Potential Problems w/ Adaptation

[ice snake]

Dany being disconnected with Westeros is irrelevant so long as she has interesting things going on with her. She's really active in the first season so there shouldn't be any lack of entertainment there. Things start to get a bit stagnant in season 2, but they'll overcome those issues.

Yeah, I don't see Dany being disconnected as a problem. This is where editing comes in. Jorah is connected to Joer, and Dany is a threat to Robert and skillful cutting can remind of us these relationships.

The children aging won't be an issue. If anything, it will be a good thing since Jon & Robb have to transtion to leadership positions fairly quickly. The fact that the actors will age faster than the characters will HELP the story and make it more credible when they have to act like adults.

[Phantom]

I wonder how they're going to tackle the nudity with the younger actors. Dany's sex scenes, Joffrey ordering Sansa's clothing off and such.

[Werthead]

The aging of the children can easily be explained by some additions to the timespan. The first four books cover cover over 2 years, maybe closer to 3, so expanding that to a year per season (and thus the children aging a year per season) makes sense from that perspective. The children suddenly shooting up in height between the end of one season and the start of the next (even though the next season might be starting a few days or even just hours later) is something we'd probably just have to accept and roll with (and will only be really noticeable on mass DVD binges).

I wonder how they're going to tackle the nudity with the younger actors. Dany's sex scenes, Joffrey ordering Sansa's clothing off and such.

Dany's sex scenes will be shown, as the actress is 23, so there is no issue there. The scene you mention with Joffrey and Sansa will likely be changed (maybe Joff orders her clothes removed and is interrupted before the order can be carried out, or the Kingsguard start to tear off her clothes but are then stopped before getting very far).

[Phantom]

The aging of the children can easily be explained by some additions to the timespan. The first four books cover cover over 2 years, maybe closer to 3, so expanding that to a year per season (and thus the children aging a year per season) makes sense from that perspective. The children suddenly shooting up in height between the end of one season and the start of the next (even though the next season might be starting a few days or even just hours later) is something we'd probably just have to accept and roll with (and will only be really noticeable on mass DVD binges).

Dany's sex scenes will be shown, as the actress is 23, so there is no issue there. The scene you mention with Joffrey and Sansa will likely be changed (maybe Joff orders her clothes removed and is interrupted before the order can be carried out, or the Kingsguard start to tear off her clothes but are then stopped before getting very far).

Thanks for the info, but I heard Tamzin Merchant was being replaced, or was that just a rumor? Even so, I guess they would replace her with an actress that is old enough to film explicit scenes.

[Rydis]

Anyone else think the series will air too soon? Right now it just seems doomed to fail. At the slow rate the books come out, the series will easily catch up to the books. What then? The show go on hiadus till the books are done. Easily be finished if that were the case. Take 3-5 years for a season. People will easily lose interest and not watch it/care.

I dont know..but this perspective..the show just seems to fail before it will even finish.

[Werthead]

Anyone else think the series will air too soon? Right now it just seems doomed to fail. At the slow rate the books come out, the series will easily catch up to the books. What then? The show go on hiadus till the books are done. Easily be finished if that were the case. Take 3-5 years for a season. People will easily lose interest and not watch it/care.

I dont know..but this perspective..the show just seems to fail before it will even finish.

It is just about possible that HBO are aware of the publication times of the books and have taken this into account already with fallback plans and contingencies in place to deal with the situation.

[Goldzor]

And I guess that most people would already be happy to see 5 seasons.

I wouldn't bother that much about the rate of the book now. If the series catch up the books, then it will be time to wonder what next.

[Spilt Pea Soup]

Dany being disconnected with Westeros is irrelevant so long as she has interesting things going on with her. She's really active in the first season so there shouldn't be any lack of entertainment there. Things start to get a bit stagnant in season 2, but they'll overcome those issues.

Really? I think Season 2 is much more interesting than Season 1. I love the House of the Undying Episode, though. (Since we're talking in terms of television series!) Man, I can't wait to see this show.

[Lord Varys]

I don't think that HBO will have that much problems to show us partly naked Sansa Stark. She does not need to be bare breasted, even if her clothes are ripped apart - or she can be, but the camera does not need to us this fact.

[Daeron Targaryen]

How are they going to explain the age difference between Jon and Dany since in the tv serie it has been increased to 2 years? They were both born at the end of Robert's rebellion (or few months after). So either King's Landing resisted a siege for a couple of years after the trident or the entire timeline of the end of the war is screwed.

[Sekhmet]

How are they going to explain the age difference between Jon and Dany since in the tv serie it has been increased to 2 years? They were both born at the end of Robert's rebellion (or few months after). So either King's Landing resisted a siege for a couple of years after the trident or the entire timeline of the end of the war is screwed.

Hey, suspend your total analytical mind for a bit. Age of the actors is a bit irrelevant, unless people sit there with their calculators.

[Queenslayer(in the bed)]

Also there is a lot of thoughts presented to as a readers(using italics), how are they going to portray that on TV? Voice-overs?

[Seanathin]

Also there is a lot of thoughts presented to as a readers(using italics), how are they going to portray that on TV? Voice-overs?

They will work what they have to into diologe. They are TV writers and used to doing this so it shouldn't be a problem. Sure some little details will be cut or left for us to infer from faceial exprestion. That defetly doesn't worry me.

And when it comes to Sansa and her clothing, what you don't show is just as powerful as what do, if done right.

[Brude]

They will work what they have to into diologe. They are TV writers and used to doing this so it shouldn't be a problem. Sure some little details will be cut or left for us to infer from faceial exprestion. That defetly doesn't worry me.

Yeah, last time I read the series I did it with an eye to how I would adapt things were I writing for the show. A lot of that internal monologue could be expressed verbally without changing much (and hopefully will be as many of the best lines come as peoples' thoughts - especially Tyrion). Without a doubt, much of that will be lots - but that's the nature of an adaptation. It's not he same as a book, dramatic writing is different than prose, it just is.

[howland_reed]

Conveying thoughts into dialogue is often poor script-writing and I have confidence in HBO's writers that they don't go that route. Better screenwriters know to fully utilize the visual medium and there are several ways to convey emotions through body language/actions rather than words -- the latter of which will often come out as forced and expository.

Also, the children aging if the production goes past season 1 shouldn't be an issue since the story actually does advance in time. Unlike in Lost, where the producers/writers had to axe Walt, simply because he aged too quickly for a character who spends three or so months on the island. Sure, we might require some suspension of disbelief, when the young actress who plays Arya starts blossoming and looking like she's 16, but even if Arya is only 11 or 12 by the time she trains at Braavos, I doubt it'd be that big of a deal if she instead looks a few years older. Harry Potter movies got away with it, and so can GoT.

I think the Dany disconnect is a legitimate concern, and I think the writers will have to build up more suspense/tension or action as she travels with her entourage. Past book one, and once she's freed of Drogo, her story arc can get a bit stagnant and anticlimactic, unlike Jon's for example who goes from a captive Nights Watch soldier to escaping and leading a defense of the Wall. No one claims that Jon's disconnect from the rest of the characters will be an issue, cause we can already see how his story arc will translate very well to the screen. Dany, on the other hand, will need a bit more excitement in her travels.

The same issue plagues Bran, probably even moreso than Dany. The writers will have to conjure more obstacles in his path. Think of the LotR movies. Frodo's travels with Sam if adapted straight from the book could've been very yawn-inducing if nothing happened, but Jackson and co. artificially created moments of suspense, tension, and sometimes even horror to keep us on our toes, especially in every encounter with the wraiths. GoT writers must do something similar for Dany and Bran. I could say the same for Brienne in AFFC, but I really hope they don't follow her on the TV show.

I actually think the biggest issue will be the dragons, cause while wights and the Others are fully within the realm of the supernatural, there's something about dragons that tilts the scale too heavily into geekdom and may turn off a lot of casual viewers who thought the show would be more Rome-esque than D&D fare. At least that's what I fear when I suggest this show to my friends. It sucks cause the dragons play such an insignificant role in the series (at least thus far).

The one other thing I worry about is how they'll handle showing Robert's Rebellion/Rhaegar, both of which will have to be alluded to in some form, as the history behind the throne, the usurper, Lyanna in the middle...will all need to be addressed. Sure, a flashback can solve it, but a good, streamlined flashback is often tough to do. More often than not, flashbacks can be extremely cheesy on television shows. Even Lost, which is probably king of flashbacks (at least in quantity, not quality) can be very tiresome and distracting from the main storyline. I think the best way for HBO to tackle Robert's Rebellion is if the show is successful, they should show the entire war in an hour-long prelude to a future season, much the same way "24" created a 2-hour prologue to season 7.

Almost everything else I think will translate very well to the screen. From the tournament, to Ned's beheading, to Jon's excursion past the Wall only to be captured, and all the political intrigue we get with the Lannisters, Tyrells, and Littlefinger.

[Daeron Targaryen]

Hey, suspend your total analytical mind for a bit. Age of the actors is a bit irrelevant, unless people sit there with their calculators.

I was talking about the age of the characters: in the book Dany is 13 and Jon is 14 at the beginning of GOT, in the serie she'll be 15 and him 17. Considering that George has said that Jon is less than a year older that Dany it causes some problems for the timeline since they are suposed to be both born at the end of the war.

[howland_reed]

I was talking about the age of the characters: in the book Dany is 13 and Jon is 14 at the beginning of GOT, in the serie she'll be 15 and him 17. Considering that George has said that Jon is less than a year older that Dany it causes some problems for the timeline since they are suposed to be both born at the end of the war.

I'm guessing you aren't too familiar with scripts. Usually, when the screenwriter puts an age, like "JON, 17, enters courtyard," the 17 is more of an approximation to help out the casting team, to give a visual cue of how old the character should LOOK. Unless their exact ages are explicitly stated in dialogue, this little discrepancy is going to matter very little on screen. If it's necessary later on to tell the viewer that Jon and Dany were born around the same season, there won't be anything to conflict with that tidbit of info, cause their exact ages were never told.

Also, just to clarify from my previous post, I'm not suggesting that HBO should throw beasties or soldiers in Bran or Dany's way, and diverge from the book. Rather, what's already in the book should be expanded upon. For example, Bran's near miss with the wildling group can be made more suspenseful, or they can add more humor with Hodor and Reed's kids, the way LotR added comedy with Gollum. Dany already has a lot of political backstabbings and love interests in her storyline, and they can be further developed. The writers can delay the reveal of Mormont as spy, or paint Barristan more mysteriously until his true identity is shown. The slave revolt can be more fleshed out and developed, allowing the viewer/reader to be more of a participant than spectator. But if these story arcs aren't developed further for the screen, I'm afraid people will find Bran/Dany boring and a distraction from everything else that's going on, and will unfairly dislike their characters.

[Padraig]

Considering that George has said that Jon is less than a year older that Dany it causes some problems for the timeline since they are suposed to be both born at the end of the war.

I'm sure Jon can be 2 years older than Dany without too much trouble. The main timeline doesn't have to change, just needs to be stretched in a few places. (Rhaegar kidnaps Lyanna, Brandon arrested, Aerys kills his subjects, Robert and Ned go to war, Battles, Rhaegar returns, Trident, Sacking).

I would have thought Dany had a lot of very interesting stuff happening in aSoS. Battles, conquests, plots...

[fitheach]

Conveying thoughts into dialogue is often poor script-writing and I have confidence in HBO's writers that they don't go that route. Better screenwriters know to fully utilize the visual medium and there are several ways to convey emotions through body language/actions rather than words -- the latter of which will often come out as forced and expository.

Doesn't seem to be a problem on Dexter.

I could say the same for Brienne in AFFC, but I really hope they don't follow her on the TV show.

??? Are you saying the character Brienne shouldn't be on the show? I understand cutting some non-POV characters, but Brienne's a POV character...She's very important to Jamie's character development.

[howland_reed]

Doesn't seem to be a problem on Dexter.

??? Are you saying the character Brienne shouldn't be on the show? I understand cutting some non-POV characters, but Brienne's a POV character...She's very important to Jamie's character development.

Dexter doesn't say his thoughts out loud, they use voiceovers. And the show mostly uses the voiceovers as a comedic tool. Not to mention Dexter has a single, central character, whereas GoT is an ensemble cast. Are you seriously suggesting GoT should use voiceovers?

And no, I'm not saying they should cut Brienne the character, but to not bother showing the scenes where she traverses the countryside with Pod (or whatever the boy's name was). But that's a long ways off and who knows if we'll even get to Book 4.