How does HBO do it? This is not necessarily a rhetorical question. I would love to find out the answer as HBO is fast becoming the Pixar of the television industry. The consistency of their programming is truly astounding, and with HBO’s most recent series Game of Thrones it does not look like they are in jeopardy of losing their touch.
Before delving into the brilliance of Game of Thrones, or Thrones as we shall call it henceforth, the shows that have preceded this great new program deserve a mention. Nearly all my favourite television series over the last few years have been developed by America’s subscription juggernaut HBO. Flight of the Concords, Curb Your Enthusiasm, John Adams, Summer Heights High, Entourage, True Blood and The Sopranos are all fantastic pieces of television in their own right.
There are still some HBO shows that I have not managed to watch which are just as critically acclaimed: The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Band of Brothers and Six Feet Under. All these examples underline not just how prolific HBO is as a studio but its consistency also.
Thrones is, so far, the greatest opening series I have ever witnessed, and I find it hard to imagine any show reaching the dizzying heights of HBO’s newest baby.
Game of Thrones: not just a fantasy cliché
With Thrones having recently aired its season finale, it is possible to now reflect upon the series as a whole. I will keep spoilers to a minimum, and I will also attempt to show why this could be HBO’s, and possibly television’s, best series yet.
There are many marvels of this new fantasy television series, but an important one is the fact that it is exactly that: a fantasy television series. Fantasy and the surreal are gradually becoming more in vogue as a genre nowadays. Yet high fantasy epics such as Thrones often have to deal with the cliché of what fantasy entails before they can ever be taken seriously. It is very much the same problem sci-fi has to deal with. The sceptical audience will see the title, the garb, the swords and automatically dismiss it for being just too out of the ordinary or perhaps, god forbid, uncool.
I shall put my neck out on the chopping board nevertheless, like many of the characters within Thrones itself, and state that if people do not watch this landmark series because of the fantasy cliché that precedes it they are fools.
The importance of characterisation
Thrones perfectly incorporates all the emotions known to man within its splendid ten episode ark. These emotions are expertly evoked by an incredibly diverse and wide range of characters. I have never felt such powerful attachments to such a large number of ensemble cast members in a television series before. I was a massive fan of Lost before it got lost in its own self-importance, but the characters within Lost often got frustratingly annoying, Jack crying all the time anyone? The ensemble cast in Lost often had characters that I simply didn’t care much about. Thrones does not suffer from this criticism.
The characters in Thrones are perfectly developed and portrayed. This has lead there to be not one single person the audience is expected to follow. For the most part Eddard Stark is the main protagonist, but there are a myriad of other characters that add an incredible depth to the show, each being individually fleshed out and given their own unique personalities. The supposed antagonists deserve a special mention in this regard as it is often difficult to even decide whether or not they are antagonists at all. Yes we all want to behead Joffrey Baratheon, or is it Lannister? But do we really want to behead Tyrion? What about Jamie? He’s a prick, but he is seriously entertaining and what about Daenerys? Nobody really knows what the deal with her is, unless you have read the books of course.
You can’t get compelling characters without compelling stories
Although the characters are what I enjoy the most about the show the story is expertly crafted to incorporate all these individuals and create a coherent fantastic world. I did not feel at any point during the series that the various plot threads became convoluted or confused.
The world this story inhabits is genuinely believable; and that is the reason d’etre for serious modern cinema or television. The moment a show like Thrones becomes unbelievable is the moment it becomes silly, and unfortunately propagates the fantasy cliché.
Thrones contains a copious amount of blood, gore, nudity and a whole host of adult themes. However, they are not just there to give the audience gratuitous visual stimulation, they are there to show the audience what living in a world like Westeros would be like. If one looks to our own history we can see clear similarities between this fictional world and our own past. During the Middle Ages people were whoring, they were lopping off heads and they were downing flagons of ale. There are also many examples of incest, corruption, and backstabbing in tandem with duty, honour and family.
Why read when you can watch?
I have never read any of the books within a Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R Martin, the collection from which Thrones has been adapted. I can now honestly say that I am not sure if I want to.
A part of me has an insatiable appetite for what happens next to the honourable bastard Jon Snow, Arya the loveable tomboy, Catelyn Stark the archetypal mother, Robb Stark the heir waging an uncertain war, Tyrion the endearingly conflicted dwarf and Daenerys the princess who has a penchant for fire, but a larger part of me wants to wait. The books are undoubtedly brilliant but, judging by the first live action series I don’t want to ruin what could be in store visually if the standard of Thrones continues as it has.
It is difficult to remember any television show, fantasy or otherwise, that has engaged me so fully and has left me devastated that I have so long to wait until series two. Thrones manages to juggle genuine emotion with great action set pieces whilst never straying from its dark tone and often disturbing themes. During every individual episode of this gem of a series I have hated, loved, laughed, cringed, empathised and admired. Bravo Game of Thrones, bravo.
Grant Dick - Grant Dick has a B.A honours in History from Glasgow University and has recently started writing for suite101
