[Book/TV Spoilers] Will Thrones TV series survive its own greatness?

[Lannes]

I also remember reading an interview with George in which he mentions his past experiences with reader outrage over the course of the series. He said that he had heard from people who literally threw their books into the fireplace (ASOS) in a fit of rage and disbelief.

My wife basically did this (minus the fire) and never picked ASOS back up again.

But...that huge impact on her is what made me start the AGOT for a 3rd time and stick with it to my ultimate delight.

[Rand]

Yeah it makes you wonder, but while some people tossed it into the fire ASoFI never stopped lacking for popularity, so I don't think there's anything to worry about.

Personally, the only time I've ever 'stopped' something because of a death was for a video game, an older playstation RPG named Suikoden 2. As far as depressing/upsetting reading in fantasy goes, while GRRM has the shock value of some unexpected character death, the most soul crushing depressing thing I've read was in the most recent Wheel of Time book, written by Brandon Sanderson. (Quick disclaimer first: my user name has nothing to do with the series, I'm a Randy and people have been calling me Rand well before I picked up a WoT book). I'm talking about the lengthy Aviendha chapter where she goes through her trial. I don't know what other peoples take on it are and I won't go into detail since this is a ASoFI forum, but that's what did it for me. I had to stop for a while, convince myself it wasn't really the truth but only a trick, before I could continue reading.

Anyways, back to the topic on hand, I think one of the more interesting possibilities people are not considering is that with Sean Bean being the headliner actor, with his untimely demise might they try and bring in a new 'star' name for season A Storm of Swords? I have no idea who but maybe someone good for Stannis? Or perhaps since she's already done the super hero tights Scarlett Johansson might want to give fantasy a try and play Melisandre? Haha I don't think so, but when you think 'sexy redhead' there's only one name that really comes to mind :wub:

[Dennai]

Scarlett Johansson might want to give fantasy a try and play Melisandre? Haha I don't think so, but when you think 'sexy redhead' there's only one name that really comes to mind :wub:

Dude, she's not even redhead.

Besides, for what I've been seeing in this forum, the words 'sexy redhead' seem to conjure up right away Christina Hendricks. :drool:

Funny thing, because she's not redhead either.

[Jonias Snow]

Doreah dies in CoC, and considering the actress that portrays her I consider it quite a loss.

Yea, and it wouldn't effect the series if HBO kept Doreah in, I see no real reason why GRRM bumped her off, except to make room for the new girl. So hopefully HBO will keep her, as she is the 2nd reason I pay attention to Dany's storyline on HBO in the firt place.

[Talan Snow]

How much should we fear that Game of Throne will lose ratings as such people drop out?

Not at all.

[lifefullofwords]

Ned's death in the first book was one of the things that hooked me into the series and let me know this was not going to be like any other series of books I'd been used to. I think people either like, or don't like that kind of storytelling. If you look at television, and shows like the Sopranos, the Wire, the Shield (sensing a naming theme here) that kind of storytelling is not unknown to TV audiences either, and people have been fine with it in the past. Those sorts of people will be fine with this series and enjoy it.

I totally agree. I don't know if you guys watch HBO or other cable networks with similar programming but I think Ned's death will actually be less shocking to them than it is to book readers. Killing the (by all appearances) main character in the first volume of a fantasy series is a serious violation of the conventions of the genre. Viewers of such shows as The Sopranos and Rome who might be drawn to GoT will be expecting that kind of violent twist however. In general the violence and character deaths will make it typical of the kind of drama the show is clearly trying to emulate so I don't see why readers would react badly. If anything they are expecting that kind of thing.

Besides, for what I've been seeing in this forum, the words 'sexy redhead' seem to conjure up right away Christina Hendricks. :drool:

Funny thing, because she's not redhead either.

Christina Hendricks isn't a redhead? I don't know if it's natural or not but her hair is definitely red. Maybe not bright red but red nevertheless.

She's definitely the sexiest redhead in the world though. But she's the bombshell type and IMO totally wrong for Melissandre (who does have much redder hair). Plus she already has a great role on Mad Men so I highly doubt she'd be interested in GoT anyway.

[Rand]

Dude, she's not even redhead.

Besides, for what I've been seeing in this forum, the words 'sexy redhead' seem to conjure up right away Christina Hendricks. :drool:

Funny thing, because she's not redhead either.

Yeah I guess it makes sense, some women are always changing their hair colour. I don't watch a lot of stuff but it seems like whatever she's in it's as a red head. So in that case then how about Emma Watson and/or Daniel Radcliffe for the Reed siblings? Or if Stannis is said to have the personality of a lobster, how about Keanu Reeves!

Yeah I should just stop before I fall too far behind. I really have no idea who would be good because I don't follow this stuff enough and am not really able to personally judge acting capability, but with Sean Bean exiting left Stannis/Melisandre entering right for season two, who we know will be around for a while is an opportunity to bring in someone else recognizable. Or maybe it's not needed at all and they can funnel the money saved to Martin's big battle scene.

[lifefullofwords]

Yeah I should just stop before I fall too far behind. I really have no idea who would be good because I don't follow this stuff enough and am not really able to personally judge acting capability, but with Sean Bean exiting left Stannis/Melisandre entering right for season two, who we know will be around for a while is an opportunity to bring in someone else recognizable. Or maybe it's not needed at all and they can funnel the money saved to Martin's big battle scene.

I definitely think they will bring a relatively well-known actor in to play Stannis if they can. The character is very difficult to like (IMO anyway) and an actor some people are already attached to would really help. Plus they are going to need someone experienced and really talented anyway because it's a tough role. I really do wonder who they'll cast for Mel, I think that will be a hard one to fill. Off the top of my head I can't think of any actresses who could play her.

[Dennai]

Or if Stannis is said to have the personality of a lobster, how about Keanu Reeves!

That quote is just pure gold :laugh:

So in that case then how about Emma Watson and/or Daniel Radcliffe for the Reed siblings?

You know, with all the talk of cutting cast, I wonder if the showrunners just will let the Reeds out. You don't need two of them anyways: Joren profesizes, Meera hunts and guides, so you can have one guide who profesizes and get done with it, and that could be Osha who's already in Tena's words in conexion with the spirits of Nature. Since the producers love Natalia Tena so much, I woudn't be surprised if they extend her role and take over the Reeds.

Of course, I have no way to know if this decision would conflict in a big way with future events from the books.

[Prankster]

There's actually been a number of shows that killed off their "main" characters, or at least their most prominent actor, in the first season lately. There are two HBO shows that have done this already. SPOILER: Deadwood killed off John Carradine and Treme killed off John Goodman (as is my understanding, I actually haven't watched the latter.)

[jellydonut]

I am curious as to what they are going to do with season 2. We might all agree that most of the other characters are just as interesting, if not more interesting, than Ned - but in the series, he's played by Sean Bean and is a huge draw to the show.

Mark Addy as Robert is doing a great job as well, and by the end of the season they'll both be gone.

I predict that they will *have to* cast two 'greats' as Stannis and Davos, to spearhead season 2 right at the start. They could use them in the season 2 marketing, since that's where the second book starts.

[Prankster]

I think they'll probably only bring in one new "name" actor, if any, especially since any of the new major characters are going to be around for a few seasons, and they don't want the budget to get too huge. (One of the reasons Deadwood got so expensive was that they kept adding well-known character actors to the cast.) There have been some indications that they're going to talk to someone well-known for Stannis, so we'll see how that shakes out; I certainly think he's the most logical role for a noted actor. Davos, though...he's not a bad character, of course, but a lot of what makes him cool comes from the fact that he's a POV character and we're inside his head. In the show, Davos is actually in danger of getting lost, since if you think about it, he doesn't do all that much from a plot perspective. The role deserves a good actor, but if you cast someone well known they're mostly going to be standing around for two seasons, which seems like a waste.

Brienne would be another good role for a "name", but there's not really any well known actress who fits her description. Asha's a decent part, but again, she's absent from the action for very long stretches--unless that's actually a plus? (As in, cast a well-known actress who you only have to pay for a handful of episodes in S2 and S4?) Melisandre could be someone famous, potentially, but like I say, I don't think they're going to want to add more than one expensive new actor into the mix.

Elsewhere, someone made the interesting point that Oberyn Martell would be a great role for a "guest star", since he'd be in no more than a handful of episodes, possibly just one, in S3.

[Ranmyaku]

Although the original premise of this topic, namely Lady's death, isn't a wholely worrying factor..I think it's proffered some very interesting points. Something I just saw whilst reading..Two of the biggest names in this series; Mark Addy, Sean Bean..Will die. And in no way is it justice, in fact, as far as deaths go, I felt the outrage of Baratheon and the North respectively each time.

As for Lady, in the books I felt far more affected(though not much for her death, but more for Joffrey and Sansa's lies. Arya was forever my underdog!) than in the show. In the show, it felt quite rushed to be honest.

Point of note; I may be old-fashioned, but I always appreciated Stannis and his cause. He's just doing what he sees as right, and Davos was very easy to like. On the point of "good guys and villians", a lot of people are probably starting to hate Jaime following the last episode, but these same people may endear toward him the longer we see him after his stint in Riverrun. I certainly enjoyed all his chapters after the amputation!

[seppuku]

The evidence does not support the hypothesis that Lady's death caused viewers to stop watching GoT. Ratings went up from episode 2 to episode 3 by over 200k viewers according to Nielsen.

Seriously.

Anybody that couldn't handle watching the show after Lady's death did themselves a favor by getting out early considering what goes on later in the books.

Good riddance, anyways. The genre has no place for squares.