KOOL TV REVIEW: "GAME OF THRONES" EPISODEs 1 & 2

Carnage in the snow. A grim discovery launches the opening episode of the epic GAME OF THRONES. All images: HBO.

Please note: this review contains MILD SPOILERS.


Emerging from the darkness of a mysterious mountain wallscape-the protective shield of the North Passage of the Seven Kingdoms- three riders, known as Knight's Watch rangers, enter the snowy wastelands beyond it and soon find themselves under attack from a mysterious foe long believed extinct.

A foe with terrifying cold blue eyes.

From such an atmospheric sequence full of foreboding, violence and the promise of chills and thrills to come, starts GAME OF THRONES, the lavish new ten-part HBO series filmed in Ireland and Malta, and starring a huge international cast, arriving on the UK’s SKY ATLANTIC HD channel 24 hours after our American cousins premiere next Sunday. And, if the rest of the series is as good as its opening two installments, then fans, not only of George R.R. Martin’s beloved books, but also of extremely well made and inspiring television, will be very happy indeed with what they see…

Brilliantly giving three-dimensional life to the harshness and also beauty of the ingeniously devised fantasy environment of Westeros and its seven diverse kingdoms and peoples, TV adaptors/executive producers David Benioff and DB Weiss opening episodes certainly pull no punches, alongside superior direction from Tim Van Patten and gritty cinematography from Alik Sakharov, quickly introducing us to a place and time where honour and cruelty live side by side, and where the good, the bad, the brave, and the bold, as well as the cruel and the devious, the corrupt and the deceitful, will soon be at each others throats vying for what they consider their rightful command of the kingdom.

Sean Bean as Lord Eddard Stark.

Certainly, in showing this character diversity both young and old, the all important factor of casting for such a major project, almost film-like in its huge production budget, cannot be underestimated, and GAME boasts a finely selected ensemble to portray the popular characters from the five book (so far) saga, the most critical series lead being Brit Sean Bean, away from SHARPE, but still born to play this kind of manly role, and pitch perfect in this unique universe: as Lord Eddard Stark, he is a noble man of power and responsibility, with an all round good and righteous heart, selected as the new chosen one to the hand of King Robert Baratheon (played by Mark Addy, who finally manages to redeem himself in my eyes after appearing in some crummy TESCO supermarket ads these last few years, bringing the right sense of power, authority and playfulness, alongside a reined in frustration and melancholy, to the part!). However, despite what should be joyful news of stability being returned to Westeros, a great sense of conspiracy and danger is soon afoot when it becomes apparent that Stark’s predecessor in the title didn’t in actuality die of natural causes, with a revelation of murder soon re-igniting the jealousies, anger and ambitions of several other competitive and feuding houses, all vying for the chance to redeem their powerbases. Amongst the fine supporting cast involved in said struggles are Lena Heady, greatly improving as an actress, as the cold and calculating Queen Cersi Lannister, her very creepy and murderous, blood stained twin, Jaime, played by popular Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and even more creepy young son, Prince Joffrey (well played by Jack Gleeson). However, after Bean and Addy, one of the series sure standouts has to be actor/film-maker Peter Dinklage, who impresses as the charismatic, but maligned, second brother to the queen, insultingly referred to as “The Imp”, Tyrion Lannister, and proves to be a man of large honour, insight and intelligence who is certainly not restricted in life by his height, and whose character surely has the funniest, and randiest, of memorable introductions in any series of this type. Already a great actor before THRONES, this ambitious production is all the better and richer for having Dinklage aboard it, and we can’t wait to see what destiny awaits him within the epic storytelling.

Mark Addy as a fine King Baratheon.

Trouble for Tyrion- a stand-out performance from Peter Dinklage.

Lena Headey as the manipulative Queen Cersi Lannister.

Kudos, too, to the rest of the fine cast, all of whom will have growing roles within the epic series as it plays out (like Michelle Fairley as Stark’s determined wife, Catelyn, Kit Harrington as his bastard son, Snow (who may be the eventual key to the series story telling, probably with a unique blood line to the throne), and an impressive Harry Lloyd (great in one of David Tennant’s DOCTOR WHOs a few years back) as the repulsively manipulative exile Viserys Targaryen, using and abusing his sister Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) as part of an unlikely alliance with a warrior race known as Dothraki, led by fierce King Khal Drogo (the statuesque Jason Momoa). We mustn’t also forget the other fine younger actors in the series like Maisie Williams as the feisty tomboy Arya Stark, her brother Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), and older sister Sansa (Sophie Turner), or the noteworthy character acting support from the likes of Iain Glenn, Donald Sumpter, Roger Allam, and, later in the series, as the head of House Lannister, Tywin, Charles Dance (of which I’m sure he’ll bring the same kind of distinctive un-pleasantness he played so well in the BBC’s recent’ish adaptation BLEAK HOUSE).  

The ethereal beauty of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke)

Robb (Richard Madden) and Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) discover the Wolf cubs. Aw, bless...

Beautifully photographed, and boasting a very talented behind the scenes crew (which also includes many of the talented visualists who worked on the STAR WARS Prequels), as well as a fine music score from PRISON BREAK/CLASH OF THE TITANS helmer Ramin Djwadi), GAME OF THRONES may have been inspired by the likes of such literary epics as Tolkien's THE LORD OF THE RINGS, but George R.R. Martins book series goes beyond such previous noteworthy endeavours as he creates his own iconic universe like no other, blending the Dark Ages-like reality with intriguing fantasy elements (can’t wait to see more of those vicious, supernatural-esque White Walkers, and especially those dragon eggs belonging to the Dothraki (lets hope they hatch soon!)), alongside sometimes disturbing images of savagery and eye-catching beauty (you’ll all be going gaga over the beautiful White Wolves, discovered by the Starks as pups around the body of their dead mother, and soon becoming mascots/protectorates for each young member of their household. You’ll be cheering the lovely animals on in several key dramatic scenes), plus intense action, building suspense, Machiavellian intrigue and family loyalties, like no other. Early press/behind the scenes comparisons to THE SOPRANOS, another HBO series victory touching on similar themes, if in a present day reality, are certainly justified, and it doesn’t shy away from depicting a land of gratuitous sex, incest, violence and bloody murder the likes of which TOTAL RECALL/ROBOCOP director Paul Verhoeven would be proud were he directing it, though, unlike HBO’s other prior commercial period drama hit, ROME, where the nudity, sex and bad language in its first season was often, and justifiably, considered sensationalist titillation just to get the viewers watching in their droves, as well as encouraging the double standards wrath of the DAILY MAIL readers at the same time, this universe of THRONES, straight from the books origins, already has such necessary story vices built into its telling, a reflection of the Middle Ages of which the saga is inspired, and thus plays as an important part with its translation, too, safely negating criticism away from any notion that HBO are playing the same kind of ratings trick once again. Watching GAME OF THRONES it feels uniquely HBO in flavor, and it wouldn’t work within any of the other, often playing it safe, avenues of US television.

Eddard (Sean Bean) watches his daughter, Arya (Maisie Williams), receive specialised sword training.  

With lots of revelations to come about family linage and the rightful passage of power, and there’s bound to be a bloody great war, too, the stage has certainly been well set for the rest of the series. Certainly never dull, GAME OF THRONES translation to the TV medium has been well worth the wait (at last, some grown up fantasy-MERLIN this certainly ain’t!), and, like its books, will quickly becomes engrossing MUST SEE TV for adult audiences worldwide-the first proper television event of the year- as well as surely becoming one of HBO’s finest and most memorable projects.

Winter has most definitely arrived!

KOOL TV RATING: 4 out 5


With thanks to the team at SKY ATLANTIC


Immerse yourself into the world of Westeros with the enjoyable GAME OF THRONES game- THE BATTLE FOR THE IRON THRONE- on SKY ATLANTIC's FACEBOOK page. For a chance to win daily prizes, enter here: Sky Atlantic | Facebook


Check out the special fifteen minute preview for the series on the UK's SKY ONE channel tonight at 10.15pm. 


And watch the great documentary here:
A Game Of Thrones: 25-Minute Making Of Featurette