What Shows/Movie Franchises have you "Rage Quit"?

Trenchfriend said:

Many people talked about Game Of Thrones, over years, a while ago.

So, should I know this show, as a 37yo person? Was there something special?

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Doctor Strange said:

I always strongly recommend Game of Thrones TO PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T READ MARTIN'S BOOKS.

My kids read the books. They really liked the show at first, but once it started really diverging from the books, they got angry about it. They got even more angry when the series' plotting went beyond the published books, and despite the whole Martin-discussed-the-future-plotting-with-the-showrunners thing, they hated it. My son stuck it out, watching the series with me. My daughter quit entirely after the third or fourth season.

But if you haven't read the books to compare, as I haven't, I think Game of Thrones is some damn outstanding television. It's got a huge, very talented and charismatic cast, excellent production values, almost Tolkien-level detailed worldbuilding, and a dense political plot about the various aristocratic families fighting for power. The series is especially good at surprising the viewer with unexpected, often unexpectedly spectacular, plot developments from out of left field that leave your jaw on the floor. (If you manage to avoid spoilers!)

While I think it's great TV, it's far from perfect. There are some serious pacing problems: in particular, the second act drags on much too long. This may be less of a problem bingeing it now than it was watching in real time over seven seasons, because waiting yet ANOTHER year for the stuck plotlines to finally move was frustrating. With so many plot threads, it's often unclear when cutting between them whether or not they're taking place at the same time. And after spending a lot of episodes in the early seasons to establish how big the world is, how long it takes for characters to walk or ride from one locale to another, by the end, it seems like those distances no even longer exist. (Again, because it's often unclear when cutting between characters whether it's happening on the same day or two months later.) There are also some character turns in the last couple of seasons that seem questionable; and some of the final season climaxes are headscratchers or cheap shots.

But I mainly enjoyed the heck out of it. High fantasy for adults, with all the sex and brutality that implies, with fascinating characters, rich plotting, and stunning production values/action/effects. An instant classic.

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Worf said:

They're coming out with a "prequel" series to GoT. I will not watch one second of it. Fool me once....

Worf

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MisterCairo said:

I had an interesting introduction to the series and books.

In 2012, I was vaguely aware there was a book series Song of Ice and Fire. I then heard about the massive new show Game of Thrones ( the title of the first book in the book series, which became the colloquial title by which the genre is known).

One day at our local video store (recently closed sadly), I see the blu-ray collection for season one, newly released. I learn it has been released in advance of the season 2 premiere.

Never had read a single page, or seen a second of the show, Idrop $90.00 Canadian dollars plus tax. And watch season one over two days.

I then buy books one and two, and read both before getting HBO to watch season two. In paperback, these books are in the neighbourhood of 700 - 800 pages.

I then read three, four and five, five having just come out. I then faithfully watched the show.

As the show processes, it goes from near-faithful reproduction of the books, to inevitable condensation of the many complex plots, sub-plots and myriad characters. There are massive story lines in the books absent from the show. No problem.

Then the show gets to the point where the last book has ended. Hmmm, what to do now?

Various reports of the show runners working with author Martin on how to proceed, but even he has said "the books are the books, the show is the show, and they are separate and distinct.

In my opinion, had the producers wished, they could have added probably at least two additional seasons, to more fully explore the extant novels. I found, particularly near the end, things seemed rushed.

As Martin claims to be working on a new book (indeed there were to be two more books at one point), we are left to speculate on how it will pan out - a print version of the later seasons of the show ( I hope NOT), or his vision ( I hope SO).

Having read the books before seeing seasons 2 through 8, I was one of those smug "I knew that was going to happen/that is not what happens in the books" types.

I love the show, own the whole shebang on blu-ray, but yes, the ending sucks bum gravy.

As others have noted, it is set in a world we would call medieval, with supernatural and fantasy elements. It is violent and, particularly early on, graphically sexual.

Production and technical values are superb. The actors amazing.

The story is such that the bad guys are fully developed to the point of eventual near sympathy, the good guys flawed. Few if any true angels or demons.

Go for it.

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Edward said:

I think that's a very fair summary. Two different media, the book and the show. I find it's best to view it a lot like The Walking Dead, which similarly diverges from the source material (albeit that the source material there was always ahead of the show). I originally decided to wait until I'd seen the full show before I read the books. Now I'm waiting to see if Martin can be bothered to finish them first...



I expect that will have a somewhat different audience now than perhaps seemed the case when they first planned it. Be interesting to see the differences in view of folks who see the prequels first - a bit like Star Wars It's a whole different experience when you're watching a timeline story in chronological order (within that universe's timeline) as opposed to experiencing it as a foreshadowing of events the outcome of which you already know. I'd say the latter is a harder audience to please.



It would be interesting to see whether he diverges significantly from the ending in the show (I very much like the plot outline of that I'm aware of, though we'll see when I get to it whether I like the realisation thereof; it seemed a bit rushed to me to suddenly cut the last series into a half-series), or used it as a loose model (I'm aware there were already significant divergences from the books when they ran out). I decided early on to leave off reading the books prior to finishing the TV show, but it's unlikely I'll bother with them at all now as I'm far from convinced he can be bothered to finish them. I think I gave up hope of that when he went off to write a prequel instead. I have a feeling it will never be finished unless the employ a ghost writer, or wait until Martin passes and have someone else openly finish it.

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MisterCairo said:

On YouTube, there is a series called Honest Trailers, spoofing films and shows if they were described honestly.

The first one for GoT came out early on, 2012 or so.

Even then, they wondered allowed if the author would get around to finishing the series "before eating himself to death".

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Trenchfriend said:

Was Xena the prototype for such shows?

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Stanley Doble said:

Go watch some gangster movies of the twenties and thirties or read accounts of hijackings from that era. Find a picture or description of gangsters in balaclavas and I will buy you a lollipop.

I am perfectly aware of what a Balaclava is, when it was invented and who wore them. I defy you to find one being worn by an American between 1900 and 1960 except for the occasional skier. And then mainly after WW2.

That isn't even important. I know it was not meant to be a documentary. It was supposed to be a gangster story set in the Prohibition era of the 1920s. Well that genre has been around since the early 1930s and the theme is well known. You work within that framework or you don't. In this case they chose to make a dog's breakfast of it.

You might as well make a Sherlock Holmes story set in the 1880s and have a street urchin exclaim "Awesome!" Did the word Awesome exist in the 1880s? Yes. Would someone have used it the way they do today? No.

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