@Renovatio said:

Am I missing out? Haven't watched this show...

I'm not into the whole fantasy genre... You know the ring lord movies, hobbit, etc... But I have been hearing that this show is better for years now...

So, now that it is coming to an end, is it worth my time to watch this? Would you reccommend it if you weren't already invested in the series?

Put it this way, I didn't start watching it until season seven was over. I got sick of my friends talking about it and feeling left out so I decided to binge it. I ended up watching the whole series in the span of about two weeks. I loved it so much I wish I could erase it from my memory just to rewatch it again.

From the entertainment standpoint GOT is flawless, my only issue with the show is the convoluted writing in the most recent season after they ran out of book material. That being said, it did not put a damper on the entertainment value for me. You will get emotionally invested in certain characters and thier motivations. Every archetype you can imagine is represented. You'll pledge loyalty to certain players for the throne.

It's a fun watch, and I would recommend not binging so you don't run out of episodes and have to wait an entire year and change for the next fix.

BTW: Don't be so skeptical over the fantasy aspect of the show. It's a hell of a lot more "House of Cards" than it is "Lord of the Rings".

What she said!

@Renovatio said:

Am I missing out? Haven't watched this show...

No. It is a boring drama with some random gore to win the crowd.

Thanks... I suppose I'll check it out at some point even though I don't like TV shows in general...

I thought it was in it's final season

@Renovatio said:

Thanks... I suppose I'll check it out at some point even though I don't like TV shows in general...

I thought it was in it's final season

Nope one more season. But TPTB have gone way too long between the last couple of seasons considering there are only 10 eps.

@Renovatio said:

I'm not into the whole fantasy genre... You know the ring lord movies, hobbit, etc...

This is the exact thing every person who hasn't watched it states as their reason for not watching it. Until they watch it. It's the same story every time.

Whatever is in your head about the show, throw it out the window and just watch it, dude.

Most of us people who love Game of Thrones aren't fantasy fans either. Most fantasy obsessives I know don't like Game of Thrones because, as Calabrian Queen said: It's much more political than fantasy. Think of it as a medieval The Wire rather than Dungeons and Dragons.

Through much of it the fantasy is used very, very sparingly. Not watching GoT because you don't like fantasy is like saying you won't watch Breaking Bad because you don't like Cancer weepies. The fantasy is not what defines it.

In missing it you are missing out on a huge point in the history of visual media. As well as the greatest battle scene that has ever been commited to celluloid. I'm talking better than in any film.

And what's the worst that can happen? If you don't like it, stop watching it.

@JustinJackFlash said:

... Through much of it the fantasy is used very, very sparingly. Not watching GoT because you don't like fantasy is like saying you won't watch Breaking Bad because you don't like Cancer weepies. The fantasy is not what defines it.

In missing it you are missing out on a huge point in the history of visual media. As well as the greatest battle scene that has ever been commited to celluloid. I'm talking better than in any film.

And what's the worst that can happen? If you don't like it, stop watching it.

Yeah, I'll probably check it out...

I didn't like Breaking Bad either, felt too much like every other wannabe Sopranos TV show and not the masterpiece people made it out to be... and as we're being frank the sidekick need-for-speed kid was very cliche... I only watched 3 episodes of that and then a few scenes here and there as my girlfriend watched the show...

I liked the first couple of seasons of the US version of House of Cards and the BBC mini series original, but season 3 onwards was tedious and felt that they were just trying to keep things going and play around with the various bit characters and other "shock" nonsense... It was no longer tight and focused...

I don't have anything against fantasy elements, it's just that with most of those types of movies and shows the creators seem to rely on the audience reacting with childlike awe and wonder to the miscelanious orcs and wizards and fairies in a pavlovian way...

It was the same way with nostalgia and Stranger Things. I grew up in the 80s so it felt nice for about 5 minutes, then the show had to deliver, which it only really did for the first 2 episodes or so... Then it was too much of a copy of something far better from the 80s and rather than recalling the feeling of watching those original movies, it just reminded me that it was yet another TV show going through the motions and "telling" me the same story again...

Mad Men, probably the best TV show, was solid for 2 - 3 seasons, then became increasingly a soap opera and unfocused... the ending was horrible.

The Night Of was very good... Tight, focused, suspenseful, like a long movie or mini series. Olive Kitteridge was solid as well, but it's a mini series so avoids the bloat of most TV.

But I won't pre-judge and will give it a try while keeping an open mind...

@Renovatio said:

The Night Of was very good... Tight, focused, suspenseful, like a long movie or mini series. Olive Kitteridge was solid as well, but it's a mini series so avoids the bloat of most TV.

I did really love The Night Of. It was your familiar courtroom murder story, but told in a very thoughtful way. (Spoiler Warning) I liked how they were showing it was the prison system that turned an innocent man into a criminal. That the system can only breed more violence. There was a lot to think about.

I actually think GoT is better than Breaking Bad. And a lot better than Stranger Things.

@Renovatio said:

Am I missing out? Haven't watched this show...

I'm not into the whole fantasy genre... You know the ring lord movies, hobbit, etc... But I have been hearing that this show is better for years now...

So, now that it is coming to an end, is it worth my time to watch this? Would you reccommend it if you weren't already invested in the series?

Yes, you are.

With all the garbage on TV, I was very surprised with this series. You won't be disappointed for taking the time to watch it... And when you watch, really watch it (and listen) to every moment of every scene. So many people these days seem to 'watch' shows while doing other things such as making dinner, having an unrelated conversation, or browsing the Internet. Don't do any of those things... give your full attention to this series.

I got season 1 from a RedBox machine and I was hooked. Disc 1 had seven episodes, I watched those all in one day. The next day, I returned that DVD and got the second disc which had the last three episodes of Season 1. That is all that RedBox has had so far.

I had to get the rest from another source. That took me a while but from start to finish, I watched the first seven seasons in 5 or 6 weeks.
I am ready and waiting for season 8 to become available.

@Renovatio said:

Thanks... I suppose I'll check it out at some point even though I don't like TV shows in general...

I thought it was in it's final season

People were saying it was and making a big deal about season 7, etc... When I got that far, I learned that season 8 will be the final. Seasons 1 to 6 each had 10 episodes.
Season 7 has 7 episodes. Season 8 will be the final season with 6 episodes.

Tastes concerning TV shows differ.

NCIS is supposed to be one of the most popular shows on TV but I found it boring and repetitve. Like they always came out with the wrong answer at at the 45 minute mark. Or one guy kept getting ridiculjed as "the newbie" even after he had been on the show for years.

@CharlesTheBold said:

Tastes concerning TV shows differ.

NCIS is supposed to be one of the most popular shows on TV but I found it boring and repetitve. Like they always came out with the wrong answer at at the 45 minute mark. Or one guy kept getting ridiculjed as "the newbie" even after he had been on the show for years.

I've never watched it, but although it may be popular I've never heard it suggested that it was of quality. It's just something that's there. I always assumed it was just supposed to be ignored.

It's culturally very different to Game of Thrones. GoT is made with purpose, is generally considered of great quality and many recommend it to others. I've never even heard someone mention NCIS to me, let alone recommend it.

I noticed something odd 20 years ago about how shows' popularity express themselves.

Walk in a bookstore and look up STAR TREK and you'd find half a dozen books on the subject.

Walk in a bookstore and look up ER ( the big TV hit of the day) and you'd find nothing, even though its ratings were far higher that STAR TREK's.

Was there something about popularity that ratings failed to measure? Fan Intensity, maybe?

The difference between those shows is that Star Trek has a long history, ER was around for a few years.

I rarely take into account popularity or fan intensity when I decide whether or not I watch a show. I didn't decide to watch Game of Thrones because it was popular. And many shows with fan intensity look appalling to me. Vampire Diaries being an example.

I think things like NCIS are popular because they're convenient and easy to watch. It passes the time for people but they forget about it 5 minutes later. And it's made specifically with that intention.

Shows like Game of Thrones or The Wire enthrall people and get them thinking. You learn from them and come away feeling great fulfillment. Shows like NCIS or Hawaii Five-O just pass in front of peoples eyes.

The two couldn't be more different.

a lot of TV is made for episodic, non-concentrated watching... so you can have it on while doing something else or being interrupted and still follow the show... also, you can miss an episode or two and not feel completely lost... NCIS is that kind of show

I prefer to use documentaries or youtube talks for that... Or just silence!