Game of Thrones - should I keep watching?

[holliscx]

Watched GoT first episode last night and boy they weren't kidding (.)(.)

Rom coms, politics, and fantasy are subjects that bore me to tears

Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and The Wire all blew me away in that order. Benchmark series.

I've heard so much chatter about GoT that I decided to give it a try despite the fantasy element

My favorite part of E01 was the horse porn actually - the rest was about what I expected

It took me three episodes to get into The Wire so I probably need to be patient. Breaking Bad I was hooked from the opening 3 min scene in the desert with Walter donning the gas mask and whitey tighties. Mad Men also started slowly but I was hooked once Peggy appeared. House of Cards and VEEP are two shows I bailed on because of politics.

Any other series on par with the aforementioned?

[Brandon White]

If you aren't into mid-evil fantasy then GoT probably won't be a favorite. It might have entertaining moments but you'll never be truly captured by it. I like it, it's entertaining for me to watch and my wife likes it. It's missing a grand-epic feeling that a film might have but I think they improved on that as the series went on. There are also so many story lines and subtle conversations that it's easy to lose track or forget what's going on.

For what it's worth - The Wire and Breaking Bad are two of my favorite shows ever. I also really liked Dexter (most of the time) and Mad Men. Next I'd like to try The Sopranos or Deadwood.

[roseyscot]

I tried reading the books because my wife really likes GoT, but I bailed on them. We watch the shows, and they're entertaining, but not a top 5 for me. I also really liked Breaking Bad (didn't care for the final 2 seasons as much though). We made pretty quick work of Sons of Anarchy too. And Weeds, that was a good one.

[Too Tall]

Jessica Jones. Unfortunately, only one season thus far.

Wait, we need a thread to list NetFlix and Amazon series.

[Matthew Strongin]

I couldn't really get into Game of Thrones. I don't really get into that kind of fantasy fiction too much and with so many other shows to watch I gave up.

I do enjoy the political shows, though. Love House of Cards and I'm falling in love with the West Wing all over again.

[theflashunc]

Game of Thrones is basically the War of the Roses in a fantasy setting. Martin turns a lot of the tropes of the genre on its ear looking through that lens. There's a lot of political intrigue if you're into that sort of thing, but its not for everyone.

[dogrange]

IMHO, it is only marginally watchable. Leaving aside the nihilism and tons of graphic violence, it starts to drag plot-wise after not too long. S1&2 are OK, the dragging really starts after that, again IMHO. I have soldiered forth and am on season 5 now, but that's only because I only watch it while on the bike trainer and am just in the habit. At this point, it is so boring that even on the bike trainer I frequently consider watching something else.

[zetroc]

The show does a credible job of balancing the amount of detail in the books against the requirements of a television show. I like the books a lot and have reread the series three times since the show started, but they're definitely a drag if you're not that interested in the genre. I'm more worried about the next season giving things away before I get to read about them in book form.

[Scott G.]

I watched Season 4 live, then caught up with Season 1-3, pretty good.
Season 5, not so good.
Also watched Wolf Hall on PBS, ahhh GoT for adults.
Then go back and watch "A Man for All Seasons" and "A Lion in Winter"

[jackattack]

Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and The Wire all blew me away in that order. Benchmark series.

Thread drift...

Based on this list, you should watch Fargo. It's absolutely on par with the others. Start with the first season and then catch up with the current one.

[monadnocky]

I've tried and tried and tried, but I just can't seem to get through the end of the second season. It's not bad, but I just couldn't keep up with who is related to whom (is that proper grammar?), especially because everyone is schproinking their sister or cousin or whatever.
Dinklage, though, is fantastic.

Fargo is pretty great.

Oh and there's this, if you're into Dinklage:

[David Tollefson]

Where are you finding GoT? Netflix and Hulu are a bust. Free anywhere?

[roseyscot]

Where are you finding GoT? Netflix and Hulu are a bust. Free anywhere?

HBO go