Everything was coming up Game of Thrones last night at the Emmys, from the start of host Andy Samberg’s opening number which began with someone asking, “Did you guys see Game of Thrones?” Jane Lynch dressed up as Septa Unella, threatening to “Shame” the long-speakers, and Samberg chatted with George R.R. Martin mid-show, thanking him for “telling me during the commercial that Jon Snow is alive.”
Throw in Andy Samberg’s HBO Now login of “[email protected]” and Game of Thrones was the dominant presence last night and not just in wins.
It was a big night for the entire network, with HBO receiving 43 Emmy Awards total. It was the most of any network for the 14th year in a row, and the most in the network’s history, says HBO.
We saw the great looks and the usual antics of the Game of Thrones stars on the red carpet last night. Their fun continued throughout the show and well into the evening as everyone gave acceptance speeches and celebrated the wins.
Tracy Morgan presented the award for Drama Series to Game of Thrones, and David Benioff and D.B. Weiss spoke for the crowd of cast and producers flooding the stage.
“Thanks again, HBO, for believing in dragons.”
A visibly shocked Peter Dinklage accepted his Emmy quickly after giving a shout-out to the writers, his scene partner, and the show’s huge cast.
Here’s David Nutter accepting his Emmy for directing “Mother’s Mercy,” the season five finale. Nutter previously won an Emmy in 2002 as part of the directing team for Band of Brothers.
David Benioff and D.B Weiss wished George R.R. Martin a happy birthday as they accepted their writing award. And then Weiss swore on live TV which is always fun.
The cast posing after Game of Thrones won Best Drama Series:
Peter Dinklage celebrating his second Emmy Award for playing Tyrion Lannister:
Producer/writer Bryan Cogman with nominee Lena Headey
We would never have won without this incredible actor. Love you, @IAMLenaHeadey. pic.twitter.com/6S5OgduO4Y
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) September 21, 2015
Lena may not have won but she did provide the best audience reaction last night:
Lena Headey with your favorite reaction GIF of the night #Emmys pic.twitter.com/pgzicYAe4M
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) September 21, 2015
The Game of Thrones bunch with Emmy winner Amy Schumer (her sketch series took home the prize last night):
The (arguable) highlight of my night. #GoT #Emmys @amyschumer pic.twitter.com/Fd2USjBInR
— Bryan Cogman (@b_cogman) September 21, 2015
Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner bringing their Mophie A-game:
Best drama win for Thrones. #fkyeh pic.twitter.com/g98wPMptGC
— Maisie Williams (@Maisie_Williams) September 21, 2015
Bants init pic.twitter.com/A5OdPkm8wP
— Maisie Williams (@Maisie_Williams) September 21, 2015
Alfie Allen and Maisie Williams amusing themselves in the audience:
Alfeeeeeey #ballers pic.twitter.com/dzCIpOFyCT
— Maisie Williams (@Maisie_Williams) September 21, 2015
HBO threw an Emmys afterparty with all their stars in attendance.
Peter Dinklage:
George R.R. Martin at the party:
Carice van Houten, Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner:
David Benioff, Amanda Peet and former Thrones star Pedro Pascal pose together at the afterparty:
Keisha Castle-Hughes partied with TV father Pedro Pascal after the Emmys:
David Benioff, John Bradley, Gwendoline Christie, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and D.B Weiss at the HBO afterparty:
Maisie Williams:
Lena Headey changed into something more comfortable before joining the afterparty:
By the way, Samberg’s HBO Now login? It did work, as many discovered and had fun with last night.
Is this post too long? I’d better wrap it up. Otherwise…
If your speech is too long you will be Shamed. ?? pic.twitter.com/03PCEdcITa
— Daenerys Targaryen (@Daenerys) September 21, 2015
My first win as Hodor!
People at los siete reinos are sucking it really bad. 🙂
Congrats to all wonderful cast and crew. Best show ever.
Hodor/Wun Wun
High Sparrow,
Let’s not obsess over what other websites are doing, okay? Enjoy the positivity of winning!
Pedro!
Benioff, Amanda Peet, and Pascal would make an amazing threesome.
Just a random thought that popped into my head looking at that picture.
…Anyway, congrats GoT!
I love that Andy’s login did actually work! XD
It was truly an amazing and historic night at the Emmys!
Alison Janney and Uzo Aduba tying Ed Asner records (what are the odds?), John Hamm finally winning, Viola Davis being the first black woman to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and certainly not least memorable among all the moments, Game of Thrones winning more Emmy Awards last night than any show in TV history!
ETA:
I forgot Julia Louis-Dreyfus tying a record by winning her fourth Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Emmy in a row as well!
Thanks for posting D&D’s acceptance speach. Folks who said they did not thank Martin better watch it. Happy Birthday and Thank You were the first sentences.
I am still in awe, and tired. If course I had to watch until the end.
Yas! Historic night!!!
Congrats to all and thanks for making us dream and enjoy with this show!!!
George you rock… 🙂
My page a day calendar quote for 21-sept:
They’ll kill for that knighthood, but don’t ever think they’ll die for it.
-Bronn- A Clash of Kings
Couldn’t be happier if I were twins. Everyone was so lovely, gracious and how great is it that GoT’s has broken the record for most Emmy wins in a season? Great writers, directors, cast, crew and the rest who are in the thousands (as Mr. Dinklage says).
I read the threads prior to the awards, Red Carpet I think and it was odd how Peter Dinklage was barely remembered for being up for an award this year. I am thrilled he won. Last year was so memorable for him and glad that this year the voters recognized his great work.
Congratulations to all the winners at the 2015 Emmy’s….Viola Davis rocks. But mostly the Best Drama Series winners, Game of Thrones. With sharp thanks and Happy Birthday’s to Mr. George R. R. Martin, without whom none of us would be here appreciating the show.
I saw them on the red carpet, but did Conleth Hill and John Bradley get to attend the actual ceremony? I saw Alfie Allen up on the stage but not them.
Conleth Hill looked so ecstatic in the post-ceremony shots with the Emmy awards.
Yayyyyyy, Pedro Pascal!
Aw, Bryan Cogman looks so happy.
I don’t see what the fuss is over D&D not thanking GRRM in the Best Drama speech, since they thanked him right off the bat in the Best Writing speech, which is where that acknowledgment belonged.
Uzo Aduba is lovely, but I don’t think she deserved the win. Too much tic-y, showy acting in my opinion, but (also) in my opinion, there’s a lot of mediocre acting on Orange is the New Black that escapes notice due to the shifting focus of the show. THERE I SAID IT. (To be fair, there’s a lot of mediocre acting on Game of Thrones, too, for the same reason, but the only actor who didn’t deserve their nom was the perpetually mediocre Emilia Clarke.)
O/T, but I’m glad Viola Davis won. Good for her.
Kinda wondering why Natalie Dormer was not there?
… I’m so hungover. Woof. Totally worth it!
Weiss was hilarious and Benioff’s reaction was quite cute. They both looked absolutely stunned, shocked beyond belief. Not unlike Dinklage, who obviously couldn’t belief at first that he had won.
I mentioned it in the other thread, but there’s this moment where Benioff was walking up the aisle, and Liev Schreiber, who was seated right next to the aisle, gave him an approving thump on the leg as he walked by. It was adorable.
Respect to Benioff and all for his hard work on GOT, but reading his Wikipedia page, Benioff seems like the luckiest dude of all time. He must have had like a billion fairies conferring blessings on him at birth, Sleeping Beauty-style.
Speaking of hilarious moments, when the camera was focused on Peter Dinklage as he was walking up to the stage to accept his award, there’s this moment where he rubs his face in worry, like “Oh, shit, I was not expecting this, I’ve gotta think of something to say.”
O/T: I didn’t realize that “Girl You Don’t Need Makeup” from Inside Amy Schumer won Best Song or whatever at the Creative Arts Emmys. That song is hilarious.
VarysConleth not being on the stage had only one reason: he was making sure from behind the scenes that GOT took all the awards. All, except of Lena Heady of course, who is his enemy.Poor Maisie and Sophie, they can’t “on the piss” here in the U.S., well legally that is.
Fun night of hilarious jokes and amazing surprises. Samberg was an excellent host on GoT’s big night (remember his original SNL skit several years back?). GoT got rewarded but HBO really won the night. Sophie Turner is a damn siren.
Tbh, I like the smaller stuff in GoT. After Aemon’s “kill the boy” and “Egg, I dreamed I was old” before he passed, and after Drogon’s flyover in Valyria, the season became just fine for me. At times, I harp on certain rough edges (for me), but S5 was a decent ride. Hopefully, TWoW is released soon and receives similar accolades.
yayyyy! I can’t usually take the Emmys too seriously, as it seems to be a lot of insider back-patting no different from the Oscars or Grammys, but to break the record for most wins in a year? Those ignorant book-burning bastards D&D must be doing something right!
In other news–and sorry for hijacking the thread with this–the ads on this website are killing me today. Here’s a little rundown of the issues I experienced…
When I first came to the site, my browser hung up for about 2 solid minutes with the message bar at the bottom “A script on Watchersonthewall.com has stopped responding…” I never had any trouble with WotW functionality before, so I assume this was related to some ad-serving script? I attempted to cancel the script as soon as the message came up, but it still hung for 2 minutes just trying to do that.
When the message bar about the script FINALLY went away, I got a pop-up from my Antivirus (Avast! free) saying that a threat on the webpage had been blocked. The address of the offending code was not indicative of WotW, but *.ilij or something weird which I also took to be ad-related.
This was all right on the main homepage. When I was finally able to click onto an article (being this article; only 15 comments on the time so not a tremendous amount to stuff to load) it hung again for another 2 minutes or so with the message “Watchersonthewall.com is not responding due to a long-running script”. I am using Microsoft Edge/Windows 10.
I get that you need to generate income to keep this fantastic site going, so I hope this doesn’t come off as bitching, but whoever your ad-serving platform is needs to rein in some of the shady stuff their advertisers are doing. (I’ve also gotten a couple automatic app store redirects when browsing in mobile over the last couple months.)
1st things 1st; masie is awesome. 2nd, does varys have some type of tick? Look at his face in every picture.
Hodor’s Bastard,
Samberg was personally dissapointing, to be honest. Pretty much none of his jokes worked for me. And I love him in B99! I hope John Oliver gets to host next year.
On my bucket list; Amy Schumer tells me jokes while playing the rusty trombone for me
harma dogememe,
I get the same Avast message when coming here via my laptop.
harma dogememe,
Hopefully it provides comfort that I can relate to everything u just said. I use mobile chrome on a note 4 and this site performs atrocious
harma dogememe,
We don’t have any new ads, I can’t emphasize that enough. But I’ll show your post to Dame so she can take a look. We haven’t had any server/technical issues today that I’m aware of. Try running a malware-removal program while we look into it.
M,
Conleth and John B. are both onstage at the end when the show is accepting for Drama Series, so yeah they were at the ceremony.
Yay! Thanks for clearing that up.
I’m also running into Avast detecting the lijim issue or whatever it is, for what it’s worth.
I wonder if all the cast gets an award if they win Best Drama? Or was it just D & D? Anyone know?
Neat recap, Sue! Thanks for gathering everything together. LOL @ the username and log in. I wonder if it still works!
tyjon,
I don’t get your reference,are you talking about them drinking alcohol ? Even if that was the case since they are not US citizens,the law doesn’t have to apply to them unless it’s a serious crime,well that’s what i thought anyway might be wrong.
JCDavis,
Pretty sure it’s just the producers, which makes me wonder if GRRM got one. He’s not in that group picture with Schumer.
harma dogememe,
The automatic redirects to the App Store we knew about and we’ve suggested some fixes in our FAQ. The long running script problem I don’t think it’s coming from our site. If it was we’d be inundated with complaints (and we would have experienced them ourselves as we’re constantly testing the site with various devices). I suspect you have some malware so other than turning off the Javascript in your browser (again see the FAQ), I highly recommend running a malware removal app.
I’m very glad for thE show to be recognized finally however this just shows you how much politics have to play in these awards . they definitely deserved all these awards after season 1 or 3 or even 4 but not after 5!! so for whatever reason it took them 5 seasons to pass through the cracks and become visible to the voters.
Newbietothegame,
Same advice to you as we gave to Harma, run some malware removal because we have no new ads.
Luka Nieto,
J Oliver would indeed be a fun host.
Ever since his GoT skit on SNL (having fun envisioning GoT being written by GRRM and a 13-yr-old testosterone-driven boy, played by Samberg), I can’t help but chuckle with Samberg’s pre-produced skits and raps. Live, he is the perfect awkward nerd, reminding me of many goofy moments in my past. He played up the GoT goofiness excellently, imo…almost like he knew that it would be GoT’s big night. 🙂
Shame!
Oh Pedro, you are missed! Come back and save your country! 🙂
What a great night for GoT. Even Amy Schumer in the photo couldn’t ruin it for me. Great group!
I few things of note…those who have written about Conleth Hill and worrying because he had some hair…he is certainly bald now, I would think Varys is certainly filming at some point or already has for season 6.
Lena Headey looks fabulous and she may have put in her contract a 6 month maternity leave or some such, but physically she looks healthy and able to work if she was needed or wanted or could. Actors do bring their infants to filming, many do – to be on hand for breast feeding and such. Being that most likely many of Cersie’s scenes are being shot indoors….her trailer would do nicely for the between times. (I am not advocating that the woman work if she has the time off, just saying she looks healthy and up tone)
There were a ton of actors missing last night. I am hoping it is because they are busy filming GoT’s or other personal projects rather than the show was too stingy to fly them out. I am not even sure if that is the way it works….but HBO sure has the funds to fly as many out as possible, I mean their show just broke records!!
I like how Maisie’s penguin purse seems to make it front and center in every group shot.
The alternative (and much more likely and much more probable) hypothesis is that the type of storytelling done in Season 5 works very well for the people who vote for the Emmys. That written, the type of storytelling done throughout the series obviously has worked: otherwise, the show would not have gotten nominations. There is always a “luck” element to winning the “big show”: whether its sports, entertainment or anything where “there can be only one,” then being really good only gets you a shot at winning it all: and once you get the shot, a lot of it is down to how much better you do than other very, very qualified candidates over a short haul.
Finally John hamm gets his! Mad Men should’ve won best drama in my honest opinion. And in no way GoT deserved best writing for mothers mercy, i cant be the only one feeling this way unless everyone has their GoT goggles on
So, just to double check: “NSA is Watching You” is not an ad for some new movie or something that you are hosting?
😀
Claudius,
Yes, it’s British slang for getting drunk, and all foreigners must obey U.S. laws concerning drinking. It sucks to be an American teen in England because you’d think UK laws apply (16 for beer/wine and 18 for hard liquor) unfortunately the agreement between the countries is that US teens must adhere to US laws while in the UK, which at least to me is wrong on all levels.
Luka Nieto,
And now this… John Oliver would kick ass!
What a great night it must have been for the cast and crew (it was so nice to see how genuinely happy they were for their peers when they won).
The only slight disappointment was Lena not winning. Although we will never know I think it was her and Emilia splitting votes as opposed to the body double. It was lovely how both David Nutter and Peter specifically mentioned her out of such a large cast and deservedly so. She is clearly very highly regarded as an actress from cast and crew and that’s something I guess. Even when the noms were announced I said Uzo Adubo would win which between OITNB being a comedy, Crazy Eyes being not in the slightest nuanced and how amazing Lena was this season (not just the WOS – her scenes with Marg, the arrest, the confession, her hair being cut) it’s a bit of a shame. I really hope Emilia is edged out before shortlisting next year because she shouldn’t have even been nominated.
Peter genuinely seemed humbled by winning and despite this not being his season a win is a win and kudos to him for being excellently consistent.
I love the pictures of the whole group with the awards (and the rotation of Maisie’s handbag amongst the group). The pic of Lena eating McDonalds is brilliant! She is just awesome 😀
Ravyn,
And I like her rocking the sneakers at the after party!
I threw up in my mouth a lil bit when I saw the FOX NFL TV crew broadcasting from the Emmys.
Wimsey,
LOL No, most definitely not. We shouldn’t have any ads spawning pop-ups.
Just as with the reactions of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter fans to critical acclaims (or lack of acclaims) for adaptations of their franchises, the one thing that fans need to understand is that critics, academies and general viewers judge shows, films (and, yes, the books) using very different criteria than do many of the fans. By the criteria by which the Academy of TV Arts & Sciences has judged TV series in the past, S5 was outstanding TV. Remember, none of them are comparing it to a book or to any preconceived notions about what should (or should not) be happening. They are judging it like every other show.
As for Mad Men winning: well, it was probably a sentimental favorite, but the simple truth is that the final half-season was pretty flat and desultory. The show seemed to have run out of steam. It did have a great ending: but that ending could have come at the end of last year (which really was mid-season) with a bit of trimming. Of course, perhaps it was just fanboys in the Academy upset at the number of “loose thread” plotlines that never were resolved…. 😀
In a parallel universe Michael Pitt won “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series” for playing Darkstar.
What a night for everyone,outstanding results.And what a moment to increase popularity of the show,now when we get ready for a 6th season with Greyjoys,Tarlys,Tyrells,Dothraki,boltgaryenbowl,TOJ,etc.,etc.
Oh snap I knew that face looked familiar! Uzo adubo played the kindly man, and knocked it out the park!
I don’t think anyone enjoys being on the show more than Conleth and John Bradley.
Wimsey,
You’re referring to Megan I guess, but what other loose threads
Wimsey,
The biggest reason probably is that this is the first year the Emmys opened up the voting to the entire body, rather than a select Blue Ribbon panel (I don’t follow the Emmys, but this was how media outlets explained it). Since GoT has the biggest audience, it’s not surprising that a more democratic voting body would give it more votes. Mad Men has never been a hugely popular show with the public (3.3 peak?).
Lena looked stunning, I can hardly believe she just gave birth! Sad that she didn’t win after such a great performance this season, oh well, next time maybe!
I just finished Narcos, and am more in lust with Pedro Pascal than ever, too bad he’s not coming back.
Okay, enough Emmy crap now, let’s get some more spoilers on the wintery battle!
Also can people stop with this revisionist crap that season 5 was the worst season ? They had like two flawed plots,of like 13 and maybe some of you skipped season 2 because holy crap there was alot of fluff in season 2 to say the least,in my opinion season 2 had like one truly great episode and that was Blackwater and season 3 was only slightly better with 2 great episodes,but i don’t know maybe i live into an alternative universe where i saw a different season than the rest .
WTF?!?
Moving on…so great to see Pedro hanging out with the cast. He is sorely missed.
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
Yeah that guy is weird .
Am I the only one that finds it a bit odd that it won this much for what is perhaps the least impressive season so far? (not bad but not as good as previous ones). Dinklage ,in particular, has had much much better seasons. He should have won it for last season’s if any. Ah well, awards don’t really mean shite all anyway.
Claudius,
S2 will always have a place in my heart just for the Arya-Tywin scenes, which are still, for me, the best written parts of the series. S3 is the one that I think people watch with rose colored glasses, due to Dracarys and the RW. But the endless Theon torture stuff really cripples that season.
tyjon,
Always found US booze laws weird. You can drive, have children and go to war and kill a man before you can have alcohol: Bizarre!
Well done SHOW! What a wonderful day!
From discussions on this board, the acting/writing/best drama nominations except Lena Headey’s were barely remembered or discussed. I believe many here would have been perfectly happy if instead of the four wins last night, GoT had lost all of those and just won Headey’s. Does emphasize a teeny bit, the disconnect between fans here and the general audience out there and their perceptions of the show.
It should be the Executive Producers, I believe; at least that’s what happens at the Oscars.
Ser Gerold Dayne,
Season 6 will be even better and ratings will sky high with Jon’s fate, Dany and Dothraki, Tyrion in postion of power, chaos in KL, Arya being blind etc. I have faith in cast & crew of GOT.
Just one thing. Snowbowl sounds better, but if the theory is true Jon is still half-Stark and half-Targaryen. Technically it should be boltstarktargaryenbowl. 😀
True they mean shit. But big stuff went down this season. If you’re not comparing to what could have happened (what did in the books or what is expected to transpire in the books), it was a highly dramatic season with some fabulous moments.
True to my name I’ll ask, is there any word on an Illyrio (sp?) appearance in this season after his conspicuous absence last season for scheduling reasons?
I suppose people have different tastes. But for me season 5 was my second favourite season after number 4! Dorne had two awful moments (ridiculous intro of the SS and the botched fight), but in the last few scenes became finally interesting and I will wait for next season to judge it (I am hoping for certain Doran scenes). I do not know what other storyline you are referring to, but nothing else really annoyed me (maybe the fighting choreography in Barristan’s last few seconds, but that is a minor nitpick). Anyway, a well-deserved win in my opinion. Only real contender were Mad Men and Better Call Saul in my opinion.
TheTouchOfFrost,
That’s because special interest groups, tea party busy bodies, and religious zealots strong arm the legislature into creating the laws. Basically they love to meddle in the personal lives of others, enforcing their views.
Maisie interviewed on the red carpet last night, said that interview where Kit appears to slip up was fabricated (not that it matters much since we know he’s back anyway, but I found it interesting that she was aware of it): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViNRXLdZi-o
To all who care for a laugh – I never finished my ep. 10 song (High sparrow – you gotta have faith (George Michael Cover)). So here is my attempt to make you smile with a special “emmy encore”.
Well the Seven would be praised
If you would flaunt your body
I know not everybody
Has got a body like you
It’s the best way to show shame
‘Cause you just gave your sins away
And I know all tricks you played
Because I see through you
Oh yeah you
spent some time fornicating family
Abominations on the throne
Your rule lacks foremost
sincere devotion
Don’t mess with sparrows, Cersei
‘Cause we’re having you atone
‘Cause you gotta have faith….
Cersei
You thought I’d care Loras is gay
Oh boy you led yourself astray
We’ll make you regret your sins
Cersei
No Jaime here to save your day
You drove your could-be friends away
And now we’ll cleanse you from within
Walk through Flea Bottom
up to the Red Keep
And all will hail those royal teats
Oh Cersei don’t make a face now
They’re only shit stains
Yeah you’ll be a whole new person
After facing this ordeal
Yes you’ve got to have faith….
(Emmy Encore)
Oh Cersei you’ll be considered
For your first Emmy
Those CGI boobs won’t let you win it
But on the whole Thrones will dominate
Yes you’ve got to have faith….
Maybe some people that dislike season 5 so much can help me understand it.How can this season be the least impressive one when it had For The Watch,Daznak’s Pit,The Walk of Shame,Hardhome?Mother’s Mercy might just have more important moments to the story than all the other 4 episode 10’s combined.If Tyene said one cheesy line and Obara had two bad lines some big event will be washed away,it doesn’t matter anymore?That makes sense.And bear in mind I’m a Stannis fan,and I HATED decisions that D&D made about him since season 2.But some people are just ridiculous to me,if they didn’t like one aspect of the show all that episode it’s complete garbage.Not just that episode,all 10 of them are complete garbage.Seems legit.
Season 5 was a improvement over season 4 I feel. In any case better than all the other tv drama shows in my opinion so they completely deceived to win!
The pictures look so cute, I am so happy for them they won. I wonder if Emilia wished she could have been there, she was even nominated.
Several of the characters who just sort of disappeared, a number of advertising plotlines that just went away, stuff like that. Part of it was the show skipped time: and in the business world, the issues of January 1967 are long forgotten in July 1969. And, of course, the show wrote up some characters abruptly because it couldn’t afford the large cast!
As for Megan, I don’t know what dropped plotlines she represented. She did leave rather abruptly after her marriage with Don fell apart, but how often does that happen in the real world, anyway?
Ah, but that’s the key: the Academy members (by and large) almost certainly did not think that this was the least impressive season so far. Again, I think that what this offers us as fans is an idea of what people in TV land consider to be impressive TV. The stuff about which fans praise or gush is not on their radar for the most part. When we look at past conflicts between how fans of other franchises perceive adaptations, and how academies, critics and the general public perceives the same franchises, it starts to become apparent that this is a general pattern, too.
1) The broader members of the Academy are not going to have “public” tastes. They still are TV afficianados, buffs and mavens who look at TV much more critically (and much more with an eye for what they would do differently and for what they themselves would like to try in the future) than do Joe and Jane Public. So, high ratings are not going to be an issue: most of these people are watching good TV because good TV is a delight to them in and of itself.
2) I might be wrong, but I think that part of the ratings differences between Mad Men and Thrones are (in part) due to Showtime having a narrower distribution than HBO. But, again, that’s not very relevant to how the Academy members voted: these are people who watch good TV because TV is their profession. After all, these are the people who are the ones watching the acclaimed but poorly rated TV shows.
Ravyn,
On the official Emmys website, GRRM is indeed listed among the nominees for Game of Thrones in the Drama Series category. http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2015/outstanding-drama-series
David Benioff, Executive Producer
D.B. Weiss, Executive Producer
Carolyn Strauss, Executive Producer
Frank Doelger, Executive Producer
Bernadette Caulfield, Executive Producer
Vince Gerardis, Co-Executive Producer
Guymon Casady, Co-Executive Producer
George R.R. Martin, Co-Executive Producer
Chris Newman, Producer
Greg Spence, Producer
Lisa McAtackney, Producer
Bryan Cogman, Producer
So Martin’s an Emmy winner along with the rest of the producing team. I believe that means he gets to take home a trophy as well (I’m not certain of that part, but it seems only fair). They don’t give everyone an actual statue at the ceremony, but hopefully the others should get their individual copies in time.
You know what’s going to be great??? Reading GRRM gushing about all the Emmy wins and what a great birthday he had when he writes about it on his Not A Blog! I’m also guessing he’ll find a way to lament Lena’s loss, without discounting Uzo Aduba’s win.
Wimsey,
Mad Men is on AMC, not Showtime.
Ser Gerold Dayne,
2 good episodes (I don’t consider The Dance of Dragons a good episode myself) don’t make up for a whole season of dissapointment.
It’s funny that you mention Stannis in Season 2, since that was the only season when I truly liked him (I hadn’t read the books at the time).
I guess the reason why Dinklage was nominated instead of Dillane or Allen was that he had more of a chance of winning.
Better Call Saul should have won Best Drama, IMO.
I guess that after two BB awards in a row they wanted something different.
Freyjoy,
🙂 🙂 🙂
Ravyn,
D’oh! Sorry, my bad: a brain cramp, as we used to say back in the day! I am too used to writing “Showtime” because we frequently contrast cable series from HBO and Showtime.
So, erase “Showtime” and fill in “AMC” above…. 😛
Tywin of the Hill,
Yeah, and Jonathan Banks should’ve got best supporting actor (Dinklage himself said the same as he collected his award, and I don’t think it was just out of politeness either, since he didn’t go so far as to name the others).
Tywin of the Hill,
Fair enough.But my question is this,if this show brings only dissapointment why watch it?I mean,if someone watches 10 episodes of a show and doesn’t enjoy any of them why bother?Makes no sense to me at all.I saw people on forums rating Hardhome 1/10.On other shows people just quit and move on to something they actually like,each to his own.With GoT,there will be hate episode after episode,season after season.Never ending hate.
Ser Gerold Dayne,
Good question. I’ve really disliked many shows (True Detective, The 100, Doctor Who, Agents of Shield…) and stopped watching them, but for some reason I can’t do the same with GoT. I guess there’s something addictive about it. Maybe it’s the acting, maybe it’s the scenery, maybe it’s wanting to see spoilers while at the same time not wanting to. Who knows?
I would guess because GoT is an ongoing story. You can’t skip an episode because you miss plot lines. Unlike many TV shows that tell the whole story within the episode and you get a cliffhanger at the end of the season.
You will need to watch all of GoT to see the development and how this story will end.
I am going to be curious to see if any of the “second tier” actors will move into starring roles on the opening credits of season 6, like Sophie or Maisie or Alfie.
Claudius,
I agree. S5 was stronger than S2 and S3 and the last 3 episodes of S5 were the best last 3 episodes this show has ever had. Stronger even than S1 and S4.
Hardhome > Oberyn’s death
Daznak and Shireen’s death > Battle of the Wall
WoS > Tywin’s death
Geralt of Rivia,
Yes, S6 will be season of many resolutions, so it have a chance to be the strongest season yet.
R+L=J, Dany will finally leave Essos, Starks will finally retake WF, Arya will leave Braavos, we will 100% see some Stark reunion, Dorne will get some purpose in this story(with Dany or whatever), they will tie up loose ends with Rickon, Bran, Freys, Umbers, Karstarks, Greyjoys,…
How can the show ever improve if we celebrate and applaud mediocrity?
You don’t need to consider The Rains of Castamere a good episode, but it was.
2 good episodes? What about High Sparrow, Kill the boy, The Gift,..?
Eh. BCS is great–it’s rare to have a lawyer show where they actually listen to their technical adviser on issues of legal accuracy (as opposed to pretty much every other lawyer show)–but best thing on TV this year? I’m not sure. I liked it very much myself, I think the season ended very strong, the Chuck reveal was devastating, and as with Breaking Bad everything was impeccable–cinematography***, acting (for the most part), casting, etc.–but it took a while for the show to find its sea legs, and it didn’t storm out of the gate the way maybe it should have.
Also, Bob Odenkirk is a serviceable dramatic actor as far as comedians go, but he’s not a monster of charisma like Jon Hamm or Bryan Cranston, and he’s nowhere near in their league in terms of acting ability. So when Saul had to shoulder the heavy dramatic material, Odenkirk just wasn’t as strong as one of those actors would have been. Love or hate Hamm or Cranston, you can’t take your eyes off them. You can take your eyes off Odenkirk. If he were playing a secondary character, it wouldn’t matter, but when he’s carrying the show, it matters a great deal.
Beyond issues of pure merit, it’s pretty obvious why BCS didn’t win. It doesn’t have the “Wow” factor of Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad, at least not yet; both GOT and Breaking Bad are known for their jawdropping action set pieces or mindblowing twists. Better Call Saul isn’t like that, really. It’s a quieter, smaller sort of show compared to, say, GOT or Breaking Bad; it’s of excellent quality for what it is, but it’s not epic or showy in the same way as those shows.
***While we’re complaining about horrifying snubs, I can’t believe Better Call Saul wasn’t even nominated for cinematography. That is a fucking outrage.
Tomigreyjoy,
For starters I don’t see it as ”mediocrity”.
So there isn’t much that needs improving for me.
See opinions, everyone has one, you want the show to improve, I already like it.
So for me there is no need to criticize, as there is nothing I did not like.
And the record-breaking raitings/awards/reviews, apear to agree with me here.
Mihnea,
I agree Mihnea.
And to all you complainers. TVs come with a gadget, it’s called a remote control. If you feel that a show is mediocre, bad, whatever. Change the channel. Viola, problem solved.
I dare you to find another show that has White Walkers, dragons, knights, damsels in distress and all the other characters we come to love or hate
and makes a fantastic story out of it.
So for once, stop raining on GoT’s parade.
Would you like some coffee with that?
outdoorcats,
…. okay?
Tomigreyjoy,
You just think its mediocre because you are make comparisons with book material. But, if you analyse season 5 by its own, it was a pretty awesome season.
Kelly Lawler of USA Today really dissed not only GoT, but the Emmy voting changes this year, she’d prefer the judges panels for each category over every member voting.
That’s like Congressional Committees in lieu of the whole body of Congress.
USA Today critic hates GoT’s Emmy win
tyjon,
Nonsense about the rape culture and GoT. Probably written by a book purist.
Comments are great.
Thank you for posting the videos!!
So happy for the whole GoT team (man, David Nutter almost made me cry) and so proud of my favorite show! YAS!
Btw, Conleth Hill takes the BEST photos. 😀
Newbietothegame,
Nah. True Detective S2 did all that and I still quit watching it. It’s got to be something else.
Wimsey,
There was a rumor going around at the time consisting of her getting involved with Charles Manson and his helter skelter crew and she gets murdered, but it never happened. Now I also remember that one guy Pete had problems with, the guy that went to Detroit with him to pitch to Chevy. His story went unresolved I believe as well. Dude I loved madmen, it gave us a window to view what the 50s and 60s looked like, it was great. And Don Draper is the man
I’m so happy with the GOT wins. It was well-deserved.
Actually lots of great surprises/well-deserved wins: Jon Hamm, Jeffrey Tambor, etc.
Well, the show was great for how it portrayed the 1950’s and it’s residual culture. However, it did a great job of showing why the 1950’s and that residual culture was so awful. Let’s face it, as entertaining as they were, all of the men in Mad Men were pretty awful human beings. I do not pretend that we are done fighting sexism, racism, homophobia, etc.: but, man, have we come a long ways since then.
As for Megan getting involved with the Manson crew, I remember reading that fan “theory,” but noting (as others did) that the show had already passed that by on the timeline. Failed fan conjecture is not unresolved plot! Similarly, a lot of people were positing that Don was going to turn out to be D.B. Cooper. However, that was another failed fan conjecture, not an unresolved plot.
The show did sort of lose the issue of Don’s alcoholism, and the schism between Don and his colleagues that arose in the later years. On the other hand, they did belatedly realize that potential of Sally Draper as a character: it’s too bad that they did not foresee that in advance! Of course, the actress playing Sally was actually much too young to do some of the stuff that they realized could have been cool to do: in an unusual flip-flop of the norm, she was actually playing a character 2-3 years older than herself in the end.
Well, USA Today is only one small step above the National Enquirer or Fox News, so there is that element as well.
And as for “rape culture,” how many sexual assaults were there on Mad Men over the years? (Several, although I don’t know the exact count.) Of course, none of it would have been considered sexual assault in the 1960’s: but if we use that rule for the “real” world, then we need to use it for a medieval analog world.
mau,
Exactly.
I expect them to break 9 milion viewers barrier in the premiere, with so many cliffhangers from this years season finale. At some point our favourite show can even seriously attack magical 10 million figure (not sure if next season). Only sky is a limit for this incredible show.
Well, whatever you think of the quality of Season 5 relative to previous seasons, it’s worth remembering that when a show wins is not merely a measure of its own perceived quality, but also the perceived quality of everything else it’s competing with. The last two ceremonies honoured Breaking Bad, which is gone now; before that, the show lost to Homeland in the brief period where it was the most exciting thing on TV, and Mad Men in what was its perceived prime (I think the show was as good as ever at the end, but whatever; it certainly did not lack for honours).
Sean C.,
So you’re saying it was a below par year for TV? Although the past decade or so it’s been a very high par ( or low par if we’re using a gold analogy!).
As there are still lots of great TV shows being made, it is not as if there are fewer good shows than there are nominations. Indeed, as always, there are shows that feel “snubbed” because they are basically as good as Emmy nominated shows. But, again, it’s back to the sports analogy: when there are three really good teams in a league, then the two teams that fail to win are no less good for the fact that only one of them can win.
And, as others have noted, Thrones had to overcome the big handicap of the fantasy element. To lots and lots of people, fantasy means storyless, escapist world-building with Heroes and Villains and Good vs. Evil rather than protagonists and antagonists and ethical conflicts. The fact that the Academy is seeing around that for what GRRM really is doing is commendable, but it also shows what a job B&W have done.
It does make me hopeful that people will thinking about adapting some of the more “literary” fantasy tales out there (e.g., Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant or Rothfus’ King Killer). Amusingly, what it seems to have spawned instead is slightly fictionalized “docudramas” that keep getting roasted for being all plot and no story: i.e., history!
Nymeria Warrior Queen,
C’mon it wasn’t that complex of a joke, i was calling a woman a man
Great night for the show and hope this motivates the cast and crew to work hard so that season 6 will be great
Maybe he was surreptitiously taking the gum out of his mouth that he mentioned he had been chewing when the announcement of his win was made.
Firannion,
It looks like Dinklage passes the gum to his wife’s mouth during the second kiss.
So are these crazy American laws EVER going to change? I am not American but i am personally upset over the insanity of it all. America was the land of the free?! And yet they discriminate adults and treat them like retards. Its crazy. As you say it must be rightwing conservatives who come up with this bullshit. They dont like personal freedom and choice. Prohibition worked out so well… apparently America is the country with the most fake ID. Wonder why…
I am sure Sophie and Maisie got their hands on some liquor here and there… Surely at a party like that no one is going to be policing some law everyone must think is fucked up to begin with.
–
You mean American 20 year olds are not even allowed to drink in England?! I thought countries own laws alwats applied there, never heard of that. Those idiots makign the laws must really care about adults not drinking. But driving at 16 isnt dangerous of course… Wow that’s even more messed up than i thought. INot that i think a lot of people will know or care about that. I know American teens can drink all over continental Europe… Not to mention Mexico… Yuck government messing with peoples private lifes is so insane.
Mihnea,
Hey there, I understand you already like the show. I love it too! The thing is, there is always room to improve, and while the show is still pretty solid, I felt this season was underwhelming compared to previous seasons.
I know what you are gonna say, that the source material wasn’t good either and book 4 and 5 were the worst in the series… but still, I felt sometimes the pacing was odd, some characters and situations felt incredibly forced, and some weird writing happened. I couldn’t fully travel to Westeros for an hour a week, like I did with last seasons, because this bumps along the road made me realise I was just actually watching a TV show.
As for the awards, they deserve all the praise they got in the Creative Emmys, the production is out of this world. As for the main awards, I recommend you read the new voting rules. I’m calling it, next year we’ll see The Walking Dead among the nominees…
Newbietothegame,
But I DO wanna keep watching because I love the show.
Athos Franco,
I’m not comparing it to the books, just previous seasons really.
Tomigreyjoy,
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this season as much as the others. I myself rank it around 3rd place, so there is planty of things I didn’t enjoy. So I’m hardly a fanboy. I criticized the lack of screen-time for Dorne, wich is what we needed I think (Will never criticize the show for not includind book storylines, altough there are some that I’m very sad they where cut, but I fully understand why.), there where couple other scenes I didn’t like, but few. The rest of the season was great, but just not as geat as S4, but I fully expected that, after all I was very dissapointed with AFFC/ADWD, so my expectations where very low.
Criticism IS good, when constructed in a polite manner. It is not your criticism that bothered me, but the way you said it.
Saying Dorne was bad because Y and they should have done X, is fine.
But you said, ”How can the show ever improve if we celebrate and applaud mediocrity?”.
For me it was not mediocrity, and for many other people.
What you said here, means that I enjoy ”mediocrity”, or that I’m incapabile of recognizing it. Wich frankly insults me. Having an opinion, is healthy and good.
Criticism is good, if done with arguments in a polite manner.
But saying that if we liked S5, we liked mediocrity or can’t recognize it, is simply insulting.
So it isn’t criticism that I have a problem with. Its that you look down uppon those who enjoyed the season, by saying they enjoyed mediocrity. (that’s what I took from that comment at least, I hope I was wrong tough..)
Mihnea,
Well I can’t help you if my comment offended you, since I never said people who liked season 5 favoured mediocrity, in fact I enjoyed it overall so I would be insulting myself. My first comment wasn’t aimed at the regular viewer like you or me, but mostly to big award shows and media in general. Does that make sense? I suck at explaining sometimes.
For example, “You need the bad pussy” is now officially award winning dialogue. I think Game of Thrones needs to be recongnised as it is a great show, but only as long as it deserves recognition. I know they can do much better as I seen it in the first season.
On the other hand, I understand producing this beast is incredibly difficult and now that they are one of the most viewed tv series, they have to juggle to not only appeal to book readers and fantasy genre lovers but now also a regular viewer. But they should get credit where and when its due.
Tomigreyjoy,
The walk of shame is a award winning scene, for the watch, Stannis last march, every single other piece of dialogue in that episode. Forgeting all this stellar moments, and saying that line, over and over again, is quite narrow-minded. Or you are simply wilingly ignoring the rest of the episode.
Focusing on 2% of that episode is wrong. I can as easy bring up the ”mirish swamp”/”Arrianne’s dark nipples”/”fat pink mast”.
I’m glad they did not let that one line define the episode, or season for that matter, as some of the fandom are quick to do, while completly forgeting the same can be done with the books.
An episode is judge by all its scenes, not cherry picked scene that you think where bad. Or character taking a differant path then the one you wished.
Er, so? Isn’t that the sort of thing someone like that character (Sandsnake 3 or Sandsnake C or whatever she is) would say? Particularly to a man like Bronn?
Dialogue is not “good” for being prosaic. Dialogue is good for being effective at communicating what is meant and what the speaker is like. The dialogue in Deadwood, for example, was great, even if every 2nd word was an obscenity or a rude term for some part of the anatomy or another. Making it prosaic would have been bad. In the same way, having SS III say: “What thoust truly desireth is a wanton woman of mischievous and lewd intent” would not be “good dialogue” here. Instead, the line used seemed much more in keeping with the characters involved: and that is what good dialogue is.
Wimsey,
That was somewhat my reaction too it. Just a little luagh, and told myself, ”that really is Oberyn’s girl”
Trully belive most people over-reacted to that line,…well not most people, only the 2% of haters.
The bigest mistake, in my opinion, is that some readers simply tought Dorne was going to be bigger then it actoully is in reality. I expect the same reactions when TWOW comes out.
Not to say Dorne was good,..it certainly could have used more screen-time, especially Doran, Siddig is just so god damn good.
But still, Dorne is much better then in the books, for me, only because there is no Arrianne.
Wimsey,
The scripting was bad for that line not because of the form though, however cheesy it may have sounded. The script was bad because they overdid it. Tyene’s previous scenes already showed us that she’s the bad pussy she thinks Bronn needs. Bared it all in the jail cell while poisoning him proper, didn’t she? And then when he needed it, gave him the antidote too LOL Treacherous bad pussy! On top of it you saw how her sisters rolled her eyes at her #badpussy attitude and maneuvers which established this is HER, classic Tyrne. Really, you don’t need to thump the audience over the head with the extra explicitly said words. We got it already.
I personally enjoyed it. Some lines (this probably is close to one) become cliche for a reason. They work or they stand out whether it is because they are that good or that bad. Or they wouldn’t become cliche. This one definitely stood out! Lol
Conclusion?No Darkstar,no party.
Mihnea,
You still don´t get what I mean. You can’t judge a script by a scene alone, I understand. There were great moments, but you gotta pace them correctly at least. Stannis day went to shit in literally the first two minutes, Myrcella saying “I know you are my father, uncle. And I’m glad.”
Do you understand? Scenes alone don’t guarantee a great script, let alone best script.
Wimsey,
I don’t know what to say, you are defending the worst line in the whole show… This is what I meant when I said we applaud mediocrity. You try at every step to defend show, even at its worst. How can we expect them to improve this rocky moments in pacing and dialogue when we throw flowers at them for average/bad pieces of dialogue like this?
Just noticed that Peter was sporting a manbun.. #Hairwatch? xD