Today we're talking Sci-Fi and Fantasy favourites.
Now being as I am a Sky+ HD (showing off now!) subscriber I appreciate that for 'Fantasy TV' we've come along way since The Red Shoe Diaries; oh wait, it's not that kind of fantasy.
I'll get the negatives out of the way first so that we can finish on a positive. I had high expectations for Game of Thrones. I like Sean Bean, he plays good gritty characters. I liked the crisp clean and stunning settings, particularly as the HD showed them off very well. I enjoyed the first episode, the scene setting, the introduction of characters and the adult nature of the series. Too often, fantasy series get cleaned up for a mass market but Game of Thrones was going to be firmly in the adult camp.
Here was my problem - I can understand an epic, sweeping series needing to establish characters. I understand that we need to know about the politics, honestly I get that. I like The Godfather so political character driven pieces are not an issue. But and it is a big BUT, Game of Thrones seemed to move along at one pace, continuing to seemingly just build characters and politics and just never get going. For me it just didn't hold my attention.
As for my next choice I was guilty of writing this off in it's first series.
Spartacus : Blood & Sand was in my opinion when I first watched the opening episode a complete mess. The acting came across as terrible. The sex was turned up to 11, the violence was up to 11 - actually these two elements are way above 11 now I look back. It was somewhat like watching a poor mans '300'.
So after the first episode I stopped watching it.
Fast forward to a few months later and Spartacus : Gods of the Arena arrives. I Sky+'d, I watched and I admitted I was wrong. Although this was a prequel, it for me showed the series in a better light. For one thing, the acting was much better, it's not going to win an Emmy but its was better. The sex and violence was still way up the scale and the language would make sailors blush. I think I might have liked living as a Roman!
I watched the series and got caught up in the characters, rooting for my favourites and wishing the demise of those I disliked and there are plenty of those. Thankfully Sky decided to play the prequel immediately followed by that original Blood & Sand series so I was able to re-watch and persevere with the whole second, which is actually the first, series (if that makes any sense!)
Masses of sex, a swear word every 5 minutes, naked men, naked women, battles galore, backstabbing (literally), blood, guts and more blood - what's not to enjoy.
http://youtu.be/yHxn8mTpAJU
What has come along since, well I'm loving Torchwood and Falling Skies has definitely got the makings of one of my favourite series, we will see as it progresses - it is after all enjoyable watching Dr. Carter kick some alien ass!
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