Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category

Game of Thrones: Thanks? Thanks!

Posted: November 25, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will be discussing some of the major plot points of HBO’s excellent series Game of Thrones, a solid adaptation of George RR Martin’s unfinished book series A Song of Ice and Fire. If you’re not caught up, don’t be reading this! Go read those books, or watch the show. You’ll thank me. Or not.

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When Someone Asks GRRM When the Next Book will be Out, He Kills a Stark

George RR Martin, the author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series which is the blueprint for HBO’s adaptation Game of Thrones, has been described as a serial killer of fictional characters. It’s also been said that he survives solely on the tears of Game of Thrones fans (according to some meme I tripped over, researching for this article.)

Those statements are probably not 100% correct. I think he probably supplements his diet of tears with liberal helpings of lemoncakes as well, but I’ll concede the point. Certainly, there are two demographics that GRRM doesn’t mind messing with, and those would be his characters and his audience.

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Shameless Promotion II: Halloween, Raising the Dead, and Television

Posted: October 31, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Blogging, Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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It’s Halloween, when the dead rise. This inspired me to write an article about resurrection for the Film School Rejects website.

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A few months ago, they were cool enough to publish (and pay for) a Game of Thrones Season Four recap I wrote right after the season wrapped up, and they accepted my pitch this month for a  Halloween-relevant article about the dead rising, in Game of Thrones and other shows.

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Bran Stark: the Witch-King of the North

Posted: October 28, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will be talking Game of Thrones, the Television show. It’s best you not read this unless you’re caught up on the current season, or have read the books.  Oh, I guess if there’s anyone reading this not familiar with Lord of the Rings, I’ll be spoiling a wee bit of info about that excellent fantasy series too. Just sayin’

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Okay, Halloween is right around the corner, with long cold nights, demanding children, and the undead. So a perfect time to talk about Bran Stark’s storyline on Game of Thrones.

He’s a Stark, Therefore AWESOME, right?

Hey, I’m all Team Stark. I’ve gone to bat for Ned, Cat, Robb, Sansa, and Arya. And especially Jon Snow. So I’m favorably inclined to Rickon’s older brother.

But, I’m worried about Bran’s future path. There’s some serious dark vibes about a child with mind-control powers being taught magic by a wizened old hermit in a cave littered with skulls. This doesn’t seem to be Hogwarts.

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Game of Thrones, Trickier and Treatier (More of that thing I posted last time…)

Posted: October 14, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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Earlier this month, in honor of October and the imminent holiday of Halloween, I had a post rating a handful of notable deceptions and surprises in Game of Thrones. I enjoyed it so much, I decided to do another round, but focus on some of the less-amputation oriented pranks (no beheadings in this bunch.)

Oh, Spoilers for the first three seasons of Game of Thrones. Seriously.

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I’ve Got an Idea for a Laugh. Oh Yes.

I provided more details in that last post, but basically, I rated events based on three parameters: Planning, Patience, and Payoff. All on a scale of 1 to 10, and completely subjectively scored. Here we go…

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Trick or Treat; Tricks and Threats (in Game of Thrones)

Posted: October 7, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will be talking about details found in the first three seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones. If you’re not caught up on the show (at least to that point) you might trip and fall over some Spoilers in this post. You’ve been warned, my friends.

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Happy Halloween! Or as the Dothraki Might Say: Happy Khalloween!

October is here, a solidly Autumn month. I know my daughter is looking forward for the month to fly by as fast as possible, to land on October 31st and the holiday of Halloween. Although this generation knows Halloween as mostly a costume-laden, candy-filled explosion, years and years ago the night of Halloween put just as much emphasis on the Trick part of the equation, as well as the Treat. Like I said, Autumn’s here, so Winter is Coming. A perfect time for a Game of Thrones post, and in honor of hooligans who are planning practical jokes for the upcoming Halloween, I thought I’d spotlight some of the greatest pranksters in the Seven Kingdoms. Westeros: where it’s all fun and games once someone loses a body part. Usually. (more…)

Gotham – Not the Same Bat-Time, Not the Same Bat-Channel

Posted: September 27, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Opinion, TV
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Early this week, FOX television aired Gotham, a show exploring the formative years of Bruce Wayne (aka The Batman) by focusing largely on young Detective Jim Gordon, who comes face to face with the city’s established and highly organized criminal elements, the larval-stage villains who will one day battle the iconic Caped Crusader, and the corruption and cross-purposes of his colleagues in the Gotham PD.

Although I think the premiere was generally accepted as either likable or having potential, it has drawn a measure of criticism, and I don’t see why I’m any less qualified to express my opinions.

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Sam the Slayer, Sam the Player

Posted: September 23, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will include spoilery information from the first four seasons of Game of Thrones. So there.

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Being Spoiled About When That Thing Happened to That Person at That Place During That Event was the Worst!

Recently, George RR Martin, the author of the source material for HBO’s Game of Thrones, admitted who his favorite character was. It’s Tyrion Lannister.

Although this isn’t a surprising admission, if I had been asked previously who GRRM’s favorite character might be, my guess would have been for Samwell Tarly.

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Medieval History 101: Robb and Joffrey

Posted: September 10, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This article will contain spoilers for the first four seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Spoilers! Just go watch the show or read the books if you haven’t.

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Game of Thrones generates a tremendous amount of attention from fans who recap the episodes, analyze its faithfulness as an adaptation, follow casting and production information, and basically keep the show relevant during the off-season.

It’s also easy to find articles of a more academic bent, where experts talk about Westeros’ unusual weather patterns, or how it’s possible to have wine when grapes need specific seasonal changes, or how representative the society on the show is in regards to Europe’s medieval period.

I thought it might be interesting to have a series of posts focusing on elements of the show from the perspective of a student of medieval history.

To be clear: I’m not talking about the perspective of an academic with a degree in Medieval History. I’m talking about a college student hoping to pass a hypothetical medieval history course, which for some reason was studying A Song of Ice and Fire. Possibly because the Medieval History department needed to bump up student enrollment numbers or something. Just go with it.

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Regarding Renly Baratheon

Posted: August 27, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
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This post will be referencing plot points throughout the four seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones. If you’re not caught up, shame on you! It’s the most pirated show in the universe!

But I shouldn’t be slack-shaming. Should you need to get caught up, please do so and come back.

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Being King is Awesome!

My work colleagues are great; the office is a Game of Thrones-friendly environment. Many of us have read the books and nearly everyone’s watching the show.

When I started blogging about Game of Thrones last year, I didn’t necessarily expect my teammates to follow my blog but they have been, since it gives them more Game of Thrones things to talk about (and the opportunity to make fun of my grammar and bizarre typos and run-on sentences and Fnord.)

Most of my early posts were “In Defense of … ” articles, where I’d try to rationalize or defend one of the major character’s bad decisions. After a few of those articles were on the blog, one of my colleagues asked me when I’d go on the offensive and not defend someone, but take them to task.

That time is now.

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Scoring My True Blood Predictions

Posted: August 25, 2014 by patricksponaugle in Opinion, TV
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After seven seasons, HBO’s southern supernatural series ceased. (I’ll ease up on the alliteration, I promise.)

(Spoilers for Season Seven follow…)

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Prudently Investigating by Daylight.

My friends over at Geek Girl Soup had asked some of their associates (including me!) for thoughts and predictions about the final season of True Blood. I cobbled together twenty one predictions and posted them before the season. Boldly. Now it’s time to see how I did.

Spoiler alert: I cheat and use creative math. Each question could score 5 points.

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