<a class="postlink" href="http://www.directv.com/dod/faq.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.directv.com/dod/faq.html</a> Though, to be fair, it doesn't specifically mention premium channels.
I think that I must have an older model, I must say I wasted more time then I want to admit trying to scope it out. But I did decide to watch it online (I was hoping to find it on TV so I could watch with my husband, he prefers not to huddle around my computer screen) and the first episode was fantastic. I won't muck up this threads with my comments until I get caught up. Now I am just waiting the required 55 minutes to be able to watch another 72 minutes.
So I just caught up on all 7 episodes... today. Yeah, real productive. I wish this wasn't based on books, as I haven't read them, and then everyone would be all like "OMG CANT BELIEVE THAT HAPPENED" pretty much every episode. Really good so far.
Having read the books almost made this episode hard to watch. I was pretty sure they were going to end the episode at that moment, and was dreading it the whole time. I have a few friends that have never read the books that are watching, and it's fun to hear their reactions to the show every week. It's such a funny mix of holy shit/that was awesome/ahhhh what happens next?! I just keep telling them that haven't gotten to the really crazy stuff yet.
ssycko - I got caught up on all 7 hours over the holiday weekend too so you aren't the only one really capitalizing on your free time in the most productive ways possible. With the last episode, I have gotten past to where I have read in the book. I kind of like that more, having the element of surprise. Plus it is kind of odd to be doing both at the same time, I want to just hold the books back until maybe the series finishes for the season, but find myself wanting a fix. I can't believe all of the "main" characters that have bit the dust already, guess they were just more for setting the scenes than advancing the storylines.
Yeah, not reading the books definitely gives every twist a lot more to it, plus I can actually watch this as a TV show, not an adaption, so I'm not constantly comparing things. They definitely do stand alone, which is a huge credit to the writers. I know that Martin is executive producing, which may or may not mean shit, but we've all seen terrible adaptions. That being said, the biggest problem I have so far is that I usually have no idea what most of the character's proper names are. Either people are referred to as their nicknames (Little Finger, the Imp, etc.) or relative to the person speaking (my wife, my sister). Rereading this thread, I thought to myself upon seeing a name "who the hell is that," and then looking it up and realizing. There's just so many characters, and when they're named only one time it's easy to lose them.
Here are some of the common ones, if it helps you or others (no promises on spelling): Littlefinger - Petyr Baelish, Master of Coin The Spider - Varys, Master of Whisperers (Spymaster) The Mountain That Rides - Sir Gregor Clegane, evil knight in service to Lord Tywin Lannister The Hound - Sandor Clegane, brother of Sir Gregor, man at arms for House Lannister The Imp - Tyrion Lannister, youngest son of Tywin Lannister, midget The Kingslayer - Jaime Lannister, eldest son of Tywin Lannister The Goldcloaks - Term for the city watch of King's Landing Knight of Flowers - Loras Tyrell, son of Lord Mace Tyrell (One of the major Lords in the Seven Kingdoms), the guy banging Renly Baratheon The Mad King - Aerys Targaeryan, last Targaeryan king before Robert Baratheon led a revolution to unseat him. Killed by Jaime Lannister (which is why he is called Kingslayer). Aerys went crazy and did a lot of bad and creepy stuff. Hope that helps. If there are any others worth explaining, by all means let me know and I'm happy to.
I am also watching without having read the books. I refer to this guide often: http://viewers-guide.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/#!/guide/houses/ Edit: Sorry that this is my first contribution to the thread and it sucks... but how awesome is Robb Stark? I did not see that coming.
I hope the Emmys have a step for Peter Dinklage to use, because I can just about guarantee that guy is going to win Best Supporting Actor. "Jaime and I are quite different. He's much braver...I'm better looking."
I'm starting to think the actress who plays Sansa studied at the School of the Confused and Uncomfortable. I mean seriously, show some goddamn emotion. The king just pardoned your father, shed a tear of happiness or something!
She does come across an an empty-headed bitch who has her head stuck firmly in a very dark place. I'm betting this is the main quality they were looking for when casting Sansa.
Yeah, the actress is doing a great job at Sansa I think. I'm really impressed with the scene where she's talking to the Queen about writing the letter to home. For so much of the show Sansa has been trying to seem older and wiser than her 13 years and in that scene the actress does a great job of making her suddenly look like the young child she is in reaction shots.
I stumbled across these and have been laughing for the last 10 minutes. Introducing: Stupid Ned Stark You can find the rest here: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/introducing-stupid-ned-stark" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/introduc ... -ned-stark</a> There are some great ones.
That's just it, though. The character of Sansa in the first book is empty-headed, I'll grant you, but she also has that empty head up in the clouds where all her songs and stories are. She thinks that everything has a happy ending and will work out all right. The way the actress is portraying her, I expect her to start wearing black and cutting herself at any moment. I do not see a young girl who thinks that life is a song.
To be fair, she was also a little bitch when it came to a lot of things (mainly Arya in the first book).
Oh boo, I really enjoyed the scenes with Arya and Syrio, and now that he (may be? IT WAS OFFSCREEN) dead those won't be happening anymore. Don't ruin it for me. I thought overall that episode was weaker compared to the previous 7, nothing of note really happened. Aside from declaring war (which was obvious already), nothing substantial really happened, just building tension. As for the names, that list was helpful, but I was just pointing that out as a flaw in the way the show is delivered. A minor one, but still there.
I think that in a show ripe with badasses, Drogo is now officially the Bad Assiest. I was waiting to see why this guy should be feared, and that answered it. Pick a fight bare handed, taunt him while he tries to slice you in vain, then take him out with a Columbian Necktie and add it to the pile. And Columbia doesn't even exist in this world! Robb's character killed it that episode, and Dinklage once again devours the scenery. How far along in the season would the show be compared to how it would be in the book right now?