Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is simply epic, and I've only watched the first episode. Without being excessively dramatic the show gives a fresh take on the sci-fi/fantasy by placing us into the age of dynasties, swords, and warriors on horses rather than flying spaceships and laser guns making killing more intimate and deaths more gruesome. So right off the bat (sports)  the show brings something different from your Battlestar Galactica and Stargate universes. Another refreshing attribute is the dialogue. It isn't overly Olde English, and yet the characters speak with the accent we would expect from something set in medieval times. On top of that, while there are plenty of characters to get to know right away, the show doesn't play dumb to the audience by showcasing every character individually by spewing a bunch of information at us, but instead gradually and intrinsically building each character through interaction with others. Basically it doesn't just say, "This is the king, he has done this and this and is married to this woman and she has these family ties" - through some long overdrawn monologue at the beginning. The audience is expected to be able to pick up on what's happening without overloading us with information that would most likely soon be forgotten after the first couple scenes. These choices could have easily been different to cater to a broader audience.

I was worried that the show would just be a boring tale about kings fighting with other kings over wenches and petty gold coins, which I'm sure is great for some people. However I'm a fan of characters and character development, and this show, keep in mind I've only watched the first episode now so that I can watch all ten pretty much back to back, appears to have everything from strong females (I'm a sucker for strong females in television hence my obsession with Joss Whedon) refusing to marry in vain to a bastard child who seems more worthy to take the throne than any of the king's real children. There are many overlapping story arcs already created within the first hour with set ups to the overlapping story of two kingdoms about to be at war, to the individual stories within those opposing kingdoms. There's ideological differences between the selfless king of Winterfell taking responsibility for his judgments as he tells his child that he must be the one who sentences someone should carry out that sentence in order to stay connected to his people while the creepy, selfish, white-haired man tells his sister that he doesn't care how many men screw her just as long as he gets his kingdom back.

On top of the more humanizing aspects of the show, there is a taste of the supernatural right at the beginning to show the audience this isn't going to be a dull political showing of power struggles, but that there may be a force out there that is greater and more dangerous than just scorned men and women, leaving something to be wanted.

Ultimately, I cannot wait to get through the season, even though I already know the finale is going to be unbearable knowing that I won't get to see next season until next year.