Game of Thrones: Season One

From my Best TV Shows We've Never Seen marathon - part 4 of 5.



Game of Thrones: Season One, 2011. Various factions plot to gain political control over a fantasy world.

Created by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss, based on books by George R. R. Martin. Directed by Brian Kirk (3 episodes), Daniel Minahan (3), Tim Van Patten (2) & Alan Taylor (2). Written by Benioff (8 episodes), Weiss (8), Bryan Cogman (1), Jane Espenson (1) & Martin (1). Starring Sean Bean.

Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 4/4 (Great)
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good). It could have been an hour or two shorter without losing anything. That didn't bother me while I was watching it (except when that damn raven dream kept repeating), but I expect it would seriously mar the show's rewatchability.
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good). Crazy good for a TV show.
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 1/4 (Bad)
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, 4/4). I'm reluctantly giving it an 8 instead of a 9. I loved watching it, but there are a few major problems. Some key plot points are unexplained. Martin's obsession with incest is off-putting. Some of the villains are senselessly evil just for the sake of being villains (huge pet peeve of mine). Oddly, the biggest problem is that there is a ridiculous amount of gratuitous sex and nudity, to the point where it becomes funny. The general rule seems to be that if there's no good reason for characters to not be having sex during their scene, then what are their clothes still on for goddamnit? HBO viewers demand titties! Fantasy is always treading a fine line between immersing and silly, so a show like this that takes itself Very Seriously couldn't do much worse than give you a reason to laugh at it.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.8/4 (Good)