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All-purpose TV nitpick extravaganza thread.


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That particular scene wasn't in the critics trailer, BTW. That said, I think without scoring and so on, and without seeing the full scene (I noted at the time that they've clearly cut out some dialog between Ned and Littlefinger) that it's really hard to make a judgment.

Todd VanDerWoolf, the critic in question, did admit that the the fact that the critics' trailer had a temporary track could have been part of the explaination for his sense that some sceens felt "airles". A temporary score can't match something actually composed for it in supporting dialog beats.

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I want Littlefinger to have been more flippant throughout - as though he is teasing/mocking Eddard, not seriously trying to give him counsel.

Its a fine line LF is walking. I thought the touch of a smile showed how he wasn't been totally serious? He can't be. He does want Ned to trust him after all.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Peter Dinklage isn't ugly enough for Tyrion

I agree and this is my only nitpick. I mean, if blonde Dinklage was normal sized he would be almost competion to his brother, ser Charming. That´s far from the effect the book Tyrion has on other people.

Also, when I´m thinking about it, I don´t particularly like scene in the leaked script which sort of gives the audience earlier introduction of Tyrion but I can live with that.

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  • 1 month later...

I agree with Catelyn looking too old and weathered, Jennifer Ehle is almost exactly how I pictured Catelyn in the books. Acting is more important, but she did have the look. Don't like the Targ's dark brows, and I feel like Jaime's hair should be long and glowing gold, not short and brownish. Also the armor is kind of all over the place, as are the set decorations, like they were designed separately with no oversight.

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Jennifer Ehle looks a lot more like how I thought Cat would. But from what i've seen the current Catelyn does a good enough job on the acting part.

Jennifer Ehle WAS my Cat - I love her. It was agonizing to see her in The King's Speech and know that she'd not be in the show. However, although I am not as crazy about the "look" of Fairley (actually I think her look is totally appropriate except I just can't see Littlefinger adoring her - otherwise she's fine), it is obvious she has great acting chops and that's more important anyway.

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Looks aside, I think Michelle Fairley brings a quality that is, somehow, somewhat smaller than what I hoped for. She is certainly even-keeled and serious and one can see a serene graciousness there, but there's a humble, roughspun quality too, whereas I was hoping for a little more ... steely pride, worldly sophistication, that assertiveness that certainly many readers find presumptuous and borderline arrogant, etc. From what I've read so far of the online press and various websites keeping up with HBO, Catelyn is described as "Ned's wife and a protective mother" and that's about it, her individual personality traits are never really remarked on, unlike Jaime, Ned, Cersei, Tyrion, etc. Except for the arguably stereotypical Wife And Mom kind of traits (mother worries about threatened children, rip out the front page?). Having checked out Fairley in other roles, I don't think she brings the fiercer qualities naturally, I don't see that she's often hired for those kinds of roles, and based on how people are describing the character I don't think the script will be compensating for that.

Though to be truly honest I don't know for sure how much of my perception is or isn't based on looks. I'll say this much: I love Jennifer Ehle and think she's beautiful, but she seemed too soft for Catelyn to me, I think she'd have been perfect for a Lysa who had a happier life. I also think Holly Marie Combs is obviously attractive in quite a conventional Hollywood way and yet I hated when the rumors went around that she was up for the role, even though those rumors weren't worth the worry. And in theory the idea of Catelyn not just being older, but being older than Ned, is actually rather cool. But if I were to think of an older actress for the role I would've gone with someone more reminiscent of Lindsay Duncan or something, she has a certain arch aristocratic mien that I really wanted for Catelyn, that look of a great lady.

I think Michelle Fairley will do a good job in terms of the quality of acting though.

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Pickiest nit of all:

The faces in the godswood trees strike me as somehow Disney-like. I imagined them as more subtle and creepy.

I guess that would be my nitpick if I have to have one. I think the faces could've been more... tortured. Perhaps hints of a history we aren't aware of yet.

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The Godswood definitely is not how I envisioned it; it's way too "Lothlorien" from the LOTR movies. Very airy and light, very beautiful, not nearly grim or dour enough. But that's okay, I am glad they have the white tree and red leaves look, and maybe the face when we see it will look all bleak and sad, which would make it a nice contrast :smoking:

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Am I the only one who is bugged that Balerion's skull bones are white instead of black?? Yeah, I know it shouldn't really affect the plot, but why? This is the world's most infamous dragon, the Black Dread, not some common dinosaur carcass. His bones should be different, and it's just creepier to have Arya among them that way. I read somewhere that they did it because they were easier to light being white, but that just sounds lazy to me. You put some rim lighting on there, you can see the shine off the pure black, maybe torch light reflecting on them, that's dramatic. White? Not so much.

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Maybe this has been said already and if so I apologize... but it looked like, from the most recent trailer, that Catelyn was trying to dissuade Ned from accepting the Hand of the King position when in the book she all but forces him to take the job. I'm a wee bit drunk so maybe I'm mixing things up here, but am I seeing this right?

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She and Luwin both believe it's in the best interests of the Starks and the kingdom that Ned become Hand, yes, and they work together to convince him in the book. On the show, she's against the idea from the start, from the first inkling of it. I wrote a bit about this in our impressions of the 15 minute reel we saw.

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I didn't even remember the dragon bones being described as black when I read the book, and I guess I just don't see why it's necessary to distinguish their bones from dinosaurs. If anything it makes a fantastic creature like dragons a bit more grounded in reality, and for a series so touted as being a more realistic, gritty fantasy than others, this seems to fit in better to me. The big reason why they probably didn't go with the black bones is because it probably wouldn't show up as well on film. Just my guess though.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Is it just me or does there seem to be a lack of scenes that take place at night? The only night scene I remember seeing from the trailers so far is when they're searching for Arya after the Mycah incident. I'm a little disappointed the Jaime/Ned confrontation happens in broad daylight, and it looks like Ned and Cerseis chat in the godswood (when you play the game of thrones, you win or you die) also happens during the day. A small nitpick I know, but I think some of these scenes would have been better at night.

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I am slightly disappointed that the southerners and KL look too drab. Where are the silks, the velvets, Lannister crimson and gold, Baratheon gold an black, emerald hues that Cersei likes to affect, etc? Jaime's strange coat looks a drab, cut-down bathrobe, etc.

Also, the guy who plays Robb looks way too old. Yes, even with general aging of characters. It would be difficult to take the struggles of a boy who has to take on a man's burden far too early seriously, when the actor is so clearly an adult in his mid-twenties. The contrast with Joffrey, who seems to be played by a genuine teenager makes it all too painfully obvious, as well.

Kit Harrington at least looks younger - but IMHO they should have tried to enhance the impression by having him clean-shaven in the Winterfell scenes.

And yes, they absolutely should have made Viserys's eyebrows blond. Dany as a woman could be assumed to darken them anyway, but on Viserys it looks as incongruous as all those extra-pink lips on Star Trek Vulcans.

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Dragon eggs: way too small.

From the description in the book, with veins of gold and [i thought] smooth and alive to Dany's touch, they really made an effort to make these look like carved rocks, and WAY too small. Dragons are pretty big, and these are barely ostrich-egg-sized.

Lysa isn't plump. >_>

The stress of her sickly son and murdered husband I thought might have meant she was raiding the larder a little more often.... my read on that aspect.

The eyebrows on the Targaryen's does bother me - makes the good wigs look fake.

The eyebrows really are jarring, unless that was intentional, which makes even less sense, but they could have at least lightened them a little, with silver/gold hair, WTF would they have near-Baratheon black eyebrows..?

Don't love the actress cast as Catelyn, she just seems a bit too old and weathered than what I pictured...

Caitlyn not being attractive enough for my taste's.

Catelyn with real 40-something women...To me, the principle factor of note is that Catelyn is just older than Cersei. At the same time, I don't think you can ignore that life in the North is harder than life in the South. And been a mother of 5 is harder than been a mother of 3.

I like Fairley as Catelyn...from virtually the beginning of the story, she's worried and stressed out most of the time, and that's going to take its toll.

As for Catelyn, I think she looks like I would expect, is she not older than Ned by design, she was betrothed to his older brother, and that coupled with living in the north for 20 years, and 5 children, she seems like she has lived a full, but by absolutely no means, a carefree life.

The Mountain is a foot too short.

7 feet, 325lbs (22 stone?) seems about as good as it might get without special effects, I fear.

Ned and Jory... on white horses. Huh? That's just jarring. Brown is fine for the northmen. Leave the white horses for the Targeryans and cocky pricks like Jaime Lannister.

I was thinking this was due to their being in KL and KL's royal stable is going to have "beautiful" horses, unless the Stark's would insist on riding their horses.

My biggest nitpicks would be the horrible hag nagging of Nan, whose apparently impersonating an evil witch hag of some other fairy tale, for some reason.

From the description of old Nan, she is older than old old, so this voice, to my mind sounds correct. Hodor's grandmother? or great-grandmother? I bet she is as old or older than Walder Frey.

As fraternal twins it's not strange to me that Cersei and Jaime don't have the exact same shade of blond hair, but I know this does differ from the books as the books emphasize how much the Cersei and Jaime looked alike, I just wanted to try and clear up the misconception of Jaime's hair not being blond at all.

I don't really like that they cut Joffrey's hair. I thought the long locks gave him a more prince-ish look.

what puzzles me is, with Joffrey,

his parents being C+J,

why is his hair so eminem peroxide white? It makes him look ridiculous. I agree too on the length, it should be more regal, it's, again, too eminem-ish.

neither will dragon skulls that don't look like they are from real animals.

Am I the only one who is bugged that Balerion's skull bones are white instead of black?? Yeah, I know it shouldn't really affect the plot, but why? This is the world's most infamous dragon, the Black Dread, not some common dinosaur carcass. His bones should be different, and it's just creepier to have Arya among them that way. I read somewhere that they did it because they were easier to light being white, but that just sounds lazy to me...you can see the shine off the pure black, maybe torch light reflecting on them, that's dramatic. White? Not so much.

With all the description of Dragonbone being black with its iron content, to make it look like overgrown cow bones, is really poor design. Dark brown/black may have shown bad on film, but they are so pale, certainly a little more air-brushing in the creases could be done.

ETA: On re-read, this post seems argumentative, not the intent, just my take on the choices made, please take no personal offense. :thumbsup:

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Regarding Catelyn, in the books it's actually emphasized how unexpectedly comfortable life in Winterfell was. Also, we get Sansa being shocked at how Lysa looks ten years older than her mother, Catelyn herself is surprised by that, and Brienne recalls how smooth and soft Catelyn's skin was. I think the books suggested the opposite of a Catelyn who bore the embattled stresses of 15 hard years in the north. Whether or not it's a big deal, though, is another question, I'm just saying that that might be why people perceive HBO's take as surprising.

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anybody who has criticised the casting of sean bean needs to rethink it, if we consider it as a hook. every single person i've heard talking about GOT has refered to it as 'that new sean bean thing'. he more than anyone else seems to be the person that will bring in the casual fans (who hopefully become obsessives) that will result in the program being a success.

also the Lannister featurette with Charles Dance as Tywin is confirmation about how much the producers have put into getting the casting perfect.

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