Game of Thrones - Season 1

I just finished the five DVDs of Season 1 of the Game of Thrones.  A few of the episodes I watched in French, with French subtitles.  I also went back to listen to much of the audio commentary, where available.

Loved it.  I have read the first three books (albeit once through only), and it looks to me like the writers and directors adapted the story really well to television.  And the actors were simply brilliant.

A few initial thoughts on the adaptation itself:

• I found TV-Sansa far more sympathetic than book-Sansa.  In the book, I hated Sansa for her naive (and deadly) choices with a bitter passion.  In the TV series, we do not actually see her betraying her father to Cersei (which helps a lot), and the actress powerfully shows us Sansa's youth and vulnerability in subtle ways (e.g., body language, facial expression) that are really difficult to capture on the written page.  Moreover, the TV-Joffrey has a chance to work his mojo charm directly on the audience, in a tender scene with TV-Sansa.  We see first-hand how innocent and believable he appears.   So it is far easier to understand how TV-Sansa falls for it... and yet TV-Sansa also seems to wise up far more quickly than book-Sansa. 
• Once TV-Daenerys stops being a doormat and begins to find her inner strength and power, she reminded me strongly of Buffy Summers (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer).  Their overall build, features and expressions seem really similar to me (not to mention their hair color!).  
• TV-Jon looked far younger and (dare I say it) softer than I expected from the book.  I thought he would have a little more "edge" or toughness to him, since Catelyn always made sure he knew he was unwelcome.
• I think that TV-Jamie becomes sympathetic more quickly than book-Jamie (although they both ultimately get to the same place).  That's a really great scene with him and Catelyn.
• TV-Pycelle has a wonderful scene (which I don't remember from the books) in which we learn that the "doddering old man" thing is just an act.  LOVE this.
• It's already hard to believe that book-Varys doesn't know that book-Arya is taking fencing lessons; but it's just about impossible to believe it in the TV show.  (In fact, they seem to be practicing in an area that has an open window to the outside and is not locked or hidden, so actually it's hard to believe that anyone at court is unaware of the truth!)

A few thoughts about the story itself (generally applicable to the book and the TV series):

• In one or two of the commentary tracks, people suggested (perhaps half-kidding) that Daenerys's affection for Drogo is a form of "Stockholm syndrome."  I can see where they are coming from on that one, but I don't buy that interpretation at all -- mostly because as she grows to love Drogo, Daenerys also becomes more self-confident in every way.  Including in her ability to stand up to Drogo.
• It is somewhat painful to read or watch the story, because you keep seeing good people make bad decisions.  There is chance after chance for the characters (both the sympathetic and the unsympathetic ones) to avoid plunging Westeros into war.  Someone on the commentary track suggested that it was Catelyn's decision to seize Tyrion that made war inevitable.  But surely there were at least two more clear chances to avoid it.  First, when Robert died, Ned could have either aligned himself with Renly and acted quickly to seize Joffrey and control the situation or aligned himself immediately with Joffrey.  (Either way, all the major powers would have been aligned, leaving little if any opening for Stannis.)  Second, when Ned publicly "confessed" his "treason" to save Sansa, Joffrey could have averted disaster by sparing Ned's life.

I've only scratched the surface, but let's just say this is really compelling television.