“A Game of Thrones on HBO” leaves me feeling like the Olsen twins: hungry
Seriously, someone put me on an IV drip. My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I believe it was back sometime in October when the announcement was made that HBO was working on a pilot to George R.R. Martin’s (ongoing) masterpiece – which I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, probably has the best plot of any fantasy novel I’ve ever read. Since then, all we’ve gotten is trickling info on who’s being cast as who, which at this point is a mix of established and relatively unknown thespians. The latest news to drop is that the show has been officially announced, with a pilot and nine episodes to follow. With most of the casting process done, HBO is slated to begin production in Ireland sometime in June. With so little info to go off of and all this time in between updates, that has left plenty of time for one thing: bitching about the dregs that we had to work with.
In case you’re in the dark, A Game of Thrones is the first novel in Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, which centers around a few fateful decisions that forever shake up the kingdom of Westeros – and that’s only the beginning of the story. There are so many side plots and deceptions of note that I will simply leave it there. Every chapter is told from a different character’s perspective, so devil’s really in the details when it comes to the casting. People who love these books are really aligned on certain characters, and it is near impossible to pick out someone who’s going to be a universal crowd pleaser.
There is only one character for certain who is perfectly cast – Peter Dinklage (Hollywood’s favorite dwarf) as Tyrion Lannister, the smartest, most complex and most misunderstood character in the series… obviously I’m a big Tyrion fan, and why shouldn’t I consider Dinklage tailor-made for the role? The guy does humor and drama well, so HBO would be smart to ride that pony for every scene they can get. Lena Heady (The Sarah Connor Chronicles, 300) and Sean Bean (LoTR, Equilibrium) are also solid casting choices, something this show is definitely going to need to stay afloat.
If anything about this show will work, it will be him.
The worst person cast? Hell, I’m not really sure. There are too many unknowns here to speculate, but all I can say is that some of the youngsters are carrying as much weight as the vets here. Tamzin Merchant is going to have to deliver, because Daenerys Tarygaren is a character who feels tacked on in the first book, but her tale is necessary and an enormous part of the overall story. Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams should get their fair share of work as Sansa and Arya Stark, respectively.
Sansa checklist: pretty? check. really fucking annoying? we'll just have to wait and see.
I really hope A Game of Thrones can pull it off. As a book it really is a magnificent accomplishment in regards to fantasy storytelling, but as a TV series I really have no idea where it’s going to go. There are only so many story lines and details that can possibly be included into 10 episodes of a show that will be fighting to earn a spot on cable television. Writing and dialog are going to have to be informative, concise, AND still not sound forced. Ouch. The only positive thing I can say in that regard is that HBO’s name carries a ton of weight, and if they give it a good amount of promotion (the way they beat us over the head with The Pacific), then they have a good chance of sharing a great story in a new medium.
If you’re looking for something to keep you busy and you’re not afraid of a novel where just about anything can happen, then definitely check out the written version of A Game of Thrones. As for the show itself – which probably won’t even be out this year – I’ll be watching this thing like a hawk, so believe I’ll be throwing up a trailer as soon as I can get my hands on a copy.
