English Audio Request

It's the biggest TV event since ... since the new series of Mad Men aired last week. Maybe it's my age, but event TV seems to be coming round faster and faster these days. But for those who missed all the previews, the second series of Game of Thrones (Sky Atlantic), the adaptation of George RR Martin's unfinished epic fantasy septet, has just started here and in the US.
Confession time. I'm not a big fan of fantasy sci-fi. The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter left me largely unmoved, and I've never been remotely tempted to read Martin's A Song Of Ice and Fire. But event TV is event TV and I'm not immune to hype, so if people are clamouring that it's the best thing on TV since Mad Men, then it would be churlish not to give it a go.
Now the apology. Having watched the first episode of the second series, I just don't get what all the fuss is about. Sure, it has some great actors and HBO has clearly bust the bank on the budget, but I didn't have a clue what was going on. With the opener of most second series, there is usually a a recap of the story so far, both to help those whose minds have wandered over the previous 12 months and to lure in those, like me, who hadn't watched the first. But this episode took no prisoners at all. It was wham-bam straight in there. No doubt a joy to Martin's many fans, but a stumbling block for neophytes.
I'd done a bit of homework, so I knew it was vaguely about warring factions in Westeros and that Robb Stark was one of the goodies, but that wasn't much help. Most of all, though, I felt let down by the pace. The show's fans had all written rapturously of the tightness of the scripts, the non-stop action and how it was a cross between Rome and The Sopranos but last night's episode felt ponderous. Where was the much-touted sex-and-gore quotient: the sexposition? There was barely a violent death and the first moment of gratuitous nudity arrived only moments before the end credits.
To make sure it wasn't just me being a grumpy, out-of-touch middle-aged reviewer, I forced my 19-year-old daughter to watch it with me. She didn't get it either. Nor did she thank me. My guess is that if you're already a Martin fan, then Mondays will be a night to stay in and watch TV: but for the unconverted there is little here to make you go back and watch the first series on DVD. Which is where you really need to start.