Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones is an American
fantasy drama
television series created for
HBO by
David Benioff and
D. B. Weiss.
It is an adaptation of
A Song of Ice and Fire,
George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels,
the first of which is titled
A
Game of Thrones. Filmed in a
Belfast studio
and on location elsewhere in
Northern
Ireland,
Malta,
Scotland,
Croatia,
Iceland and
Morocco, it
premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011. The series was renewed
for a fourth season, to debut in the United States on April 6, 2014.
[4]
The series, set on the fictional continents of
Westeros and Essos at the end of a
decade-long summer, interweaves several plot lines. The first follows the
members of several noble houses in a civil war for the
Iron Throne of the
Seven Kingdoms; the second
covers the rising threat of the impending winter and the mythical creatures of
the North; the third chronicles the attempts of the exiled last
scion
of the realm's deposed dynasty to reclaim the throne. Through its morally
ambiguous characters, the series explores the issues of social hierarchy,
religion, loyalty, corruption, civil war, crime, and punishment.
Game of Thrones roughly follows the three story lines of
A Song of
Ice and Fire.
[6]
Set in the fictional Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, the series chronicles the
violent dynastic struggles among the realm's noble families for control of the
Iron Throne. As the series opens, additional threats begin to arise in the icy
North and in the eastern continent of Essos.
[2]
The novels and their adaptation derive settings, characters and plot
elements from much of European history.
[7]
A principal inspiration for the novels were the English
Wars
of the Roses[8]
(1455–85) between the houses of
Lancaster and
York,
reflected in Martin's houses of
Lannister and
Stark. Most of Westeros, with
its castles and knightly tournaments, is reminiscent of
High Medieval
Western Europe. The scheming Cersei, for instance, calls to mind
Isabella (1295–1358), the "she-wolf of
France".
[7]
The series also combines such varied inspirations as
Hadrian's
Wall (which became Martin's great Wall), the
fall of
Rome and the legend of
Atlantis (ancient
Valyria),
Byzantine "
Greek fire" ("wildfire"), Icelandic
sagas of the
Viking Age
(the
Ironborn)
and the
Mongol
hordes (the
Dothraki), as well as elements from the
Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) and the
Italian Renaissance (c. 1400–1500).
[7]
The series' great popularity has in part been attributed to Martin's skill at
fusing these disparate elements into a seamless whole that appears credible on
its own terms as an alternative history.
[7]
"
The Sopranos in
Middle-earth"
is the tagline
showrunner David Benioff jokingly suggested for
Game of
Thrones, referring to its intrigue-filled plot and dark tone combined with
a fantasy setting.
[9]
In a 2012 study, the series was listed second out of 40 recent U.S. TV drama
series by deaths per episode, with an average of 14.
[10][11]
Like the novels it adapts,
Game of Thrones has a sprawling ensemble
cast, estimated to be the largest on television.
[12]
During the production of the third season, 257 cast names were recorded.
[13]
The following overview reduces the
list of characters in Game of
Thrones to those played by the actors credited as part of the main
cast.
[14]
Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark (
Sean Bean)
is the head of the Stark family whose members are involved in most of the
series's intertwined plot lines. He and his wife Catelyn Tully (
Michelle
Fairley) have five children: the eldest, Robb (
Richard
Madden), the dainty Sansa (
Sophie Turner), the tomboy Arya (
Maisie
Williams), the adventurous Bran (
Isaac Hempstead-Wright) and the youngest,
Rickon (Art Parkinson). Ned's hostage and ward Theon Greyjoy (
Alfie Allen)
used to live with the Starks. Robb's wife is the healer Talisa Maegyr (
Oona
Chaplin), and Arya has befriended the blacksmith's apprentice Gendry (
Joe Dempsie).
Ned's
bastard son Jon Snow (
Kit
Harington) and his friend Samwell Tarly (
John
Bradley) serve in the Night's Watch under Lord Commander Jeor Mormont (
James Cosmo).
The red-haired Wildling Ygritte (
Rose Leslie)
is Jon Snow's romantic interest. Robb is advised by his bannerman Roose Bolton
(
Michael McElhatton). Bolton's bastard son is the
sadistic Ramsay Snow (
Iwan Rheon). Catelyn is served by the female warrior
Brienne of Tarth (
Gwendoline Christie).
Ned's old friend King Robert Baratheon (
Mark Addy)
shares a loveless marriage with Queen Cersei Lannister (
Lena Headey),
who has taken her twin, the "Kingslayer" Ser Jaime Lannister (
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) as her secret lover.
She loathes her younger brother, the clever dwarf Tyrion Lannister (
Peter
Dinklage), who is attended by his mistress Shae (
Sibel
Kekilli) and the sellsword Bronn (
Jerome
Flynn). Cersei's father is the fabulously wealthy Lord Tywin Lannister (
Charles
Dance), and her oldest son, the sadistic Joffrey (
Jack
Gleeson), is guarded by the scar-faced warrior Sandor "the Hound"
Clegane (
Rory
McCann).
The king's "Small Council" of advisors includes the crafty Master
of Coin, Lord Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish (
Aidan
Gillen) and the eunuch Master of Whisperers, Lord Varys (
Conleth
Hill). Robert's brother Stannis Baratheon (
Stephen
Dillane) is advised by the foreign priestess Melisandre (
Carice
van Houten) and the former smuggler Ser Davos Seaworth (
Liam
Cunningham). The wealthy Tyrell family is represented at court by the
ambitious
Margaery Tyrell (
Natalie
Dormer). Margaery's grandmother and mentor is the quick-witted Olenna
Tyrell (
Diana
Rigg).
Across the Narrow Sea, siblings Viserys (
Harry Lloyd)
and Daenerys Targaryen (
Emilia Clarke) – the exiled children of the king
overthrown by Robert Baratheon – are on the run for their lives, trying to win
back the throne. Daenerys has been married to Khal Drogo (
Jason Momoa),
the leader of the nomadic Dothraki, and is guarded by the exiled knight Ser
Jorah Mormont (
Iain Glen).
The budget of
Game
of Thrones has been compared to that of the TV series
Rome.[22]
The pilot reportedly cost HBO between US$5 and 10 million,
[23]
and the total budget for the first season has been estimated at US$50–60
million.
[24]
In the second season, the show obtained a 15% increase in budget in order to be
able to stage the most important battle in the "clash of kings," the
civil war that is the season's focus.
[25]
If you haven't seen this series you're truly missing out on a classic! All the information above was found via Google and is not my writing.
In the end, "All Men Must Die" Valar Morghulis....
Cheers,
Lisa Forest
