All I can say is, so far it hasn't grabbed me. I prefer Walking Dead. (Which I also avoided for years.)

Maybe if I had read the books I would be more excited about it, knowing who the characters are.

@Paul4747 And it may not, but paying attention at the beginning would help as it helps make sense of all the complexities. Jumping in at some point later or not understanding who does what won't allow you to 'bond' with the story and its characters. This show is like reading a good book: you can't put it down, but skipping pages makes it much less likely you will generate the interest to continue.

@maturin1919 Nope, not to my way of seeing it ( I've watched almost every season btw).
It starts out kind of like a really great meal then suddenly turns into a bad case food poisoning mixed with explosive gastroenteritis.
If anyone wants a really great series to watch I'd heartily recommend the series " Rome."

@maturin1919 At least Rome is historically based, so historically based and raw in the facts that the Italian Government REFUSED to allow any more seasons to filmed or released simply because it dared to show the historical TRUTH.

@maturin1919 What, GoT all pure fantasy based. Now come on, I mean Dragons and Dragon Queens, etc, ARE Historical, more like Hysterical.

@maturin1919 "Pulled from" and twisted completely out of shape in my opinion.

@maturin1919 ?

@maturin1919 I may do that.

I think I dozed off before that actually. Someone was talking about a wedding or something? And then the king showed up and took forever to ride into the courtyard, and I dozed off again before his procession finished arriving, so I have no idea what he said to Lord... I never caught his name.

A lot of pageantry and character introductions, a lot of swords and nobody putting them to good use (except I recall an execution in the very beginning). When does the action start?

They're setting up the series with the introductions, because it can get complicated. Some characters can disappear for awhile so they're placing them there...so you can draw a line back to who they were when they re-enter the story arc. There are plenty of battle scenes throughout the series...too many in my opinion.

@Highway-Starr No such thing as too many battle scenes.

@maturin1919 Naw, remember the SUYAC? It's not for them, They will never get it. I love every episode and have watched the series 6-7 times.

Now there, with the words soap opera, I think you solved the riddle. I was expecting a Dungeons and Dragons adventure. It's more like the Waltons go to Middle Earth (only R rated).

It occurred to me over the last few seasons of GoT that I occasionally have the same sense of fun and emotional attachment to the story as I did with the original Star Wars trilogy as a child. I'm really looking forward to a few of those "feels" in the final season. (Season 7 was ok, but I kinda felt they pulled some triggers on things many of us had long suspected. But by this point, the number of possibilities have narrowed...so probably not too many big surprises.)

@Paul4747 Game of Thrones is many things, but The Walton's in Middle Earth is not one of them (rated R or not).

@greyeyed123 All My Children? I only said Waltons because of the rural setting.

I do see what you're saying, and I resisted Zombieland (wait, I mean Walking Dead) for years, because anything that popular must suck, plus, why isn't it on an actual network? And I enjoy Walking Dead to some extent, so far anyway. But there's a lot of action there. Character driven but also all kinds of badass. And Star Wars, well, it goes without saying. But I avoided GoT for the same reason... it's on something I have to pay extra to see, and everybody talks about it as if it's bigger than the Beatles. Nothing is bigger than the Beatles.

I have yet to see the equivalent of a star destroyer chasing a rebel ship entering from overhead to grab my attention.

But I suppose I will rewatch Ep I and try to give it a shot. It's like watching Star Wars Ep I in a way; a lot of politics, no Death Star.

@Paul4747 Dragons!! Dragons rock pretty hard.

I've always kind of loved swords too? So they had me right there. Geek and nerd factor.

Expect to get a bit squicked here and there - and then laugh - because it is fantasy. I mean that was a brother and sister having it on!

@RavenCT Well, same here (Dungeons & Dragons much?).

It just seemed really really slow getting anywhere. I'm trying again though... oy.

@Paul4747 A "soap opera" has negative connotations and implies the story is facile and goes on forever. This story has a beginning, middle, and end, and the seeds of the ending are planted from the beginning (it never makes a promise at any point to go on forever, and nothing of consequence is placed in the story just to fill time). No character is safe from death, every major action has consequences for the story as a whole, and the drama for the most part is genuine in a world that is dangerous, wondrous, deadly, and unsympathetic. It has won 47 Emmy Awards, among literally hundreds of others.
[en.wikipedia.org]

The show is not without its quirks and flaws, but the two criticisms you pointed out are simply not among them. (If you do not believe me, finish season one and see if you still feel the same way.)

@greyeyed123 The other connotations of "soap opera" are, people lying and murdering left and right, manipulating each other behind the scenes, hiding deep dark secrets, trusting exactly the wrong person... those are all there from the get-go.

Now that's also true of a spy thriller like The Americans, but those people are SPIES. They're supposed to be engaging in duplicity and underhandedness.

I'm really really hoping it turns into an action series with drama, instead of the drama with possible bits of action (but none right now) that seems to be the case right now. (Somebody got slapped, there was a murder of a 10 year old, that was about it.)

@Paul4747 If you think that is a description of "soap opera", do you think any given Shakespeare play is a soap opera? The reason everyone in Game of Thrones is duplicitous and underhanded is because, well, they are playing A Game of Thrones (or they are caught in the game others are playing). Setting all that aside, another reason Game of Thrones works is because the magical elements are all latent--so much so, that most people in the story don't remember anything magical of much significance ever happening. The stories have become legends and myths. Slowly, that changes over time. And it is very effective dramatically. Anyway, I suggest you watch the first season before tossing the show. It really is among the best television of the last 20 years (although as I said before, it is not without its flaws--but as someone who has both read the books and watched the series, your criticisms are either not founded or--in the case of criticizing the nature of the show itself--not fair).

@greyeyed123 I'm actually trying to watch it. But in answer, YES, Shakespeare was the precursor of the soap opera. Look at Romeo and Juliet. Look at Henry IV and Richard III, which are in the vein of GoT. Much Ado About Nothing is a comic soap opera, or a romantic comedy. But Shakespeare has the advantage of being only a few hours long, not several weeks, and he gets to the point pretty quickly.

At least I got to see the whiny prince bitch-slapped just now.

@Paul4747 Re-watch and watch the next one... you missed a bit. *Spoilers".

I used to watch a new episode and then immediately re view it. I always missed something going on.

My Mom LOVED Soap Operas. She only had two favorites and she was a stay at home Mom when that meant working all day and most of the night. - it was a brief respite during the day. So my exposure to it was there.

They really are a bit of escapism. So is this. And very involved plot lines that tie back together - season by season - year by year.

@RavenCT You can tell me what you think I missed, PM if you want. I oversimplified rather.

@Paul4747 The 10 yo isn't dead....

@RavenCT Oh no, I was talking about the little blond prince. He's the bitch.

I've felt that way about a number of shows and movies.
Seinfeld springs immediately to mind, and The Wire.

I'm not all that interested either, but I wondered if it's all it's cracked up to be.

You don't know what you are missing.