Game of Thrones Television Series Thread (No Spoilers!)

[Fast Tony DeNiro]

Exactly. Always more eloquent then me Steve. Regardless, the drama queens had the gall and audacity to neg repping me on calling them out for their spoilers. As soon as you know something is coming, instead of just watching the show and enjoying it you're just waiting for the "big thing happening soon". Completely thrown off. Absolutely uncalled for the whole thread and title was based off no reference of any kind to the book.

Seriously guys, resorting to the rep system for that? That is childish as hell. And yea I neg repped back, but probably wouldn't have if you had the stones to post your name with it (Ahem...not at all surprised that you didn't).

I've never given a neg rep and I certainly didn't start tonight over this. So sorry you got one.

I thought about the no spoilers warning before posting what I did, but decided to go ahead with it because there were not any spoilers in my post. No specifics for sure, and nothing really to even let a mind wonder beyond what a normal person would be wondering after the episode anyway. Remember even though I've read the books I don't know how the story ends any more than you do. But ok I get your guys' point just no book talk at all in here.

[Laendarian]

Yeah I'm another one of those guys who is following the series but has not read the books, and like the rest of the fans here I love the discussion about the story to date but really want to keep the future stuff under wraps to keep that "wow" factor.

Question for those of you who have read the books, do you think you would like the show more without having read them or do you like it better knowing whats coming?

[Rylant]

Exactly. Always more eloquent then me Steve. Regardless, the drama queens had the gall and audacity to neg repping me on calling them out for their spoilers. As soon as you know something is coming, instead of just watching the show and enjoying it you're just waiting for the "big thing happening soon". Completely thrown off. Absolutely uncalled for the whole thread and title was based off no reference of any kind to the book.

Seriously guys, resorting to the rep system for that? That is childish as hell. And yea I neg repped back, but probably wouldn't have if you had the stones to post your name with it (Ahem...not at all surprised that you didn't).

I have also never negative repped anybody on this site. If something ever happened that was bad enough that I felt a negative rep was warranted, I certainly wouldn't do it without leaving my name attached to it. Thanks for the negative rep Rataylor22, over something this silly. One thing though, if you are going to make these accusations, you should at least get your facts straight. I am sorry you got negative repped over something this moronic, but, it wasn't me that gave it to you.

Rylant

[Rylant]

Yeah I'm another one of those guys who is following the series but has not read the books, and like the rest of the fans here I love the discussion about the story to date but really want to keep the future stuff under wraps to keep that "wow" factor.

Question for those of you who have read the books, do you think you would like the show more without having read them or do you like it better knowing whats coming?

For me, I actually didn't start reading the books until after I watched the first few episodes of the first season. I had a feeling that this show was going to become huge, and I started to encounter really blatant spoilers. At first, I found out that Khal Drogo and Ned Stark weren't going to survive the first season, then I found out that Jaime was going to lose his sword hand. In order to circumvent blatant spoilers, I decided to read that books.

And now, here we are. More than one person has suggested that I may have spoiled something for them. This is exactly the type of thing I was trying to avoid myself by reading the books in the first place. Again, I apologize if I have spoiled anything for anybody; that is the last thing I would have wanted to do. In the future, I will be more careful about what I say, and how I say it.

Rylant

[Fast Tony DeNiro]

It's a hard question to answer, since I have already read the books so I don't know what watching the show without reading would be like. I think I like reading the books first before watching the show....you get a little more story that way, since the show has to skip over some things you're able to fill in the story a bit. There's a lot going on in the story and it can be easy to get lost sometimes....when you've already read what's happened and is currently happening, you don't get lost.

Another picture for everybody....

walder-frey-wedding.jpg

[Sherpa]

Yeah I'm another one of those guys who is following the series but has not read the books, and like the rest of the fans here I love the discussion about the story to date but really want to keep the future stuff under wraps to keep that "wow" factor.

Question for those of you who have read the books, do you think you would like the show more without having read them or do you like it better knowing whats coming?

As a reader of all books released prior to the start of S1, I can honestly say it's 50-50. You walk into the screen version without the pure shock & awe and you're auditing what made it in and what was left out. There's a constant background thought process going on while watching.
"Was this event represented accurately?"
"If so, did it meet your mental expectations?"
"If not, were the alterations well done? Why were they done at all? Was it for time constraints or did the producers deem Tangent A B & C to be irrelevant?"

The analysis doesn't quite stop until the episode's done...at least for me. And I think that internal dialogue can be quite distracting...but it can also add a whole new level of appreciation for the subject matter. I guess it depends on how much you like (and maybe how well you can) multitask. For me, it's been a while since I've read the books so some of it's now become fresh again through the TV version.

Mixed bag, for sure.

[sasquatch]

if you've ever read LOTR or Dan Brown books before the movies, you know what its like... an example of complete opposite ends of the spectrum with regards to the end result there.... Ron Howard ruined those movies!

[als_revenge]

Yeah I'm another one of those guys who is following the series but has not read the books, and like the rest of the fans here I love the discussion about the story to date but really want to keep the future stuff under wraps to keep that "wow" factor.

Question for those of you who have read the books, do you think you would like the show more without having read them or do you like it better knowing whats coming?

I find the show much better after having read the books. I don't know how anyone follows the show without reading the books first.

[Dakkster]

I don't know how anyone follows the show without reading the books first.

We kind of just watch one episode after the other and take in the narrative...

[Big Ev]

It's like any other show lol. Just pretend books weren't written. It's pretty easy to follow.

[metaldude26]

if you've ever read LOTR or Dan Brown books before the movies, you know what its like... an example of complete opposite ends of the spectrum with regards to the end result there.... Ron Howard ruined those movies!

The Dan Brown books turned to flicks are exhibit A of why I refuse to go from text to screen. LOTR worked for me because I read the books as a child and had a long wait until watching the flicks.

[blayze]

Books before Television/Movie.... ALWAYS.

To be honest, without the books I wouldn't get half as much out of the television show. There's so much history and detail that the television shows just gloss over. Most of my friends who haven't read the book just kind of watch the show and try to follow along without truly understanding the intricacies of what's going on. For example, I watched the last couple of episodes with my buddies, and they still didn't really "get" why Oberyn was so pissed at Tywin and the Mountain because the tv show covered the entire history of bad blood between these two sides in a matter of seconds in casual conversation.

There's a lot you guys are missing out on without reading the books - GOT is one of the most intricate, complex stories I've ever read... there are so many characters and side stories and events happening at different times. It's nothing like LOTR, or most other hollywood adaptations of books that are relatively straightforward (ie: harry potter, etc). No way you can capture it all in 10 1-hour episodes, which is why they had to split book 3 into 2 seasons, and I bet they'll do it again in at least one of the future books - and no that's not a spoiler - and which i also why they've adjusted/truncated many of the actual storylines which is kind of annoying but necessary for a tv format.

[metaldude26]

Books before Television/Movie.... ALWAYS.

To be honest, without the books I wouldn't get half as much out of the television show. There's so much history and detail that the television shows just gloss over. Most of my friends who haven't read the book just kind of watch the show and try to follow along without truly understanding the intricacies of what's going on. For example, I watched the last couple of episodes with my buddies, and they still didn't really "get" why Oberyn was so pissed at Tywin and the Mountain because the tv show covered the entire history of bad blood between these two sides in a matter of seconds in casual conversation.

There's a lot you guys are missing out on without reading the books - GOT is one of the most intricate, complex stories I've ever read... there are so many characters and side stories and events happening at different times. It's nothing like LOTR, or most other hollywood adaptations of books that are relatively straightforward (ie: harry potter, etc). No way you can capture it all in 10 1-hour episodes, which is why they had to split book 3 into 2 seasons, and I bet they'll do it again in at least one of the future books - and no that's not a spoiler - and which i also why they've adjusted/truncated many of the actual storylines which is kind of annoying but necessary for a tv format.

They may be doing it really well with Thrones and I plan on reading the books once the series finally ends but there is NO WAY I go book to movie. We may have had this debate before but I cannot stand how all the intricate details are missing from the show/movie when taken from book form. This infuriates me. Rather than being informative all that extra information just annoys me because it is missing from the visual experience. I prefer to watch the film/show and then have all the blanks filled in by the books after.

There's a slight trade off here. I don't get to envision the characters in my mind because if I've seen the character on the show/movie then that will shape how I envision them in my mind. But on the other hand I don't have the opportunity to be disappointed by things not living up to how great they were as envisioned in my own mind.

I'll put it this way, I've never been disappointed going movie to book and am constantly disappointed going the other direction.

[blayze]

I'll put it this way, I've never been disappointed going movie to book and am constantly disappointed going the other direction.

Fair point, but wouldn't you rather experience the original art work in its purest form the way it was meant to be experienced?

Pretty sure we've had this debate, but for me, one of the most gratifying and stimulating things about experiencing a story for the first time, is that I get to create the world and the characters, and their appearance in my own mind. It's my own creation, my own unique interpretation (for example, I pictured Tyrion to be WAY uglier) - I get to make the world my own. Watching a movie first robs me of this experience, which in my opinion is the most rewarding part of reading a book.

The movie is just an afterthought for me... more for shits and giggles, and if it happens to be a good translation (ie: GOT television show)... then Bonus!

Give me the original masterpiece in its purest form and let me absorb and interpret it on my own first.

[metaldude26]

Fair point, but wouldn't you rather experience the original art work in its purest form the way it was meant to be experienced?

Simply put. No. If we follow up on your analogy of the written form being the purest form then consider drugs. If I'm gonna get all banged up on smack I'm probably starting with some watered down stuff and easing my way in. Then once I've built up some tolerance I'm ready for the pure stuff and I'm going to appreciate it. Give me the pure stuff off the hop and there's no way I'm getting a good high off that impure nonsense.