Andrew Bullock on Game Of Thrones; everyone’s always banging on about it …

Can George R R Martin’s brainchild ever live up to the hype?

When it comes to TV, I like what I like. But as several of my favourite shows have trickled off the air over the past few years (from Ally McBeal to Will & Grace to Desperate Housewives to Brothers & Sisters) I have found myself leaning towards the TV programmes that everyone is always going on about.

First came Dexter. “You’d love it,” everyone would say to me, with teary eyes full of emotion. “It’s about a serial killer,” they would continue, peaking my interest. “He only kills other killers, though,” they’d say. This concept made me skeptical but I finally succumbed. Obviously, I was then hooked and couldn’t get enough of it. Season four finale! Hello! Then I jumped on the Homeland band wagon. Terrorism, conspiracy, Claire Danes being a psycho – sure, why not? Whilst this genre of TV isn’t normally in my wheelhouse, I watched it with gusto and understood the hype. I even defended season three which most people seem to think ‘loses it’. I was sick of Damien Lewis anyway.

Then came Breaking Bad-polooza. “OMG, it’s so amazing, watch it, watch it, WATCH IT,” said, like, everyone. My best friend claimed it was better than Dexter *gasp* but my sister claimed I wouldn’t like it. They were both wrong.

“Whilst I am an ardent fan of supernatural and horror franchises, warlocks and trolls tend not to float my boat”

Whilst moderately less good than Dexter (in my opinion), Breaking Bad was, for want of a better word, awesome. I get it. I think it reached it’s peak when the Lily of the Valley thing happened and you-know-what happened to Gus, only for it to get better and better.

So what next? Currently my TV time is spent watching Big Brother for my sins, but a question hangs: do I/don’t I give Game Of Thrones a bash? EVERYONE is continually banging on about it. The wariness that keeps me from it is that I am absolutely non-plussed with fantasy. Whilst I am an ardent fan of supernatural and horror franchises, warlocks and trolls tend not to float my boat. So, what’s a man to do? I have seen the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, and whilst I was impressed by its majesty, I was over it by the time the trees started talking. I preferred the French and Saunders spoof version.

I saw Game Of Thrones once, and there was a very odd moment where a brother and sister were getting it on, which fractured my enthusiasm. But it’s all I ever hear about. So I wonder whether it’s time to bite the bullet? The thing with hyped TV is that it more often than not lives up to its buzz. I just don’t know if I can do it. I really just don’t like mythical lands inhabited by in-bred kings and queens. Then again, I wasn’t sure female prisons were my thing and then I got hooked on Orange Is The New Black (no, not ITV’s Bad Girls). So I think I might foray into the televised mind of George R R Martin, and report back to you sometime.

Andrew’s blog can be read at drewjbullock.wordpress.com
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