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ser_nerdick

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  1. It's low budget for the story they are trying to tell. I think it's because Rome focused on a much smaller group of characters, while GoT is more epic in scope and has a lot more locations and characters to deal with. Also, as others have mentioned, the budget constraints aren't just apparent in the lack of battlescenes. The strange absence/reappearance of the direwolves and the limited number of extras make it obvious as well.
  2. Sorry man, didn't mean it like that. I was trying to show how it's not really possible to separate or ignore budget constraints when watching a show or movie. And true about Rome! But even there, my point was that despite Rome not showing major battles or massive numbers of extras, the budget of the show didn't really cross my mind as I watched; in GoT, it does.
  3. I was just using it as an example. It's similar... Criticism: I didn't like the tourney scene because it seemed small and they only showed one joust Answer: it probably would have been better with more extras but that's the way they filmed it so best to ignore it and move on Criticism: I don't like the Roz scenes Answer: it probably would have been better without those Roz scenes, but that is what the writers chose to do and they filmed it so best to ignore it and move on I understand that there is an inherent limit to what a production can do on television. But if done correctly, people shouldn't notice the budget constraints. When I watched Spartacus or the Wire or even Rome I didn't give much consideration to the budget because it wasn't drawn to my attention. Here it is. That is the problem. Maybe A Song of Ice and Fire simply can't fit within a television budget, but that doesn't mean everyone should ignore it. If the actors were only pretending to ride imaginary horses ala Monty Python and Holy Grail, people should (correctly) criticize it. You can't just ignore any budget or lack of scale criticisms or consider them invalid just because this is on television.
  4. I wouldn't assume that anyone remarking on the budget constraints of the show isn't appreciating its other elements. I certainly am. I note that the dothraki heart-eating ceremony has less people sitting around than at my last trip to the DMV, and move on. I don't think it's reasonable to completely ignore it. Just like dialogue, direction, editing, and acting, it is a factor in what you may or may not enjoy about the show. Budget constraints could be applied to not just battle scenes, but also the other factors like the writing and acting. You may criticize a certain actor, but maybe part of the reason he is in the part is that they couldn't afford to hire who they really wanted. It's all part of the mix. Saying you have to appreciate the show for "what *it* is" makes it sound like you have to only praise the show. Example: "Geez, I think all the added Roz scenes are horrible." --> "You have to appreciate the show for what it is, and that includes Rozfest! Would it be better without Roz, well yes, but this is what we have, so we should accept it." I don't get very riled up over tv show discussions. :grouphug:
  5. The context is the story itself. The show isn't changing the basic story... it's not eliminating the battles or tourney from the plot, it's just altering how they are shown to fit the budget. If someone made a tv adaptation of a scifi novel like Pandora's Star or some other book with lots of space battles, but rather than showing any scenes in space merely had long dialogues between people talking about the battles, people would quite rightfully point out that there must have been severe budget constraints. The same holds true here. There is an expensive tourney with all the greatest knights in the land in attendance, and there are only a few dozen onlookers. There is an army of 18,000 that you never actually see nor get a hint of. There are grand populous cities that seem to fit within a couple sound stages. I'm not saying the series is utter rubbish because of it, but only that it is abundantly clear that certain elements are left out because there is a lack of money to create them. You don't need a comparison to other television shows to see it. Is this a limitation of tv in general? Perhaps. Maybe this is the best that could ever be done on television. That's fine, but still doesn't change the fact that given the source material, the budget forced the producers to cut certain corners.
  6. Why does there need to be some sort of context to have the opinion that the show appears to come off as low budget? Most stories of this scope and size (LOTR of course comes to mind), is either adapted to the big screen in a movie or it is animated. Just because a story of this scope hasn't been attempted on the small screen before doesn't mean it can't appear low budget independent of any comparison. If context is considered, it should be the context of the story it is an adaptation of. Hence the criticism of the lack of battles and extras and so forth.
  7. Not to mention the fact that any scene that would require a large number of extras is either cut or very abbreviated. The tourney, the battles (or lack thereof), the dothraki wedding and dothraki horde numbering in the dozens, etc. Also see the random housedogs masquerading as direwolves, and the sets of Winterfell and King's Landing being approximately the size of my living room. It has been painfully obvious to me that they were working with an extremely limited budget given the scope of the project. I have to agree that they should have scaled back the marketing a bit, since it's clear they dumped a lot of cash into it (free iron throne rickshaws? really?)
  8. I agree. They've completely changed the personality of Shae. In the book she is fairly two-dimensional, yes, but the lack of her character depth works considering the relatively minor part she plays in the plot. Book-Shae is a greedy attractive whore who knows exactly which buttons of Tyrion's to push to get what she wants (gold and jewels). Tyrion is smart enough to realize this, but he still can't resist her; he knows she doesn't truly love him and would betray him in a second, but he can't help himself. Tv-Shae seems to be some crafty intelligent courtesan who doesn't really enjoy playing the part of the whore. She is proud and aggressive, and doesn't play to Tyrion's weakness of falling for doe-eyed young women. I don't understand why the producers decided this change of Shae's character was necessary or positive. The older actress they've casted also doesn't have any of the cute-factor I imagined Shae to have.
  9. The show could star William Shatner as Ned Stark and Carrot-top as Jaime Lannister and people here would still give it a 10/10. A lot of people really, really want the show to be fantastic. I think it's entertaining but probably tops off at about 8/10 with a few of the episodes down in the 6 range.
  10. I lol'ed. Agree with most of what has been said, great episode. The pacing was much more consistent than in previous episodes. I was skeptical about the Bob Ross Syrio actor at first, but he was great in the swordfight scene. Also really enjoying Varys' scenes. Still extremely disappointed with the casting for Cersei, but I suppose eventually I'll get over it. Maybe. edit: oh, and loved the intro of Bronn to Tywin... Bronn son of... "You wouldn't know him."
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