As a longtime fan of the Song of Ice and Fire series, I was delighted when I heard HBO would be turning it into a show, one book per season. While even now I have my doubts that the show will go as far as the books have, it pleases me that they are trying. The only way to turn any series into film or video is by a franchise or mini-series. It was fortunate that New Line was open minded enough to make Lord of the Rings into three films, and had that (and Harry Potter, released at the same time) not been a success, I doubt very much we would be seeing Game of Thrones on our TV screens today.
Warning: There may be spoilers if you have only seen the show.
I recently went back and skimmed the book, comparing it to the recaps of the HBO series, and was amazed that almost all of the book made it into the show. There are many bits of backstory and exposition left out, but they managed to get most of it in. Some much loved characters, like Blackfish, didn't make it onto the show, but remarkably few were cut. Most of the story seems to have made it. One little plot point involving Sansa (her betrayal of her father's plans to send them home to Winterfell) is left out, but that happened off the page in the book, there is no telling if someone will mention it to her in the next season - just another way to make her feel more miserable about her situation. Other than that, I can't really think of any real story changes. The order of the chapters from book to show were shuffled, and pieces of the story had to be condensed, that's it.
Game of Thrones was a success, and is up for many awards. The next two novels are much fatter, but it appears they will still be stuck cramming everything into 10 episodes, there has been no hint about HBO springing for more episodes. We can probably foresee more dramatic cuts of characters and scenes in the following seasons. Are there any parts left out of the first season that you wish had been included? Which added scenes did you find unnecessary?
I didn't follow along with the casting of the series as some fans did, though at the end when nearly every role was cast I had to go to the Internet Movie Database and Google Images to check on the chosen actors. Without having seen many of them in action, I was almost entirely pleased with the look of the actors chosen, even if they did not clearly follow the descriptions in the books.
I went back on some of the forums to see who else had been suggested for these roles by the fans. They always came up with interesting suggestions, and some suggestions even supposedly led to the eventual hiring of the person suggested (I think these were in season two). Some suggestions were great, some were outright absurd. One reason I never indulged in casting speculation (beyond Peter Dinklage) is that my knowledge of available actors, preferably from the UK, is severely lacking. If not confined to the present day, I could probably cast the show with all of my favorite actors at various points in their careers, or even do decade specific versions from my time as a movie addict. If you are interested in seeing examples of who the hard core fans suggested, go here.
These are my takes on some, not all, of the actors cast in the series. Add your own favorites (or least favorites) in the comments:
Ned: The big casting event for many was Sean Bean as Eddard Stark. Fantasy fans knew him well from his turn as Boromir in Lord of the Rings, along with many other roles he has played. While he didn't really look the part of Ned as described in the book ("He has a long face, dark hair, and grey eyes. His closely-trimmed beard is beginning to grey"), we knew he was more than capable of playing that role. Bean had been suggested by fans for a part, but most felt he was too old to play Ned. That issue was solved by the producers aging up most of the characters. Other suggestions for the role included Liam Neeson, Clive Owen, Gerard Butler, John Lynch, Simon Templeman, and Kevin McKidd. While Gerard Butler was closer to how I pictured Ned, I was quite happy with Bean's performance.
Catelyn: There was a lot of disappointment over the selection of Michelle Fairley as Cat. The main complaints were "too old" or "not beautiful." The book Catelyn is described as beautiful, with auburn hair and blue eyes. Michelle Fairley may have once been beautiful, but appears a bit too careworn. Her performance, however, was fine. The fans had suggested Cate Blanchett, Lena Headey (who got the role of Cersei), Gillian Anderson, Miranda Otto, Molly Parker, and many more. At first Jennifer Ehle had been cast in the role, but after the pilot (will that ever see the light of day?) she was replaced with Fairley.
Robb: In the books, he is stocky, with blue eyes and auburn hair. For the show, Richard Madden got a red tint on his dark hair, but in no way can be considered stocky. Interestingly, one of the suggestions to play Robb was Harry Lloyd, who ended up playing Viserys. Almost every fan suggestion appeared to have been chosen for the cheekbones, and it seems that the cheekbones could have been a factor in the eventual casting of Madden, too.
Jon: Raise your hand if you had trouble telling Robb and Jon apart at first. Yes, Jon didn't get the red tint, but there are certain similarities. These make them believable as siblings, but a strong resemblance (which fans argued fiercely for) turns out to be very confusing to television viewers. The book Jon was described as having a lean build with a long face, dark hair, and grey eyes. They got most of it right with Kit Harington (I pictured very straight hair). Fan suggestions for Jon included Jamie Bell (who was suggested for almost every male character), Harry Lloyd (again), Joe Jonas (ack! My niece would have wanted to see the show then), Harry or Luke Treadaway, Ben Barnes, and many others. Harington grew on me after a few episodes.
Sansa: The books say Sansa is tall and beautiful, with thick auburn hair, high cheekbones, and blue eyes. Fan suggestions included Dakota Blue Williams, Sarah Bolger, Emily Browning, and, of all people, Miley Cyrus (probably the same fan who suggested Joe Jonas). I don't think Sophie Turner is beautiful enough (merely pretty), but I cannot fault her performance.
Robert: Most of the suggestions for Robert Baratheon were on the old side - John Goodman and Russell Crowe, for instance. The casting of Mark Addy surprised me - kind of like electing a President you'd like to have a beer with. ;-) I knew him from his roles as working class shlubs in films set in the present day. Book Robert was quite tall, and had at one time been quite handsome, but had become enormously fat. Addy does not appear to have ever been that handsome, and they stopped short of making the character as fat as the man in the book. Martin seems to like to write them to be as tall as they are wide. I have no idea how tall Addy is, but he does not have a tall presence (if that makes any sense).
Cersei: This was my biggest disappointment. I think Leanna Headey looks fine, but her performance seems so passive . To me she lacks fire, which book Cersei did not. The way she is dressed and her manner do not suggest a Queen known for her beauty and allure. Diane Kruger, Tricia Helfer, Rosamund Pike - even Scarlet Johansen and Sarah Michele Gellar were suggested.
Renly: This character departs from book Renly by being squeamish about the sight of blood. Book Renly participates in tourneys, where blood is a likely occurrence. Description-wise he is different as well. Show Renly does not have the long black hair of book Renly, though he does seem to have some of his frivolity. Oddly, one of the suggestions to play Renly was Nicholaj Coster-Waldau, who was eventually cast as Jaime. A lot of fans disliked Gethin Anthony, but I enjoyed him. However, I was not a big fan of the book version.
Joffrey: While I really have enjoyed the performance of Jack Gleeson, I really missed the long golden curls and "fat wormlips" (as Sansa later thinks) described in the books. The most obvious suggestion for playing Joffrey from the fans was Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films. Also suggested were semi-unknowns like Max Pirkis, the way too young Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and William Moseley.
Dany: Fan suggestions included Michelle Trachtenburgh, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Kristen Bell, Kristen Kreuk, Natalie Portman, Miranda Cosgrove, and Dakota Fanning. Thankfully they were all rejected. :) Tamzin Merchant played the part in the pilot, but was replaced with Emilia Clarke. I thought Clarke did a fine job depicting the changes the character underwent from episode to episode.
Jorah Mormont: Book Jorah is a stocky, dark, hairy man. I much prefer show Jorah. The fan suggestions were a bit crazy, often going far off the rails age-wise, like Donald Sutherland, Ciaran Hinds, and David Warner. Jorah is a bit younger than Ned Stark, not the same age or older. I'm a huge fan of Jorah in the show. Except that slavery thing.
Tyrion: I really think they chose the best possible actor for Tyrion. Others had suggested Danny Woodburn and Warwick Davis (and a few facetious suggestions for people like Ian McShane). One fan suggested that Peter Dinklage would never take the role, which made me laugh. How many such roles are out there for dwarf actors? Usually they end up playing gnomes or leprechauns or members of the Lollipop Guild. This is the role of a lifetime. Yes, Dinklage is far more attractive than Tyrion is on the page. I have to say that made me happy, being a huge fan of the character.
Jaime: The fans all wanted a Brad Pitt (or Prince Charming from Shrek) facsimile, but would have settled for Alexander Skarsgard (currently starring in True Blood), Josh Holloway (at the time still on Lost), and Charlie Hunnam, I think Nicholai Coster-Waldau is fine. He has the almost cartoonish blonde good looks, and he has the attitude. I look forward to his growth as a character. I enjoyed his reaction to Tywin's parental criticism.
Sandor Clegane, "The Hound" : Apparently many fans pictured someone much handsomer than Rory McCann in this role. There are numerous fans who see some sort of romance between him and Sansa (something I must say I never thought of while I was reading). Look at some of the suggestions: Graham Shiels, Richard Armitage, Kevin Durand? The most interesting suggestion I saw was, if someone could invent time machines, Clancy Brown a la "Highlander". I suppose if I had liked that romance angle I wouldn't have liked McCann, but I think he's fine.
I have barely touch and the sets? Did they look the way you pictured them? Did they look the way they were described in the book? Did you like the costumes? The "wolves"?
This will be the last diary of this limited series, unless someone else has something to add; some facet that has not yet been covered.