The Making of the Game of Thrones Pilot was a Sh*t Show

[@J-Vasa]

To anyone saying about 24 and lost. There is a fricking pause in the middle of the sentence, showing they are giving examples of content studios made in reaction to. Its not saying this happened then this. They aren’t saying 24 and lost was a response to mad men and breaking bad, its saying the studios were forced to react to the same things. That being the writers feeling unchained with relaxed rules and no censorship.

[@ItWasAShtShow]

Thank you!!! They’re examples of everyone responding to HBO. It’s not a direct timeline.

[@niamhlee7684]

Quite

[@diabl2master]

So basically he should have said "AND forcing..."

[@RowanCharlton]

The wording in the video makes it sound like TV made 24 and Lost in response to Breaking Bad and Mad Men etc. A simple wording change like TV making Lost etc Made subscription channels make this and that

[@lazlow9640]

Ironic script issue Still I liked the video, very well done.

[@ibs_haver]

The saddest part is that it sounds like they were genuinely passionate about the series when starting, and loved the books. By Season 7 they just wanted to get it over with in pursuit of some doomed Star Wars gig.

[@English_MoFo]

Then they got a few paychecks

[@mel3687]

I bet that passion would have carried through had Martin finished his series. They'd proven themselves to be good at adapting existing work (Van Patten's atmosphere, Martin's existing novel material) but not in creating story from scratch. And so season's 7 & 8 fully displayed the mediocrity of their fanfiction writing.

[@sigmalpha_testostronewolf]

I blame this on martin, he had more than enough time to finish the two books lmao

[@aleemizcool3654]

@@mel3687 Read books 4 and 5 and then rewatch seasons 5-6. There is a MASSIVE difference. Not only in the amount of content, but also the quality of the story, the direction and more. They already were screwing up the story BEFORE they ran out of books.

[@codzab084]

@@sigmalpha_testostronewolf They started screwing up the story before they ran out of books

[@VampireNewl]

Wow they actually admitted they screwed up on the pilot, where did that humility go?

[@ahnafdrubo9727]

fame and ego killed it duh

[@tannerparks6030]

They forgot like Daenerys forgot about the Iron Fleet

[@mrjackelbox4418]

I love this! It's never good enough for you people brilliant

[@jessesmith-garcia5313]

especially for season 8.

[@VoloMalVor]

They kinda forgot about it.

[@crumbb_m]

So it sucked at the beginning and at the end. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

[@peternphoto]

time is a flat circle

[@bironjames9948]

Lmaoo

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

Every story dies.

[@chantalfinn6173]

But they fixed the first one...

[@msthang5366]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@TKainZero]

Ned getting his head taken off in the first season was one of the most jaw dropping moments in TV history. All of the characters in the show were bad people, but there was one dude who was good. Then, boom, he is dead. The whole time up until the last second you are thinking “he is going to get out of this right?” Only the red wedding was more shocking, but by the time you got to that point, you expected the unexpected.

[@margarethmichelina5146]

At that time, we wouldn't expect Ned as the main protagonist would die and anyone can be killed in any ways. And then since Season 6 forwards, amount of plot armors are getting ridicullous. Now imagine if Jon just stay dead in Season 5 and he's never bringing back to life, the story would be different and might be a good ending for his storyline that nobody can safe. I'd rather have the ending with White Walker wins and everybody dies because they are too much focus on their greeds and powers and ignoring the Ice Zombies wiping out the humanity with Night King sit in the Iron Throne in the end. That would be a badaas ending.

[@Ninefingers09]

I even thought he was going to be reincarnated 😅 Until i googled it

[@Synthetic-Rabbit]

I started watching it after season 2 so I had more episodes and I knew he died at the end of the season but throughout I still had this thought that "maybe he'll get out of it somehow??". I can't really explain the logic behind that thinking but it was a great show.

[@shonuff4323]

Not really

[@angryjalapeno]

@@margarethmichelina5146 Jon had to die in order to break free of his Nightwatch oath. That is a solid plot. And if the Night King won, then none of the prophecies from beginning to end would make any sense whatsoever. That would not be a badass ending; it would just be a bad ending.

[@aadesh7]

The first 4 seasons were phenomenal. 5-6 you could start to see it fall a bit. And 7-8 were just made for wrapping it up

[@adipsous]

I own the first four seasons on DVD, happily. I have season five, just because. Never have even considered any more. After they wasted Barristan Selmy in an alleyway I dropped out. I followed, of course, but barely remember what happened after that.

[@ElleHartStrings]

They also ran out of book material

[@Randy.Bobandy]

Everything after 4 is pretty bad.

[@zazollo]

5 and 6 are a total slog to get through tbh, people are too nice about it.

[@roachwerks3043]

@@adipsousI genuinely don’t remember what happens after that time period either lol

[@paul-michaelvincent7123]

Hard to believe it’s been 14 years since they first sat down with grrm and he still hasn’t written the damn books.

[@mikes5637]

To be fair, Dance with Dragons came out in 2011. But I take your point.

[@Traj1679]

according to me he is the worst writer of all time. He will die without completing the series. What a shame

[@readfantasybooks5730]

Brandon Sanderson has written 26 books in the time it took GRRM to write an incomplete series

[@piperbird7193]

They need to pull a Douglas Adams and just lock the dude in a hotel room until he writes the damn book.

[@nadirjofas3140]

@@readfantasybooks5730 GRRM writes other books too.

[@dman6261]

This series made history without a doubt, and they blew it in the end without a doubt, we still had a great journey despite the bad ending

[@asdkotable]

Gotta say, the ending was so bad that I basically purged GoT from my memory to the point that I forgot even the theme song. And then while watching this video, I saw a clip of Jon Snow in the Battle for Winterfell, and I suddenly got chills when I remembered how good that episode was. I really don't understand how they effed it up so badly. Even season 7, while not the best, wasn't absolutely terrible. It's like they gave up at the end.

[@akalion213]

@@asdkotable Well they ran out of books to adapt... That's how lmao

[@asdkotable]

@@akalion213 on one hand, I get it, it's hard to adapt when you run out of material, but it's not like they are completely clueless either, they have the general idea of the ending, and all they had to do was follow the general themes and follow through on the storylines. They are good at adapting and making their owns stuff up when necessary! I feel like it's either they were just burnt out and didn't want to do it anymore, or the ending that we have is the ending that GRRM had in mind, D&D hated it, and were so discouraged that they gave up. I feel like, either case, they could have simply stepped away and let someone else give it a shot.

[@akalion213]

@@blaubeer8039 sorry I forgot about the book ending that they just decided to skip

[@MachineCode0]

@@akalion213 The didn't just decide to skip an ending, they skipped an entire book which is also the longest in the series so far! They didn't just get to the end of the published material and then not know what to do, they completely abandoned adapting the books 3 entire seasons (season 7 and 8 are only 13 episodes total, where as all the previous seasons were 10 episodes long so I'm counting them as one season) before where the books currently end. Season 4 was the last season where they attempted to stick even remotely close to what happens in the books. It was the last decent season and the show completely fell off a cliff in terms of quality in season 5 (although I would argue there were always some cracks from the very start). There is enough material between the elements of A Feast for Crows they didn't adapt and all of Dance with dragons (which they basically didn't touch) for at least 2 more seasons. So if the show had fallen apart beginning in season 7 (or even 8 as Dance is an extremely long book) _after actually adapting all the book material available_ , you might have a point. That's not what happened though.

[@kayamerrick3907]

Emilia: “Best season ever” … how can you not love her 😂

[@jamesmccarthy6764]

EVAH!! Ever, ever, forever ever!!!

[@-MrFozzy-]

It’s impossible…..and I’m slightly upset she isn’t my wife! She’s just a beautiful human!

[@LordMalice6d9]

Well. She's a lunatic. Like most actors and actresses.

[@jbrisby]

By watching Terminator Genisys.

[@candypritchett83]

@@jbrisby She was actually one of the best parts of that movie. Not saying much, but the whole movie itself sucked. One person can't do much to save atrocious writing. She got that check tho.

[@reyco1987]

The super cut of Sean Bean dying was hilarious and hilariously true.

[@slcRN1971]

I really liked that part too. I once did a Google search to find out what films/miniseries where Sean Bean DIDN’T die!! What a short list that was!! I had read the books, so his death wasn’t a surprise- - (for me) in GOT.😪 Truly honorable characters were doomed from the beginning.😢

[@matthewdietzen6708]

To make up for Major Sharpe's plot armor.... 😉

[@elijahalbiston]

I mean, he has two of the most iconic deaths in history. Being the only member of the Fellowship to die and then the infamously executed Ned Stark looks good on a resume.

[@mattipiirainen7440]

"...was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that's never going to come by again, and we f***ed it up." -David Benioff. That about sums it up. Thx, both of you.

[@sean7885]

They gave the world one of the most popular shows of all time, I feel like they don't deserve to be hated as much as they are

[@JDogtheAutisticGiant]

@@sean7885 they ruined it, they absolutely do

[@maestrofeli4259]

​@@sean7885I agree with you. The last 2 seasons were absolute shit and the one previous to that was bad aswell, but up to season 4 it was an undisputed masterpiece.

[@kingslayer011]

@@JDogtheAutisticGiant Even if they did ruin it, it was theirs to ruin. They are the only reason it existed in the first place. They ran out of source material and everyone including the cast was exhausted of making game of thrones for so many years. GRRM most likely gave them the details for the ending and everyone's fate and people didn't like it because it wasn't a happy ending (it was never going to be) and it was rushed because everyone was so exhausted by that point. D&D get way too much hate. If you want to give someone hate, you can blame GRRM for that ending as he didn't finish his books and that ending is most likely what he intended to happen. He probably saw that everyone hated his ending ideas and it destroyed his motivation to continue writing because everyone hates how he wanted to end it.

[@rebeccacrouse1949]

I agree with G.R.R.M and the writer's; if Dinkledge didn't take the script, it would have been a futile effort. No one could have played him better

[@logistaur]

I would also add charles dance/tywin & sean bean/ned as irreplaceable actors too

[@monkeytrumpet11]

@@logistaur And the hound. By far my favourite character in the show. Close second was Arya

[@FriedSheep69]

RR Martin looks like the main target of pedo hunters.

[@Kausan1]

@@monkeytrumpet11 and the two of them together even better

[@monkeytrumpet11]

@@Kausan1 I think Arya deserves her own follow up show. Awesome character.

[@BlazingOwnager]

"They were immediately confused and scrambling on a daily basis, out of their depth." Nice to see they ended where they began then

[@PJKP82]

You beat me to it!

[@vixxxenfoxxx3660]

I believe this is called coming full circle

[@H3ntaig33K]

Everything they touch now is flaming garbage. Gemini Man and the sinking ship formerly known as Netflix

[@thealexanderbond]

@@gumbymofugga They were still copying the books at that stage, towards the end they got the idea that they were the geniuses, not GRRM.

[@Despair505]

And people say Jamie's arc is unrealistic

[@Black_pearl_adrift]

I'm just shocked at how they got so many excellent actors so early on

[@soloexperiencer]

There are great many fantastic actors out there that we have no idea of. Most of them, sadly, never get great writing and great directors (both are equally important) to properly showcase themselves.

[@chad3232132]

While I don't think she would have been as great as Emilia, I actually think Tamzin Merchant would have also made a very good Daenerys.

[@tannhauser5399]

@Elesian Subs - not that many. Good. Sure. And some of them were not in anything big before that. So... excelent before that? Debatable. Some of them: yes! A lot.... no. But the answer is easy. The above average contract in the first year (or 2-3 as it usually is, if the series is written for longer than this). Then the actors (agents really) started to negotiate, and they have gotten more. Plus marketing. And start from that point.

[@AlexS-oj8qf]

They cast on merit. They don’t choose big name actors to upsell the show, they choose actors that can portrays the characters well and a lot of these actors become a household name from their role in GoT.

[@chad3232132]

@@AlexS-oj8qf It had as much to do with $ as merit. GoT was a show with a colossal budget, even with actors who were not household names. For example, Sean Bean (decently well known before GoT, but not an ultra famous actor) made around $120k per episode for season 1. The show would have struggled financially had they forked over $500k+ an episode for a bunch of top-tier actors in the first season.

[@Grivian]

I just rewatched the actual pilot for the first time in many years and I have to say that it is simply amazing. It contains more excitement, information and intrigue than the entire season 8

[@ayaleh]

Where did you watch this?

[@craigfjyp1]

@@ayaleh you can see it almost anywhere. its episode 1 of season 1.

[@J-Vasa]

@@ayaleh this video is talking about the unaired pilot before serious changes are made. Essentially the pilot to get the film greenlit. @Grivian is saying they watched the first episode of the first series, the version of the pilot that aired

[@maestrofeli4259]

​@@craigfjyp1did you even watch this video?

[@burkea29]

​@@craigfjyp1 S1E1 is not the pilot

[@justinhamilton8647]

Fun fact there are a few scenes reused from the unaired pilot. Every time Ned has a different slicked back hair (crypts scene, Jaime scene, Benjen scene), every time Theon is blonde (going for hunting scene), and Tyrion’s brothel scene, are all scenes from the pilot

[@Thomas.c4647]

Also, the hound has different make up in some scenes and sansa and arya look a lot younger in some shots. Uncle Benjen also has different hair. All the boys (jon, robb etc) get their facial hair removed by the barber before the party because the party is from the old pilot where all the actors look younger and did not have facial hair.

[@DailyShit.]

I actually liked his hay way more ! Ned is supposed to be in his mid 30s and in the final version he looks like a tired 50 year old. Always oily and sweaty. Reading the books he is so cool. In the show I always thought he looks lame.

[@taylorgayhart9497]

“Dan and Dave spent two years writing the pilot and mapping out the first season…” and then spent 2 months writing every subsequent season. I now understand the decline in quality.

[@taylorgayhart9497]

@@gumbymofugga I was more so joking but yes I think their egos told them anything they made was great and they stopped trying so hard. I do ultimately think the issue was the ending was rushed though. They wanted to hurry up and get it over with, but the story was nowhere near ready to conclude.

[@goodjoejoe]

Isn't that typical for most tv shows? The pilot is super important and some shows even spend years and years on rewrites. 2 months isn't even that shocking considering the books were already there. The final 2 season are a completely different story. At this point people are just retroactively shitting on everything about this show from top to bottom because the ending sucked.

[@freddiesimmons1394]

They spent 2 years writing the pilot... which is the focus of a series called shit show. Quality? Where?

[@myeung6666]

The main reason is that they ran out of source material, and so they were just making shit up (badly) as they filmed the last few seasons.

[@freddiesimmons1394]

@@myeung6666 running out of source material doesn't mean they should invent plot armor and have people drop 80 iq points each

[@VAULT-TEC_INC.]

They redeemed themselves… then screwed themselves.

[@NotAGoodUsername360]

And redeemed themselves again with House of the Dragon

[@Musclemarsh]

@@NotAGoodUsername360 they are not invloved with house of the dragon

[@mickael486]

I predict that there will never be a "water cooler" show like this ever again.(although I wouldn't mind being wrong) I think the market is too saturated with great shows currently and that means the potential audience will be splintered into smaller groups, some that are waiting to binge watch the stream, and others that are watching 3 or 4 shows at the same time at their leisure whenever they get the chance. I remember HBO Go (at the time) crashing EVERY SINGLE Sunday night when the new episode of GoT's premiered. We had to watch some episodes at 2 in the morning and even then it would crash in the middle of it, but we HAD to persevere to be in the loop on Monday morning.

[@ItWasAShtShow]

You’re probably right. Too many streaming platforms, too many shows. Might not happen again.

[@thalmoragent9344]

Yeah, GoT did so well initially, even if the Pilot was kinda messy. They picked up and kept going. It was so good that yeah, crashing HBO makes sense. But once we got closer to the end, it began to faulter again. Had it ended on a heavy note, sure maybe it would've remained a staple all the way through, but either way, it did well as THE TV show, and while it ended poorly, that much they can claim above any other TV show

[@Aster_Risk]

I didn't like this show, but it premiered and ended at the right time for it to be probably the last real water cooler TV show ever.

[@bobkrazynski2205]

Ehh people were saying that around the time, too many cable stations, too much a fragmented audience

[@mickael486]

@@bobkrazynski2205 yeah. and has that assesment changed at all? I think we we're right. Even IF A Cable show came out with a MUST SEE TV show today, the majority of the social media community has already cut their cable cords and will more than likely wait for X TV show to appear on a streaming service somewhere.. btw, How ahout that The Boys Season 3 trailer..? #Hype

[@mr.noride7226]

I always wondered why Ned had a different haircut in some of the scenes of the first episode, now I know why. There’s was also a scene where the Hound is sitting next to Tyrion with black hair instead of brown.

[@AbbreviatedReviews]

It's wild to think how D&D were on their way to being seen as premier screenwriters, but they phoned in a whole season of one of the most popular shows ever and now their names are poison to the public.

[@DailyShit.]

2 seasons. They coumd have just given it away or move into a consulting position. Other writers could have done 10 seasons or even 11. But those arrogant cunts acted like students sending in the powerpoint at 23:58.

[@jogiff]

The last season was going to suck no matter what. People were willing to overlook their bad decisions when they expected the hanging plot lines to be resolved in the near future. They kept pushing all expectations to the finale and there was no way they could deliver

[@samuraijim9243]

The key with the pilot was that they nailed the opening 15 minutes perfectly. The prologue ranging beyond the wall and the introduction of the Starks with Ned executing the deserter.

[@snarp408]

This is so depressing. Just another stark reminder of what an amazing show this was. I would've rewatched it multiple times if they stuck the landing

[@JanjayTrollface]

I see what you did there.

[@benf1111]

Yeah. I had already rewatched seasons 1-4 many times and continued through the progressively more mediocre seasons but stopped watching altogether after the last. I feel so ripped off caring about all the little details, hints, and foreshadowing.

[@itsmj3103]

I began watching around season 5, and binged the entire series 4 times before it ended in season 8. I basically watched the entire thing all over once a new season was about to premier. After it ended I haven't rewatched it and probably never will again.

[@lukamagicc]

A what reminder ?

[@P4PKing]

@@itsmj3103 Same. I was clinging onto hope that the Long Night would be as hyped up as it was throughout the whole show that's the only reason I kept giving season 7 a pass. Rewatched the series about 4-5 times up until season 8.

[@Soyuz2578]

There's NEVER shows with 22 - 24 episode seasons anymore... Rarely even 10 or even 13. I remember X Files in the 90s wouldnt go under 24 episodes in their first 4 seasons

[@thomsboys77]

Quality over quantity

[@thatamericanbritishbloke5672]

Also, who the heck wants to sit through 24 one-hour episodes just to get through one season? That's too much. I usually don't even bother to watch shows with that many episodes. Either 8 or 10 one-hour episodes is the sweet spot.

[@Serlina21343]

10-13 Episodes was always the british standart for a TV Show. I find it interesting how that became now the standart. Sometimes i miss the longer Season but there was a lot of filler but it did mean you had more time with the Characters. But it seems like TV Season got shorter through time. The Twilight Zone had around 30 Episodes per Season back in the 60s

[@DECODEDVFX]

@@Serlina21343 Yeah, that's my main gripe about American TV shows; they usually have 3-4 filler episodes per season. Either you'll get a "bottle episode" where all the action takes place on the pre-made sets with just the main cast, or even worse you'll get the dreaded flashback episode which is usually nothing more than a clip show.

[@grayforester]

Showrunners tired of getting ridiculed at cocktail parties with UK showrunners. You made HOW many episodes?

[@johnecoapollo7]

It's one of my life goals to track this pilot down, procure it at any cost and watch it. Every time I hear about it, I get more intrigued.

[@harveysengersmusic247]

Fun fact: Tyrions first scene, the one with Ross and Jaime, is the only scene who survived from the original pilot. That's why Tyrion's hair looks so different. Esme Bianco confirmed this.

[@ItWasAShtShow]

Not accurate. Lots of the original pilot is in there. You just can’t tell.

[@maestrofeli4259]

many little pieces are still there

[@gabrielreiter9746]

i feel like the scene in the crypt was original. jsut looks different

[@maestrofeli4259]

@@gabrielreiter9746 yes it is

[@koji6745]

Its so sad that this would still be one of the biggest franchises in the world and colective consciousness if they hadnt royally fucked up the ending

[@tannhauser5399]

@Nexis siempreaqui - They did. But only because of... Hollywood's poor writers. And George R. R. Martin. I've read the "Game of Thrones", when I was on holiday in Spain, in 1997 probably. Then have followed later books, but the guy always has been taking his time to write any of them. So what Hollywood has done, is that it actually has followed a lot of those already written books. So almost everything was good, as the story was there, already written. Tweaki it a bit, put in the script, and you have a flow. But in the last season? They didn't have any other story to follow, no other books really. So they screw it up. As usual. Some basic, crappy writters didn't know what to do next. Sure, George R. R. Martin was a consultant on the show. But as long as he hasn't been writing anything at this point, nothing solid... screw that kind of consultations. Probably following money at this point.

[@mattwilliams2064]

Couldn't out it better myself, last season was a fucking trainwreck.

[@tannhauser5399]

@@provisionalhypothesis - well, in a way you are right. George probably doesn't know how to untangle some of the story threads. Or how to properly finish it at this point, without pissing anybody off (not that he cares that much anyway). And at this point he should be finishing it, otherwise he will die before that time (73 years old), and we will never know the proper ending. Sort of like David Gemmell and his "Troy" trilogy (amazing too). The last book was written by his wife as he died at 58, but luckily he left a lot of materials, and almost finished scripts.

[@samf.s.7731]

Hey this new show is looking like it's everything those two last seasons should have been.

[@joehayes8795]

It still is both of things regardless of the ending. Call Stephen King and ask him how important endings are

[@VideoGameAutopsy]

I've read the original pilot script. And the biggest problem with it was that It was TOO faithful to the first book. It reads less like a screenwriter's take on the material, and more like a word for word, beat for beat, reenactment of the first few chapters. There's zero liberties taken with the script.

[@TheFlyingZulu]

Yea it's weird and hard to explain but books just don't translate well into the TV format when taken word for word...

[@nachonachoman]

@@TheFlyingZulu there's a natural pacing to a tv show that books don't have to follow. Makes sense that pilot went next level when they brought in van patten.

[@eclecticmemes]

@@TheFlyingZulu Ordinarily, I would say you are right.... However, if you read the Princess Bride book, and then watch the movie, you would swear that the movie came first, as most of the dialog and scenes matched word for word and visual to visual.

[@TheFlyingZulu]

@@eclecticmemes That's really neat to know, thanks. It's not a short book either. 464 pages according to Google. From my experience in reading a good book and then watching the movie; usually the shorter books (200ish pages) translate better into movies. In contrast to longer books (400+), the details and longer story is harder to put into a 1.5-2 hour long movie.

[@nekrataali]

Fight Club is also bizarrely faithful to the book. They cut out some scenes involving Marla's trying to store her mom's remains at the house, swapped out the "I want to have your abortion" line for "I haven't been fucked like that since grade school," but otherwise it's almost word-for-word, scene-for-scene.

[@drxym]

The showrunners managed to redeem themselves until about the end of season 6. Then they ran out of material and the whole thing turned into a shitshow - people doing things against character, perfunctory dialogue, warp speed travel over continents and seas, and extremely unsatisfying final season.

[@chrismanuel9768]

They didn't run out of material. That was their excuse. They had an entire book and a half they never even touched. They simply stopped following what was written and decided to start making up their own stories instead. I guess they thought they were better writers than George RR Martin 😂 Look where that got em

[@Jtrent]

@@chrismanuel9768 (SPOILERS) yeah, at least twelve entire seperate plotlines, most more interesting by a mile, were never seen in the show. Myrcella Dorne arc, Golden Company Targaryen arc, Meeren Slavers, Windblown/Dragontamer, Any of Tyrion's book 5 arc, Varys Book 5, Brienne and Podrick and the Hound book 4, Euron and Iron Islands Election arc, Lady Stoneheart, The Bolton/Theon/Manderly/Mystery Murders Winterfell Arc, 80% of Jon's book 5 arc, Mance Rayder's full plotline, Stannis and Queen's Men plot/intrigue, Actual Daario Naharis, The actual Harpy, Multiple foiled assassinations of Daenerys, Barrisan Arc, Victarion Arc, Areo Hotah, the comedic tragedy aspects of Cersei in book 4 that made it fun to read and not bland, Tysha Confession, Jaime's actual storyline books 4 and 5, Any of Sansa's actual plotline/Littlefinger Vale plotline. So yeah. They didn't run out, they ignored the best plotlines of the entire goddamn show

[@neilgriffiths6427]

Yes, disgusting that they didn't show Varis on his month-long sea voyage back to Essos and he's just put on the invasion fleet as if the writers thought the audience might have got that that voyage would have been dull as dishwater to watch...or that a fit young lad can run in 4 hours what it took 7 blokes a day to walk...or that ravens fly quickly, dragons even quicker...7 was still good, 8 was pretty much nonsense.

[@nadirjofas3140]

@@neilgriffiths6427 7 was already terrible

[@aneeshmenon5885]

Season 7 was still OK IMO. But yea it was very noticeable that they were drastically diverting from their tried and tested formula in season 7 itself. They were prioritizing more action, CGI and shock & awe fan service tactics over the writing and intrigue. The previous seasons had a good balance between both those aspects.

[@flankspeed]

'Rome' was the groundbreaking series that made it all possible.

[@Rash23215]

No

[@TimothyStradley]

Such a great show

[@MrHartApart]

Huh, these Benioff and Weiss characters seem smart - wonder why nobody has heard from them for 4 years...

[@3OBTPA]

If it was up to me, they would not even be allowed to watch television or movies ever again

[@candypritchett83]

Well.. they did produce a few things for Netflix. Not that you would know it because they all bombed. There's a series based on a book they are currently producing and decided to use a few ppl from GOT to spark interest. I'll go ahead and read the book. Spare myself disappointment when they completely bomb the ending cuz they will get bored of this like everything else they do.

[@ashish9399]

@@candypritchett83 what book?

[@candypritchett83]

@@ashish9399 They are trying to pitch The Overstory by Richard Powers as of right now. They've done two limited series so far that bombed. One had Sandra Oh and the other one was a coming of age rock series. Honestly I don't know much about either because I refuse to give them any attention or money if I can help it. I've got the Overstory on my audible so I'll stick to the book. No need to be let down anymore than I have to be. Most of the time, the books are better in general.

[@margarethmichelina5146]

Those two guys are like the kids who like to steal someone's homeworks all the time only when the exam coming, they don't know how to answer it because they never study the material and just write whatever they thought in the last couple minutes.

[@squanchy666]

Cool how they brought it full circle and made the ending as bad as the beginning

[@pentamerone]

It's important to point out that Benioff's father is Stephen Friedman. Because, let's be real, without that, no matter how much promise Game of Thrones handled as a concept, it wouldn't get a second chance after failed Pilot that costed THAT much. At least not from the same creators.

[@ShawnsterVideos]

Thanks. So, David was born on 3rd base.

[@manasdhanpawde496]

how is benioff's father friedman??

[@coolsenjoyer]

​@@manasdhanpawde496 mother's maiden name

[@manasdhanpawde496]

@@coolsenjoyer ohh thanx👍👍

[@Valarmorgolis]

4:30 The mystery of John Snows mother and Father was in book one. The chapter of the tourney of Harrenhall, it foreshadowed the relationship of Prince Rhaegar Targaryon and Lyanna Stark. "Promise me Ned you won't tell anyone" on her dying bed full of blood after she gave birth.

[@tipulsar85]

Funny thing about The Pacific, It wasn't the first WW2 miniseries on HBO, that honor goes to the other Theater that Speilburg and Tom Hanks produced, Band of Brothers. Neither of which HBO would have done had they not backed the first Miniseries that hanks pitched to them called From the Earth to the Moon.

[@LunchThyme]

"And are you happy with the way it ended?" Natalie: Gives contractually obligatory answer Emilia: I don't know how to lie, I'm only an actress Jacob: Every day spent around these people is a gift

[@Agustin-sz4lv]

This reply needs more likes

[@rubenheymans1988]

contractually obligatory answer, more like: I better say yes because I still want to act in other movies/shows I'm afraid to say no

[@BreMue]

Really sad because they did a FANTASTIC job in the beginning. Just wish they had not taken it for granted in the end

[@Scole614]

The true shit show was the last season. By making the season shorter, everything felt rushed and the characters choices didn't match what we knew of them. some of the conclusions/ death scenes were shit too. The whole season felt phoned in and truly tainted the whole series.

[@StrelecaTV]

There were good/cool scenes, but as you've mentioned lots of the plot felt rushed. It just needed a few more episodes. It definetly felt that they just wanted to get over the series

[@skriller7102]

Would've been a lot better if S7 and 8 were full length (and maybe even another season bc that shift in Dany's character was so sudden and random. It needed a lot more time to build)

[@Jackson-jd1um]

The signs were there from season 1 that they didn’t understand the story they were reading

[@LudusAurea]

I mean the ending is what it was planned to be. Anyone who honestly thought Dany wasn't going to go full-dumbass mode wasn't paying attention, for example.

[@NorthCitySider]

The length of the seasons or extra seasons would barely make a dent. D&D would’ve just introduced more pointless plot lines that went nowhere and been forced to rush the end anyway.

[@grazyrj]

SO basically they were in love with the unexpectedness of GRRM's writing but cared not even a little bit for his characters and actual world building. They Loved Bran being pushed off the tower and the red wedding. That was it.

[@TheBrotherdarkness9]

Seeing a Dothraki horde charging into battle accompanied by a dragon still brings a tear to my eye.

[@MrHootie249]

The greatest thing about your statement is that was truly awesome and an equal to a scene like Peter saying chaos is a ladder. Both were equal. One was a million dollar shot. One was a few lines in a script

[@lucaleone4331]

Years later I can still confidently say that the final season ruined Game of Thrones for me. I still have not rewatched any of the seasons, and I havent cared a single bit to watch House of Dragons. it truly did poison the well for me and I just dont care to revisit any of it.

[@brotausmandeln1428]

I look at it like this: As long it was adapted from the book it was canon. Everything that happens after is just like fanfiction and has no importance.

[@glacialimpala]

Yes, it is irrational but true. To me it feels like being with someone for many years only to find out they are nothing you thought they are. And yet they didn't lie, they just magically transformed into a sh*tshow.

[@Jtrent]

Read the books. I read them after the show, and almost all of books 4 and 5 were completely new to me. Love them

[@zombieluka]

I'm the same. Such a shame because I absolutely adored the show until season 8. It basically took a whole shit on the entire series.

[@bajiraosingham9495]

Same for me, I haven't been able to rewatch it. I think its because GoT had soooooo many great Plots but now we know a lot of those plots didn't go anywhere and how the rest of them led to the Shit show. Making most of the intriguing plots pointless.

[@homonovo]

The pilot and first season as a whole were easily the most authentic and true to the books. As each season went by it progressively strayed from the books until the final two seasons which were utter rubbish.

[@stackhat8624]

And of those last 2 seasons which books were they supposed to be based on, genius? Maybe Martin just had a crap ending planned all along. Do you ever wonder why its taking him so long to release new books? You dont have to be a genius to realise he's re-writing everything and changing everything because he saw how bad they turned out on film.

[@coolsenjoyer]

​@@stackhat8624 The problems start long before the last two season. Like, they had two whole books worth of source material that they could've used for seasons 5 and 6 but they just didn't use much of them at all

[@analcommando1124]

@@coolsenjoyer You can't deny the Benioff and Weiss cut out a lot of unnecessary crap from the books as well. In the end 73 episodes just wasn't enough.

[@NovercalisKing]

I’d love to see more of this regarding the final season! Really well done. This video that is... not Game of Thrones.

[@ItWasAShtShow]

We've debating doing it for the podcast as there isn't enough known information of what truly went down to make a video for it. Hopefully one of the key cast members just breaks down writes a tell all.

[@JustTubbyRich]

And you didn't get it. Shut up.

[@jbrisby]

@Herb Coswell Sean Bean would be perfect to play George RR Martin in the movie version.

[@KellysAdventures305]

@@jbrisby Then lynched.

[@fergalstackstreams]

It was so easy to tell which scenes from the original pilot were kept, not only because of film grain and the kids looking a year younger, but Ned's hair looked completely different.

[@chrisredfield6274]

Also Tyrion's hair and The Hound. His pilot wig looks so bad lol

[@PiousMoltar]

Holy crap the 2007 writers strike. I'd forgotten about that. And yet, in a way, it feels like it was just yesterday. It's crazy to think Game of Thrones was already being worked on back then and was affected by it.

[@emptycarousels3950]

They should release the unaired pilot. I imagine a lot of people would want to see that.

[@PeeedaPan]

The pilot was one of my favorite episodes. The prologue scene was so intriguing. Sadly the show didn't really answer my questions i had when it all started

[@dangerzone919]

After all that passion and hard work, they gave up in the end. Such a shame.

[@James7995]

The pilot that aired was one of the best pilots of televisionI’ve ever seen. I’ve rewatched it more times than I can count.

[@slcRN1971]

I can still remember how very impressed I was, with that intriguing first episode. I had read the books and the cast and crew did such a very impressive job. Each week when the start of the GOT theme started, I would get excited - - that is until D & D ran out of book material. It made me sad that all that potential was ruined. Tyrion went from topnotch dialog, to spouting stupid idiotic crap.

[@ilex471]

Lesson one for TV-producers: never (again) base a TV-series on an unfinished book series. Lesson two: fire showrunners the moment they start losing interest in the project.

[@philipdawes2661]

Fantastic presentation, thank you, hadn't realised just how much of a learning experience this show was for all involved. Shame that the Rings of Power guys aren't going through the same arc.

[@patrickbarrett5650]

I think the music saved the day, it kept a rhythm and curiosity going.

[@mickael486]

I like your take on when and why TV finally surpassed movies in quality and writing. TV ,for the most part, sucked until a few years after the 21st Century. Now, the quality of production has surpassed most films. And this is coming from someone who grew up during the shitty television of the 20th century and as a kid, would go to the movies at least once every week to cope.

[@mgp1203]

This is kind of crazy. The 2000s had the best generation of Teen shows ever and 2010s were known as the golden generation of television.. especially releases from 2008-2010. Tv has been slowly overtaking film for a long time now, streaming has just proven it.

[@kelseyj.c7828]

Oof. Poor Tamsin Merchant. Imagine them being like “look, you’re so unlikeable we’re willing to spend millions not to have to keep you in the show”

[@anwynoakenshield]

She didn't want to be in the show. She's said she got talked into it.

[@RaceForFadio]

One Question: At 2:14 did you say juggernuts??

[@TheGumbs]

I have never wanted to see a pilot more.

[@-MrFozzy-]

Wow…this was fascinating. I had absolutely no idea this happened. Thank you so much for the effort

[@ItWasAShtShow]

Effort?!

[@ingusch3783]

While I, like basically every other comment here, still grieve for the last 2-3 season's butchered potential, I think GoT was a one of a kind thing, culturally. Like, at least in my life time, I've never before and never since had a show that literally everyone and their momma watched, that had public viewing events everywhere, that was a whole social happening ... I'm still pissed about the ending (and the writing, basically since the Dorne-plot began), but I'll always remember the show fondly because of all the great years I've spent watching it with friends or like-minded strangers in some pub during a holiday, and how it made me connect with others.

[@slcRN1971]

I like and admire the positive spin you stated, for why GOT has good memories for you. Yes, seeing the reaction ‘KZbin videos’ was really fun. Great attitude! 👍👍

[@vlaskarountzos5803]

I re-watch this every year give or take. S7 and S8 have grown on me. Sure, it's not the ending I wanted, but it was definitely a great journey as a whole.

[@chrisredfield6274]

Season 8 is rushed and full of teleporting armies and completely disregarded character arcs. Jaime goes through an entire redemption arc just for it to mean absolutely nothing in the end. And they made Euron into a cheap Jack Sparrow. No it's atrocious.

[@hugeiftrue4224]

“A once in a lifetime opportunists never going to come by again, and we fucked it up….(twice)”

[@BlazingOwnager]

15:14 could hold true for the end of the show too. A once in a life time opportunity that's never going to come by again, and they f'cked it up.

[@MinecraftPhysics]

Been binge watching your videos ever since your Marvel video appeared in my recommended yesterday. Never been so surprised to see such well produced and researched videos with so little views! Keep it up man.

[@ItWasAShtShow]

Will do! Thanks for the kind words.

[@ashish9399]

I really hope we get atleast a animated version for after season 4 story because season1 to 4 is perfect in every sense season 5 is where the boat start shaking a little

[@pkxtz17]

Season 5 and 6 are my favorites haha

[@coreylavery7465]

Up to season 6 was great

[@nearlydead7510]

season 4 was not perfect, watch that scene where yara tries to save theon and shirtless ramsay bolton fights with dual daggers against heavily armored guys with swords and shields. that scene could have been in season 8.

[@mariovalento2220]

@@nearlydead7510 Man, I just watched that scene yesterday, and it felt like garbage. Glad to know I wasn't going crazy.

[@elijahalbiston]

I think one of the biggest problems was two-pronged in s4. They killed Oberyn and Tywin, but had no FAegon to fill in as a threat or rogue piece on the board.

[@casualdecade]

16:38 what the hell? What’s the shot they based the show’s look off of, and what are the last shots from the unaired pilot? The clips played..? or different clips? Explain??!!!

[@ItWasAShtShow]

That very shot, the horses coming down the hill in the fog. The only footage of the unaired pilot that survived seem to be Sean Bean and Mark Addy in the tunnels.

[@anwynoakenshield]

@@ItWasAShtShow Jaime & Ned\Ned & Benjin having their chats at the feast is from the pilot, and Sansa standing in front of Cersei and Catelyn is from the pilot (just Sansa's parts). If you watch the Kings arrival then watch that scene - Sansa temporarily de-ages. Also, they added the bit where the guys get a haircut to explain hair changes. So there must be at least a glimpse of Robb, Jon, and Theon from the unpaired pilot. And Tyrion with Ros is from the first pilot.

[@barneyboyle6933]

This was really well made. Thanks for sharing it

[@onthewaytothird]

This is the best channel I have subscribed to in a minute. Very insightful and entertaining...big up bro!

[@ItWasAShtShow]

Thank you!

[@corngreaterthanwheat]

You know, that ending was trash, but the ride was pretty fun.

[@swagatochatterjee7104]

Lol, the actual shit show in Game of Thrones started in the fifth season; when every die-hard fan of the books knew the show is going downhill and Benioff and Weiss won't be able to tie things back! All our predictions came to be true in the last season!

[@abdulwahab558]

They left one of the biggest books storyline of Lady stone heart and because of that the show writers later on didn't knew what to do with Jamie character so they shipped him off to dorne for one of the worst GoT plot lines

[@swagatochatterjee7104]

@@abdulwahab558 exactly Lady Stone Heart was awesome! In fact this ruined the Dorne storyline too, because Doran Martell and Stannis were perhaps the two greatest characters post Purple Wedding. I am not even going into the FAgon track, and Varys schemes!

[@qudariwilkinson9538]

@@abdulwahab558 y’all crazy that story line was fire but eh

[@LHC-mx6ru]

Stop going over what didn't work!!! This guy WROTE Game of Thrones ffs!!! Lets just give thanks for that

[@sebastianmezzanatto5056]

Now I GET IT!!!! They were doing a “throwback” to the beginning. Granted they crapped out an entire season the way they did only one episode before, but at least I know WHYYYYY….

[@danielsanabria1179]

Just Saw this vid and checked the comment section expecting a large discussion only to find 17 comments? I looked at the view count and its only at 7K, which is just crazy. I completely thought this vid had hundreds of thousands of views if not millions, the quality on it is amazing. The research, the editing, the structure, the narration. Respect to the creators, this is a solid and Ultra-omega underrated channel.

[@ItWasAShtShow]

Thanks for the kind words! Glad you found us and noticed the hard work we put into it.

[@michenerkruse]

I appreciate that you focused so much on the good, it was a nice reminder about what made the show amazing, despite whatever bad taste it left near the end. (I also appreciate that you still referenced the train wreck of an ending, but did so indirectly lol)

[@TrulyMadlyShallowly]

5:20 'Rome' was a contemporary of The Wire and The Sopranos. It was ahead of its time and, I believe, paved the way for GoT in writing, acting and atmosphere.

[@nameless5512]

George R. R. Martin’s quote about Showrunners brings me back to a series you’ve already covered. David X. Cohen’s, Futurama.

[@ladystoneheart8155]

“It’s a ONCE in a lifetime opportunity! Ooh, a squirrel.”

[@sidwell92]

Love how you choose scenes from the series to match the commentary

[@zootopiawilson]

The last season was pretty bad...I think once they ran out of fuel from the books it went downhill. Still, I enjoyed the series. I only watched it because my wife, who is not particularly into fantasy loved it. (I am a sword and sorcery/fantasy fan, my spouse is more into dramas)

[@freddiesimmons1394]

It's kinda a bad narrative that it was the book material that kept them afloat. Plot armor should have been a dead concept for them, and it was like they didn't realize it was a bad idea despite watching their own show. Killing characters just because that's what the show does was also happening concurrently. Just... there's no excuse for a lot of it

[@nadirjofas3140]

They had plenty of good material left, they just ignored it.

[@Deathstroke4200]

After season 8 I will never watch anything produced or directed by D&D. They are uncreative and need other people's stories to make anything. I miss that old HBO intro, you seen that you knew you were watching something great.

[@1BrknHrtdRomeo]

This channel seriously deserves more views

[@ItWasAShtShow]

Thank you so much! Glad you’re enjoying it.

[@dumboy191]

i thought i have heard the best outro music elsewhere on youtube, until now.

[@ShepardOfficial]

I would do unspeakable things to be able to watch that original pilot...

[@amandabearden9471]

I particularly loved the South Park scenes/music.

[@bloodsweatandbeers4684]

WEINER weinerweiner weinerwiener WEInerrr wienerwiener

[@mclovinz0]

George R. R. Martin deadass helped write the plot for Elden Ring but hasn't even bothered with his own book franchise in a while

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

I guarantee it’s basically done, he’s just tweaking it. He won’t release it until his death tho.

[@jonirischx8925]

Elden ring... has a plot?

[@slcRN1971]

Very much enjoyed your presentation. Reading the books before hand, I was so impressed with what the cast and crew accomplished in the pilot episode. When the GOT theme music started at the beginning of each episode, I felt excited. The visual realization of the ‘Houses’ along with the music, is superb and very fascinating. I’m disappointed of how seasons turned out - - after the book sources ran out. Lots of wasted potential.

[@yeyehastaol2155]

they subverted expectations for sure. we weren't expecting it to be this bad.

[@creamurr]

Dan and Dave failed horribly when they had to write off their own imagination lol. If only it wasn't rushed we'd all be satisfied with the ending

[@chipsthedog1]

My three favourite TV shows are all made by HBO which is kinda crazy when you consider how many companies are making content around the world. Breaking bad got close but had to settle for 4th, good as it is, for me it doesn't quite reach the levels of Game of thrones, the Sopranos or my personal all time favorite The Wire.

[@KingSkullDerek]

GRRM loved Rome so much he wanted the series on HBO. That's an important part of why he let them shop the series to HBO.

[@matodragonespor5000]

"Sitting there thinking every day that this thing that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that's never going to come by again, and we f***ed ut up." I wonder if he still think about these words these days...

[@AbrielMcPierce]

It's really great that they learned from their mistakes, and never made a bad episode of Game of Thrones ever again.

[@milovarquiel]

Can't believe you left out the fact that the director of the unaired episode was in The Wire as a phony reporter.

[@Erpty05]

Great video! I'd love a video on the more recent scrapped GOT reboot pilot with Naomi Watts. Intresting that they scrwed up two pilots for the same franchise. I guess were just lucky to be getting House Of The Dragon at all!

[@Dakblasta]

I’d pay good money to see that pilot

[@jonathanpeterson1984]

Thank you Peter Dinklage, for accepting this role and making TV history. You all did your best.

[@bugcatcherjacky1334]

Ohhh the background music is very subtle but genius! Rains of Castamere, a song they played during the red wedding, now played in the background as you explain how they butchered the show xD

[@1SaG]

I guess if the pilot was a shit-show, seasons...err... probably 6 - 8 were an exploding sewage-treatment-plant?

[@linternamagica100]

You must do a video about Fitzcarraldo, you know, that movie from Werner Herzog

[@ItWasAShtShow]

It is on the list!

[@WizardIllustrator]

We were unironically foreshadowed.

[@Briggie]

4:44 that old ass HBO intro brings back a lot of memories lol.

[@obscurity3027]

Including the JRR Martin Southpark clips, including the “Weiner…Weiner, Weiner” theme, put this video over the top. 10/10