What You'll Want to be Watching:

                                                                
                                    Game of Thrones

     One might as well call this ongoing blog series (that I have been neglecting due to NFL football, which, coincidentally, is now over for the season) What You'll Want to be Watching (on HBO) due to the fact that HBO is one of the only television stations that consistently produces the best shows. Come April 17th, I don't expect the trend to stop: Game of Thrones, the new series based on the epic fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, will come to fruition on that Sunday night, and from early looks at the cast and set, along with various articles that I have read about the entire making of the series, the show is looking absolutely right; in other words, entertaining, violent, sexual and gritty. Starring the always-game-to-swing-a-sword Sean Bean, the great little actor Peter Dinklage, and Lena Headley, the show (at least if it follows the books) is set to becomes the series that fills the hole that Rome left, along with some of the family drama of a series such as The Sopranos, and the vulgarity of a show such as Deadwood--not that I would dare claim that this show will be as great as the formerly mentioned--but if it plays to audiences as good as it sounds and looks, HBO Sunday nights will be Must-See T.V. yet again.
     For those of you unfamiliar with the story, and I feel sorry for you, it's "fantasy for cool people." It takes place in the fictional world of Westeros, where various families are vying for the Iron Throne. In this fictional land, the weather is peculiar: summers can last years and winters can last entire lifetimes. According to HBO, this version of the story will "stretch from the South, where heat breeds plots, lusts and intrigues; to the vast and savage Eastern lands; all the way to the frozen North, where an 800 foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark (and supernatural) forces that lie beyond. Kings and Queens, Knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men...all will play the Game of Thrones." The show will be violent, dirty, and will have lots of tits. Probably penises, too, ladies.

     Technically, A Game of Thrones is the title of the first book in the entire fantasy series, better known as A Song of Ice and Fire. Originally planned as a trilogy, Mr. Martin has switched that to at least 7 books, 4 of which have been written and published. I highly suggest to anyone with even a tiny, miniscule interest in fantasy to read these great books, as they have a sense of character and are, dare I say, better written than most typical fantasy fare. HBO is planning on making a 10-13 episode season with each of the books (if the show is a success), so assuming the show is great and Mr. Martin can crank out the books a little bit faster than his pace--which is similar to a snails--we should have a solid 7 seasons of great television. I know that these are big ifs. And this is also assuming that the getting-up-there-in-age-and-weight George R. R. Martin doesn't bite the bullet before writing the complete series of books. But if I have faith in anything dealing with televsion, it's HBO.