Game of Thrones begins....

[jimmy olsen]

those i saw it with were more unnerved by the sudden rush of rough child rape + incest + implied death of a child

So they closed the episode with "things I do for love"? Sweet. I remember I was pretty unnerved when I read it first time too.

Btw, I have not read the books for a while - child rape?

Isn't Daenerys 12-13 in the books. How old is she supposed to be in the shows? 15-16?

Ok but this is retarded. Incest (unless you are a Targaeryn) or throwing a child off out of a window is indeed shocking, both by modern and Westeros standards. But if you apply modern standards to sexual initiation, half of real world medieval marriages were "child rape". You could be just as well shocked by the "cruel and unusual" punishment of beheading. 

The average person watching HBO probably doesn't know enough about history to know this.

[The Larch]

Come again?

what i meant by that, and i might not have worded that correctly, was that all those lords and barons, the men who hold land and have power in their local areas because they were loyal to the next tier. ned's was shown a few times in discussion with robert, but the lower levels weren't at all

Did you read the books? You'll have more than enough lesser nobles as the story goes on.

[The Larch]

those i saw it with were more unnerved by the sudden rush of rough child rape + incest + implied death of a child

So they closed the episode with "things I do for love"? Sweet. I remember I was pretty unnerved when I read it first time too.

Btw, I have not read the books for a while - child rape?

IIRC, it was announced a good while ago that the first episode would go from the Prologue to that particular scene. Or was it the pilot? 

On a different note, at the HBO site there's a nifty guide of the series for the more casual viewers. As with every fantasy source worth its stuff, it has a cool map. 

http://viewers-guide.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/?cmpid=ABC794

[CountDeMoney]

I was watching one of the Behind-The-Scenes previews, and it had an interview with George R.R. Martin.
I think the "R.R." stands for "Rail Road", because he looks like a reject from a model train convention.

[Josquius]

IIRC I remember hearing the first episode ends with Bran's mishap.
Its on tonight. Can't wait.

Isn't Daenerys 12-13 in the books. How old is she supposed to be in the shows? 15-16?

Aye, all the kids have been aged up it seems. Robb and Theon are supposed to be like 16 but here they're played by 23 (or so) year olds, Arya IIRC is around 14 instead of...10 or so.

[Grey Fox]

It's an American series, only Disney uses matching age actors.

[grumbler]

I was watching one of the Behind-The-Scenes previews, and it had an interview with George R.R. Martin.
I think the "R.R." stands for "Rail Road", because he looks like a reject from a model train convention.

"Railroad" was, indeed, his nickname at the cons back before he became a big name.

[Martinus]

It's an American series, only Disney uses matching age actors.

It's not just that - the characters are actually older than in the books (e.g. Brandon is 10 instead of 6, Daenerys is 16 instead of 13 etc.). I think this is a good choice - some of the characters just were too young, period (even though it probably makes sense in the context of the era).

[Martinus]

I was watching one of the Behind-The-Scenes previews, and it had an interview with George R.R. Martin.
I think the "R.R." stands for "Rail Road", because he looks like a reject from a model train convention.

"Railroad" was, indeed, his nickname at the cons back before he became a big name.

Was it because he looks like a steam engine?

[grumbler]

Was it because he looks like a steam engine?

  Actually, I think it was because there was another George Martin already known to SF fans.

All of this is from second-hand memory; i never went to SF Conventions, but talked to those who did.

[Grey Fox]

It's an American series, only Disney uses matching age actors.

It's not just that - the characters are actually older than in the books (e.g. Brandon is 10 instead of 6, Daenerys is 16 instead of 13 etc.). I think this is a good choice - some of the characters just were too young, period (even though it probably makes sense in the context of the era).

Oh. I guess I'll see. I have no intentions of reading the books before RR dies.

[Faeelin]

Overall it was good, but was anyone else annoyed at the revisions to Danaerys's relationship to the Khal?

They also simplified Cate a bit, which I didn't like.

Also, I laughed at the end of the episode. Am I a bad man?

[Valmy]

Also, I laughed at the end of the episode. Am I a bad man?

No you are a: Languishite.

No comment on Dany-Drogo yet.  I will see how it develops.  I was a bit surprised how they changed Catelyn but I think it works better.

[The Brain]

Isn't Daenerys 12-13 in the books. How old is she supposed to be in the shows? 15-16?

Aye, all the kids have been aged up it seems. Robb and Theon are supposed to be like 16 but here they're played by 23 (or so) year olds, Arya IIRC is around 14 instead of...10 or so.

Screw the actors. How old are the characters?

[The Brain]

It's an American series, only Disney uses matching age actors.

It's not just that - the characters are actually older than in the books (e.g. Brandon is 10 instead of 6, Daenerys is 16 instead of 13 etc.). I think this is a good choice - some of the characters just were too young, period (even though it probably makes sense in the context of the era).

HBO = fial