A lot of people who read the Game of Thrones books (or a Song of Ice and Fire series, to put it more accurately) have problems with the TV show for some reason. A lot of people who like ths show can't get into the books. Being a fan of both the books and the show, I decided to do my own comparison.
I have read the book series twice, and have seen the entire show once (well, I have seen the first handful of seasons a few times). Yes there are differences between the two. Things have to be changed, details have to be cut down when you are doing a TV show. Obviously the books are too huge to include EVERYTHING from them in the show.
But I think the show actually did a pretty good job of staying accurate to the source material. Well, for the first season at least. We'll get to the later seasons at a different time. This is all about season one.
A few months ago, I decided to bring the first book in the series, A Game of Thrones, along on a family vacation. I thought it would be a good thing to read "up north", especially at night. Crickets chirping, the camp fire roaring. And it was a great idea. I really got into the book and felt at one with it. By this time I had read the series twice, so I knew what to expect. I decided to take my time with it, pore over the details and just enjoy it for what it is.
Everything about the book is just so well written. The characters are rich, the world is alive and has its own history. Although this is a fantasy book, it has the feel of something that really could have happened - sometime, somewhere. A lot of people I know who like the show have tried to read the books and have said they are too rich or too heavy to get into. Too hard to read. I couldn't disagree more.
Usually I can burn through one of these books in a week or two, but as I said I took my time this go around. I only read a chapter a day, if that. When I got home from my vacation, I was barely a quarter of the way through the book. I'd say it took me a month or two to finish the book, continuing along at my chapter a day pace. If something came in for me at the library, I would set aside A Game of Thrones until I was finished with whatever it was I was reading.
It was a really enjoyable experience for me. I truly feel like I connected with the book better than I had on any of my previous readings. And I REALLY liked the book the first two times I read it.
Sometime shortly after finishing the book, I got it in my head that before I move on to A Clash of Kings, that I should watch the first season of the show and compare the show with the book. Then read A Clash of Kings, then watch season 2, etc etc. Eventually this will break down as the books and show move apart on separate paths, but for the time being, why not?
So I started the show. I must say that I have seen the first season a handful of times. Maybe 3? So this would be my 4th time watching season 1. I originally watched the show before reading the books. I had a hard time keeping track of who was who, so it was at that point when the season ended that I decided to start reading. I think I finished all the books before season 2 started on TV, so I already knew a lot more of what was going to happen than the people who didn't read the books.
Then, before watching season 2, I watched season 1 again to see if it would be easier to follow knowing all the characters. It was, and I enjoyed it MUCH more than the first time I watched the show.
A few years passed and I decided to read the books again. This would be my second time reading them. I did, and I enjoyed the crap out of them. But then I am like hey why not start the show from the beginning again? So I did. To say I was a little bit obsessed would be an understatement. I don't recall where the show was as far as airing on TV at this point, but I believe I watched everything up to season 4 twice. I know that nothing past season 4 I have seen more than once.
Where we stand currently, is we are waiting for season 6 to air on TV next year. The new book should also be out next year. I figured, why not do it all again? Bone up on what I may have missed during my first readings of the book / watchings of the show?
Usually I am a slow show watcher. I have a short attention span and like to move from one show to the next, watching a random episode here and there. I am definitely not a binge watcher. I can't stand to watch more than one episode of a show at a time, unless it is something awesome like Lost or Breaking Bad. Or, apparently, Game of Thrones.
I burned through season one in a little over a week. I just couldn't stop watching. Aside from some age issues between the book and the show (are we really supposed to believe that the guys playing Robb and Jon are only 15 or 16?) I thought everything translated very well. The show is nearly perfectly cast. Tyrion, Ned, Littlefinger, Varys, Sansa, Sam, Joffrey, Arya, etc - everyone just seems so spot on. Except Cersie. The actress who plays Cersei has the bitch thing down pat, but she is described in the book as being one the most beautiful women alive. I don't think the woman playing her is beautiful at all. Oh well, at least the personality fits perfectly.
The only thing the show really does differently in season one is graze over some details. We don't really know who all is related to who, who all the houses are, where some of these people come from, and that is okay. Like I said, you can't fit everything from that massive book into a ten episode TV series. Some scenes are cut down for time. No truly crucial details are left out.
A lot of the background information you get from reading the books is relayed through added scenes where characters are having conversations about the past. People like to talk to whores about ancient history, apparently. And that is cool with me. I'd much rather this than have to listen to a narrator, or have a lot of these important background details completely dropped from the show. A lot of things are covered by these extra conversations. Where the dragons went, the history behind the Iron Islands rebellion, Robert's taking of the throne, Littlefinger and Catelyn's past, etc.
Its a clever way to explain a lot of things that don't come up in regular conversation during the events of the book. I like it when they stay as close to the material as possible, and I don't mind at all that they added these scenes to give us a little background.
Watching the show right after reading the book, I was very pleased with how it turned out. They really found a way to bring this big, complex world together and make it work on screen. I think that a lot of people who are hardcore fans of the show and then complain about the books are being unreasonable. I think it is a fine adaptation. There were a few minor omissions of which I noted while watching the show, but thinking back now I can't think of what they were. Must not be that important!
All the big moments are there. Bran being pushed out a window, Lady being killed, Ned's beheading. All these things really hit hard too. Even knowing what was going to happen, I still was on the edge of my seat watching these things. I really was able to get emotionally invested in the show. As I said, I don't binge watch much, but I couldn't help it with this show. It was just too good!
I can't think of much else to add. I love the first book. I love the first season. Maybe my thoughts will begin to change once the books and the show start to separate a bit in the future, but as of right now, I couldn't be more pleased with how season one was translated to the screen.
And for all of you people who watch the show but can't get into the books, I don't know what is wrong with you! It is not even hard to read, which is what I was afraid of at first. The books will always trump the show for me, no matter how good the show is. You just can't get involved on the same level watching this play out on screen as you can while immersing yourself in the book. You almost become a character yourself, walking around in this awesome world, meeting its characters, and discovering its history.
Read it, if you haven't. It is the best decision you will ever make. In fact, I didn't become the rabid fan I am now until I started reading the series. It puts things into a whole new perspective for you. You won't regret it. Unless you have horrible taste. Then, there is just no helping you.
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