

I am loving the casting (aside from Catelyn), and the show seemed solid, though I am afraid the pilot was a bit confusing and/or dull for viewers unfamiliar with the books.

There's a few things I didn't like:

I am fine so far with most of the story/character changes, but Catelyn asking Ned to stay in Winterfell instead of pushing him to go bugs me some.

I'm not crazy about the score, and opening sequence is bleh.

The Dothraki wedding sequence was unintentionally comical, with Khal Drogo looking like a gay raccoon and making silly faces as two Dothraki clumsily fight over a woman.

Aside from these mostly minor points, I enjoyed it a lot. I'm really looking forward to the next episodes, and can't wait to get to King's Landing and see Littlefinger, Varys, etc.

FATMOUSE said:

This was my biggest peve about the show so far.

Apologies for the double post but, my other peeve was that Viserys didn't seem nearly as cruel and nasty as he was made out to be in the books.

JackT said:

Erm... you are aware that this series is more or less based in medieval times, yes? Those castles were dirty, drafty, and with very little adornment beyond tapestries. You are asking for white in a world without washing machines and bottled bleach...

I know this is a fantasy series, but the realism of it is what garnered it most of its fans.