Game of Thrones (season 1)

Plot

The series begins as Ned Stark (Sean Bean) is asked to become the chief advisor (known as the Hand of the King) to lecherous King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy). Ned and his wife Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) receive a letter from Catelyn's sister, Lysa (Kate Dickie) that gives them reason to believe that rival House Lannister – to which the King's wife Cersei belongs – was the cause of the previous Hand's death. Ned must travel south to help the king and find out who killed the previous Hand of the King, Jon Arryn (John Standing), while trying to protect his family from the Lannisters. As he tries to uncover the reasons behind Jon Arryn's death he uncovers the dark secrets about the Lannisters that Arryn himself died trying to expose.

Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea in the continent of Essos, the exiled, arrogant Viserys Targaryen (Harry Lloyd), son of the former king whose throne was usurped, believes he still has the rightful claim to the throne. He marries off his younger sister, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), whom he has psychologically and physically abused for years, to the leader of the Dothraki warrior tribe, Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), in an exchange for an army to return to Westeros and take the throne. However, Daenerys' growing love for Drogo and newfound mental strength as the Khaleesi of the tribe mean Viserys' plans go unexpectedly and powerfully awry.

At the Wall, Ned's bastard son Jon Snow joins the Night's Watch, an ancient brotherhood sworn to watch over the massive wall that separates the Seven Kingdoms from the dangerous unknown beyond. But an ancient force, long believed dead, threatens the land.

Main cast

Guest cast

The recurring actors listed here are those who appeared in season 1. They are listed by the region in which they first appear.

Production

HBO originally optioned the rights to A Song of Ice and Fire in 2007, at which time David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were identified as the project's writers and executive producers. The first and second drafts of the pilot script, written by Benioff and Weiss, were submitted in August 2007, and June 2008, respectively. While HBO found both drafts to their liking, a pilot was not ordered until November 2008, with the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike possibly delaying the process.

Benioff and Weiss served as main writers and showrunners for the first season. They contributed eight out of ten episodes, including one co-written with Jane Espenson. The two remaining episodes were written by Bryan Cogman and A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin.

Tom McCarthy directed the original pilot, but much of this was later re-shot by Tim Van Patten as the pilot was reworked into the first episode of the complete season. Van Patten also directed the second episode. McCarthy is still credited as a consulting producer for the series' first episode. Brian Kirk and Daniel Minahan directed three episodes each, and Alan Taylor directed the final two.

Before Game of Thrones both Benioff and Weiss worked in film, and were unfamiliar with working on a television show. This resulted in several first-season episodes being about 10 minutes too short for HBO, forcing them to write another 100 pages of scripts in two weeks. Due to lack of budget the new scenes were designed to be inexpensive to film, such as two actors conversing in one room. Benioff and Weiss noted that some of their favorite scenes from the first season were the results of the dilemma, including one between Robert and Cersei Baratheon discussing their marriage.

Casting

On May 5, 2009, it was announced that Peter Dinklage had been signed on to star as Tyrion Lannister in the pilot, and that Tom McCarthy was set to direct. On July 19, 2009, a number of further casting decisions were announced, including Sean Bean being given the role of Ned Stark. Other actors signed on for the pilot were Kit Harington in the role of Jon Snow, Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon, Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen, and Mark Addy as Robert Baratheon.

At the beginning of August 2009, it was revealed that Catelyn Stark would be portrayed by Jennifer Ehle. On August 20, more casting announcements were made, including Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister and Tamzin Merchant as Daenerys Targaryen, as well as Richard Madden in the role of Robb Stark, Iain Glen as Ser Jorah Mormont, Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy, Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark and Maisie Williams as Arya Stark. On September 1 Lena Headey was announced as Cersei Lannister. On September 23, Martin confirmed that Rory McCann had been cast as Sandor Clegane. Isaac Hempstead-Wright was confirmed as Bran Stark on October 14, followed by an announcement of Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo three days later.

After the pilot was shot and the series picked up, it was announced that the role of Catelyn had been recast, with Michelle Fairley replacing Ehle. Later, it was also confirmed that Emilia Clarke would replace Tamzin Merchant as Daenerys. The rest of the cast was filled out in the second half of the year, and included Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister, Aidan Gillen as Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish, and Conleth Hill as Varys.

Filming

The pilot episode was initially filmed on location in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Morocco by Tom McCarthy between October 24 and November 19, 2009. However, the pilot was deemed unsatisfactory and much of it had to be reshot together with the other episodes of the season in Northern Ireland and Malta.

Most scenes were shot in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland border counties. Principal photography was scheduled to begin on July 26, 2010, with the primary studio location being the Paint Hall Studio in the Titanic Quarter of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Among various locations for the initial shooting of the pilot in 2009, Doune Castle in central Scotland was used as the location for Winterfell, including scenes at its great hall (the great hall was later recreated in a soundstage in Northern Ireland). Additional filming locations included Cairncastle at Larne, Shane's Castle, and Tollymore Forest Park, all in Northern Ireland. In the 2010 shooting of the series, Castle Ward was used as Winterfell instead of Doune Castle, with Cairncastle for some exterior Winterfell scenes. The set for Castle Black was built at Magheramorne quarry. The show's presence in Northern Ireland and use of Paint Hall created hundreds of jobs for residents, and made the area "a hub for film and television production".

The "King's Landing" exterior scenes were shot at various locations in Malta, including the city of Mdina and the island of Gozo. The filming in Malta resulted in controversy when a protected ecosystem was damaged by a subcontractor.

Music

The soundtrack to Game of Thrones was originally to be composed by Stephen Warbeck. On February 2, 2011, only ten weeks prior to the show's premiere, it was reported that Warbeck had left the project and Ramin Djawadi had been commissioned to write the music instead. The music supervisor of Game of Thrones Evyen Klean first suggested Djawadi to Benioff and Weiss as the replacement for Warbeck, and although Djawadi was reluctant as he had other commitments at that time, they managed to persuade Djawadi to accept the project.

To give the series its own distinctive musical identity, according to Djawadi, the producers asked him not to use musical elements such as flutes or solo vocals that had already been successfully used by other major fantasy productions. He mentioned that a challenge in scoring the series was its reliance on dialogue and its sprawling cast: on several occasions already-scored music had to be omitted so as not to get in the way of dialogue.

Djawadi said that he was inspired to write the main title music by an early version of the series's computer-animated title sequence. The title music is reprised as a global theme in the rest of the soundtrack, initially infrequently and as part of the theme of individual characters, then in full towards the end of season 1 during particularly important scenes.

Critical response

Anticipation for the series was described by various media outlets as very high, with a dedicated fan base closely following the show's development. By April 2011, multiple entertainment news outlets had put it at the top of their lists of television events to look forward to in 2011.

The majority of reviews for the first season were very positive, with critics noting the high production values, the well-realized world, compelling characters, and giving particular note to the strength of the child actors. Tim Goodman's review for The Hollywood Reporter stated, "a few minutes into HBO's epic Game of Thrones series, it's clear that the hype was right and the wait was worth it". Mary McNamara from the Los Angeles Times called it "...a great and thundering series of political and psychological intrigue bristling with vivid characters, cross-hatched with tantalizing plotlines and seasoned with a splash of fantasy". New York Post's Linda Stasi gave Thrones 3.5/4 stars stating, "The art direction, acting and incredible sets are as breathtaking as the massive scope of the series". Many critics praised Peter Dinklage for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister, with Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly stating, "...if Dinklage doesn't get an Emmy for his clever, rude Tyrion Lannister, I'll be gobsmacked" and Mary McNamara from the Los Angeles Times stating, "If the man doesn't win an Emmy, heads should certainly roll".

The first season of Game of Thrones has a Metacritic average of 80 out of 100 based on 28 critic reviews, categorized as "generally favorable". On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an 89% approval rating from 33 critics with an average rating of 8.3 out of 10. The season also received a 97% episode average score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is tied with Season 4 for the highest season episode average of the show.

Ratings

The first episode attracted 2.2 million viewers its initial airing on April 17 in the U.S., and totaled 5.4 million viewers across multiple Sunday and Monday night airings. It averaged 743,000 and reached a peak 823,000 in UK and Ireland on its April 18 premiere. HBO announced that they would be commissioning a second season on the strength of the reception of the premiere episode. By the final episode of the season, which aired June 20, the ratings had climbed to over 3 million.

The season's overall Nielsen ratings were:

Accolades

The first season of Game of Thrones was nominated for thirteen Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Tim Van Patten for "Winter Is Coming"), and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for "Baelor"). It won two, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Peter Dinklage) and Outstanding Main Title Design. Dinklage, who plays Tyrion, was also named best supporting actor by the Golden Globes, the Scream Awards and the Satellite Awards.

Broadcast

Game of Thrones premiered on HBO in the United States and Canada on April 17, 2011, and on Sky Atlantic in the United Kingdom and Ireland on April 18, 2011, with a same-day release on HBO Central Europe. The series premiered in Australia on Showcase on July 17, 2011.

Home media

The first season of Game of Thrones was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on March 6, 2012. The set includes extra background and behind-the-scenes material, but no deleted scenes, because almost all footage shot for the first season was used in the show.

HBO released a Collector's Edition DVD/Blu-ray combo pack of the first season, which includes a resin-carved Dragon Egg Paperweight. The set was released in the United States and Canada on November 20, 2012.