Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 4: “Garden of Bones” Written by Vanessa Taylor Directed by David Petrarca Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO The first scene we get in “Garden of Bones” features a couple of Lannister footsoldiers chuckling at their own low wit, mocking Renly Baratheon’s homosexuality – that is, until Robb’s …
Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 3: “What Is Dead May Never Die” Written by Bryan Cogman Directed by Alik Sakharov Airs sundays at 9pm ET on HBO Apologies for the slightly belated review; I am currently en route to NYC. Is it possible that anyone will watch “What Is Dead May Never Die” and …
Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 2: “The Night Lands” Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by Alan Taylor Airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO Please do not include future spoilers from the book series in the comments. Do you recall the opening episodes of the first season of Game of Thrones? Remember …
Two women sit in a restaurant. As they wait for their food, they discuss current events, politics, and an interesting historical tidbit one of them recently learned. Their food arrives and the conversation moves into the more personal- one woman’s marathon training, the upcoming nuptials of a (female) family member. To the canny observer, the …
Game of Thrones, Season 2, Episode 1: “The North Remembers” Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by Alan Taylor Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO Same deal as last season: I’ve not read George R. R. Martin’s novels, so please refrain from posting spoilers from the series’ future in the comments. Infanticide, …
With The Hunger Games a box office hit and the highly anticipated second season of Game of Thrones only a week away, it’s a good time to be a fan of powerful female characters. There are plenty of strong women on television (though, it feels important to add, still far fewer than strong men), and …
Last spring, a bold show with a dark heart brightened up our screens and reminded us once again that television can be a wonderful medium for in-depth storytelling, despite the likes of Jersey Shore poisoning impressionable minds. It may have helped that it has its roots in literature, but Game of Thrones had so many …
For the first time ever, we polled the entire SOS staff on their favorite TV of the last 12 months. We knew that, given the fact that our contributors are (principally) spread out across Canada, the US, and Britain, that the results might well be a mixed bag. What we didn’t necessarily expect was the …
Opening titles sequences can indeed be viewed as an afterthought, but they are in fact extremely important to a show’s success. The opening title sequence of a television series can easily attract or repel viewers, and effect their decision as to whether or not it will be worth their time to invest and watch, or …
Thanksgiving is here (American Thanksgiving, at least), making it officially the Holiday Season. It’s a time for reflection, for pausing to appreciate those people and things we’re most grateful for, and for focusing on what’s really important in life. Television. Here are just a few of the many things I am grateful for this year. …
Over the years, serialized television has become increasingly more prominent. Condensed-time and arc-based series are the dramatic norm, on cable at least, with the most culturally significant and critically acclaimed series falling into this category. With television viewership dwindling, niche shows are increasingly sustainable, making cult, new-viewer-unfriendly programming less of a risk for struggling networks. …
Game of Thrones, Episode 10: ‘Fire and Blood’ Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss Directed by Alan Taylor Generally, in a serialized drama, season finales can go one of two ways. They can try to be full of excitement and incident, or they can settle the pace a bit in order to effectively …
Simon’s been busy with his weekly reviews of Game of Thrones, so I thought I would take some time to post this cool theme song from HBO’s epic fantasy series. Take a listen to the 8-bit remix of the theme music as imagined it would sound if they ever made an old school nintendo video …
Game of Thrones, Episode 9: ‘Baelor’ Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss Directed by Alan Taylor When Cersei warned weeks ago that “you win or you die,” she wasn’t kidding. The tragedy of Ned Stark’s existence comes to the fore this week as the man who knows only honor gives up that quality …
Game of Thrones, Episode 8: ‘The Pointy End’ Written by George R. R. Martin Directed by Daniel Minahan Anyone remember what a mess it was when series originator Robert Kirkman wrote an episode of AMC’s The Walking Dead? You know, ‘Vatos’, the one with the benevolent Latino faux-gangsters and their nursing home of hope? If …
The Broadcast Television Journalists Association has just announced their nominations for the first Critics’ Choice Television Awards. Modern Family leads the comedoes with six nominations, while Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones and The Killing dominate the drama series. We’ve been focussing more and more on television here at Sound On Sight and …
Game of Thrones, Episode 7: ‘You Win Or You Die’ Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss Directed by Daniel Minahan The titular game begins in earnest this week as the closest thing the show has to an all-out hero, Eddard Stark, finds himself out-maneuvered – perhaps fatally – by the devious Littlefinger. “I …
Game of Thrones, Episode 6: ‘A Golden Crown’ Written by Jane Sepenson, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss Directed by Daniel Minahan Affairs take a turn for the (even) nastier this week (the first co-penned by genre TV veteran Jane Espenson, as well as frequent Deadwood helmer Daniel Minahan), as it becomes clear that things …
Game of Thrones, Episode 5: ‘The Wolf and the Lion’ Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss Directed by Brian Kirk About the time The Mountain takes out his broadsword and bloodily decapitates his horse, it’s clear that Game of Thrones means business this week. Show creators Benioff and Weiss return to script an …
Game of Thrones, Episode 4: ‘Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things’ Written by Bryan Cogman Directed by Brian Kirk At this point in the progression of Game of Thrones, we’re approaching the point at which a character/actor list becomes a dear accessory. With significant developments deployed over four distinct realms (Winterfell, King’s Landing, the North Gate, …
Game of Thrones, Episode 3: ‘Lord Snow’ Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss Directed by Brian Kirk Apologies for lateness; here in Canada there was an election to track. As before, please refrain from series spoilers in the comments. Thanks! One of the go-to lines for George R. R. Martin enthusiasts upon learning …
Game of Thrones, Episode 2: ‘The Kingsroad’ Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by Tim Van Patten I’ll be reviewing Game of Thrones every Monday for the length of the season; please keep in mind that I’ve not read George R. R. Martin’s book series, and I’m watching the episodes weekly as they …
Game of Thrones – Episode One: “Winter is Coming” Directed by Timothy Van Patten Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss HBO sure could use an unabashed critical hit right now. Sure, True Blood is a ratings dynamo, and Boardwalk Empire and Todd Haynes’s Mildred Pierce proved they can mount a lavish period piece like …