Game of Thrones – what’s stopping you?

I find it so very hard to explain my love of GoT to those who haven’t discovered it yet. All I really want to say is: ‘Trust me! Go – watch it. Watch the first episode, all of it, and then come and tell me if you can stop at that! Oh, and make sure the kiddies are all wrapped up in bed asleep. This is not one for them.’ I also warn that the level of sex and violence is very high but if you can accept that as part of the course then you will be swept up into watching a show that is truly amazing.

I have been racking my brain as to what prompted me to start watching GoT from the get-go. I really can’t remember. I think it might have been a combination of the ‘whispering’ on Twitter, the fact that it was a HBO show (in my opinion HBO nearly always equates with excellence) and a couple of the actors catching my attention (I loved Peter Dinklage in Death at a Funeral and Lena Headey in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles).

Needless to say I started watching GoT by myself and by the end of the first episode I was hooked. In my own very special way I tried to share what I had discovered, with limited success. My hubby was studying at the time and therefore wasn’t keen to commit. It was only after the first season had finished and there was a semester break that I encouraged (read: forced) him to sit down and watch it with me. Needless to say he was a goner and when the second season started airing I was informed that ‘no, it was no longer OK for me to watch new episodes without him!’

In the last 2 years there have been many converts to GoT but I believe there can be more. While I am doing my very best not to include any spoilers for the uninitiated I will suggest that while watching GoT you may experience:

• Shock to the point of disbelief,
• Wanting to hope against all hope,
• A strong desire to root for the underdog in seemingly impossible circumstances,
• Uncertainty as to the morality of some,
• Feelings of fondness for certain characters, despite yourself,
• A wish for horrendous events to befall a certain..J….sorry, characters,
• A refusal to believe that some events actually happened,
• Sadness and longing for those who are no longer.

GoT is epic in all meanings of the word. It has a world class cast, the production and costume design are breathtaking and the actual story and character development is up there with the very best. There is a reason that it is currently rated 9.4 out of 10 on IMDB. And if you feel overcommitted to TV already, think of it this way. There are only 10 episodes in each season, not a huge time commitment when you think that many shows have over 20 episodes. Come on, you know you want to and I can almost guarantee that when the first season ends you won’t be able to relax until you can start watching the second. And for those of us currently waiting impatiently for the third season to begin, thankfully our wait is almost over!

Are you a fan of GoT? How would you encourage your family/friends to start watching? What makes it such a special TV show for you?

Next for me is a little discovery I made this week. Although not strictly TV (it’s a webseries) it caught my imagination and I feel the need to share. ‘The Lizzie Bennet Diaries – Pride & Prejudice in the video blog age’…