Quick Hits: HBO offers bonus video, Dance talks S3, and GoT on The Simpsons
- HBO is offering the Complete First Season on DVD
and Blu-Ray
with an exclusive bonus video called “Creating the World of Westeros.” This is how HBO describes this extra content: “Production Designer Gemma Jackson and her creative team of concept artists, designers and set builders reveal their process of bringing the world of Game of Thrones to HBO. From locations in Malta to the gigantic Paint Hall in Belfast, see how King’s Landing, Winterfell, The Wall, and the Dothraki Sea came to life, from initial designs to finished sets.”
- Game of Thrones continues to garner its share of mentions in the world of pop culture. The Simpsons have referenced it twice, including last night where they showed a Simpsonizied version of the Iron Throne room.
- The show has also managed to make an impression on new parents, as the name Aria has sky-rocketed up 291 places to become the 65th most popular girls name this year, which this Zimbio article attributes to Thrones‘ pint-sized heroine Arya Stark.
- Over at Antenna Blog, TV critic/social commentator Myles McNutt examines HBO’s strategy behind merchandising Game of Thrones. An interesting read.
- This Charles Dance interview focuses mainly on his career as a whole, but does include a very spoilery mention of Thrones. For those avoiding spoilers, he has this to say about the show, “We finished [filming] season two. I think that will air in February or March of next year, and we will start shooting season three in May or June of next year.” Dance seems to look at season three as a sure thing…
- Hollywood awards blog Gold Derby gives Game of Thrones a respectable 4/1 shot of taking home best drama series at next month’s Golden Globe awards.
- Speaking of awards, today is the final day of voting in the People’s Choice Awards. Be sure to go over there and vote for Thrones as often as possible!
- Lastly, HBO is now offering 20% off all Thrones merchandise at their official online store
. The promo is today only, so you have to act quickly. Use promo code HBOGOT20 at checkout to apply the discount.
Have you already read all the books and/or don't care about spoilers? You can reveal all the spoilers in the comments with the click of a link below.
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51 Comments
Great stuff with Simpsons.
I like Grey Wind or whoever it very much.
The RabbitQuote Reply
what accent did Simpsons-Tyrion have?
Tar KidhoQuote Reply
Why didn’t Tyrion have a Throne? And was that supposed to be Grey Wind or Ghost?
Susan CQuote Reply
Sadly, given the spelling, I suspect the Aria name popularity has more to do with the Pretty Little Liars character than it has to do with our little adorable Arya.
ImpiQuote Reply
Impi,
I don’t entirely I agree. That’s a show targeted primarily for teenage girls. Most parents with teenage girls probably aren’t having baby girls.
Aria was on my short list due to GoT. I wouldn’t have spelled it with a Y though. Just like I wouldn’t intentionally misspell names like “Robb” or “Petyr”. I don’t like it when parents do that.
MWQuote Reply
isn’t Aria the chick from Pretty Little Liars? :D
(which is amusing, IMO, since “aria” means “air” in italian and i think it’s weird)
I LOVE the simpsonized throne room!
Elena AmiciQuote Reply
LOVE the Simpsons references. Who could have ever imagined ASOIAF would become so mainstream? It still feels surreal.
LexQuote Reply
Oh I adore Charles Dance, I will probably develop a crush on Tywin because of him…
RipleyQuote Reply
Come on Mr Groening, we all want a full Game Of Thrones parady episode.
The Simpsons character list is easily long enough to make a feature length movie. But one whole episode would definately be amazing………..Pleeeeaaaasssseee!
Come on guys back me up on this one.
Some possible character suggestions………
House Baratheon………King Robert-Homer
Queen Cersei-Marge
Joffery-Bart
Myrcella-Maggie
Tommen-Millhouse
House Lannister………..Jamie-Snake
Tyrion-Martin
Tywin-Mr Burns
House Stark……………….Ned-Ned
Robb-Rod
John(Snow)-Todd
Cat-cat lady
House Targaryen…………Dany-Lisa
Drogo-Nelson
Viserys-Ralf
What do you guys think? I am sure you will have your own ideas.Feel free to agree or disagree.
Two FeathersQuote Reply
speaking of merchandising, how about a House Mormont t-shirt, HBO?
Blueberry2Quote Reply
Actually the funniest part of the Simpsons episode was the fact that the network was called “HBOWTIME.”
You might not get that if you’re not an American football fan.
Fire And BloodQuote Reply
I think that was great, I was laughing like crazy picturing them.
Ryan EQuote Reply
lol, didn’t even look at it that way. Your mind does work in mysterious ways.
KnurkQuote Reply
Even though they’re including that bonus feature, HBO’s prices for the DVDs are ridiculous!!! You can get the regular DVD for $38.99 and the Blu-ray for $51.99 over at Barnes and Noble online!!!!! (they’re cheaper than Amazon’s prices also!).
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Game-of-Thrones?keyword=Game+of+Thrones&store=dvd
Sean FanQuote Reply
And I’m glad I’m not a neurotic collector, because Amazon.co.uk has a different exclusive bonus disc (‘Creating the Visuals’) and Play.com has an exclusive photobook. Sometimes I think they’re just bullying the true fans.
KnurkQuote Reply
Slightly off topic but as much as I am getting into Lena as Cersei (there’s an innuendo there somewhere….) Gretchen Mol could have played the role VERY well. If anyone saw Boardwalk Empire last night you will know what I am talking about…..
Joshua TaylorQuote Reply
cool “news”.
specially the Antenna Blog article, despite I didn’t fully understood it, to be honest.
the Charles Dance interview is awesome!
Thiago SlashQuote Reply
I’d personally rather have a parody episode by Family Guy if a choice was between the two. MacFarlane routinely takes things steps further than The Simpsons will go occasionally. While their third Star Wars parody film was a rush job, the first was really good and the second was good (imo of course). With all the Indiana Jones side clips they’ve done over the years I’ve been hoping they’d tackle those movies next.
ClobQuote Reply
My best friend named her baby Aria. She got a lot of comments telling she is spelling it wrong that it is “Arya”,she told everyone that she looked the name up,meaning and all and loved the name.
Of course she had no clue about GoT and “our” Arya. I had to explain it to her and send her a couple of clips. She still prefered to spell it Aria. But how awesome that “Arya” is a popular name now!
HildaQuote Reply
MW,
Not to digress too much, but I am a 43 yr old femal who watches PLL and GoT. The ratings for PLL would indicate that a pretty good number of child bearing age women watch it. Ratings for the most recent episode:
ImpiQuote Reply
Blu-Ray is a definite buy.
Faelmon LoghQuote Reply
Well, at least the Charles Dance interview is interesting!
Epic the wonderfulQuote Reply
Fire And Blood,
Took me a while to figure out what you meant, but I guess that could be a reference to the Broncos QB. I thought it was just a combination of Showtime and HBO.
Joshua Taylor,
Yes, that was disturbing to say the least.
Hope Dance is right, not only about season three but the airdate for season two, though I’m pretty sure February is out of the question and March seems unlikely too.
Arrogant BastardQuote Reply
There was an episode of Castle a while back where they were investigating a death involving a sword and Castle says something like, “This is so Game of Thrones.”
HexonxQuote Reply
Arrogant Bastard,
Right, I don’t think it was purposeful. Still funny.
Fire And BloodQuote Reply
Any word on a trailer this Sunday (before the Boardwalk finale)?
Blueberry2Quote Reply
That’s been posted here ages ago ;) You should check WiC.net more frequently ^^
Great news post guys! I love all the news. Charles Dance is a legend and the Simpsons reference ruled!
I might just name my daughter (if I ever happen to get one) Arya.
Or Sansa?
G_LeeQuote Reply
Trying to catch up on all things GoT, so thanks for the great news roundup! I’m excited to order my blu-ray and I love the Simpsonized Iron Throne room! Awesome Charles Dance interview, too. Makes me want to check out Neverland now.
gappybubbleQuote Reply
Man I am so glad next year’s exams are in September – I fear S1 had an effect on my June 2011 exams and the obsession’s unlikely to falter in 2012!
LasairQuote Reply
I am going to name my son Joffrey…
NOT!!!
UdiQuote Reply
Blueberry2,
Not yet. But there should be one. Otherwise I’ll be seriously disappointed.
Hear Me RoarQuote Reply
Check out the Amazon UK #GameofThrones BR description! Audio commentary details, plus audition tapes (as hidden extras?)! So cool.
Who’s doing what:
Ep 1 ‘Winter is Coming’ w/ Commentary by Exec Producers/Writers David Benioff & D.B Weiss
Ep 2 ‘The Kingsroad’ w/ Commentary by Lena Headey, Mark Addy & nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Ep 3 ‘Lord Snow’ w/ Commentary by Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams & Isaac Hempstead-Wright
Ep 4 ‘Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things’ w/ Commentary by Bryan Cogman (Writer) and Kit Harington
Ep 6 ‘A Golden Crown’ w/ Commentary by Pete Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Harry Lloyd and Daniel Minahan (Director)
Ep 8 ‘The Pointy End’ w/ Commentary by George R.R Martin (Co-Exec Producer & Author of Game of Thrones
Ep 10 ‘Fire and Blood’ w/ Commentary by David Benioff & D.B Weiss (Exec Producers/Writers) & Alan Taylor (Director)
Hear Me RoarQuote Reply
No commentary for Ep 9? Weird …
Alexander DubrovskyQuote Reply
Ep. 9 is too painful to talk about. ;)
Looks really cool, can’t wait to watch all the special features. It will probably take a whole weekend on which I won’t leave my flat. And everybody who interupts me will forfeit his life. ;)
LisaQuote Reply
Hear Me Roar,
That sure is an impressive list of extra content. Now I must now if we in Sweden get any extra disc.
Johan SporreQuote Reply
not to bash on all those parents, but is Aria really the best choice for a kids name?
DegausserQuote Reply
Two Feathers:
That’s a brilliant idea: this is what I came up with:
Robert Baratheon – Homer
Cersei Baratheon – Marge
Tyrion Lannister – Bart
Arya Stark – Lisa
Myrcella Baratheon – Maggie
Syrio Forel – Akira
Septa Mordane – Ms Albright
Tywin Lannister – Mr Burns
Janos Slynt – Chief Wiggum
Littlefinger – Fat Tony
Ned Stark – Ned Flanders
Catelyn Stark – Edna Krabappel
Bran Stark – Rod Flanders
Rickon Stark – Todd Flanders
Hodor – Barney Gumble
Grand Maester Pycelle – Dr Hibbert
Marillion – Krusty
Renly Baratheon – Lenny
Loras Tyrell – Carl
Lysa Arryn – Cat Lady
Maester Aemon – Rev Lovejoy
Bronn – Otto
Joffrey – Nelson
Illyrio – Apu
Mirri Maz Dur – Manjula
Samwell Tarly – Martin Prince
Ghost/Nymeria/Lady : Santa’s little helper
Maester Luwin – Princ Skinner
Varys – Sideshow Bob
Kevan Lannister – Smithers
Rodrik Cassel – Moe
Gregor Clegane – Drederick Tatum
Viserys – Millhouse
Robin Arryn – Ralph
Sandor Clegane – Willie
Khal Drogo – Rainier Wolfcastle
Jaime – Artie Ziff
In terms of Sigils this is what I came up with:
House Baratheon – Itchy
House Stark – Santa’s Little Helper
House Lannister – One of Burns’s Hounds
House Targaryen – Scratchy
House Arryn – Snowball
And of course they should end with Kang and Kodos invading Westeros and either of them sitting on the throne. GRRM has said too many times that they could get the aliens to come down not to use that.
Hear Me Roar,
That’s awesome, they got so many castmembers doing commentary (sadly no Michelle Fairley) Though of course in terms of commentary ep 8 will be the best. GRRM allways cracks me up.
WinterdarkQuote Reply
Hehe!
I love the Charles Dance spoiler. He’s the last actor I would expect to get confirmation of seasons 3 and 4 from, but there you go! Hopefully no one read the spoilery part of his comment. The interviewer probably should have warned of a major spoiler for those who didn’t see that coming.
DreamlifeQuote Reply
Lisa,
IMO, this is THE episode to do a commentary for.
Alexander DubrovskyQuote Reply
I may have to rent this just for the GRRM commentary on ep 8.
Epic the wonderfulQuote Reply
Yeah, I’m kinda shocked there is no Episode 9 commentary, but the rest of them look outstanding. I wonder if they planned to have Sean (& probably D&D) do Ep. 9, but he couldn’t work it out with his schedule (too busy getting into legendary bar fights?) Of course, I’m sure D&D will discuss Ned’s death in their Ep. 10 commentary.
the goatQuote Reply
I don’t. Can you explain? :D
Elena AmiciQuote Reply
Winterdark,
Really cool list. Love all your choices, I was smiling as I read down, and lol when I got to Willie as Sandor.:)
Someone commented earlier that the Family guy team would do a better job with GOT. I think that given the adult nature of the story Family Guy could push it a bit further than The Simpsons. And I for one would be all for this. But does Family Guy have enough characters to pull it off? I don`t think so.
My money is on Matt Groening at least slotting a short story, loosely based on part of a GOT story arc, into one of those Halloween specials.
Two FeathersQuote Reply
Elena Amici,
replace the H with the T.
KnurkQuote Reply
What’s wrong with it?
MWQuote Reply
Two Feathers,
Thanks and yeah a Treehouse of Horror parody seems most likely. Still hoping for that True Blood parody as well, would be perfect for a ToH segment
WinterdarkQuote Reply
MW,
it’s not easy being that kid with the weird name
DegausserQuote Reply
Degausser,
Well, Aria is much better than Daenerys or Cersei.
Arrogant BastardQuote Reply
so you rather see that everyone names their kids Emma, Christy and Chloe?
KnurkQuote Reply
Damn right Charles Dance has a spectacular death coming. I can’t wait. :D
PeltastQuote Reply
You think Aria is a weird name? You don’t spend much time with young kids these days, do you?
We briefly considered Aria for our as-of-yet unborn child. And we would’ve spelled it Aria, not Arya, because Aria is actually a legit name and I’m not a fan of you-neek spellings.
Willum’s WifeQuote Reply