A shot of prozac for the masses

George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series on HBO Season 2 deputes on April 1, 2012... Fandom has reached a fever pitch just as many of my friends have decided to drop the book series.

Unfortunately.. so have I. Were the gaps too long? Partially, but to be frank, the series has become too convoluted, with too many characters (many of them who I don't care about), and just plain... dull. Do I care about Arya, Jon, Tyrion, or Jamie? I can't really remember, and by page one hundred, scratching my head, trying to remember book four, I gave up.

To my surprise, I've slowly become tired of sex, violence, gore, and zombies? HBO's True Blood and Game of Thrones, Showtime's Borgias and AMC's Walking Dead... all trying to make each new season more shocking, more violent, more risqué. Even Mad Men, with such overly flawed characters, I've become jaded.

There isn't anyone to root for.

If they get shot, or perhaps... choke on a olive in a martini, do I care? If I knew them in real life, perhaps I would help them off the cliff. Perhaps that's why America has fallen in love with these shows, to run away from the mundane realities of life (or reality television).

A colleague of mine hated War Horse, hated The Artist, hated any film that wasn't rooted in reality, thought they were too optimistic, too saccharine, too romantic, too ridiculous. And that is what we are feeding the general population. Maybe it's a fine line, Hunger Games was a diluted version of Battle Royale, appealing to the masses, Snow White and the Huntsman looks to be injected with a shot of video game madness... and the Hobbit? Well Tolkien doesn't need much editing.

What we all really need? Get outside, leave your phone at home, and get a bit of fresh air.

Count down

Low and behold. George R. R. Martin has completed his next book to the epic series Song of Ice and Fire. A Dance with Dragons, and the published date is REAL. July 12, 2011.

Who will be in it? To be honest I've forgotten a great deal of the subplots, and have given my copies away to the Library... (not an insult.. I always give away all popular books to the library as a donation.. Harry Potter, Neil Gaiman... ) Share and share alike.

If I recall rightly, Arya, Jaime, Cersei, and Samwell were the main POVs in A Feast for Crows... we have yet to hear from Tyrion and Daenerys. I'm not certain if the author really did slice this segment of the story in half, one hopes not. It would be painful to wait another few years to hear from Arya's world again.

Fortunately the HBO series seems to be getting better, but as always, film can rarely match the written word.

Winter is coming...

After seeing the much hyped HBO debut of Game of Thrones, I must say it was .. okay. The sets, costumes, and superb cast saved what could have been a very disappointing opening.

Am I asking for too much? A great deal of the episode was shot high and static, with little camera experimentation and rather over-lit lighting. I expected slicker editing, pushed saturation on the final render, and especially... especially more humour entwined into the writing. If I were a newbie, I would have been lost in the first five minutes. Most fantasy sagas always begin with a voice over to explain the world that you are about to enter. With Lord of the Rings it was Galadriel's monologue, with Star Wars it was the written words disappearing into space, and even with Harry Potter, Hagrid's choppy explanation of the magical world hidden from everyday "muggles".

Perhaps a drunken minstrel singing a short history of their world? Or Eddard Stark telling Arya or Bran a story of his days when he helped Robert Baratheon capture the throne from the dragon loving Targaryens? All of this would have helped, a short, sweet, yet vital explanation of who is who and what is what.

For television, I was most surprised with the lack of occasional tight framing and the omission of low angles. I expected a POV from Bran, Jon, or Arya's perspective when the King's guard first entered Winterfell, adding a much needed feeling of unease. A few scenes of Arya's close relationship with Jon, a meaningful glance between Eddard's bastard son Jon and himself when they found the direwolves pups. All the loyalty, pain, and ties that are essential to establish for future episodes.

There was none of it.

It's probably too early to judge, most shows take a while to warm up, here's hoping...

TV pee

What happened to The Mentalist? What is up with the Walking Dead firing all their writers after the first season. Can The Good Wife get even better?

I stick to 2-3 shows per week. I really don't watch anymore than that... after all, shows are usually best during their sophomore seasons after that... it's downhill from there. (Mentalist being the next on my chopping block... talk about losing their edge!)

I'm one of the disloyal watchers. I gave up LOST after they opened the hatch, got bored with X-Files after it became overly obsessed with Alien conspiracies, and dropped Mad Men when it got to the point where... well... not one of the characters are likable.

When the writing goes south and crap just recycles, it's hard to care anymore. Few drama shows can last beyond 5 seasons, and when spin offs are green lit prematurely, it just dilutes a talented show into "yuck".

Next year I'm happy to see yet another slew of fresh faces, and many "film" actors migrating to the small screen.

The BORGIAS : Known as the first crime family, the infamous Borgias mix religion, politics, and greed just the way Shakespeare would've loved it. (Jeremy Irons)

GAME OF THRONES: George R.R. Martin's version of Lord of the Rings + sex + death. No wonder it's HBO. (Sean Bean)

SHERLOCK season 2: I hope Martin Freeman will not be replaced as Watson, since he'll be busy on the HOBBIT. The chemistry between Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) and Martin Freeman (Watson) manages to upstage the recent film duo. Sizzling.

Games

A new short teaser has been released, showing barely a glimpse of Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) as the main hero in Game of Thrones...and nothing more. I personally believe the HBO series couldn't come at a better time.

Many fans and readers have been salivating for years (and I do mean years) to read the second half of A Feast for Crows, which will be entitled "A Dance with Dragons". To be frank, I've forgotten quite a bit of the contents of all four books and the idea of re-reading all the novels, each demanding a considerable investment of time (approx. 1000 pages /book) exhausts me.

A few of my friends have given up on the series, or have decided to wait until the final novel is released (that could take decades...) and who can blame them? That brings me back to the upcoming HBO series... what better way to win back the hearts of fans and skeptics alike? If it lives up to all the hype (not until December 2012), expect the pressure to heat up on the expected release of A Dance with Dragons. There will be blood...

(An angry letter from the author? Oy. Well I'd rather a satisfying end to this epic saga than a half-assed mediocre effort.)

A chill

HBO has released a new teaser trailer to the upcoming series based on George R.R. Martin's first book, Game of Thrones starring Sean Bean.

It looks great.. but truly a short teaser. Raven

The Green Isle

They swap links here there and everywhere. Foyle's War returns for a seventh season in their much anticipated return this April... at 8pm will air Broken Souls.

A regurgitation of links before...

Here's an update on Poirot: The Clocks here (part 1)

Marple: They do it with Mirrors here (part 1)

HBO adaptation of George R. R. Martin's first novel Game of Thrones seems to be flowing smoothly. Reported on the fan blog site winter is coming are a bundle of pics, and rather odd Lord of the Rings obsessive info about the world. A linguist to create the Dothraki language, photos of actors practicing, and Jennifer Ehle replaced by Michelle Fairley for Catelyn Stark. I'm making a not too wild guess that they will launch the trailer at Comic Con in San Diego?? That would be the logical debut. A good laugh is link of Neil Gaiman's retort to an excitable fan that "George R. R. Martin is not your bitch".

I highly doubt the fan means anything in a bad way, it's simply because the last book was... four years ago was it? It's a coin toss, no fan wants bad work or anything but I imagine that many fans worry he'll never complete the series. Strangely enough I've forgotten about 60% of the story details and will not re-read the books. Who has the time? Which is why I relish having an HBO version... so much quicker...

Skellig?? What the heck is this?? Well it has a stellar cast with Tim Roth and Kelly Macdonald to start with. What is it about? I just stumbled upon it. Here's a link... part 1

Game of Thrones Green lit

Variety.com has recently reported that HBO has green lit George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones pilot along with 9 following episodes!! The series will continue production in Ireland in June.

Winter is coming...

CLICK ON CHART FOR LARGER VIEW

Many of the most delectable roles have been cast for the pilot of HBO's adaptation of George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones. Although the series is not scheduled to run until 2011, the pilot is quickly nearing the end of production. Many of the biggest roles will be portrayed by relatively unknown young stars. The roles of Jon Snow, Arya Stark, Sansa Stark and Daenerys Targaryen are all younger than sixteen, demanding a great deal of maturity and emotional depth. Fortunately they will have a great deal of experienced cast members to draw advice from, what an opportunity!

It should be interesting who they'll lure for some of the juiciest characters yet to come, the sly and brilliant Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish, Jon Snow's loyal friend Samwell Tarly, and the ruthless, cold father of the triple threat Tywin Lannister. With the demise of the Tudors as it finishes it's fourth season this year and the release of The Hobbit in 2011, Game of Thrones is primed for a spectacular debut.

For the latest news check out the blog... Winter is Coming

As for George R. R. Martin's second half of his long awaited follow-up to Feast for Crows, I anticipate it will hot off the press near the pilot's release. What a coincidence...

English roses

I've always been a fan of British television.

Whether it's Poirot, Marple, Foyle's War, or Horatio Hornblower, I can't get enough of it. Oh and you can even watch a few episodes on youtube if you can't get a hold of them! I'm still on the fence about the new Sherlock Holmes flick, but I'm sure Guy Ritchie will at least smoother us with snappy action bits when the story lags behind.

For now, I'm anticipating the pilot of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice of Fire series, starring Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey. (HBO isn't British, but it's shot in the UK). It's a promising start, especially since the writer takes years to finish each novel.

If you haven't started the series give it a whirl (Game of Thrones being book 1). A delectable tale that's filled with all the deadly sins we all know and love.