Since it looks like we’re not gonna get the 30-minute “Making Of” production on the www within the next half day or so, here are a couple quick hits on the FaB side of life:
The April Fools Joke That Never Was: We here at Winter-is-coming.net always support the bottom, seeking at all times to cater to that lowest common denominator, and that means occasionally entertaining people who enjoy a good joke at another’s expense. A number of April Fools jokes were batted about by Winter, HmR, and myself, but in the end we simply had too much other stuff to report on. One of my more “brilliant” ideas was to put up the announcement: Princess Myrcella Recast! and then stick a picture of Miley Cyrus at the top of the page. Now many of you may see this as cruel, even inhumane; who would do that to a kid?! (The answer is clearly: FaB would.) But my truer intent was a compliment; Aimee Richardson is probably one of our more loyal readers from the show (another being ol’ Miltos—but you can’t exactly announce Syrio as being recast, can you?), so why not reward her with a prank! Plus, her being a frequent reader makes it more likely she’d actually read that announcement on that page on that specific day. And yes, I was going to coordinate this with her parents (both on Twitter: @BreakParGolf and @Lesley_Rich — and both very smart, friendly people) ahead of time to ensure Aimee didn’t take a flying leap out her window. 
Consider it a hazing of sorts, but really just an appreciative nod to a girl who has, by all accounts, acquitted herself marvelously in the series (as has Callum playing Tommen, though I couldn’t prank him since he doesn’t seem to be online). This is a girl who began only as a “temporary Myrcella” for the pilot, but who persevered, kicked and clawed her way into the actual role. Good on her. We love ya, Aims. (Now everyone go follow her on Twitter @Aimee_P_R before she sends hate mail regarding Aimeegate!)
Speaking of Stand-Ins: A friend of mine who lives up in the northwest just (temporarily) adopted an otter that had been rescued from some sort of death trap made for another species of animal. The otter now walks with a noticeable limp, and was dubbed “Eddard the Otter.” I don’t have an actual picture of this newest Eddard, so the otter stand-in (below) will have to do for now. Good luck, “Ned,” and I hope you live as long and fruitful a life as our Eddard.
Daemons Infesting Your Brain: As some of you may or may not know, one of my “day jobs” is critiquing television programs for Daemon’s TV. Sometimes the shows are surprisingly good (Spartacus; Detroit 1-8-7) and sometimes eyeball-gougingly dull (Desperate Housewives; Traffic Light), but at the end of the day it’s a rewarding gig, and pretty much completely fun. My bosses are great. Plus it’s fun to see a more interested reaction from people when I say I critique TV for a living rather than the usual disdain at “I’m just a hack writer.” Sadly, I won’t be critiquing Game of Thrones. Daemon’s has another young lady who has been waiting patiently for over a year (I’m pretty sure she visits this site) for this show to air, and I don’t even think I could bribe her off of it. That said, Daemon’s TV offered me the chance to write a “5 Reasons Why” article about GoT, and so of course I took it. And here it is: 5 Reasons You Bloody Well Better Not Miss Game of Thrones. Those of you who remember my True Blood / Game of Thrones comparison/contrast will note I borrowed liberally from that article. Because nothing says “talent” like plagiarizing oneself. Enjoy!
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37 Comments
Ah, reading the glorious prose of FaBihoff always makes my trip to the office just a little bit easier. Thanks for the post!
Jim HiggittQuote Reply
Reading your posts always make me feel like I’ve been drinking to much, FaB.
D.D.Quote Reply
I like your Daemon’s GOT article!
LexQuote Reply
1. good scenery
2. good food
3. marry company
4. money to spend
5. demons to banish
couldn’t imagine more fun
ZedQuote Reply
This has nothing to do with your post, but I’m so happy I need to share!
Yesterday I found out that there is going to be a preview at the BAFTAS on April the 15th.
I’m portuguese, my birthday’s on the 15th and I happen to have a trip to London booked on that date, so I decided to send an e-mail requesting 2 tickets.
Much to my suprise and joy, they replied saying YES!
Here’s the link to the event!!!
http://www.bafta.org/public-event.html?Pevent=com.othermedia.bafta.model.BaftaEvent-L-6199120
Sandra GomesQuote Reply
Loved the Daemons article. Fun read as always FaB :)
But damn HBO, when can us poor non-Americans see the new delicious Making Of? I heard my queen Natalia Tena is in it being awesome as Osha. Hope its online soon.
Gytha OggQuote Reply
Gytha Ogg,
I heard Shagga was in it. I wanna see Shagga!
LexQuote Reply
Sandra Gomes,
Me too, apparently we are very lucky as the tickets soon went! wasn’t expecting a reply. My bottom feels very supported right now. :D I really don’t know what to expect, I’m kinda nervous!
What a cool birthday present for you!
Gytha OggQuote Reply
Lex,
WHAT?! EVEN BETTER! come on HBO, rise and shine! I dont care if its 5am over there!
Gytha OggQuote Reply
Gytha Ogg,
I’m nervous too, I’m not sure that I’m believing it :D
Sandra GomesQuote Reply
Awesome news for the lucky BAFTA attendees!
And FaBihoff, you are divinely inspired in your humour! Many good thanks to you, sir!
dimensionallyTQuote Reply
Shame that the Aimee April Fool didn’t work. It would have been truly epic.
And, of course, you have my full permission to do anything like this to Aimee at any time :-)
John RichardsonQuote Reply
You liked Spartacus.
You DIDN’T like Desparate Housewives.
Are you insane???
WastrelQuote Reply
nice Daemon article FaBio. well entertaining read and good command of the vernacular! I challenge any geek not to have their curiosity piqued!
DavidGQuote Reply
I don’t understand; what’s insane about liking a good show and disliking a bad one?
Mr. WuQuote Reply
Mr. Wu: Is Spartacus actually a tv show?
Because it feels more like gory brutal porn and nothing more :-D But hey i am sick (by today’s standarts) because i don’t like perverse sadistic weirdnesses like True Blood or Spartacus, so my opinion is certainly not worthy :-D
Seth BullockQuote Reply
John Richardson,
Excellent. Our next hazing ritual will involve dressing Aimee in a purple ostrich suit and dangling her by her feet from the London Bridge. (Which I think is now located somewhere in Ohio.)
Wastrel,
I am, yes.
Fire And BloodQuote Reply
I watched about 20 minutes of Spartacus, and was not interested in watching any more. It wasn’t the sex or the violence that turned me off. It was how everything looked fake. The foggy sets, the paint splatter towards the screen when someone was killed. It looked like a really low-budget ripoff of 300. I was surprised when that show actually did well enough to get a season 2.
KevinQuote Reply
Seth Bullock,
The sex scenes of Spartacus often felt too much but the violence worked for me since it was a stylistic choice that reminded me of 300. Not that that fact automatically makes it great by any means but it worked for me, perhaps just because I had been exposed to it before, the fact that non-realism can work at times.
But none of that were what I remember from that show. What I take with me is the magnificent bastard Batiatus whom I very much liked to follow. Spartacus himself was as dull as a rock but a good “villain” is what makes a story and Batiatus was good enough for me to name him the protagonist in my mind.
Not at all one of the great series of all times but I found some good entertainment amongst the bad things.
Perhaps I should have changed my name to Al Swearingen when I jumped into this little conversation?
Tywin's BastardQuote Reply
Nitpick 1: it’s just “London Bridge”, not “the London Bridge”
Nitpick 2: London Bridge is, unsurprisingly, in London. You’re probably thinking of the OLD London Bridge (called, confusingly, “New London Bridge”), which is now in Arizona. (New London Bridge was so-called because it replaced Old London Bridge, which was built by King John – that’s the famous one with the houses all along it, and the heads of traitors placed on spikes. John’s bridge was the first stone one, but various wooden bridges were on the site going back to the Roman invasion – one of them was burnt down by Boudicca, one by the Norwegians, many by accidental fires, and one was destroyed by a tornado. Anyway…)
*cough* Apologies.
Mr. Wu: What I’ve seen of Spartacus appears just to be pure softcore porn for people who don’t know that there’s free porn on the internet. Whereas what I’ve seen of DH was a subtle, engaging, funny, maliciously dark and powerfully tragic deconstruction of the american myth.
WastrelQuote Reply
Tywin's Bastard,
agreed, it was entertaining if not award winning telly. compared to some of the pap it was a welcome breath and on its budget and for the stylized looks it was pushing I think it did pretty well, each to their own but i had fun with it.
David GilroyQuote Reply
David Gilroy,
Important to know is that the opening half of the season stinks pretty much in the way you described it :) However, if you survive that, you’re treated with a good story and characters you care for, the writing is really good, and the several strands of the narrative are intertwined, disentangled, and brought to a satisfying conclusion. All with lots of pre-planning and subtle foreshadowing, but also many surprises (that are not of the deux-ex-machina type). Cool to view in light of the recent discussions about endings, the writers knowing where they are going, and what not ;)
Hear Me RoarQuote Reply
hey, less of the ‘ol…’
…….*scowls*
miltos YerolemouQuote Reply
Poor otter =o
Franny BeeQuote Reply
The sex in Spartacus is put on the fore front because in the Roman Empire at that time, it was VERY open sexually. Gay, children, adultery, it was like drugs in the 70′s…anythings game. The blood is done up to portray what a cruel time it was as well. I mean for godsakes peoples’ entertainment was watching others die very gruesome deaths, not watching people ballroom dance. But past all the sex and blood, is amazing acting, writing, and fantastic character depth….I think it’s very similar to GoT in this regard.
We ask people to get past that its fantasy, cause the characters are so great, it’s no different with Spartacus.
The DarkStarQuote Reply
If by “at that time”, you mean “in a sensationalised TV version of the sensationalised modern rendition of certain sensationalised Roman satirical accounts of sensationalised Roman scandals”.
And yes, I’m SURE that the porn is there for the historical veracity element. Come to think of it, I hear that if you go to an actual porn store there are whole aisles of highly historically informative and educationally-dedicated period ‘dramas’.
[I wonder how much character building the show is able to fit in to the ten minutes an hour not taken up by orgies or murders - presumably they each orgasm in very character-defining ways that all develop subtly over the course of the season.]
WastrelQuote Reply
you wonder…because you haven’t seen the show…What your doing is like watching the 15 minute preview HBO showed of GoT and saying, “alien predators, ice walls and huge dire wolves…ewww”. But GoT isn’t about those things, it’s about complex characters that are shades of grey….Just like Spartacus.
The DarkStarQuote Reply
Would just like to add that Spartacus is absolutely amazing!
Sure, sex sells, but character interactions and development, along with some fantastic writing are sprinkled throughout all of that blood and guts and sex. Top that with John Hannah and Lucy Lawless´s amazing performance(every actor on the show is good though) as Batiatus and Lucretia, and you have an extremely fascinating look at what men and women will do for power and freedom.
ALSO, the fight scenes are FUCKING amazing!
John EngedalQuote Reply
Franny Bee,
Exactly. Why does FaB hate that otter so much? That should be ottermatic grounds for arrest. FaB should be cuffed and shoved into the back of an ottermobile. Maybe this would fly on a Harry P-otter fansite or something, but not hare.
Otter than that this was a good write-up.
Otter.
Bob DoleQuote Reply
Good article, FaBio. You were definitely gifted with a funny bone in your writing arm. :)
Otter! I didn’t even know there was such a thing as an otter death trap! What did otters ever do to anyone? >:[
We should defend their honor! The sigil of House Gatewatch: an otter at a gate on an (indigo?) field!!
LinaQuote Reply
Isn’t it better to take the time to find out instead of stating “facts” about something you haven’t even watched? I sure hope we don’t get an insurgence here of people talking about GoT as you talk about Spartacus as it would quickly become intolerable to visit this site.
Tywin’s BastardQuote Reply
Tywin’s Bastard,
What? I’m not posting on a Spartacus fan-board! I don’t think it should be required to like Spartacus to post here. Obviously, I wouldn’t bother attending a Spartacus board, and I wouldn’t expect people who don’t like GoT to start attending here.
Unfortunately, as some GoT fans showed on that poor woman’s blog the other day, some people just aren’t very tolerant when people don’t like their favourite show…
WastrelQuote Reply
Oh, boo hoo. Give me a freaking break. Oh, that poor, poor woman. We were so horribly cruel and vicious to her, weren’t we?
Oh wait, no we weren’t.
LexQuote Reply
What do people have against sex? Personally I wish someone would make a high quality production like HBO does, with full on hardcore pornography for the sex scenes. Why do we have to choose between a good show with fake sex, or a very bad production with real sex? Give us the best of both worlds.
Edit to add: I’d just as soon they left out the graphic violence though. People who enjoy watching violence but not sex, I just don’t get.
pualoQuote Reply
Wastrel,
Personally I try to conduct myself in a similar manner, wherever I post. My point was that I don’t find it very productive to tell people how a show is if you haven’t seen it. Why I switched it to GoT was because it might help you see the flaws in your post as you might be able to relate better that way. The point had nothing at all to do with having to like anything.
I don’t care if you like Spartacus or not (and wouldn’t have even if it was a favorite of mine, which it clearly isn’t as you can see by my posts) but to write derogatory “facts” about a show you haven’t watched is clearly flame-baiting, and that’s what I want to avoid as it can bring nothing good.
I’m also completely fine if people that don’t like GoT post here, as long as they do it in a proper manner. I’m less fine if they come here and criticize the show without watching it just to stir things up.
Tywin’s BastardQuote Reply
+1 for Spartacus here.
I only watched because a flatmate was an extra, and I found the first episode pretty terrible. That was by far the worst episode though, the rest of the series was excellent. John Hannah was superb as Batiatus.
GaRQuote Reply
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena picked up where Spartacus: Blood and Sand left off: telling a fantastic, gripping, superbly acted and tragic Roman opera. Yes, the first season started weakly, as the show was trying to figure out exactly what it was, but once it did it was literally great. The blood spatters which so many people complain about were like the overdone crimson handkerchiefs some operas use to denote spilling (or spraying, or gushing) blood. It was art.
If I can compare the artistic use of blood to anything else, it would be Kill Bill. And Lucy Lawless deserves an Emmy nomination. I’m not joking.
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena was literally my favorite show on television this winter.
Fire And BloodQuote Reply