quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: I've always thought it weird that Americans expect British or pseudo-British accents for roles like that.
Did it bother you that Charles Winchester in M.A.S.H had a British accent even though he was from Boston? It never bothered me, many Americans view a British accent as bringing as sort of credibility to aristocrat or intellectual figures.
I always assumed that the accent was an affectation on Winchester's part.
Nope! Chahles Winchstah the Thuhd was a Boston Brahmin -- absolutely faithful. It's a very weird accent, and increasingly rare. I think it sort of percolated up to the very rich from the original British accents in the area. Here's a sample of the accent.
That's right! It's coming back to me now.
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quote:Originally posted by twinky: What timely thread necromancy! ElJay and I just finished watching S1 -- rewatching for me. We still haven't seen S2, and won't until the Blu-rays come out (so... like... next summer? Thanks, HBO! Keep clinging to that antiquated business model!), but I'm really looking forward to it. We've both read the first book, but it was quite a long time ago. I stopped reading the series after that, but she's read the first three or four. I'm very curious to see how not having read the second book changes my experience of watching the show.
Based on how much I enjoyed S1, and on how much more I enjoyed watching S1 than reading book 1, I suspect that watching S2 without a clue about what will happen will be even more enjoyable than watching S1 was. If that turns out to be true, I probably won't ever return to the books -- or, if I do, it'll be after the series is done.
posted
That I don't enjoy that thing you enjoyed as much as you enjoyed it? It would be a pretty boring world if everyone enjoyed everything the same amount!
I think I'd like the first book more if I read it now, since my taste has changed somewhat, but even so -- for me, the prologue and final chapter of the first book were captivating, but the great wide inbetween was considerably less so. And the final chapter was one of the more predictable plot elements. I'm a lot more open to stories with many characters than I was back then -- heck, I'm on the ninth book of The Malazan Book of the Fallen -- but the show is just so damned good that I think I'm going to absolutely love watching it without foreknowledge.
But these days, if I had to pick a favourite fantasy writer, I'd actually pick the other author I complained about in that thread, R. Scott Bakker.
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posted
Heh, whether or not that's true, that doesn't mean it would be a boring world if everyone enjoyed the really good things roughly the same amount.
But no, it's not really tragic for me when people don't like the novels, per se. What's tragic is when people don't like the novels but like the show. I just... I haven't yet seen an explanation for that that makes sense.
As far as I can tell, pretty much all of the flaws of the books exist on the show, plus lots lots more, minus lots of the best stuff.
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posted
I don't see why that's tragic. I think the show is great relative to most other television, and doubly so because it's so wonderful to finally see fantasy done well on television.
When I want fantasy done well in book form, I have plenty of other options -- even limiting it to authors I already know I like.
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I think it's pacing. I'm not really sure Martin has a handle on it. But the show moves quickly.
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quote:Originally posted by Aros: I think it's pacing. I'm not really sure Martin has a handle on it. But the show moves quickly.
I think your first and last sentence make sense, but I'm having a hard time understanding the middle one.
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quote:Originally posted by Aros: I think it's pacing. I'm not really sure Martin has a handle on it. But the show moves quickly.
I think your first and last sentence make sense, but I'm having a hard time understanding the middle one.
I'm not sure that (George RR) Martin has a handle on it (referring to pacing, in the books).
Some people dig slow burn intrigue in their books. I do when it's handled well (early Robert Jordan, Sanderson, etc). But the pacing in the show is much faster (read, it's a show). I even thought the incredibly slow Jonathan Strange book was a more gripping read. Then again, it was the second ASOFAI book that lost me. The first was okay.
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