The Fien Print's TCA Awards introduction for HBO's 'Game of Thrones'
Read it quickly and it'll be like you were at Sunday's show
Dan
Credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty
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On Saturday (August 6) evening at the Beverly Hilton, the Television Critics Association handed out our annual awards for the best of the small screen.
At the risk of sounding like a homer, I think we did a rather solid job, giving Program of the Year to "Friday Night Lights" and showering awards on the likes of "Mad Men," "Parks and Recreation" and "Sesame Street."
We also gave our Outstanding New Program award to HBO's "Game of Thrones," another decision I felt pretty good about and not just because I got to present the award to a trio of producers (most of the team was in Ireland where production on the second season is ongoing).
Since a couple people expressed curiosity in the intro on Sepinwall's recap of the event (and my mother also showed some interest), I'm cutting and pasting the quickie transcript for what was designed as a one-minute intro. I suspect a lot of the intro's appeal hinges on its successful and breathless delivery (I didn't drink at the cocktail hour beforehand to avoid alcohol-induced tongue-tying), but the TCA Awards are a video/audio-free zone. In lieu of video/audio, then, I've attached an image, part of the annual series of "Dan presents a TCA Award with a raised eyebrow looking off at an indeterminate point in space, varying only his tie" photos which have accompanied each of the previous times I've presented.
[Oh and the intro kinda includes spoilers... You've been warned.]
Enjoy...
At first glance, many of the nominees for Outstanding New Program fit familiar TV conventions. We have a cop show, a detective show, and a mob drama.
How conventional was our winner? Adapted masterfully from George R.R. Martin's novel by David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and a team of ace writers and directors, it's outstanding, but it's also just your basic epic medieval fantasy power struggle featuring dragons and direwolves, white walkers and witches, beheadings and be-tonguings and a crown of gold, whispering eunuchs and plotting pimps, breast-feeding 8-year-olds and little girls with swords, ascending bastards and sincere bastards and secret bastards, Imps and Wards and Hounds and Hands, twincest and sexposition, regicide and infanticide, Lords and Ladies, Sers and Maesters, Khals and Khaleesis, a kingdom wracked by war, a strong-hold in the sky, a giant freaking wall and a throne forged from iron and blood.
Oh and did I mention that much of the story was told in Dothraki?
Hmmm... Maybe this won't be such an easy formula to replicate.
It is known that the TCA Award for Outstanding New Program goes to HBO's "Game of Thrones."
Accepting for "Game of Thrones" are Executive Producers Carolyn Strauss, Vince Gerardis and Guymon Casady.
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About This Blog
At the dawn of the 21st Century, Daniel Fienberg came out to Los Angeles for grad school. He hasn't left. "The Fien Print" is a blog about television -- reviews, interviews, analysis -- but it's also about movies and the business of Hollywood. It probably won't be a blog about the Red Sox, though it might seem like that at times.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupColum Nice :) What were the other nominees?
August 8, 2011 at 1:12PM EST Reply to Commentdan Colum - Let's see... "Terriers," "Boardwalk Empire," "The Killing" and "Walking Dead." I'd have been equally happy with two or three different winners...
August 8, 2011 at 1:14PM EST-Daniel
odessasteps I can only imagine what Alan's reaction would have been if The Killing had won. Probably many of the same words used when he watched the Sox/Yanks series this weekend.
August 8, 2011 at 1:31PM ESTDougMac Were you tempted to go off script and give it to Terriers?
August 8, 2011 at 3:32PM ESTKaryn I like all of the clever wordplay in the intro a lot, but it's still not enough to make me ignore that Game of Thrones could be fairly easily categorized as a political thriller. Albeit a fantastical one with a very thorough road map!
August 8, 2011 at 1:40PM EST Reply to CommentAction_Kate It's supposed to be a riff on the War of the Roses. that's pretty much the definition of a real-life political thriller.
August 8, 2011 at 2:45PM ESTMatthewL Any chance you could try to perform it again on the podcast? That was a lot of fun to read but, as you say, a lot of it would have been in the delivery.
August 8, 2011 at 2:37PM EST Reply to CommentAwesome It is know.
August 8, 2011 at 11:18PM EST Reply to Commentbelinda Thank you, Dan's mom for getting him to recap his transcript.
August 10, 2011 at 9:01AM EST Reply to Comment