Game of Thrones: Episode 1 Preview - real deal this time

Big budget! I'll bet in a blind test you could be fooled to think it was the first 14 minutes of a major hollywood blockbuster. Nothing spared on special effects, horses, swords or fur capes. Just as well too. You don't want to wake the dragon, ie Game of Thrones fandom. (Scandals have broken out over the colour of someone's eyebrows)

I'm sure some eyes rolled just then, but if you're a part of any fandom you'll know how obsessive some people get. Not me of course, um, other people who start blogs and make fanvids as outlets for their obsessive admiration. : )

Here's the verdict: So far so good. To be fair, viewers should watch the first 3 episodes before they decide to keep watching or not. This show's biggest problem with winning audiences over is the attention investment at the start. With action happening in 4 cities among 5 major families this is a formidable hedge of family trees to jump over. The story is so densely packed with action they don't have a scene to waste.

Which brings me to my only peeve about this preview. Not that I'm ungrateful for the 14 minutes, but I wish it was a different 14 minutes! Could we have spent less time in the snowy forest and more time with the Stark family? Scary corpses don't need as long an intro as Rickon, Bran, Arya, Sansa, Robb, Catelyn, Ned Stark and Jon Snow. Trim the frostbitten bodies and we could have glimpsed the King and his conniving royal family.

Ned Stark: father and stickler of justice in the cold north. Too bad nobody held him accountable for cheating on his wife - surely something should get chopped off for that indiscretion?

Catelyn Stark: loving mother to her kids, and a cold bitch to Jon Snow. Only for the last 14-17 years though. Plenty of time to get over it and move on.

Bran: training on the bow, but prefers climbing.
Jon Snow: kind, strong, independent and just itching to prove himself.
The closest thing to a good guy this show has. If I was on the receiving end of Catelyn's evil eye for 14 years I'd carry more baggage than him.

Arya: cute little tomboy, good with a knife, bad with a needle.

Sansa: I'd call her a foolish child, but that'd be too kind on the stupid brat.

For a spoiler-free intro to the Game of Thrones world, go here where all these images came from.