Books vs. their TV counterparts...

I LOVE books, but I also love TV and Movies.  I also like TV Shows and Movies that are made from books, but I can say that in almost 100% of cases (that I have seen and read), the books are much better than the TV/Movie versions.  I am sitting here thinking about it and the one case where I like the TV version better is The Vampire Diaries.  Don't get me wrong, I liked the books but I really like where the series has gone.  Pretty much the only thing that is similar to the books is that Stefan and Damon are brothers, they are Vampires and they both have a thing for Elena.  Even in the beginning that is the only thing that was similar other than the name of the town and the names of her friends.  Pretty much everything else is different.  Elena did live with her aunt, but she had a little sister not a teenage brother.  Alaric and her aunt were NOT an item.  NONE of her friends became vampire and Tyler was a class A jerk, but not a werewolf...there were NO werewolves in the books.  Now it seems like if you have vampires then it only stands to reason that you need werewolves too!  In the books I was on Team Stefan from the beginning...in the TV series I am very Team Damon, and because of that I am SO looking forward to Season 3! 

We have been watching Game of Thrones on HBO and I am reading the book at the same time.  This is probably one of the best adaptations from book to screen that I have seen so far.  Some of the conversations are almost word for word and they are sticking very closely to the plot lines and even some of the minor stuff that is in the book.  Now, that said, last nights episode had a scene in it that was VERY much not in the book and it was very annoying.  So far the book has not been graphic as far as love scenes go, the TV show has added some to those scenes, but it is HBO and we know they are going to do that.  What I don't like is that they added a same sex couple to the story and wrote a whole scene into the story that just isn't there in the book.  The scene itself wasn't really graphic, just implied, but the fact that they added it at all makes me angry!  Loras is called the Knight of Flowers, but that has nothing to do with his orientation and in the book he is not gay and Lord Renly is not implied to be gay either, in fact, neither of them get much mention in the book at all really.  WHY did they need to add this to the story?  When they do this then it's something that they have to keep following through and it distorts the real story as they go down the line.

Point in case....Lafayette, in True Blood.  I am not pointing out that he is gay, and this has nothing to do with that fact.  Lafayette, was in fact, gay in the book.  Notice I said book and not books though!  Lafayette was killed in the final scene of the 1st book and his death sets up the story for the 2nd book.  Alan Ball decided NOT to follow this part of the book and now 3 seasons later we have a full running storyline for a character that is not part of any of the following books.  Now, we know that Alan has take many liberties with these stories and that's a whole other post!  My point is, that when you add in your own story or change something seemingly minor, it's something you have to follow through and when you do follow through it impacts the story that is true.

I am almost done with the 1st Game of Thrones book and I have to say that things are happening that will change this story in a BIG way.  I just hope that HBO and the people running the show see it through and stick to the story otherwise they will have a mess on their hands, at least as far as the readers are concerned.  George R.R. Martin doesn't care who you connect with as a reader and that's how it should be to make a good story, I think.  If you care about someone and they are killed you want to keep reading to make sure that they are avenged, etc...I will just say this because I don't want to spoil it for the watchers, I have connected with a handful of characters as I have read through this book and I am at the 92% mark of the book and 2 of those characters have been killed.  I don't like to see them gone, but it progresses the story and that's how it has to be. From what I hear, from another reader, George isn't done with the killing so I know there is more in store!  I just hope that the show stays true to the book, so far so good really.  I am anxious to see how they are going to fit it all in 10 episodes, I am not sure why they aren't doing 12, but oh well...

I have to say that although True Blood has strayed from the books quite a lot, it's still one of my favorite shows.  Book 4 was my favorite of all the books and so I hope that Season 4 does it justice.  It looks like he is sticking with the plot of Eric losing his memory so that's a step in the right direction.  We'll just have to see if he follows through!