You may be wondering if I’m talking about the book or the HBO series. Well, I read the book first, so the TV show paled in comparison, as is usually the case. I was optimistic at first, mostly because of the glowing reviews and comparisons to Lord of the Rings. Peter Jackson undoubtedly won the hearts of purists and lovingly captured the spirit of the books. Unfortunately, the Game of Thrones TV series falls short of this benchmark. It’s not terrible, but not awesome either, the way LOTR inspired awe.

The screenwriters obviously took great delight in exaggerating and extrapolating on certain scenes and themes in the novel. It seems like there is some sort of mandate at HBO to maximize on vulgarity and shock value. I’m sure some people get a kick out of this, but if you’ve read the book first, it all seems so unnecessary.

As for the book, I can only say that it’s rooted in political intrigue without being mired down in politics. The characters are well fleshed out, but nothing genre-bending. I like long epic stories with many interwoven plot lines, and this exactly is what you get here. Perhaps my only real complaint is that the few brief battle scenes are often told through second-hand accounts instead of diving first-hand into the action.

I’ve just finished reading Clash of Kings as well, and there is a lot to enjoy so far in the Song of Ice and Fire series. I can’t say I’m looking forward to a mangling of this excellent second book on TV though. Not that I won’t watch it anyway.

I recently finished watching the complete Firefly series on Netflix. That sounds like a lot of TV watching, but it only ran for 14 episodes before it got cancelled due to low ratings. Most geeks agree, however, that this show was a little gem, was poorly marketed by Fox, and should never have died so early. After watching it, I would have to agree.

I guess this show falls into the space-western genre, and with plenty of horses, bandits, prostitutes, and bounty hunters, I’d say it falls more into the “western” part of the spectrum. The CGI is a bit dated, but not bad for 2002. What really drives the show are the terrific characters, with particularly strong female leads, and wonderful camaraderie among the crew.

With a liberal sprinkling of romance thrown in, I can see why both genders enjoy this show immensely. The creator, Joss Whedon, played with several sub genres throughout the too-short series, with suspense, horror, adventure, and comedy providing a different mood for any given episode.

On the negative side, I’d have to say that the acting and the overall story arc is not as good as the crazy-good Battlestar Gallactica – but it would be hard for any Sci-Fi to come close. Given a chance, this show could have blossomed in its maturity. Too bad it was axed in its infancy. I will definitely be watching the follow-up movie, Serenity, which the fans basically demanded into being. A lot of questions were left unanswered, so I’m looking forward to some closure. Recently there was some talk of resurrecting the show independently and putting it out on the internet. Probably not going to happen, but there’s always hope. ]]> http://wordbit.freehostia.com/firefly-my-review/feed/ 0